all right. let's. the e.u. hits out that credit rating agencies after a downgrade of portugal's debt to junk status leaves the world markets panicking over a fifth bailout and a knock on effect elsewhere. high profile photographers are arrested in georgia suspected of spying as nine others are convicted for espionage the country's opposition says the government is not selling the press to cover up its own problems. and greece it detains the last of the boats headed to blockade of gaza while the un is expected to publish a long awaited report on israel's deadly assault on last year's a flotilla. pressures of foreign minister describes

a nato's role in libya as cynical saying it comes at too high a price of civilian deaths they continued still. the. global news from the heart of moscow this is artsy welcome to the program unjustified and on fire but with the power to determine the fate of entire countries that's the verdict of germany's finance minister on the world's big three credit rating agencies after portugal had its debt downgraded to junk status the move is having a disastrous effect on the e.u. ripping apart the relative calm poured by a second a greek bailout the panic is proving contagious with fresh fears emerging that ireland may also need another cash injection it comes as germany the e.u.'s biggest economy debate the very legality of the balance more on this we're joined by

patrick young a writer and editor live from tone in poland. thank you for joining us today mr young so moody's the rating agency behind the move has been involved in a number of scandals from claims of blackmail to labeling junk asset side. aaa back in two thousand and eight when liable other writings well look this is the really interesting situation isn't it really i mean what we've seen is the european union to three years ago said the problem with credit ratings were that their their ratings couldn't be trusted then all of a sudden when they actually come up with plausible ratings against the european union suddenly the finance ministers such as mr showed large saying that oh these are discrete small companies because actually they're trying to get at the truth the situation is absolutely true i mean a company like moody's which what i think a largely french organized department doing european sovereign debt until quite recently got many things are absolutely wrong in the boom of the bubble but actually one of the biggest things that they got wrong was the fact that they

weren't being pragmatic enough when it came to the debt and the debt problems of the european union not their being honest and suddenly the politicians want to shut them up because simply the european union has a fundamental problem which is that multiple members of the euro zone are insolvent say the moody's or downgrade is accurate and justified the euro skeptics arguing that the value greater was was ok and the e.u. is using this as an opportunity to gain more control over ratings agencies and to agree with our saluki look the european union has been operating a pogrom against ratings agencies for several years first of all they argued up they can't be relied upon so therefore we have to do something to regulate them now they're saying oh well we can't trust them because they're saying something that's against the european union you can't have it both ways i mean it seems to me richly ironic that in the course of the last twenty years we've gone from a situation where it used to be that the western european media was giving us all sorts of truth and useful information and not we're talking in russia today in order to be able to have

a reasonable and decent conversation about the legitimate business of the ratings agencies rory if even if the great it was justified shouldn't moody's have held off to preserve confidence and allow the e.u. to recover well no hang on a second you know these ratings are indicative the whole point. ratings agency is to basically give someone a school report it tells you that you know if johnson isn't doing his work then johnson needs to improve etc etc realistically i think the question the ratings agencies must ask themselves because they were at fault here or was why they didn't get better returns a couple of years ago when it was absolutely clear to a large number of us that the european union really significant problems and they were caught up in the way of the euro euphoria that was going on at that stage however you know they're just doing their jobs and frankly the business of shooting masson sure isn't going to get anybody anywhere i mean that would be as ridiculous as saying we shouldn't discuss this on russia today because actually once the truth gets out there and once we have greater discussion that that's going to be bad for

the economy it's a very very unfortunate situation and actually the e.u. itself has been dragging its feet for eighteen months over problems and portugal and greece and the difficulty therefore is that the e.u. hasn't acted fast enough and hasn't tried to cure the situation moody's are merely reflecting that and quite honestly i think they were in an invidious position because no matter what they would have said when they would have said it some people would obviously regard that as cause for berlin now if i may to stop it for a moment here you have said greece and portugal should sell their gold reserves but considering athens only has about five billion dollars worth and lisbon about twenty five billion wouldn't it just further erode confidence do you think it will look i think it's very simple i mean if you are are you can't pay our debts rorty then we have to sell whatever assets we had before we go forward and i think it's fairly new because i mean in the case particularly of portugal who to a certain degree i sympathize with because i don't think they've been run as a reckless economy in the course of the last ten years but nonetheless they have

assets they can sell them twenty billion euros or twenty billion dollars or whatever it is that they actually hold in totality in gold would be something that could help them considerably and i king kong greece well you know what i mean everyone ultimately gets fed up with. someone who just keeps passing the baking ball back interferes with like comprehensively doing something to try to help the situation and i think that it would be a very very neat thing greece were willing to sell their gold reserves because at least that would show some willing to write their economy to deal with their tight social problems and to do with the fundamental problem of the public services writer and editor patrick young a life in toronto and putting thank you very much and you. now are the e.u. is ok even christine legarde much to think about in her first days in charge of the i.m.f. she told reporters that she's picking up the baton from her predecessor to deal with the problems and reforms that began under dominic strauss kahn but artie's a christina reports there's still more interest in muckraking than money matters.

from violence on the streets of the middle east. to protests in north africa to europe. for portugal's credit rating has been deemed junk. and in greece. where unemployment hovers at about sixteen percent and the debt crisis has sparked anger nearly all of this anger stemming from poverty and failed economic policies in the us as well high unemployment sits atop a mountain of problems like a housing crisis and slow financial growth. this is the world christine legarde inherits as she begins at her new post as managing director of the international monetary fund in her first formal meeting with the press at the i.m.f. headquarters in washington she seemed optimistic in her hopes the international monetary fund is here to serve and to provide services to its hundred and eighty

seven members it's not that the offensive news stories by fill in on the world press conference that if you managing director of the i.m.f. then garner quite a bit of media attention most likely it have less to do with christine lagarde or so more to do with the reason why she's here. what lessons do you think or to be drawn from the way the u.s. legal system can go this route time case we could be any reforms in the human rights and human resources policies here you play in any changes in the white of the controversy over mr strauss kahn the controversy of course with dominique strauss kahn accused of raping a hotel maid in new york and that case now starting to crumble after it turned out the maid had credibility problems but back to the i.m.f. were low guard will take over let me ask you about a couple of issues what worries you the most guarded her best to stay on message we

cannot be only driven by the hope to reduce fiscal deficits and organize fiscal consolidation in a big way whether you look at advanced economies or whether you look at emerging markets or low income countries the issue of employment. is a critical one the one hundred eighty seven nation organization has already lent one hundred sixty billion dollars to cash strapped nations many of which have little hope for paying it back. so the real questions are manifested here on the streets of some of the nation suffering the most are expecting aid from the i.m.f. has been presented at times as the only option as austerity measures are now being put into place the questions too are in the dollar and how its value may or may not change under her watch for managing the debt crisis around the world will fall at

the top of her agenda as the rest of the world watches this hope first ability in an unstable world in washington christine freeze out our city. right now i mean ten minutes past the hour here in moscow and i still have for you why seeing the lights could be deadly. highlights of a two passenger airliner arriving from istanbul were dazzled by possible green lights aimed at the aircraft by someone on the ground lucky nothing went wrong but it's b.s. it's only a matter of time before that deadly accident occurs. with r.t. now four people have been arrested in georgia suspected of spying among them a high profile of photographers including the personal snapshots of the country's president the country's opposition has described the arrests as a populist at the start that follows the heavy sentences handed out there for spying earlier this week to a group of russians and georgians. and you've got this one off for more details on

this. you go to us so what more do we know about today's arrests at this point. the arrest started the weight of the wins there and what all until early thursday and these or some really high profile photographers to be between do calling the personal photographer of the president with the his wife was also detained also. still photographer all for the georgian foreign ministry a photographer from the associated press and the european photo press agency some really well known international news agencies we're getting word from the. the photographer off the foreign ministry his lawyer that he has gone on to hundreds of hundreds of hunger strike in protest to his detention and there are also reports that the photographer from the associated press news agency was released after and being questions now there are reports coming even from the

family members off the detainees that they could be charged with asking the arch of their homes had been searched or their computers and cameras have been seized and have now lost several few more the rights organizations in georgia are saying of this is a direct violation of the freedom of speech and are demanding their immediate release you know what about the other case we mentioned about a group of russians and georgians are getting some pretty stiff sentences for espionage what's been the reaction to that. it comes as nine people were found guilty of forming and being four of us all the spy ring and supplying secret information to the russian intelligence service on the wings they were given some really heavy jail sentences ranging from eleven to fourteen years of imprisonment the longest one was given to our russian citizen this man according to his own lawyers is because we feel and his relatives sad that they can't believe that this

could be true because this man doesn't even know it hardly knows how to use a mobile phone but in general various sky spy scandals and conspiracy theories are not new for georgia they've been going on from time to time. for many times i assume mikhail saakashvili. other countries presidents just a few years back georgian authorities said to be prevented. and all in all the various human rights organizations in the clones you see these all the stunts being conducted by georgian authorities in order to divert the public's attention away from real economic and political problems in the country right now r.t. as i look at it was kind of i thank you. well in a couple of minutes here on r.t. we report on how some people in russia coping with the age old problem of growing

up. in the west people are apprehensive about aging maybe because of the associated health problems here in russia aging is linked to poverty a loss of dignity and longing this. russia's foreign minister has slammed nato for its cynical actions in libya in an interview with russian television. said the alliance is tactical bombing the country until colonel gadhafi steps down has inflicted too many unjustified civilian deaths has been following what to say. we heard from a very vocal surrogate lover of today really criticizing what t.c. says the essential mission creep of the ongoing outside intervention into the libyan situation though he tried comparisons between what's happening in libya under the bombing of the former yugoslavia and fight saying this the come pain by

nato against colonel gadhafi has actually gone on far longer than the bombing campaign that was conducted against parts of the former yugoslavia. it's obvious that politics is a cynical matter we hear from the western capitals that the bombing should go on until gadhafi backs off but the human cost of these political statements is very high. well it wasn't just bad libya that was on the agenda first for of to speak about he also brought to syria he did say that he was concerned that the focus seems to be wholly on the assad government and how to get rid of. this isn't acceptable that the opposition should resort to violence provoking peaceful protesters to join acts of violence and therefore making them a target for police or security forces. to kill off growth the four russian foreign minister also went on to talk about relations between russia and the united kingdom

there have been some reports coming out of the u.k. that a proposed visa free regime visa free travel between russia and the united kingdom was going to be affected by the death of alexander leaf and young in two thousand and six while the former russian security offices death. according to mr knox one of those stumbling blocks when it comes to the missile defense shield the speed many many many hours spent discussing this subject mr lavrov had more to say on it today russia would be willing to be part of developing this missile defense shield in eastern europe should they be allowed. the joy in the work he did also bring up the fight that all things being written down on paper to say that this missile shield won't be used against russia which is something that. really isn't willing to tolerate he did also say that there was too much reliance upon dealing with the united states and you saw the idea of a european missile shield belongs to washington and right now there is

a closer sound a way nato to join this u.s. around global protests europe can only make a minor contribution adding some second tier eternals therefore are a key partner in the negotiations is washington busy day for circular lover of the russian foreign minister a triple header as you will of issues that he brought up to date. of our reporting right now a french ship bound for gaza has been stopped and created it comes as the un is due to report on last year's israeli raid on a humanitarian for tiller which killed nine turkish activists the report has been held back because of the well between israel and turkey which followed the attack either side can agree on the wording of an apology. or explains. well at the heart of the dispute is the whole question of an apology and here is the bill is insisting that tel aviv apologize for its role in events so called these raids have refused to do this the israeli foreign minister in particular avigdor lieberman insisting that israel will not apologize because you may be because the israelis

are fearful that it will open the floodgates for a whole photos of legal claims to be made against the jewish state instead israel says it will express its were great for the loss of life now for the last few days almost round the clock israeli and turkey three percent of just having a meeting in new york to try and hammer out some kind of agreement that is acceptable to both sides we understand that the sticking point is over the wording of the document now no doubt both sides want to reach some kind of agreement quiet here in issuing this report because it will help in terms of the conciliation it will be much harder for the reconsideration to be made after the report is issued but we do understand at this stage is that the view is that the u.n. report says that the blockade is not illegal but it does criticize israel for excessive use of force and you need to remember that back excessive use of force with nine turkish citizens on board the largest ship there not the mamma did athens has imposed

a blanket ban preventing any ship from sitting sail if it plans to sail to gaza what we do know is that one of the ships the french both which is called the dignity that has some eighty twelve people on board it's a sale is today wednesday but today when it's stuck to the fuel increase there it was stopped by the greek authorities and now the ship known as the audacity of hope its american captain was booted detained the charges were that he was in danger in the safety of passengers he has been released but that is not necessarily a good sign of all because another ship a canadian ship it is known is that he met that ship did sit sail it's also been forced to return to greece and made all of the passengers and all the crew onboard have been detained at the same time there is something. i mean that's being called a flight and that is an expectation of some six hundred activists from fifty european destinations flying into israel's largest airport being very intimate find a nice meal coroutines if you can well imagine are on high alert israeli police is

reporting that they have the names of some three hundred people who plan to fly in israeli police are not confirming that but no doubt they will be a lot of attention tomorrow on the airport where people plan to show their support not only for the fertility but for the people of gaza and palestinians in general. policy of reporting right there in tel aviv an hour twenty minutes past the hour her car airliners are out there are so vulnerable during takeoff and landing but now there's an increasing threat from the ground or the being of lights to get rid of retrofit reports on the police hunt for the hooligans with a laser pointers which blind pilots of the worst possible moment i hear it becomes clear proof that the dazzle of a laser in the eye can be a major distraction for food bill or question or knowledge and used the consequences could be catastrophic if someone is targeted well flying an aircraft with hundreds of passengers on board and blinding colors by laser beams has become

increasingly uses in russia over fifty attacks registered since the beginning of the year. the latest incident was. when the pilots of a tupolev passenger airliner riding from istanbul were done as old by popple green light aimed at the aircraft by someone on the ground just minutes later and not that far. but i think that but it's only a matter of time before that that occurs to me we were going to during landing just one hundred meters above the ground when we were only a kilometer away from the runway as a result we were in danger of losing control the crew was dazzled in a catastrophe could have happened. in the worst case scenario pilots can learn to automatically but not all aircraft can land on autopilot and even if they do those in the cockpits need to remain in control and be able to see. the effect

of a laser beam on a pilot can be compared to that of lightning a blind you potentially lethal laser guns imported from china can be bought in russia for as little as one hundred dollars firing a laser beam as far as five kilometers they can burn through paper and even plastic . in the u.s. sales of such devices are banned russian legislators are also considering outlawing them and toughening punishment for this advance those some are shining a spotlight on the police calling for more action in court everyone is waiting for a new laws but there's no excuse for peace and action on the ground our current legislation is good enough is allows for the arrest and imprisonment of such fools for up to ten years in prison as of now there has been only one arrest in russia for intentionally targeting an aircraft with a laser with his suspect still under investigation attempting to down

a plane by other means would be classed as terrorism public concern in russia is rising about the potentially equally serious waste from laser lots and their high tech hooliganism it's been going to chew over our team. for it allowing our regular russia close ups there is our crew takes him to the gateway to siberia. crushers a gun a regionalized south of the mighty ural mountains and his second by the famous transit siberian railway area is one of russia's main suppliers keeping a rich agricultural heritage with one over siberia as oldest cities as its capital it also has an aging population but authorities are on a boycott i found out it's a novel way there is now to give them

a helping hand to the ultimate. she may be eighty nine but alexandra ivana doesn't have too many happy memories to dwell on a long list childhood a work color to youth a hard working adult life funny five she married an older man and devoted her time to caring for him they do have children so she always knew eventually she. b. all along. people used to ask me why oh worked so much they would so you don't have kids why do you need money and i would respond if i had kids they'd help me when i'm old and since i don't have children i needed to work hard at these they would accept me in a retirement home you have her faith you could turn she could never have expected when alexander could no longer care for herself and was about to move into a nursing home a local family offered to adopt her overnight she received two grown up kids and a granddaughter who seemed to need her just as much as she needed them my mother

passed away and we just couldn't come to terms with it we were really longing to her grandmother her advice accompany an elder process around this family's part of the senior adoption program pioneered in that regard region six years ago the local authorities say it's a win win for all involved with senior citizens receiving family care and their drafting family getting benefit payments in return. one hundred dollars a month may not seem like a lot but in remote russian villages where jobs are scarce any source of income is valuable. if you place a senior citizen in a nursing home it costs the local budget between four hundred and five hundred dollars per month but where they live with families is down to about one hundred dollars per person that konami could factor is obvious but the most important thing is that elderly people enjoy the conference openly life yet despite its apparent all round appeal the program is still small involving only around fifty passion or

is there is a cultural reason for it traditionally in russia elder care has been seen as a responsibility of family members being placed in a nursing home we still are still seated machine and stigma and it seems that the idea of living with strangers is not be easiest south are either. wonder scansion or join galina and her mother the arrangement was it would be only for a year or so not to seventy two and has no children or close relatives and she's deeply concerned her deteriorating health will be a burden for others. like it here we haven't heard a single fight for them why should they care for me when i can barely move around i don't want to burden anyone else and that doesn't feel there is a lot to celebrate about being all that helps her remaining time will be brief she starts at least now she has somebody to talk to. getting older is one of the

biggest fears in the russian society with wars over terrorism natural disasters and crime and while in the west people are about aging me because of the associated health problems here in russia aging is linked to poverty what's of dignity and wellness. but at least put these two pensioners it's not longer the same old story a sound like an artsy call down the region. gotten out of business news with current. power walk into business this hour go to our top story europe belsky central bank has decided to increase its interest rates by twenty five basis points in order to call inflation the move could help europe strong economies to avoid overheating could be a double edged sword for reform or countries. we should reach decisions time and

requires a means higher interest rates across the whole of the euro area and foresee that doesn't apply uniformly so will russia seeing is that words in the pre-crisis period for a given level of e.c.b. interest rates businesses and households across the year area would face would be comparable interest rates of dollars of where he was situated why now we have a position whereby interest rates in say germany are far lower businesses and households and we are in the periphery say for greece or portugal so although we do hope all those raise interest rate increase does mean higher rates across the whole of the us unfortunately it's the areas that need least tartus movements across russia to have the most heartening as a result of this decision. stocks in the u.s. are higher the start of the trading session boosted by better news on jobs the government reported thursday that the number of people making first time claims for unemployment benefits the lowest in seven weeks target corporation costco all sales corp and other major retailers are also reporting stronger sales produce and

european indices extended their rise after the european central bank raised main interest rate to one and a half percent and hinted more increase in coming months the bank of england has kept its key interest rate unchanged as worries about the economy's recovery outweighed concerns about above target inflation the footsie on the dax up pointing upwards and london hedge fund manager martin group rallied mostly percent after reporting record sales of nine billion dollars in the latest quarter and here in russia markets are trading strongly in the black tracking games in the us all majors like look all are gaining amid stronger crude still bank is up supported by news it may see a record net profit the first half of the year. that's all we have time for in this edition of business report be back with more about forty five minutes from now stay with.