thousands of people are gathering all over russia demanding fair elections with more demonstrations planned ahead of the presidential vote in march but more on the president's meeting in the politics section of our website r.t. dot com and while you're there check out what else we've lined up for you online at the moment slipping into fascism u.s. presidential candidate ron paul warns america is on a dangerous path with its broken government ruled by corporate giants. the website of many high tech stun cannons on guarded russian ports the country's planning to buy the state of the art weapons to fight underwater terrorists all the details for you at r.t. dot com. south korea is held live fire military drills on islands near its disputed maritime border with the north despite the threats of retaliation from pyongyang the country does not appear to have reacted so far in two thousand and ten north korea responded to a similar drills from its neighbor with an artillery attack that killed four people

and raised fears of a wider conflict well for more on that let's now talk to. a higher state university professor well north korea has called the drills premeditated military provocation so far there's been no response is one likely do you think. i think it is quote possible if not immediately. next the courage on your home a new regime. actually a new dictator if you will in north korea. is . probably would be one way to do that so in effect are we seeing south korea sizing up this new leadership in north korea. no not at all i think that these exercises have been going on for as long as i can remember. i don't think that the south korean leadership want to

shoulder. it is weak it is preparing for the man's out of north korea that. you know are sure to come when we see any change in the relationship at all between north and south as a result of the new leader now in the korea. i doubt very much deal only think that can bring change if and when the west realizes that the policy is there is of in north korea have failed in my opinion so what should the west policies be then. the west does. number of the deal with north korea they're essentially. the north korea regime to stay in part by providing you with a system. where many billions of dollars in return for

disarmament did not happen they have already made the same deal twice so you probably didn't also coriander hold a hope to make it for a third time and it would be a fairly stupid thing to do again if i could maybe something to get blunted you like that the interesting thing of course is that u.s. and north korean officials will be meeting to discuss pyongyang's controversial nuclear program what do you hope could come out of that because clearly that is creating tensions isn't it the nuclear program there north korea north but of course of course again the main problem is that it has been proven time and time again and whatever deal will be cemented and signed it will be immediately by a by north korea and as soon as they get if you were fooled and cash they're there they are hoping to get so from that perspective. you know this is going to go

on forever right here the chinese are also the elated to have such an arrangement where they have power and control over north korea where really the americans and everyone are something to be a professor and a chink i thank you very much for your thoughts good to have you here on r.t. thank you. it's. now twenty two minutes past the hour in the russian capital let's turn our attention to some other news stories from around the world rebels in sudan's darfur region say they have taken at least forty nine international peacekeepers hostage they claim soldiers entered their territory without permission and were accompanied by suspected intelligence officers most of those seized a senegalese troops with the joint u.n. african union peace mission. writes in senegal intensified days before the country's crucial presidential demonstrators set cars ablaze created roads as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at least six people of the violence and

started last month tess's demand president abdullah order withdraws his bid for a third term in office as it contradicts the constitution he says the decision should not apply to him as the term limit was put in place while he was in office. york in gulko a pastor and former east germany human rights activists looks sure to be germany's next president and he's the have the backing of chancellor angela merkel in all political parties as a replacement for christian it will who was forced to quit last week over corruption allegations merkel had opposed gox bid for the presidency in two thousand and ten in favor of civil rights. but shortly our intrepid explorer james brown takes you traveling across russia that'll be after the business news with dmitri stay with us for that. welcome to business r.t. while prices have jumped to the highest levels in months after iran halted crude

exports to the u.k. and france on sunday the move follows the european union's decision to stop buying a rainy and oil standing in july west coast persuade iran to curb its nuclear program now it was saying right now is brand new one hundred twenty dollars per barrel of diggings for west texas crude also one hundred five experts don't expect crude prices to climb much i as they say reining in risks for the most part of already been priced in this by a surgeon prices analysts say runs decision is more of a symbolic act even server development cost you from not capital expects the issue to keep prices high for months to come this particular story has been taking a lot longer than one should expect and i expect it can last for another several months during which the oil will be a normally high. but i am pretty sure that as soon as this will be the result one way or another the oil will remain lies what is the normal price of oil definitely

for w. should be below one hundred dollars per barrel because otherwise the price for. regular unleaded will be more than four dollars a gallon which is kind of disastrous in the year off the presidential campaign whatever it is higher than that considers a normal level but we. definitely experience that in the months to come. meanwhile iran is turning to barter as it offers gold and oil in return for food you can make sanctions by the united states and europe make it difficult for iran to pay for imports and euros and dollars rainy and traders are in talks with russia over using rubles to pay for grain over the past two weeks around brought more than one million tons of grain from russia a significant increase on last year. so you look at the markets and the new u.s.

they closed for president's day meanwhile europe is pretty upbeat at the close the french finance minister says all elements are now in place for greece to get its next bailout allotment plans for c.n.n. today are point seven percent the dax up almost one and a half percent. and russia similar picture with the r.t.s. up more than one percent in my six hour point seven percent mainly driven by energy and financial shares as you can see there are on the figures gazprom point seven percent gas burbank up three quarters of a percent continuing its long rally but russia's biggest beer brewer baltic is among the main gainers up fourteen percent on news its parent company. will be buying out the remaining twenty percent stake involved at a premium to markets. and the euro is seeing some gains versus the greenback doesn't hopes the european leaders would sign on to reach a second bailout package and on china's montreal easing over the weekend in russia

the group will weakened versus the euro but strengthen versus. cash strapped ukraine may get yet another discount for russian gas the energy ministry in moscow is calling for the resumption of negotiations now follows a decision by gas prom last week to cut prices for european customers by ten percent maximum score from u.b.s. believes the russian gas monopoly will have to offer more concessions if it wants to remain. insulated the ball decision because you have to somehow. sustain your market share in the environment for your cycling and they said to yourself cheaper and more flexible as you can provide so then you should be out of this situation at least ten percent of it just covers the twenty percent of the total exports for a bag of the euro the question was eighty percent remains so then potentially this ten percent is what gets them is really to provide to you to put away to other

customers to the biggest customers so for now business r.t. is back next hour with an update in thirty five minutes time. all. wealthy british style but it's america that's not on the tires on. the. markets why not

come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with max cause or for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to kaiser report on. the. blind rush is going to be so much brighter if you knew all about song from finest impressions. please f'rinstance on t.v. dot com.

this is our. top stories now the chinese state media says the u.s. and nato countries support of syria's opposition fighters is driving the nation into. beijing and moscow are calling for a political settlement in the country with a top diplomat visiting damascus. greece's criticism. of the next one hundred thirty billion. population.

cuts. to iran currently being visited by u.n. inspectors insists it atomic program is peaceful. stories and other developments and analysis in the meantime we explore a museum of classic cars and join a traditional russian community celebrating the coming of spring a journey to god is next on our team. for almost eight hundred years news has stood along the banks of the volga river and its one of european russia's most picturesque cities is the fourth largest in the country an important economic and cultural center and home to one point three million people. steadily one of the better waterfront views of nice

name you can see where the river meets the volga and also take a good look at the city's famous markets and some of its churches. streets are filled with echoes of its past from the statues that line the promenade to the city's beautiful range of architecture but it's also home to a modern business community and one of the biggest markets here is transport. so this is a. minibus they're everywhere in russia cheap reliable and if you're very lucky really comfy. and seventy percent of them are made here. and they're made by guys one of the city's most famous brands they've been producing automobiles since the one nine hundred thirty s. and all the classics are on display in the company music. so you can see that used

to produce some pretty snazzy family vehicles including the famous volga which every soviet citizen wanted to own but it's commercial vehicles that have always been the company's. old. back in one nine hundred thirty two this very first thing that rolled off the production line. the guy has a. they still make trucks today. of course along side the mission because. gas is seen some tough times but production is now on the increase and it's all overseen by swedish c.e.o. bowen dessen who previously worked for general motors for more than twenty years.

grab among the big a small. slip. excuse me strengthen james brown the company thank you very much for having us on have you got a minute to tell us more about it up and running off the. i've been looking at the museum so you can already see there's a long history with sweetness and you know the road on gas how important do you think this factory and company offer the city begins extremely important i mean first next year we're turning eighty or. psycho only they go through been anything noble old laws that the seventy five without the whole nation building we have three plants here of frequent lexus is a lot this is three thousand hectares of land. and there's fifteen thousand employees are expecting a busy time ahead that churning out one of the most popular minibuses the guys

micro bus on this line and each component is fitted in a matter of seconds they each cost around fourteen thousand dollars and they can produce four hundred every day. then once the puzzles been put together there's just a few final checks to take care of. sort of the last test that they. make so the inside cars will separate say. with my fingers firmly crossed we into the car wash. ok as you can see i was prepared for the spots but can safely say these are doing a very good job. but dr. point tour of gas was almost over but unfortunately my new minibus wasn't taking me home but at least in a commercial vehicles company you can always hitch a lift in something. once started with a very modern factory but now i want to get

a feel from this nice cultural life well you might not think it to look around here but when it is almost over there's a few buds up here on the trees i'll always come to this old village to have a look at a very traditional. rite of spring new right. to be light on your feet for the celebration. of the wrong season this guy. this big black cars because. sadly my tank spills on. much of the break to join only to find out a little more about what was going on. for. some time. too old for this previous who don't know so what's going on here then there is

a bit of marrow making going on here spring has come the snow is melting away and you call them swift edition but it's a festive occasion. and it's been celebrated for well over a century mothers would bake shaped biscuits and when everyone how to treat it was time for the procession. everybody sings in books around the village leaving a biscuit on the door of every house. the idea of putting these little birds here is that they're supposed to attract the real you'll then fly down and bring spring with. the nesting locks were regarded as a good omen meant to protect the villages homes from fire and disease and finally when the biscuits are thrown into the air it's believed they become part of spring

itself. but if you're taking part in this ritual you might want to keep an eye on your new friends. the way it's apparent i've got some spring inside. and this snow is also supposed to be good for your health. go right down my neck. now the spring had officially sprung i was eager to continue my sightseeing and all got pointed me in the direction of one of the area's most popular tourist spots this has got to get it literally means little town in russian and it's one of the most picturesque places in this me no growed region originally though it was founded as a front here outpost and it's the place where the most famous russian warrior principal time i was on the nevski died. over the

centuries gora jets gained an enviable reputation renowned for its painting architecture and woodwork and down by the riverside there's a house where the old arts are still practiced nowadays the artists make souvenirs and entertain the hundreds of visitors who pass through here every week. well i think. these guys tackled the brushwork today but i'm still going to take on something birch additional and very russian but it's much more up my street. burst back in the day having a couple was a very elaborate affair in all my time in russia i'd never had tea from a some of our and i was garrett jets post the largest exhibition in the country it seemed like a good place to break the habit there are some of us here that date back to the seventeenth century from single person pops to ones that can hold more than fifty

liters of water but always talking really was making me thirsty. but i've got to have a drink so. let's go ok. but there was still some serious preparations to take care of. there's a good. getting the sum of all going takes time once you're out of your water you need to put in plenty of kindling lighting up. more pile on the charcoal well now we give it some air. you have done only way you . can put on the chimney. and now we wait. it was pretty cold outside and i was getting a little impatient yes. ok let's take this off ok now i'm lost for each. level. but apparently the

russians had an ingenious method to turn up the heat you just needed to give it a good showing ok that's. over to my. point of. going to have it doesn't taste i'm. going to be very tired and i've heard of. the wellington. boots. and with all some of them are steaming we headed into the dining room to be greeted by a fantastic spread. so through all that effort i think this is a couple that deserves a bit of ceremony and they definitely do off noon tea here and there are deaths. it was a very civilized way to end my trip together and yes but sadly i haven't come to the

news me region for tea and cakes. ah. the time for relaxation was over ok well it wouldn't be discovering russia if i didn't do something bizarre and potentially dangerous outdoors so i've come here to a place called extreme and to see what they've got. it's set in several hectares of land around an hour's drive from but they promise it's worth the trip ok well this looks interesting it seems that one of the most popular activities here involves inflatable fruit going very fast i guess i need to cry out i think if i fall off the extreme but on a. this is

a puts. her. hand attached to another snowmobile but was given a tour of the complex. even gripping on for dear life one save you on the stage. so this is going to. take two. zero six. zero zero to several crashes and might be around a rest but here is extreme they make you put up or shut up. those who are still. growing. so i thought i was going to break. the army it's time. to show that a little bit intends. to.

have no idea what i'm going royce. people with this royal. it seems that if i wanted my lumps i was going to have to fight for my food and he's a watching a celebrity gladiator programmes would eventually come in handy. maybe launch filled cubes but believe me he still didn't want to get smacked in the wrong place for. the bottle went back and forth but i knew in the end brain even highly tactical assault on the red team would seem very. well. so. if. there's one important. that they can be quite a come down once the adrenaline ways off.

who ever thought inflatable things could be so dangerous. in this case of ducking when our good boy. i had suffered enough for one day and i was ready to head back to the safety of the city it was time to explore more of ground itself i just needed to find someone to keep me around. oh i see. it's all designed to keep you close in your small world as a prison. so you leave somebody in there for a couple hours like that in a stress positions. you have this fear of the unknown in this stress sort of

building and. i've seen interrogations go on ten twelve hours they chose songs i remember from marilyn manson the current slayer the two songs would be angel of death and raining blood. those are war coming up here into iraq into baghdad. johnny pull the bodies to the floor which is the rock n roll band it was fitting for the job we were doing to. leave.

i don't he seen plenty of the outskirts of nizhny novgorod but it was time to get out and take a proper look at the region's capital. it's always good to get a bit of local knowledge on these trips so i'm off to meet a man who's going to help me get to know him if you know i'm good a little bit better. soon sorry david nice to meet you. beautiful me a little bit of news me i want to shows will force the crime of bad taste you're going to come up.