a razor thin majority prompting his opposition rival to demand a recount. of the electoral uncertainty foreign players are keeping a close. look at who is going up the nation's energy rich. celebrations of the founding fathers birthday pass peacefully in north korea. by a missile test misguided. a turkish court a. ten month suspended sentence over series of tweets. claims sectarianism is taking hold of the country our top stories this hour. on the world twenty four hours

a day this is live from moscow in an unexpectedly close race venezuelans look to have voted for hugo chavez's hand-picked successor as the next president electing nicolas what duros suggests. will live on after his death from cancer however rival and he is refusing to concede demanding a recount because figures show he's only two hundred thousand votes behind. in the capital caracas with the latest. talk about the reaction coming from the supporters of it was almost instant as soon as the results were announced the fireworks were going off cars were honking and people his supporters on the street very excited very happy of course about the results but there were there was a lot of waiting really hours of of anticipation people holding their breath because the not the margin really has been very very narrow let me just read to you the latest figures that we have it's fifty point sixty six percent for forty nine

point zero seven percent this is out of a seventy eight point seventy one percent participation and this is about ninety nine percent of the votes counted already at this point initial reaction came out saying that the fight will continue the revolution work will continue alluding very much to google child this is a very and revolution and said come out though. being very quite negative he came out saying that he there were allegations of voting fraud and he wanted a recount you know that had the campaign really on a platform invoking hugo chavez it was at the core and you have to want something new wanted a change in direction and it's a diverse opinion of the two men is evident among the people we've spoken to a lot of them in the past few days are very enthusiastic very passionate about their belief the different direction they want to take a venezuela however what's clear though is that all the citizens regardless of who

they voted for a recount was all the problems that they want solved and without a charismatic character like chavez to ask assuage the fears of the concerns of citizens it will be a very very tough challenge for. first of all to unite a very divided country a second of all to address the problems. mr sulu there in venezuela's choice is of great interest abroad as the country sits on one of the world's biggest oil reserves but. earlier to auntie's business analyst the television it's got about what is at stake. basically trying to sort out the presidential election in venezuela but as they are sorting out the ballots and trying to get a possible recount oil thirsty nations around the world are keeping a very close watch absolutely and of course for a good reason as well is actually a very juicy morsel what i'm comes to oil and gas especially oil it has a whopping two hundred ninety seven billion barrels of oil reserves comparable only

to saudi arabia and actually even higher than saudi arabia which is the world's leading or energy exporter now when it comes to exporting oil it's actually ninety five percent of its export revenues come from energy so that really makes russia's energy dependency pale in comparison so essentially it's a dime in the rough relatively low production levels but a huge potential there huge potential there they just need to. get i suppose of the labor working there and also the infrastructure to get the oil out from underneath the ground but there regardless of what we understand that my daughter has won the election in venezuela his rival capitulates is calling for a recount regardless of who actually takes the top job in venezuelan politics how could that affect the energy policy that well the fact could actually be dramatic would do it's more or less clear a lot of policy continuity and of course we're probably going to see the leftist governments in latin america continue to receive support now with caprice as it's

not as clear we could see a complete about face when it comes to energy policies but even if. we see that at the moment that. everything stays as it is it's really a signal that capri lives has a lot of support not only within as well but also outside of the country and of course you know u.s. energy companies cannot wait to get back into the country have to being kicked out of there when you talk about u.s. companies or as you were saying earlier with venezuela having such a huge reserve of oil for the world there must be some major global players who are keeping an extraordinarily close watch on venezuela right well essentially it's a fight between russia and the united states with china also being a major player they are not markets u.s. companies as i mentioned were kicked out starting in the seventy's when the oil and gas sector was nationalized but really that policy was cemented during charges ironically it's still the biggest consumer of venezuelan oil but it's really trying

to get back into the country now russia has a major presence there all of the country's oil and gas companies have long term contracts in that as well and of course china is a huge investor in just several years ago china's state owned bank agreed to lend venezuela a whopping forty billion dollars against future crude sales so there you go interesting stuff indeed we'll have to see if his poor all pans out r.t.o. business i will not touch on your pleasure thanks for coming out today. if we do is inaugurated as president venezuela is likely to continue its strong ties with latin american allies while pursuing u.s. sentiment well that's the view of a professor of latin american history to to go. well i think we're going to see a continuation of venezuelans foreign policy i think there's a difference between criticizing us and being anti american i think will see a promotion of latin american policy the promotion of a multi-polar world that is the u.s. is not the dominant issue on their agenda they have relations with russia with

china with europe with with latin american countries and will see i think a continuity within that that's been part of the strength promoted by the chavez administration and my little recall was the foreign minister in charge of chalices foreign policy why i think the opposition will definitely be emboldened by the may have a small window to operate the venezuelan constitution permits a recall within three years i wouldn't doubt that unless my little gets traction and addresses these issues significantly and quickly the opposition may mount a challenge again in three years that's what they did to charges in two thousand and four over the website of the moment in r.t. don't call me asking you what is next for venezuela just a leader but duros well let's see how you've been voting so far we can see here on screen that most of you think they'll be chaos caused by the us interfering because it's not actually satisfied with the result to some to quarter believe that chavez plan will succeed and twenty first century socialism will be established only some

of you agree that team won't be able to handle the job and the economy will stagnate and even less see opposition rallies and protests in the future because to hear what you have to say log on to dot com. well korean celebrations commemorating its founding fathers birthday rover and fears of a missile launch to mark the occasion have proven unfounded in fact didn't even hold a military parade showing off its military might something that's become

a tradition on reports now from russia's far east. the birthday of the late leader the founder of the country kim il sung could've seen missile test launches coming from the country as all the most of the world media has been reporting the day has now finished here in the far east and we have seen no missiles flying above us in the sky moreover new slow coming from north korea has been practically nonexistent on this day there has been no reports whatsoever even on diplomatic level apart from the fact that north koreans were celebrating their biggest holiday the id it on the day of the sun now such developments have led many experts especially online to believe that this is just another example of how north korea was turned into a media target for the western world for the western media everyone was so excited so crazily reporting about the possible missile test missile launch date that

everyone just basically neglected the fact that north korea wasn't really willing to conduct of those test launches but at the same time the recent history of media coverage of events happening in north korea have great that some concerns whether the threat which is being portrayed by the western media is really having anything to do with the reality let it be some war mongering rhetoric coming from pyongyang or even a visit by the former n.b.a. player dennis rodman or google officials to pyongyang everything which relates to north korea creates something of a big scandal in the western media anywhere across the world. well north korea's lack of action is once again leading to questions over the billions of u.s. dollars spent on the military in the region something some experts believe is provoking pyongyang even further want to take a look now at the figures here on the screen according to some estimates at least twelve billion dollars spent annually on what the u.s. calls maintaining peace in the peninsula some of that money goes towards keeping

almost thirty thousand u.s. troops stationed in south korea to give an example of how much the joint drills at the bank of the north could have cost dispatching two stealth bombers to drop dummy bombs during recent exercises well that would have cost as much as piven one hundred million dollars well let's discuss the situation around north korea further with erik's iraq and he's an international human rights lawyer and mediator joining me live in the u.s. eric there's a lot of concern and speculation that today celebrations would result in a missile launch but instead we saw lots of singing and a huge display of display of flowers so why was there that was it justified you know others there's always a surprise i guess when it comes to dealing with the d.p. r. k. with north korea there is not always accuracy as you pointed out in your story reported in a lot of the western press we choose to focus in good zealously thrusting our coverage on a particular missile a particular launch and we miss the larger picture and so i think what i think it's

a powerful message that they're sending at this point in time both their independence but also the idea as has been stated that they would be willing to walk hand in hand and have peace with the region and with the united states with appropriate. agreement in treaty and somewhere solution to this problem so do you think that message will be received that we could change perhaps see a change of rhetoric towards north korea as a result of what's happened today. well i think in the united states that officials in the middle if you will the brits have been read baited him treated as if they're radical to propose anything but a hard line against north korea what we're beginning to see is a little shift in that and hopefully secretary kerry can have the courage to make peace by sitting down and dialoguing and using any opportunity he can as

a justification to deter the critics and to step forward and say we need to talk about these issues it's not something that comes about through weapons and through the dropping of the bombs and the shooting of live ammunition and the other provocations that have been going on it comes about by sitting down at a negotiating table or you have to return to europe isn't there a stumbling point here and that is the u.s. are ready to talk if north korea gives up its nuclear weapons on that proviso and that's not realistic that's going to happen is it. it's not going to happen and certainly not in that vein i mean we have pakistan shooting off doing underground nuclear tests and engaging in other activities pakistan which housed. osama bin laden if you will pakistan who we have a very mixed relationship with visa b. al-qaeda they have nuclear weapons are not part of the nonproliferation treaty but we put this emphasis on north korea when this happens we have to ask why that is

going on and really if the united states wants to justify its larger military buildup in the region without that with a peaceful a situation on the korean peninsula it doesn't give us the ability to build this ring around china so we need to step back look at what the motivations are because north korea actually gets singled out unfairly and the real question becomes why isn't it finally significant that china wants to see a de nuclearize north korea without putting too much pressure on it it's on the same page as the u.s. here and china's position is vital in all of this isn't it. you know i think china's is i think russia's position is vital and they seem silent on this issue and not taking a stance about peace in the region china stepping forward about a denuclearized korean peninsula that had been the commitment of the parties in the six party talks when they were going on all along that was the intent of the united

states first interjected more than seven hundred nuclear weapons in south korea and just took them out in the early ninety's this is a situation in which certainly china does not want to see a nuclear weapon go off or be used on the korean peninsula and i think it's beginning to wake up to the notion that that base is being built a jesuit island large unable base the build up of the war exercises in the war games are not just focused on north korea but are aimed a little further to the west to china international human rights law remediate to erick's can live in the u.s. thank you very much indeed for joining us here naughty thank you over the tension focus on the korean crisis the b.b.c. is under fire for pushing the boundaries of ethics in pursuit of a good story you can top financial school the london school of economics is accusing the broadcaster of endangered the lives of its students by using them to

covertly shoot a documentary the network embedded under cover journalist with a group of students visiting pyongyang without the university's consent the general secretary of the ses students' union alex peters day told me earlier why the situation has cause so much anger. the group was just told that their one journalist would be a print journalist only it wasn't until they actually arrived in north korea did they find out that they'll be a document to which they're be appearing on it wasn't until they arrived in beijing to fly over to north korea that they were joined by the journalists and when we're talking about a trip like this with a risk there involved i think it's so important machines would have been briefed all stages and would be made aware and they just went in this case the b.b.c. deliberately mis held information from them i mean they could have been detained a couple of years ago and to an american journalist were found to have been doing undercover journalism in north korea they're all sentenced to nine years of hard labor obviously right now as we just head the climate north korea is even more heightened than it was back then but shouldn't should have the right to make that

decision for themselves whether or not they're going to face danger and the problem for us is that the b.b.c. made that decision for them and students after returning home they received threatening letters from the north korean government and now we're in a situation where not only is the welfare of our students at risk but also elysees work academic work in researching places like north korea and other political sense of areas which is so important and that's been jeopardized because alice is now a source heated with undercover illegal activities the b.b.c. gambled with students' lives and i think that's not ok and for the b.b.c. to go out publicly and say deceit is ok and that any length they will get their thirty minute documentary i think that sends such a negative message especially at this time when the b.b.c.'s reputation isn't perfect and i think they should make sure they have enough trust in their viewers. with more news for you shortly after the break stay with us or to live in moscow.

it's technology innovations all the developments around russia we've got the future covered.

the international airport in the very heart of moscow. news continues here in l a t cyprus is holding out an olive branch to foreign investors who lost at least three million euros each thanks to a not deal by offering them citizenship investors are angry after their bank accounts were raided last month so the country secure could secure a rescue package and some are worried that with billions still left to pay it could happen again well joining me now is entrepreneur an expert in financial markets and investment patrick young now patrick. well offered residency or not of saddam see and that's what i call perfect compensation what do you think. it is but on the other habits it was it's rather expensive to actually i mean some of these sorts of schemes that are offered by say islands in the caribbean are

a grid do cheaper than the perhaps several million that you've got to have lost in order to manage to qualify here of course it comes with completely uses and ship which in some ways is a little bit ironic because of course one of the reasons why i say for example germany was so ok to have these particular kind told us lose all this money was because they thought that perhaps some of the money was rather shared so therefore they've given the people citizenship instead it's a it's a masterstroke by cyprus actually i think they're doing very well in trying to resurrect their banking system as best they can but on the other hand it's a world in which well everything in the firmament is moving so quickly it's tough for them to know how to respond well the cyprus president he says he understands investors' frustration and he blames what he calls the hypocritical agreement who should investors really be angry with here. well now actually the good thing is there's no single person that we can call the bogeyman and this will take tried fully going back several years the management of cyprus's banks and walls krivsky i

mean these were people who are actively gamble the functions of the banks on declining greek assets and it all points in time when lots of western banks were actually pulling out to what was the the greek debt market they were actually doubling up i mean essentially that was a huge gamble so that was a very bad thing to have done in the first place at the same time the european union really treated cyprus fairly no not in any way cyprus has been made a scapegoat because essentially there is a german election coming and what the germans want to do is demonstrate that mrs merkel is being very very strong and bold against all those people in the southern mediterranean who the german tabloids love to hate and regard as being lazy people who don't do enough work where many say that the authorities that we you really fudged this whole deal but also what about their sons did they get the figures right how come seventeen billion euros was quoted as being in the first place and

now that's been increased to twenty three billion euros that's quite a difference why can't they make their mind up well of course of the european union has a fabulous history of not getting it sums right bear in mind that the european union itself has not actually been able to help its alters sign off the european union as a kite for the last eight years so there are certainly key reasons why this could happen to be fair part of this is probably because when you get into an asset collapse after a bubble actually as you keep scrimping things away you discover assets that are being priced at a higher level on a company or a bank's books than these really realistic it's the same situation going on at the moment and stay in spanish and so on and something like eighty billion euro is worth a property except for the fact that any billion euro is worth the property there valuing of the value they thought it was worth and so. two thousand and nine which is probably forty percent more than it's worth right now like the sorts of things happen when you strip away you can find don't see huge problems at the same time it

also has to be said that the european union has been well remarkably naive all times in believing doubt it was given by banks and indeed governments within southern mediterranean nations because it conflicts with greece or greece well just briefly you're being very cynical and obviously you've always been very skeptical about bailouts in the past but it is working isn't it patrick today we're hearing that greece is now looking at perhaps a growth in it's a call to me next year so that's something to celebrate isn't it it's absolutely fantastic that we're hearing that there might be growth in the greek economy as soon as next year we sincerely hope that it's going to turn right because truly the situation is that a generation of greek you have been invalidated at this point in time in terms of unemployment there are no jobs you've got fifty percent unemployment amongst the young it's an incredibly solar arctic mass and ultimately you need a lot more than one and a half or two percent growth in order to manage to get those people back into work

and to really restructure that economy yes or no but yes or no just finally where we see growth do you believe that yes or no just finally i've never believed any statistic in greece for the last ten years i find this one very difficult to treat young and old to put an expert in financial markets thank you very much indeed for your thoughts on r.t. thank you. well now to some international news in brief at least fifty five people have been killed and two hundred fifty injured in a spate of bomb explosions across iraq at fault most of the blast were car bombs with one attack carried out by a suicide bomb explosions happened just days before provincial elections fourteen candidates have now been killed in the lead up to the poll. forty seven people have been arrested outside the naval base in scotland housing the u.k.'s nuclear deterrent the submarine mounted trident missiles the group called scrap trident is running to demand the weapons disarmed and funds spent instead on disability benefits education and welfare the earlier stages similar protests in the center of

laws go trade union members scottish m.p.'s and activists taking part. a ten month suspended prison sentence has been handed down in turkey to a renowned composer and pianist over a series of tweets mocking islam fazul say was first charged with denigrating religion in june last year facing up to eighteen months behind bars at the time the musician wants a cultural ambassador to the e.u. is a high profile critic of the islamic led government of prime minister erdogan and says his punishment is purely political parties belief and explains rejected conservative islamic ideals are returning to the country which has long been trying to become a member of the european union. all these years i thought murder was a sin then i got new instructions from the good lord himself in his favorite language english the simpsons has kept its humor close to the bone for many years but for turkey's radio and television a supreme council in charge of monitoring media content it's now gone too far if

you are more liberal you can say that yes it's not an insult it's a joke but those who are more conservative may feel it and then we'll go on to other of the protection of their beliefs this episode cost a company that protested thirty thousand us dollars the council dominated by the prime minister's party has fined the same media group for promoting smoking through allianz in america and violence against women after showing oliver stone's alexander without discussing. i can't imagine how celtic broadcasting world we've created for many turkish women real life is far more insulting to them than western movies at first glance they are free to wear and do what they want but the head of the group women of the republic says there is a lot of pressure on them the reformed education system is split into three parts

of four years it's the result thousands of girls leave school before the end encouraging your marriages the state promotes heaven at least five kids only three out of ten women today go to work it's far from a democratic model of society. turkish opposition says there is a dangerous tendency here nine decades after turkey broke with islamic rule of the ottoman empire in favor of a ninety clerical pro western vision the ideas and values that were jacked it appear to some to be making a comeback becoming only slam. tells you what to do what to do what not to do. what not to eat what to eat with islamic ideas comes islamic symbols they form a great also books church on the turkish plexi coast is currently i'm using you know service has been held here for fifty years but so on its walls will once again reign with the sound of prayer this time not led by priests but any mom it's quite a religious conversion

a seven century old christian heritage site is about to become a mosque and from that point on will only be open to muslim men access for women will be restricted they don't want to. close visitors we are coming here for breakfast tourists come here it is good for travelers on earth often miscue around i think there are enough i guess sophia has already been used as a mosque durance long history after the ottoman sultan conquered turkey to date seems the country's given itself up voluntarily one example could be the leaks drafts for new uniforms for flight attendants on turkish airlines they show the nation's image will be represented by long captains skirts below the knee and autumn in style fast caps or two months to develop ultra religious so they. you know laws on sharia and there are many secular people in turkey a thing that you know we don't want such

a rule and that's changing changing as turks that our troops way of life the secular way of life did not work in turkey turkey and every gun has made impressive progress it's economy's booming and its role in the region and internationally is increasing but other things are happening too which could put societies journey into reverse. from turkey. well i'll be back with the news team to bring you more news in about half an hour from now in the meantime we have the business update with katie who she is in the studio but we've been following the aftermath of the venezuelan presidential elections from a political and diplomatic point of view but of course the business and economics that's something you're interested in indeed and we're going to be focusing on we've actually got expert analysis coming up in the business but i sense a looking forward to that as well is that gold is promising as well but also going to be talking about that as well as china growth.