the inventor of the iconic a k forty seven assault rifle kalashnikov at the age of ninety four. free. steps into the media spotlight pledging to fight for the release of his associates examine their cases and why they are still behind. the remaining. members walk to freedom as part of russia's presidential amnesty pledge to fight for the human rights. we have the first in a series of reports about the events the twenty today we look at least the trip to rural iraq in the past year will be remembered as one of.

the most hideous and here in moscow was just turned eleven this is international. the design of the world's most used assault rifle the forty seven has died aged ninety four the sixty year old invention has become a cultural icon and kalashnikov for services to his country receiving countless awards including the acclaimed prize. ripples. i did have the privilege of meeting him go first only when he was made a hero of russia at the kremlin by the president around four years ago when he was ninety years old at the time and despite clearly having difficulties with his hearing his hands were shaking quite a lot he still made a firm impression of someone with a very sharp mind quite in gauged in his words work and play quite affectionate

about his homeland and i asked him whether he'd ever expected that his invention that a k forty seven would be whatever he could be so big so widespread and actually he told me that it was a great pity to him knowing that a k forty seven is often used by terrorists gangs and saw and since he said his all the purpose of making it was just to defend his homeland not to attack anybody else this is definitely one of the more small store iconic personally people in russia and soviet union a kind of russians. off the last century and he's definitely made an impact on the wall done to the head is that he's leaving us with a definitely can't be underestimated. the man behind a weapon that many say changed the face of combat produced in over

a dozen states and officially used by fifty armies it's the most popular and reliable small arm in the world no competition a k forty seven short for off the mark kalashnikov model nine hundred forty seven the year it was designed but the inspiration came a few years earlier during the war against nazi germany. this is one twenty one year old the red army tank commander mikhail kalashnikov was wounded in battle and was recovering in hospital dreaming of designing a weapon that would help throw all the invaders out and so he did his automatic rifle combines the best features of machine. and submachine guns killing power lightweight durable eighty and simplicity often during the vietnam war american soldiers took from dead vietnamese troops preferring kalashnikovs to their own sophisticated but unreliable and sixteen's when the u.s.s.r. collapsed began to be sold on the cheap throughout latin america the middle east and africa where they were used by fighters in ethnic conflicts and in some

countries by drug gangs and terrorists on al qaeda footage some of the london was often seen with a kalashnikov rifle nowadays and the gun is believed to be responsible for a quarter of a million deaths every year this always upset me kalashnikov called for tougher you and measures to halt the illicit distribution of small arms we are not god you're weapons should be in the hands of those people who defend their country that is to defend not to attack i designed their rifle not for international conflict but to protect the borders of my homeland designs different models of the gun but what unites them all is their simplicity and reliability. the assault rifle even became a cultural icon is depicted on the flag and coat of arms of several countries and organizations mikhail kalashnikov had many honors including the highest state award the golden star the hero of russia. for despite such astonishing fame and respect

unbelievably he didn't make a penny from the sale of his weapons the only way he could profit from his invention was by allowing to use his name to promote various brands watches m p three players and even vodka but without a doubt his legacy is the a k forty seven its production continues to this day and the guns reputation as the world's top infantry weapon remains unchallenged is going off party. let's now go live to jerome the founder of cyber gun it's a website for war game enthusiasm i understand that you actually met because kalashnikov what was your impression of him when we got. here and i mean ecologically. i was very impressed by each person that is really did you teach in law we do business we do product you don't design your jerome unfortunately we got a really bad connection there we had a lot of clarity when i spoke to you

a little earlier but i'm fortunate we'll have to pause and we'll get back to a bit later because we need to get a better connection can't hear talk clearly so for the moment thanks very much thank you apologies for that as i say we'll see if we can have a chat with him later with a better quality line he emerged from prison straight into the limelight to insist he won't return to either politics or business but the car khodorkovsky says he does need to pay back his debts to those still behind bars and will fight for his imprisoned comrades ortiz because one of the looks one of the people called across he has vowed to defend after ten years in jail. has now decided what to do with his new found freedom and some of those plans have caused a few raised eyebrows. some of my comrades remain in jail they are my fellow sufferers for example my friend platon lebedev alexei protrusion

there are still other political prisoners in russia not only those related to the you cause case i am free now and i'm asking you to think of it as something which symbolizes that the efforts of civil society can lead to the release of some people who no one thought would be able to walk free to choose again was the head of security for mr article oil company you cos he's currently serving a life sentence for five counts of murder. in two thousand and seven a court convicted of ordering the shooting of flooding near pet you call of the mayor of a towel in siberia. heard clashed with you cos over his insistence that the oil giant paid taxes due to his tone the court found no link between the murders and the head of u. cos however because widow believes this was a crime that went to the top. there was no investigation about her that of course is involvement in my husband's death he wasn't even interrogated both myself and

other people who are analyzing this have plenty of facts proving that of course he was directly involved in the killing of my husband while on trial for the murder of pair of legs going with already serving twenty years in prison for the attempted murder of former holocaust vizor dinner after quitting her post with you cos she went to work as the head of p.r. for the mayor of moscow it was then that a bomb was placed in her moscow apartment fortunately it detonated while no one was home because the inner sees the holocaust these comments about political prisoners as self-serving. how to craft a hostage of his own party he can't act differently now if he ever recognizes what his security forces were doing and he will automatically become responsible of what and i think now he fears that. may start talking and what the third ucas case could potentially be is

a further investigation into those murders and assaults which the company security forces carried out a lot of crafts he has no other choice he will continue to insist to people from the security department up political prisoners that are and he will pretend to be pushing for release the ideal ation being heaped upon mr holocaust skier's left some of those watching feeling that only half the story is being told. totally unknown in the west. is a big economic criminal. for stolen a lot of money from the russian people and from the russian state that every kind of businessman in the best who had done the same waterfalls or ended in prison this story is i'm told in the west despite his insistence that he was a political prisoner many in russia believe broke the law and that was why he was said to jail peter all of the r.t.

bill in court of course he complains that his case was politically motivated was rejected by the european court of human rights he found no evidence that the political activities of those involved were relevant as many were neither opposition leaders or public officials it ruled the charges were not related to political life and had a healthy call for professor mark omened who's a historian from oxford university told me earlier that he thinks that's not enough to change the perception of color in the west. but fortunately the western human rights groups seem to have rather constructs themselves. for protection interests of all legal civil rights all the girls whether it's russia to question can you crimes only here what's about imprisoned rich people but not about for instance the poor people. or intimidated cultural political skin is living in the west now and has no serious discussion about what happened to the billions of dollars worth of assets which will laundered out to russia and

a large one thousand in to western banks into western real estate and so on and one who. he gave at his press conference in berlin yesterday returning to russia was the implication possible suits for coverage of the assets that still all effectively his hands in the hands of his cronies in the us. well for more on his first public comments after his release and to get opinion and analysis on his case and surprised head to our website dot com. also free thanks to a presidential amnesty the two remaining jailed members of the notorious pussy rock band report on their ambitions after release that is just ahead for you here on r.t. international. well all told him a language of what i will only react to situations i have read the reports for. the

police to know i will leave the state park to comment on your latter point to say. it's ok because i'm going to talk you know i. think you know more weasel words when you need a direct question he prepared for a change when you have to. be ready for a. freedom of speech and slid down the street into chaos. dramas that can't be ignored. stories others refuse to know so. thinks it's changing the world right. the old picture of states. from around the globe.

look to. see. all three members of the new tourism russian punk band pussy riot and now free the two remaining women serving time for carrying out a protest stunt in moscow's main cathedral let go today as part of president putin's prison amnesty. has been following the story. obviously they are very happy to be out of prison but they have expressed their desire to continue along the lines of working in what concerns he was rising in the country and. i was very well treated many women asked for my advice and support and human rights and legal issues and it's my purpose now to protect the convicts who spoke to human rights activists and as much as we can within the letter of the law protect their rights. but there's not going to go as well said that she intends to keep a close watch on those who have remained in the penal colony where she was but

first and foremost both members intend to meet together we know that they have spoken on the phone already. does that according to were given a two year prison sentence following this so-called punk prayer in the country's main church with them have literally months left over in their sentences but were released fallujah now mystic i mean from president putin initially. said that she didn't wish to take a part of this amnesty and leave the prison but what she said that unfortunately those are her words she didn't have a choice so now both members are free and intending to take it upon themselves to go through with human rights situations in the country today here on the international we're starting to look back at the vents that shaped twenty thirteen.

for the people of iraq this year was the deadliest since two thousand and eight marked by a deepening sectarian divide and more innocent lives being lost as a result and the bloodshed has continued today five media workers died when government ambushed a t.v. station north of baghdad when at least eight troops were killed by mortar shells in the capital itself more than nine thousand people have for the victim to violence this year alone and it's estimated to run one hundred twenty thousand lives have been lost in the decade since the u.s. invasion started while seeking to undermine the shia government sunni insurgents have attacked civilian targets in different parts of the country bringing the total number of suicide bombings to four thousand while the northern city of kirkuk is often caught in the crossfire lying close to al qaida strongholds being claimed by both the iraqi government and the autonomous could authorities obviously come in all find out how people there cope with the daily violence. but.

the iraq war is supposed to be over but these pictures tell a different story chaos and confusion the aftermath of yet another deadly blast here into your kook. who wish city has been described as a faultline a symbol for the country's most intractable woes escalating violence the conflict among ethnic and religious groups and the fight over iraq's resources. getting there was our first challenge a group of kurdish soldiers had agreed to take a sin both baghdad and the kurds lay claim to care kook and are sparring over control aside from the danger those entering from the kurdish side need special permission to get past the iraqi checkpoints when have it. roadblocks and concrete barriers defined the new iraq checkpoints like this one are a dominant feature of life and they are everywhere aside from the household they're also frequent target of attacks for us it was a blatant visual reminder of a country still very much at war. inside your kook we drive quickly to avoid danger

we're told to look out for black b.m.w. apparently they've become a favorite for iraq's insurgents who didn't pick the best day to come to roadside bombs exploded here earlier that morning around the same time that baghdad was rocked by a series of deadly blasts but has been a flashpoint for years now and in the city center it's clear that life doesn't stop just because of the threats we were expecting empty streets but people continue to go about their business as normal vendors soon busy families did their shopping beneath the surface there are scars today can't cook continues to be an incredibly dangerous place. even after the city without the help of a military escort residents here say that attacks have happened at any time in any place in fact it's not really safe to stay here for too long so let's get inside we need car want to his family there kurds who say they're happy that saddam is gone but their fear of political repression has been replaced by fear of the unknown.

you know one of the we don't know who the enemy is or when the next bomb will go off but it's a daily for years we've gotten used to it you know i do small things to feel safer like driving the car windows down that way if there's a blast at least the glass was heard. such precautions didn't help sixty year old mood who says that a decade of war has ruined iraq he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time a bomb blast went off injuring his leg for him daily life has become a painful struggle to buy them if you. like is what benefit did the war bring democracy only explosions shootings and kidnappings people should feel. free to go out and come back safely where is that i can leave but there's no guarantee i'll come back alive it's not about the sectarian differences unfortunately it's book the black the oil and behind us or oil is the hidden interests of politicians

pawns in a political game playing with their livelihoods and lives for conflicts not of their own making the iraqis we met didn't hate their neighbors or care about who controls the oil just like they simply want the peace of mind of knowing they can go out and return to their loved ones alive. r.t. in iraq. in just to give group iraq body count is been collecting data on casualties in the embattled country for years now and really. is a leading research for the organization to share her thoughts on what the country's going through this year. what most people don't understand is that the violence is in iraq is daily at the best of times in iraq three to four hundred civilians have lost their lives in the month that was of the spotlight and that is completely unacceptable iraq has become so fragmented and has suffered such a serious internal collapse with so many interests be.

fought on its grounds internal interests of the shias the sunni is the kurds the religious fundamentalists the terrorists the insurgents also externally u.s. interests raney and interests you came trysts but this is a terrible legacy and a state that was already weak in two thousand and three has now completely corpsed ten years later how to make the situation better at the moment i cannot see a way and i don't think those parties who are behind the violence would let it get . there far too many competing interests there is too much struggle for power on so many sides that i cannot see it being a lot to get better on the website right now a sea change beneath the waves the russian fleet welcomes its next generation nuclear submarines online to find out more about the backbone of the missions to

terror decades to come. on our website what does it take to get a residency permit in belgium hundreds of desperate afghan asylum seekers sitting in one town the modeling the prime minister himself intervene to help them stay. founded to prevent boom and bust economics the u.s. federal reserve is marking a century since its creation is face many challenges from double digit inflation to near depression but has it served its purpose what is more important i asked the question. secretive powerful wealthy and now it's got a birthday america's central bank wields enormous and almost unchecked power over the world's largest economy the federal reserve and the change that means basically . the other agency of government which can overrule the actions that we take the country has seen as many as eighteen

recessions since the fed was created leading many to argue it has singularly failed to end the boom and bust economics that it was designed to prevent it's been abject failure it's been a dismal failure in promoting prosperity. sustainable prolonged prosperity and raising the living standards of americans. the past thirty years have produced the biggest growth of income inequality wages for the low and middle class have remained stagnant while the fed has allowed banks to double in size accounting for forty percent of the u.s. economy the fed has twelve regional banks and this one in new york is not only the largest it's also the closest to wall street as salaries profits and bonuses have all grown over the past century one thing has shrunk the value of the u.s. dollar has declined a reported ninety five percent since america's central bank was created following

the two thousand and eight financial crisis millions of jobs in homes were lost. to wall street went on to make a record breaking profits courtesy of the fed's quantitative easing program done is it's basically taking a lot of the credit that was on wall street's balance sheets and it's it's brought it onto its own balance sheets and so it's playing this huge support function in the calling me andrew sar who spearheaded the first quarter of q.e. has apologized to americans for what he calls a backdoor bailout for the banks. most americans can't really get credit after the financial crisis still to this day even though wall street's been stabilized and so we have this long term decline in the economic prospects of the average american and yet a lot of our leadership both in washington and within the fed specifically are really focused on trying to put humpty dumpty back together again in terms of wall street and resists resuscitate a system that i think is a working less than last four for the person on the street for one hundred years

america's currency and economy has been run by unelected and virtually unaccountable central planners and while the fed has helped the rich get richer the gap between the top one percent and the rest. is the largest it's been since the great depression marina point ny r.t. new york. well it might make enormous impact on their finances but every day americans have little chance of influencing the federal reserve and that's unlikely to change according to professor of political economy jack resinous even today it's very much determined by the big banks themselves you can get a nomination and become the director of the new york fed without the ok of the big banks themselves and in fact people are unaware that the banks actually pay for the operating expenses they did day of the federal reserve itself so it's always been that if the two should for the bankers and you know it's really a bit of

a misrepresentation to say that the fed is going to stimulate the economy pumping money into the economy what's happened is that money ends up in the hands of a vestige of speculators but because that money is not getting into the really a mom and pop business you know stimulating the real investment united states we don't see any real recovery in the real economy for real folks here in the united states. in syria a week of air raids on the northern city of aleppo has allegedly left almost five hundred people dead with the exact figures coming from the group local coordination committees of syria could not be independently verified activists say government forces shelled the city with barrel bombs the oil barrels packed with shrapnel nails and explosives it follows the alleged massacre of dozens of civilians by islamist rebels in a damascus suburb address being cleansed by government troops. time

now for some other international news and three key secular leaders of the two thousand and eleven arab spring uprising have been convicted in egypt of holding an unauthorized rally and attacking police officers and a new controversial law that restricts protests the men were given three year prison sentences in large fines european union has urged egypt to reconsider the decision saying it comes from flawed legislation the government defends the law claiming it's designed to bring peace to the country when activists say it's actually been used to curb dissent head of a general referendum on a new constitution. by protesters in thailand try to block the registration of candidates for febreze election and the latest attempt to stop the vote current prime minister was forced to call a vote two weeks ago on the growing public pressure activists claim the leader is being influenced by her older brother a telecommunications billionaire who was himself a move from office why a military coup back in two thousand and six. but in. japan is breaking its

own radioactive records huge amounts of bitter a emitting substances have been discovered in another reactor at the crippled fukushima power plant and the government has admitted decontamination work sheds will to be completed by spring may actually take another three years alex kirk an expert on japan says tokyo has done so much to keep secrets hidden that it's hard to assess the actual scale of the disaster. entire a system of management of tech co infected the entire nuclear industry of japan has been to rely on unskilled uneducated and specialist d. the workers the guys i pick up off the street and are brought in and paid a daily wage wouldn't have and some of them don't even realize they're going into a radioactive circumstance but it's not professional it's it's a comedy of errors and the attacks are just one of many many structures that were

built hurriedly without extra teams without consulting the national specialists it's fair to say that it's a big mess and it will get worse the real problem is that the government has but some agenor gee in hiding the information that at this point i can i think it's fair to say that nobody knows what's really going on. that brings up hope for the moment about the news team with wolf in just over half an hour from now in the meantime cross talk with peter lavelle is next on international. markets consumer sees and i see what many in the country is the federal government simply saves property of the united states government. this the united states suffered image and it wasn't done the public has to realize it can't just buy and

then. just throw it away this is a problem for instance belongs to the united states environmental protection agency and i found this on a dump site here this is a commuter it's not a waste no not laugh it produces of these little i have to should be able to collect these though i believe that vision responsible for their products from cradle to grave. fatal from mexico comment of mental health property will sell to american corporate but also belongs to the washington metro area transit authority properties will be dennis deeds page friend and trademark office. one of the new will sharman wachovia bank of new knowledge face i describe you.

a pleasure to have you with us here on t.v. today i'm wrong researcher. hello and welcome to cross talk where all things considered i'm peter lobo a few u.s. presidents elected to a second term in office leave the white house success even popular rock obama is a case in point his poll numbers are low his legislative agenda is in deep trouble and washington's friends and foes around the world do not take him seriously.