well sure in germany wrap up what will be known as the octopus summit as the country's leaders agree to use food as a diplomatic weapon. also tonight america's longest war the length of the u.s. campaign in afghanistan says vietnam as the frustration with the growing human and financial costs bills. and thirty five years together in orbit russia and the u.s. mark the anniversary of their first joint space flight and the four in cold water

lation the following. this is r.t. from moscow a very warm welcome if you just joined us just a little after ten pm here in the russian capital is kevin any with the top stories for you this hour on a growing closeness between russia and the west was on show at a joint russian german summit in the city because of the board president dmitry medvedev and chancellor angela merkel indeed shared jokes about paul the psychic world cup octopus and burgers with barack obama but amid the smiles they also got some business done too with dozens of agreements signed our correspondent daniel bushell's been following the story. in the windy city over you could get was very much a case of the midwest if and merkel i'm sure if you like is the sioux country's leaders roths more of their personal strong relationship really highlights the country's two excellent relationship at the moment historically until it was greeted chatted

with mr medvedev influence russian he with her off to a top local restaurant where they enjoyed all to perth but later promised it was not poor people who predicted that germany would lose in the semifinal of the world cup now there was talk of a trio of world leaders forward looking leaders barack obama to reach madrid if i glow merkel a transatlantic troika if you like moving the world forward of security and defense issues with food as the unifying force let's listen in russian you might let me draw your attention to the fact that germany is number one on the list of russia's partners we have a long time relations which has not been spoiled even by difficult chapters in our history. when it comes to russia and germany's relations with other countries it's not like in school where you have just one friend we can have many friends germany

and russia have their own issues they're completely different in nature to translate into problems it's useful for us to be able to discuss them together the room for dialogue doesn't exist to the same degree with president obama as it does between us but the u.s. relationship is still very important and i think president medvedev also would like to read to read that this conference is no way should signalize about relationship with president obama. well we have two options either the three of us going to need some hamburgers we'd rather treat our friend barack obama to some kind of european grizzly's. going to say and as i think the burger will taste best for me. so after all joy and siemens of germany really takes all of russia's. ation box is today a place to join russia silicon valley a joint new project being built on the outskirts of moscow it will also modernize washes train system its trains which are outdated and yet crucial to the country really relies on its trains

a lot of parts of the country and thirdly wind turbines they will build wind turbines an eco drive in a country which is also trying to become more environmentally friendly the other big issue was iran of great work concern at the moment as it continues to suggest it's moving towards a nuclear bomb but that of up the pressure that unless. iran is an active and proven trade partner but it doesn't mean that we are indifferent towards the way the islamic republic is developing its nuclear facilities we are also concerned with some military components of its atomic program like iran should find courage to begin fully cooperating with the international community to iran should do this even if it doesn't like some issues it's currently facing a friendly relationship between the two wrapping up what has been a very successful summit a very successful meeting between the two leaders and also business leaders and political leaders germany and russia really two of the strongest partnerships on

the world stage today our correspondent daniel bushell reporting there for us and indeed russia will hope its relationship with germany will pave the way for an improvement of ties with the e.u. is a whole that's the opinion of cornelius on monies in eastern europe expert at the bertelsmann foundation in berlin. at the moment russia and germany. clause especially in political context as we could see in the last two days economic cooperation is good the parts could be improved. i think that current development of the relations here is very positive and. good german russian cooperation could be transferred to. a more thoughts on the wider story of former k.g.b. officers says it is the developing friendship between moscow and washington which

allowed the recent spy scandal to be dealt with quickly just remind you the full interview could not call it already today with all they can actually put in code is coming up in about twenty minutes and it's a quick preview. of what we can exist broader any such small office chances for war me away and we can see it i believe as a first step to have a rapid development and if you have to solution and i'm happy ending for both countries relations seem even stronger going to compromise for the solution was unbelievably quickly at these events are the top level of intelligence won't you during the cold war it used to take years to prove such. attacks in afghanistan reached an all time high do the bloodiest month for foreign troops since the start of the war nine years ago it is now the longest military campaign in u.s. history surpassing the vietnam war the still no end in sight. list of reports.

it's the comparison that cannot be avoided by press pundits and now politicians last month afghanistan surpassed the. place that both broken are all too familiar with as the longest military campaign in american history committee chairman senator john kerry brought up the failed u.s. war of decades ago at a crucial time in america's current one this is a difficult moment in the afghan conflict a moment when questions about strategy and progress abound at a hearing on governance and the u.s. civilian strategy in the region the man in charge of it all a vietnam veteran himself tries to make the lesson of that history the fundamental difference between those two wars since you mentioned it mr chairman and this war our national security interests are at stake with the safety of the u.s. at stake as richard holbrooke claims you might think congress would have crossed

their t.'s and dotted their i's by now and fighting their longest battle as they're supposed to be united states constitution requires that before the united states goes to war that there be an act of congress but just as in the vietnam war we've never followed that procedure with respect to a war in afghanistan and we centrally drifted into a war and a long term commitment a long term commitment that appears to be wearing on lawmakers who want to know this wouldn't be helpful for the president to at least lay out a flexible time for when the u.s. is getting out beyond the july two thousand and eleven date to start withdrawal u.s. president obama set is given no assurance that this should be an open ended occupation holbrooke emphasizes the u.s. is committed to no calendar very leery of setting a date certain. they are here for the salute withdrawal but

still the endgame is unclear civilian and military operations in afghanistan are proceeding without a clear definition of success the ambassador is banking on the success of reintegrating the taliban starting next week but little about afghanistan appears to be in u.s. favor it's not where you choose to fight to defend the american homeland it's the most remote logistical place united states has ever for history just who can put an end to this fight in the absence of withdrawal dates if military and political missions fail the congress has the ability to stop the war by not funding it as u.s. lawmakers and officials talk strategy and tout successes in afghanistan this comes amid escalating violence in the region deal with the bloodiest month in the nine year conflict with one hundred international troops killed forty five have been killed so far in july with twelve of those deaths coming in the last day or so for r t m or in mr washington d.c. . the u.s.

has handed over the last iraq's prisons to the country's government authorities will take control of around one thousand six hundred detainees that come close to the capital baghdad america's slowly withdrawing from iraq with a final deadline set for december next year the u.s. will continue to hold two hundred detainees some of which were members of saddam hussein's last government though the majority how can be identified earlier i spoke to under gilligan he's a journalist from britain's daily telegraph newspaper who worked as a reporter in baghdad when the u.s. led invasion was launched back in two thousand and three he told me the remaining prisoners of the last gaps in the u.s. occupation. they are the last remaining if you like american black hole of detainees we we know roughly who's held at guantanamo bay we know who's in custody enough going to. we still don't know who these people are conditions in very many of these shows and knots and not very good conditions in american jails are

actually better in some ways than in iraqi germs. the iraqis have not been particularly successful custodians of their own prisons one that they have amnesty international has published many critical reports on them. and of course detainee abuse is widespread in iraqi prison so i can't imagine that these detainees will be any better off actually under iraqi custody than american. had in the program a blast from the past. this is a poll done became so popular and alongside the memorabilia the special brand of cigarettes was just to mark the occasion thirty five years after these storage launch r t looks at the significance of that event and indeed as we saw this some of the merchandise salutes. and also like to remember this one for the wrong reasons find out how an amusement park turned from fun to off or are these visitors left helpless dangling in midair when a cable snapped into. the suspected killer of

prominent russian human rights activist natalya estemirova has been identified and has been placed on a wanted list that's according to president dmitri medvedev who outlined the course of the investigation after a meeting with german chancellor angela merkel as to motive or was kidnapped and murdered in the north caucasus region a year ago neither is of reports. russian authorities are claiming success a year since the murder of a chechen human rights activist in this together to say they knew who did it the russian president confirmed they now have a main suspect and he has been put on the international most wanted list now the hunt goes on for those who ordered the murder soon after their tallies to meet all skills russia's president said finding those responsible was a metal or not i would miss a say on identified men bundled the fifty year old woman into a car as she left her apartment block her border riddled with gunshot was

discovered later that day lying in a root in the neighboring region. several more she said can see that one was of this to police and stimulus colleagues because we never denied that estimators murder was related to her profession this theory was also voiced by the head of the investigation committee. says to me you're always dealt with the most sensitive issues as part of human rights work in chechnya officials warry the murder home group of the republic which is several miles previously a long lasting counterterrorism operation or gene was lifted and life was seem to be getting back to normal but. it was a blasphemous challenge enacts which sole purpose was to have all the global community turned against the chechen republic to impose a negative perception of the republic people understand that it was backed by the enemies of our republic our government and our country's government as a whole. this square in the center of the chechen capital is named after

journalists who have been killed a year again as name was edited here the place is now calm and quiet unlike year ago when many locals came to say their last good bye to the activist they used to look upon as their last hope colleagues who took up the job in this ticket will be objective in this. all simple punished time is the only thing that's notice. these days is an artsy in grozny. the stories we're covering on our website our home page our t. dot com few of the stories tonight might be interested in find out if you're crazy and the psychic german octopus with their own football forecast seems. to predicted a precise picture of what happened to the world cup final long before they are stress. again also what are we to feel how russian farmers are struggling right now so much against the scorching summer heat it's on course to

break new records they're really feeling the pinch you get all the background. space exploration is a joint international effort these days but it began as a race between the soviet union and the u.s. thirty five years ago today there was a breakthrough when the two countries launched the first ever joint mission apollo so use. reflects on the anniversary it was a turning point they'll launch called war space race into new heights two rockets blasting off half a world away from each other would bring the soviet union and the united states into the same orbit. in the apollo craft docked. chapter in space

exploration the first ever joint project between two bitter rivals. it was a giant leap for the man on board to like i said he was the second pilot in a say you screw. with apollo it was one of the most significant moments in history of russia and the u.s. before everything was secret all the details of our space programs every detail he was a poor project we could finally passed a barrier. you lady still remembers all the details of that flight from the technical to the happy banter between them and the american astronauts on the go to we were showing the guys different cities and places in russia and when we were flying over the u.s. bonds brand was showing us florida i remember he said this is where all the pensioners go to live thirty five years on most of these men will once again get the chance to meet and share memories of their historic link up with my brother alex one of the seniors commander is in the united states for the big day.

the launch was during the height of the cold war so this project wasn't of just technical and scientific importance but was also a great step towards cooperation between russia and the u.s. there were no losers there are plans for his apollo counterpart thomas stafford to meet president obama but not until the friends have had a chance to catch up with each other it was a are meaningful symbol to the people of the world when we open the hatch. then alexa and i shake hands together as showed to the world and then the way the space race said in a way the joint space project had a huge impact on both sides of the atlantic a time when rocket launches captured millions of imaginations worldwide media conceived watch the c.u.z. reach into the sky and vividly remembers every emotion it stirred. i was in the

fourth grade and it was a huge celebration not just for the school but the entire city we got handed balloons flags and went to meet the cosmonauts and then later on we were all outside again to watch the actual launch i remember my dad who worked at the launch but he told me that this was the most important event of the century. thirty five years on and the ses apollo project still fires people's feelings some are even banking on it the scenes apollo became so popular that alongside the original memorabilia a special brand of cigarettes was created just to mark the occasion that every day these were incredibly popular and were almost impossible to find on the thirty fifth anniversary of the docking they are once again missing from the city stories catch readers are the artsy last. few pictures through to us for our next story ten lives literally left hanging by a thread or an extreme thrill ride on a rocket like attraction almost ended in tragedy these pictures through from some

people's back to us so one of the amusement parks there but just a bit of a nasty shock that cable snapped on the ride leaving them as you can see suspended seventy meters above the ground they must have been terrified luckily rescue teams did make it to the spot just in time to free the stranded passengers so in the first safety scare the museum party was sadly two years ago a twelve year old girl then suffered serious injuries after a trampoline accident also involving a snap cable thankfully though this time no serious injuries they all got out ok but it may. pictures mostly when i was absolutely terrified. no because there's a world news stories now in brief the foreign ministers of india and pakistan have met in islamabad is the two countries do to improve strained relations and revive peace talks the discussions with building are aimed at rebuilding trust that was fractured by the deadly attacks nearly two years ago in mumbai which the indian government blames on pakistan based militants indian foreign minister s.m. krishna is the most senior official to visit pakistan since the mumbai plot one

hundred sixty six people were killed. vatican has issued a revised set of measures in response to a series of child abuse scandals it extends the time in which action can be taken against suspects from ten to twenty years after a victim's eighteenth birthday the vatican also says those who abuse mentally ill adults will be punished the same way as those who abuse minors it is the first major vatican document since the scandal erupted earlier this year with hundreds of new paedophilia cases coming to light a few. leaders from b.p. it is now replaced that leaking pipe and is planning to resume a key pressure test aimed at stopping the massive all spill into the gulf of mexico it's hopes that a new cap could finally help stop the disaster work was suspended a little earlier because of faulty equipment but the new delay follows a string of failed attempts of course to contain the ongoing damage nearly three months now after the explosion destroyed the deepwater horizon rig. and

a man with some thoughts about our pundit mark skies is certainly not holding back at all on his views on what's happening in the gulf of mexico he claims the u.s. administration isn't showing any signs of being able to prevent disasters like that in the future. this is tony hayward he just a minute back that we got terrorism the gulf of mexico is the u.s. pursuing him now so the obama administration is now trying to pave the way to allow exxon mobil to possibly take over people. yes we're going to let this eco holocaust just go by the by but then again in america back in the thirty's was an i.b.m. coca-cola and j.p. morgan they were complicit in the last major holocaust of the last century so the us has a bit of a track record here i wouldn't sell short the possibility of exxon mobil going after b.p. . let's edition of the cars report coming

up here and i was time but the present job creating is a business for you after a very quick break. for the full story we've gone to. the biggest issues get the human voice face to face with the news makers. which brightened. from stupid question. don't come.

out on welcome to business on crean about can good to have you with us engineering giant siemens has put flesh on the bones of russia's modernization drive a huge deal to provide the country with state of the art technology trains and when turbines president dmitry medvedev and chancellor angela merkel noted and yet they didn't vote that business was booming between the two countries dana bash reports. siemens fixes its position as one of the top foreign investors in russia it will build two hundred fifty trains in the country to replace the creaking regional stalk europe's biggest engineering group will hope to produce wind turbines cutting the country's dependence on oil and gas siemens also agreed to join russia's joint you silicon valley being built at skolkovo near moscow the multi billion euro deal comes as president richard medvedev for help to pull the economy out of its backwardness regime you might be on the bush to get him out let me draw your

attention to the point that germany is number one in the list of russia's parliament switch and we have always worked doing creating new technologies that will get released over one hundred years and we have perfect economic relations three years ago siemens was convicted of paying royalties to with lucrative contracts in russia today's make a deal was signed on the back of the close personal friendship between the leaders of the two states business leaders say a shift to more legitimate ways of earning influence it's very hard for anybody to engage in bribery nowadays this might take more time and more resources on the other side in order to have success but i would assume that talking about foreign investors bribery let's say more and more out if it is being done at this time at all it's a radical difference from just a few years ago when russia's leadership a bit it was impossible to do business without backhanders summits like the one

here in the urals are helping russia to shed its soviet image that applies not just to the products but to the way it goes about producing them to the new bushel business thought see you catherine back. and on friday we'll be speaking to the head of siemens russia about how the country's business climate is changing join us for that. period russia lockett's finished in the red as they tracked the european and u.s. equity downward stat was off of the latest two as data on jobless claims manufacturing and inflation provided a mixed picture of economic recovery in moscow some of the biggest losers were energy companies with last night following two percent all the hours he has ruled hydra down over two percent on the line is it. the winning streak for the equity markets which is lasted more than a week was broken on thursday david buick from b.b.c. partners in london explained and investors couldn't continue to hide from economic reality. equity markets have been heading off in their own merry little way tending

and trying to ignore the quality of the economic data which actually hasn't been very good really from the last friday well the first friday of this month when the employment data was again disappointing yesterday we had a very modest rise in retail sales point five percent which again we expected much stronger figures and if the economy was really about to select another one today of course manufacturing output and industrial production figures. was desperately disappointing and is a point. of a return to recession or if you prefer. that as you so rightly said it's now seems to be a war of attrition or a battle between the. press and the turning out to be substantially better than people thought six weeks ago today of course we are looking at j.p. morgan chase who sold disappointing results from their investment banking but

people were thrilled that their write downs or impairment charges were less than four billion dollars and that they posted revenues of twenty five point one billion dollars on a profit of around four point eight billion dollars which was. exceptional the shares a fairly flat and i think we're going to be more interested in what happens tomorrow with bank of america merrill and also to a lesser degree with citi group we had of course yesterday. wonderful figures. from intel which is set the time for people to say well i'm prepared to hang in with the equity markets but i think because they were oversold some six weeks ago there is perhaps a little bit of them unless of course the quality of the economic data continues to be very disappointing. make a silver basket science biggest foreign contract worth almost one billion dollars the company expects a kind of from the sale of jets at a price of thirty one point seven million dollars. to a company from southeast asia next week at farnborough airshow in the u.k.

earliest c.e.o. said the company would supply the first three super jets this year. that's all from me in the business team here but you do log on to our website r.t. dot com slash business and you can always find more stories that.

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