i'm not sure what nature is in the twenty first century but i think good so outdated natives role of the modern world and decided on an afghan strategy and closer ties with the alliance wrestles with an identity crisis as delegates in lisbon. what lies beneath the r t investigates the potentially catastrophic danger lurking under the concrete sarcophagus return noble side of the world's worst nuclear accident. to get out of jail card for russia's minor offenders fines and community service could soon replace time behind bars to ease

the strain on prisons. you're watching live from the russian capital welcome to the program now the war top story defining nato's relevance today and in the future what to do in afghanistan and engaging russia well these are the key issues to be discussed at a crucial summit for the alliance in portugal the meeting comes at a hard time for the group of nations which is facing an identity crisis sixty years after being created to oppose the soviet union artie's lauren lyster has the story . it's the biggest and oldest military alliance in modern times but when you think about what its place is in the world today. the answer. the answer doesn't come easily and not just for one speechless american official

decades after the cold war ended with no common enemy originally supposed to define i defend western europe against the soviet union nato allies have been at a loss for a new one and at a loss for a clear purpose it was one of identity crisis for a while we can severely by the seemingly endless afghan war with nato members growing weary in countries such as canada and the netherlands pulling troops out the power of the block is in question. in many other places in the world we're seeing the. lack of. ability to transform. the depths and perhaps the consequences of a growing group of now twenty eight nations driven together but still largely led by the interests of one states who's trying to use need to. directly tries to use need. to fulfill american missions yet everyone feels the

strain and with goals not laid out since before the attacks on nine eleven which drove the alliance into war there's not much that's concrete to guide an organization seemingly in crisis which is just one reason why now when lisbon this meeting matters here at the nato summit the alliance will try to buy for modern relevance with the promise of new strategic goals but also here in lisbon are another group of international critics who believe that there is no place for nato and the twenty first century reiner brown is planning an anti nato protest you know i think there is no place for nato i think there is no place for me who lives any longer in the world because you console's and you know the global problem with military not and nato was now looking to an old foe for help solving its problems with. which. emerged as a basically. one of the leading global players it's impossible for them

to deal with booming shows like the war i'm going war in afghanistan they're looking to russia for help with supply routes in fighting the drug trade and now an organization that famously touted a mission of keeping the russians out and the americans in needs the russians in afghanistan to help americans get out i'm not sure what nato is in the twenty first century and i think it's outdated and without a major rethinking of its goals policies and missions and alliance looking for a new place in the world may find itself and. the answer. fumbling along without one boring mr arty lisbon portugal well let's stay with the nato summit and talk to thomas clough from the think tank european council on foreign relief thomas after the geo political changes of the last twenty years there's

a debate over whether regional military organization like nato should exist at all now how viable is nato today. well another crisis is sort of consubstantial to nato has existed certainly since the fall of the burden of war but in fact there was much question about what nature was all about and how it would operate even even before the war so nato isn't in a sense in an identity crisis more often than not i still think it has a road to play it's not a bad idea to have a large group of countries representing more than half the military spending in the world in an organization in an alliance working together discussing talking corporation called an aging that's not a bad thing in itself how this allies should be used and against whom if at all is of course a matter that's open and going to be redefined in the new nato strategy terrorism is an obvious obvious target potentially at least nuclear proliferation i think a very real one nato has to change has to use change its instruments has to adapt but i don't think it's so useless organization today ok well nato has also been hit

by the economic crisis now is it an effective effective in an era of shrinking european defense budgets. it's a major problem for nato and of course what it does politically and militarily is that it reinforces at least for the time being the imbalance between the us continues to spend a lot of the military will be able to do so in the future at the present rate with the american economy deeply affected by the crisis as well that remains to be seen and european nations european nato member states some of which have become to cut back very drastically and i think all of them will have to do that sooner or later what this pleads for is much closer integration of military instruments of defense spending of armies europeanization of national armies on the e.u. side of nato if you like and ultimately wielding together a common instrument the landscape is very fast and that spending very fragmented

operations still to some extent fragmented systems incompatible all that has to change is the luxuries city luxuries which european nations certainly and i think the west as a whole and beyond that nations in the world can no longer afford and they will talking about integration of russia's cooperation with nato has increased especially with regard to afghanistan but what does russia get out of the cooperation with the alliance. well i think if you look at the russia's strategic position today. i think if you apply modern thinking and moscow rather than traditional thinking you will realize that in many ways nato is an element of the stability serving the stability working towards this ability of russia's geographical geo strategic and political environment and space. the geostrategic situation of russia is changing a very meaningful way because a key russian neighbor china has mutated or is in the process of mutating into this

new global power economically but also politically possibly the dominant power of the twenty first century twenty or thirty or forty years down the road now that i think is a call on moscow which i think many here look differently towards nature to look differently at the west and to see in fact that nato can be a very useful constructive partner and go to russia in a positive dynamic and be able the u.s. has come to see made his military forces as useful beyond european borders well it's a region of rim and now is need to simply an instrument of u.s. strategy. well if it were if it if it if it were and if it would become a thing that it would be ultimately doomed it's actually vital on the one hand european nato member states make a move for spending more efficient in order to just be more efficient militarily but also politically because the woman to play with the other it's equally vital

for the us understand that if they think that in future they could use that imbalance to just as it were drive europeans into a sort of meek exceptions of their policies that would be over time the end of nato i think this is something that president obama understands very clearly he wants the europeans to become stronger militarily politically more united more integrated because he realizes and i think mary americans do that american might in the twenty first century is not going to be what was in the twentieth century preserve particular the second half of the twentieth century and that america needs europeans as true partners including one day i think russia all right thank you very much for that insight that is thomas clough from the think tank european council on foreign relations thank you. now scientists fear the side to be sure noble nuclear disaster still has the potential to cause an even greater catastrophe the aging concrete bunker covering the area is nearing the end of its

life and no one can be sure just how deadly the debris beneath still is are. the reports almost a quarter of a century since the chernobyl fallout a special confinement structure called the circle focus is still preventing more radioactive emissions into atmosphere this structure the circle for this was built in one hundred eighty six just months after the disaster that you know build nuclear power blog back then experts predicted that this would last for only twenty years until two thousand and six that is but it was strengthened and improved extending its lifetime for. five more years the biggest question is how much nuclear fuel remains under the surface some experts believe that there is none as most of it did vaporize into the atmosphere and was spread around the chernobyl exclusion zone but many experts believe that there are ninety five percent of nuclear fuel still remaining under the circle and that could be tons and tons of nuclear material. we believe that the nuclear fuel under this account for gross is

no longer a solar mass like it was twenty four years ago that now is more like three layers of dispersed dust so should the presence of collapse we could see a very powerful explosion at the facilities as powerful as a nuclear iran. in order to avoid another catastrophe europe invested in the building of a new confinement in two thousand and seven french company that article was allowed to start the construction of an arch like steel structure to cover the facility three years later the project is underway with more than five hundred engineers building the new circle for goods next to the contaminated plant it won't be just the frame yet it will be a technological complex as multi-functional crane system will be installed inside the new structure eight. finals at the new safe confinement should provide

the safety environment for the works in far the project's initial cost was thought to be half a billion euro now sources in chernobyl report that figure has almost doubled but in the fight for the continent's safety knows is too much the new confinement is expected to be completed by the year twenty thirteen and is expected to last for another hundred years the only question is what is the fate of the nuclear power plant in chernobyl some say that it may be dismantled under this new dome but that is only a speculation for now we only heard that this is a process which may take another seventy years and there are no technologies to this date which would allow this to happen. r.t. reporting from the church noble exclusion zone in ukraine all still to come in the program new hope for russia's first time offenders reforms to the prison system could see fines and community service replace jail sentences for minor crimes.

well there's been a little sign of improvement in russia's volatile north caucasus according to president dmitri medvedev he's meeting security forces and the local leaders in southern russia to discuss how to bring stability artistic out there is following the visit to the votes for us. terrorism cannot be counted singlehandedly to successfully applied terrorism is the task of many this was the main message as the leaders of the north caucuses gathered for a meeting with the russian president dmitry medvedev the talks were devoted to security in this russia's most volatile region they were mostly held behind closed doors the president opened the session with very harsh criticism of the work of russia's police and security services there indeed twenty turn was a very tough year the number of terrorist attacks group four fold compared to two thousand and nine according to the country's national counterterrorism kmita some

sixty terrorist attacks were prevented this year and over three hundred terrorists were destroyed by the russian president said today to the great districts in russia are not something he would fully trust just. statistics so often misleading there's no trust in them i want to once again draw the attention of rural forces to this fact there is no trust in the statistics that often just a lowly including interior ministry reports police this in the works now will make it possible to make the statistics exact. well according to the statistics which the president doesn't trust worth enough it's been relatively stable this year but violence has been on the rise in the republic's. traditionally peaceful carrier there were over one hundred terrorist crimes carried out there six times more than in two thousand and nine the president today called this upsurge in violence says

russia's biggest domestic problem a year ago when a similar meeting was called in he ordered a full rasha full of local law enforcement also as part of the measures to improve the situation as separate antiterrorism groups which now works along with a national counter-terrorism committee also the president formed together these republics saw russia. into a new federal district and many saw this massive as the kremlin is now stepping away from military force approach and is now going to focus on social and economic development the region. well moscow says it wants a fair trial for a russian businessman victor boot the president's aide says russia will continue to provide do it with consular assistance but has made no judgment over whether or not he's guilty boot is accused by the u.s. of arms trafficking and terrorism charges he denies after being extradited from

thailand earlier this week he's now in solitary confinement in a new york jail could face life behind bars if found guilty and his trial is set for january next year. well remember you can check out more stories on our website r.t. dot com helps keep you up to date and here's what it looks like right now feeling down about lighting up a new survey reveals russia has more smokers per capita than anywhere else in the world find out about the stuff about the problem. plus customized classes for getting the title of hundreds of american men and role in a pick up cab to learn all the tricks for beating women from war head to our teenage daughter called. russia's petty criminals and first time offenders may soon see jail time swapped for fines and community service is part of ongoing reforms to the country's criminal code designed to put an end to unfair sentences and relieve overcrowded prisons artie's cut that he explores the

alternatives in store for some of the inmates currently serving time the fourteen hundred women serving time here have one thing in common at some point in their life they all made a bad choice you know i went over to my friend's house to get some minor back that he owed me but he refused to pay out so he didn't have any so so use canary bird seed in there and i to get a school leader the police came and said i stole it after breaking and entering the price for a stolen canary bird bus instead of that i was sentenced to three years in prison and i'm currently serving on my first. this. extreme aspect of russia's legislation has been questioned by many including the country's lawmakers a system of alternative punishment for a lesser crimes in the works with people found guilty of minor law violations facing fines and house arrest rather than jail time yes that would only you can't put someone in prison because they stole two chickens our legal system no deals

with these things and effectively there are harsh punishments for small misdemeanors and in some cases punishments which are too late for major crimes we need to balance out the system because despite recent statistics crime is on the rise. add that to overflowing prisons abysmal health conditions on the inside tougher integration into society after serving time and the true nature of this problem becomes even more evident even financially that reform makes sense according to official data over a million people are currently imprisoned in russia with twenty percent serving up to three years for misdemeanors substituting their jail time with house arrest will free up the prisons lessen the burden of taxpayers and most importantly not give people who have stumbled a reason to fall. if a person goes to jail following some silly act of certain circumstances because he comes out as a lifelong criminal but we have relevance to the backslide amounts to thirty to

forty percent at the very least i mean almost half of them later become criminals. but there is much to do before these amendments get implemented into the legal system the electronic surveillance bracelets for example will rely on russia's glowing ass positioning system and it's not yet ready neither is the legal system with law enforcement not yet capable of the required fishel surveillance the proposition to stop throwing those found guilty of minor crimes behind bars is something that the women in this penitentiary can definitely get behind but even if the law is implemented the people serving time now may have to face the fact that they will have to serve and pay their debt to society in full without enjoying the benefits of an alternative punishment catron as our r.t. moscow region and now to some other world news this hour an explosion has ripped through a coal mine in new zealand south island twenty seven people are missing five others

managed to return to the surface with minor injuries the rescue workers are at the scene trying to make contact with the miners a country's emergencies minister says the cause of the blast is not yet clear. in haiti protesters have clashed with u.n. peacekeepers on the streets of port au prince in anger at the cholera outbreak in the country crowds threw molotov cocktails and rocks while soldiers responded by using tear gas peacekeepers from the paul had been blamed for bringing the deadly epidemic into haiti something the u.n. strongly denies more than a thousand people have been confirmed dead from the outbreak so far. i mean usually heavy small guys have been chinese capital with the reduced visibility called widespread disruption the air pollution has come from a growing number of factories and villages built on the outskirts of beijing two major highways linking the city to the north have been closed and health officials

have asked people with respiratory problems to stay at home until the small gets dispersed by cool front expected on saturday. well up next all the latest business news with yulia that's after a short break. for the fall we've got. the biggest issues get voice face to face with the news makers. right if you. are from finance to.

t.v. dot com. hello and a very warm welcome to the business news trade between former soviet states has accelerated shelp of this year at a meeting of c.i.s. prime ministers and st peters that question a question said the founder of percent evidence of improved corporation the customs union of russia belarus and kazakhstan forms the new regional trade and is not going to hold reports although some thorny issues remain progress is being made russia belarus kazakhstan are gearing towards full scale integration and speeding up the next phase of their customs union the single economic space where the free trade area and a common external trade policy the meeting of the prime ministers of the three countries is taking place within the framework of the e.u. region economic community which also includes going to start to decrease don

because to moldova armenia and ukraine some of these countries are also showing interest in joining the customs union now the key document is a final agreement on the single economic space of russia belarus and kazakhstan which is due to start functioning next year and. to provide more mutually beneficial opportunities for its members in a free trade area now i'd like to remind you that the customs union the trial atro union of russia belarus and council which came into effect this year has been designed to simplify the movement of capital between the member countries under a unified tariff and customs territory now the creation of the customs union has stirred up the long lasting negotiations on russia's accession to world trade organization after russia said it would see the accession in a joint bid and accounts of stone now according to russia's president. there are few questions remaining in the negotiations with the european union on the matter

and they should be solved quickly at the same time the first year of the customs union has revealed some serious discrepancies currently existing export duties on russian oil for bella ruse almost brought the countries to an oil war bellerose annually buys about twenty million tonnes of russian oil at domestic prices for two years is only a fraction of it at home most of it is being refined and re exploited to europe at much higher prices feeding the belorussian budget now today's meeting may finally put an end to the conflict as the russian prime minister vladimir putin has promised to lift all the duties for valorous on russian soil once all the documents on the single economic space are signed. over approaching the customs union doesn't come without course finance minister alex it could really believes that russian oil companies may have to pay an extra fifteen billion dollars in judas to tex home and i say sion. as national companies will be compensated for their costs by the

subsidies or it increase extraction taxes. there's no point in privatizing russian recruiters for the time being that's according to the head of the state which controls several hundreds enterprises in russia. it's not reasonable to privatise russian technologies for the time being i would even say could be harmful privatization would hinder the development of the enterprise is under control we first have to transform the enterprise into the joint stock companies create holdings and distribute companies between them and also help them develop financially. a look at the markets now the russian equity markets close flat positive on friday they are just broke the sixteen hundred point benchmark finishing just a tenth of a cent might six have an up and down session and just a little higher. looking back at the last week the russian markets were pulled in

both directions for actually equal force its economic data from the u.s. encourage the poles while inflation worries in china feel that. the markets ended up there weak. down but largely unchanged. the past week has seen. the continuation of the tug of war between the bulls in the bear is you know there are people who are seeing a lot of economic data coming out of the u.s. coming out of asia a lot of quality a.p. always a big general motors which was very well received through a lot of good news in the market and good developments but the biggest fear and now is inflation is special in china where the central bank had to act to stop the rapid increases in prices there is also told that both china and hong kong can take measures to arrest the rapid growth in real estate prices to prevent the bubble ever saw between these two kind of

a big positive over improving global economics and certain positive corporate developments. are of rising inflation in china and therefore maybe elsewhere in the world these two opposing factors have resulted in the share prices and in the we slightly down bit essentially flat. that's her business update for now get more store a small web site r.t. dot com slash business.

culture is the same us you are going to go but you know larry one of the worst of the firms of immediately after the end of the second world war major nazi leaders were put on trial for war there is no doubt such crimes were committed. the bar you're the boss are comfortable shuttle buses to lead you to the subject uars observing the margin for the first time and scaring the bums come on the book. on the.