basically voluntary resignation and of course we know that luzhkov said that he was not going to quit now according to russian law there are two ways that a federal official of a region could lose his poses either seeking dismissal or of course an order from the head of state and we know that in this incident in this case it is an order from russian president dmitri medvedev it's a very highly anticipated decision not just in political circles but muscovites as well. i decided to dismiss the mayor of moscow the decree i signed states that i as president have lost trust in you. and it is a legal reason for his dismissal i cannot work with officials i can't trust. the government you know it's obvious that professional relations between the president and. with. the president. had to act to return the situation back to normal. leave behind a very visible legacy let's start with moscow with self now he has been credited

for giving the city a facelift one of those a baby crisis savior cathedral. which because of him was rebuilt and people are saying that this is one of the most beautiful landmarks here they give him credit for that but on the other hand there's also right behind me if you could see through the rain be a peter the great satirist and muscovites think it's one of the ugliest marks here in the city now the contrast between the opinions if you go after these two landmark is very much like the opinions that he's getting from the public is a very polarized opinion but. when he came to his position there was chaos he did do something but you can't stay in one place for too long or he's aged strong family ties played against him the city now looks neglected he didn't to construct a route he preferred to build in hotels i can't say whether it's good or bad he's a very contradictory person. there are many things in moscow i'm against. the

newcomers who are now like hosts are making us feel like guests and against such a barbaric or a construction of moscow but of course of a many positive things your i.q. that i just have a bit more background on why your english is such a controversial person let's look at the story father my colleague because. the constant feature of the moscow mayor his legendary cab has been the subject of amusement throughout his eighteen years in power selling his custom made silver capped it's an auction of kindly granted a moscow nursery home the one million u.s. dollars. he's mayorship meanwhile needs more than just one cap to cover the bald spots of his career he started making his fortune on the economic crisis of the late ninety's rumors of money laundering have haunted many of his multi-million dollar construction projects across the capital there's lots of problems in the city namely that there is no affordable housing for the most provides or there is a problem of people cheated by the construction pyramids these two and others have

to be dealt with before any question about future employment of them to be discussed while the country was losing money during the recent economic downturn in two thousand and nine income increased however the mayor claims it's not his money but he's wife's feeling about doing that is russia's only see male billionaire she was a property development company and many claim its political clout that lands her the deals both in washington abroad is known free strong anti-gay stance never authorizing and even cracking down on gay pride parades now sure parts of our society with healthy morals do not accept most they just don't except. for the last summer may blame him for mishandling the severe smoke situation in moscow the city of short on talks of smoke for almost a month as wildfires rage while he was unlucky out of the city. this is one of

course every specialist should be responsible for what they are interested with you said up with if for example the mayor of moscow comes back from holidays for the next day after the small little has dissolved which was the case this time and i think it is unacceptable he should have been here half an hour after the small looks like has been concentrating a lot on his house rather than that of the city's residents. i don't drink maybe i'm missing out on something but for more than thirty years i haven't had a drop. in the money that the russian government anyway on a case to improve infrastructure rarely make it to the ramshackle roads of moscow he's also been criticised over the deconstruction of the city's historical and architectural heritage after his long cost footprint we'll see on the streets of the russian capital and then the artsy. moscow of course the times newspaper michael been isn't that it had little choice but to remove himself

. it was pretty clear that if they were going to get rid of luzhkov it would have to be by sacking he wasn't going to be removed quietly he wasn't going to go without a fight and this kid became a test of the president's credibility it's all the more dramatic sacking him directly from shanghai when he's far away overseas i think also it's a recognition that luzhkov has lost the confidence of the people of moscow i think in the end there's a general feeling he's been there too long he's too overconfident he's it's time for fresh change for a new face and that this is really the time to get rid of him one shouldn't underestimate his achievements particularly in the early years in office when he really got things going when he came to power run last year was really a chaotic mess that had not had very little renewal of its infrastructure the city council critically in soviet days had simply been a rubber stamp of the done very little he cleaned up the buildings admittedly he

knocked down a lot of the historic ones which should have been preserved but those that were preserved were wonderfully cleaned up and he presided over a real boom in the city's infrastructure and in its new residences and capital building so i think many people still feel he did a good job to start with but of course the taint of corruption lingered so long now the question is whether in fact the corruption charges will stick whether he actually will be accused of corruption i think it would be a messy trial if it came to that and it probably would be very unfortunate he may be lucky he'll be just left in peace as long as he doesn't now interfere and try and get his job back he is not young his i believe seventy four it's not the time really to start a new party at that age he couldn't remain in any way associated with the government that sacked him so if he went into politics he would have to go into opposition i don't think many existing opposition groups would welcome his support he would be seen as a divisive figure it would look like opportunism and i don't think it would be seen

as genuinely political differences it would simply be seen as him trying to get revenge on those who sacked him so i really think that isn't an option if he tries it i think you'll come to a rather sticky end. now a boat carrying jewish to this attempting to reach blockaded gaza has been forced to divert to the port in israel by israeli warships among those on board as a holocaust survivor and then israeli man who lost his daughter in a palestinian suicide bombing a spokesman for the group that all denies the journey says many jews don't support the israeli government's behavior towards palestinians. we've heard that there are work boarded we understand international waters but the crew and carpenter were ripped from the broken being taken to us we hope they will be released. immediately after it will create clinton.

we believe the blockade be illegal. and we want any of them to make a. public statement marl hope that the collective punishment of the people of god and good political challenge of the blockade of gaza and to the come can you talk to. them that we have. a declaration on behalf of many jews that the israeli government the future the public plea for god. are not being conducted with. or in our name and are not in our interest and we do not believe there are in the interest of the very good it's very well. known race four months ago nine pray palestinian activists died in an israeli raid on a not the end to to the boys from turkey a un report described the filth disproportionate and brutal this time among the base group for justice the palestinians organize the point as i already found out

the non-governmental organization me peace talks all says government should show the same courage of the people taking part in the tenets. it's hard to know what to expect especially after what happened months ago within marmora but it is true though that this is a jewish this is a jewish ship and this is a jewish ship made every effort to to reach the guy the real story is in the message of solidarity sent by jews on this ship with their muslim brothers in gaza we all know what's happened to bring us to this point and the israelis and the palestinians disagree what we need real right now is real leadership and between me and you if the leaders of the palestinians and of the israelis can show the same courage of the people on this boat and others around the world i think we have a chance to break the impasse. now north korean leader kim jong il has promoted his youngest son kim jong un to the rank of general and what's seen as the first step

of a power transition but it came before the country's ruling workers' party gallo's biggest convention in decades now official announcements that were made in the if you think fashion has been shrouded in mystery but of that even as oliver reports the practice isn't uncommon in north korea. in the first century everything is global and all kinds of information is available online but there remains a spot of mystery in the world wide web that is north korea now many are pretty trade secrets. like the legal exception of steve was one of you to visit the place and hopefully we'll share his impressions a alex so tell me you were in my gang what's it like what's your biggest impression be honest with you when i was going there i felt a little nervous having read all the stories about north korea in the western media that it's scary place it's a different sort of scary things when i arrived there i thought it was nothing like

that but the one thing which oppressed me the most of the first days and first now was the i saw building on the other side of the world for my hotel and had no curtains on the windows and i asked one of the assistants why is it like i said well if you have thirty thousand or three it means you have something to hide so i got the impression that this society is open to its own government whilst its government is closed to the rest of the world it is the societies close to the world as well world attention is turned on north korea for the first workers party meeting in thirty years there are rumors of imminent change but that according to those in the know is premature who are those of the. i don't think we should expect any dramatic changes right away because power in north korea is built on the principles of succession and continuity kim jong il became a leader first and foremost thanks to his image of a true follower of his father's legacy ideas and not as some destroyer of the foundations or as the person to lead the country's policy into

a sharp turn so obviously the same is going to apply to kim jong il's successor. north korea's nuclear ambitions troubled the west and the secretive states tightlipped policies and everything has been successfully used as a tool by countries such as the united states. the united states in particular need a bad guy in the region to justify their military presence in the southern part of the korean peninsula and japan and for deploying their missile defense systems there which they've done somewhat more actively than in europe until now the us and allied military presence in the region was justified by the soviet threat but it's been twenty years without a soviet threat however the united states is not going to give our military alliances a stablish during the cold war and now it is very convenient to have a bad guy in pyongyang that can be used as a scapegoat for everything. to north korea the soviet union was the very opposite of a threat especially in the korean war of the early one nine hundred fifty s. the u.s.s.r. keen to see as many socialist states in largest possible was happy to communist

regime against u.n. troops but the veterans of those battles only recently got the chance to talk about their memories for them it was yet another war that didn't exist. i was there for a year and a half and when we came back we couldn't talk about it we couldn't even hint those that died were buried and the notes to their families would read killed in the course of duty where. there was not open for discussion it was hard but it was tough with their course so many seven out of seventy eight green cities were destroyed almost completely and yet everywhere i went by saw people trying to rebuild homes roads everything we'd see women on the road carrying their kids and their belongings to a new town and would give them lifts we weren't allowed to but we did. when the eastern european communist block apart its influx into the north korean economy

plummeted despite the fact a close relationship is maintained by moscow n.p.r. the veil of secrecy is not helping to boost economic development north korea remains one of only five communist states in the world and by far the most mysterious country on the map. gas units are r t moscow. ok let's get some more analysis now on the future of north korea from former m.e.p. glinda forward to speaking to us from manchester in the u.k. is also the author of the book north korea on the brink and a member of the korean peninsula delegation many thanks for speaking to us mr ford who quoted in the media today as saying that you think kim jong un is the chosen there so what do you think it means for the future path of the country. well i mean he's the chosen there but he is not actually officially yet the heir apparent

promoted in the last few days to the general and of course the almost unprecedented korean workers' party conference is opening today and it's expected that following that conference you will be getting a high position in the party i think that's a signal to the rest of the world maybe not to korea that in fact he's been designated as the successor to the kim jong il some stage in the future and will he be bringing change with him if he doesn't succeed as you've mentioned the serious change going on in pyongyang with a chance that many senior think is could be replaced by people who have more experience in dealing with the west could this be an indication do you think that the country is going to break from its self-imposed isolation well i think we need it we need to look wider than just who is if you want being indicators the is the next leader of this party conference is going to see some i suspect unprecedented strangers in terms of generational changes in the in the leadership of the korean

workers party we've already seen that some people like you. both who've been negotiating with the americans i've had recent promotions within the supreme people's assembly or within the ministries so it looks like it looks like this is a if you're a generational change and not merely the if you're signaling of a who eventually will succeed kim jong il focusing on the strained relationship we say between north korea and the united states what do you make of the view that america simply needs a sort of bag guy in the region to justify its military presence in the southern part of the korean peninsula and japan and and to justify the pointing it missile defense systems there oh absolutely i mean it will be my analysis directly there are certainly people in japan within germany within the former ruler. parky the neo-cons there and people within the united states administration not all of them there are tensions in there who actually find it very convenient that it's next to

deploy missile defense in japan which obviously deters the north koreans but at the same time puts pressure on the chinese to move more money into their military and of course the analysis of the chinese as being exactly one of the reasons for the fall of the soviet union was the fact that the economy was forced to live a lot i spent too much on the military sector and of enough on improving civilian standards of living you mentioned china there north korea has long lasting and very close relations with china which is now the fastest growing economy in the world so what chance is that you think that the young successor would make use of this link well i mean certainly everybody thinks that the future successor was actually come to his father on the recent visit back to where kim il sung was h.u.k. here in china during the georgian one nine hundred twenty s. and thirty's they know very well the successes of china and there's already some

indications through the agricultural industrial reforms that north korea's trying to move in that direction economic reform is one thing for little reformers another they want to make sure they're firmly in power before they make any if you will for the reforms but as you can see on the streets of pyongyang. the markets are there in pyongyang at least the goods are fairly freely available right exciting times ahead many times they thought mr ford that was going forward author and member of the european parliament's korean peninsula delegation. fell from a strictly controlled communist ideology to an era of innovation on a new generation of open minded people that's how russia's president has described china after he visited the world's biggest technology and shanghai expo twenty. friends and future innovations what better place to come together then the shanghai expo where russia and china are the stars of tomorrow. the main message of russia's

exposition in chiang we're establishing a friendly relationship with china for decades to come president medvedev opened russia day and met with steve thing ping deputy chair to hu jintao and the man seen as china's most possible future leader rang the ground for what could be a partnership that shifts and shocks global power mr. bean is the most likely future leader of china it's unlikely they discussed with medvedev concrete plans for the future but they probably talked about mutual approach to russia china relations and global issues that is about most of the day together and took a good look of what china and russia have to offer. process pavillion is a favorite this time around with its top talking energy companies putting on their best show so it was a good start of the year at this expose we're demonstrating the latest results in science and high tech and showcasing cooperation with our chinese colleagues but

it's all part of a bigger picture russia's push for rapid modernization and when you go to nations this exhibition is a unique chance to speed up the modernization of our economies and institutes and of its development is certainly the choice of our country who are following this path and will do everything for our economy to modernize change and adapt to modern life. and russia understands china is a great way to start made in china had a significantly different connotation just some few years back that's right take a closer look at the backs of your i pads and i pods they were most likely assembled here russia states china is the friend with whom to solidify a partnership bringing them into the future and past reporting from shanghai and he said no way r.t. . that's on the way now with me.

hello and welcome to the business bulletin as we've been reporting in the main news them out of moscow yuri luzhkov has been fired by president medvedev this cough has ruled the city for eighteen years and set the panic conditions for construction business r.t. spoke to the head of penny lane real estate about the impact of his departure on moscow's real estate market. we expect a very long period of time when everybody is frozen nobody is approving giving any permits everybody is stuck waiting for new orders from the new. they are all worried if they could do something wrong there will be worried who has orders to follow as they do no really know who will be on top tomorrow before everybody is stuck with no job going on. i believe that this would be huge harm to the industry but russia's top banks have reached twenty percent of their

loan portfolio that's the highest level since the beginning of the crisis the international finance corporation part of the world bank says russia needs to develop a market for bad debts so banks can clear them from their balance sheets timothy crouse from the i.f.c. says the company proposes to jumpstart the system with a two hundred million dollar fund. i think that some of the banks here that are trying too hard to collect their loans are not paying attention to their core business and their market share will shrink and they'll be left holding paper that's not worth anything i think the thing is to create a market so to have a market you need buyers and you need sellers so we have plenty of buyers here capitols not the question i see provides financing we also try to match the buyers and the sellers right now we don't have enough sellers there are not enough banks that want to sell their corporate loans so there's loans to small businesses

they'll sell retail loans credit card loans things like this but they won't sell corporate loans yet there's too big of a gap between the price banks think that they should get thirty forty cents on the dollar but buyers that are coming into the market they're not willing to pay that yet there is no track record yet we need a precedent we need a first sale to occur and then prices will go up after that when people see that you can actually collect on bad loans in russia why hasn't a bad that's markets in russia emerged naturally off its own accord it's a little bit of a cycle a psychological issue i think no one wants to admit that they've made bad loans it takes a while to get prepared for this and i think once banks think it through once they see that they're not making progress and restructuring corporate loans once they understand that they're not going to make much progress it makes sense for someone else to give it a try someone that specializes in this business liquidity has a longer goal stop being the banks main problem do you really think that clean up

balance so how banks lending i think it will because banks don't have to allocate capital to the bad loans that are sitting on their books if their management doesn't have to devote time to the bad assets that are sitting in their bank they can spend time doing what they do best which is to originate new loans there people can go out and figure out which corporate lenders are the ones that are most credit worthy which can be their best clients allocate capital to that that's what they need to do. the russian markets finished in the red on tuesday v.t. b. was the worst performing blue chip on the my sex having one point nine percent into the close also suffered energy majors dragged with rosneft down a one point three percent. in economic news russia's central bank has kept its key interest rate on hold at seven am three quarters percent for the fourth month in a row bank officials say the risk of inflation is at an acceptable level they have also previously stated that the possibility of a rate hike this year is very small. russian oil major new coil intends to

buy back the rest of its shares held by conoco phillips the company recently bought almost five percent of its stock from the american firm and now says it will buy the remaining six percent separately lou corps says it intends to challenge an official decision to prevent it from bidding for the tribes tipped off oil fields the fields are among the largest yet to be distributed in russia. german engineering and electronics firms siemens plans to invest five hundred and forty million dollars in its projects in russia over the next two to three years the company intends to build a number of plants to produce electronics equipment across russia but also plans to build a wind farm in the country's far east it will build all the generating a quick money from start to finish in a joint venture with us hydro and stick corporation russian technologies. and that's all the business news for now but you can always find more stories if you

log on to our web site that's r t dot com slash business.

for the full story we've got. the biggest issues get a human voice face to face with the news makers. we give you the future you understand. and. the best in science and technology from across russia and around the world.

this is the mayor of. the president says because. no longer have confidence in the capital it's. given to notice one activist on a jewish organized aid mission to. bolster journey by israeli warships. the russian president and a trip to china. to see the people coming. up next our special report in which we had a thousand kilometers from. one of the most beautiful thing that's right next.

to one of russia's most important southern cities an industrial and cultural center with more than one point three million people this is a twenty first century town that's proud of its history where you can find cutting edge technology and people that still follow traditions that date back centuries. or is an agricultural jewel covered with rich fertile soil and blessed with a mild climate it's the second most productive region in the country but if you want to appreciate it properly you really need somebody to give you a list. before leaving the best way to see the sights and. quite. the weather was perfect and soon i was getting a panoramic view of a nearby farm although it can be a little hard to concentrate with all the gadgets on display. oh.