half cast their ballots ad that was a half way throughout the voting day so quite a high tariff turnout not perhaps surprisingly enough the lowest order to voter turnout was here and the capital of minsk where opposition support is quite strong with the other belorussian regions showing quite a high voter turnout we do know that according to exit polls the incumbent bell russian president that it's on the real question is already receiving nearly eighty percent of the votes with of the highest ranking of his opposition up competitors receiving just over six percent of the votes of course a huge gap that would certainly seem to prove almost everybody right because we most of course people believe that alex other who question will win this presidential election has guys seen a number of firsts specifically of course in regards to opposition candidates they received free on air time very limited amount of money or time admittedly but still

it was a first for this country and there are a lection where opposition candidates did have a chance to talk to their electorate through the mass media outlets are there were also some sanction to an anti-government protest that was also a first for the country so optimist do seem to say that this could be a political changes that it's a little caution to was referring to when we spoke when he spoke to journalists a little earlier but skeptics of course already say that this has a very pragmatic reason behind it the european union has promised billions of euros to belarus should there be signs of their free and democratic election and democratic progress in the country and with minsk it very hard by the global financial crisis this incentive is definitely worth a lot at eight pm local time opposition leaders have promised to bring thousands of people to this very square at savva square square also personally seen some lot of response on social networks where various groups have been set up with all. around

two thousand and three and three hundred people confirming their attendance at these rallies the government of course is said that none of these meetings have been sanctioned and police will use it all and every necessary measure to disperse those protests opposition candidates have so far said that they're not planning to throw themselves at the barricades that they simply want to peacefully state their protests and voice their concerns about the legitimacy of this election everybody here of course to really waiting to see how that will turn out because of course the last presidential election there were serious clashes between protesters and police officers here in the capital police breaking down a lot of protests quite seriously a quite heavy police presence of course nobody wants to see a rerun of that event and everybody here waiting to see what will happen tonight after polling stations closed will of course be monitoring everything that takes place here in men's and all the details catherine i was out of a reporting now exit polls are predicting

a comfortable victory for incumbent president look at shanker political expert. explains why that comes as little surprise is to vote in part of the population that is very supportive of mr look at the elder people of the working class those who don't vote for him simply don't go to to to polls so i think anyway he's supported by a plurality of the population maybe not ninety to ninety five percent i think as he claims or as his supporters claim but even if the election was totally free and fair even by the most strict western standards he would have gained more than fifty percent anyway members of the so-called opposition who were running for president this time told openly they were there to for people to vote. so there is no one candidate from the opposition there is a dispersal of candidates and people cannot find an alternative among them. moscow has been on a security alert following a recent wave of clashes between

a russian nationalist groups and ethnic minorities and police more than two thousand people have been eating been detained this week to prevent new riots from occurring tensions are boiled over at an unsanctioned meeting eight days ago following the death of a football fan in a brawl with a native north kick asians the gathering time into a riot with ethnic minorities and police attacked there was a repeat of the clashes on wednesday when extremist russian youths and migrants from the north caucuses were gathered for a rumored confrontation with police reported isolated clashes in various parts of the city but no large scale violence or serious injuries a man suspected of leaving a restaurant killing a micro from critical stand is now in jail president dmitri medvedev he's not to hesitate to use force when it comes to quality rights. but get on with the clashes fighting invented lism are not just administrative violations but crimes

and those who commit these crimes should be locked up rather than just told off the police should be using their legal authority to prevent extremism and incitement to listening kate should what happened in moscow and in some other russian cities has shown that although requires very efficient management i'd like to draw attention to the fact that inciting ethnic violence in our country is a heinous crime to. us republicans have failed in their attempts to reverse one of president obama's key foreign policy achievements sen john mccain called for a new arms reduction treaty between moscow and washington to go back to the drawing board but its motion was a voted down by the senate obama is urging the start treaty to be ratified as soon as possible in its current form which the president says will benefit national security however the likelihood the deal will be ratified in the senate before the end of the year. when the republicans take up more seats look slim the strategic

arms reduction treaty was signed by and to me treatment barack obama in april and should slash the two country's nuclear arsenals by a third but it won't come into force until ratified by both sides something must go says it's been ready to do for months democratic strategist robert we know told us here at all it's that fairly it's a pos the treaty puts global security at stake. we're talking about terrorists that could get at the nuclear weapons because we're not doing sufficient inspections on the security in the safety of the facilities when you have twenty thousand nuclear weapons and all over the world anybody can get at them but that's just too darn many to be honest and how can we persuade iran to go to zero when we have twenty thousand and won't reduce them that would be a ridiculous statement of immoral proportions so we have got to take the proper steps to rid the world of nuclear weapons and this treaty is

a small step toward that wonderful goal. r.t. is coming to you live from moscow and still ahead for you in the program blasting off for the holiday. dominoes the. last song from the cosmic knowing how to catch a reaction in just a couple of minutes right here on r.t. . this week saw another spate of unrest and street protests across europe and made government attempts to tackle their economic woes at an e.u. summit in brussels a permanent fund was agreed upon to bail out eurozone countries that are at risk of bankruptcy thousands of people continue to take to the streets all over europe protesting tough spending cuts and general strike in greece caused public transport disruption and closed schools banks and courts demonstrations were staged by trade unions all across the continent in france luxembourg belgium the czech republic and

spain danish a member of the european parliament. believes the current crisis shows that you wrote it's a failed concept. the euro as a construction has created this problem because it has destroyed the southern europeans countries competitiveness and the bailout now is just prolonging and thereby creating an even bigger problem because the dept will just to grow and grow and if you know that the eurozone is reacting very desperately introducing the suggestion on the euro bonds of course we need to be solidarity in the european union but we also need to be economically realistic and the realism of the euro zone is that it doesn't work it hasn't been working for for years and there are at least several non harmonious regions within the euro which make it impossible to maintain a common currency so i think that the even the strongest part of a little have to either recognize that we need to have one hundred percent of governance from brussels and since the europeans don't want to have to go with the

second lie which is to admit that the euro is a failed. currently spain is going to most likely going to be the next big topic either spain or portugal and spain the unemployment rates are right now around twenty percent which is a huge huge pressure to the financial. industry and prices just getting bigger and bigger if portugal falls which it is on the lips of everybody here in strasbourg. be a disaster strikes the spanish economy because those go through countries are interlinked so severely in economic terms so when i don't know whether portugal or spain falls first but when the one falls the other one will do as well and time now to check out some other world news this hour a suicide attack targeted military bases in two afghan cities leaving thirteen members of the security forces dead in the northern city of. shootout began when gunmen stormed an army recruitment center a military bus outside another recruitment center the main one in the country was

then ambushed in a separate incident on the outskirts of kabul the taliban has claimed responsibility for the attacks in which five assailants were also killed. but u.n. secretary general ban ki moon has rejected a demand from the disputed ivory coast government that u.n. peacekeepers should leave the country incumbent president. hughes the u.n. arming his rival. both candidates claimed victory in last month's election sparking fears of another civil war after scores died in clashes among the supporters the u.s. france and the african union are backing war. refuses to step down. thousands of stranded at airports across europe as severe winter weather continues to disrupt travel hundreds of flights canceled at london's international heathrow and gatwick airport the amount of snow france italy and the netherlands are also reporting problems in germany at least two people were killed in traffic accidents school by

the conditions forecasters do say the arctic temperatures are predicted to last beyond christmas. earlier this week prime minister vladimir putin's set the record straight on a number of issues as he held its annual q. and a session with the russian public over a million questions were sent in and putin spent four and a half hours during a live t.v. broadcast to answer as many as possible artist italian followed nationwide event. not quite truth or dare and his annual q. and a session the russian prime minister wasn't given a choice and some of the questions were rather daring like the one about former oil tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky who is currently serving an eight year term in prison for fraud and tax evasion it was a question that got put in going so we should be just like a character in a famous russian movie i'm sure that a thief places in prison because he's accused of stealing tax evasion and fraud

with the new charges he faces is about stealing hundreds of billions trillions his company security chief is in prison for murder they didn't like the mayor of nifty uganda so they killed him then there was another woman in moscow who refused to sell her little stool to them and they killed her when they didn't like the hitman they hired he's dead as well. another sore spot was the issue of recent ethnic clashes between washing the radicals and people from the north caucuses that the government failed to prevent the prime minister said nationalism is a common disease. radicalism is like a virus if society weakens the immune system goes down diseases start to spread but if society is mature in these bugs of radicalism and extremism simply lying dormant we can't cause any damage but you are going to get russians domestic worries you can everything from social security and police reform to real estate prices and if

you foreign policy issues were touched upon as well such as the recent spying many that has spread across the atlantic to reset a bit and then yes i mean we don't need to use special squads to plan. i can assure you all of them will fall off the perch themselves they can take their thirty pieces of silver but it will stick in their throats the video conference was held in the other charity end up being a matter of the form it was introduced by bush and when he was still president back in two thousand and one and then become a prime minister he's continued the tradition of the annual informal discussion with the public and as ever he likes a good joke politics mixed with a little ironic humor door but i will tell you the country when you imprisonment very diverse sleeping. we sleep in turns to worry everything is under control now that explains why war scope is a city that never sleeps after an exhausting q. and a session of four and a half hours russian prime minister vladimir putin can now go in rest as russians

now know they will still have their backs covered up i look at r.t. moscow well the fate of the ski was touched down upon in that q. and a session and this week a moscow court delayed its verdict in the second trial of that former oil tycoon the decision had been due to be announced on wednesday but was perspiring by the court until the twenty seventh of december the former you course see was arrested in two thousand and three and is currently serving an eight year jail term for fraud and tax evasion and the latest trial faces charges over the course of billions of barrels of oil from his company and laundering the proceeds if found guilty will face a prison sentence of up to fourteen years but if the court clears up a costly of the latest charges he will be released next year the forty seven year old made his fortune joining the turbulent one nine hundred ninety s. through the privatization of state assets which made him russia's richest man. well coming up for you

a little bit later in the program links to secret detention centers. just some of the accusations against because it was a prime minister to find out who's behind them what he has to say about them and why some say the revelations are not surprising. while tension on the korean peninsula is reaching boarding point south korea says it will go ahead with military exercises on the border with the north despite a promise from pyongyang to retaliate the drills are to take place in the coming few days that's going to happen on a disputed south korean island shelled by the north a month ago four people were killed in that november assault but this time warns it will strike with even deadlier forms russia says it's deeply worried about the situation and it's called an emergency meeting of the u.n. security council to take place later on sunday china to join the russian call to restrain south korea but the u.s. maintains its soul has the right to hold the military drill political analyst

riddick a frank says russia is best placed to act as a mediator in the korean conflict. russia is the only country that does have a stake was no specific interest. which actually is the difference between russia and the european union so russia can actually be a trustworthy and reliable mediator a neutral broker the one interest that russia does how concerned you cruise stability there is a situation emerging market for growth and move toward the inevitably not only import both careers but also china us will have a negative effect on the baluchi in the region and on russia and hands russia's major preoccupation is actually maintaining peace. because of a prime minister is facing questions over a report for the council of europe which claims that he was involved with a group that killed prisoners in the late ninety's to harvest their organs there

are also reports that western governments knew about the allegations bird had been turning a blind eye to them for years artie's alice habit has more on the story. the sterling has never spoken to the media before he's been too angry his brother went missing in the summer of one thousand nine hundred ninety eight and no one has helped to find him. he went to work as usual with his friends to the watch of it's mine and that was it i never saw him again we went to the police and everyone else we can think of after the war i thought there'd be an exchange of prisoners and hundreds of our binion's were freed there's so many serbs are still missing now after twelve years i've lost all the international officials here didn't do anything when the easily could have his brother is one of the near two thousand four hundred people he went missing both during and after the late ninety's kosovo war and is still unaccounted for and allegations leveled against senior members of the kosovo

liberation army including the prime minister has since had she and a council of europe report will not help to ease the minds of men like this one in the report claims missed attach these links to organized crime dates back to when his the needs the group became the dominant factor within the k.l.a. and the alleged decision of western powers to largely ignore its activity in the hope of establishing some form of short term stability in the region allow tetchy and his followers to assume positions of political pellow within kosovo in the years following the war. everybody including western countries knew all about these allegations for years but he wanted to keep them hidden the only. other was in charge here interest the e.u. is rule of law mission in kosovo says it will now launch its own probe into the allegations in general a league ations on what crimes and obviously with crimes very serious. should be

sufficient evidence and should we be responsible for doing with them we will certainly look into the issue. mr hashem times she has dismissed the reports is baseless and defamatory and has threatened to see it said another shocking twist in the history of this already troubled region naysay randy you peacekeeping in police cars stung god twenty four hours a day each song i did this bridge that divides the serbian and albanian parts of the town of me three said ten years after the end of the concert in the war nothing deficiency is still very deep bass with the release of this report people are now saying that they feel love founded and a let down by the international community he has supposedly charged with protecting them all these he is alice a bit. of a. this is r.t. live from moscow and so had for you on the program father frost it's the kremlin

bringing a century old christmas tree to light up the heart of moscow get in the festive mood here on our tour again just a few minutes. the new crew members of the international space station making themselves at home for the stay that should last about six months the soyuz craft carrying three after successfully docked with the i assess on friday the crew brought seasonal gifts to those currently on board the station. was at the baikonur cosmodrome in kazakhstan for the blast off. over my shoulder you'll be able to see these so used to make twenty rockets that will be blasting off sending cosmonaut the meeting called that out and astronauts apollo nespoli from the european space agency and catherine colgan from nasa into space now this is the product of two years of very intense training and the trio will be spending six months on board the international space station while they're up there they'll be carrying out a number of experiments and continuing the work in space that the international

space station carries out now i think we can defy lots of the stuff they have hey i'll let you get on with the. dominoes thing. you know as the star he says to the rocket blasts off from the cosmodrome in kazakhstan sending them make. money and passing coleman off to the international space station. well now don't forget to log on to our web site that's dot com where you can always find many many more stories and here are some of them that my catch on he's a singer dancer and taina iranian born has told about his international bridge skyrocketing career. sometimes feels like gallery this time the luxury fashion houses but

a real exhibition going on here in moscow and it's all right up until you get all the details at home. it takes pride of place at the heart of russia's capital over the festive season a century old christmas tree was delivered just this week. to the kremlin's cathedral square well it will stand tall for the next three weeks this year the tree was blessed by a russian orthodox priest for the first time and it will be decorated with thousands of russian trying color lights and ornaments christmas trees have been back in use at the kremlin for nearly fifteen years now when president boris yeltsin revived the revolutionary tradition he says it was accompanied by. including a visit from father frost rabbit the symbol of the coming year according to the

chinese company. well with christmas trees lighting up across the world many are gripped with the so-called festive spirit but there are those who view the holiday as a purely commercial event web journalist laurie also known as the resident asks people in new york what this season means to them. does christmas have anything to do with jesus any more this week let's talk about that christmas have pagan celebration. do you think that's a good thing or. not very careful you much but it's kind of sad isn't it is that the company's fault for marketing all these products to us or is it our fault for forgetting what it's about going to the companies they want to make morning so. so how do we fix that how do we remember what it's about. keep bringing to the

public's attention. like we are now yes the parents responsibility to bring it to the home it really is and if you believe that's fine if you don't that's fine too you know but it does lose a lot and you have to keep it at home and if you pass it on to your kids the kids will pass it on you know do you think this whole war and christmas thing people are trying to make sure that we're celebrating all faiths and not just christmas takes away from the christmas spirit or does it everybody should do what they should do upon their release so if you want to put up a christmas tree should be able to put up a christmas tree that i believe in i think to get angry about it i'm not sure that's helpful and i'm not sure that's in the spirit of the season either maybe to educate and evangelize in a more friendly way maybe that's what we should be doing so that people who are screaming about us forgetting christmas are kind of adding to the noise than and

forgetting about jesus too. you know if what you want to try then ok we can get that i mean everyone should have their time when the muslims have it's time you do something and you know. black americans have. and jewish people have their day and you know christians should be the same way. but i think the religious aspect is becoming more and more foreign to the holiday itself we're all from different backgrounds so we have to honor the muslim faith and all the other faiths that are out there and just be one big happy family one big happy country is not really what it should be about it should be that's really what christmas should be about it should be about loving by neighbor whatever they neighbor want to celebrate peace happiness joy and i'd like to wish you happy holiday all of you out there happy holiday season whether or not you think society has forgotten about jesus that christmas time the bottom line is that you're a christian the best place to find any time is in your heart.

and coming up shortly here on our full of the lives of four men in the smuggling tunnels deep under the busy streets of the gaza egypt border that's right after a recap of the week's top stories in just a few moments. bringing

you the latest in science and technology from the realms. we've got the future covered. it's. he. says. in india in the movie the joint the hotel rooms the villas the gateway hotel

the grand imperial troy told us to. close the show to see don't need to go and. run the same the kennel was hotel as a treat. the latest headlines on the week's top stories here on less than two hours before the polls close in his presidential election the country's incumbent leader is the clear favorite to win alex on that it looks has already served three consecutive up to sixteen years in power he's been dubbed europe's last dictator and russian authorities step up security spoiled onto the streets of moscow as ethnic tensions escalated between russian nationalists and groups from the caucuses. clashes in

various parts of the city. hall. addresses nationalism and justice as he hosts his annual q. and a session with the public with no topic off limits other issues coupled included social security and police reform and house prices. and the full us all economy europeans. telling against tough austerity measures with many blaming membership of the euro for drowning their countries in debt in the first place this came as leaders agreed to set up a permanent fund to rescue failing eurozone economies. while my colleague bill dodd will be here in half an hour's time but up next we take you want to journey into the clandestine daily life of smuggling tunnels on the border between gaza and egypt thanks for watching.