monk would start the bus deliberations on the straight day and the treaty will go through with three readings on the voting and the first reading on the actual script of the new start to start as early as today we expect that. to the readings will be to other sessions will be devoted to the so-called or i would if occasion resolution which the u.s. senate insisted upon and voted. well on like in washington in russia both houses of the russian parliament the state duma and the federation council must be ready fide but they promise that it will be synchronous ready became it was clear from the very beginning of course that the timing and the procedure of russia's pretty big will largely depend upon the wording of these resolution which the us today pushed through last minute in particular as far as the a.m.t. the american name team is a europe are concerned. you know it seems that they did see a smooth process here in the duma so far at least that's the plan but in the united

states it was a bit more on the rocky side before the senate voted to approve the treaty can you tell us a little bit more about that. right sean it's been rocky to say the least and the discussions were he didn't very top between the republicans and democrats actually long before the treaty was signed by the presidents of the two countries in april this year there had been debates between the delegations of the two sides before they'd be at chills great to. be in those debates on capitol hill the senate needed just sixty seven votes in favor of the treaty for for it to be approved democrats gods as a result seventy one votes all in all it was definitely a tremendous victory for them but still republicans insisted on these resolutions which in particular reflects that fears that the u.s. defense capabilities must be affected by a new start and does. these the resolution also contains that the u.s.

. contains that the u.s. and development program should not be a factor in the resolution was pushed through by republican john mccain perhaps the most regular opponent of preparation with russia and the us establishment and we expect that russians may also come up with their adjustments to the main script. then use a teacher comes reduction treaty as soon as they count for the study of the text of the us resolution now if things go as planned and they stay smooth if the treaty gets ratified by both countries when will we see those first effects start to take place. well according to the u.s. assistant secretary of state rosemont good to mother the new chief could go into force says it is forty five days out to the two countries already five adopted now on to the new cheney what will it bring with the new start to the two sides russia

and the u.s. one how to cut their nuclear war has down from the current twenty two hundred of these two thousand five hundred fifty each they'll be also cots and delivery systems and also new start green states inspections and the advocation week and did up to the previous ninety ninety nine new kid reduction treaty expired in december last year and most importantly these new start for seize a balance between the time see how weapons of the defensive capabilities so the two parties to the treaty and this is what russia had long insisted upon because at the moment the u.s. plans for me self defense installations and he's a europe without russia's but is a patient war without offering moscow an adequate level of pope ration card the biggest returns in the mosco washington relations. thank you very much thank you for taking us through that it's going to be certainly interesting to see how things play out over the next couple of days because you know reporting from moscow.

former democratic party strategist and white house insider robert wiener says he's glad that many republicans finally realized the treaty will make the world a safer place. one of the debates that made no sense was the republicans saying that it wouldn't when this allows inspections on both sides and that's really what counts as reagan always said trust but verify and this treaty gives a very strong verification apparatus it was an amazing development that the president would get seventy one votes when only sixty seven were required for the supermajority and the reason for that is finally the republicans have decided but only after the election that it's time to govern not to play partisan politics the fact that we're willing to cut is a moral statement that the world will pay attention to and it gives credence to the dream from reagan to obama and all the secretaries of state in between from both parties that perhaps someday we can have

a nuclear free world that really is the objective that we all want and everybody makes fun of the dream but i think we none of us wants to die and sticking with the same story chuck hagel a former republican senator in the u.s. believes the deal is possible because moscow and washington understand there are areas where they need each other a russia and the united states have many common interests and we are working together. on so many of these common interests all over the world whether whether it's iran whether it's north korea economy energy europe nato. less than we are are bound together as a global citizens of the world and russia is one of the leading nations of the world as is the united states we need to cooperate we need to get along we are not always going to agree but i think the ratification of this treaty for our side and

i assume will be done in moscow soon i think is a very significant relationship in hampshire and builder for both of our countries . in his final speech of the year u.s. president obama has described the start treaty as the most significant agreement for his country in decades on friday president dmitri medvedev is also planning to give his thoughts on the deal and the year's other key moments it will be at the annual meeting between the russian leader and the heads of the country's main t.v. channels we'll be covering this for you on friday and of course it will be at your fingertips any time on our web site r t v dot com. tensions are spiraling on the korean peninsula as the north threatens to launch what it calls a secret nuclear war against its neighbor if seoul strikes first on thursday the south military held live fire drills some of the largest in its history the exercises brought heavy military equipment fighter jets and missile launchers and

troops within thirty kilometers of the border with the north souls recent series of war games have come in the wake of a cross border artillery exchange that killed four south koreans last month foreign policy analyst stephen gallons told r.t. that sold military strategy is imposed by washington and its goal is the end of north korea. the united states' policy for the last sixty years has been to seek the collapse of the north korean state and its absorption into the south. lead government is more closely aligned with u.s. foreign policy goals on the korean peninsula than say the government's president's role in presidents kim. in south korea. president lee is often times seen as a puppet of the united states and the area around his office is called by many south koreans the news united states of south korea and south korea certainly seized on

any opportunity it can to escalate tensions there is the sinking of the south korean corvette cheonan which was immediately blamed on north korea over north korean denials and there are many in south korea who do not believe the official inquiry then we have the artillery exchange that happened on november twenty third which has been blamed on north korea however the exchange was triggered by south korea marine garrison on an island that lies very close to the north korean coast you consider that you consider president leaves hostility toward north korea. it's his policy of confrontation the escalating more games and it's hard not to conclude that south korea is trying to precipitate a fight to pick a fight in trying to provoke its northern neighbor washington based investigative journalist wayne madsen says the south korean leader's policies totally

contradicted the more conciliatory approach of his predecessors and the peninsula may indeed see a nuclear war. last few presidents south korea had had what were known as sunshine policies with the north they opened up to the north they they had cross border visits trade all that has been stopped by this present south korean president lee myung bok he's basically gone back to the cold war days. he's playing brinkmanship if the north attacks south korea the united states will respond. commensurately i think. you know it's very possible we could see this go nuclear that is probably something that would get out of control rather rapidly i think you would see then japan get involved obviously china we get involved where we would definitely see a lot of casualties you're with r t we've got plenty more in store for you including a fresh fight for land in israel the government's bulldozing bedwyn villages and

upgrading inhabitants from the desert they've lived in for over a century are to look at the reasons behind the crackdown. the united states has a long championed the cause of capitalism but now with globalization and outsourcing in full swing the country is experiencing its less pleasant effects faced with a huge economic slump one american town is turning to an unlikely savior chinese students but as reports for some residents pride may get in the way. millinocket maine once a booming mill town now almost a ghost town the paper mill once a symbol of pride and prosperity in the region now a reminder of a time that has come and gone and international trade is what basically took the paper industry of the united states down it's not just here in the in the town of

millinocket it's worldwide the chinese they're more clever than we are. you know and we when we do a deal with them we usually we get the sour end of it. today millinocket is a small town of five thousand the closest mall or movie theater is an hour's drive away many of the once bustling businesses in town now stand empty and abandoned when very depressing for a lot of people who have had their hopes and hopes that they would something would come along that would change everything but it hasn't. dr cannot smith is the superintendent of millinocket public schools after watching his town fall apart around him he decided it was time to take matters into his own hands. myths idea is to boost the school's population by charging chinese students twenty seven thousand dollars to attend his high school for one year and they have some skills that we don't have that we'd love to instill in some of us to this desire to learn and get

it by getting a good education it's a bold idea in a town where most few china as the reason they're mill went bankrupt but smith argues that the competition the might have hurt the town's past can also help to reshape its future but we can't possibly compete with the labor market and you know one point four billion people i think the competition is good for us and we have to learn jobs with economy work right now there are two hundred students that attend this high school. even though it was built for eight hundred sixty percent of the students here qualify for a state run free lunch because their parents' income is at the poverty level school administrators say that bringing in students from china will not only save the school it will save the town and bring it back to the days when the mill was booming. but not everyone in this almost exclusively white town is

excited about the idea that their school might eventually have just as many chinese kids as kids from maine some people will have an issue where they're going to be like oh my gosh they're not from here make them go away most students in this high school have never traveled abroad what they know about china they say they've seen on t.v. i think the chinese are going to be total shock i think of a. way more advanced than us that ten times more money and like in a better society and then you look at us and roy poor and have nothing and those struggling to survive in town are angry that the country they believe took their jobs from them is now the one they're looking to for help preassure either party millinocket mean. you can always find more news blogs analysis and interviews on our web site here's just a sneak look at what's online. right now. prime minister putin takes to the mat in st petersburg to show young wrestlers that you can't beat

a black belt even if he is fifty eight you can join his master class right now. muslims in the u.s. say since nine eleven. has been the followers of their religion as enemies. on. the israeli government is a brooding arab tribes from the desert they've lived in for over a century it says the bedouins built their homes without permission but activists claim the crackdown on arab villages aims to replace them with jewish settlements policy or reports. in the middle of nowhere the remains of all i'm a kid village for the third time in two weeks israeli police came with the folders

is and in a little more than an hour demolished sixty houses. from a flood no this is my land i have a paper i have a document this is my land i ask this government how do i live and how can i afford to buy the same land elsewhere in israel and i can't they want me to sell my land i won't. and as long as he and hundreds of others won't the police will continue to raid backed up by a government whose official policy states this is their land but i think the unofficial policy underneath is that the land should go to the jews not with. the big ones on a medic arabs who've lived in the negev desert for more than one hundred years but off to israel took over in one thousand nine hundred eight they've been hard pressed to prove their ownership of the land israel says it's built alternative cities for them with all the facilities they could hope for but they keep coming

back to the desert. they're not abiding by the law they live inside graveyards with horses donkeys sheep the animals mess all over the graves and make it difficult for us to move them but we have to because they need permission to build on the land and they don't have it. i think that the government would like to push them into the townships were they could become simple workers they would like to give to learn to the army earn jewish settlements just look around here this vast uninhabited desert is home to only seven percent of israel's population several years ago the government launched an ambitious program to the value of six hundred million dollars to try and attract new jewish immigrants and israelis to live here it aims in the next three years to have more than a quarter of a million of them living in the desert but is because the desert is it seemingly not big enough for jew and arab jew mel torme has lost his warehouse and seven

houses but he hasn't lost his resolve. we are men of peace we don't use the gun the man who came to destroy our houses are the bad faces of this land we did not fight back when they came but the fight will continue because tomorrow when the sun comes up jima will build again and in a few weeks the israelis will return policy r.t. in the negev desert israel. well it seems that bedouins aren't the only ones with a bone to pick with the israeli government later today peter lavelle and his guests examine what is being called the new exodus christians leaving the holy land as they say they are not welcome there here's a quick preview. is israel does. to live in the jerusalem. is that many jews today don't want to live among palestinians whether they are muslims or christians this is the truth

sometimes we try to ignore this truth and we try to ignore this. against christians and muslims in the state of israel this is not the state of israel this is not the state of israel this is the occupied territories and i had to. come out. and now for a brief look at other major headlines from around the world. the un has recognized the ivory coast opposition leader. as the winner of the country's disputed presidential election incumbent. in turn declared all nine thousand u.n. peacekeepers in the country anime combat the international body accuses striking

access to the suspected mass graves of at least one hundred seventy three people killed in post-election violence it comes just a day after opposition to the country's only t.v. channel offline depriving the incumbent of an important propaganda tool. california has been hit by powerful storms which have flooded the state with a year's worth of rain in just one week many people were forced to leave their homes after the downpour sparked landslides and floods burying houses and cars in my. emergency services are working to clear the roads governor arnold schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in affected areas officials warn that there is a high chance of more storms in the coming weeks. and italian anarchist group has claimed responsibility for carrying out the blasts in rome on thursday mail bombs exploded in the hands of employees at the swiss and chilean embassies injuring two staff law enforcement have launched an investigation recognizing the blast as

terror attacks italy's interior minister says the devices were similar to the mail bombs sent to fourteen embassies and things last month. now the very serious business of a vis a festive season while fans believe they have an extra cause for celebration five hundred years since the first christmas tree was decorated there but one of the country's neighbors is bristling at the plants or trees oksana boyko found out why it's a white christmas in a stone and lot via a fluffy snow fairy alliance and mulled wine all the ingredients of the proper christmas spirit and instead of gifts there is that pile of historic arguments on the tree the two neighbors on it been a dispute over who was first to come up with the festive for which that's lined up the tree here in riga sasha helps her daughter to decorate her fourth christmas tree there in no doubt who spruce shines the brightest and for the longest time.

of course is very pleasing to think that the first time a christmas tree appeared here in latvia and we have historic proof to back this claim everybody here knows that it was dressed with flowers and berries here in riga in fifteen ten. but head north and that fear is being cut down to size before somebody can do much to me. but another before i can believe but now i say. tall enough the first christmas story about. the festive fracas has reached such a pitch that even some shock loss is weighing in. if you ask a finnish people will tell you they were the ones to invent the christmas tree so with the norwegians in the germans i think what's important is not who decorated it first centuries ago but that we all do it nowadays seasonal spirit aside this

symbol of contention for the two feisty neighbors shows just how much they have in common christmas comes once a year but historians and law trains have many ongoing saga they also disagree about who is really minimal beautiful whose beer tastes better at how many bears this nation is allowed to handle nearby woods some even say that without this illegal disagreements live would have been too boring so in a way this latest christmas tree controversy is just another way of making christmas a bit merrier somebody's got artsy tallinn estonia. and while estonia and latvia fight it out we're going to offer a new theory we say it's the republic of congo but in a few moments daniel will bring us a business update. welcome

to business volver benz of n l substantial new investments in russia's car industry with prime minister putin in attendance the german company sealed an agreement to build sprinter violence at the gas factory initially not good. output will be some twenty five thousand vehicles annually swedish truck giant volvo says it will pump an additional hundred fifty million dollars into its assembly plant in the kaluga region south of the capital the government says it will continue to support the industry with cheap loans and other moves to boost demand. despite sustainable growth the government has plans to further support the auto industry in the near future and special reserve fund will be created to ensure demand returns. that's why in two thousand and eleven we will continue to stimulate demand with the

federal budget earmarking over seventeen billion rubles. let's check on the stock markets tokyo's drove dropped off for seven months high but remains on course for a fourth week straight week of games a strong begin has hit exporters come or make a limp is the shared almost two percent thing is also lower carmakers are suffering as beijing introduced measures to reduce the number of calls in the capital brilliance also crushed over eight percent russian stocks look likely to end with a full straight week of gains both indices closed in the black but trading is fairly weak as investors leave for the holiday season energy majors finished lower as burbank but the negative trend after a strong profit forecast for next year m.t.'s was down for a second day after it announced losses from suspension of its business in turkmenistan will be one hundred sixty million dollars. investors here in russia will be able to trade russian depository receipts for the first time burbank has

begun placing all deals in russia's aluminum joint with trading to start on the my six and r.t.s. on friday. now royal dutch shell is gearing up to expand liquefied natural gas supplies from russia's far east asian markets the region's governor said royal dutch shell may participate in the construction of the second three liquefied natural gas plant as well as expand second into government also said it will repay extend expenditures within two years and bring in a profit from twenty thirteen twenty six billion dollars have been invested in the project since its launch fourteen years ago. russia's flag carrier air flights has increased its alders four sukhoi superjet it's in no one's to buy forty of the short haul planes ten more than previously announced connect the decision with italian carrier al italia which announced last week it was dropping an order was simply in favor of a brazilian rival su i had planned to start delivery of the super jets two years

ago but the date has been repeatedly pushed back. welsh markets are expected to open little changed next hour join us in fifteen minutes for that. it is easy to it's.

easy to. say. it's the secret incursion into the country. it's the invasion by means of. tradition the language is really you know this is the best deal copied could be done about it and culture. the thing is that the have the dozens are still unaware of what's going on in the land still asking them i have no idea but stuff like that basically i don't know any more than alaska the great deal on our cheap. wealthy british style old so

that's not on the front. yard. happening to the global economy. you the latest news headlines from around the world this is certainly glad to have you with us russian lawmakers are said to consider the new arms reduction treaty between moscow and washington. by the u.s. congress the leaders of both countries have praised of the progress of the deal which they say is a symbol of growing cooperation between russia and. north korea has warned of

a nuclear strike on the. scale of souls. some of the largest more games in south korea's history the exercises included tons of heavy military hardware and took place just thirty kilometers. north. also seeing another far less threatening neighborly dispute claims it introduced the world's first christmas tree five hundred years ago. american veterans talk about their missions at war and the regrets they now have part two of our special report coming up right now. i wish i could take.