cotts trade while unlike in washington the russian parliament both chambers of the russian parliament must say yes to these treaty and while the rest of the world is now guessing whether russia will say yes or no to these document russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov was more than optimistic that over the goal we hope the new treaty will have the support of the state duma we think all necessary prerequisites for that have been met implementing this treaty will contribute to the security of our country and huge national stability that will contribute to nuclear nonproliferation and help our relations with the united states and the rest of the world now we have the first results coming from the state duma the lower chambre of the lower house of the russian parliament which said yes to these treaty to the court document in its first meeting in the first voting which took place today three hundred feet to vote three hundred fifty deputies said here steve against fifty eight the plan to cut the arsenals up post the treaty itself well it seems

like a good start for a new start in rather there will be two more sessions at the state duma and also the federation council but we expect they will take place after the new year holiday say u.s. senate approved the road to vacation resolution a very controversial document in russia's view which they believe contradicts the preamble of the agreement and these resolutions says a particular new new trading new start should not contain the u.s. anti missile programs development and of course russia will be studying the docket that document carefully with regard to the u.s. missile defense plans especially close to russia's borders at the moment the u.s. plans to deploy anti missile systems in eastern europe have been the biggest he returns in the relations between moscow and washington and this is why that long to hit the reset button because it was a little too final. after resolution adopted by the u.s.

states that a fully fledged global missile defense system is necessary in this regard i'd like to remind you that the treaty on ambiguously states there is a link between strategic offensive and defensive weapons treaty also says that any party can pull out if an emergency situation occurs and russia definitely believes that the creation of a fully fledged global missile defense system of the u.s. would be such an emergency situation. the republicans main concerns regarding these treaty were that america's defensive capabilities could be affected and president obama did everything to ensure this will not be the case he committed to a twenty five billion dollars ten year plan to make sure that there are many weapons at work and these of course played a key role that the document was finally ready for. president barack obama has earned his christmas break after efforts in getting the start treaty ratified by the senate. well done barack obama he managed to push the star bill through the

senate and he did it in very difficult circumstances this treaty will become the cooler stone of security it was in the coming years it's easy to work with a bomb he keeps his promises he's done a great job and is now one so i wish him a happy christmas under. comments came during his annual meeting with the heads of russia's main t.v. channel summing up the results of two thousand and ten or was also watching. this is the third time that. the. largely. basically talks about some of the meaning. of those unfortunately. tried to polish president in. a

place where. something wrong something that the russian president spoke about. every time we were shocked by the tragedy but this time it was not just people who. didn't additional. something about this place it was impossible to believe. our relationship used to be very. good be finalized. we should listen to. other. japan for example question whether or not he was worried. or with the country

following his visit to the coral islands. and the russian president. in russia we have to remember that majority of the questions of course the internal issues one of those is the case of. the verdict. just a couple of days the president being a lawyer did speak about the case but from the point of view all the president and a lawyer as well. no government official and this includes the president has the right to state their position or any other case until the verdict. guilty verdict has been this is perfectly my general position as a lawyer is that the legal practice works with what is possible and of course it is said. that the public or anybody else for that matter should not.

go out he says that he if if there is any proof if there's any evidence that any other russian businessmen of any caliber has committed a similar crime with. ready to see the evidence on his table and to take according measures that of course freedom of speech and democracy were also two major issues was touched upon in his interview session he also encouraged the ruling united russia party to be more active instead of just resting on the laurels and he also spoke out to the leaders of the opposition parties encouraging them to be more active. the role renowned politicians outside the state duma some might call them outstanding some might not but they are well known public figures like mr because you know. they're all public figures people might like them or not but they have their own electorate now part of public politics. and of course when it came to the

freedom of speech he did have changed the format a little bit he actually posed a question to the three heads of the russian major t.v. channels asking them if they believed the freedom of speech existed in the country because in his opinion television has been quite active in covering the events which were interesting to the people with him and that of course wrapped up the almost two hour long interview session conducted by the russian president earlier today. bringing you some of the. he points raised during president medvedev is meeting with russia's main t.v. bosses and for the full version you can always click on our website it's there for you now with water there take a look at what else is lined up at our team down. to the kings of the road and a driver for living the free life find out what else russian harley davidson bikers and costs that they have in common. and the silent struggle russian deaf community talks to our team in their own life to explain their difficulties in her.

face. during the boom years the united states long championed the cause of capitalism but globalization and outsourcing means it's experiencing some of the downsides too one u.s. town has an unlikely solution artie's priya sridhar reports from the town that's trying to make money by importing students from china. millinocket mean once a booming mill town now. almost a ghost town. the peeper mel once a symbol of pride and prosperity in the region now a reminder of a time that has come and gone international trade is what basically took the people industry of the united states down it's not just here in the in the town of no one market it's worldwide the chinese. club the. you know we

when we do a deal with them we usually. 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 and very depressing for a lot of people who had their hopes up the 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 they have some skills that we don't have that we'd love to instill in some vaster this desire to learn and.

getting good education it's a bold idea in a town where most few china as the reason there 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. if you know one point four billion people i think the competition good for us we have to learn on the job 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 with 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 high tech in a way more advanced than us that ten times more money in like in a better society and then you look at a similarly poor and nothing and those struggling to survive in town are 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. at six thirty pm g.m.t. on our to join us as we travel across the u.s. soil to a place that was once very much part of russia. into the country. invasion by means of. tradition

the language. beat the beat. culture. and the germans are still unaware of what's going on in their minds still asking. like. the right. back now to our top story we got some reaction on what president medvedev was telling to the t.v. bosses in this morning's q. and a i'm joined by dmitri pollack i know from the united russia executive committee good to have you with me so the first thing that dmitry medvedev talked about the start treaty now what's on this side of the atlantic it's being considered in the duma what are the chances that you think it will pass with a smooth ride well i think the duma will small theoretics treaty because it's

a top priority for the month and for the president i think he was quite clean indicating that there is a political will in the country to postural this law and the law and besides that we know that the majority in the delays united russia so there will be no problem even the opposition voices any concerns about the two if you would like to make any and that's what please so the treaty will be possible to by the constitutional majority or do all right now you're with united russia party it's the ruling party but one thing the president had a bit of talk about was he said the party shouldn't stagnate and there should be an active vibrant political life in russia and that lazy or corrupt members of government of all parties should get out what is united russia doing in your opinion to make sure that it stays active it stays clean well i think the party's developing quite and then one of the best exam. is that we have established last year the end of last year the procedure of primaries which is a unique prism for the rush to

a tickle history infect all opponents from north yet they can have the same procedure is another example of how we act against corruption. as the story it was the mayor of pitt our fall with come cesky who was expelled from the party because of his inability to meet the concerns of the citizens and to work efficiently for the sake of the season right now the other thing that dmitri medvedev was asked was about other potential politicians political leaders who aren't necessarily in the do more or members of stablished organizations yet what chances are there that they'll have a larger voice in russian politics and some of the more i think for me as a member of a different political positions would be quite difficult to comment on the chances of born and however i would say that a lot of the thinking told depends on them on how capable they will be in dealing with the real problems of the society and the raising popularity of fighting their

target group so far they put in polls indicate that this support is very low it's far below five percent so they still have one year to show the public that they can do something and in this case i think there are chances that one or two members of the opposition parties under the new law passed last year may get their seats in the parliament and will represent there by minor party so-called minor parties all right now turning to the i can the economy and the crisis the president said that two thousand and ten was the year that russia emerged from the crisis what do you think change to bring that about well for me is the. sign of drastic changes the growing number of cars in the most goes through it's. actually russia and again to overcome the boom in. are sales and so on but speaking seriously the country has demonstrated growth this year and they can on the gross about four percent and

actually there are chances and there are high chances that the quantum of will fully recover by late two thousand and eleven there are two thousand and twelve all right and there was also tragedy in two thousand and ten we had the plane crash that claimed the life of the polish president and many of the country's elite there do you think that's affecting and how do you think that's affecting especially recently the relations between moscow and warsaw well i think that the relations between more score and warsaw have significantly improved i think there is more score has done its best to ensure the warmest and fair investigation of the tragedy and i think that that should continue i think it's very important for our poor and which are two major regional players in eastern europe to find the mutual understanding and to go on with cooperation as they have demonstrated during this year when many. pages of history were closed and there are many are the thanks of reparation on all right to me to republican or from united russia party thanks for

talking thank you. let's take a look at some other stories that are making headlines across the globe clashes between the taliban and security troops near the afghan border in northwest pakistan have left at least eleven soldiers and twenty four militants dead simultaneous attacks were launched against five checkpoints in the tribal momenta region involving around one hundred fifty taliban fighters the military has launched offensives over the past few months but inch surgeons have continued to attack the area is a known taliban and al qaeda stronghold and a transit point for insurgents crossing between pakistan and afghanistan. and the un is officially recognizing ivory coast opposition leader as the country's new president this comes as west african central bank cut off access to funds for the incumbent laurent gbagbo he refuses to stand down saying the election he lost last month was rigged it's thought he'll be forced to quit if he can't pay civil servants and military staff one hundred seventy three have died in the unrest that

followed the ballot design to unite the nation but now threatens to drive the country back into civil war. zones popular president house bowed out after reaching the end of his maximum eight year term but little of this old isn't willing to come back at some stage leaving as he does with record popularity ratings that he puts down to reducing poverty and sustained economic growth in the meantime he hands over the reins to his chosen successor he'll no rousseff who won a runoff vote in october she becomes brazil's first female leader. to the season of goodwill but there's a chill in the air and some of the baltic states all because of the origins of the christmas spruce latvia proudly proclaims to have the first in the country but its neighbors say they're barking up the wrong tree or explains. it's a white christmas in a stone and lot there a fluffy snow fairy alliance and mulled wine all the ingredients of the proper christmas spirit but instead of gifts there is

a pile of historic arguments on the tree the two neighbors on a bit dispute over who was first to come up with the festive for which let's light 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 of 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 very soon 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 document that. was made before i can believe but no i say. the first christmas story about. the best gift breaker has reached such

a pitch that even santa claus is weighing in this is spicy to feel if you ask the fish people will tell you they were the ones to invent the christmas tree so when the norwegian is in the germans i think what's important is not who decorated it first or centuries ago but that we all do it now it is a seasonal spirit a sign this symbol of contention for the two feisty neighbors shows just how much they have in common christmas comes once a year but i still knew the love trains have many ongoing haggles they also disagree about who is remind them of beautiful cars beer tastes better how many bears this nation is allowed to have the nearby woods some of us say that without this illegal disagreements lie would be too boring. so in a way this latest christmas treat controversy is just another way of making christmas merry or somebody artsy. but it looks like they'll

all have a white christmas well business coming your way in a few moments stay with us here on r.t. . for the full story we've got. the biggest issues human voice face to face with the news maker. it is but he's available in hotels a story of. ambassador. hotel a trip on this hotel a true story toto. see if. you visit.

a welcome to business news. russia central bank has decided to leave the family financing rate at seven point seven five percent per year the bank chose only to raise deposit rates by a quarter of a percentage point the news comes despite the fact that inflation has already risen to eight point four percent but the bank of russia said inflation will not exceed last year's total. and the credit russian small and medium businesses have raised one hundred billion dollars this year russian prime minister of blood amir putin says the government will continue to support banks that give loans to the sector. the amount of credit. is one trillion rubles. the total amount is now roughly three point two five trillion and we will continue to stimulate. and.

let's take a look at the markets u.s. stock markets are closed today on the last day of trading before the christmas holiday they were mixed industrial average. composite index was down. meanwhile in europe markets closed mixed. ratings raising fears members will have to bail out the country. more than five percent the company says turmoil in the ivory coast. production. and in russia. down on the day by almost half a percent. point two percent. trading week trading volumes are light as investors travel away for the holidays. even after gas said it would not use any discount for the gas.

as investors strong gains from the past few days. there's no. called an extraordinary general meeting to resolve the minor shareholder dispute. and today's one of the busiest shopping days of the year as people hunt last minute family and friends reports suggest sales are well last year. one of the biggest malls in europe. such a snowy day as we're having here now really lance the holiday spirit. of the snow as to how day here in the center of moscow so is the amount of russian shopper is rushing into the stores to buy last minute presents for their family and friends for the country's biggest holiday but this time the russians plan to celebrate this is the upcoming holiday on the biggest scale forty four percent of the population

already claimed that they will spend most of the coming new year on christmas rather than the one we had before while we still fell the consequences of the global financial downturn but still in terms of the priced out of course it ranges from some tondo list to one thousand dollars and as i manage to visit one of the biggest shopping malls in europe i was told that the boss dollar for this season alex when he got to it's like telephones all laptops. and that's all the business news for this hour you can always find more stories on our website that's our team dot com slash business stay with us.

this. video.

or to. help out believe what i was going on once or i think. that i was a good soldier. but you know most soldier on the other side and i think i'm just as good. as they faced this is not a provocation but a warm. and machete everybody is sure to support

the tree because they have no idea about the hardships that we face. one it's businesses are all going to need some for in the army the life of a using is the most precious thing in the world. is of self-sacrifice and heroism of those who understand it fully but you have to live a. real life stories from world war two. thousand nine hundred forty five dot com. wealthy british style holds. on to. the. markets why not scandals. find out what's really happening to the global economy in these kinds of reports on.