smoking. twenty one year old us to dula started smoking heroin at university six months later he dropped out and does what he can to support his have. to be he is one of the million addicts in this country the world's largest producer of opium . as i said my life rizzo's their own this drug i know it's killing me but i can stop drug measures of diminished output but it only costs two dollars providing an escape radix ridging for refugees returning from iran and fled the country's civil war to military veterans to teenagers with little to look forward to. the united nations says it's another threat to afghanistan's long term economic growth and security. it's what we call the coca-cola effect i mean people always talk about the demand creating supply but people forget that supply demand and that's exactly happening in afghanistan i mean if you think about the health issues you think i

mean activity is often starting among injecting drug users it has as well to do what you security mean security forces and the high levels of addiction in the security forces means that yes you will corrupt your security system so all those elements together means that there's a heavy burden for this country local city and threaten them and the police do nothing more than chase them away or throw them in jail for a day or two then they come right back. today there are an estimated sixty thousand heroin addicts in the afghan capital and that number is rising fast many of them say they want help but the government can do little for them in the handful of rehabilitation clinics that existed just a few hundred beds to offer. the u.n. funded a job center is the largest and best equipped facility in the capital but that's not saying much it can only handle about sixty patients at a time. to enter addicts must submit to a two months detoxification. but the center's director dr why do. it's

a lack of post treatment prospects ensure that over half of the patients fall off the wagon. and we just don't make it on the mother relapse is a huge problem there's not much we can offer these people once they leave here. it's a doula got ten days treatment before running away to get high again. the international community is focusing on combating the flow of drugs leaving afghanistan but within its borders the battle just as important is being fought with addiction a major hurdle in the country's hope for future stability. in kabul for r.t. . russia's top on the drug and forces has the coalition has literally had no effect on the heroin trade in afghanistan. because when you're pushing people see the size of the poppy plantations hasn't changed this year they still cover one hundred twenty three thousand hectors the number of families involved in poppy cultivation has increased by about four thousand for these persons the fluffy provides the most

basic living simply struggling for survival and all the talk about the need to create economic incentives for them is simply pointless they work as slaves for the landlords and these are the people we need to find and target and what we're proposing nato is to take the land from them. international law and most national legal systems presume that prophecy is used for criminal purposes should be confiscated. this is the hour to news channel still to come a feeling of paranoia a russian man invading army shelter to survive the apocalyptic prophecies of twenty . but it's got some says to me that. it takes several hours to get from the nearest airport to the casino in southern russia as you can see this one still doesn't. look at my purpose built gambling zones are failing in the face of illegal games of chance and what russia is betting on to reverse that trend. next the birth of jesus or an excuse to give presents and

eat christian conservatives in the in the united states said the real message of this time of year is being lost they say america is locked in yet another war a war on christmas then it takes a lot. tis the season to be divided i am just so enraged by these all these atheist displays in trying to push jesus to the back seat on christmas day but people like head humanist roy spec hard say they aren't trying to push jesus anywhere when they see these ads it does give them pause that it gives them a chance to think about the issues and these issues are plenty to wars record high unemployment and a budget crisis approaching but apparently the real good or well the one atheist group is putting a new spin on the war on christmas if you listen to the media this is a cheap way of trying to to take a shot at christmas they don't have any guts if they did so i said they go after

the muslims. and this day he's referring to is the quote unquote other america the folks who want religion out of public life. and on the opposite side of humanity now with all the political correctness here in the united states like the fact that you can't call it a christmas tree anymore you have to call a holiday tree you can't say merry christmas you have to say happy holidays some groups are taking action like this religious group here god and america's leaders dot com this is the web site they created you can log on and take a ten question what a ball choice quiz about which founding father or politician said it which really just quote but with all that outrage and all the back and forth much of the quote unquote rest of america thinks things probable are politics right now we're focusing all these moral and religious issues instead of focusing on the actual things like the economy and the wars and these like badasses distractions but for those americans who want religion any time any place anywhere it isn't just

a distraction there definitely has been a war on christmas for a long time and brian fisher is part of the countless conservative christian organizations that are formed to send this kind of message the single most inclusive thing that you can do this time of year is wish people a merry christmas we think it's appropriate. i asked them to acknowledge that jesus christ is the reason for the season and the division is particularly evident in the most powerful of places case in point democrats were pushing to work overtime even after christmas and republicans like senator john kyl and jim de mint were pretty much calling the proposal blasphemous causing this kind of reaction we need to rethink the. current group's. rethinking and perhaps considering that the real battle is much more serious. and it's one that goes on all year round. for our t.v.

. well in russia christmas is still a couple of weeks off but in our weekly show moscow out artie's martin underexpose ways to have a perfect christmas in the russian capital for those who do celebrate it on december twenty fifth today it's coming your way in the next hour but here's a quick preview of what he's got in store. for this week's best fit must go out program will be taking a look at christmas food and while russians have that may celebrations on new year's eve thousand january the seventh millions of other people around the world and from here at moscow already popping open the champagne to join the ranks of andrew let me take a look at a merry christmas here in the russian capital. the one georgian newspapers of launched an anti soviet cartoon campaign backed by

president saakashvili a number of soviet time monuments have already been dismantled across the country and schoolchildren shown a documentary likening the u.s.s.r. to nazi germany however as r.t. sarah firth reports next many georgians feel nostalgic about the soviet past. the destruction is savior and monuments a law banning savior symbols and now an anticipated documentary and a series of cartoons in local newspapers all part of an anti circuit campaign currently being led by the cuban government that both the timing and methods of implementation have led many to question its real natives and then you say it's not just anti soviet propaganda but anti russian those conducting this campaign are trying to put russia on a par with the soviet union. it's been two decades since georgian independence and

just two years since children attacked south thirty year provoking an armed conflict with russia a history of tense relations and these recent events i thought likely to have a bearing on what's now happening. let's cut to a local newspaper pick your favorite general bearing is in. with the probably why and what part of the anti favorite campaign is being accused of being anti russian and of encouraging the public to live by the bigger picture. but many georgians particularly the older generation hold positive memories of saving at times and widget blood seeing worked as a police officer in the save the union and was harsh comparisons between the situation then and today. and order was much better in the song retirement today in the soviet union we had professional unions protecting our rights today we have nobody to take care much or being poisoned with the ideology of the current

authorities. for people like the destruction of monuments dedicated to save us soldiers many of whom were themselves georgian is particularly inflammatory they've had to sit by and watch as their memories of the past over cheesed to rubble. why do you think people. dismantled these monuments we want us to forget our history but we should never forget. the georgian government his name for his provocative stance towards russia. the controversial campaign techniques are perhaps a step too far as they know their. history must be honest and true to fact not one sided all nations united and soviet union are equally guilty for the problems it doesn't make sense to try and blame it on you but using comic books to facilitate this is appropriate i think the efforts of the government look silly. was the strong emphasis on the negative aspects of the savior period might well suit the

present political agenda not everyone inside georgia is happy with their government's actions sarah fair georgia. owes more on our stories and you know website r.t. dot com let's see what we got there for you tonight that the russian president of something refuses to answer the t.v. interview you can find online for us tonight what he had to say about his personal priorities and also corruption spies freedom of speech the list goes on and should r.t. dot com tonight. this festive night if you're celebrating christmas this twenty fifth to get married with something a little more sophisticated than eggnog courtesy of our recipe again that's about a dog call. russian authorities are looking for areas closer to your response to build new

zones for illegal gambling gaming badly introduced two years ago is widely seen as a failure and the original for official gambling spots of failed to take off. stacks of cash and rows of one are bandits federal security service agents breit and illegal casino in. eighteen months ago a strict gambling law meant casinos in russia could only exist in four special zones but it failed then the show idea to build gambling. residential areas just didn't work it takes several hours to get from the nearest airport to this casino in southern russia and as you can see the zone still doesn't look like gamblers paradise the distance according to regional authorities almost killed the whole idea transportation is the key factor today we have a steady flow of gamblers coming to this casino enough to make the project worthwhile but that's not the zone's full capacity last month russian president medvedev approved a war relocating the only functioning gambling zone closer to tourist destinations

would travel to the city of an up on the black sea coast which according to locals may very well become the new and hopefully more successful version of the russian vegas. the village of blagoveshchensk is a perfect transport hub hosting the gambling project will make our resort accessible all year round. these fields have been prepared for a large scale construction by a peninsula with the yellow sand beaches that attract thousands of dorothy's admit however that the news that one will be more just like they are all one unless the illegal casinos disappear or was that was almost all the after hours game organizers have been able to avoid serious punishment but that has changed now the regions are certain that it may take less than three years to build this new gamblers paradise on the black sea coast but with a huge and powerful underground gambling industry it's still unclear whether the

news though will be the right bet for russia does a lot r t cross the region. twenty one sixty moscow time some world news in briefly this saturday night a suicide blast in a crowd you and. has left forty five people dead and injured over one hundred the female suicide bomber threw two grenades and then detonated their explosives laden vest in a city in a tribal region bordering afghanistan as locals waiting for food stamps it comes a day after some one hundred fifty militants killed eleven soldiers in a coordinated assault on a neighboring region the army was carrying out operations in the ivory coast opposition leaders called on the army and the u.n. to protect civilians from forum and assured mercenaries alasania what has been recognized as the winner of last month's disputed election but the incumbent president is refusing to quit west african leaders are warning they will be used legitimate force against laurent gbagbo to make him stand then to the region

central bank cutting off his access to funds. also in western europe's wreaking havoc first trying to get away for christmas as severe weather schools numerous flight disruptions many passengers have no choice but to spend christmas eve at airports at brussels a van to mere port twenty five centimeters of snow forced the cancellation of most flights there hundreds of planes couldn't get off the ground in paris either in europe second busiest international hub earlier two thousand people had to be evacuated after snow piled on the terminal roof smart sparking fears of collapse he did get where you want to go though and you are celebrating christmas tonight all of our best wishes of course for me kevin owen and the rest of the our team news team here in moscow. they are usually wintry weather across europe slightly to be met with some foreboding to weather is predicting the end of the world in twenty twelve's is not just around the corner one russian man is so worried in fact about the ancient predictions he's invented a shelter he believes can guarantee human survival and is out his ego god may have

discovered if armageddon doesn't arrive it's a pretty nice sort. that ancient mayan calendar predicts that on twenty first of december twenty twelve the world will and. the earth will suffer cataclysmic events floods the options and earthquakes that will wipe out almost everyone but some are getting ready to survive the apocalypse i fear kilometers outside of moscow on an abandoned battery farm and invention has been made we're told save humanity when the end of the world doesn't lie behold the doomsday capsule the military engineer by training beaker says he's a genius and that the large trajan collider controls the world whether he admits that many loft when he showed us his proposal for the life capsule one year ago now he's built it he says people are taking him seriously yeah we can see kids got four layers of insulation he can float roll down here and learn upside down without

being damaged. of course it can't be destroyed by trimmers or loss of all make mistakes teams this is where the show will be and the air purification systems if you can house up to four people for forty days and cost eighty thousand dollars will be kept has recruited a band of neighbors who've already booked their places in the capsule but i would say i'm scared of twenty two hours we have to be ready. the others are going to die we will survive. kind of the end of the world doesn't come into years you get in he says his capsules can be used as saunas or industrial fridges and recommends that the government order several thousand immediately either a nerve party mosque or region. but a lateral thinking what russian territory now the largest part of the us but later this hour our team travels to alaska the land where the memories of its previous

settlers a still preserved is a taste. it's the secret incursion into the country. it's the invasion by means of. tradition which the language is really. just the first to go beat the beat. culture. the thing is that the had the dems are still unaware of what's going on in their land still ask my dear. i don't know anything about alaska the great deal on our cheek. is eve's.

bringing you the latest in science and technology from. the future covered. a was a call of course and that's never a. mom a song called. i think of it every day. before i was fired from her memory. so much so long tom.

i was. i was ashamed that i had been. i was ashamed that i hadn't been. why i got all my go my way. in the mine. where i wanted to be out in all the hours of forward to. find out where i would go in the woods or i think. that i was a good soldier. but now i almost soldier on the other side and i think i'm just a good. down the official placation. i pod touch from the japs to. life on the. video on demand i'll tease my old car. and the russian street now with the palm of your.

machine on the t.v. dot com. hello welcome to the business program i'm sure on a qian this year's christmas shopping has shown that russians are not yet spending as much as they did before the crisis however russia has one of the longest winter holiday periods in the world a lot of the retailers and restaurants to make fortunes during that period tachyon employer call the reports. many russians start celebrating christmas who the rest of the world all do tend to fifth of december. then move into the new years fisted it says and then off course celebrates their own russian orthodox christmas all the seventh of january nearly two weeks holidays make for expanding holiday shopping in russia will do three town sales by four to two percent this december which is ten percent higher than the same period last year clothing purchases and food retail

will grew over fifty percent this. once we are restored sales will increase a whopping one hundred sixty three percent but russian shoppers are no longer as impulsive as they used to be before the crisis. this year every version will spend an average around three hundred and eighty five euro zone holiday shopping which is just five euros more than in the prices year of two thousand and nine. but this is still twenty percent lower than for example the germans pound on presents and festive dinners additionally russians will still be on holiday for more than a week after the new year while most european countries return to full time work analysts saying such long holidays are merely a luxury when considering that the russians do do people are capital is still very poor this drunken week as some call it cost the economy about one percent of g.d.p.

annually but for now that last since peanuts compared with the almost full two percent growth which most consumer sector is currently enjoying in russia that's you know pretty cool business are to. and russian stock markets had a quiet trading week my sex and it flat after closing marginally in red on friday down just under a half percent ending a fourteen straight week of gains the r.t.s. fared better finishing in the black point twenty three percent wrapping up a successful trading week trading volumes were light as investors prepared for the holidays. and russian markets hardly moved this week as investors were buying gas for christmas and new year rather than stocks maxime arlovski wraps up the week. still need a border corner this week was relatively calm and that's mostly because the majority of the market players do example large ones and brokers from europe and

the us on christmas holiday the indices have been really changed as we treat volumes very little but also lowball tildes here are one of the interesting events of this week was the disclosure of terms from the alleged merger between earl cali and sylvia needs which lot of adopt the stocks of these companies. and that's all the business for now but you can always find more on our on our website that's our . business stay with us.

it's the secret incursion into the country. it's the invasion by means of. tradition the language you know you visit the first day copied the beat. and culture. the thing is that the have the germans are still unaware of what's going on in their land they're still asking them why do you. like this i don't know anything about them alaska they're great. on our cheap.

just. fifty. five. wealthy british style. is not on the right side find. the right. type. markets finance scandal find out what's really happening to the global economy for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines joining to cause a report on our. first. six.

this is r t thanks for being with us one and these are our top stories tonight the world's biggest exporter of heroin is also one of the worst sufferers of drug addiction makes it nearly impossible for the addicts of afghanistan to quit as we report. from demolishing one propaganda cut. page as a growing number of people accusing the government there of messing with history.

and. media attention from pressing matters of conservative christians that the country is locked into a war on christmas. next an r. t. a journey to a place in america that used to belong to russia and how the old traditions there still. once it was a part of russian territory there are still reminders to this day children wearing russian national costumes people having russian names and many orthodox churches are standing here but more than one hundred years ago it became the u.s. territory though some americans still don't know about. just over the last no idea about. like nothing i don't know anything about alaska it's cold. it was cold a box of ice a polar bear garden and.