senators these committed washington to missile the fan system and modernizing its nuclear arsenal but did not affect the main body of the treaty the deal was signed in april by president's been viewed of at obama as garnished account reports is being hailed as a major diplomatic victory. in the vote. on this american on this resolution or seventy one twenty six nays two thirds of the senate president having voted in the affirmative the resolution of ratification is agreed to. and with this approval russian the us will start the new year with a treaty that has become a symbol of trust and cooperation between the two nuclear superpowers i am glad the democrats and republicans came together to approve my top national security priority for this session of congress the new start treaty this is the most significant arms control agreement in nearly two decades and it will make us safer and reduce our nuclear arsenals along with russia. both states have some very

significant reductions underway over the next ten years the countries will cut their nuclear arsenals by a third down to some fifteen hundred fifty deployed warheads on each side the deal also limits the number of delivery vehicles and launchers but even with those cuts both russia and the u.s. will still hold more than ninety percent of the world's nuclear weapons so many agree that the value of the new arms reduction treaty is not just in reductions but i think it's also important to say that the significance of the treaty is much larger than the implications for arms control it really does give a lot of momentum and boost to the broader u.s. russia reset and i think puts obama and medvedev on course to cooperate more closely on a whole host of issues and it may well be that this is seen as a turning point in which the russia u.s. rivalry of the past is finally laid to rest for weeks and months the president of the united states all members of his administration the military all living former

secretary of state and of defense were calling for senators not to ruin this reset opportunity for us who are sure relations and the message did resonate with many senators every senator knows when you're trying to get things done relationships matter and the relationship between the united states and russia has been critical since we fought together in the world war two and will be contin and will continue to be so this is an on parallel opportunity to enhance that relationship and to say by signature and by ratification of this treaty that yes the united states of america wants to work with russia despite the huge support the treaty had received on many levels a number of republican senators nearly sabotaged it their actions provoked an avalanche of criticism from the country's top six. already experts who feared that

the treaty could become a victim of political games on capitol hill the arguments the treaty adversaries brought up on the hearings ranged from there's no earthly way to do all of this within the time that we have to even more on substantial ones like we don't have to have this treaty if we don't have a nuclear treaty with the u.k. and one we don't have one with france in the final days of debates on start some republican senators trying to rewrite the deal which would have actually killed it they wanted to take out the line in the preamble which makes the connection between offensive and defensive weapons start straitjackets the united states' missile defense capabilities but all of those from the military who testified before the senate said the connection between offensive and defensive weapons is obvious they also maintained it's not start that would make the us weaker the treaty itself explicitly says either side can pull out of it if at some point they deem it

threatens their national security for russians this new start is about balance and equality and they will be in it as long as the u.s. respects that balance in russia the outcome of the vote in the u.s. senate has been well come from many in moscow it's a signal that the u.s. and russia can now open a new page of cooperation with the militants president obama did a really good job under rather difficult conditions he managed to get this important treatments approved in the senate and security for the next few years will be based on this treaty and in general i can say that it's easy for me to work with president obama because he can really listen to me and he he's not impeded by stereotypes and what is probably the most important thing for a politician the cool he keeps his promises the russian lawmakers made it clear they had no objections to the treaty advocates of the treaty see the outcome of the vote not so much as obama's victory but a victory for the whole world which on the one hand is going to have considerably. you were weapons of mass destruction and on the other hand two nuclear superpowers

former adversaries actually trusting each other and looking to work and in hand to provide their security going to check on our team washington d.c. . and moscow has repeatedly said that it could quit the start treaty if it feels threatened by the u.s. missile defense plan for you or the connection remains key for russia and some experts believe the country's lawmakers are keen to stress this again. unilateral suggestions of the parliament's resolution will follow the line of the preamble of the document and they will stipulate to the facts of the linkage between the offensive and defensive weapons but with nuclear weapons a missile defense system basically and second i think the russian parliament will repeat but perhaps more strictly. the context of the russian unilateral statements that was published by the russian foreign ministry or on the date of signing the treaty in prague this russia might or might consider pulling out from

the new start treaty if it considers if the development of u.s. missile defense system reaches the level of the russia will interpret as the threats north korean soldiers who reportedly took part of the shelling of a south korean island last month was provoked by souls war games it's the first time northern troops have spoken publicly about the violence they appeared in a talk show on state television marking kim yon ells nineteen years as the country's top military commander would have the anniversary of pyongyang warned if not to launch what a cold a sacred nuclear war again so while the south's president promised retaliation if attacked last month north korea shelled the south island of young john killing four people in response to sos drills in the area analysts say south korea and the u.s. are seeking to destroy north korea as an independent state. 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. the 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 south korea certainly seized on any opportunity it can to escalate tensions there is the sinking of the south korean corvette chain on then 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 a president leaves hostility toward north korea. it's his policy of confrontation deescalating 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. and this week the brother of the late polish president killed in a plane crash in russia has claimed the body buried in krakow does not belong to lech kaczynski. has not yet announced whether he will ask for the remains to be doomed moscow was startled by the comments as a polish side had been involved in all stages of the identification last week warsaw rejected the results of russia's investigation into april's plane crash a report concluded that pilot error was among the main causes of the accident that killed all ninety six people on board the jet the polish prime minister has told

the findings delivered by russia unacceptable and the report has been made public if you receive the russian investigation was thorough and no further international inquiries needed. i think the key issue for the polish side is probably quite a significant amount of criticism of the polish air force and in particular the captain of the aircraft and his copilot operating that aircraft on the day of that tragic accident and i think that's primarily the major cause for concern. what we'll see you is with that draft report that's been passed on to the published government i've looked at this issue since the accident and examined the cockpit voice recording transcripts and so on and i can't fault

any of the conclusions that have been leaked by the the russian authorities i don't believe personally that if we bring an international investigating team into the equation that the findings will be any different to what they are which seems to be in the pressure was brought to bear in some way shape or form on the pilots and copilots of the aircraft to make an attempt to land at an airport where there were no conditions at all to land too much fog not enough visibility. a lot of pressure being brought on the pilots conspired to cause that accident. coming up shortly on r t carving up the desert the israeli government is pushing the tribes off the land that's been their home for over a century find out why. the spy bombshell anna chapman

becomes a government bad role model for russian youngsters. one of moscow's main airports has ground to hold after i stopped power cables ruptured or have been experiencing an energy fluctuations for several hours before the substations powering it were disconnected the blackout is affecting flight safety as navigation systems have their own electricity supply but all facilities inside the airport are down making operations impossible the complex is currently working to switch on its back generators road cars in the capital are covered with ice after a day's worth of rain froze solid at least five people have been injured by falling trees parts of the moscow region have also been left without power city authorities are urging people to stay home. iran will decide next week whether to sever diplomatic relations with the u.k. these lawmaker publics lawmakers voted for tehran to cut all ties after the british

ambassador to the country criticized its human rights record this week iran saw the comments as interference in its internal affairs relations between the two countries have deteriorated since to iran's claim that british intelligence was involved in the assassination of a top iranian nuclear scientist last month political commentator kim look tare says the threat to break off diplomatic ties is a warning that iran will not stand for britain's meddling. iran doesn't seem to have a problem with britain and the us for as long as it's. good i mix in scientists i'm also sas and i did in broad daylight in tehran. to still be. a person. type of. and it feels that he didn't speak out against the domestic affairs of other nations that will wear the iranian lawmaker has quite clearly disagree but this is to send a strong warning well

a strong woman this is to send the warning to to britain that iran is prepared to go as far as that if such language and such actions such as alleged actions by proxy terrorist organizations are not stopped. record breaking billion dollar military deals and high tackling cups are just some of the results of me trying to get a visit to india this week the russian president also sealed agreements on nuclear power to meet the growing needs of the world's second most populous nation artist carne singh was following the leader's trip. in financial crisis that shaken the group has let politicians any columnists will weigh the question the wall street a school many conclude that the previous order dominated by the u.s. and europe is being left behind by the new rising giants russia india and china and the deal struck with president medvedev during the annual summit between russia and

india food to support this. fortune recently we've done a lot to promote partnership between russia and india but yesterday i spent a whole day in new delhi and we held talks we prepared and signed a number of documents on cooperation between our countries. yet in india russia is seen as a friend it is india's number one our supplier offering it cutting edge weaponry such as beings and so it was something else and now the countries have signed the biggest ever defense contract and he gets history thank you what billions of dollars in total it's a deal to join to develop a fifth generation fighter aircraft costing nearly one million dollars apiece the jets will be able to compete with the american if twenty two raptor that costs three dimes as much at present the u.s. is the meat on people's as in such technology which it is used should even with its fuel since. the new aircraft developed by russia and india would have stepped

featured and noble for the ripley. forces energy is another sector two countries ago when they sing together russia has agreed to build more nuclear power stations for india but the atomic plants it's already building the south of the country will come online next year and will provide much needed energy for india's growing economy i am particularly glad that we are. heading to coming to legume and time cooperation. and gas sector it reflects the complementarity dream. the strength of the indoor russian relationship is is that an alternative to. the relationships that countries have with the west you know we can all for alternative ways of thinking on on various things whether it's

a climate change whether it's on science and technology it's on space with the financial. missing the rising economies are being seen as the dollar store of the new world order and as we enter the mix because of the twenty first century both russia and india are involved in the next release in the strategic partnership god and seeing are really. and you can always find more stories in our website arche dot com here's just a quick look at what's on the line right now a way to escape to take a look at halfords to rehabilitate afghanistan's more than one million heroin addicts. in a stir russian prime minister what you are putting took time off from wrestling with diplomatic issues to just wrestle watch the judo blackbelt give a master class at the st petersburg school. china says it's taking concrete action to help struggling european economies combat the financial crisis at an economic forum in beijing the country's vice premier praised the efforts to

reduce debt and tobar china said it would reduce its holdings of european bonds but economist mark opiates were poly sas support is not a permanent remedy. this extends china's political influence in europe by making a lot of european states dependent on china to buy to buy their debt but it doesn't get away from the fundamental problem in europe europe has a big big sovereign debt crisis and the seas if you like a patch to try and help the situation until the europeans managed to put together some some proper reforms some proper fundamental structures to help the euro stay together moving forward and to date they've been very much dragging their heels in and patching up greece and ireland rather than coming to the table to

put together fundamental reform of how the euro actually operates senior american military commanders are reported to be pushing to expand their afghan campaign into neighboring pakistan and washington already regularly conducts drone attacks in the country islamabad's as a public backlash is likely if u.s. combat troops begin operating there kathy kelly who campaigns against u.s. led war says america's military establishment is simply helping for more money. it seems to me that the united states would have an effect similar to what has happened in the past here in afghanistan along with the drone attacks the invasion of a sovereign country. a united states joint special operations whose means of attack include death squads and assassinations and night raids would exacerbate the tremendous almost tidal wave of anti-american sentiment amongst the public

united states establishment the military industrial complex companies have learned that you can make an enormous profit you can stuff your financial portfolios and run to the bank and that you can do this in another limited way and they've learned that lesson and they would like to continue it but as far as what the united states might have learned from listening to people on the ground who are in touch with those who bear the brunt of the united states warfare i'm talking about the families whose loved ones have been slaughtered i'm talking about families where people are now widowed and orphan the united states doesn't learn from listening to the cries in the pleas of people who beg us to stop the killing. and the israeli government is uprooting arab tribes from the desert dave lived in for over a century the jewish state bedouins built their homes without permission but local activists say that the crackdown on arab villages aims to replace them with jewish

settlements are to his post near as war from the negev desert. in the middle of nowhere the remains of our kids village for the third time in two weeks israeli police came with the fingers as 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 seven times they've come so far 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. the big ones on a medic arabs who've lived in the negev desert for more than one hundred years they

claim they used to pay taxes during the autumn and period in british mandate but off to israel took over nine hundred forty eight they've been hard placed to prove their ownership of the land they don't have any legal documents proving that this land is theirs they have agreements of buying and selling between themselves but according to the law of the state of israel ownership of land can only be proven by registering the land in a public office israel says it's built alternative cities fill 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 they would like to push them into to count troops were they could become simple workers they would like to give to lend to the

army and to settlements who. who changed the demographic status of the negative 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 an arab jew mel torme has lost his way house 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. let's now take a look at some other stories from around the world in violence following ivory coast university until last forced some fourteen thousand people to flee to neighboring liberia at least one hundred seventy people have been killed in clashes so far most of those fleeing are supporters of opposition leader allison atar from whom the u.n. has recognized as the winner becoming the leader laurent gbagbo is refusing to quit . former venezuelan president carlos andres perez has died of a heart attack at the age of eighty eight he was a hospital in florida paris nationalize the oil industry and survived to kuwait tams but was finally forced from office he was the first lead american leader to be convicted of corruption and illicit enrichment. series of earthquakes has rocked the new zealand city of christchurch cutting power and damaging at least twenty

buildings glass and masonry fell from damaged structures but there were no reports of injuries police have cordoned off central business area and officials are inspecting buildings scientists say the latest shocks are the aftereffects of a massive quake that hit the city in september. an indian rocket carrying a communications satellite has exploded just minutes after its launch officials say an error caused it to adopt a steeper angle of then intended a break up it's in the a second space launch failure this year a similar rocket developed a fault in april. russia's flame haired former agent salva ta chapman is making a new foray into political life this time as the leader of the ruling united russia party has used movement at a recent meeting chap and made a speech calling on party members to transform the future for the next generation had a chap and shot to fame during the spy scandal between russia and the u.s.

in the summer when the f.b.i. and cover the russian espionage ring she was one of a number of agents deported from the u.s. in a cold war style swap. in a couple of minutes we hear president be out of speak about the ups and downs of twenty ten as he sits down with russia's major news channel's first i'll be back with a recap our top story of the week. it's

. looks like some.

industries are rapidly developing. now watty goes to the homeland of those with strength of mind and body. to the land developed by cossacks in ancient times and which became the premier destination for nineteenth century political exiles. this is the on screen russia play itself on oxy.

you. welcome back your weather team here is a look at the week's top stories the historic arms reduction deal between russia and the u.s. goes out to both countries the lower house of russia's parliament voted to give initial approval of the agreement on friday after it was approved for ratification by the u.s. senate a few days earlier. tensions fly high on the korean peninsula as. sacred nuclear war so carries out more war games speaking on state t.v.

the north troops have accused the south of provoking them into attacking island last month. or so questions russia's findings in a crash which killed the former president and ninety five other people the labor leaders brother claims the body buried doesn't belong to. say moscow has conducted an investigation. from wiki leaks to wildfires the russian president has given his frank views on the events that shaped twenty ten sitting down with the country's leading t.v. channels dmitri medvedev looked abhaya slows the passing year we bring you the highlights next. mr president but in question on the new start i like one phrase in our henry short story that goes and one other accidents of that year was a democratic president.