decision do we know. marino the verdict is expected to be read today of course that it will be only the beginning because the verdict itself comprises of three parts the reading of all of those parts will undoubtedly take some time of course. but it's the first verdict took over two weeks to read in full so despite the fact that the verdict is scheduled to be read today we know that it will be completed the reading will only be completed after new years so if we. are found guilty of the second charges of money laundering. tax fraud and embezzlement we will only know how long they will they were they are sentenced to after the new years but the verdict is scheduled to begin today and according to lawyers of the accused we know that the today's reading will actually give some sort of an understanding about what the court feels about these latest

charges whether the court considers him. guilty or whether there is some chance that they will be found innocent of course these charges. will. according to the prosecution have proven the prosecutors have proven that you. are guilty of stealing billions of dollars worth of oil and have asked for fourteen years of prison time now thirty years will actually start counting up the time where. have begun serving their first sentences so since two thousand and three so those fourteen years will actually and in twenty seventeen where when if. and former colleagues are found guilty that is when they will be released of course the lawyers of the accused say that they will do everything and their power to contest a guilty verdict. should it be delivered and of are prepared to take it as far as

the european courts if russian courts fail to support their belief of their client's innocent the prosecutors on the other hand say that they have more than enough evidence to prove their case and two can convince the court of the guilt of me and the lives of sentencing them to yet another prison term should of course nicholas that i can never to be found innocent they will both be eligible for release as soon as next year so a very tense a day today for of course the defendants the prosecutors and all of the international media that have been following the trials very closely now as we know how much of a chance do you think is there. are coughs could be released next here if indeed there is such a chance. the tale of the story of me and you close is of course

a very controversial one followed very closely both here in russia and abroad the former c.e.o. of russia the oil giant yukos was found guilty of tax evasion of fraud of money laundering and sentenced to a number of years in prison he's currently serving no prison sentence and is of course that sentence is due to run out next year so should he be found innocent this will be the last few months of this prison time of course prosecutors do believe in the substantiate substantiate the nature of the evidence that they have presented to the court but the case of course a very controversial one is believed to be by a by many to be heavily politicized prosecutors of course saying that every letter of the law has been followed and no procedural violations have been committed in the trials and tribulations of yukos and its former management my colleague daddy bush koval looked a little closer at nicole's without of course ski. and his trial. once russia's

richest man he's now russia's most prominent prisoner serving an eighty attempt for the biggest tax fraud in the country's history in a second case against him the prosecutors are demanding fourteen years in prison for him and his business partner but only because if baggy dated to their first conviction they're charged with stealing due hundred eighteen million tons of oil or twenty seven billion u.s. dollars from a subsidiary company of ucas had of course the supporters say he didn't break any laws harder cause he was not to blame because he had a whole team of very experienced lawyers who told whole used to tell him got. everything he did was within the law it was the blame or the laws that had with those loopholes and them the former tycoon rose to great wealth thanks to one of the world's largest non-state oil companies ucas the company grew from the state

selloff in the one nine hundred ninety s. when government assets were being hived off in often shady circumstances it became soon russia's fastest growing oil producer for locals the task ucas had set for themselves who wasn't connected to the country's economy or the nation's road that wasn't part of their charter for the company to work or russia's benefit song would bring others who started using state property for their own good. but the path to success had a dark side to a political associates well a defunct guilty of a number of murders the most high profile death being that of the mayor of new guns and oil town in the year olds in one nine hundred ninety eight he had insisted that hugo's pay local taxes in food and was killed. the thieves place is imprisoned khodorkovsky is accused of stealing tax evasion and fraud and it's not about some trifling amount with a new job. he faces it's about stealing hundreds of billions and i'm not just

talking about him his company security chief is in prison for murder they didn't like the mayor of nifty hugo sc so they killed him then there was another woman in moscow who refused to sell her little stool to them and they killed her then they didn't like the hitmen they hired and he's killed as well for that he has always insisted he's innocent of the fraud charges which put him behind bars ever since his arrest in two thousand and three ignoring his past many in the west believe it's a political case and who is a victim who's suffering for funding opposition parties and pursuing his own energy policies the russian authorities say you can is purely a victim to the economic crimes of its management if the prosecution has its way because he will not be free on till twenty seventeen but if he's found not guilty he would walk free in less than a year. r.t.

moscow. already around one hundred fifty people are standing outside the courthouse most of them are journalists but more and more civilians are walking by past us asking for directions to the courthouse waiting of course for any details of this latest chapter in the saga of mikhail sadat both be employed on live a different we will of course be bringing you all the details all the latest information as and when we get it. very much for bringing us the details as we are waiting as i drove his decision on this case because he has our reporting there. are so take a look at some of the stories we're following for you here this hour on r.t. for millions of americans christmas joy is a little hard to come by this week and that's because behind a turkey manton so as a struggle to land a job as lauren alist reports even though welfare has been extended the clock's ticking i in the us tis the season for. holiday cheer

charity and this year for some of millions of jobless americans despair now why did i work all of those christmases why did i give up that time with my family if now i have nothing and all of the work that i've done in my life for no reason for theresa this used to be her busy season at work but she was laid off from her job in the gas and heating business more than two years ago and has been unable to find any steady work since i look for work every single day i feel like applications u.s. lawmakers reached a deal this month to extend unemployment benefits for millions of unemployed americans we're all going to have the best holidays we can but lost in that story are millions of jobless americans like teresa who don't even qualify for this help any more benefits expire at ninety nine weeks but a job doesn't magically appear by their own accounts and activists buying on their behalf these americans no longer count in this economy left out in the cold and out

of the statistical surveys when for many for example their phones are cut off they are not counted and no one can say that they are but they're struggling arguably the most to get by merry christmas you're fired there are people like sixty one year old gabrielle a laid off veterinary nurse like a record one in seven americans to eat she now relies on a government program that helps pay for food known as food stamps meanwhile no work is on the horizon it's very hard i mean. the truth of matters are really nothing out there despite the tough financial situation so many are facing these will be happy holidays first of all st thanks for one of the lavish christmas decor is just the tip of the iceberg big banks like this one are expected to post their second highest near profitability ever recorded second only to last year and still the average beggar bonus may come out higher that means the average. a year end bonus

would exceed last year's of more than one hundred twenty four thousand dollars a person but if banks earn this money what's so wrong with that many of the banks that are doing well are only doing well because the public bailed them out so we're seeing is a transfer of wealth from in a way the needy to the greedy is unemployment soars last quarter american companies posted their largest corporate profits ever recorded in u.s. history and while the rich may be taking those earnings to the glitz of new york's fifth avenue for holiday shopping in the shadows or those struggling to see a little light at the end of the tunnel we've been cut off and we've been practically ignored by almost everyone that's out here the people in our government and the people you know we're in the media they're looking for any hope despite a system they see is sympathetic to business and banks but stacked against them and we're really living in a society where we don't count this is really marie antoinette. at the

balls while the french people starved and that's no different and they're fighting in that society to have holidays that count as anything resembling happy there's a sense of joy that's supposed to be here and it's not here lauren lyster r.t. new york thank you very much and in just a few minutes we ask whether the failing afghan drugs fight has another purpose and are caught in a region of struggling to spam the opium trade with claims that it's simply a cover for other activities. and taking a trip on the troika why there is still plenty of horse power and one of russia's most loved traditional symbols. of power is returned to one of moscow's main airports following a twelve hour blackout over one hundred flights to and from demo the airport were canceled while some were diverted after free. rain ruptured electricity cables some

sixty flights were also canceled and dozens delayed at moscow's sheremetyevo airport as runways froze over but flights are getting back on schedule over four hundred thousand people in the moscow region were also left without electricity for hours over temperatures or just below freezing it's unusually warm for this time of year it's caused the range of freeze on contact with power lines bringing them down drivers are having a tough time to shoot ice on the roads has made it difficult for salt to be spread to make them safer leading to more accidents and traffic jams the better rivalry between israel and lebanon has taken a twist with competing theme parks showcasing their side of the propaganda battle hoping to win over tourists to get their message across but as policy or explains some are questioning the morality of displaying the spoils of war it might not be quite the real thing but it should brings one up close and personal dozens of

tourists flocking to his villa strongholds deep inside lebanon. we decided to create and develop jihad tourism in order to thwart attempts to distort and falsify history. dubbed pallywood hizbullah land well hamas would these theme parks offer through one of their own their appeal the danger here is all too real. we tried to tell our visitors about real events that took place in this region many stories are about those who gave their lives for their brothers. and in the space of sixty thousand square meters all the trophies collected by hizbollah fighters are displayed captured his radio weapons and tanks alongside katyusha rockets and grad missile launches. it's given us a chance to see firsthand how wars are fought. but what is jihad to tourism for one tourist is nothing short of terror tourism for another here and now under other sides a bunch of criminals they don't they don't tell the world they want that they go

there one of the neighbors. and so the battle to win the hearts and minds and pockets of visitors on the mop up operation after the real war in the arena of pop culture and entertainment taking people to those places is a very powerful event for those people to shape their mind and to convince them wasn't we convinced about this group of tourists visiting the jewish state through a specially designed package titled the ultimate mission to israel in the course of one week we broke them to meet with. officials who sell intelligence drove them to the defense ministry to the border in soviet eleven hours they live in is the forward positions and the highlights include a visit to news really unit that carries our targeted killings a tour of the lebanese frontline and listening in on army trials of hamas suspects i'm looking forward to seeing. and getting

a better picture of the fighting. actually this is. one of your books as long as it's based on fact propaganda is not based on deception and force allegation and false presentation it is more than ok when the problem totals hit home with photographs and memories but far from the usual snapshots these ideological holiday makers have a different experience to share point three our team television. the massive flow of narcotics out of ghana stan is a major world headache an effort by america's drug enforcement administration have made a little impact this year artie's military contributors has asked because the agency's got bigger political ambitions. the outgoing year could have been and should have been a year in afghanistan but instead according to the latest we kill leaks batch

regarding the drug enforcement administration activity all across the globe these turned out to be not a hay day. in afghanistan but instead it turned into the may day for a indeed since two thousand and six when driven by political motivations d. a heavy assumed in numerous paul workers and expanded its thirty from drug enforcement to counterterrorism activities it's hard to say who motivated obviously the hidden agenda for d a expanded authority from drugs to terrorism was mostly driven by internal turf battle and ego trip its leadership to assume more political clout and paul were at the white house having failed on counter-narcotics especially since the whole counter-narcotics the fans if in afghanistan have been totally occur tail and put on the back burner seems to reach and holbrook totally

hijacked of a counter-narcotics policy in afghanistan as a result the drug enforcement administration has turned itself into their voyeuristic out feet eavesdropping and watching on everybody everywhere and doing absolutely nothing when it comes to reid's true core mission fighting the drugs no accusing the war on drugs have the political undercover operating as they see a front company. getting there now we are in line around the clock for more news and analysis and we can now take a look at what's on line of the oval right now at. why the u.s. isn't saying no to naziism as u.n. members support a russian resolution to clamp down and far right ideology washington votes the other way. also marking a date for doomsday is

a russian man who is preparing for the ancient prediction that apocalypse is coming in twenty well and refuses to be swallowed by armageddon. so take a look at some other stories from around the world in ivory coast opposition leaders for a nationwide general strike until the incumbent president steps down refuses to leave office despite international calls while west african leaders say they will remove him by force if you feel to go but warns that any attempt to oust him could throw the country back into civil war the u.n. says over one hundred seventy people have been killed while forty thousand have fled the violence following last month's disputed elections. and a tourist bus has collided with a truck near the southern egyptian city of aswan killing eight americans and injuring over two dozen other people the vehicle was carrying thirty seven passengers traveling on boy to the ancient egyptian album symbol temple's the boston hit the truck which had broken down at the side of the desert road. severe

weather conditions are causing massive disruption across the eastern coast of the u.s. thousands of travelers are stranded s. no force hundreds of flights to be canceled a state of emergency has been declared in maryland north carolina and virginia forecasters say the wintry weather is moving north with more snow and freezing temperatures expected. cars may be skidding and sliding their way through the wintry snap but there is one russian mode of transport that's galloping ahead once again the traditional troika has fans young and old even czars and so we leaders have been big admirers through the centuries. and here's how horse power is making a comeback it's not very often that the thought of a horse carriage becomes the symbol of an entire nation and there that's exactly what's happened with the troika a true symbol of russia come join me for a ride to north is possibly the world's most exciting full of transport. but.

probably the reason the troika is so famous is because it looks like it shouldn't work but it does troika me three in russian and so discouraged consists of three horses reversed amazing thing about them as they using different stuff at the same time the holes in the middle is trotting with ones around that are galloping a troy can develop speeds of up to fifty kilometers to people right here who are controlling how destroyed operates and even desperately with it sometimes it's a skill that has to be trained for years and years and years old. and my father used to ride the troika and he taught me what to do after serving in a country's main cavalry regiment i was sent to the communist party's leaders dutcher i had all the party officials in the back of my carriage in britain if you have to go fast but now there's no one to take the reins from me. if you think about russia how it's different to say western europe the distances are longer the

climate this harsha so what we needed was some horses that could travel long distances without losing their stamina going at high speeds and that's exactly how the troika developed first it was used for the postal service maybe sometimes the fire services after a while it became almost a symbol of decadence luxury the troika stopped as being associated with the aristocracy but became a sort of symbol for the country itself for russia wild untamed going somewhere really fast but where and why when the soviets came to power in nine hundred seventeen they rejected a lot of the symbols of old russia but the troika was one of the symbols that actually kept for a while doing the part of the soviet union it was given to foreign dignitaries much like you know times as given by the chinese government now as the soviet union was collapsing the tradition of the troika's began to decline but quite soon they made a big comeback as a sort of status symbol for the note of a reach. well i could sit here all day talking about the history and the art

of writing troikas but really you haven't experienced that until you read the troika yourself either a garden of art see moscow. beautiful weather a beautiful ride and that brings us up to date here in our team for more there is our website r.t. dot com right now we'll take a look at what's happening in the world of business and just a few moments was you had to go away. hello and a very warm welcome to the business program the ruble has hit a turn a half month high last december and continue to grow at a list project further strengthening of the currency as oil prices remain high with

market watchers confident in the korbel stock exchanges but in the question of our ports. the russian ruble strengthen two point eight percent against the us dollar and nine point four percent against the euro between january and the vendor twenty ten december has dried to get more games rising oil prices and returning confidence in russia after the crisis are fueling the rally of the forecast for the ruble remains flat even though it's hard to make predictions i believe the ruble will strengthen in twenty eleven and remain stable in the central bank of russia says it may relax controls on the ruble further next year i said aims to make the currency free floating. this is key in realize the the government's ambition to promote it is an international reserve currency the importance of the ruble has also recently been giving a boost by the start of trading against the chinese yuan on the my six given all

this practice to get us lifeless of the chief economist from deutsche bank thinks the ruble has chances to strengthen in twenty eleven do not foresee a complete. free float for the bull in the next several years i think given the dependency on oil prices given the volatility that we see in the markets the central bank is likely to be cautious although i have to say that the flexibility of the will ball the volatility obols movements will certainly increase in the coming year but when it gets down to it the ruble is still have any depended on commodity prices afterwards to diversify the economy and slow in bearing fruit. many analysts expect commodity price inflation in twenty eleven particularly as us the story just print more dollars and bloats well for the ruble. business r.t. . let's check on the stock markets the nikkei is trading in the black helped by

positive news from china which hiked interest rates took up inflation in tokyo elpida memory jumped four percent on reports that the company will enter talks but taiwanese firms with an eye to forming capital tie ups can and was up around one percent after the company said it plans to raise its full year dividend based on its earning outlook and expected capital demand for investment banks and that's close to a public holiday. and here in moscow the r.t.s. started monday's trading session in the black the mice it's just about to open the worst markets ended last week make mixed their minds it's closed in the red and friday down almost half of the cent ending a fourteen straight week of gains you can see the figures on the screen the r.t.s. fared better last week finishing in the black up point twenty three percent of whether trading volumes were light as investors prepared for the holidays. stock markets are wrapping up another winning year with waves of bullish predictions

weighing investors might seem out of all of ski from which created the markets have a right across the christmas rally finishing line there if you're when you're reading. this week we will most likely not see any significant volumes of trade although there could be minor movements in certain companies overall most of them are as you purchase appears are still being christmas and preparing for new year there might be changes in some utility companies i wouldn't rule movements in the markets on thursday or friday towards the end of the year. that's all your business for that sol but you can always get more store small website r.t. dot com slash business.

the. russians would be so much brighter if you knew about songs from phones to crash in these. movies for instance on t.v. dot com.

more news today violence has once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada from trying to cope for a shelter all day. maggie watching our team coming to you live from moscow here's a reminder of the top stories a judge has begun delivering the verdict in the second trial of. a former oil tycoon is currently serving time for tax evasion and money laundering and faces new charges of theft. millions of americans are struggling to find some christmas cheer this festive season even though jobless

benefits have been extended for a further ninety nine weeks employments still proving hard to come by. and tourists are the latest weapons being engaged by israel in lebanon in their bitter rivalry each is showcasing their side of a propaganda battle with competing theme parks but critics question the morality of displaying the spoils of war. so they have minds here in our team europe streets are quiet for now but come the new year the austerity cuts will start to bite in many countries in britain it's the students who have been most vocal as they fight government plans to make them pay three times as much for college and political grandy tony benn's giving the violent demonstrations his backing. today i'm talking to the right honorable tony benn one of britain's foremost socialists on the presidents of the stop the war coalition tony benn thank you so much for talking to r.t. now you're a big.