springs resort and spa. most of. the evergreen closer who. would. rule the beach a good girl how would. she. know released. already jailed for more oil tycoon has been found guilty of billions in cash and oil. former richest man faces yet another sentence behind bars i'm catching outside the courthouse with the details in just a few moments. the spoils of war on display israel and lebanon compete for tourists

attention with theme parks aimed at selling their side of the story. and the price of oil has fresh high on monday this comes from producing nations there were no plans to put more in business in twenty minutes. it's four pm in moscow good to be with you here on r t our top story our coverage from moscow where a former oil tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky had been found guilty of stealing billions of dollars worth of oil former head of the oil giant yukos is already in prison for tax evasion and fraud or. has the latest from outside the court. so far we do know that. his former colleagues. have been found guilty of stealing over twenty billions of dollars worth of oil and embezzling the proceeds we also know that one

of the charges that prosecutors. put the two were put against them has been dropped that charge is that charge was focused on stealing shares of a daughter oil company and it was drop because of the statute of limitations that had run out on not specific charges we know that their lawyers have already said they will appeal this verdict and from what we've managed from the lawyers that we managed to speak to we gathered that basically they believe the verdict to be almost word for word with the prosecutor's closing statement which they believe to be on ironic fact they said that if necessary they will take this outside the country and to the european court if the appeal in russia fails to bring them justice as they believe it but of course prosecutors say that everything has been done by the book that every document and every piece of evidence that was presented

to the judge was done in accordance with procedure and so therefore the appeal that the process that the defense is planning doesn't really have a chance now we don't yet know exactly how long the health of that ghost and his former colleague blood will be staying in prison for and that question doesn't seem to be available to the public and it doesn't look like it's going to be made available to the public anytime soon because of course it's fourteen files three hundred page long files each of them and that's going to take the judge a long time to read of course the previous verdict in the previous trial. took two weeks so this verdict could well be announced only in the new year and this. of course is the latest chapter of the controversial trial and tribulations of the culture that bosky russia's once richest man and former c.e.o.

of russian oil giant new quest my colleague pushkov looked closer at the man his wife and his work. once russia's richest men 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 be diff bag dated to their first conviction for their supporters say he didn't break any laws khodorkovsky 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 dissolved 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 states 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 nations world that wasn't part of their charter for the company to work or russia's benefit along with bringing 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 defender 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 by a local taxes in food and was killed. the thieves place is in prison holocaust accused of stealing tax evasion and fraud. and it's not about some trifling amount with the new charges 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 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 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 heretical skee is a victim who suffering for funding opposition parties and pursuing his own energy policies the russian authorities say you can only a victim to the economic crimes of its management if the prosecution has its way because he will not be free of guilt twenty seventeen. r.t. moscow one of moscow's main airports is recovering after a blackout that led to the delay or cancellation of more than a hundred flights over the weekend freezing rain had ruptured electrical cables

leading to a massive power cut weather also disrupted other moscow airports with dozens of flights delayed over frozen runways in the new plane arriving from ka-zar rolled away from the track or to go in the first at the moment authorities report flights are going back to schedule a sudden heat wave followed by a freeze have caused the fickle layer of ice on almost every surface outside and also cause power cuts in other parts of the city trees and slippery pavement. coming up in a triple horsepower blast from the past. he. joined me for a ride it was possibly the world at the bull transport the legendary russian troika takes off once again at r.t. is at the reins. the russian president surprised his kremlin kremlin colleagues during a meeting on monday to be treated bed of kicked off a session of the state council and commission on national and demographic policy by

addressing the recent racial violence in moscow for more on this we go to art he's academy about red square for the details so what catarina what exactly did the russian leader have to say to top government officials in the country. tensions are deadly for russia russia's president dmitry medvedev was addressing the state council and the presidential modernization commission today said that ethnic conflicts rottenly the country's stability he also urged local governments to work more closely to prevent the qana kind of rise that occurred in the big cities in moscow and in central asia for one december eleventh when some five thousand rioters embraced chanting russia for russia's clashed with police and representatives of the ethnic minority groups from the north caucasus this followed the killing of the sport of football fan and russian several days earlier and that . the release of three of the four suspects allegedly linked to the murder one of

them a representative of one of the not vocation republics drew the football fans are there and this also drew the ire of the president and the prime minister who admitted that inadequate reaction of russia's law enforcement triggered these disorders today the president during his meeting with the representatives of russia's political establishment said that his concerns are high over these rising tide of xenophobia in the country and also over the government's bungled reaction to that he urged police to. to act more fiercely in case of similar riots occurred. and more of them. need to take firmer action in dealing with illegal migration in some cases we should learn from the experience of other countries any attempts at inciting racial he should and provoking violence should be stamped out with extreme prejudice

forget about loyalties criminals don't have a nationality they must be isolated and punished regardless of their ethnic and social background. well everyone expected that the president will be talking about the national projects national priority projects here in his meeting with the modernization commission but instead. interethnic relations in russia and this issue of ethnic tensions has become a big deal here in russia especially over the last month prime minister putin also addressed to tell us more about that. yes indeed the front prime minister putin was also present at the meeting also with me said that. immunity to xenophobia and extremism that was formed in russia through centuries is now weakening and change the changes droste drastic and he said that sometimes they money first themselves during peaceful events like sports events football matches and of course he also

criticized the actions of radical groups who had actually nothing to do with the football fans in russia and he also urged the youngsters to stay away from. radicalism because this is up to them to make their choice. with those not yet. we need to make a distinction between football fans and radicals support trying to use fans as cannon fodder by putting them out on the street we must also keep fighting corruption all levels of government the people are outraged when officials react the wrong way sometimes protecting even covering up the actions of people who should actually be punished every crime especially racially motivated crime should see a logical conclusion in court. well last week prime minister putin held a major meeting with the representatives of different football clubs from across

the country also from the north caucuses where he was talking to youngsters for more than two hours and up to that they attended the grace of the deceased to funnel the killed to football fan to pay their respects to the murdered one and it's no surprise actually that their leaders now beat the alarm because according to last week's recent survey public opinion polls one in five russians support the riots who clashed with police on december eleventh in moscow and in st petersburg and more than one in town is ready to join them next time so the polls show that in the two big cities most pinsent biggest group support for the demonstrators was some thirty seven percent last week and nationwide the support was nineteen percent parties academy wretch over reporting live for us near red square thanks for the. deeply entrenched on opposite sides of a fragile peace barricade israel and lebanon are fighting a propaganda battle having won the hearts of minds of their own people the two

rivals have now set their sights on tourist policy reports some of the attractions are more than authentic. it might not be quite the real thing but it sure brings one up close and personal dozens of tourists flocking to hizbollah strongholds deep inside lebanon at the low we decided to create and develop jihad tourism in order to thwart attempts to distort and falsify history. dubbed pallywood hizbullah land or hamas would these theme parks offer or throw all of their own there were people the danger here is all too real and we try 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 launchers. it's given us

a chance to see first hands her wars are fought. but what is jihad to tourism for one tourist is nothing short of terror tourism for another here and now under the site a bunch of criminals they don't they don't they did tell the world they want not to go there one of the neighbors this group of tourists is 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 sinbad officials who sound intend to. throw them to the defense ministry to the border in some of the eleven hours they live in is their forward positions and the highlights include a visit to an israeli unit that carries out targeted killings a tour of the lebanese frontline and listening in on army trials of hamas suspects i'm looking forward to seeing the and getting a better picture of the franking you can actually see you know that you're one of

the generals folks as long as it's based on facts and still propaganda is not based on deception and. false presentation it is more than ok and so the battle to win the hearts and minds and pockets of visitors is 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 when the problem terms 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. now to some other stories making the news this hour two suicide bombers killed at least fourteen people in central iraq the attacks were second this month targeting

a government compound in ramadi one bomber blew up a car and minutes later another detonated an explosive vest as people gathered near the scene at least four of those killed were police officers forty seven other people were wounded. nine people are in court in britain charged with conspiracy in terrorism offenses it's alleged they were planning a large scale attack aimed at landmarks banks and government buildings around central london the men were among twelve suspects taken into custody last week during dawn police raids in the u.k. but three detainees were later freed without charge. the embassy in the italian capital has been evacuated after a suspicious suspicious package was found in the building it was handled by the internal mail service and opened but failed to explode police say the parcel is identical to those sent to the chill a and swiss diplomatic missions of rome last week both of them exploded severely injuring two people there have been several other reports of suspicious findings in the past few days but they turned out to be false alarms. missiles fired by suspected u.s.

drone that killed at least fifteen people in northwestern pakistan u.s. drone attacks are common in was era stand which is a hub of taliban and al qaida activity there been more than one hundred attacks by pilotless u.s. aircraft in two thousand and ten most of them in north waziristan. ivory coast opposition leader is calling for a nationwide general strike until the incumbent president steps down. was now rejected international calls to concede his defeat while west african leaders say they will remove him by force if he fails to go babo warns that any attempt to oust him could throw the country back into civil war more than one hundred seventy people were killed and fourteen thousand have so far fled the violence following last month's disputed elections. while cars are slipping and sliding and skidding on the icy roads one mode of transportation seems to be reliable in the cold snap the russian troika or trio is capable of reaching speeds of up to fifty

kilometers an hour presenting the passengers with an unforgettable unforgettable thrill or he's eager for a ride in a three horse open sleigh. it's not very often that the type of horse carriage becomes the symbol of an entire nation and they have that's exactly what's happened with the troika a true symbol of russia come join me for a ride in autos possibly the world's most exciting full of transport. 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 courses with most amazing thing about them as they using different stuff at the same time the whole that's 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. my father used to

ride the troika and he taught me what to do after serving in the 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 british native he loved 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 is harsher so what we needed was some horses that could travel long distances without losing dust 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 and luxury the troika stopped just being associated with the aristocracy but became a sort of symbol for the country itself or russia wild untamed going somewhere really fast but where and why when the soviets came to power in one 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 during the time of the soviet union it was given to foreign dignitaries much like you know a pound as given by the chinese government now as the soviet union was collapsing the tradition of the troika is 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 and of see moscow. you can find this story and more on our web site twenty four hours a day at r.t. dot com here's a taste of what else is online right now. it's getting easier for a highly qualified foreign specialists and their families to move to russia get more on the bill and how immigration procedures will become simpler. and also on this day seventy years ago the modern passport system was introduced in the soviet

union go online and see why it was abolished for a period of time and who wasn't allowed to get one. last virtual tours photos and videos get a personal account around the historic marine ski theatre of ballet and operate in st petersburg. as millions of people around the world enjoy the holidays many americans are struggling to find reasons to celebrate unemployment at an expiry date on welfare has upped the ante as money is beginning to run out but as artie's laura lister reports not everyone seems to be broke. in the u.s. to use 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 teresa 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 holiday yes we can but lost in that story are millions of jobless americans like teresa who don't even qualify for this help anymore 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 their 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 for some wall street thanks for what 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 banker bonus may come out higher that means the average year end bonus would exceed last year's of more than one hundred twenty four thousand dollars a person but if banks are in 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 lauren lyster r.t. new york characters. later we talk with an iconic british politician who's a supporter of the recent student protests but first let's take a look at the business news with daniel bush. welcome to business the price of oil hit a fresh two year high on monday it comes as producing nations deny plans to boost output u.s.

light sweet rose twenty seven cents to ninety one seventy eight. brant job to over ninety three dollars. on the stock market is now in europe the german dax is trading in the red losing more than a percent this hour automotives and banks are among the biggest losers volkswagen the carmaker is shedding more than four and a half percent is down three point eight percent the footsie is closed today for a public holiday here in moscow the algiers also know they sell them isaacs is shedding just above half a percent most of the blue chips are trading in the red was losing almost two percent on the r.t.s. . more than three percent as the federal anti monopoly service has not yet seen any evidence that several stall is over charging russia's largest automaker for automobile steel bucking the downward trend on the markets is into round with shares of more than one percent held by reports the company has concluded the new contract to supply energy to fill. the sentencing of former tycoon mikhail

khodorkovsky will not significantly hurt the appetite of strategic investors for russia that's according to benares from the business magazine this is a setback but also been done i mean the strategic investors are still coming the appeal to the largest consumer market in europe is undeniable for them it's more the peripheral interest is the people who are looking at russia haven't quite made up their mind then they see things i thought of unsettled and so it will slow the whole process. this predict a further strengthening of russia's currency as or prices remain high market watchers are confident in global stock exchanges generally but then of course no reports. 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 dragged yet 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. 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 as 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 those factors you just love use of the chief economist from deutsche bank thinks the ruble has chances to strengthen in two thousand and eleven and not foresee a complete hands off free float for the ball 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 honorables movements will certainly increase in the coming years but when it gets down to it the ruble is still have a lead depended on commodity prices afterwards to diversify the economy a slow in bearing fruit that sent many analysts expect commodity price inflation in twenty eleven particularly as u.s. authorities print more dollars and that bodes well for the ruble my dinner which no business r.t. that's the latest business to join us for more in fifty minutes time.

the close up team has been to the region where industries are rapidly developing. now wattie goes to the homeland of those with strength of mind and body. to the land developed by cossacks in ancient times and which became a premier destination for nineteenth century political exiles. this is the on screen russia consult on oxy. download the official t. application to on the phone all i pod touch from the i.q. exams to. which all teach life on the go.