the official. i pod touch from the. video. of my old posts and feeds with the palm of your. comb.

moscow court finds jailed former tycoon. guilty of stealing billions of dollars worth of oil. russia's once richest man will face more time behind bars and catherine is out of outside the courthouse with the details in just a few moments. russian president dmitri medvedev calls for a firm stand against a violent nationalism at a meeting with the country's governors. a tough crowd down on racially motivated crime sent just pulled criminals regardless of their nationality strong promises from the kremlin. and lebanon and israel turn to tourist theme parks to promote their versions of the middle east conflict.

broadcasting live from our studios in central moscow where it is two o'clock on a tuesday morning this is our t.v. and we are glad to have you with us former billionaire mihail what are called who's already serving an eight year prison term has been found guilty of stealing billions of dollars worth of oil by a moscow court the verdict is yet to be read in full with the sentencing expected in the next few days are. reports from the court. so far we know that because of that of course he and his former colleague level neighbors of russia's once biggest oil giant company you cos have been found guilty of stealing up to twenty over twenty five billion dollars worth of the oil and embezzling the funds that of course is that the latest verdict in the second trial it will be that will speed him and his colleague up currently already serving time for a first conviction delivered in two thousand and five this of course is something

that the prosecution seems very happy with they originally asked for fourteen years for me files a double speak and his former colleague the defense attorneys are of course saying that the trial has been politicized the evidence not substantiated and in fact the case itself has is somewhat ironic because according to their argument the trial so that is accused of stealing a very a well that he was found guilty of not paying taxes for in his first conviction so these are the arguments that they're using and that they say they will continue using in their appeal they've already confirmed to the journalists that they will appeal this guilty verdict and if it doesn't happen within russia itself they are prepared to take matters outside the country and go to the european court for their appeal now prosecutors of course maintain that everything was done by the book that every piece of evidence was submitted in accordance with procedure and that they are of course not prepared to comment on the verdict any further until it has been

read out in full that of course can take days because there are fourteen files in the verdict itself each trial comprises over the nearly three hundred pages and today the judge managed to read around all hundred so. do the math is pretty simple it will take days before the verdict is read in full and the most interesting part right now of course the exact amount of jail time that we filed with that employed the neighbors if. well served will be delivered right at the very end my colleague that it was over with the old closer at the man his life and his work. once russia's richest men he's now russia's most prominent prisoner coming to the end of it eighty a sentence for the biggest tax fraud in the country's history he and his partner. were charged with stealing two hundred and eighteen million tonnes of oil worth twenty seven billion u.s. dollars from a subsidiary company. the verdict has been announced guilty khodorkovsky supporters

say he didn't break any laws khodorkovsky was not to blame because he had a whole team of very experienced lawyers hole used to tell him that. everything he did was within the law it was the blame or the laws that had the 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 a state selloff in the one nine hundred ninety s. when government assets were being hived off in often cittie circumstances it soon became russia's fastest growing oil producer but the path to success headed outside to a. while later found guilty of a number of murders. the fees place is imprisoned. accused of stealing tax evasion and fraud with

a new charges he faces it's about stealing hundreds of billions his company security chief is in prison for murder. that of course he has always insisted he's innocent of the fraud charges which put him behind bars and the since his arrest in two thousand and three ignoring his past many in the west believe he was singled out for prosecution among the billionaire businessmen because of his political ambitions the russian authorities say you can is purely a victim to the economic crimes of its management i think there's a strong effort on the part of many in the media and in the russian liberal media and definitely in the west to to politicize it as much as possible there is no question that. our cause and the rest of the crowd who participated initiated and was very active in the criminal privatization of the ninety's are guilty of the crimes they're accused of so in that sense i think very few people would fatha

carter koskie is persecuted for for nothing yes there is a very strong case i think against him public opinion is divided i think that most of russia will probably smell a rat in the activity of those people i call that of course and that's why i don't think that i want. broad public unlike liberals for whom he really is an icon he can find compassion the prosecutors had asked that had that of course he who is forty seven served at least six years on top of his current sentence however the reading of the full verdict is expected to last several days and the sentencing has yet to come down marty moscow. thousands of travelers remain stranded in moscow's airports after a blackout and bad weather caused widespread disruption and cancellations there's also been reports that frustrated passengers attempted to break through passport

control our first reports from the capital's largest international airport. well it's the second day of travel starts the people traveling to. you can see the huge number of people that are still around trying to get their flights incredibly chaotic situation still is of course off of the trouble that we saw yesterday when the entire port had a power cut because it is substations that power the airport the power cables in russia and that obviously take down the checkin meant that hundreds of flights were canceled hundreds and hundreds more passengers left stranded flight was supposed to be yesterday and we still don't know if we're flying today by the. yes we have been me and my mother. and i actually we stayed at a local hotel it was pretty nice and comfortable and we're back here today to see if we can get on a flight you know the airport with power around nine pm yesterday and then they

managed to start processing some of the flights domestic and international flights started running at about midnight. all measures to normalize the situation the atmosphere in the airport is calm and no incidents involving passengers have been registered we plan to get back on schedule with. bit of a silly it has caused a huge amount of trouble and we know a lot of the flights were diverted to share a. feeling the strain we share much of a space person say they've really been trying to do with these bad weather conditions and they've had some problems a day icing the will they go to the moment of the day to really trying to clear this huge backlog that they have after the problems yesterday get the flights and get people where they want to go. sarah ferguson reporting there but coming up it is the season to be jolly but not for everyone. the pockets of some americans that

jingle all the way millions who didn't get a job for christmas have little or nothing to celebrate. russian president dmitri medvedev is calling for tough measures to tackle racial violence in the country the president made interethnic relations the focus of a meeting of russia's regional governors are putting about children as the details . the president today said that as in a phobia and asyik tensions are threatening the country's stability and here he was addressing local governors and said that they should work more closely with acne groups to prevent the kind of mass clashes mass riots that happened in moscow and in st petersburg on december eleventh over a but thousand people clashed with police in these two cities in moscow it was just outside the kremlin they were chanting russia for russians and beat ethnic minority group representatives mostly from the north caucasus those mass riots followed the killing of an ethnic russian the sparta football time representative and three of

the four suspects who were released shortly after that of course it urged drew to hire football fans in moscow it also drew the are a both the president and the prime minister the squeak released after such a short detention and they carried out their own investigation whether those policemen were somehow under pressure to do that of course that all raise concerns about a rising tide of xenophobia in the country and also the government's bungled reaction to that today the president urged police to act more fiercely to act more harshly to disperse rioters next time but i welcome any more of them any attempts at inciting racial he should in 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 from the prime minister putin who was also present at this

meeting admitted that as nick balance that was formed in russia through saying true is now changing and these changes are rather painful and prime minister putin urged young football fans not to try to settle scores up to the games by breaking the law and he also urged them to. stay away from the radicals and extremists are actually nothing to do with the game it's no surprise that the country's leaders beat their alarm the country just recently won the bid to host the twenty eighteen football world cup and of course it's not acceptable for a country which is preparing to host such a pristine savan that's similar attacks and similar conflicts clashes between football fans and police take place deeply entrenched on opposite sides of a fragile peace barricade in israel and lebanon are fighting a propaganda battle having won the hearts and minds of their own groups the two rivals have now set their sights on tourists and as artie's policy reports of 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 his villa 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 and hamas would these theme parks offer through all of their own their appeal the danger here is all too real and how will 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 are the under other side the bunch of criminals they don't they don't tell the world they want that they go there one of them over 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 with them to meet with. officials mossad intelligence brought them to the defense ministry to the border in so be eleven hours they live in is their forward position and the highlights include a visit to an israeli unit that carries are 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 the general books as long as it's based on facts and propaganda is not based on deception and

for solid. presentation it is more than ok 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 to be convinced about when the problem is done 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 teen television. and ahead for you this hour sending best wishes from earth. to. hello daddy i love you so much you are the best dad in the world happy new year party joins in the holiday

spirit being sent hundreds of kilometers above the ground. for millions of americans christmas joy is a little hard to come by this week that's because behind the turkey in tensile is that the struggle to land a job as lauren lyster reports even though welfare is been extended the clock is ticking. 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 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 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 there 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 here 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 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 the 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. world news in brief for you right now two suicide bombers. killed at least fourteen people in central iraq the attacks were the 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 at the scene at least four of those killed were police officers forty seven other people were wounded. nine are in court in britain charged with conspiracy and terrorism offenses it's alleged they were planning a large scale attack and 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. missiles fired by a suspected u.s. drone have killed at least fifteen militants in northwestern pakistan u.s.

drone attacks are common in waziristan which is a hub of taliban and al qaeda activity there have been more than one hundred attacks by pilotless u.s. aircraft in two thousand and ten most of them in north waziristan. in ivory coast protesters in. the city of john have demanded a compromise in the ongoing a power struggle incumbent leader bad bo is ignoring warnings from neighboring countries who have threatened to use force if he refuses to step down the recognized winner of the recent election has called for a nationwide general strike but says attempts to oust him could lead to civil war more than one hundred seventy have been killed and fourteen thousand fled violence following last month's disputed poll. and you can find more stories that are dot com here's a little taste of what's available right now. as airports across europe are grind

to a halt in the wintery weather russia's legendary troika takes off once again. plus virtual tours photos and videos get a personal look around the historic appearance of opera and ballet in st petersburg . with just three days until new year has been checking the festive spirit around the globe and beyond the crew of six currently living on the international space station are planning a new year's party complete with tree and presents parties tom barton was lucky to talk to the cosmonauts ahead of the big day. down here on earth we'll be celebrating new year all around the planet in our customer fashion with

celebrations and parties but there will be six people who won't be here with earth they'll be one hundred kilometers above on the international space station and they'll have a bit of a different experience cut off from the rest of the planet as it were have limited communications each of the crew will be up there for six months they've been doing experiments and living quite quite a different life to most of us down here here at mission control in moscow we were able to day to get a chance to talk to them on the on a live link up to the international space station hello my name's tom barton from russia today television merry christmas and happy new year there are sixty. six billion of us down here what's your message to the. happy new year we wish everyone good health love happiness success in all the new beginnings and plenty of rewarding achievement in the upcoming year. also here was

father frost the russian father christmas he turned up and on a live link gave greetings from the russian people and from planet earth to the crew of the international space station and had a quick chat with them he also was with some children here today the children of the astronauts and cosmonauts up there and they were also split over to speak to their parents. hello daddy i love you so much you had the best dad in the world happy new year old. physically it seems that the spirit and the festive spirit of new year and the festive season will be able to penetrate even outside the atmosphere. up next iconic left wing british politician tony benn tells us why he's backing the turbulent student protests even though they've been turning violent.

today i'm talking to the right honorable tony benn one of britain's foremost socialist and the president of the stop the war coalition tony benn thank you so much for talking to r.t. now you're a big believer in democracy as the means to pass power from what you call the wallet to the ballot what do you think is the state of democracy in the world today very imperfect i mean if you look at the world people are beginning to see the

world as a single unit i mean my granddaughter's school in london with seventy six nationalities ways to go to school if you like addressing the general assembly of the united nations and i think that younger generation see the world now as just roco village and they wonder who it could be controlled how it could be influenced and so on and everyone looking at the government of their village or their country or. all the world it bound to our sense of what power do we have over the people who pass the laws and with the power of big business which is now enormous. across the world many big decisions are made by people we didn't elect cannot remove and who do not have to listen to us so it's a very very big issue i think and you are talking about organizations like the international monetary fund or from the european central bank consoles or they are

instruments of the international power of capital and they have a huge influence over the government policies you know those praying or britain or greece and and i think that issue is going to become a very big one look ahead and how can we pass the power from the wallet to the ballot as well historically it's been done by people who campaign for it i mean slavery was abolished because people looked at the slave owner for all being a slave and said who gave him the right to do that to that man and once you are still question who gives him the right to do that then you've opened up a debate about democracy and is that what we're seeing happening now with these protests on the streets of europe well i think all demands by people to be heard. sometimes expression observes in protest but otherwise you know argument all these are demands are central to the future advance of mankind do you support these

people who are coming out to protest sometimes in quite a violent and destructive way i very strongly support it because the right to education is a basic human right i mean we now have accepted in britain in most parts of the world the right to be educated the right to. the right to peace to justice are human rights and if you take some of the way they're doing with the university training you have to pay to go then you are taking away people's rights and influencing the future of your country and we went to war in iraq ostensibly in the name of tim. kristie but that's obviously not something that you support no idea that if we did we were towards support or interests and we use arguments governments use arguments to justify what they do and then everyone has the right no with the information of the disposal to question these arguments and say are

they valid or not and if they are not valid why we're doing it and to stop the war movement built up the biggest political campaign in britain in history of two million people out in london the next stop the war but it created a pattern of public opinion that compelled governments to train their policy and since then have you seen support for what the stop will coalition is doing to minissha anyway no i think it i think it built up to the point the maximum point just when we were going to war and now with all the inquiries and thoughts about the war tisn't the most dominant question but i think governments realise that when you do get a campaign of that power against what they're doing they are very vulnerable and wiki leaks and julian are sol is what what do you think that wiki leaks has done to support your campaign really.