by. the.

for attempting to influence the trial. after being found guilty of billions of dollars. more on one of the most controversial trials in russia. in just a few moments. passenger frustration moscow's. struggling to cope with the flu. may be back on it want to ease this tops but thousands of passengers are still stranded just sit in the back just a couple of minutes from what people up to clear the backlog. plus two years off to israel. killing over

a thousand palestinians those who survived still living in a cage. this is the live from moscow. criticism from the west over the. trial has been met with. moscow said the international community should stay out of what is a domestic matter the former tycoon is waiting to hear what sentence he'll have to serve after being found guilty of billions of dollars. well washington has said that such a verdict will horn russia's image when it comes to human rights germany has said that this will be a step back for russia in terms of modernization but according to the russian foreign ministry this is an attempt to apply pressure on the court and moscow is

now calling on the united states and on the european union not to intervene this issue rests with the competence of the judicial system of the russian federation. any attempt to exert pressure upon the trial are unacceptable. in his recent interview with the head still believe the russian t.v. channel. the russian president has underscored that nobody has the right to interfere with the powers of the poor. the foreign ministry has also outlined says that the crimes that mean that of course the and only we did have already been found guilty off are considered to be severe of fences in many western countries including the united states where people found guilty of these crimes cuny even face life in prison the defense says that it does not agree with the verdict they

are ready to appeal it in russia if they don't succeed here they say that they're ready to take the skis to the european court they're also preparing to make a public appeal to the president after the sentence is announced the judge says that the prosecution has provided more than enough evidence and claims that so far the trial has been going by the book the second day of the hearing of the verdict is now over but we still haven't heard the actual sentence the time is that we call that of course again his former associate bottle of evidence will have to serve in jail they were found guilty on monday of stealing oil from yukos this so-called daughter companies and also of the. billions of u.s. dollars because he was already involved in another case and back then it took two weeks for the sentence to be else but this time the defense seems optimistic that we may hear the sentence in the near future go through. the judges reading out what

the court considers to be the evidence against because according to labor day from the information we've got we understand that the court plans to finish reading the verdict this year it was just a reminder you can see used to be one of the world's biggest private well companies headed back then of course at the time russia's richest men and all this makes this trial in this case one of the most controversial in russia for more on this here's this report that it was gore. once russia's richest men he's now russia's most prominent prisoner coming to the end of it a.t.'s sentence for the biggest tax fraud in the country's history he and his partner plot on libya which charge to stealing two hundred and eighteen million tonnes of oil worth twenty seven billion u.s. dollars from a subsidiary company you can see 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 who used to tell him that. everything he did was within the law it was the blame of 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 you can see the company grew from the state selloff in the one nine hundred ninety s. when government assets would be hived off in often chidi circumstances it soon became russia's fastest growing oil producer but the path to success headed outside to a associate were later found guilty of a number of nighters. yeah the thieves place is in prison holocaust is accused of stealing tax evasion and fraud with the new charges he faces it's about stealing hundreds of billions his company security chief is in prison for murder. there

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 is a strong effort on the part of many in the media 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 privatisation of the ninety's are guilty of the crimes they're accused of so in that sense i think very few people would fatha khodorkovsky 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. and that's why i don't think that i want. broad public unlike liberals for whom. i can 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 masco. thousands of passengers stranded in moscow's main airport saw growing increasingly frustrated bad weather over the weekend a temporary shutdown dumb idea of an airport delay of some flights and the cancellation of others has left many struggling to go onto the planes some travelers are unable to complete their journey have reportedly been staging

protests and even fighting with airport personnel. reports from donna did. this is one of most easiest tops looks like power is back on and flies are getting back on should you like the idea that the airport which was worst hit by bad weather conditions over the weekend when a snow storm disrupted pala lines in the area as a result of that some one hundred fifty flights were delayed and over eight thousand passengers were forced to sleep on the applets premises now we can see that information is getting back on the screens of the app or before people had been complaining that they were receiving no updates on the flights whatsoever and even muscovites had to spend hours and hours here inside the airport having no information on whether to leave home on keep waiting for their flights well let's go to how long they've been waiting for their flights inside whole long have you been waiting for a flight. i was due to leave for terms of even the twenty seventh they've promised

a flight will depart today but i don't know yet there's no information on the screens with cooley office and television and they said the plane at two o'clock today. all the passengers have spent more than two days inside the airport complained they were not given hotel but that was not enough food and drinks at the press service of the airport says they regularly lunchboxes and also provide stranded passengers with drinking water what's the situation adama denver airport is gradually improving we've called in extra staff to help resolve the problems we're handing out water as well as hot and cold meals we hope the situation will be completely resolved by tomorrow some of the person just kalash with the representatives of companies and complain that the airport is full of passengers but no representative so companies are inside and largely people complain on the lack of information on their flights or the hardest oladi spoke parents traveling

with their kids many of them have been at the airport for the whole and long hours close to use me. how long have you been waiting for your flight and where are you going to where we can be this is the twenty six boxing day and we're going to northern ireland to belfast to buy a heathrow so we have so we were at the airport when their electricity went off. the consul we then were booked on to a flight yesterday which was council were on a flight this morning which was counseled when are we being put onto the ten o'clock flight which is obviously being delayed so i want to get what you think about how the airport has been dealing with the problem. actually not very well but i don't think i mean your port deals are very well with these problems as we're seeing across europe and on the up moskos b.z.'s top three minutes of an airport which didn't have any chasity blackouts also faces how to deal a spot some seven thousand passengers many of them have been kalash with the

representatives of companies and with police they tried to stall impossible to control zones they blocked log each areas and try to stage protests and system to meet behind of the apples people mostly complained that they were denied hotel baths and they ended up sleeping on the floors and so far white payola taken rushes to law just add ports. you all with still ahead for you this hour close up team uncovers the mysterious past of russia's screecher. if i was his three hundred years ago i may have disappointed my local lords and they have deserted from the army for a variety of other crimes but the result was the same my fellow prisoners around me i've got a long and very cold walk ahead into exile in siberia. more about this treacherous walk as well as a look at what else the region has to offer that's coming up in our culture of course just. palestinians are marking two years since

israel began a devastating offensive into gaza. with protests across the strip israel launched a massive air and ground strikes on hamas targets in two thousand and eight that killed more than a thousand people but came in response to rocket attacks by palestinians the conflict drew worldwide condemnation because of the huge number of civilian casualties israel a blockade of the strip after it came under the control of how much two thousand and seven it's a group that is regarded as a terrorist organization and since then aid has been rigorously restricted and most rarely reaches its destination it's all too easy. that's been finding out. israelis insist their economic siege on gaza is easing but they can't deny the border and international condemnation is heating up and asian aid convoy with politicians and activists from eighteen countries is on its way to gaza i'm border one hundred eighty people food and medical supplies and

a determined core to reach gaza on the second anniversary of the last israel gaza war the convoy dubbed asia to gaza solidarity caravan sits sail from new delhi at the beginning of december it's trying to do what an aide for till a failed to do in may break the israeli blockade on the coastal strip that earlier attempt left nine activists did since then israel insists things have gotten better there is a humanitarian analysis that we are making on a daily basis which allow us to see a broad picture about the humanitarian conditions and the situation. each moment but gazans complain life is still unbearable. and israel has limited the number of trucks clothes and shoes coming into gaza and this causes problems with coordination in gaza. last month twenty two international organizations issued a report claiming the easing of the blockade has helped bring in materials only for the un and international building projects ordinary goods they say are still not

getting in our goods have already been detained in israel for three years but the fines that we paid already equal the costs of the goods so even if we receive the goods back now we can sell them their spoils and those goods that are getting in there too expensive for most people here. the goods that we receive are not of a high quality but we have to buy them because we don't have an alternative. cars have also become a luxury two thousand dollars for an engine well just two hundred dollars for a rather simplistic alternative what can we do there's no fuel for vehicles spare parts inevitably result that it's kind of transportation. the donkey's this is one of the largest cattle markets in gaza and as the economy here plummets it too is struggling to survive. we have no animals today and even when we have barley people aren't always here to buy it's been four years since israel imposed siege on

gaza to try and break a massive support and with no sign that life will get better any time soon most gazans have the eyes on the sea and they have hope on the next return policy r.t. israel. matilda to read martin from the international committee of the red cross works in gaza she says the palestinians are completely dependent and nothing will change until israel lifts the blockade i think one of the main problems there's a lot of this perspective of course is more than thirty five percent unemployment in those. the population of under eighteen year olds is about fifty percent and obviously when you put the two to go the lack of perspective is something that is really worrying a lot of people there wondering how life is going to improve what the future is going to look like because of course it doesn't seem like things are particular improving at the moment even though there has been lifting of the blockade there's been no town released to the population so we can't really say that things are

getting better unfortunately again we're trying to address these needs by supplying a pipeline for medical spare parts to local hospitals we're working with the emergency departments with the posting requests the society and with the ministry of health locally. but of course again. basically the population of gaza is completely eight dependent and as long as this is the case the situation will not improve. that's matilda reed martin giving us a view on the events on the ground in gaza and she works for the international committee of the red cross now let's get to some other news from around the world this hour and a third suspected u.s. missile hit pakistan's northwestern tribal area near the afghan border he reportedly killed about nine people officials say vehicles carrying alleged members of a well known militant group to other strikes in the north waziristan region on chews

day killed eight the area is a stronghold for. al-qaeda militants who carry out cross border attacks against u.s. led nato forces in afghanistan. west african leaders are in the ivory coast to persuade the incumbent president to step down. refuses to make way for. the internationally recognized president. warns that any attempt to oust him could throw the country back into civil war violence since last month's election has seen over one hundred seventy people killed locals are desperate to return to their normal lives. while bad weather is causing chaos in australia's northeastern states with the government declaring disaster zones severe floods have shut down around three hundred roads across queensland including two major highways to the state capital. hundreds of people have had to leave their homes after the dawson river reached a record level of almost fifteen meters it is the worst flooding in the area in

decades and damage is expected to exceed one billion u.s. dollars. well time now to explore another lesser known part of the biggest country in the world. and this time the russia coast up team are in the region that's in southwestern siberia it might be located more than two thousand kilometers away from moscow but it shares more with the capital than you might think uncovers the checkered past of the arm screech or. two things in particular it is famous for those are the fate of exiles sent here by the czarist regime along a difficult and dangerous road to get here and prison and forced labor once they arrived the other is a rich military tradition but the city has a military academy established here two hundred years ago which provided very

famous officers and generals for the russian and the red armies and it's those themes of examining. on the march under guard these men and women are walking one of the longest and probably the loneliest road in the world they reenacting the march into exile made by thousands and czarist russia. it's a game years to go there is some ways winterreise in say yes a lot of people died on the way this group in the western siberian region of omsk discovered they're living on the only surviving stretch of the original nine thousand kilometers of the siberian exiles track that's had no modern changes made to it. when you come to the track you can vividly picture the convicts on their walk and hear the clinking of their chains you can smell russian history here. that . you have going to discover that he's descended from some of these exiles and decided to build a museum telling

a story he and his reactors now receive visitors from all over the world to show them what it was like when the body it's scary to put the shackles on. of course but it's interesting if we don't remember history will have no future. it's a monument to one of the restructures cruelest chapters. one of the more noble traditions in all spheres military professionalism practiced here at the city's cadets college for nearly two hundred years. what was an officer school now gives boys a general education but with the military emphasis. here they created siberia's first cadet corps to prepare officers to protect the territory before that was a course like a military college that's why i think with the successes of those old times. young hopefuls have to pass tough exams to get in here and those that do it's

a very different school to the others in arms. giving a book a computer it's strange to be away from home unusual but when you get used to it it feels like home. military personalities are dotted throughout history the city served as the capital of anticommunist white russian leader admiral kolchak in the civil war from one thousand nine hundred to nine hundred ninety last in residence he lived here though the study of the man like the maintenance of this building has remained a taboo right up until the present day or we still receive hate mail saying that he hanged a lot of people and was famous for severe punishment it's all true but it was at a time of civil war both sides were monstrously cruel. it is sadly the theme of cruelty which links so much of amps history to the rest of russia's particularly of exile where they were an apple or a criminal. if i was here three hundred years ago i may have disappeared my local

lord i may have deserted from the army or a variety of other crimes. result was the same like my fellow prisoners around me i've got a long and very cold walk ahead into exile in siberia. with a still could it more about this place in history and its place in russia is alexander tell all your life so just start with one wonders through basically how kind of developed as a city the history was going to say these are pretty amazing because it was first established as a fortress to fight over the nomads but then during the regime it used as a place for the political exile and you probably know that's the famous russian writer dostoyevsky it was nice out here for quite some time. also our sea was a capital of russia for for a short period of time for

a year under the odd no call chalk and it's sometimes called the third capitals the third one after the moscow moscow st petersburg and then also sometimes and it's also one of the biggest cities of siberia and one of the most important important ones ok having lived to all your life you obviously are quite proud of the city itself i would you say why would you say it makes you proud and how would you say almost fits in to siberia and in the why of russia well. if you can so i'm scott i should say maybe fifteen years ago you would have you you would have been surveys but it's really developed in the last fifteen years that both. curbs the buildings and right now we have very rich aspects of you know social life and cultural life we have famous theaters comment on you know we have festivals going on there as well and i should say it's i really am proud of living here yes. ok from one of the people who's lived all the life there we go picture of all right

from its beginnings off until it's modern day. time now for the business news with union. this is our series business update welcome to the program russia needs extraordinary measures to improve the country's investment climate that's according to president dmitry medvedev who says it's recovering slower than expected at around three percent. the investment climate in russia is bad and that's what the government should work on next year yes we've managed to overcome the consequences of the crisis but the investment climate is still very difficult in our country there are several reasons for that we've done and are doing a lot but apparently we need extra ordinary measures and the key to improving the investment climate in russia is dealing with bureaucracy that's according to your us law for mr violet from deutsche bank the main problem is.

you know at various levels including your the regional level i think a bit more needs to be done in terms of structural adjustment in terms of subtle reforms interims of forming natural monopolies that is something that probably will take a bit more time that is more of a medium term issue for the government with the slow recovery in foreign investment russian banks have been helping business out this year they increase the volume of lending to north financial enterprises by ten percent around thirty six billion dollars the average interest rate for long term loans has declined around eleven percent while a few months ago it was around fourteen but russia's prime minister vladimir putin says that level needs to fall further to support me and to prices. in russia the stock markets are closed in the black with the asking us up more than

a quarter of a percent on the minus six gaining trust or not. there's a little movement on the stock market and what it does happen it's mostly tied to the holiday season that says head of research at metropole mark sty. the main area where there are you know the presence the gifts the holiday gifts at the store if you look at the top performers today they're my stock exchange now my one is number two is so so that just shows that we're in the holiday season as is no joke. department stores the shares of those two companies were top performers today on my six this is very low volume and just the base game going sideways in the market the additional interest today and the utility sector as is because in toronto it's been disclosing details already. the government is having another go at improving russia's no tourists rose this time by increasing spending that's according to the

head of russia's federal road i. must leave the ship goods of. next year from the federal budget a total of around three billion dollars will be allocated for all the roads in the country that's an increase of over twenty percent from two thousand and ten which that's why we plan to increase both the level and volume of road maintenance. and that it was a business of davis solid tournaments for more than about fifteen minutes time.