which brightened. from plans to.

start on t.v. dot com. he's here by sentenced to fourteen years imprisonment court has announced a sentence for russia's most famous prisoner. was. convicted of money laundering and embezzlement is to spend six more years in prison. terror target europe's wary of the threat of islamic extremism with the recent arrests over suspected attack on a danish newspaper along with other incidents fueling fears the problems escalating . drug. use. some desperate measures to confront consumerism in the united states as the

country's financial troubles don't seem to kill it america's credit card dikshit. hello this is r t it's now one am here in moscow my name is kevin owen and our top story former oil tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky and his business partner have been sentenced to fourteen years in prison for oil embezzlement and money laundering both men were coming to the end of their previous jail terms for tax evasion and fraud and when a good report. four days that's how long it took the judge to read the verdict six more years that's how long the hill had of course he will have to spend behind bars the forty seven year old is in the final stretch of an eight year prison term and sentence after being convicted for tax evasion. he is here by sentenced to

fourteen years imprisonment the sentence will be served in the correctional colony of a medium security prison in this second trial could of course king his partner but only because of were convicted of stealing two hundred eighteen million tons of oil worth twenty seven billion u.s. dollars from a subsidiary company out of course he was known as the very worst corporate governance abuse in russia i myself was that you question how the meeting where i had a power of attorney from one of them minority investors to attend and was thrown out at gunpoint meeting went on to dilute the investor in mind for american cause kind of his state than to actually nothing and the company voted to sell oil to an independent trade company for one dollar twenty five a barrel at a time when the international price was thirty dollars for that he made his fortune through what was then one of the world's largest non-state oil companies you close it began from the states so off in the one nine hundred ninety s.

and became russia's fastest growing only producer at that time in the business was risky and ucas was no exception to could have caused his associates were found guilty of a number of murders even so their supporters insist the two men are innocent khodorkovsky was not to blame because he had a whole team of very experienced lawyers who are used to tell him that. everything he did was within the law it was the blame of the laws that had the those loopholes and them because he has maintained his innocence of the fraud charges ever since his arrest in two thousand and three in the west many believe he was single. for prosecution not so much for financial reasons as for his political ambitions so why do his supporters in russia tend to view him as a sort of a martyr figure we're all humans feel compassion for people who who are who are behind the bars for a very long time here already eight years in prison and he has to spend many years

more a person can be smart he can be a particular. spoken but it doesn't mean that necessarily this is a failure of non-guilt and that might be a case where the prosecutors had asked for at least six more years on top of his current sentence they got what they wanted because his lawyers see deal appeal meaning we may not have heard the last of russia's trial of the decade it in a. moscow three man arrested for planning denmark's most serious current attack have been charged over a terror plot earlier delhi police released one of the five suspects and another one is to face hearings in sweden the suspects allegedly planned an attack on the office of a newspaper in copenhagen which printed cartoons of the prophet muhammad five years ago the drawing sparked outrage among muslims across the world officials say those arrested intended to kill as many people as possible in the paper's newsroom it is the latest in a series of arrests throughout the year which have put european nations on high

alert over the spread of islamic radicalism and he's a good person off reports. over a year of investigations and a massive police raid in the end brought results twenty six people have been arrested in belgium germany the netherlands belgium dutch moroccans and chechens all are suspected of recruiting so-called jihad is candidates and financing terrorist organizations right from the whole of europe police mission a success absolutely but is the battle over it's just a visible part of the iceberg it's huge there is a whole. seen behind this redo on a ruse was born in belgium in a family of christians and converted to islam when he was nineteen he says he did it on his own will because it simply provided the answers he couldn't find in other religions according to him islam teaches peace and tolerance but unfortunately due to generally poor knowledge about it it can be used to teach the exact opposite.

there are really extreme arms acting in europe and the problem is people who don't know erratic and don't understand the muslim philosophy they end up in the arms of busy moms who come from saudi arabia or egypt a former french intelligence officer claude money care now has a company advising governments and corporations on health to deal with terrorism and extremism related threats based in brussels he claims the spread of islamic extremism is happening right in front of the authorities veil to from their attention by its privacy they will say you are not a good missed him because you don't practice five times the price five times a day you are not a good muslim because you are drinking you are not a good muslim because your wife is not there and you are not a good mystery because you don't do nothing for your brother. in palestine in iraq and so on which oppressed and are killed it begins in the families it begins. in

the streets and in the mosque this is one of the immigrant quarters of brussels last week populated by muslims signs in arabic special with shops and cafes and of course to believe we are in the portland top european union official around a quarter of the local active working age population from eighteen to thirty is unemployed officially this figure is even higher which makes it prime ground for recruitment. the lack of education about a little work in many european muslim communities seem to have become the driving force behind the spread of extremist belgium's to towards asylum on the most relaxed in the european union the flow of. newcomers is likely to continue and many experts believe. it is need to hope muslims integrate into a multicultural society the extremism threat will remain no matter how many arrests or me you go to school of brussels we spoke to danish journalist and writer helen redbrick she told us it's the politicians who've let the situation get out of

control i think what has gone terribly wrong is simply that very many politicians underestimate the influence of radical preachers speaking in mosques all over europe or in campuses at universities or of course breaking the message it's on the internet and when you have radical preachers doing things and not sort of officials being aware of it then you have the situation that you have today. to have had a few moments here and we reveal the secrets of staying strong in siberia. pulling minibuses isn't the only way these weightlifters show their strength it can also find many other ways to flex some siberian muscle. join up he's closer to the city bombs to see what else people there are capable of where their power comes from. now with the winter holiday season in full swing it's buying

presents is occupying most russians minds right now but for many in the united states shopping is an all season addiction which thrives despite the faltering economy. next met one man who's fighting what he believes has become a religion. truth. you should. stop. her. heart styles and new must have items of the fashion world changes fast as the seasons but one thing that never goes out of style in the us is shopping america is the birthplace of modern consumerism nowhere else in the world do people buy more than here with officially more shopping malls in the us than

high schools if i didn't spend enough money on sunglasses i could probably save for college and things like bad very few actually admit to an addiction is a dora does exactly what. that was they had twenty five things we do we need for a new dose of jackets sweaters and skirts she considers herself a shopaholic how many pairs of shoes do you have. the urge to possess has taken over men to statistics say you men and women compulsively shop equally in the us nowadays i'm actually excited about expense runs your last couple of years have spent i think a one hundred thousand dollars a well while these numbers are simply unimaginable for millions of americans only a few are putting up a very loud fight against consumerism. reverend billy

says a credit card exorcism on the entire nation is what can cure america fifteen million americans are addicted to shopping but many more americans than fifteen million shop too much still shape is mean life mission is to chase away. this shopping devil by putting on acts in churches and shopping malls around the country the credit crunch the purpose of the exaggerations is to make americans see their flaws use of this plastic. too much money. a consumer. it's a church but controls us it's a fundamentalist church like the roman catholic church in the fourteen hundreds these desperate times normally accept my credit card limit every month could be calling for desperate measures like spells and exorcisms the things that glitter in the windows look out appeal to you since more often than not in the us legally the

majority of people have too much month left at the end of the money the average american is said to generate over fifty tons of garbage by the time they are a senior with millions buzzing around new york stores this holiday season it's hard to tell who is doing it responsibly and who is completely out of control because of shopping not considered a mental disorder there are dozens of there are people and clinics in the big apple for those who are willing to admit they have a problem or an indication of no lessons learned even after the big crash of a recession and so they see true can see new york. well if you've got some sort of sore that was snowed. dot com tonight along with these as well new parts of the chernobyl nuclear disaster sites are being opened up to roost as authorities say it no longer poses a radioactive threat. to face the full details of that. so is it for this story to wiki leaks was not the first in league secret diplomatic cables

krypto all was publishing classified documents long before we told the websites co-founder john young about his interview on our website. south korea's ramped up the rhetoric against its northern neighbor officially labeling it as an enemy that comes as tensions in the region remain high following north korea's shelling of an island in response to war games on its border the unit petroff lecturer in korean studies at the university of sydney says that it's part of the new approach to relations with the north. from north korean side it's a very provocative hostile step from south korea which. is supplementing its. not just rhetoric but also military and logistical preparations

for the invasion of north korea looks at that but for south koreans it's just a return to the original stance the hostile anticommunist very heavy handed and very sort of. relations with north korea you know concessions no cooperation no talks with south korea expects north korea to change north korea does not want to change north korea's prepared is doing everything possible to avoid this change because it simply cannot sustain any economic or political change so resides on the four north korean regime it's a survival south korea is doing everything possible to destabilize the situation either militarily or using to provide the traditional usual for the sunshine policy south korea is a security ally of the united states and united states is presence in the region and states really wants to influence its control over the group unusual united

states are stationed for that station in the southern part of the korean peninsula china's next door from the korean peninsula and of course if the united states loses control or influence over korea korean peninsula north korea if say unified korea becomes a new dependent state well the certain interests of the united states' national interests might be jeopardized so we'll do see brief now the former president of israel moshe has been convicted of rape and could go to jail the three judge panel labeled his defense is riddled with lies in its ruling but it's not yet sentenced to women's rights groups who've long complained that israeli authorities shrugged off sexual harassment and workplaces welcomed the verdict he was found guilty of raping an employee as tourism minister in the ninety's ninety's and other sexual offenses when head of state between two thousand and two thousand and seven. days of dreadful reign of life eastern australia. worst flooding in decades thousands of people have been evacuated from affected areas but many remote communities remain cut off by high waters the government's declared much of the northeast

a disaster zone and deployed army helicopters to assist with rescue efforts just a warning that even though the rains have eased off runoff from higher areas could still lead to flooding. that's a bit of russia close up now as we discover the hidden treasures of siberia. we're almost as you can see on the map now it's the largest region one of them anyway in southwestern siberia people here are known for their considerable strength and true siberian spirit that's exactly what makes the best hockey players in the country would tell and it turns out it's not the only way to show some siberian muscle. couple. i and almost goes wild the local hockey team album god puts another goal in the net they may look like other teams from around russia or in the world

but they know their special i their side they're. just as in my list since we were little we've practiced outside in the cold weather so we're used to hard conditions it's women north america so we're the toughest players. and it's not just seasoned players enthusiasm for the test of courage and strength comes young. and. i like the way they play hockey the pillow fights the strikes and the opportunity to become a still life. ice hockey isn't the only had kilian and dev attracting attention here how about the why don't know turning a minibus. of those boys who didn't say bierria in winter with slippery roads it's pretty hard. pulling many buses are the only way this way they have to show their strength they can also find many other ways to flex some siberian muscle. here is a local gym the team lifts bends and pulls anything they can lay their hands on for

competitions across russia they also put on public shows to entertain the crowds but earn some extra money your day in day out it's about heaving that little bit more. moon than i had to swim it's different i just like it that's all i like wrestling against these pieces of equipment i like to achieve high results. the team only formed a few years ago so they haven't won any major titles yet but again the siberian spirit infuses them and they have a strong sense that special qualities should. be simply comes as a historically people from siberia have been very strong and made great soldiers i think they greatly contributed to our victory in world war two conditions here make people learn how to survive it's their money strong indeed in fact you could hardly

describe these lot as being in survival mode. if it looks lift a ball or move all these guys will try and muscle it around me to tire moving. me some joined weights lifting. or perhaps even me. it's not a problem for the men with the muscles tom barton r.t. . with russia's new year holiday just around the corner of the capital seen the grand opening of its biggest ever ice rink called gawky city it's named after a ski resort there's enough space apparently more than a thousand people at a time on the rink it revives the tradition of skating at in a store export loved by several of russia's most famous writers and artists to parties i have a better go to skate so on and to follow. new year in moscow really wouldn't be complete without a bit of ice skating so i've done the patriotic poems by historic place in the

sense of the cities appalled by the song and i sing by winter and this is the first year they've actually been an official ice rink here. i i. phones that famous place i'm not going to tell us so we came here over a hundred years ago there is ice skating and there's a famous place with muscovites. called bulldog because noble i'm awesome all great so this year is the first that actually made an official i think this ends up going to this series as you saw up around the place. this does not hit on like that in my office of course is that children. stay saying i'm i think i get to give you lessons. but i think the four i flew over all believe in that video merry christmas

and you know how you are. very festive next palestinian officials say they will ask the u.n. security council to approve a resolution condemning israeli settlements in the west bank well off he now hears from a human rights group which believes the world body is struggling to deal with israel right now.

with me i have the executive director of you and watch a human rights group based in switzerland mr miller thank you very much for joining us here on r.t. your group basically monitors the united nations but why does the u.n. even need monitoring here and watch as a non-governmental organization whose mandate is to monitor the united nations according to the principles of its charter essentially to hold the un accountable and to measure it by the yardstick of its own charter many israelis complain that israel does not get a fair deal or fair hearing by the united nations would you agree it's one of our issues that's important to us is fighting anti-semitism and also the discriminatory treatment of israel the un's obsession with israel doesn't only harm israel it doesn't only harm the peace process but it harms the u.n. as a whole it prevents the u.n. from being effective for human rights victims who never get their day of

international attention why is the u.n. to use your words. u.n. has been strong champion of the p.l.o. since the early one nine hundred seventy s. this was largely a function of the soviet union together with the arab states started a campaign to attack israel and hijack many un bodies so you have an enormous amount of the un's attention. is a stand simply devoted to helping the palestinians and have the palestinians been helped and the palestinians have not been helped and it was coffee in on himself the secretary general the united nations in his parting speech to the security council said what have all the special agenda items and special reports and special sessions on the palestinian situation ever done to help the palestinians and the reality is very little if you look at the past thirty years of all the resolutions and at the un human rights council in geneva it's something like seventy five

percent of all the resolutions are condemning israel stand simply helping the palestinians the reality is the only thing they've done for the palestinians is encourage a sense that no matter what happens whatever mistakes they make whatever terrorism they may support the u.n. will always be there to encourage them make them believe that no matter what they will prevail and it's only encouraged the most extreme forces in the palestinian camp it has not helped the moderates so why has the u.n. failed to hope the palestinians in any meaningful way the u.n. is a large organization and has many agencies that do good work unfortunately a number of them are highly politicized in new york the general assembly is highly politicized the human rights council is the same they're mostly dominated by third world countries from asia and africa many of whom are not democracies and who have their own agendas which have very little to do with human rights for example the dictator of libya murderous regime was elected to the human rights council that's

that's a sad joke for the cause of human rights do you sense that the u.n. is in touch with what's going on here on the ground between israelis and palestinians which would you have really are two separate things and it's something that i've been able to see at the human rights council you have the real situation on the ground where you have israelis and palestinians that need help and they could have help of international interlocutors be the united states the european. other countries or the or the un which could come in and help them and try to bring them together bridge their differences you have a real situation with real problems what happens at the un too often is something on a on a level that is almost mythological that is entirely divorced from reality and i saw that once a couple of years ago it was in the june two thousand and seven when hamas was waging a bloody coup against v. against the palestinian authority and during that time it was a very nasty hamas was throwing people off of rooftops they were shooting people in

hospital beds and all this was happening israel of course had already withdrawn in the unilateral withdrawal from gaza there were no israeli troops not a single one in gaza had no involvement whatsoever with this conflict and in my earpiece listening what was happening in the u.n. route plenary was they were attacking israel condemning israel for human rights violations so i think this this example captures what happens at the u.n. but there are real problems real people suffering but the u.n. is sort of locked into an automatic mode where all they're doing is condemning israel but despite what you've said at times the army solutions that are possed that support israel for example the resolution on the commemoration of the holocaust that was overwhelmingly passed when theory it could happen one day that israel would submit its candidacy and it would be elected the security council the reality today is that the islamic states are so. opposed to anything that favors israel even in the most benign way that you would have almost fifty six states determined to oppose israel and many dictatorships at the u.n.

automatically oppose israel countries like zimbabwe north korea and so forth vote with the islamic states in their campaign and so even if israel were to submit it's kind of a see it's not clear that it would be elected do you still support the existence of the u.n. is it still relevant in our world today we believe the u.n. could be something else we believe that the u.n. has an indispensable role in this world there's there's no. replacement for the one if you went didn't exist we would have to create it. and the when when it started in the early years it was very well respected by all countries. and it's its mission was respected by israelis as it was by arabs but in the past several decades it's been taken over by an extreme agenda anyway thank you very much for talking to us here on naughty thank you my pleasure.