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the top stories that shape the week wasco falls victim to the whims of the weather has frozen rain leads to massive blackouts and travel chaos paralyzing the russian capital for several days. europe's growing increasingly wary of the spread of islamic extremism with the recent arrests over the alleged mass terror plot in denmark adding to the fears. russia's was famous prison mikhail khodorkovsky will retain this status for six more years as the court finds the former tycoon guilty of massive oil embezzled. also two years after israel's military offensive on gaza we report on how people there are still struggling to get their lives back to normal despite israeli insisting it's easing economic blockade. of the worldwide

welcome for twenty eleven a quick trip around the globe to enjoy the highlights of the new year festivities. it's nine pm sunday evening here in moscow welcome if you just joined us my name's kevin owen with news review of the past seven days at r.t. and it was a week where moscow ground or hold freezing rain ruptured power lines paralyzed traffic in crippled airports for thousands of stranded travelers and start in the holidays stuck in traffic jams all sleeping on the airport floor others were left in the dark on new year's eve is a country which overruns and. turned into a lump of ice overnight the rain was freezing while pulling almost emergency workers knocked it down like gloss. heavy eyes snapped power lines and shut

down the country's largest airports for almost two days but enough at any time of year but horrendous at the highs of the holy day getaway this is how one of moskos easiest hops 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 pa 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 app or its premises. it's very hard for me here i have a broken leg and there are no facilities here to bureaucracy and no one's helping there's no service 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 any airport deals are very well with these problems as we're seeing across europe. russia second largest and hub sure imagine ever suffered no electricity blackouts but

based on how to deal a sport thousands of passengers who stormed the control zones bloke log each areas and clashed with police. meanwhile outside was no better motorists were first clearing their cars from eyes and then spent hours in jams freezing up again at three thousand two hundred kilometers the queues be all records in the city and if in one straight line would stretch all the way to burst solona i've been stuck in traffic for five hours. with clocks fast approaching the new year the prime minister was pushing the local authorities to work harder. as you promised that by six pm today electricity will be back on it's six now seriously but it's not up to me to losing. it it's because in the thirty five villages for families and people still without power i have an idea unless you go to these villages we

can celebrate the new year together with these people. and the first time in six days villagers saw the streets lead up by the car is of the high ranking official sent to say sorry and just twenty minutes before midnight people were once again seeing the light relieved their policy back on and twenty eleven was already looking brighter if in the direction of our arctic most. investigators have found the flight recorders of the russian passenger jet which caught fire and exploded in western siberia the instant claimed at least three lives and left a forty injured investigators are looking for cause the fire of the engines the plane was taxiing for takeoff in the city of sort of court more than one hundred twenty passengers and crew were evacuated from the jet before it blew up among those on board was a russian pop group called who told journalists there was difficulty with opening

the emergency exits some passengers reportedly had to run through the flames to escape leaving them with severe burns one of the injured is in a critical condition tonight. this is the r t news channel still ahead for you this hour when shopping turns into a religion. you shall. we look at some desperate methods to confront consumerism in the united states as the country's financial troubles don't seem to cure it america's credit card addiction plus. or not is close obtained in siberia or meet local cossacks there. strived to revive the noble spirit in traditions of their ancestors who conquered this back. this week danish police prevented what they called the most serious terror plot ever attempted in the country four suspects arrested on wednesday will stay in prison for several weeks on allegations of planning a gun attack in copenhagen it's thought the man with links to international terror

networks were plotting a gun rampage in the office so the newspaper which printed cartoons of the prophet mohammed 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 newspapers newsroom it is the latest in a series of arrests throughout the year which has put european nations on high alert over the spread of islamic radicalism artie's has cannot explain. 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 churchills all are suspected of recruiting so-called jihad is candidates and financing terrorist organizations right from the heartland of europe police mission a success absolutely but is the battle over this is a very it's just a visible part of the iceberg it's huge there is a whole machine behind this redo on a ruse was born in belgium in

a family of christians and converted to islam when he was lame t. 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 feel erratic and don't understand the muslim philosophy or they end up in the arms of busy moms who come from saudi arabia or egypt a former french intel. officer claude many care now has a company advising governments and corporations or 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 vielka from their attention by its privacy they will say you are not a good mystery because you don't practice five times the prior 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 veiled and you are not a good mystery because you don't do nothing for your brother. in palestine in iraq and so on which are oppressed and are killed it begins in the families it begins. in the streets and in the must this is one of the immigrant quarters of brussels populated by muslims signs in arabic specialist shops and cafes teleport 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 unofficial in 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 or among the most to be left 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 it's going off or brussels. for all tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky had his prison term extended on thursday his current sentence for fraud and tax evasion would have ended this year but a new sentence for stealing oil means he'll stay behind bars until twenty seventeen his lawyers have appealed against the verdict and his ridiculous reports. four days that's how long it took the judge to read the verdict six more years that's how long the hill who 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. because 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 of the course king just 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 and i myself was that you question how the meeting by i had a power of attorney from one of them minority investors to attend and was thrown out at gunpoint their meeting went on to dilute the investor a man called american called 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 he made his fortune through what was then one of the world's largest non-state oil companies ucas it began from the states so often in 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 hole used to tell him that. everything he did was within the law it was the blame of the laws that had those holes in them and the cost he has maintained his innocence of the fraud charges ever since his arrest in two thousand and three many in the west were of the opinion that people. 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 are all humans and feel compassion for people who who are who are behind the bars for a very long time he already eight years in prison and he has to spend many years more the present can be smart he can be a particular he couldn't be sole support spore couldn't but it doesn't mean that

necessarily because of the finish of non-guilt and that made because we're going to cost the prosecutors had asked for at least six more years on top of his current sentence they got what they wanted but we may not have heard the last of russia's trial of the decade it integrals carty moscow a massive your oil pipeline from russia to china began operating on the first day of twenty eleven it's set to pump around fifteen million tonnes a year and replaces the railways the main means to transport fuel pipelines length is about a thousand kilometers with most of it being on chinese territory it's a joint project between the two countries biggest all companies and russia's hoping it will become its gateway to the growing asian market. protesters swept across gaza this week as it marks two years since a military offensive by israel the three week war left more than a thousand palestinians dead many of them civilians israel said it was responding to palestinian rocket attacks and targeted hamas militants but the offensive drew

worldwide condemnation because of the huge number of civilian casualties is rob blockaded gaza or after have mass which he believes is a terrorist group took control of the strip in two thousand and seven since then they've been restricted and rarely reaches its destination as artie's paula sleazier discovered. israelis insist their economic siege on gaza is easing but they can't deny the border and international condemnation is heating up an asian aid convoy with politicians and activists from eighteen countries is on its way to gaza 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 aid flotilla 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 dealing with their own conditions and the situation in the. moment but gazans complain life is still unbearable. 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 spoiled 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 but what can we do there's no fuel for vehicles spare parts and evitable you resort to this kind of transportation to donkeys. 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 and no barley 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 their hope on the next. policy are to israel. this week the new year was welcomed with fireworks and celebrations all around the world. to go for

a stunning start in new zealand as you can see there are spectators packed into all close harbor to enjoy the huge display then it moved further west to australia were celebrations went off for the big bang as sydney's nontraditional spectacular fireworks lit up the skyline over the harbor bridge. and revelers in japan did miss a day welcome to the new year by releasing this massive silver balloons carrying in the notes with their hopes for the future. my seems to from taiwan the islands taller skyscrapers the centerpieces fireworks envelop the building. of the london eye again the focus for the u.k. because fireworks a quarter of a million flocked to the riverside to watch the london lights up at midnight then to new york there's a list of these their sense is always around the slow descent of the six ton crystal ball the thirty two thousand lights at the snowy moscow twenty eleven running in their midnight chimes the kremlin clock and some great fireworks but as examine. the force next for many russians they hold more than just the coming of

a new year. it was a hectic new year's eve four years ago because some family was marking their six year together with all of finishing the cooking and paid to entertain in the guests . but as the cramming clock started counting down the last seconds of the year everybody poorest. they rode out wishes and napkins burn them and soak the ashes in the champagne according to the time honored russian ritual drinking it should a grand even the most on a team that will wish. i can tell you what i have asked for because this way it won't come true let's wait and see if i am lucky with my wish you will know about it a symbol of russia's officialdom the kremlin charms are also an embodiment of people's most private hopes every year has the clock strikes midnight millions of russians ask fortune for favors for those few seconds even cynics start to believe in magic

. you can call it the cinderella fact according to polls the majority of those who are surprised wish granting powers to the kremlin chimes are women and some of the most popular new year's wishes include finding your chill laugh getting married and having a baby. the largest cloak in moscow these kremlin timepiece is also among the oldest in russia the current mechanism was installed in the late nineteenth century and it's still a measure of precision and while the chimes have more of the pendulum of russian history swinging many times according to historians the wish making tradition is relatively new. put it over the fish tradition could be traced back to soviet times because never before had red square and the kremlin had such a sacred status it wasn't well publicized back then because there was no place for superstition in communist ideology but people made their wishes anyway and here's why four years after synchronizing their hopes for the crown in china. because some

good family has that own little new year miracle running around the house and helping with the festive first decoration. of the family as it sees the wish i wrote on that piece of napkin in the one i meet and many many other occasions but i know for a fact from my own experience in the experience of my friends that a new year's eve each ask for something they re dear to your heart and it will definitely come true. all right see. while of course for a say to they would have been lighting candles aboard the ice or so i guess but a party nonetheless did take place in all the international space station crew a unique start to a new year like to see more of it find out more about it go to our t. dot com to find out what it feels like to see the whole planet celebrating. i'm no matter how spectacular it looks it can be pretty dangerous fireworks we're talking about now if you want to add some spark of your life just log on and learn how to

choose the right file looks like don't go on the unexpected back. we're off on a siberian expedition next we take in more of russia close up. a regional hub for western siberia on the map now on the mantle going towards its got a continental climate with cold snowy winters and hot dry summers it's also the home of siberian cossacks who conquered the region for the three hundred years ago i was artie's told by discovered they've kept their military tradition honed shop.

on. the view from the end of a cossacks spear but not to worry the young cos a commie other end knows what he's doing he's part of a tough rural tradition which has lasted for centuries. and it's now good to see media they start teaching us friday when we turn servant to trickle at the age of thirteen the billion chance abilities and as for me i was very good at do i do horses eleventh as well as i can handle a spear and a saber but after the cut through all our tom and the others have a demanding daily schedule and horse riding is the glamorous part of the youngsters in the village built this gym themselves and now the training in it will have a lot to do to prove themselves as hunters and horsemen in the training communally potters a team spirit to fill in this cossacks society. a team spirit necessary for the cossacks noblest pursuit hunting on the sharp end the

beloved fast russian dog the bars bred to perfection over centuries and not for any ordinary prey. but they were selected for this speed in anger because they must be able to get the better of a wolf. raghuram is master not just of his hounds but of this whole cost village he's called the atom out and he has to show skill in leadership from solving village disputes down to training dogs to catch hares. though he prefers the larger prey morris for to be likely to root in old times to get the chance of becoming an atom and it was considered prestigious to bring home a wall of tied up. with the ring in a wall after the day's outdoor training we caught up with our outer man at the evening meal where he tells us about the history the cossacks originally came from lands far to the west of here but they proved

a useful militia force conquering and securing siberia for the czars in return for grants of land. the idea was to create villages along the country's border so that people are bound to the land they're living on. the cossacks strong independent traditions were disliked by the communists they were suppressed and marginalized since the end of the soviet union they've been trying to rebuild our self-sufficient way of life especially when it comes to resisting the bad habits of the city. it's no easy matter living in the country of course but on the other hand we're protected from the harm of the city from drugs alcohol smoking. but tonight at least the elders of the village were allowing themselves a few liberties tom barton party. next americans a hotel shopping and spending despite the country's heavily indebted economy and painful lessons of the crisis left alone it seems with credit cards into addiction

and controllable search for hot stars and bargains but there are people who don't shy away from putting up a very loud fight against consumerism as we found out in the week. true. you should have. stopped. her. but 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 that 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 like

a dolly save for college and things like bad very few actually admit to an addiction is a dora does exactly what. that obviously the 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. so hundreds the urge to possess has taken over men to statistics see men and women compulsively shop equally in the us nowadays i'm actually excited about spencer runs your last couple of years have spent i think a one hundred thousand dollars on clothes 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 stuff should his 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 yes the beauty of this plastic you spend too much money consumer consumers it's a church it controls us it's a fundamentalist church like the roman catholic church in the fourteen hundreds these desperate times but normally exit my credit card limit every month could be calling for desperate measures like spells and exorcisms nothing to clutter in the windows world our 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 the 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 who sit 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 stacy churkin up artsy new york. shortly over traveling to russia's ancient city cause trouble before that a recap of our top stories of the week with me culture tonight live from moscow this sunday night the second of january. you're.