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a russian icebreaker one of three ships imprisoned. four hundred people aboard the vessels have been stranded for a week. as the start of a difficult rescue operation we'll bring you all the details in just a minute. just because we're live from. new york to rubbish residents are outraged at the high rise and. growing in. the streets in the west bank city of ramallah named after people regarded by

palestinians as heroes some choices are causing. russia and around the world this is in moscow an ice breaker off the far eastern coast of russia one of three ships stuck in freezing waters to safety through extreme weather a second vessel is trying to follow while the third remain stranded four hundred people are aboard the ships which have been frozen for a week is following the developments. it seems that things are beginning to move maybe just slowly the ice breaker that's managed to smash a path towards the ship stranded in the ice is now towing one of those ships out of its having been freed out of this zone and they're going to try and hook up a second ship to that our team managed to contact or the captain of one of those

toads ships he said that currently everything is going ok but off of the icebreaker is telling us towards clear waters right now the situation is normal we are getting out of the ice one of the other ships trying to free us but was unsuccessful we are very happy we will be home soon and we hope everything will be all right we're hoping to reach clear waters by friday night the third ship which is slightly larger has about three hundred people on board they think that at the moment they're not going to be able to pull it out with the existing icebreaker are going to have to wait probably three more days preferred ice breaker to arrive all of this has been monitored from moscow and from all far it is locally and we spoke earlier to one of the people at the federal fisheries off forty who has been monitoring the situation and you have to negotiate with enormous effort and icebreaker reach the three vessels rican a canal through the ice it's towing one of the ships and they have started to leave

the ice a blockade they have been followed by another three stranded vessel was the two ships arrive in a safe zone the icebreaker will return to the biggest of the three vessels the sadrist of all the ship is actually bigger in size than any ice breaker so additional help will be needed to pull it out next to icebreaker is expected to reach the ship by january the ninth so as we can hear it's been a long process getting to these ships is going to be a difficult process getting them out but it is now underway this region the sea of our hearts just off the far east of russia is known to be a difficult place for ships in the winter but that has been much aggravated by the weather conditions this year. ferocious gales and also very low temperatures about minus seventeen at the moment in this region have led to a lot of ice forming up to eight meters thick in some places and that has simply trunk ships and encased them other ships have also run into trouble on the first icebreaker that was sent there wasn't strong enough requiring this extra help that

was sent on the ships themselves the crew that we've spoken to reports that we've heard say that things occur you know right there's no media danger to the crew is enough food and supplies for the moment but they just want to get out of this situation now and get on with their jobs so everyone has their fingers crossed is really looking to try and get these ships towed out. reporting there in the city of skyscrapers it's now piles of garbage that tower over the streets of new york residents are outraged their camera city is beginning to look more like a junkyard ortiz and started chatting on a dive headfirst into the big apple's rotten reality. you're standing next to. while the world marks the new year new york.

anthony is a mailman his job. these days sadly he notes his salary has not. been one instance however mounds of. successful. one it jumped out of the window. unexpected. into. one of. the thousand miles of new york city streets the average american is said to produce fifty tons of garbage. city has reportedly accumulated as much as fifty thousand tons of garbage just. because we're in a financial. recession. is exactly.

handling the situation. as an economic. boycott in the sanitation department or out on the street it may be time to ask how soon before the big apple turns rotten and. european shoppes ukraine plans to turn the chernobyl atomic disaster zone into agricultural center and take a look at the safety is also. balancing agent mysticism with a modern technology i'm sure coming up on our to really explore the world of the siberian sharman. those stories still to come but first christmas is over for most

christians across the world but for some orthodox believers the holy day is yet to come thursday is christmas eve for the russian orthodox church that celebrates the birth of christ on january the seventh the difference is because russians more religious feasts using the julian calendar whereas most western countries use the calendar and thursday night vigils will be held in thousands of russian churches across the world. and all russia will head to the nation's main place of worship. cathedral in the capital a number of all the orthodox churches also celebrate christmas on january seventh including those of serbia macedonia and montenegro well we'll have live coverage of the lavish and spectacular mass in russia's main cathedral when that starts in about three hours from. a decision by authorities in the west bank city of ramallah to name their streets after prominent palestinians is proving controversial report some streets have been named after people who is really cute

is planning suicide bombings but he palestinians regard as martyrs and heroes. in palestinian ramallah they're naming their streets to celebrate the city's one hundredth birthday this is and right for the citizens to know where they are imaginary casing your way around here with no street signs to help well until two years ago that was the case in the one law there were north numbers for houses and no lives for the sticks but now yasser arafat's gets a street as does a neighborhood that used to exist in arab jeff and the one nine hundred thirty s. the neighborhoods long since disappeared and the streets a call for palestinian refugees to return to israel the criteria are simple palestinian heroes places and ideas supported by the people read on this issue here

it really is a public or a threat there or a mass if anything the opposite members of both groups are glorified which might surprise those who think palestine is most modern city would shy away from praising her master what's like this main form of faith named after chief a master bomb maker yahia yosh dubbed the engineer for three years he was the most wanted man by israel for his part in suicide bombings that killed nineteen israelis until he himself was eliminated. and this martyr was killed by these radio internal security service after they tricked a friend of his into giving him a cell phone that was booby trapped fourteen years on his family is as proud as ever and the latter i'm very pleased even in drugs in streets after my son is in my heart and i miss him. but not all street names are palestinian

rachel corrie was an american activist who was killed by an israeli bulldozer during a demonstration in gaza in two thousand and three the decision to name this business . three to ramallah after her was unanimous rachel was part of the international solidarity movement a group israelis charged aids her mass and other palestinian extremist groups the people of the. world with for the book with the way that they have been doing the past fifteen years. eager to throw something polls show her mask growing in popularity in the west bank as talks between rival palestinian faction fattah and israel deadlock hamas is a changing trying to speak with. the with. and as the new street signs go up in ramallah it's becoming more and more clear a mass is also speaking in the language palestinians here understand policy r t. had to dot com for more news blogs and analysis here's

a taste of what's there for you right now dystonia attempts to seize russian territory on a coin and find out more about the controversy surrounding estonia's new euro currency on our website how to call and also their online russian scientists in just a trip of twenty astronauts to aid humanity's quest for more distant front is its space mice paving the way for a mission to mars. it was the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster but now ukraine has plans to develop parts of the contaminated chernobyl zone for agriculture scientists believe that some plants have actually become immune to the radiation caused by the explosion at an atomic plant twenty five years ago next year to show your reports not everyone is convinced products from the area should end up being sold in europe. these berries may look ripe and delicious but they're definitely not part of a healthy diet the bush is inside

a thirty kilometer chernobyl exclusion zone in ukraine and radiation levels are off the scale people do not live here anymore but same cannot be said about flora and fauna some say it is the absence of anthropogenic harm in the church noble exclusion zone which made nature develop here rapidly after the one nine hundred eighty six fall out internet the environment suffered badly one strip of forest was burned by radiation and turned red people left the area but mother nature stepped in. home to many species of wild animals and rare plants scientists from slovakia studying most in the area made an incredible discovery a lot of the plant life is immune to radiation. we still don't understand how it's possible plans are able to grow and successfully using a very. rare at the very beginning of the earth when life start to develop.

activity on the surface so. somehow stay inside the plants so they don't have much problem and the millions of hectares of land were left contaminated a quarter of a sentry on kiev has decided that this soil no longer poses any threat to humans in march twentieth. will launch a plan to get things growing again. we will establish what parts of the contaminated areas could be used for agricultural needs there is a possibility that cultural products will be. when we have so much unoccupied land why not use it for. those well familiar with chernobyl like the idea. after a million people work to clean this land of radioactivity now we're being told this is good this is not true just look at nature's riches really exclusions if you are

however there are those who are worried about what could end up on the dinner table critics feel ukrainian and russian markets could be flooded with radioactive agricultural products and there are legal hurdles. ukraine has a law regulating in your temperatures in the exclusion zone it says no agricultural product can be drawn in this land and for now experts you know possibility of this law to be changed. the dominant view remains that the nearest safe zones from the plant are still hundreds of kilometers away all the ukraine and some parts of belarus the dead zone and is still deemed too dangerous despite some optimists but the fact is radiation can stick around for anything up to twenty. four thousand years. of ski artsy reporting from chernobyl ukraine. went on to some other international stories this hour here on r t a white house report says

bad management leading to failed safety procedures because last year's oil spill in the gulf of mexico it warned the industry to change the way it operates to prevent it happening again blasted the b.p. oil rig an april leak millions of gallons of oil into the sea before finally being capped investigation found several other firms other than b.p. before. in china twenty four children are being taken to hospital with lead poisoning caused by factories chinese media suggest at least two hundred children have high lead levels in their blood and it's thought that the factories in the eastern province of and we are the clearance of the poison to the main plants in the area have been shown. predictions of more heavy rain in australia floodwaters begun to recede in the northeast of the country water levels in the city of rockhampton reached a peak that was lower than first feared hundreds of homes are under water with more than two hundred thousand people affected the floods have left at least ten people dead in queensland since november. the un says two hundred ten people have

died in ivory coast since november's disputed presidential elections the latest figures come after fourteen more were killed during ethnic clashes the u.n. wants up to two thousand additional troops to protect the headquarters of. the man an internationally recognized as the new president blockade remains around the building despite west african envoys reporting that ivory coast incumbent leader had agreed to lift it. showman's of the mystical messengers between humans and spirits they've been called upon for healing and spiritual guidance for centuries and it's an ancient tradition still alive in some parts of russia despite modernization causing a fall in the number of practicing shamans law to sean thomas travelled to meet them. from the ceremonial rhythm of the drama. to ancient rituals and traditions. the belief in the power of the shaman is very much

a part of the way of life. and always had very powerful shamans around the law to protected them gave them blessings and ensured security and safety in all circumstances and every day life on a journey and that's. a showman is someone who acts as an intermediary between the spiritual and earthly worlds relying heavily on nature to get his message across when russian orthodox christianity moved eastward and then later with the soviet union shamanism was banned those that practice the faith were persecuted now there are only three recognized shaman living in all of us. i help people find faith in the fact that their wishes will be fulfilled their family relation is in conflicts that work will be fixed when a person has this faith he can do anything i live in a time of crisis and my mission is to help people in this troublesome time every shonen has his own mission. to help certain posts with the engine symbols of the

sharman adorning them standing right next to power lines from the modern world there's a contrast between the modern technology and mysticism is a problem for the sharman. real shamans live far away from big cities and small villages because contemporary cities with computers cars cell phones and the constant rush distract from truly unity with nature in the spirit i myself am from a religious northern region that. trying to make the best of it all life is a delicate balancing act for the cuttin people. we are an interesting people when we are in trouble we do three different things at the same time we turn to sherman we pray in a church and then make use more than. that's an a unique way of keeping a tradition that has been part of you for centuries i think even if you don't feel maybe some protect what it created the spiral in the middle is a symbol of fun may the war to look upon anyone and to take you and may your three

spirits be united the spirits of the gloom the spirits of and the spirits of vienna in your critical sean thomas party. under staying in the region discover another industrial heart with an ancient history come on a guided tour of can have a in south western siberia well later james brown takes you to meet the russian version of santa claus and sees a game of hockey with some unique rules. was

rightly or wrongly. looked. so pack your bags for a trip to some beer and just ten minutes from now here on t.v. before that it's time for the latest business news with around a stay with us here in moscow she'll be with me after the short break.

if you knew lou. from students. don't. know welcome to our business program i'm sure. the food and agricultural organization has warned that the world is facing a food price shock this comes after a failed benchmark index of agricultural commodity prices shot up to a nominal record last month surpassing the levels of two thousand and seven two thousand and eight food crisis the surge in the food index is based on rising costs for corn sugar vegetable oil and meat the situation has been made worse by inflation and increasing economic challenge in developing countries including those

of china and india however the f.a.l. and food agencies are drawing comfort from relatively stable prices for rice one of the most important agricultural commodities for global food security. and russia is the leading export of energy resources but also one of the most energy inefficient economies in the world but both state and commercial businesses have modernization projects in the pipeline in a bid to improve the country's competitiveness artie's collen bray has the story. every year russia wastes enough energy to power the french economy but now the kremlin hopes it can turn industry from leaking losses into a green money making machine to get it started the governments approved a three hundred billion dollar energy efficiency program to trim the fat from factories and buildings inherited from soviet times it was. the leaders in terms of efficiency our industrial giants transport and housing utilities many industrial sectors of the economy are two and a half times less efficient than their european peers the room for improvement is

huge. as the biggest oil and gas producer on the planet the people of russia enjoy cheap energy with prices set by the state but those low domestic costs drain the desire to conserve fuel there is no other remedy tool and energy efficiency apart from letting the consumer speedy the real economic prize for the energy of their consuming president medvedev aims to slash wastefulness by forty percent over the next decade initiatives range from phasing out incandescent light bulbs to state backing for billionaire may help project to build an inexpensive hybrid car in southern russia but there's still a long way to go for the last twenty years we've been reducing energy consumption g.d.p. by roughly three to five percent. and you know a lot of other countries moved much much faster and down this road. right now in our energy inefficiencies are everywhere it's public buildings. consumers

electricity gas wearing etc it's around us being eco friendly goes hand in hand with energy efficiency recently russia's natural resources ministry drafted a bill to make factories recycled materials they currently throw away by selling them to biofuel plants right now russia uses twice as much energy than china uses to produce the same amount of goods and russian companies are struggling to learn how going clean could bring in the green column brae r.t. . russia's inflation in two thousand and ten grew eight point seven percent that's according to politico data of the federal statistics service the figure fail to meet the government's seven point five percent target and almost equal the previous year's inflation in a bid to curb price growth in two thousand and eleven experts believe a refinance rate hike is in the cards tied to an employer called the reports.

russia's central bank account interest rates on four consecutive occasions in two thousand and ten to seven point seven to five per sound to help spur a landing after the financial crisis however the easy money if huge inflation which has risen above target currently stands at more than eight per cent central bank has to react in order to keep a lid on inflationary pressures that's one of the major most important mandates of the central bank so i think it's also very important signal that inflation is very important for the central bank a signal that is very important to all of the economic agents i think a hernia refinance rate may boost carry trades with investors cashing in on high interest rates in russia compared to the rest of the world but analysts say central banks monetary policy is hard to predict which is helping to limit hot money

different estimates which makes it all a bit harder to follow policymakers i think the central bank here. has created kind of a deliberate ambiguity you know it's kind of constructive ambiguity you might even say in their minds at least about policy here and i think they did that in particular and successfully in a way because they didn't want to see large cap large capital short term hot money inflows russian economic growth has been slower than expected in two thousand and ten while inflation has been higher and the ruble hasn't appreciated as much as it could given the current oil prices but economists believe the country is well pleased for instance predict g.d.p. growth of five percent in two thousand and eleven significant ruble appreciation and higher capital inflows if you look at equal business. and that's up there for this hour but you can always find watch stories on our web

site that's our business stay with us. children now see you in south asia by the end of elementary school two hundred thousand violent acts by the age of eighteen. these television shows to video game show.