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russian. ships imprisoned and safety four hundred people aboard trapped vessels have been stranded for a week. as the start of a difficult rescue operation we'll bring you all the details of it in just a moment. just because we're in a financial. recession. new york comes to rubbish residents are outraged at the high rise refuse heaps now growing in the city of skyscrapers. and here in russia christmas bells ringing in the holy nights as the orthodox faith

marks the birth of christ thirteen days later the most christians. thousands of believers gathered at the concert. moscow to celebrate all the details. of news from russia and around the world this is r.t. here in moscow good to have you with us an ice breaker off the far eastern coast of russia is towing 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 in now for a week and is following the developments. it seems that things are beginning to move maybe just slowly the ice breaker that's managed to 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 search zone and they're going to try and calm 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 after 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 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 the moment they're not going to be able to pull it out with the existing icebreaker they're going to have to wait probably three more days for a third ice breaker to arrive all of this has been monitored from moscow and from afar it is locally and we spoke earlier to one of the people at the federal

fisheries off forty who has been monitoring the situation you have who is here with enormous effort and icebreaker reached the three vessels break in 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 one of the two ships arrive in a safe zone the icebreaker will return to the biggest of the three vessels the sadrist for this ship is actually bigger in size than any ice breaker so the dition help will be needed to pull it out next to icebreaker is expected to reach the ship by generally 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 for russia scales 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 truck ships in in case 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 are currently all right there's no immediate 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 artie's tom bought reporting there in the city of skyscrapers it's now piles of garbage that tower over the streets of new york residents are outraged a glamorous city is beginning to look more like a junkyard and he's honest as a check in a dive headfirst into the big apple's rotten reality. you're standing next to a pile of garbage taller than yourself how does that make you feel. while the world

marks the new year marking new york are many. huge blow to the city's traditionally glamorous. history. anthony is a mailman his job takes twice the time these days sadly he notes his salary has not . in one instance however the mounds of garbage. this weekend want to jump out of the window did not. unexpected. into piles one of thousands filling many of the almost six 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 in just one week. but it will of recession is exactly what the trash invasion has turned the big apple. themselves plus for handling the situation. terry. says. as an economic crisis leads to budget cuts to boycotts in the sanitation department lead to all this garbage out on the street it may be time to ask how soon before the big apple turns rotten and. new york. a decision by authorities in the west bank city of ramallah to name their streets after prominent palestinians is proving controversial as policy reports some streets have been named after people who is relic uses of planning suicide bombings

but who 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 this isn't the norm 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 no numbers for houses and no lives for the sticks but now yasser arafat 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 with reading. or there or. 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 warts like this main thoroughfare named after chief amassed bomb maker yahia yash dubbed the engineer for three years he was the most wanted man by israel for his part in suicide bombings that killed ninety israelis until he himself was eliminated. and this martyr was killed by these rady 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. i'm very pleased even in drugs in streets after my son is in my heart and i miss him his the hero fellas trying. 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 . after her was unanimous rachel was part of the international solidarity movement a group has released charge aids her mass and other palestinian extremist groups the people. 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 changing trying to speak with the. language of 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 of palestinians here understand point c r t . well christmas may be over for most christians across the world but for some orthodox believe is the holy day is still ahead the russian orthodox church uses

a different can and from the west so celebrates the birth of christ on january seventh when we have live pictures of the lavish and spectacular mass in russia's main orthodox church shots christ the savior cathedral in moscow coming your way very soon we'll be bringing you live coverage of that event very shortly but in the meantime we have with us in the studio farther from the russian orthodox church is public relations department thank you very much indeed for joining us on a very happy christmas have a course of thank you very much i know that you yourself will be taking part in the service a little later with your own congregation in moscow we're about to see the main cathedral here in russia start its proceedings it's going to go on till the early hours until when i think it will last until two o'clock some to some parishes three o'clock. so it will be a long but someone the stories they said in service twelve starting with the with

a little but the vigil and the service will last for five six or maybe seven hours well. as you were talking we now bring you the become bridge the footage of what can be seen there inside the cathedral it really is a lavish spectacular setting for a christmas service now it's about to start in a few moments can you give us an idea roughly what this service will include the main elements are the main elements are as i see the picture already started the holy mass. this is prerecorded. greetings of his holiness better curial to his parishioners to all the orthodox believe it is christmas in relations christmas words that he has to share with all the believers and during that time i guess g. already is going on in the christ the civic if you will which is actually named after the christ. when i have visitors coming to moscow i tell them that actually

this cathedral isn't as old as it looks or indeed as many thinks it should be just gives a brief history of the cathedral it was built in nineteenth century after the defeat of french troops in eleven eighteen and it took fifty years to build the old cathedral but in one thousand thirty seven it was worried by the direct order of stalin and only in ninety ninety five they were made a decision by government of the russian orthodox church to rebuild this beautiful cathedral and make it the same floor as it was before but definitely they were used to new materials used to depict but it's mostly looks like with the more than features like the crisis if you will that it was before we're seeing the congregation now outside the cathedral is it open to all this event i understand something like ten thousand people can actually attend this service it's got the capacity for that amount of congregation but who actually goes to the service

actually is free service everybody who wants to can go inside the cathedral and. share the prayers with his holiness better be real and with other priests who are of course a liberating with him most of the people like not to go to the main cathedral but to the own parishes where you go in regularly to celebrate with their own priest to have some probably. celebration food after a leave of jesus or gail together agreed to get the greek the priest greets each you know but at this point of the liturgy it's very you know in a merry christmas a really happy holiday well the christmas vigil is due to start in fact as you say it have already begun there in central moscow and we've just been seeing shots of christ a savior cathedral there on the banks all of the moscow river and all. is outside among some of those who are entering the cathedral the moment we can now join that

so tell us what is the atmosphere like outside this magnificent building here in moscow. hello bill and have a christmas to you feels like it's one of the most magical evenings to vote for christians across the world for russians of course thousands of people have been full king to the country's main cathedral christ the savior cathedral some one thousand people are now inside and we've talked to people who are queuing before the cathedral since often today desperate to get closer to the counter to be able to listen to what the spiritual leader of the trip of the spend all of russia here real will be saying in his speech well the all of this difference apart from the days of those that distinguishes christmas in russia that from the unlike western celebrations which have grown to include more commercial aspects to the story russian christmas one means more of the really just the bangs and evolution coming

up in saying that it's a family holiday very warm and cozy holiday for them and of course it has elements of western christmas they also gather at the table they have father works to give it give out presents but still even christmas carols and russia have a family spirit and when we asked people of the holy day man for them they said that what they were celebrating had a very complicated and solum meaning but still they couldn't help but feel like kids on this magical night previously christmas in russia was celebrated on december twenty five in much the same way as it was elsewhere across the world among the catholics but that it was banned throughout the country after the revolution and nine hundred seventeen and only after the collapse of the soviet union up to nine hundred ninety one the holy day was again celebrated publicly but this doesn't mean of course that russians have stopped celebrating this by far the

most important holy day for all christians they have been celebrating it along with a new year and to do. it is expected that some two and a half million people will be attending the jewels across the country in some eight and a half thousand ministries and churches will be out doing the set christmas services catarina thanks very much indeed for that there she is just outside the main cathedral here in central moscow catherine to contrive a thanks very much indeed and we'll continue to bring you live coverage all of the service taking place here in moscow at the moment accompanied by father go to he's going to talk us through some of the elements of the service and here we have the patriot himself we've just started the service so what's happening now. it's just right after than mine and for so cold. all the procession all those who celebrates luther g. got into the altar and it's before of. apostle

leanings and the gospel. so now he's saying some true parents of christmas and i believe was receiving blessing of his holiness but the real song they'll be read of the holy scripture well let's just pause for a moment and enjoy this the spectacle it really is a great sight and of course a wonderful son let's just enjoy this for a minute. guys. through your or.

you just joined us we're bringing you live show of the christmas service taking place. in russia's largest cathedral. as we are approaching christmas day it's christmas eve at the moment and father is with us at the moment from the russian orthodox church tell us what's happening there at the moment actually it's the major of one of the major features of paternal service as here commemorates all the heads of orthodox churches all the fifteen. this. commemorates only during the service during the regular parish we don't come all the petra concent and all paul bulgaria's georgia. just during the paternal service so that's what we're doing right now. today just finished and we're just seeing the start of a very lengthy service as you say this one will last well over two hours and we'll

take a pause for the moment as we've set the scene now and we will return with you a little later to continue coverage of this service as i say bring you more live coverage here on r.t. by the way you can also watch the whole of the christmas service live on our website at streaming live at the moment throughout the whole night at all t. dot com also here's a taste of what else you'll find on the web site at the moment right now. starting your attempts to seize russian territory on a coin find out more about the controversy surrounding estonia's new euro currency on our web site. also that and also you don't call much russian scientists in this tiny astronauts age humanity's quest for more distant frontin as its space marks the paving the way for a mission to mars. when as i say we'll continue our coverage of christmas service a little later here on in the meantime let's turn our attention to some other news this hour 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 but as artie's alexy get especially 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 churn noble 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 nor will exclusion zone which made nature develop here rapidly after the one nine hundred eighty six fallout in chernobyl the environment suffered badly one strip of forest was burned by radiation and turned red people left the area but mother

nature stepped in now chernobyl is 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. plans to grow. at the very beginning of. life. on the surface. some how. much problem and the millions of hectares of land were left contaminated a quarter of a century 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 there when we have so much unoccupied land why not use it. those well familiar with chernobyl like the idea. after million people work to clean this land of radioactivity now we're being told this is dead this is not true just look at nature's riches exclusions. however there are those who are worried about what could end up on the dinner table critics fear ukrainian and russian markets could be flooded with radioactive agricultural products and there are legal hurdles. ukraine has. any activities in exclusion it says no agricultural product can be drawn on this land and experts. of this law to be changed. the dominant view remains that the nearest save zones from the blonde are still hundreds of

kilometers away the new crane and some parts of. 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. reporting from chernobyl ukraine. now to some other international stories this hour a white house report says management leading to the old safety procedures caused last year's oil spill in the gulf of mexico and it warned the industry to change the way it operates to prevent it happening again blasted a b.p. oil rig in april leaked millions of gallons of oil into the sea before finally being kept in july investigation found several other firms other than b.p. also called. to china now and twenty four children have been taken to hospital with lead poisoning caused by patry factories chinese media suggest at least two hundred children have high lead levels in their blood it's thought that plants in the eastern province of a week of the course of the points lead to in the area have been shut. i mean

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 then 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 un wants up to two thousand additional troops to protect be headquarters of. the man internationally recognized as the new president remains around the building despite west african envoys reporting that ivory coast incumbent leader agreed to lift it. showman's of the mystical messages 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 sharpens when our thomas traveled to meet them. from the ceremonial rhythm of the drama. to enchant rituals and traditions. the belief in the power of the shaman is very much a part of the accutane way of life to put it there so that all answers it is always had a very powerful chime and around the neck to protected them gave them blessings and enjoyed security and safety in all circumstances and every day life at the haunt on the journey and that's why. sharman 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 practiced the faith were persecuted now there are only three recognized shaman living in all of your quote you want to live through both i help people find faith in the fact that their wishes will be

fulfilled their family relations in conflicts at 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 head 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 in small villages because contemporary cities with computers constant cell phones and the constant rush distract from true unity with nature and the spirits i myself am from a remote northern region. 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

a sham and we pray in a church and then make use more than mats and a unique way of keeping a tradition that has been part of your for centuries i think even if it weren't for made us some protect what it created the spiral in the middle is a symbol of fire made the warmth of the fire in your name and protect you and may your three spirits be united the spirits of the gloom the spirits of us and the spirits of b.f. in your critical sean thomas party. and now back to one of our top stories christmas is being celebrated here in russia the russian orthodox church uses a different kind from the west so marks the birth of christ on january seventh and we're bringing you live coverage at the moment live pictures your way here on r.t. where the vigil is currently being held in crisis a view church here in moscow but also in some russian churches in the country and abroad and as i say these are live pictures of the service.