direct from our studios in central moscow this is our duty to you i'm john thomas glad to have you with us the cultural arm of the united nations has accepted of palestine as a fully fledged member it is the first time palestinians have achieved full status at a un body but you know sco will now have to pay for the decision with the loss of nearly a quarter of its funding artie's can explain its. there certainly was a lot of jubilation in paris cheers went up in the assembly hall where the final tally was announced but the vote comes at a price welcoming palestine to the united nations educational scientific and cultural organization means saying goodbye to as much as twenty two percent of the organization's budget washington as being the agency's biggest contributor so far and the state department has confirmed that they will stop sponsoring the organization on what grounds a u.s. law passed the nineteen ninety obliges washington to cut off funding to unesco if

it is made palestine but nonetheless this u.n. body facing huge budget cuts voted one hundred seven four and fourteen nations against the admission of palestine a very sensitive and jubilant moment for the palestinians and a sour point for the israelis and for the united states it seems they've been doing everything possible to do rail to vote but to no avail although the u.n. body in question deals with science education and culture the vote is being seen as very much political as a first step as a reminder of the popularity of the palestinian bid for full u.n. membership that application is now pending before the u.n. security council where the united states is threatening to use its veto power most of the international community is for palestine becoming a full member of the un and the us position on this is considered to be very much biased anti palestinian basically although washington says they want two state

solution. virtually blocking all attempts of the international community to help the two sides come to such a solution of washington says the israelis and palestinians should be able to deal with the problem on their own but that proved impossible because one side is too strong the other is too weak they can't even start bilateral talks these days peace talks were supposed to resume but mutual strikes in the last couple of days and people killed on both sides and after that the start of the talks again were stalled. or he's going to teach again in a washington meanwhile on the same topic a ramsey borrowed editor of the palestine chronicle dot com things washington's move is unfair depriving many countries of the benefits that you know ask okemo for it's an act of good luck to punish and that's what's exactly what it is and the sad thing is that you have many members and the congress is starting to give you any outlaws and other conservative republican and democratic members who have been

pushing for the u.s. to use its iron fist as far as for them to punish me to any organization that either recognize this palestine as a state or giving membership and that international body will be doing all this is really any membership it seeks of any given organization anyway it's extremely and fat and who is going to suffer not just the palestinians who don't but in you know various countries because they did from the basic programs that you describe funded throughout the years but there's one important to my going to live here and that is president reagan that's one point cut funding to this one pulled out and you know what eunice will survive and it will survive this time as well on to syria now where the president of the country has told russian television the forces fighting his regime are armed dangerous and putting civilians at risk but sharla saad also said he is ready to work with the opposition parties that have emerged during the

months of uprising against his government artie's those are silly reports. strong words coming from syrian president bashar al assad to where the conflict this country's been going on for almost eight months now in that interview to the russian channel he did say that any attempt to destabilize the country will result in what he called an earthquake that will reverberate not just in the region but will have a global implications he also stressed that syria is most definitely not libya it's a different situation altogether and he did voice out what he and his government think is a real cause of the conflict in his country. today we have hundreds of soldiers police and security forces among the dead how were they killed during peaceful demonstrations because some slogans being shown no they were shot and this means we're dealing with people we don't know whether the weapons reach syria from israel or in you know the state that possesses such weapons but there is evidence of mines and grenades that were put in place is packed with civilians this led to casualties

in a number of cases the information obtained during the interrogation of terrorists. going to syria from neighboring states become pain was funded from abroad and we have a list of those who are responsible for this the government has tried to put forth some reforms and the president had said that they're planning parliamentary elections in february there are opposition voices such as the national coronation council was shot tries to bring together the different closing forces in syria they're saying that while they're very critical of the reforms they've put forth by the government saying it's not enough they're also wary of calling or what i do or saying a so-called no fly zone because they do see this could just result in more bloodshed they don't want to see that in their country now the arab league of course has had been actively trying to find a solution as well trying to us speak with syrian officials they put forth a plan to president assad he said that he will be a willing to talk to all of the opposition voices including those formed during the conflict however these are words for now they want to see actual go shushan table

and that's not to say that i mean external pressure is increasing that even if there's a lot of hesitation to. any form of foreign intervention words coming from the western leaders as well as china and russia who as we know had vetoed that u.n. resolution calling for sanctions on syria all of them are calling for a dialogue for real results to see that the violence really stop and that's really the main focus right now of the pressure coming from the outside they just want the violence to stop. these tests are still reporting for us there and earlier we spoke to political analyst was any he thinks that the west and the several persian gulf countries have plotted against syrian president bashar assad i think it's a conspiracy by a regional power that they wanted to change the regime of bashar assad they wanted a different regime different government with different had and that's why you can see the regional power hasn't been friendly to the situation taking place in

syria actually some of the country has been funneling weapons and money. to topple the regime of president assad the president of syria acknowledged there was opposition in that country and he extended his hand too but it comes within the his country for those people who are asking for change and that is why today they have a constitutional reform but there is an external power or what they say opposition and exult those are backed by the western powers persian gulf countries. and now on to the u.s. where the occupy wall street movement is entering its seventh week and showing no sign of dying down scores of activists have been arrested across america for refusing to pack up their camps russia has voiced concerns over a series of crackdowns on campaigners and their treatment by u.s. authorities go portraits of the way the occupy wall street protest is handled is an

ample illustration of double standards quite a number of our counterparts from western countries. we will never put up with a situation when our western partners who have the right to ask us questions refused to discuss their own problems which there are plenty of them which keeps growing. authorities in the us have tried to enforce various curfews over the weekend to prevent demonstrations from escalating further more than seventy protestors are calling for political and economic changes have been arrested in the states of texas oregon and california police and denver used pepper spray to disperse the crowds eyewitnesses say police used excessive force to disperse activists and were fabricating evidence against them. only showed up kind of ready for it you know before the tents went out at all totally armed to the teeth and ready for war so to speak and they moved very quickly i had to leave site

to be updating the website live but we do know that one protester was shot for climbing a tree and those actually we found out afterwards were pepper balls they're calling them they're like balls filled with chemical burn agent not riverboats i've seen a few videos one arrested in particular where an officer drove his motorcycle into the crowd this one was kind of tweeted out by the right wing saying look at this guy chris you know this by now we did a second by second analysis of it in you know slow speed and you can clearly tell her dogs are his the gentleman you see his body propelled backwards by then seems to injure his right foot because he jumps back onto his left foot and then in frustration he gives the fender a show at which point the officer comes to control stop hops off the bike just him down and oscar. well you can always check all of our stories online at our website r t v dot com here's a little of what is there for you right now. for some of this halloween it is more

about spy craft than witchcraft be f.b.i. has just released footage of its investigation into a russian spy ring. also online for you. spray and to go in unusual catwalk show wins the heart of moscow fashion fans all these a showcase dresses are made from a spray on fabric. the russian billionaire owner of chelsea football club but i'm over it has been before a london court it's in connection with a five and a half billion dollar lawsuit being pursued by russian businessmen boris berezovsky the south exiled tycoon but his office he claims his former associate illegally

forced him to hand over the money and now he wants it back artie's ever bennett reports on one of the most expensive disputes in history. well this is actually the first time that mr abbott was actually given evidence and spoken in this hearing despite it already going on for four weeks that's just to give you an idea of how long winded this whole process is and today was no different however it was fascinating. to hear him speak and to see this going on because he's a man who's one of the richest in the world with the estimated fourteen personal fortune of over ten billion pounds it he very rarely speak to the media if at all and yet today all of that intrigue and mystery suddenly evaporated as he was put on the spot and reduced to being just an ordinary member of the public basically he was visibly nervous he was shy shaking a little bit solemn as words and there's a lot at stake here he's being sued by mr berezovsky for three point five billion pounds a third of his personal wealth mr berezovsky and him were the co-founders of the or company sit next to mr berezovsky alleges that he was blackmailed into selling his

shares in that company for a fraction of their true value now in this cross-examination today that's just started lawyers were focusing on details to really discredit mr abbott move it think we've heard allegations that he was involved in the arms business also allegations that he lied about his education so these details might not be key to the actual case it's an attempt by his lawyers to discredit mr abramovich both of them concealed behind this curtain of money and and mystery and this hearing is really been the peek behind that both men turn up to court in very shiny cars mr barrett mr b. is the bodyguards call him turning up in my back mr a mr adam over it in a mercedes they're all both flanked by bodyguards translators lawyers that he's got a team of about fifteen now mr bures also claimed was based on their close relationship form a close relationship them on speaking terms now he says they were very close

friends he was his mentor and they were they were business partners yet today released a statement denying that part of the problem. without actually establishing what exactly the deals were between these men is because none of it was actually written down and this is a fact that doesn't seem to surprise or shock these men they take it as fact obviously and they say well that's just the way it was because this was after all ninety's russia. bennett keeping on top of things in london for us there now still ahead for you this hour looking for a spacious new home for. scientists to weigh up mankind's options for exploring other planets and cultivating a new life away from the seven billion people on earth. in a case that has captivated russia for months two families have received a one hundred thousand dollars each in compensation for a mistake at a maternity ward that saw two baby girls accidently switched at birth the exchange

only came to light during a divorce proceedings when a paternity test revealed the swap both girls now aged twelve refused to leave their current families one with a muslim tradition and the other christian families now plan to use the money which is huge by russian standers to live closer to each other. now let's check on some other international news this hour in brief. but really with the launch of its unmanned spacecraft. eight china is well on its way to becoming a major player in space research and exploration the craft is expected to dock with one laboratory launched in september in an unprecedented operation for the communist state next year it is planning to send a manned mission into orbit for one month they also aim to build a complete space station by two thousand and twenty. nato is officially wrapped up

its mission over libya marking the end of its military intervention the responsibility for national security will be handed to the country's interim government now faces the difficult task of collecting countless weapons and firearms from civilians weapons use became widespread to during the eight months of civil war that ended with the violent death of libya's former leader moammar gadhafi. in yemen huge blasts have rocked an airbase outside the capital sanaa. authorities to shut the city's international airport officials say that explosive devices were planted inside twelve fighter jets it is not yet clear how insurgents managed to get access to the heavily guarded area yemen's capital has seen months of anti-government rallies with protesters demanding an end to decades of presidents always rule. the last day of october saw the world's population reach seven billion and a selection of children from around the world were symbolically chosen to mark the event in russia the honor went to. his mother was congratulated by a u.n.

official and received a special certificate the u.n. estimates the world's population could reach eight billion by two thousand and twenty five. and as the planet's population reaches seven billion concerns are raised over the potential overcrowding of our planet experts warn in a few decades the problem could be manageable with dire environmental consequences but the news is inspiring some to seek a new home somewhere far far away these are all over has more. so when next mercury too hot. too cold mars that's will do nicely as the population of earth passes the seven billion mark some of suggested the red planet as a replacement for our current blue one however in these times of tightening purse strings the cost of going to mars could be a problem in the marts of

a one man expedition to mars and back would cost it is safe to say over three billion dollars preparing for these flights would cost about thirty or fifty times more than a two way ticket in other words we're talking about colossal expenses regardless of the price those who have been into space say the time is right for mankind to yet again both lee go where no one has gone before everybody realizes that it's time to reach out and explore the universe beyond low earth orbit we have for many years just. for ten years at least we have been on the international space station in lower earth orbit very close and we haven't been somewhere else or with people since the lunar landings which ended back in one nine hundred seventy two there's no shortage of take is to be the first to set foot on mars and potential red planet trailblazers have started their training young surrogate is still just a teenager but he's putting in the hard yards in the hope that he can help create

a potential new home for humanity millions of kilometers away not martin i want to be the first to travel to mars and to other planets as well to the moons of jupiter saturn they say you can leave there in future we're still a long way from science fiction becoming science fact with human setting up home on the surface of mars even if we put the huge cost of a martian settlement to one side there are some serious hurdles to be overcome not least we have no idea if life existed there previously and if it did. whether whatever killed it off could be dangerous to us why should we even think about finding a new home. earth's resources are finite therefore we will eventually have to either restrain population and production growth risking losing both or we find a foothold on other planets no matter how much it cost us with the retirement of nasa space shuttle the only way for people to get into space at the minute is the

russian soyuz rocket currently with the science available our chances of a global relocation anytime soon a pretty much zero however it took to weigh in central moscow the mars five hundred project is simulating the effects a mission to mars would have on a crew in search of a new home. there is one obvious reason why the experiment has been so popular the world is still a place for dreamers who dream of exciting projects that unite people international projects. is not old enough as it stands we might have to learn to deal with the soaring global population but young surrogate will keep on training hard and the hope that he can do it for the dreamers. r.t. . peter there on mars what's right at home i'll be back with a recap of our top stories in less than ten minutes next as u.s. troops prepare to withdraw from iraq in december they leave behind a campaign that's cost the american taxpayer hundreds of billions of dollars next

we talked to a middle east expert who says the u.s. is wasting time and money trying to build a democracy in the region. you lose the little. we're sitting down with peter van buren state department foreign service officer who a few years ago had it anyway radke reconstruction team then it came back home and wrote a book titled we meant well how i helped lose the battle for the hearts and minds

of the iraqi people and now he says the state department once being fired because of the book what what's in the book that they don't like so much of i'm sure when you throw pies the clowns they sometimes get angry the state department is a lot like the mafia you don't talk about the family outside the family and the state department was i think bothered by the fact that i told the true story of what happened in iraq which contradicts what they've been putting out through the media for almost eight years now tell me a little bit more about the projects that you were involved in as part of this nation building a team that in the sponsored by the united states why do you think those projects failed around two thousand and seven a number of state department people were sent to iraq to spend a lot of money to rebuild the country and hopefully create a nation that was going to be our ally and friend and a happy spot in the middle east. it didn't work out that way. instead what happened

was that we were sent over there with almost unlimited funds but no vision we had lots of time and lots of people but no one in charge we lacked many things including adult supervision so instead of the long term coordinated efforts that real development work requires we got short term efforts that were thrown together not guided by any broader philosophy and almost were required to fail the very first thing that happened to me was i was presented by my team mates with a fraudulent receipt to sign they had over spent three thousand dollars on snacks for a conference and wanted me to sign off on a priest a receipt for printing to make it all right they then tried to talk me into spending twenty five thousand dollars to buy a few sheep to give away to a few widows and that was are going to be our contribution to democracy in the war effort the more i was a fraud it was as close to we were going to buy some sheep from

a guy who was going to give them to his relatives who were going to raise them and put the rest in his pocket you could buy a toyota for what we were going to pay for sheep in iraq the problem was that these were not isolated incidents what i thought might have been just a really bad first day at work turned out to be evocative of the entire year of our peoples so there was like a systematic squandering of resources absolutely the squandering of resources occurred at very small levels a thousand dollars a couple thousand dollars here and there and zoomed all the way up into hundreds of millions of dollars that were spent on hospitals that never opened or prisons that never took any prisoners in the united states lacked a plan constantly being forced into short term solutions to your constant leave being asked to produce publicity stills and have something ready by next thursday for the photographers to show up c.n.n. is coming over the weekend better get something ready none of these things were.

part of the long term the slow work of development that really is necessary if you're serious about rebuilding a country i want to read something to him please here is some use i write the government watchdogs of raised the alarm about billions of dollars of war zone waste and fraud are falling silent or are missing in action this. item is actually about the commission on wartime contracting and that charter that they were working under it has expired and has not being renewed i'm just going to tell our viewers that this commission on wartime contracting claimed waste and fraud may have siphoned off up to sixty billion dollars from contracts in iraq and afghanistan now this watchdog could be out of business are you surprised who might be interested in it i'm actually ashamed that the commission on wartime contracting is going out of business and there's actually more to it than even the story that you just shared with your viewers first of all the state department has attempted to exempt itself

from the scrutiny of the committee that you refer to the state department has claimed that it was not part of wartime contracting that it was involved in diplomacy and therefore not controlled by that organization and they didn't want them to peek into what the state department was doing even worse the committee as it's dissolved has sealed all of its records and no one will be allowed to see any of the results of its work except what's already been published until two thousand and thirty one so the things that the committee on wartime contracting uncovered the incredible amounts of waste fraud and mismanagement that they documented in the limited public documents that they do produce all of that is being swept away i don't know how old i'm going to be in two thousand and thirty one i'm going to be a lot older than i am now but it's shameful shameful that we will not be able to see that information why aren't they allowed to publish that before they eat official version is that there may be classified information in some of their or.

reports that needs to remain undercover for that long i think most intelligent people realize that the reporting from the committee is so horrific it needs to be put away to avoid embarrassing the government even further thank you very much for the senate thank you very much. to those who are fascinated with history. to those who have a sweet tooth. to those who can't live without the sky. and of course to the nature left to use this magnificent land offerers is treasures. between earth and the sky. on our. wealthy british scientists and. sometimes.

markets why not. come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike's concert for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into kinds a report. on. the.

week. more news today violent games please these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. for racial to rule the day.

and broadcasting live direct from russia's capital moscow this is r t i'm sean thomas and these are headlines palestine it gets a seat at the u.n. cultural agency for the first time in a move widely seen as a strong show of support for the nation's bid for recognition you know scope voted overwhelmingly in favor of the move but it will pay a hefty price as washington cut its funding but the organization and protesters feel syria's president claims that the deadly anti regime uprising in the country is funded from abroad and wants western powers to keep out this comes as it may go out military intervention while the opposition in the country remains divided over the introduction of a libya style no fly zone feel and from the direct response to the witness box chelsea football club owner a roman. in court as his former friend bought a spot as soon as him for allegedly muscling him out of a multibillion dollar russian oil company i would.