after a. while the newly freed me khodorkovsky steps into the media spotlight he pledges to fight for the release of his associates we'll take a look at their cases and why they're still behind bars. the u.s. federal reserve marks one hundred years since its foundation conceived as a tool to stabilize the economy critics say there's little to celebrate about its century of money printing. and as we begin to look back at the big stories of twenty thirteen for iraq it becomes the deadliest in the past five years with over nine thousand killed in bloody sectarian strife.

and i welcome the watching r.t. international with me andrew farmer. pardon former tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky says he won't engage himself in politics or business but will dedicate himself to helping he's imprisoned comrades at his first press conference following his release he said he needs to pay back its debts to those still behind bars artie's peter oliver looked into one of the cases of ski's associates mikhail khodorkovsky entered into the press conference in a whirlwind of media hype into a room packed to the rafters with journalists many of whom were congratulating him on his release as a political prisoner however there is a nother side to the yukos saga one that's not often heard. free after ten years this is that some of these comments after his release brings i bros i mean your property. some of my comrades remain in jail they are my fellow sufferers for

example my friend platon lebedev alexei pictures and there are still other political prisoners in russia not only those related to the you cause case i am free now and i'm asking you to think of it as something which symbolizes that the efforts of civil society can lead to the release of some people who no one thought would be able to walk free. to choose again was the head of security for midst of a quote skis oil company you cos he's currently serving a life sentence book by counts of murder if you have a court finding a person guilty of murder i think it's very difficult for anyone to then say well he's guilty but he's not actually guilty because he's a political prisoner i find it quite older in two thousand and seven a court convicted it too good of ordering the shooting to me a bet you call for the mayor of a town in siberia and his widow believes this was a crime that went to the top. their core skills behind the murder of my husband

he's a free man now it's painful for me to talk about this because nothing can bring my husband back the international community should know the facts had a cost you should confess his sins and stop trying himself as a victim the court found no link between the murders and the cross-head we hired for the course he was jailed in two thousand and three for fraud and embezzlement he refuses to accept him guilt for the crimes he was convicted of peter all of a r.t. . while responding to order of ski's complaint his case was politically motivated the european court of human rights ruled it actually had nothing to do with the political activities of the applicants who were not opposition leaders or public officials and also stressed the charges were not related to political life and had a healthy core you can also see is the head of the political magazine compact and he believes tax evasion and embezzlement is the part of the whole story which is not receiving enough attention. totally unknown in the west the. big

economic oh criminal. have her stolen a lot off for money from the russian people and from the russian state that he stole a lot of oil not physically abide by means of fiscal many police. every kind of businessman in the best who had done the same waterfall saw that in prison by this story is all told in the west. are speculation and there are kind of pressure on him from the factions of the anglo-saxon oil industry to mingle into russian politics to go back into the game or it is unclear what will happen. to learn more about holocaust these first comments to the press after his release and to get opinions on his case and surprise pardon head to our web page

party dot com. i was twenty thirteen rapidly draws to a close all this week we're looking back at the most significant events of the year . for the people of iraq this year has become the deadliest since two thousand and eight marred by deepening sectarian divide and more innocent lives being lost as a result more than nine thousand people have been killed this year sectarian violence has claimed up to one hundred twenty seven thousand lives in the decade since the u.s. invasion while seeking to undermine the shia government sunni insurgents have attacked civilian targets in different parts of the country bringing the total number of suicide bombings to four thousand or the northern city of kirkuk is often caught in the cross-fire lying close to al qaeda strongholds am being claimed by both the iraqi government and the autonomous kurdistan artie's lucy caffein or

found out how people there cope with daily violence. the iraq war is supposed to be over but these pictures tell a different story chaos and confusion the aftermath of yet another deadly blast here into a kook. this oil rich city has been described as a fault line a symbol for the country's most intractable woes escalating violence the conflict among ethnic and religious groups and the fight over iraq's resources. getting there was our first challenge a group of kurdish soldiers had agreed to take a sin both baghdad and the kurds lay claim to care coop and are sparring over control aside from the danger those entering from the kurdish side need special permission to get past the iraqi checkpoints we inhabit. roadblocks and concrete barriers to find the new iraq checkpoints like this one are

a dominant feature of life and they are everywhere aside from the household they're also frequent target of attacks for us is a blatant visual reminder of a country still very much at war. inside your kook we drive quickly to avoid danger we're told to look out for black b.m.w. is apparently they've become a favorite for iraq's insurgents who didn't pick the best day to come to roadside bombs exploded here earlier that morning around the same time that baghdad was rocked by a series of deadly blasts but has been a flashpoint for years now and in the city center it's clear that life doesn't stop just because of the threats we're expecting empty streets but people continue to go about their business as normal vendors and busy families did their shopping but beneath the surface there are scars today kirkuk continues to be an incredibly dangerous place that shortly after the city without the help of a military escort residents here say that attacks that happen at any time in any

place in fact it's not really safe to stay here for too long so let's get inside. we need carl want to his family there kurds who say they're happy that saddam is gone but their fear of political repression has been replaced by fear of the unknown and. you know. we don't know who the enemy is or when the next bomb will go off but it's a daily for years we've gotten used to it you know i do small things to feel safer like driving all the car windows down that way if there's a blast at least the glass was heard. such precautions didn't help sixty year old mood who says that a decade of war has ruined iraq he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time a bomb blast went off injuring his leg for him daily life has become a painful struggle just about the only do you probably hyper see what benefit did to your bring democracy only explosions shootings and kidnappings people should feel free to go out and come back safely where is that i can leave but there's no

guarantee i'll come back alive but soldier. no it's not about the sectarian differences unfortunately it's book the black gold the oil and behind this oil is the hidden interests of politicians pawns in a political game playing with their livelihoods and lives for conflicts not of their own making the iraqis we met didn't hate their neighbors or care about who controls the oil just like they simply want the peace of mind of knowing they can go out and return to their loved ones alive to see captain of our team here in. the u.s. led invasion of iraq in two thousand and three marked a clear start to what would be a very bloody period in the country's history and this daily carnage shows no sign of stopping as the president of the arab lawyers association told us. this is much worse than it was pre two thousand and three because there is no security there is

no infrastructure the total failure of the infrastructure of the society the health education the teachers and their. water immigrated you have a situation where four million refugees outside the country. two million displaced in the country within the country and the killing is continuing on a daily basis that it is unprecedented so this situation is much worse now. made by both the government of iraq and the western powers who created the situation and they still want to say it was a success but it was. a has created a special online project on its website which brings together detailed reports on the scale of the violence in iraq and for more of the big events of the year our series why twenty thirteen matches will be running all this week here on out say.

these are. braving the elements in order to. see us oil giants chevron. this comes after a massive hunger strike that returned the world's attention to the place that some . of our time. is an undeclared of global battlefield which is just one of the front lines. still to come fed up. we're the world's most indebted country mocking the hundreds of the federal reserve we look back at it century of scandals i'm fine dad you games from amongst the financial bubble they created this story is coming up.

millions around the globe struggle with hunger each good. what if someone offers a lifetime food supply no charge. they can they're very strong against g.m.o. and we think that. the genetically modified products are priest. there is no. evidence that there is any problem with genetic engineering when you make a deal. or is free cheese always in a mouse trap. and that free. enterprise is profit. for these golden

rice. again today the u.s. federal reserve has one hundred candles to blow act on its keg founded to prevent boom and bust economics in its first century is faced many challenges from double digit inflation to need depression so when it's on eviscerate seems the right time to ask how is the fed actually doing. looks for the. secretive powerful wealthy and now it's got

a birthday america's central bank wields enormous and almost unchecked power over the world's largest economy for sure. basically. this is. the other agency of government. action that we take the country has seen as many as eighteen recessions since the fed was created leading many to argue it has singularly failed to add to the boom and bust economics that it was designed to prevent its abject failure has been a dismal failure in promoting prosperity. sustainable prolonged prosperity and raising the living standards of americans. the past thirty years have produced the biggest growth of income inequality wages for the low and middle class have remained stagnant while the fed has allowed banks to double in size accounting for forty percent of the u.s.

economy the fed has twelve regional banks and this one in new york is not only the largest it's also the closest to wall street salaries profits and bonuses have all grown over the past century one thing has shrunk the value of the u.s. dollar has declined a reported ninety five percent since i'm erika's central bank was created following the two thousand and eight financial crisis millions of jobs in homes were lost. wall street went on to make a record breaking profits courtesy of the fed's quantitative easing program done is it's basically taking a lot of the credit that was on wall street's balance sheets and it's brought it onto its own balance sheets and so it's playing this huge support function in the calling me andrew sar who spearheaded the first quarter of q.e. he has apologized to americans for what he calls a backdoor bailout for the bang. most americans can't really get credit after the financial crisis still to this day even though wall street's been stabilized and so

we have this long term decline in the economic prospects of the average american and yet a lot of our leadership both in washington and within the fed specifically are really focused on trying to put humpty dumpty back together again in terms of wall street and resists resuscitate a system that i think is a working less and less for for the person on the street for one hundred years america's currency and economy has been run by unelected and virtually unaccountable central planners and while the fed has helped the rich get richer the gap between the top one percent and the rest. is the largest it's been since the great depression marina work i.r.t. . meanwhile every day americans have little chance to influence the federal reserve despite its enormous impact on their finances as professor of political economy jack says the way the fed is designed will hardly ever make it in the interests of

the people. even today it's very much the term and by the big banks themselves you can't get a nomination and become the director of the new york fed without the ok of the big banks themselves and in fact people are unaware that the banks actually pay for the operating expenses day to day of the federal reserve itself so it's always relatives attention for the bankers and you know it's really a bit of a misrepresentation to say that the fed is going to stimulate the economy prompted money into the economy what's happened is that money ends up in the hands of the investors and speculators but because that money is not getting into the real economy mom and pop business you know stimulating the real investment united states we don't see any real recovery in the real economy for real folks here in the united states there are more stories for you just a click away including

a great respect for germany that's what edward snowden says is driving him to help early and investigate and i say spying activities on its soil but with one tiny condition to find out what it is steve had seen i see dot com also their natures extravagant gifts to canadians who were almost left to celebrate christmas in the dark that's after heavy snow storms battered east of the country log on to our web site for all the pictures of this festive disaster. pussy riot and see a lawyer has been released that's according to her lawyer that started president putin granted amnesty to the band members we'll bring you more on this story as we get it but that's the nice just reaching its. we're into an economic crisis all over the world and france deserves to get out of the crisis and deserve to have back all the people who are leaving the country to

go and work in other places and it's very sad to see that and it's really like that like. was no lights. economic down in the final. and the rest. will be if we. leave also we leave that maybe. bush is truly. for the musical. shoes that no one is there with to get that you deserve answers from.

politics. now we are just getting some news in here at r.t. pussy riot member maria lloyd has been released from prison that is according to her lawyer that after president putin granted amnesty to the band members of course as soon as we get more on this story we'll bring it to you. now is supposed to be the season of goodwill but a local authority in the u.k. it's not exactly been getting into the spirit in fact as aussie sarah ferguson finding out there are claims is acting like it greg. well it's the festive season that's attendant so one positive london in the talks mean well so much about his coming down your chimney a bit about what's coming through your less about how dismissal for them council have sent this message out to seventeen thousand homes warning people to pay their rent and asking them not to indulge now the council have defended their actions

saying that those who are forty six percent that rents would raise and that is the time of year when people will be spending less and this is a state full of messages part of a hard hitting campaign but with the cost of living quite in the headlines in britain at the moment and others have branded this message disgusting we've been talking to some of the people who live in this part of london to find out what they think i think. the reaction is. i believe you go to. people are caught between a rock and a place you know they want to enjoy christmas and play you run. people should obviously be paying their rent it's pretty explicit he says if you're having trouble. presumably this is where you could go through no i think that's actually quite a good miss to church you know you but it's christmas just goes to show you know charlie i mean hey your friends really maybe boxing day. they are like clever with

your money because you're going to have a bit of fun for like a day or two and then you're just going to have a whole year just so hard no. no i don't think so i think they should get rid of those princes so i see. some international news in brief that in egypt three prominent secular activists from the twenty eleven uprising have been convicted of holding an unauthorized rally and attacking police was the first use of a controversial law restricting demonstrations all three activists received three year jail terms and will find around seven thousand dollars. meanwhile the zionist coalition's announced it will boycott january's referendum on the constitution amended by the interim government which toppled president morsi. in the capital of the central african republic thousands of muslims have marched against peacekeeping operations in the country according to locals the rally was triggered after three

gunmen were killed in clashes with french troops it was the first demonstration since the african union i'm french troops arrived to end the sectarian bloodshed. a crowd of around sixteen thousand took to the streets of stockholm to demonstrate against racism the police presence was heavy as the previous rally ended in violence a week ago when i group of far right activists attacked protesters twenty eight people were arrested and two taken to hospital following yourself we have seen a rise of the far right triggered by growing influx of migrants a recent poll gave the anti make ration sweden democrats party around ten percent support ahead of next year's general election. handball which israel has you cues palestinians of planting exploded on a bus near tel aviv police say no one was hurt after they evacuated passengers from the vehicle before the blast israeli forces set up roadblocks at entrances to the

occupied west bank cars for suspects violence in the west bank has increased in recent months at least nineteen palestinians on four israelis have been killed since peace talks got underway after a three year break. i just remind you breaking news here on r.t. pussy riot band member maria has walked free her lawyer has reported but it's a few days after president putin announced an amnesty for the punk band another band member. is expected to be released soon so you will bring you more information as we get it. up next the toxic technology that terrible film explores the house is this legacy of computers thrown out with rubbish but if you're watching in the u.k. it's the time to go underground with afshin rattansi.

the movie you leave us or we leave the baby. by the see who she truly. your party there's a goal. is that no one is asking with the guests that you deserve answers from. politic only on our team.

it's. a lifetime of all mankind what a brief moment in the long history of this earth of ours and only a day early history of mankind as man made any significant advance. over his earthly environment. for life. more than any other of man invent. machines would have been with less than a million for the second in terms of the temporal man three already given promise of. changing our way of life and way of thinking. it just so.

let us down to said girl. and then we just. sit and ouse. it's wrong it's. wrong signal out. it's waltzing around for this. i. just found this. thank you i did slow down from the ground sort of sit there in quick doubt. i did i don't. know where absolute number grow bugs were moved i know. what the first time i saw one was at the zongo area where we were going for a after school study. and as soon as we finish studying we'd go and play with the

computer. there were many things we could do on the computer games educational games and so on. them. and what i'm trying to say is that the computer broadens your horizon. is just dumping and nobody wants them in the backyard in your opening united states so they find a way to dispose of this the color gold it was teamed with so much for it but this is what is left of the local. there's nothing to show just the worst just living in the luxury the water is so polluted nothing above six and did nothing survive.

i had to play computers all day long i mean who doesn't like that technology there's something new i know about it probably before the consumer does so every day's new every and every truck is almost like christmas a year ago a gigabyte was kind of a better deal for game by some like top line but now we're talking a game. bites beyond you know who knows what next year is going to break so a big thing also is the size of the hard drives a year ago a terabyte was kind of something that was brand new very very expensive some of our desktops come built in with a terabyte drive you can buy drives up to two terabytes and for those who didn't know it's a thousand gigabytes so that's well to terabyte i don't think they take it for granted i think it's just mainstream it's almost like get a drink walk it's like there's my computers my glass of water it's just something going in the really think about new technology that said there's something for everybody you know people still like the desktops but they want smaller people

still want like the laptops that they want to make so they're kind of changing over to that as well and make them work today is a very important day we have a lot of we have a lot of great advertisements going on i want you guys to remember that all right we also have a lot of customers out there we've been here since ten thirty and o'clock that will be six and a half hours that we'll wait here i'm down to sixty that absolutely got to get the t.v. i don't know whether to use it in the. average don't even care bill scream the student in the garbage maybe for a tax return place to look at is there today we have a very large sales goal that i want everybody to know that we have to hit we have to hit three hundred thousand today as a goal we can do all right that's very exciting right all right we never want to do over that three hundred thousand would be absolutely nice we did that i know.