pussy riot member maria law leads to prison following a presidential amnesty while the punk bands in addition a lock on the cover is expected to walk free soon. the newly freed me khodorkovsky steps into the media spotlight he pledges to fight for the release of his associates we take a look at their cases and why they are still behind bars. plus the u.s. federal reserve marks one hundred years since its foundation conceived as a tool to stabilize the economy critics say does little to celebrate about its century of money printing.

that it's nice to have you company you're watching party international. pussy riot band member maria long walk free from jail her lawyer says another member of the band tolokonnikova is expected to be released soon to have both been serving time following a stunt in moscow's main cathedral let's get the details from our teacher in the collusion she joins us now. jailing cause a lot of controversy around the world but it appears that they do have their freedom and that is correct at least one of the many i looked into has been released on monday morning immediately after her release she went in for a meeting with human rights activists and indeed that's what we're hearing from my loathing of herself who has already gone public saying that she intends to do work with human rights activists in the future that's what she plans to do now that she is out of prison now it's important to note that before before her sentencing and during her sentencing sentencing there was insisting that. entire cases and just

and her prison them and. also one just as well but the news about the under which both the members of the pussy riot band they're being released i know him said that she does not wish the amnesty that she would have stayed in prison until the end of her sentence if only she had the opportunity to do so now as far as her future plans immediate plans are concerned we're hearing that is planning to head to grassley ours were no use because according to law is at the moment she hasn't been released yet from her penal colony but her husband is right there waiting for her seems like my delegation is also heading in that direction afterwards according to his husband they're not planning to leave the country they're planning to go and involve themselves in sort of humanitarian and it's human rights work now of course it's important to know that both. have been

in jail they have received to be here sentences after performing this so-called public prayer in the country's main and that is crisis of your cathedral in moscow ok thank you. meanwhile. says he won't engage himself in politics or business but will dedicate himself to helping his imprisoned comrades at his first press conference following his release he said he needs to pay back to those still behind bars. looked into one of the cases of horticulture 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 nervous side to the yukos saga one that's not often heard. free after ten

years this is that some of what of course these comments after his release of raised eyebrows may have. some of my comrades remain in jail they are my fellow sufferers for example my friend platon lebedev alexei protrusion 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 societies 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 mr holder quote ski's oil company you cos he's currently serving a life sentence booked 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 order in two thousand and seven

a court convicted it too good of ordering the shooting over that immediate bet you all of 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 are that costly should confess his sins and stop trying himself as a victim the court filed no link between the murders and the you cause head. of course he was jailed in two thousand and three for fraud and embezzlement he refuses to accept any guilt for the crimes he was convicted of peter all of a r.t. berlin while responding to what are called skins complained 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 call political analyst from the voice of russia dmitry babich said the associates of mikhail khodorkovsky can hardly be regarded as political prisoners. certainly. there are other partner of course the who is still in jail out on labor day of they never did any human rights or political activity and they never criticised the state what they did was just following dirty war people working in a big oil russian company in the ninety's the children never was involved in any political activity he never made any political statements he never wrote any articles in the newspapers you know were talked about politics in public he was just. all over i would say quasi military organization that helped russia's biggest oil company certainly its cause and sometimes lead to remove its

opponents. or to move more and more about what are called skis first comments to the press after his release and to get opinions on his case and surprise patently head to our web page at www dot com. has been revealed america's mass spying program has also been targeting its traditional closest ally israel however unlike other victims of the snooping television chosen to play down the scandal so he more or less lets talk to artie's paula slater she joins us live now. this uprising that israel doesn't seem to be taking that seriously especially considering it hasn't exactly been getting on well with the u.s. recently. well the prime minister's office the defense ministry and the foreign ministry have yet to officially comment however one senior israeli government source has said that israel will not allow this announcement to pass without any kind of comment and that an understanding has to be reached at that

meeting is one doesn't do among friends having said that there is no visible outrage from the israeli side and this of course is because israel presumably is well aware that the u.s. is spying on other countries and so the assumption is there that israelis know that they too are being watched israel is quiet and this is certainly the word that we're getting from people we're talking to because it once its relationship with the united states to continue particularly in terms of intelligence sharing and in terms of the very large amounts of money that israel receives from the united states doesn't want to in any way jeopardize that relationship by coming out too harshly in criticism. from what you're saying it sounds like the status quo will remain between in terms of sharing the intelligence between the u.s. and israel. well certainly the expectation is that the status quo will remain in terms of intelligence sharing if you remember

a few months ago there were reports that israel has sometimes joined the united states in its electronic spying on others at the same time israel is on the receiving end of huge volumes of the controversially collected american intelligence we have heard from the israeli intelligence and strategic affairs minister you've all statements and he has said and admitted as much that is well she is all its intelligence with the united states the u.k. and germany he says and to quote him and these conditions it is unacceptable to behave this way of course that's a reference to the united states but again having said that there's no way that israel is in a position. to severely criticized the united states because it doesn't essentially want to jeopardize its relationship with washington and that is why steinitz has also said that we are extremely careful and take into account that not only arab countries but also the superpower was on this thing to us ok thank you paula we'll

leave it there that's. a live from tel aviv thank you still to come on the program fed up with the world's most indebted country marking the hundredth birthday of the federal reserve we look back at it century of scandals and find out who gains from the monster financial bubble it creates. technology innovation all the developments from around russia we've got the future covered. the. economic downturn the find out.

and the rest of life doing a little bit every week. now has twenty thirteen rapidly draws to a close all this week we are 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 a 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. led 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 factors and while the northern city of good is often caught in the crossfire lying close to al qaeda strongholds i'm being claimed by both the iraqi government and the a tone of this could stand or to find out how people they're coping with the daily violence. but. the iraq war is supposed to be over but these pictures tell a different story chaos and confusion in the aftermath of yet another deadly blast here intercooler. who wish to be has been described as

a faultline 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 us in 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 when have it. roadblocks and concrete barriers defined in the wrong checkpoints like this one are a dominant feature of life and they are everywhere aside from the household but also a frequent target of attacks for us is a bleak visual reminder of the country still very much. it's like your proof we drive quickly to avoid danger we're told to look out for a black b.m.w. who's 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 were expecting empty streets but people continue to go about their business as normal vendors and busy families did their shopping beneath the surface there are scars today kirkuk continues to be an incredibly dangerous place looking even after the city without the help of a military escort residents here say that attacks have happened 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 karl 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 . we don't know who the enemy is when the next bomb didn't go off but it's a daily fears we've gotten used to that you know i do small things to feel safer

like driving a car windows down that way if there's a blast at least the glass that's heard of. such precautions didn't help sixty year old newt who says that a decade of war has ruined everything 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 if so by the end of the pipe is what benefit did the your bring democracy only explosions shootings and kidnappings people should feel free to go out and come back safely where is that a job i can leave but there's no guarantee i'll come back alive no it's not about the secretary and differences unfortunately it's both black and i want him behind this oil is the hidden interest a politician. can. once in a political game playing with their minds and hearts and mind it's for conflicts not of their own making the iraqis we met didn't heed their neighbors or care about

who controls the oil just like from all they simply want the peace of mind of knowing they can go out and return to their loved ones alive. r.t. if you think. 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 in this daily carnage will continue 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 structure the there is a total failure of the infrastructure of the society the health education the teachers and their colleagues have been either assassinated or emigrated you have a situation where four million refugees outside the country almost two million displaced in the country within the country and the killing is continuing on a daily basis that it is unprecedented so the 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 wasn't. we have created a special online project on our website which does bring together detailed reports on the di scale of the violence in iraq from all of the big events of the year our series why twenty thirteen matters will be running all this week here an artiste. these locals a bit sour here braving the elements in order to stand up to u.s. oil giants chevron. this comes after a massive hunger strike that returned the world's attention to the place that some have dubbed the gulag of our times.

is an undeclared global battlefield in which yemen is just one of the front lines. oh. now today the u.s. federal reserve has one hundred candles to blow act on its birthday cake founded to prevent boom and bust economics and its first century certainly faced many challenges from double digit inflation to name a depression so on its anniversary it seemed like 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 the fertile sure it is an independent agency is not in the least include the. other agency of government

which can overrule actions that we carried the country has seen as many as eighteen recessions since the fed was created leading many to argue it has singularly failed to end the boom and bust economics that it was designed to prevent it's been a abject failure it's been a dismal failure in promoting prosperity. sustainable prolong 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 america's central bank was created following the two thousand eight. hundred was born was. wall street went on to make a record breaking profits courtesy of the feds want to cheat if easing program was done is it's basically taking a lot of the credit that was on wall street's balance sheets and it's onto its own balance sheets and so it's playing this huge support function in the economy andrew sar who spearheaded the first quarter of q.e. has apologized to americans for what he calls a backdoor bailout for the banks 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. 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 tells us the way the fed is designed will hardly ever make it in the interests of the people. even today it's very much determined by the big banks themselves you can get a nomination and become the director of the new york fed without the failure of the

big banks themselves and in fact people are unaware that the banks actually pay for the operating expenses of the federal reserve itself so it's always relative to to shoot for the bankers and you know it's really a bit of a misrepresentation to say that the third is going to stimulate the economy. into the economy what's happened is that money earns up in the hands of 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 now there are more stories for you just a click away including he may not be able to whistle blow on russian soil but edward snowden says he still thankful to moscow for the opportunity to walk freely and speak his mind for more details on his latest into he had to r.t. don't call me and from snowden to snow you did read about nature's extravagant gift

to canadians who were almost left to celebrate christmas in the dark and that's after heavy winter storm battered the east of the country we're going to our website for the pictures of this pretty festive. how the supposed to be the season of goodwill better a local authority in the u.k. is not exactly been getting into the spirit in fact is our t. sara firth is being finding out there are claims it is lacking acting like the greek church with the festive season that's attendance the one positive london in the talks mean not so much about his coming down your chimney but about what's coming through your less about how dismissal for them council has sent this message out to seventeen thousand homes warning people to pay their ranks and asking them not to go. now the council have defended their actions saying that there's more than forty six percent of the tenants in rent to raise and that it's a 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 this 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 horrible i mean if you go to. looks like people are caught between a rock and a hard place you know they want to enjoy christmas and play you run. more impressed with people should obviously be paying their rent and it's pretty explicit he says if you're having trouble. presumably this is where you could cause you know i think that's actually quite a good miss to george you know you express were supposed to feel you know charlie i mean hey your friend maybe boxing day. i am 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. you know i don't think it's fair i think that they

should get rid of those princes so for us he runs a. quick look at some of the stories now. in egypt three prominent secular activists from the twenty eleven uprising have been convicted of holding an unauthorized rally and attacking police the move was the first use of a controversial restricting demonstrations all three activists received three year jail terms and were fined or around seven thousand dollars meanwhile these armies coalition's announced it will boycott the january 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 and french troops arrived to end the sectarian bloodshed. a

crowd of around sixteen dollars and took to the streets of stockholm to demonstrate against racism the police presence was heavy as a previous rally ended in violence a week ago when a group of far right activists attacked protesters twenty eight people were arrested and two were taken to hospital sweden has seen a rise of the far right triggered by a growing influx of migrants in fact a recent poll gave the anti immigration sweden democrats a party around ten percent of the board ahead of next year's general election and the bomb which israel has accused 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 and west bank and search cars for suspects violence in the west bank has increased in recent months and at least nineteen palestinians and four israelis have been killed since peace talks got underway after a three year break. up next so for seven hours of talks is to see at

the former first lady of france in the interview show suffocate. summer break a time when all students rejoice and most importantly relax but in russia summer break for male students could change dramatically and involve lots of guns currently male russian citizens have to put a year into the armed forces but the ministry of defense thinks that they can make things easier by having students spend their summer breaks in the military this training would tie in with their future professions such as engineering students being put into military engineering position now the question is does your summer break belong to you or another words of the government have the right to tell you what to do and make you serve in the army even if just for three summers during your college years i think the answer this really depends on your culture in places

which haven't been invaded countless times or have a strong individual ism streak any form of conscription sounds barbaric and oppressive but if you come from a country that is less individualistic and has been attacked invaded by pretty much every country that possibly could like russia then having a draft makes more sense i think this program could work and if i was in college i would be pumped to spend my summer vacation with some heavy artillery but this is definitely not a universal idea for all countries i don't think liberals or libertarians in america would take too kindly to it and rightly so but that's just my opinion.

hello and welcome to sophie and co i'm sophie shevardnadze and where we are cecilia adds yes works for the party led by her husband. and stood by his side to see successfully complained to become the french president but a few months into his term the couple divorced since then she has dedicated her life to the cause of women's rights around the world she's normally shy of being going to spotlight but now says in the ass panda memoir calling it a desire for truth and she's our guest today. this exceeded where others failed. from his present the world longed to see a new princess diana. but she. gave up her presidential marriage

as well as her country. so why do you sleep one of its brightest. something happening in the country once. europe. is front. and our guest today sicily at c.s. former first lady of france says if your new book is called. the desire for truth and the autobiography now the most remarkable of visit in your lives us first lady as you've said it many times was the role you played in liberating the number of bulgarian nurses and a palestinian doctor who'd been jailed in libya when warmer khadafi was still in charge but what was it like i know you get that question a lot but like i still want to hear from you once again. of course it's a very interesting i mean part of my life. the most important. part of my life because i mean just.