fast approaching the preparation finish line there's just a month until sochi twenty fourteen gets going and we check how the olympic city will keep visitors moving and safe also. when water leaves a bitter taste we look at how disputes over resources could spark major conflicts across the world and here what can be done to stop the boss. oh ok only in the worshipers around the world mars orthodox christmas as a grand service is held in moscow's christ the savior cathedral. oh. hello and welcome live from moscow you're

with r.t. international and i'm and you say now like good to have you with us straight to our top story ready set and only a month to go sochi is ticking the final boxes and its winter olympics preparations let's cross live now to our cheese paul scott who's there paul just a monk laughs certainly almost everything is nearly ready. well organizers are confident that everything is on track. all the eleven venues have been completed built and tested to international standards on more than one occasion and all the transport networks including the high speed rail service between the coastal cluster and the mountain cluster are also up and running now there is still some work to be done but it's mainly superficial in terms of sprucing the city up so it looks nice come the opening ceremony on february the seventh what you can see behind me is the coastal cluster or the olympic village

where six of the venues are housed where six of the venues are based including the fish stadium which is going to host the opening ceremony on february the seventh forty thousand lucky ticket holders will be crammed inside the stadium that you can see behind me enjoying organizers are promising will be a spectacular spectacle at the moment rehearsals are ongoing but the content of the show is a very closely guarded secret but the message from organizers is clear that with one month ago everything is on track he's the chairman of the organizing committee to make. on the oh well can you get through your home you have to prepare the table of the good food and of course here is the key you because we want to reach. more than the level of excitement of the people who will arrive our professional staff is the place volunteers already have started to arrive from all around the country fully ready the weather is perfect a lot of snow in the mountains so where with him and very exciting to welcome the

war paul security in sochi has most certainly been in the spotlight lately especially with those twin attacks what's happening on that front. well security has been a top priority for organizes from day one but with a month to go today is the day that the security operation kicks in in earnest as you say. attention to heighten to the moment following those twin attacks in volgograd now a controlled zone has been around all of the venues with a number of checkpoints in the city basically spectators will only be allowed into the venues or to designated areas if they have a ticket and also proof of id now further afield acting as a buffer almost around that control is what's being called a bridge in zion and nobody is allowed any access to this unless there are exceptional circumstances now over thirty thousand police and security officers are

going to be on patrol in the region and also vehicles won't be allowed into the city unless they have a local registration unless they have been given permission and i want to issue concerning security and safety is of course the right to protest and demonstrations over the course of the weekend president vladimir putin amended a decree saying that demos can take place in designated areas if organizes get permission so it seems that the games organizers taking every step they can to ensure the most expensive games in history peacefully. reporting live from sochi paul looking for full of weeks' time. well there's still one thing missing in sochi the olympic torch which is still in route to the longest on the longest relay in the history of the games from space walks and diving to the bottom of the world's deepest like it's now on its way through central russia james brown's been following its voyage which he describes to then

see france. james brown welcome to the studio what do you have with you here the torch of the olympic games can give us a look at this well as you say this is my. personal torch it's as you can see very one of the color in souvenir let me let me have a look at this this is not light by any means heavy in this respect but yeah it is what two kilos about four actually really yeah you could hear on trains that you no doubt that is heavy quite and this is a better record breaking relay for the olympic torch going places it's never been before you were following it which one of the milestones do you think was the last memorable are important i think for me i've been to several. going to by car was amazing they took the torch down under water into my car so you have the burning flare torches specially made and then passed very impressive on the water and then

flew the torch back with the man with the jets on to the on to the show very good video so that it was it was a sight to be seen but there was one amazing moment a real once in a lifetime moment was going with the torch to the north pole you see on t.v. and you read it and then you think wow that must be really must be very interesting never going to go there and then this opportunity came up to go on this nuclear icebreaker he's huge. chip and that can cut through to me to think of it. as fuelled by two gigantic reaction see your visitors which is a strange feeling in itself yeah go and stand by god. but we were going to go to the north pole with the flame and we made it. less and for half a day it was a world record pace arrived in the middle of the polar nights within a picture watch in the north pole for the very first time in history. has undergone

a quite a transformation to become the world's winter sports wonderland by mark five takes a look at the massive boost the entire region has been experiencing. the caucasus mountains are known to attract days with a love for nature and now they've become an attraction for new opportunities and business one family decided to leave behind the metropolis of moscow for a change of scenery and lifestyle and a new business saw them using the found in this landscape bad did the city win the olympic bid play in the influence to possible so is he winning the olympic bid encouraged us to take action as we became more sure that the region will now be developing fast and world so yes i'd say this frank did have an influence on our decision to move here leaving well paid jobs behind and making a living was a number one priority so they turned to soon d.-ma using his head for business to

help his creative like christina at first it was not much more than a pos time but the business blossomed david product line consists of again except shampoos showa gels and creams you might even feel gadgil looking at a bar of soap as everything looks appetizing. there's a whole arsenal of bottles and flasks with essential and cosmetic on aisles and greetings are going to be a source locally water from the local mountains is used alongside herbs and spices which christina picks has cells with no previous experience in the soap making industry and no formal education in chemistry christina studied up on her own time with the business is doing well this future looks even brighter with plans jasmine an eco friendly hotel but for now the magic happens in the kitchen so i believe

that i've got across the water the games themselves will add potential clients raw business a future hotel and products or the. organizers of the olympics as say the new infrastructure created in the city will draw more tourists and help small businesses a place the olympics a home base business sourcing local organic products and materials and herbs from our own thought she as well as the caucasus mountains now if the president saw it she is bubbling with fever for the winter games but it looks like its future the olympic and paralympic games will blossom if you take the example of upcoming businesses like this one with a in sochi r.t. now that we're into the final months until the games begin we continue our special coverage from sochi as a cure is up for the winter sporting spectacle start with our two international for that.

water is life so they say but rivalry over supplies can lead to bitter conflicts you can see here that since the mid twentieth century the planet seen nearly one hundred eighty conflicts connected to water resources these include both small and large scale clashes a lot of them in the mideast and africa well you might be surprised to hear that it's water rather than oil there that could be what's fought over in the coming years the are reports now from israel. the bible tells us that within a short distance from here jesus turned water into wine two thousand years later the great american might be turning the wine back into water bubby caballo has been

living in the golan heights for over thirty years each day he attends to one yard in orchards keeping his wine in a center that was once a syrian bunker he is proud of the wine he produces but knows that in the absence of water none of this would be possible but i know for sure me water is important because it's the second main resource that we have other than the lamb. needs water and without it you will destroy all the crops and destroy all of the farming here you can turn the golan heights into a desert and it's not just about the golan heights rainwater from its catchment feeds into the river jordan providing a food of israel's water supply the disputed region was seized from syria after the six day war and residents of the golan remember that water was a key issue in the conflict and one of stance here understands the importance of the work that all the water supply of israel because every door was very mean here

all but one is prone to the syrian sea or gully so we can say that it is and must. respect the prisoner who have been poured over what the fall says it's a worldwide rule that whoever controls the water controls the land but the problem is in some places there's very little water to go around bring you have the common water souls shared by several sovereign nations there's always the possibility of a clash of riches conflicts that should be manageable or spread out of control and examples of possible conflicts are plentiful syria's major water sources travel through turkey and iraq making it vulnerable while jordan is reliant on a river with syria bill today egypt. recently expressed concern of a countries using the upper now to generate electric power in the dry landscape of the middle east is a prize most precious thing diamonds in its absence famine and drought are quick to

follow but this is a region that very seldom needs an excuse for war and water shortages might just tip the balance police here r.t. in the golan heights. as paula mentioned in her report egypt locking horns over water supplies with ethiopia which is building a dam on the nile but egypt which is massively dependent on the same supplies is worried the project might leave its entire population with no water when it comes online in three years political science professor sayed said that predicts tension will boil over we have to remember that egypt has only six to seven percent of its land land the rest of the egyptian territory is there's a bevin there's a so that can really be a serious effort to national security and that's why immediately when sylvia and raise the issue of the hide then the world some. experts here is that the world

talk about military option and go in to a war was this your view because if you cut water on us we would be buying eighty five percent of the water. and water comes from and so it's serious in fact that in two thousand and fifteen egypt will be one hundred fifty million people and we would be needing in addition to the fifty five point five billion cubic feet we need when few one billion cubic meters of extra where do we get this look we have no tools. they need go fifty five point five to pick me because what would happen to egypt in the year two thousand and fifty if we don't have more water. and mideast affairs journalist adel darwish thinks nations have no choice but to rationally share their common supplies and not politicize their disputes as the population grew and as agriculture grew and. buz grew or

is always. what it is when dealing probably reach for the hardly any fish with a live plan that would be averted if the idea was exploring the why what we call a water bank i.e. the rivers or water resources shirred among nations if we can quantify the usage of it what use for agriculture what you wish for and what do you wish for apology innovation and complain see each other by sort of making the water dollar or daughter pound or whatever and then we quantify it into more cooperative projects but without giving giving human nature and nature of politicians i probably not very optimistic. i had for you surely here an r t britain's banking bullies r t here's claims that a major high street bank is profiting from small businesses with plato and

financing the fed of being their safety net one couple tells us how they lost everything. for three to. take the bus back to slow motion housing time bomb ticks away under the british economy over which george osborne presides he says twenty fourteen will be a year of hard truths the hardest of all being that many must lose so that the few marginal seat voters he needs a win at the property roulette wheel so the hard truth for twenty fourteen is that in the boom bust property market never must supply meet demand for the libyan foreign market protesting you know so hurry running by now to get the job they no jobs get a loan because if you don't get the government back scheme will face a year of i was born hard last thirty troops.

this immediately though so we leave that maybe. by the sea pushes through the whole you pour the physical. issues that no one is asking with the guests that you deserve answers from. politic you. are. welcome back you're with our to international live from moscow it's christmas day but there's no need to check your calendar because it's orthodox worship or celebrating the holiday this time here in moscow it began with a ground service in christ the savior cathedral arches where if an ocean was there . this is a holy time for old russian also looks believe that there's around eighty percent of the country's population but there are also others who leave

a broad special christmas with jewels held in around ten thousand churches and monasteries all across russia including christ the savior cathedral here in central most of russia's main truth where the ceremony is that by pay triple mosco and all russia the real every year around five thousand livres attend the ceremony in this particular cathedral including the country's top officials these here prime minister medvedev attended the ceremony here but president putin celebrates christmas in seoul to this here where he traveled several days ago to monitor preparations for winter olympic games the trasher will soon be hostage in a holy relic a very important one for old believe. brought here to see christ. atthis monastery which is part of the magi gave us gold frankincense and myrrh that according to the bible and christian tradition were given to jesus when

he was born by a group of foreign travelers who covets thousands of kilometers to see the newborn and to own to him as a king and starting tuesday morning and for the entire week off towards all those who want to come here and see them we'll have this one just a legitimate question that i guess our t. origins may still have is why russia is also exchange celebrates the birth of jesus at the beginning of january not in december as most of christians do that is because of the julian calendar the thrushes also the exchange follows and the end which differs from going to go in calendar used by others after christmas we are going to see a week of a so-called svelte this is a holy time for all believers as well. america's super snooping national

security agency got backed into a corner by congress when pressed whether it's been spying on its members but the agency still managed to dodge giving a yes or no answer merely promising to keep lawmakers in the loop on their missions to get more on the n.s.a.'s lack of alien maneuvers that are t.v. dot com. also learn about the catechism including super volcanoes that could erupt at any moment and what scientists discoveries mean for the rest of us. in iraq government forces are preparing to storm the city of fallujah which has been overrun by al qaeda linked militants the prime minister is even urging civilians there to rise up and help drive out the insurgents well earlier extremists forces crossed over from neighboring syria joining up with their allies already finding in iraq the radicals want to set up an islamic state there and their ranks are swelling with thousands of new recruits iraqi leaders have been struggling to control the country in the aftermath of u.s.

withdrawal two years ago washington is promising to support baghdad but will not send troops back analysts say iran will gladly weigh in with military back. but we have seen and this town and washington for the past three years been so there's some sort of a disinterest in iraq you know like iraq does not exist right off their radar screen so. really it's a volatile situation the military will never prepared it was always predicated on sectarian lines unfortunately it is does not have the kind of weapon that it need to fight this by it doesn't have combat airplanes it does not have combat outcrop it runs ally in the area its biggest ally is maliki so they are not going to stand by idly and see the country break up all going to war or being indeed maliki overthrown by al qaeda types or they i suspect that they would come to the aid or at least with in terms of arms and supplying arms and so on because the u.s.

so far has fallen short of doing their jobs. meanwhile iran has refused to sign a line role of the upcoming international peace talks on syria iran hasn't received an official invitation to attend the geneva two conference later this month keep power players including russia and the u.n. have said they'd like to see the iranians at the table at the u.s. wants to iran to accept a sideline role and offer the islamic state rejected calling it a matter of honor. in other news moscow is demanding an explanation from senegal over the detention of a russian trawler ship and its eighty two crew members were seized at the weekend off the coast of guinea bissau in western africa senegalese officials claim it was fishing new legally but it felt produced evidence to support the accusations sixty two russians are still trapped on the ship with their passports confiscated. washington is pressuring kabul to sign a bilateral security pact within reaks the treaty would allow thousands of american

soldiers to remain in afghanistan after the nato withdrawal in late two thousand and fourteen couples unhappy with some parts of the deal which would grant us troops immunity from afghan law washington now threatening to pull all of its forces out of the country unless a deal is sealed to get a small business off the ground you need the backing of a bank but choose carefully because not all seem to have your entrepreneurial interests at heart or a smith spin to meet one couple in britain who found their lender more predatory than protective and discovered they're far from alone chris richardson and bernstein used to own this hotel but not anymore three years ago out of the blue they say their bank took it from them nat west stole hotel the photo below me here because i was always will and it will be coming back if

there's justice in this country these goals will be arrested. and we will be giving this october back in two thousand and ten chris and ernie had a loan from the west to do up the coniston hotel and conference center in north kent they were just eleven days from opening when their bank manager told them there was a problem releasing the latest tranche of their loan he said no worries don't worry about it. and that is the last we've ever heard of. we have not heard from him since late had the owners know the bank was saying they'd run out of money despite having one point six million pounds of their agreed loan left now west then revalue to the hotel at just over a third of its original price so the hotel found itself in administration from where it was snapped up by west register the bank's property. the kicker r.b.s. and its subsidiary now west are majority owned by the taxpayer but it's a ruse r.b.s.

has been accused of many times over laurence timing is a small business if i get to the government his recent report exposes the seemingly duplicitous nature of banking operations my report focuses on r.b.s. and what we're saying is that restructuring division georgi today in a way that the businesses that they were supposed to be helping get back to health were taken put into distress for the benefit of the bank we actually see b.s. has its own property company called west register and we're saying r.b.s. owning those customers property after they've been in distress tomlinson's report is twenty pages of examples and findings under headings like engineering and defaults and it's to save fees in response r.b.s. said in a statement no evidence had been provided to support the allegation that the bank had systematically profited on the backs of their customers and they'd be looking

into it fully christened ernie's hotel is now a thriving business fitted out exactly as they left it but it belongs to the bank and their lives have been destroyed. from a very wealthy man back on tax credits. more family suffered heavily through this. west register the bank's property company in the hotel moore was but after last year. she sadly. got cancer in march this year and she'd already my. three three goals the one answers and justice determined to fight back chris and cling to the idea that one day they'll walk through these doors as the units of the hotel again laura smith artie kent. the man who was on your side when the banks beat you down is max either and he's that back yard.

there are many internal battles in society liberals and conservatives will never agree on gun rights or abortion but there is one battle that is often more generational than anything the battle for school uniforms teachers argue that uniforms eliminate a big distraction in the classroom and break up the caste systems that can evolve at school between the cool fashionable kids and the ones who can barely afford lunch like me in my younger years but teenagers will scream uniforms crush their freedom of expression and that they have a right to express who they are their individuality who has the right to dictate to them what to wear the thing they don't realize is that if the school doesn't tell them what to wear that big corporations and m.t.v. will all the cool individuals who dress alike and blindly follow all the trends are

just obeying corporate marketing instead of their parents yeah for some reason it is bad if the school punishes you for dressing improperly but if the cool kids make your life a living hell for not wearing the right brand of shoes well that's all well and good for some reason hey look at it this way school uniforms are cheap which leaves more money for parents to buy you video games being individual in your actions and not a fake individual in trendy clothes but that's just my opinion. welcome to the kaiser report max keiser five four three two. a bust that are slow motion housing time bomb ticks away out of the british economy

over which george osborne presides he says twenty fourteen will be a year of hard truths the hardest of all being that many must lose so that the few marginal seat voters he needs may win at the property roulette wheel so the hard truth for twenty fourteen is that in the boom and bust property market never must supply meet demand for the would be far market pricing it all so her panic but now to get the job they ain't no job get a loan because if you don't get the government back scheme you'll face a year of oz bourne's hard to bust austerity true oh. yes max cory doctorow of bling bling says this thoughts are slow motion housing time bomb housing in the u.k. is a microcosm for everything wrong with neo liberalism corruption cronyism grinding human misery and funny accounting to prove that it's all working honestly so he's talking about and everybody in town has been.