gold on ice russian athlete skate away from their rivals in soft grabbing first place in the team figure skating event with a sublime performance from a teenage rookie parties on standby for all the games highlights in our very own softly studio. switzerland moves to keep foreigners out as voters narrowly backing a bill limiting immigration but it puts a free movement deal with the e.u. into question plus. there's a lot of this to have been forgotten we were just collateral damage americans living in central arkansas are struggling to get their lives back to normal after an oil spill disaster nearly a year ago. you're

watching aren't international live from moscow and lindsey friends thanks for joining me. russia has scored its first medals at these olympics placing it fourth in the medal table and blowing spectators away with the performance of its figure skating team i'm now handing over to a new son now in our studio in the heart of the winter games and you say were you lucky enough to witness the figure skating last night. i'm feeling extremely lucky to have witnessed a limp dick history first hand it was my first event as a spectator but more importantly it was the first victory for russia at the sochi games and a spectacular want to say the least russian figure skaters hit the ice with a series of breathtaking performances in fact the gold had already been guaranteed even before the about was concluded the victory was secured by the veteran skater

you gave me a piercing call and teen prodigy half his age fifteen year old. she's become one of the youngest athletes ever to win a gold medal at the winter olympics thanks to her extraordinary but effortless looking performance it was stunning on top of that russian athlete scored two silver medals in the lose and by apple on and a bronze in speed skating farmers following events from the sochi mountain cluster and he says with russia having one team figure skating gold it now has its sights on hockey and speedskating. some of the biggest names of these games have been arriving in time because n.h.l. hockey stars have touchdown in sochi the actual men's competition gets underway in three days time but the soviet legend we spoke to believes that any one of six teams can win it there are many strong teams that these games can into the u.s. finland sweden in fact all of them are very strong it's hard to predict who's going to win the hockey stephanie going to be very interesting and i think we're about to

witness one of the best tournament. well today russia will hope to get a medal from a place it's never ground before short track speed skating it's pinning its hopes on a man they call victor want not sound like a russian that beat monies because he's actually from south korea and he took up a russian citizenship just over a couple of years ago the fellow the coaches from his own country he's a three time olympic champion he's actually going to compete in the fifteen hundred meters today and he told us that he's very proud. these new adoptive country when i came to russia two years ago for the first three months i missed career but then i met other athletes and things became better i like being here i like the food the culture it's all very interesting so a lot of eyes will be on the curling and expect to see the skipper of the russian ladies' team and it's a daughter of a fully clothed when she takes on the danes i say that because just before these games actually started she appeared in a rather racy photo shoot she is

a former model but she told us she's more than pleased with her decision to push a career on the us when i was very young i had a choice i was not sure if i wanted to be an athlete or a model i got into a modeling academy for teenagers but after a few classes i realized i liked sport better since then i have never thought about modeling i want to exercise practice and when i enjoy an active lifestyle i enjoy travelling to competitions but actually come to think of it the modeling business has a lot of competition as well but back then i just made a choice based on how i felt in my heart we should also look out for the. piece in the competition and i actually did see gold slip from his grasp in painful fashion just a few days ago in the spring so he will be desperate to make up for that. meanwhile lawmakers in washington are ensuring security warnings over the winter games one

republican congressional leader went as far as claiming he's never seen any greater threat in his life time we spoke out pleats in sochi who don't exactly share the view say five rethinks going to mazing it's running like clockwork and everything's just going really really well there hasn't been any problems as of as of today my parents have been a little bit worried they just like to just be careful what you do and really wear the uniform when you have you know when you don't need to just be a bit careful but the security is really bad and we thought it would be. i had a really great time here and i have nothing bad to say so far stronger organized and the people are really friendly here and they're having a good time. and we continue to keep abreast of what's happening in the olympic arenas and up on the slopes here in our sochi studio today by how to lead skiers and speed skaters are among those hoping to make the podium we'll keep you updated but for now back to you in moscow. thanks very much

and the finale there we've got the latest from software online as well just head to our official facebook page there you have a chance to give your views and your comments on the sporting spectacle and you can also submit any questions you'd like to hear athletes answer interviews with r.t. we've also got our sports special coming up in a little over twenty minutes with all the updates on this weekend's sporting victories. the g twenty four team promises the goaltimate in the exhilarating winter sports and are here to meet you so no way i'll make seven zero and the rest of our lives take you straight to sochi twenty four take. on art. swiss voters have narrowly backed proposals to put a cap on the number of immigrants to the country including those from the e.u. the move jeopardises free movement agreements the country has with the block and critics say it could lead to unprecedented economic problems. from office in the

swiss capital. voted to shut the door to european union workers setting up a showdown with brussels as well as a potential exit from the single european market now the so-called stop mass immigration initiative was the brainchild of the right wing swiss people's party which wants strict quotas on foreigners for switzerland to essentially abandon its free movement of people treaty with the e.u. and supporters the we've talked to say that they're worried immigration is driving up rents that it's undercutting local workers and that is burdening public services no opponents had argued that immigration caps would in fact cripple economic growth and experts do say that the swiss in column e. is booming because of not despite foreign labor especially when it comes to folks skills to work in fields like health care and where there's a big need for skilled workers but despite the very real economic concerns despite the fact that unemployment here is just three percent many voters were ultimately swayed by the argument that switzerland simply cannot take in any more people now

in order to understand why you really do have to look at the numbers about a quarter of the country's eight million residents aren't swiss there's been a huge uptick in immigration in fact about eighty thousand new immigrants came to switzerland last year alone the vote will likely mean severe repercussions with brussels you have to remember that switzerland isn't a member of the e.u. but it has signed on to a lot of the blocks policies in order to gain access to the european markets course with you and sells more than half of everything that it produces and with five hundred million customers there's a lot of money at stake here a historic vote that is likely to have a significant impact on the swiss economy as well as on relations with the country's european neighbors reporting in burn for r t m d c catherine. the immigration issue has been polarizing europe with the most wealthy states fearing an influx of workers from european eastern european countries so far right parties have been gaining power in france not

a long time norway in recent all supporting tough and racial policies and in the countries like the u.k. and germany the most pressing issue is the lifting of barriers for workers from full barium vania britain's prime minister went as far as threatening to veto any new countries from joining the e.u. and last tight immigration restrictions are going into place. coming up one crime doesn't necessarily mean a punishment. it's michael or the. like with the freedom the thing. we had to norway's most humane prison with fluffy towels and it sells i pads library and even couple of course it's no surprise then that no one's ever tried to escape that's coming up after the break. for example a very good intelligence unit attached to yukio key dropping in london the. whole

range of different opportunities to get information and to get it from the media. people can give them information to give information across borders is actually quite complicated what we do is in egypt intelligence function to use a range of sort of independent information we hope to build relationships for example with interpol helps us find out where there is drug trafficking going on. well see british scientists it's time to. go to. market. find out what's really happening to the global economy for

a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines. comes a report on our. caught up in the middle of an environmental disaster people in the u.s. state of arkansas are finding themselves bogged down in barrels of trouble nearly a year after a pipeline ruptured and caused a massive oil spill people are suffering from the long term effects caused by breathing toxins on a daily basis if that weren't enough some are finding it hard to leave the contaminated area as art is gonna teach a convert found out. almost a year after two hundred thousand gallons of heavy crude spilled onto their streets residents of mayflower in arkansas are striving to leave the town here in mayflower for sale signs are everywhere almost every house on the street is on sale before the spill this was a place where people wanted to move in to enjoy the beautiful nature around many

didn't even know there was a pipeline running on their houses and now they just want out many have already left and jerrel one of them i tried to stay here i tried to just be away you know as much as i could but if it rained i could not stay here because it would all seep through the. all again you know the where the ground was dry it would kind of i guess in case it and then when it rained all those vapors would come back she says like many other residents of mayflower she started having constant headaches and coughing after the spill i have friends that live just behind me that are still here that don't have a place to go that small children you don't have to look at the kids in in twenty years when they get sick or find out something is wrong and they say well why didn't we leave mom let everybody healthfully well some people just aren't able to pick up and leave like that exxon wrote back to us saying that a unified command comprised of exxon representatives as well as officials from the state and federal environmental services has deemed all areas affected by the

mayflower spill now safe to live in but many of the residents don't buy it and their homes are not selling i would say that the number of homes sold in my flower has dropped at least fifty sixty percent but arkansas spill is only a fraction of a new oil pipeline leaks it's estimated that between two thousand and eight and two thousand and twelve u.s. pipeline spilled an average of more than three point one million gallons of hazardous liquids per year plans for the keystone x.l. pipeline a massive project that would. from canada soil since two refineries in texas have caused many to worry that they may become collateral damage in the way of big oil like the residents of mayflower arkansas there's a lot of us that have been forgotten were just collateral damage in mayflower i'm going to check on our team let's take a look now at what our team has lined up for you on our web site as the deadline for they pull out of american troops for afghanistan fast approaches washington is

accused of offering a sweetener by pumping some three hundred million dollars into what they're calling the end of war economy starting dot com for more details. also there with a pedia is coming under the scrutiny of finnish police who have questioned whether the online encyclopedia is illegally collecting money from its donors or on the stories just click away. please write the scene please first street. and i think you're. on our reporters twitter. instagram. to be in the middle east mom please there's a media leader shall we leave that maybe. i will see who she is she sure the play

your party there's a bill. for shoes that no one is asking with the guests that you deserve answers from it's all politics. are today. see. i marinate join me on the first since that impartial and financial reporting

commentary contributes and much much. only on the bus and i'll play it. live. live. live. live

. live i live. i. and norway some criminals may lose their right to freedom but not a jogging trail salmon steaks and flat screen televisions two hundred fifty two million dollars in the making one jail resting in a tranquil for us plays host to law breakers and conditions many would consider a blessing rather than a punishment artistic or piskun all reports and here. is michael that like with the freedom of thing. has been living here for nearly four years getting an education working as a car mechanic and serving his fifteen and a half year long sentence in jail we caught up in the morning talk show thank you

brooke first go to job old to school. to school you have. relaxed like normal life just we are back war this is hold'em one of the most humane prisons in the world bills in two thousand and ten it's an example of norway's new experimental approach to penitentiary facilities. i hear the roughly two hundred fifty prisoners it houses cook for themselves and for staff members with beef soundman and deer steaks among the items on the menu take walks in the park pray and make art do outdoor and indoor sports we can howl like you see here the betterment we can make a place for for maybe one or both of us is going to be a good place to call just to relax. get out from their cells you know hold on has a library and a school for those who want to either to continue the education they were getting

before going to jail or getting a new one all together oh yeah we do have some of them too we're actually looks. literature history math chemistry physics you name it all are taught to the inmates . is. in the room and that's when the so for the next ten years to continue to zoom. in for the inmates also have access to the photo shop. grocery store. workshop and a mechanic's shop and even. my personal favorite sound studio look at them didn't have a system in this life that was looser in the screw loose in the working life never think the important thing. and they come in here and learn it so

far the prison hasn't seen one riots or an attempt to break out and when we were inside i couldn't really see why anyone would ever want to frankly i'm stunned it's going to take time for me to process what we've seen here today but what's clear is that even though this is one of the most humane prisons in the wall it still is a place to punish criminals with strict rules security and limitations and since it's been operating only for a few years right now it's too early to see how effective this new penitentiary format is you were just going off reporting from norway the european commission recently unveiled its first e.u. anti corruption report which pointed to huge problems throughout the entire block brussels estimated the losses caused by shady deals amount to billions of euros later today peter lavelle of his gas but the issue in the spotlight. the european union itself is a corrupt institution from beginning to end but they haven't added to their books for some. years about every failed politician in any european country when he's

finished making a mess of his own country then she was who often get a job with the european union the fact that we now have a number as part of the sales strategy of the european commission to motivate people like us to sit in studios and to reflect how we can deal with an urgent problem of corruption that certainly exist but it's not out of the nature of the european union it has been existed for centuries the report is done by the year commission but the figure one hundred twenty is what they're going to try just the president of countries did know that it used to corruption in do you countries while they suppress that's not the direction that you notice the corruption in europe itself that's misdirection like anybody any good magician you don't watch that he's presenting to you you should be watching the other hand you don't see and that's what you're trying to do the moment they're trying to give a certain amount of dismissed erection so you don't see the corruption at the heart

of europe itself. some are news making headlines around the world and attack in pakistan's port city of karachi has killed eight people in india and injured more than a dozen government threw grenades at a religious gathering and then opened fire on muslims it's not yet known who carried out the assault or the taliban and rival muslim groups are suspect that last month militants killed six people and trying in the same city. hundreds are back on the streets of bosnia this time calling for the release of about forty people detained during the riots and friday and saturday officials denied the protesters claims of police brutality and added that all but ten of those arrested had been released. anti-government rallies have been fueled by high unemployment corruption and poor living conditions across the country.

in syria thousands have staged a peaceful rally in support of the country's leader bashar al assad huge crowds leave syrian flags and banners the president of france and entrancing the demonstration took place in the key port city of left. from where the country's chemical arsenal is being taken away for destruction. a snow storm described as the worst in decades is still battering japan with eleven people reportedly killed in weather related accidents and more than the thousand injured the fatalities were mostly caused by drivers crashing after losing control on icy roads hundreds of flights have been cancelled roads have been closed and some train service is suspended across the country. thousands of people have been on high alert in london and across great britain after the worst floods in a decade were forecast for monday riverside homeowners received emergency phone calls telling them to be ready to flee their homes as the thames reached dangerous

levels hundreds of soldiers were put on standby to protect threatened communities by building up defenses. going up next tough talking and direct questions in suffolk oh just after the break stay with us. the head of the sober russia program wants to bring back russia's sobering stations which are like a hybrid hospital and police station and american we call these a good old fashioned drunk tank and in russia their history dates back to the early years of the twentieth century to twenty eleven when they were all closed putting the burden of alcohol abusers health on local hospitals despite the amount of

alcohol consumed per person in russia steadily declining over the last few years alcoholism remains a big problem but will privatized drunk tanks work no no they won't let's think about it what is business motivated by money big government contracts in countries around the world are often abused and if you get paid per alcoholic served then pretty soon companies are going to incentivize the police to round up as many people with a hint of booze in their blood as they can or look at it this way what is more profitable helping cure an alcoholic or treating him with fat government contract money every week for the rest of his life there are some things the private sector is not suited for and this is one of them but that's just my opinion.

hello welcome to me sophie shevardnadze the sochi olympics are finally underway exceptional in many ways the games are talented by the international olympic committee as having the toughest anti-doping policy is ever at the same time there's a possibility political controversy may take attention away from the actual competition what is done with those who cheat for medals are the olympics a legitimate place for a political fight well we ask sir craig the vice-president of the i.o.c. and head of the world anti-doping agency here and so.

he refused to. treat the pressure. that is. what is the dark side. sir gregory he had of the world's anti-doping agency welcome to our show it's great to have you with us now the new doping coach takes effect in two thousand and fifteen on the sochi games aren't affected by it so what special procedures are in place for these particular games. while the about operate under the existing code which was agreed to five years ago by the. and you'll the conference tomorrow conference on doping in sport people are perfectly clear on

the regulations of the no the sanction period the testing procedures are all pretty established the new code changes some of these but as you say it won't come into effect until the first of january twenty fifteen i think the anti doping procedures are in short she will be good there is a satellite laboratory. from the moscow laboratory there will be outside experts to help the staff of the moscow laboratory provide the charities and i think the assets of the world can be perfectly happy. that matters will be good but what exactly is going to be new in sochi. i think the team that will be newish to the number of the i.o.c. will do i mean you have to understand that an olympic games the whole drug testing responsibility lies entirely with the international olympic committee not with

a water line tito ping agency and for this occasion for the two winter games the i.o.c. want to do around two thousand three hundred fifty a control's two thousand three hundred fifty tests that there's a marked increase on the numbers that were done in vancouver four years ago so to that extent the anti doping fight is probably stronger the attitude of the i.o.c. is probably stronger than it has ever be netter winter games before i did say that athletes are going to be randomly tracked down by testers for example. well at a game i mean the rules are that possible for testing should be done gainey tell him we will know the i.o.c. he will know that way about some of the at each. they are almost entirely in the olympic village if they are not to the national committee she will tell the i.o.c. where they are sure it's not.