the two thousand and fourteen winter olympics games marked by phenomenal athletic performances concluded with an enchanting spectacle the night sky sparkling with the world's eyes glued to the breathtaking closing ceremony. with the olympic flame extinguished we look back at the intense competition the sensations of the games as well as the top notch support from the spectators. and in other news as ukraine moves closer towards and splitting apart the opposition dominated parliament appoints its own acting ministers and president while the south east refuses to bend to its will with the head of state nowhere to be found.

in broadcasting live direct from our studios in moscow this is r.t.m. john thomas glad to have you with us well the twenty second winter olympic games are now officially over capped by a spectacular closing ceremony and a fireworks display that drew the all of all who watched the organizers promised to put on a show and they delivered even poking fun at themselves over that one ring that just wouldn't open during the opening spectacle the i.o.c. president thanked russia for the games which he said lived up to every expectation and more it was a memorable olympics with plenty of new records and celebration but also heartbreak congratulations to all of the winners and all of the participants and of course especially the russian home team for their late surge to the top of the medal count

we have been busy putting together the very best and brightest moments of the games artie's team in sochi presents our limbic program. sensations while russia comes to mind their own drew will talk about them at a minute you're starting with you number five we're ok holland the netherlands the dutch nation wondering six in the medals table the rules my face will tell you why because they got eight gold medals all in speedskating over one day you know one sport kind of sort of person if you like they got twenty four medals in total twenty three of those were in speed skating and the other one came from. i told you last hour all good stops really all under the speed skating i've got a car else could've come from so that's number five the dutch the next one the new generation of russians that we've seen at these unempowered zidan that new generation do well also wearing skates we're talking figure skating at least what a star she was fresh was really on her it really was to you because the other star

there was the fifteen year old you lipnitskaya who fell twice during her routines many people who don't know that's russia hopes gone but it's not the giver turns up puts in the best performance of her life and she is russia's first woman ever to win figure skating gold in the individual event after olympics amazing for her that it got russians to enjoy because four years ago the wild and big they were on. guard amazing i'm a fantastic then i got russian passport speak wild as an american he married a siberian then got a russian passport and asked why did he come here what was the story of his because he knows a well he know initially he wanted funding he couldn't get the funding he needed to do his training from america and russia gave him the option but they said look you have to be right you russian citizen how can i do that you can marry that russian girl friend of yours who happens to be a snowboarder so they did anyway so coming here he got a career and he got love drea and love i mean they were together before we have to say that it wasn't an arranged marriage and from that respect kevin it was love there already but look at blossom on the slopes too because she got

a bronze medal brilliant victory and victory on. he didn't he fell out with a south korean pet or a skating photo with him would he fall over there i don't know do i but i'm sure the pope had a set to on the phone is what i'm saying it must be some green are these in the south korean a little i want you to go let me give you a quick story first he fell out of the federation he had an injury to you which meant that we did not seem at the last olympics but russia said look if you need another country to represent here we are will give you all the funding and the expertise you need it was a bit of a gamble from russia's point but look at paid off your three gold medal cracky where next. well next i'm going to turn the page where next year we're going to go to the old wolf darling he did or we just so what is old for a limp it is no it is from an impi and it is from million and look he became what he has become the most decorated winter olympians ever because during his time in sochi he picked up two gold medals which means he's now got thirteen in total over

six olympics so that's amazing and then of course how can i not talk about teams you know russia number one number one and this is the main reason for me i was in vancouver four years ago everybody was so disappointed distraught it was a lot of soul searching because they only got three gold medals that was their worst performance ever since the fall of the soviet union forward wind for years and now put in the best performance since the fall of the soviet union that got thirteen gold medals at no time as russia got more than that and really accelerated towards the end though to me it did it really did an article that don't well it's hard to say but i think a lot of sport is down to your mental preparation too and once you know you've got the the ground swell of your home nation. building in your saliva seventy percent of the people watching here think up to sixty percent were russians themselves like that and we saw great examples of that wild i'm a big fan now but he was almost out in one of his hate on his route or on route to

the final but he didn't panic he carried on and you could see he wanted it more than the other guys. so she's also this fair share of scandals too it can be argued that it got more than it deserved indeed from western the styria over gay rights to highly debated rulings by the judges and referees of the games in the survey has been covered in busy laughing the biggest controversies of these olympics joins with a you've got your top five and i said about it by saying that sochi has been surrounded by more scandal than any other olympics in recent history to blue waves the games were marketed indeed someone into russia got ninety nine problems but the olympics is that one group i'll start with number five. five is doping overall the olympics were very quick game special mention that the later. they did and it happened just lately because the latest technology can detect the smallest traces of any kind of substance. we had a german by athlete whose results were an old we had ukrainian skier who was caught and her scored discounted and austrian skier in fact was banned from today's just

this morning fifty k. . cross-country ski or so before number four is snow it was one of the biggest criticisms coming it is a. good place to have snow all of the major news networks showing the beach down here no one bothered to show the beautiful mountains we have just an hour's drive away the snow was here was great weather lots of sun but did create a bit of a problem to have to report the slopes when there were in short sleeve shirts and sure not just a day many days we had people one of the i.o.c. . russian organizing committee was here today saying people were complaining they were getting sunburned but the snow was slushy we had a lot of falls but when it comes down to it the athletes and the i.o.c. it was very happy with with the conditions there was a backup plan we had a couple of fog delays but overall everyone skis snowboards on the same snow number three number three is versus yeah but huge deal was

a huge one so debatable whether or not it should be number three but let's have that three tonight because it was a huge scandal leading up to the olympics it should be mentioned that during the olympics there weren't any kind of instances reported of discrimination or any kind of problems for that matter we spoke to many many athletes scores of them that were very happy with the way things went. on to be such a big issue with the world cup because of the legal is of course people are saying ok search is over where will the critics go now catheters going to be interesting they trust you so much much more severe. laws there concerning. sexual orientation it should be mentioned though ironically at the same time as these games all of the noise about about russia and anti-gay laws in the united states in arizona during the games a law was passed which basically allows anyone to decline any kind of service to someone based on their sexual orientation because of their religious beliefs let's

look at number two moving goal post number two hockey. i think it's fair to say the most exciting match of the olympics the usa versus russia of course a long time rivals goes way back to soviet times really. there was a goal that was there would have been a third point could have been a winning goal for us so they scored a cording to international hockey federation's if the goalpost is off its pegs the goal doesn't count the ref on the ground was american that was a problem for many on social media but up in the box the the judges who watched the tape did say that according to the rules the goal does not count but many unhappy russian fans especially on the internet most move watch talk realistic i still number one media media's been leading up to these olympics we heard about sochi being held in a war zone about toothpaste bombers terrorism terrorism terrorism of course that's

no joke security was a big thing we heard about hotels not being done no doors of blackwater it was just just a tremendous tremendous media coverage really not about the sport not about the athletes but it should be said that once the games got started it did become about them and that was what the organizing committee wanted so their overall satisfied hoping that sochi could have broken some of those russian stereotypes top five scandals thanks for telling us what you thought about them in the run you put the bit in this in a lovely. old mo the competition was truly a limp you know i think you'll agree for years long rivalries to a plus. through photo finishes the winners were forced to give it their all if they wanted to find themselves on the podium end of the day his full scope to spread the games the seaside plasticized of it aside to tell us about the high poll for us not to limply and say it's quite hard to imagine the intensity of the competition for the people taking part in it. yes it really is a fine line isn't it between success and failure for all those joyous moments that

we've seen spare a thought for those athletes who have now really missed out on success by a fraction of a second in some cases the margin between success and failure between joy and despair is so narrow that even the latest technologies concept right the competitors take for example the women's downhill skiing for the first time in winter olympics history the gold medal was actually shed and tina mays clocking identical times not even a piece of tracing paper could separate them well in the men's biathlon must stuff into a multiple card was going for a sochi hat trick he was going for his third medal of these games he threw himself over the line in desperation but was now only missed out of it is now we edged out in the photo finish by norway's emil haye place france in a match in the despair before cart and who can forget one of the more humorous climaxes and finishes to any race in winter olympics history it came in the men's ski cross now of the four compact it says three of them fell at the final jump they

all slid over the line at exactly the same time in different positions and shapes along the ground no one of them knew exactly what was going on so as we celebrate the sporting successes here in sochi let's just take a second and spare a thought for those who haven't narrowly missed out by a fraction of a second all those years of training and hard work and it comes down to the blink of an eye but of course not all the competitors here in sochi were expecting to compete for gold and not all competitors here in sochi needed a photo finish to determine their final position in the standings. i think. for some athletes such a twenty fourteen was simply about taking part take for example indian illusia shiva can shave in his commitment to his sport highlighted by his training regime winding his way down dusty tracks by passing goats and lorries along the way. my wife's insight yes he may have come thirty seven thousand and thirty nine but the

him there was more at stake following accusations of corruption the indian and limpid committee were suspended by the i.o.c. in two thousand and twelve and was lifted during these games meaning cache vun could finally compete under his nation's fly unfortunately there's a lot of politics played with the flag of india which i'm sure many people back home were not happy with but now that's over think that's a lesson learned for everybody and lot of things to look ahead to one of the more colorful characters of these games was prince who purchase of hohenlohe in london the fifty five year old is a descendant of a former german royal dinner state he's also a photographer the pop star who goes by the name of royal disaster. these are his six olympics the jewel nationality ski's for mexico he's never won a medal for the maybe deserves gold for p.r.

so i think that russia the only problem that had this things that i heard the p.r. person like it's a big bit of p.r. before i mean you know it's a great play. on the floor but you know it's not the for everything it's really. the issue that just got a positive for my pal over to europe and to america that we're so negative it's time to make his debut in these games bruno banani went in the luge it's not his real name mind as part of a sponsorship deal he changed his name to that of a german underwear company but he told me he wants to be known for his sporting prowess. if i didn't qualify for the olympics they wouldn't care at all what names i am so i think is the most important thing that i try hard and train hard to get to the olympics and is any winter olympics complete without the jamaican bobsled the main attraction for press and fans raising their own funds to compete missing a connecting flight losing their luggage on coming second last still didn't dampen their party spirit proving that in amongst all the sporting excellence there is

still room for sports to be fun. such as. the fans have been an inspiration throughout these games of course but it seems they've really taken a problem so as to enjoy the experience to the fullest from wacky outfits to some very sort of vocal chords as well these olympics will be remembered as cherished as well tonight injuries reports that. stand out from the crowd wigs schemes thoughts as passionate diehard fans will do anything to support a chosen country this month's olympics has brought the interest of the rev characters from russia and around the world the brighter the better patriotic responded cheer for the sporting heroes to some it's taken lots of preparation. assoon as it was announced that the two thousand and fourteen winter olympics would take place in song i started getting ready for there are a lot of things i prepared for it helmet clubs posters flags for others it's the

first time in russia and face paints an extreme outfit so the only accepted form of attire spread the love and leave your inhibitions. so she's been off stick it has been great like it has been a great time we're having fun. if you like at all everybody's friendly. the russian team fans house located inside the olympic park is a central point as an interactive indoor museum where. ten thousand times come here every day sherry emotions question is discussed but she's victories in which the conditions of life. far enough down. the. well as the recent two man bobsled team school gold webb better to have your photograph taken in here in the russian funhouse there are also various other locations where you can pretend to participate in various winter olympic sports.

fans are invited to participate in physical competitions. and they can try to hound some olympic sports equipment it's also it's cool to watch from a slim pixel on display and over one hundred fifty schools in champions from previous games make guest appearances. funhouse is i think. interested in like the games themselves with people from different countries together extreme fans included meaning it's less about medals and winning and more about society embracing spools you might see people even if you are dressed a skull this president. and the sochi two thousand and fourteen winter olympics are officially over the games provided countless unforgettable and inspiring sporting moments that will be remembered for a long time after the break though we will switch gears over to news stay with us

watching our two international. and russia at least being gay is not criminalised there absolutely no punishment for being gay in russia the only thing that they slow for is. information families for mission on nontraditional sexual behavior what are you going to legislate against couples through swing you know who. you know trade partner is or is it only a certain type of sex that you're legally able to you know it is so what wade is propaganda you know it's so unclear. wealthy british style it's not on.

the. market. what's really happening to the global economy for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines to name two kinds of reports. and welcome back you're watching the weekly here on our t.v. now the turmoil in ukraine has been the top story of the past few days after the most turbulent week in its post-war history the country is currently undergoing a complete government overhaul the parliament has appointed the speaker as interim president with early election set for may since taking over the reins in the capital the opposition has been hard at work establishing its own order parties you've got a piece going off in kiev for us. situation here resembles more and more

a coup since the president's fled the city along with some of his supporters those deputies of state or from opposition parties and they have been passing laws like a printing press the latest include the appointment of the acting president and of the russian as the second official language in the country even though in the east up to fifty percent of those living there are ethnic russians are still under the full control of the protesters some of the former officials have been arrested while appointed are known for their fire right. to say that events unfolded quickly here is almost say nothing and for more about how things went on and what's the situation here like on the ground here is a report by my colleague. own hell was breaking loose in kiev on tuesday to compromise with seemingly reached all of a sudden ukraine's capital was plunged into the worst violence is seen so far almost two hundred dead the central streets of one of europe's finest cities looking like a war zone and snipers shooting from rooftops including our crew what we have now

that we have read. that we have read a column up. there which is somehow here and driven by especially as we see using snipers and so on and which is not controlled by the . by the west directly so everything went out of control just two days later it was a totally different scene to the president make the biggest concessions yet by offering an early election to an opposition led government and a return to parliamentary republic there were twenty four of the protests didn't buy it was still. there if the president does not resign by tonight. i swear to you i my ten o'clock on saturday they were is nothing left to store all the police were gone and the ruling party had. bleakly lost control over the

capital so this is the presidential administration building which used to be the probably the most protected governmental building in the whole of the of the biggest fight in the first stages of the protest happened here now as you can see we are taken on an excursion that is no longer controlled by the police or the government the protesters have occupied this building as well this means that we see i will never be back here as a protest the president made to see retreat to the east of ukraine and was stoutly defiant even after receiving news that parliament had ceased to recognize him as leader by an overwhelming majority and announced an early election solution to the new school all that is happening now is the most part is vandalism and crimes this is my strong belief that i will do everything takes to prevent my country from splitting up to stop the bloodshed it went from bad to worse than ever before which with parliament leaving this article i will you get emotional from prison sparking jubilation and to use independence square. in dreamt of seeing you use of force to

change everything you're hearing here is the best of this country has where protesters are in high spirits and the east and south of the country are simply indifferent to its leaders have declared so governance and constitutional power to all over the world and break up in the country and the. reporting from kiev in ukraine. so take a look at some other news making headlines around the world this hour we start in pakistan where a bus station blast has killed a dozen people in the province in the northwest of the country that borders a lawless tribal areas used as a safe haven by taliban forces after peace negotiations with the taliban broke down last week launched a series of airstrikes on militant hideouts killing at least thirty eight insurgents meanwhile in karachi supporters of the secular m q m party rallied to show their solidarity with the army. the lawless area along the border

of pakistan and afghanistan also saw a conflict on the afghan side where taliban fighters killed twenty one soldiers in a checkpoint attack this comes after the group refused an exchange of prisoners with the u.s. calling the deal too complex afghanistan's president has urged islam abandon to take serious measures in eliminating the terrorist threat in the area. two people have died after a grenade exploded at an anti-government rally in bangkok a twelve year old boy was one of the killed just hours after a gunman opened fire at protesters in eastern thailand shooting a five year old girl tensions across the country have been escalating since november with hundreds having been injured. pro-government gathered in venezuela's capital they chanted in support of president nicolas maduro and for the socialist revolution business that. was led by the late leader hugo chavez anti-government rallies across the. violent clashes over the past weeks. crowds have

march through the main square in madrid rallying against what they claim are curved . civil rights excuse me and freedoms the protests covered a wide range of issues from twelve hundred layoffs set to occur at coca-cola plants for the government's economic policies to immigrants in enclaves in africa demonstrations fell on the thirty third anniversary of a failed coup in one thousand nine hundred eighty one of the parliament and cabinet held hostage for eighteen hours. and coming up after the break it's worlds apart with this is our international stay with us.

judy cox a utah mother out of spite but an entire line of t. shirts at a popular chain store after a local mall the reason that she bought them was because she feels that the images of nearly naked women on them violate her local towns decency code she wants to make it clear though that she feels the store has the right to sell this type of shirt just not displayed in an exterior window ultimately her plan is to return the shirt. on day fifty nine of the store's sixty limit let's hope for her sake they don't have a no return policy i bring this up because this is a great example of a nonviolent form of protest that actually works because the scandal and more importantly it will make the company lose a few dollars technically the girls on the shirts are even fully exposed believe me i checked thoroughly and i would even call them r. rated the local communities have the right to be more conservative than the rest of the nation if they want to be and it's good that judy cox actually did something rather than just sitting at home on the air complaining about moral decay across the country if a housewife from a small mormon community could stand up to the man what's stopping you but that's just my opinion.

winter is when the sahara comes to life. always is palm trees are being harvested. people are waiting for the biggest event of the year. the desert festival. this is through a. race leading camel races have spent the last year preparing for the grueling marathon. the day before the race there's a heavy sandstorm coming the power of nature is a never ending challenge. a desert winter.

welcome to worlds apart color and inclusion and understanding these that values that the l.d.p. community has long stood and called for and here i dumped it style of the l g b t advocacy is anything but tolerant and inclusive. do calls to boycott the olympics and topics sporting events really how to fight against homophobia well to discuss that i'm now joined by a five time olympic medalist and one of the world's greatest divers greg louganis missile again it's a big honor to have you on the show thank you it's great to be here now the sochi olympics are almost over and so far we haven't heard a single gay athlete complaining of discrimination or on all mistreatment here in russia isn't that perhaps a sign that all those allegations about l g b t a legit l g b t persecution in russia. may have been blown out of propulsion do you think the calls to boycott

these olympics were justified well i have also been following on the internet i'm not watching n.b.c. . just staying true to supporting the sponsors of the olympics. in seeing what's happening in russia. you know there were arrests there was transgender individual that was taken away escorted away from one of the venues you know so yes i mean there are things that are happening i think that n.b.c. is sweeping a lot of it under the carpet we're not hearing about a lot of the things but you can find a lot of the true information on the internet but isn't this something that also happens routinely in many of the western countries as far as i understand violence against gays and lesbians and transgender people has been on the increase in many

of the western countries in particular in the united states in two thousand and twelve i believe it was at the highest level since one thousand nine hundred eight yes i mean we have been making strides forward in some areas and then in some areas of our own country i mean we've been taking steps backwards but i think with the community you know i was able to get married in the state of california the state that i live in many of the states are are are following suit. you know justifying. that legislating marriage or legislating love and that's all it is is you know is unconstitutional well missile again is just to put things into perspective all those legislative progress notwithstanding according to the f.b.i. in two thousand and twelve.