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

and broadcasting a live direct from our studios in moscow this is r t i'm john thomas quite have you with us now the twenty second winter olympic games are now officially over counted by a spectacular closing ceremony in 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 a celebration but also heartbreak congratulations to all of the winners and all of the participants especially the russians home team for their late surge to top the medal count we've been busy putting together the very best and brightest moments of

the games artie's team is in sochi and they present our olympic program. sensations while russia comes to mind their own drew will talk about them at a minute you're starting at you number five we're ok holland the netherlands the dutch nation wondering six in the medals table who is my fave and i 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 it have come from so that's number five the dutch the next one the new generation of russians that we've seen at these implants didn't that new generation do well also wearing skates we're talking figure skating at least what a star she was threshers really on her it really was too because the other star there was the fifteen year old skier 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 we've also got new russians to enjoy because four years ago wild victory 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 just because it is a world he no 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 a russian 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 have to say that it wasn't an arranged marriage and from that respect kevin it was love there already but look at boston on the slopes too because she got a bronze medal brilliant victory and victory on. a didn't he fell out with

a south korean pederasty skating photo with him would he fall over there i don't know do i but i'm sure he had a step too on the phone is what i'm saying it must be some green are these in the south korean a little i'm going 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 we can we go to the old wolf darlin he did or we just so was forty two that 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 on your slaver seventy percent of the people watching here they think up to seventy percent were russians themselves like that and we saw great examples of that vic 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 guy and he got it. she's also this fair share of scandals to it can be argued that it got more than it deserved indeed from western a styria over gay rights to highly debated rulings by the judges and referees of the games and assume it was because of the busy man i think the biggest controversies of these olympics joins with a you've got your top five and i says that by saying that sochi has been surrounded by more scandal than any other olympics in recent history it blew away as the games went on it is indeed someone interest russia's got ninety nine problems but the olympics is that one room. start with number five five is doping overall the olympics were very quick game special mention that the latest technology 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 how beautiful abbott article claims 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 that did create a bit of a problem to have to approach the slopes when there were in short sleeved shirts i'm 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 the 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 huge it was a huge one so debatable whether or not it should be number three but let's have it

at three tonight because it was a huge scandal leading up to the olympics it should be mentioned 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 about gays are legal is of course people are saying ok search is over where will the critics go now catheters going to be interesting to track you know much much more severe. laws. 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 it's only during the games a law was passed which basically allows anyone to to decline any kind of service to someone based on their sexual orientation because of their religious beliefs let's look at number two the moving goal post number two. 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 russia so they scored a cording to international hockey federation's if the goalpost is off its pace 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. 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 in the run you put the bid in this and . so best with the games old know the competition was truly a limp you know i think you'll agree for years old. rivalries to a plethora of photo finishes the winners were forced to give it their all if they wanted to find themselves on the podium end of the day he's pulled skull to spread the game's seaside plasticized of it aside to tell us about the high pole for us not olympians it's quite hard to imagine the intensity of the competitions 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 on and tina mays clocking identical times not even a piece of tracing paper could separate them well in the men's biathlon must stop french when not in full 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 fence in a match in the despair for full card 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 competitors 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. for some athletes sochi twenty fourteen was simply about taking part take for example indian illusia shiva can shave in his commitment to his sports 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 is 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 are not happy with but now that's over 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 you bertus of hohenlohe london the fifty five year old is a descendant of a former german royal dinner state he's also a photographer and the pop star who goes by the name of royal disaster. these are his sixth 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 what the for everything is really. the issue that just got the positive bipap 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 the 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 will try hard and train hard to get to the next 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 i'm

funds have been inspiration throughout these games of course and it seems they've really taken the 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 a modern andrus reports that. stand out from the crowd wigs schemes flanks as passionate diehard fans will do anything to support that chosen country this month's olympics has brought the interest of the rev characters from russia and around the world the brighter the better great patriotic the standard for their sporting heroes to some it's taken lots of preparation. as soon 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 he says. so she's been off gnostic it has been great like it has been a great time we're having fun it's a good feeling at all everybody's friendly. the russian team fans house located inside the olympic park is a central point as it interacted into the museum wasn't. and thousands of families come here every day sharing emotions question discuss bush's victories and watch the competition's life. far enough away he has every right. well as the rescue team and bumps eighteen school goals better to have your photograph taken here in the russian fun house there are also various other locations where you can pretend to participate in various. times are invited

to participate in physical competitions. and they can try the hounds olympic sports of equipment it's also true i was told from slim pixel on display and over one hundred fifty schools champions from previous games made guest appearances for all . time house is i think they are 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 uniting people even if you all addressed a scope this president. our online team has been closely following the sporting and social events in sochi all throughout the games we ask the followers of our twitter account to post their impressions of the olympics under the my sochi moments hash tag here's what we've gathered so far now the first ever russian gold in women's figure skating was selected by users as one of the

biggest moments at the games so was norwegian a biathlete all. born doll and i hope i didn't mess that up too bad becoming the most decorated winter olympian another twitter user was impressed by snowboarder snow boarder vic wild and his russian wife scoring medals for the host nation on the same slope the team's parade at the opening ceremony was also selected to finally be performance by russia's new figure skating star yulia. that needs also drew a lot of attention as well now the sochi two thousand and fourteen winter olympics have now officially closed today provided countless unforgettable and inspiring sporting moments that will be remembered for a long time after the break though we switch gears over to news stay with us. yes i feel when i close my eyes i see people who. you know sometimes i think in

itself is a face covered by. those people in mosques on both sides of the barricades if you must. you know sometimes it feels as if all of ukraine is no. i don't see how european countries who are member of the european union can solve the problem without leaving the european union so it's obvious that countries like great britain or france you named friends especially with increasing poverty in my opinion they have a difficult they have a difficult time to solve these problems but i think at least they should rearrange the principle rules of free movement of persons and improve the system.

and welcome back you are 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 elections set for may since taking over the reins in the capital the opposition has been hard at work establishing it's all in order r.t.c. got a piece going off is 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 a 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 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 what's the situation here like on the ground here is a report by my colleague alex. 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 the rooftops including our group what we have now that you have read because. we have read it. many times 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 and opposition led government and returned to by i mean trade republic there were i think or of the protests didn't buy it was still. there if the president does not resign by tunisia. 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 you will never be back here as a protest the president made to his sea retreat to the east of ukraine and with stoutly defiant even after receiving news that parliament had ceased to recognize him as leader by an overwhelming majority and announced an early election solutions you look at all that is happening now with 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 blood should it went from bad to worse than ever before which with parliament leaving this article i will use it to michel go from prison sparking jubilation and to its independence square yet i can be trying to see a new year to force the change everything you're hearing here is the best of this country has while protesters are in high spirits and that is the sound of the country are simply different to its leaders because so governance and constitutional power all over the world and break up in the country and the. people

of people in ukraine well here's a map to show you just how much of ukraine is now refusing to follow the lead these ten provinces right here you see in a blue are home to more than half of the country's population the regional leaders are gathered in harkov this weekend to express their disapproval of what's going on in the capital. this is something to do for trees every charge of all political decisions on the ground in these regions we have to protect our land we think that the central authority is a power and that the decisions cannot be considered constitutional but the new order in kiev is not the only thing people in the east of the country are angry about many say they feel abandoned by a president. after he made concessions to the opposition and then fled the capital . i'm shocked and disgusted by the actions of the president i never thought he'd

never betray the people i thought that he hold on to the end. now ukraine is a lot of the news that's happening but let's take a look at some other headlines making news around the world a bus station blast has killed a dozen people in a province in northwestern pakistan that borders tribal areas used as a safe haven by taliban forces after peace negotiations with the taliban broke down last week islam a bod that launched a series of airstrikes on militant hideouts killing at least thirty eight insurgents meanwhile in karate supporters of the secular and mchugh em 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 which comes after the group refused an exchange of prisoners with the u.s. calling the deal too complex afghanistan's president has urged to take serious measures in eliminating the terrorist threat in the area. pro-government crowds

have gathered in venezuela's capital they chanted in support of president nicolas maduro and for the socialist oblivion's evolution movement led by the late leader hugo chavez anti-government rallies across the country have left eight dead in violent clashes over the past two weeks. two people were killed including a twelve year old boy when a grenade exploded at an anti-government rally in bangkok that occurred just hours after gunmen 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. well coming up we had to ukraine for a closer look at the confrontation from both sides of the barricades and can't stay with us you're watching our transformation.

judy cox a utah mother out of spite but an entire line of t. shirts at a popular chain store at her 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 shirts 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 cause the scandal and more importantly it will make the company lose a few dollars technically the girls on the shirts aren't 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. with the economic ups and downs in the final months the long sang night and the rest of life making it will be if briefly.

when i close my eyes i see people. the people i remember best of all of the combatants and they're all wearing. sometimes i think that your in my gun itself is a face covered by a. good people in both sides of the barricades and sometimes the sweetness of the feels as if all of you crave is no most. of. my life i have two children and

a wife and i want. very much yet interesting i want to see it because it's real history taking shape right before my eyes what's happening now will remain in history forever but only time will tell that it's a black or white page in history. i was done in two thousand and four i remember the environment. people treated each other with. i knew i was looking for the same people who are my down hoping to meet the same attitude the same wall. for some reason the people are getting ready to fight. can you achieve in my done if opposition leaders aren't popular. and there's no real alternative to. the people have shown the next government that it can be either through. and.