the in the. two thousand and fourteen winter olympic games marked by phenomenal athletic performances conclude with an enchanting spectacle the night sky of the 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 the sensations of the games as well as the top notch support from the spectators. and in other news ukraine moves closer towards splitting apart the opposition dominated parliament appointed own acting ministers and a president while the southeast refuses to bend to its will within the head of state no where to be found.

and broadcasting live direct from our studios in moscow this is r t i'm sean thomas glad to have you with us. now the twenty second winter olympic games are now officially over kept by a spectacular closing ceremony and a fireworks display that drew the all of all who watched the organizers promise to put on a show and they did deliver 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 memorial memorable olympics with plenty of new records and celebration but also heartbreak as well congratulations to all of the winners and all of the participants as specially 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 is in sochi and they present our limbic program. say should and will russia comes to mind their andrew will talk about them in a minute you're starting your number five with the u.k. holland the netherlands the nation wondering sixty medals table the rules my face tell you why because they got eight gold medals all in speedskating everybody you know one sport kind of sort of posting if you like twenty four medals in title twenty three of those were in speed skating and the other one came from. i told you last hour all good stops we all want to run 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 of these employed student that new generation do well also wearing skates we're talking figure skating at least what a star she was pressure is really on her it really was too because the other star

there was the fifteen year old sky who fell twice during her routines many people feel oh no 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 and it's amazing i. also got new russians to enjoy because four years ago 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 it was 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. he didn't he fell out of the south korean federation skating today but i think that with him would he fall over there i don't know do i but i'm sure the pope had a step too on the phones i'm sorry you 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 we're going to go to the old wolf and daryn he did or we just so was forty two is old for a libyan isn't it it is for an impi and it is for million and look he became or 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 one four years and then 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 to be groundswell of your home nation. believing in your saliva seventy percent of the people watching here 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. such he's also this fair share of scandals too it can be argued that he got more than he deserved indeed from western the styria over gay rights to highly debated rulings by the judges and referees of the games and assume it was because it was enough it would 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 to include way as the games were marketed indeed someone into russia got ninety nine problems but the olympics is that one us. 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 please 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 report 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. . 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 you know 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 in the world cup because of that gays are legal is of course people are saying ok search is over where will the critics go now catheters going to be interesting. and 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 to decline any kind of service to someone based on their sexual orientation because of their religious beliefs let's

look at 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 us so they scored a cording to international hockey federation's if the goal post 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. watch talk realistic. 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 there overall satisfied hoping that sochi could have broken some of those russian stereotypes five scandals thanks for telling us what you thought about in the run you put the bitterness and the. best with the games although the competition was truly limp you know i think you'll agree for years longer. i've already is 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 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 and tina maze clocking identical times not even a piece of tracing paper could separate them while in the men's biathlon must start french remarks 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 only edged out in the photo finish by norway's emil haye place france in a match in the despair four 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 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. you are. 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 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 are not happy with but now that's over thing that's a lesson learned for everybody and one thing is 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 and the pop star who goes by the name of royal disaster. these are his sixth olympics but your nationality means he skis 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 thing that i heard the p.r. person like it's a big fan of p.r. before i mean you know it's a great place. on the floor but you know what the for everything it's really. just got a positive pipe 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 their lives they wouldn't care at all what names i am. i think is the most important thing that i tried hard in training hard to get you going to. any winter olympics complete without the jamaican bobsled the main attraction for preston 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. we are in this the amazing closing show we'll talk about that in just a minute it was a really strange moment when the flame extinguished that huge olympic flame that had such a journey together we saw it. at the beginning of all this so much excitement you saw the tears on people's eyes that i got a bit weepy really strange to see it go really touching the flame is now officially out it's essentially the official start of the paralympics this is what sochi now means for the olympics because of the seventh but for now let's concentrate on the closing ceremony so it's really unfortunate but it is always par for the course we were able to show. us exactly what was going on inside it because a very strict copyright rules. like that every time with a live picture it's nothing new however we were looking. at wachovia as well and

you are saying it was phenomenal it was family was very different than the opening ceremony just as grand again they went through the deep history of this time there was a focus on the historic. performing arts so they went to. the boatswain theater downstairs later he was there as me he was there and just just at the very end very famous russian conductor conducting what looked like a child's chorus and they sensually i assume are singing as we're looking at these beautiful fireworks so really a tremendous so people were floored lots of people crying in the audience people very proud of course russia coming out on top of these. olympics breaking so many records it's it's going to such an emotional moment when it all comes to an end i think people are genuinely happy but also little bit sad right now but of course we must look to the future to say the paralympics kicking off on the seventh of march last for just over a week doesn't it and then just remind us what's going to happen remind of us what's going to happen to the majority of this site afterwards well there's

a huge hope that this will be the future of russians more thing here that russians did not break and are in fact their worst performance ever at nothing thanks and so i think it's a huge dream overhaul of sports there's a hope that this will bring sport back to the polity that it was back in soviet times when there was no mixed message into it. just as i take a pause because it looks like we're getting some great shots only crowd here follows this but not quite sure what you can see that is a home birth oh yes you can see that over because you can see it's fantastic but look at me the what you're looking out the right movie shot of the moment so you know guys you know you can see the look what a beautiful backdrop what a spectacular end to watch but you know great games thomas barkley are on today said they were a great game says far as the i.o.c. is concerned and i think that russia russians were a little bit skeptical themselves that could work with stuff that was the basic norm is and to have her and i think russia may be

a little bit nervous that they won't pull it off and for russia today they realize that they did it and they did it really really well and that means something very important to russians to ordinary russians across the country. well aside from all of the officials sporting records there has been a slew of unofficial and even amusing ones as well let's take a look to start off with almost half of the planet turned in at some point to see these olympics with at least three billion viewers now talking about fans they set a surprising sound rector record during one of victor on speed skating races with their cheers reaching as loud as one hundred ten decibels now another record has to do well let's hope with future fans thirty four babies were born in sochi on the day of the opening ceremony the city's highest single day total of newborns now the sochi games will also be remembered for the weather these were in fact the warmest winter olympics in history now those records and many others including some controversies made sochi a star in the social media world as well now the social two thousand and fourteen

winter olympics have now officially closed they provided countless unforgettable and inspiring sporting moments that will be remembered for a long time. of the turmoil in ukraine has been the top story of the past few days after the most turbulent week in its post-war history look at these very amazing images coming out of a country it is currently undergoing a complete government overhaul the parliament has appointed the speaker as interim president after voting to impeach a victory on a covert since taking over the reins in the capital of the opposition has been hard at work establishing its own order parties you go to peace can office in kiev for us. situation here resembles more and more cool 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 still under the full control of the protesters some of the former officials have been arrested while the 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 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 crew what we have now that we have read. that we have.

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 a return to bottom in trade republic there were i think or of the protests didn't buy it was. if the president does not resign by tammy. 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 protests 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 museum will never be back here as the past the president made to his sea 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 solutions. all that is happening now is the most part is vandalism and crimes this is my strong belief i will do everything takes to prevent my country from splitting up to stop the bloodshed it went from bad to worse we have a court which with parliament leading this article i will use it to michelle go from prison sparking jubilation and to use independence square. she dreamt of seeing you use a force that changed everything you're hearing here is the best of this country has protesters are in high spirits and the east and south of the country are simply

different to its leaders have declared itself governance and constitutional power unique to all over the world and break up in the country and the. reporting from kiev in ukraine. well here is a map to show you just how much of ukraine is now refusing to follow kiev lead these ten provinces in blue that you see here are home to more than half the country's population and you can see that it's far away from kiev where all the action is happening now the regional leaders gathered in the heart of this weekend which is right about here to express their disapproval of what's going on in the capital. something to do local authorities every charge of all political decisions on the ground in these regions we have to protect our land we think that the central authorities are paranoid and that their decisions cannot be considered constitutional but the new order in kiev is not the only thing in the east of the country people there are angry about many say that they feel abandoned by president

coverage after he made concessions to the opposition and then fled the capital. shocked and disgusted by the actions of president i never thought he'd never betray the iranian people i thought that he'd hold on to the end. top diplomat catherine ashton is said to travel to kiev on monday to discuss ways out of the current crisis with opposition leaders and says former prime minister yulia tymoshenko has already sat down with the u.s. envoy as well as the e use chief representative in ukraine. which of the former president of the soviet union thinks that the west should let the people of ukraine to decide their own political future. have you seen what's going on there. is you need a bulldozer to push all the consultants from the u.s. and e.u. all told that they should let people decide for themselves issuing great

commendations to nations these on acceptable they shouldn't provoke people they shouldn't send bandits in old sides need to hand it to the negotiating table and talk to one month or six months if needed they will calm to an agreement eventually . now take a look at some other news making headlines around the world this hour pro-government crowds have gathered in venezuela's capital they chanted in support of president nicolas maduro and for the socialist ability and revolution of movement led by the late leader hugo chavez anti-government rallies across the country have left eight dead in violent clashes over the past weeks. two people were killed including a twelve year old boy when a grenade exploded at an anti-government rally in bangkok it occurred just hours after a gunman opened fire at protesters in eastern thailand shooting a five year old girl there are tensions across the country have been escalating since november with hundreds having been injured. in

a bus station blast has killed a dozen people in a province in northwestern pakistan that borders tribal areas used as a safe haven and by taliban forces after peace negotiations with the taliban broke down last week islam unbothered 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 for taliban fighters killed twenty one soldiers in a checkpoint attack this comes after the group refused to exchange of prisoners within. the u.s. calling the deal too complex afghanistan's president has urged islam a bond to take serious measures in eliminating the terrorist threat in the area.

crowds have marched through the main square in madrid rallying against what they claim are curbed civil rights and freedoms protests covered a wide range of topics including employment and economic issues as well as immigration the demonstrations fell on the thirty third anniversary of a failed coup in one thousand nine hundred one which saw the parliament and cabinet held hostage for eighteen hours. well coming up next it's a cross talk with host peter lavelle and his guests to this is our international stay with us.

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 all fields that countries like great britain or france you named francis specially with increasing poverty in my opinion they have a difficult they have a difficult time to solve these problems but i think how the least they should rearrange the principle rules all free movement of persons and improve the system. salary. child. rights.

to the. paying of the young girls cam all for the future harder. between two and three hundred million guns united states so you can act like they're not here and keep kids away from them. the causes that if they won you know i mean this teaches them a lot of for a responsibility and support them to pay through the eyes of children if we can do it for our children for our future what is the country will fall.

into. place. as a. hello and welcome to crossfire where all things considered i'm peter lavelle going to extremes all across europe right wing and to e.u. parties and groups are gaining strength and in some cases respectability what accounts for this hard economic times or the growing alienation and frustration with the euro project could it be said the new right is really the old right but wearing a nice suit. to cross out the rise of the right i'm joined by my guest so anyone dull in london he is a journalist and writer for the guardian and al-jazeera in berlin we have harold whelan bach he is a researcher and a member of the european radicalization awareness network and.