that amir putin took power like a hot knife slicing through butter co-opting a submissive state operators ready and waiting to follow its new leader all the other state was as yet still unfamiliar with the concept of vertical power the subordination of everything from parliament to the economy to one single command center was already going into high gear. although the oligarch mikhail khodorkovsky hadn't been imprisoned yet and n.t.v. was still daring to criticize the president as for example over his handling of the loss of the cursed nuclear submarine it was already becoming quite obvious that it was better not to cross the president the ghosts of the past were reappearing and trying to make up for what had been lost in the present soon of ladysmith putin the president of the russian federation would call the collapse of the soviet empire the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century. meanwhile i went on shooting my film which was now about the elected president followed by a film about life in the kremlin it seemed that nothing radically changed during the 1st year of putin's p

the an accession the illegal an exception of that peninsula in 2014 as a defiant move from bloody amir putin he's very much seen as a symbol of kind of russia standing against the west defying the west and actually that manic sation led to a huge spike in putin's ratings as well one that he could need at the moment with surveys showing that trust is that historic low in bloody revolution this whole thing covered by russian media. well the coverage of this opening today has been rather bombastic we saw putin kind of traveling across the bridge we saw presenters referring to that footage today on t.v. as a historic moment just last year vladimir putin opened kind of a road traffic on the bridge he actually drove across a truck across the bridge now we see him and then in a train he was addressing as well workers today the workers that build that built this bridge in as people here say record time and he was saying that this is a symbol that russia really can do everything and anything at all and we mentioned that people accuse moscow of building that bridge illegally i mean how is this being s

meanwhile russia's president is accusing the us of viewing space as a potential theatre of war that amir putin has said washington is rapidly developing its military forces in space prompting moscow to develop its space sector further hootin has said he categorically opposes the miniaturize ation of the cosmos but has had to ramp up russia's president putting his no want of u.s. space command in september yes president has said he wants his country to dominate space. he not a nation says a record number of people will be in need of urgent humanitarian aid next year. launching an appeal for nearly $30000000000.00 new ns head of emergency relief said war protracted conflicts and attacks on schools and hospitals are putting more people at risk a total of $168000000.00 people are thought to be in need of assistance over the next year with people in yemen and syria at most risk. health authorities in some vast unvaccinated families to fly a red flag outside their home as they try to contain a growing measles epidemic a mass immunization campaign is planned for thursday and friday after 60 deaths fr

correspondent melinda crean she's here in berlin can even see you melinda so this is classic what amir putin he says that the georgian man who was killed here in berlin was himself a killer and he got what he deserved help does the german government view comments like this. well as we heard in the report there was widespread condemnation of those remarks from pretty much all the german political parties with members of the parties governing together in the grand coalition saying that those words were tantamount to a threat or an admission of russian involvement however the chancellor took a rather more restrained tone at the press conference itself choosing to concentrate instead on the more cooperative remarks that putin had made we heard them also in the report namely his statement that the russians should help their german colleagues. and participate in the investigation and the chancellor as we heard said that she would find that to be a very good step but she also emphasized that the investigation is ongoing and absolutely left open whether the german response might change over time as

but amir putin has expressed fears of a massacre if care takes back control over the rest of don bus territory in the east of ukraine without guaranteeing safety to citizens living there. the mc law hasn't been put in place yet we decided on that in 2015 some decisions have been made but it hasn't been put into force the ukrainian side is always saying let us close the border without force i can imagine what happens then srebrenica nothing more. live now to r.t. correspondent daniel hawkins for the details daniel those are some rather surprising words from the russian president coming out the back of the successful normandy for meeting yesterday you know the very strong words given just yesterday there seemed to be progress on some disengagement zones on a all for all prisoner exchange even on a potential cease fire why new year this is very much a surprise the question oberkfell ukrainian control over the ukraine russia border not the disengagement line itself but the russian border remains the sticking point well why is this of putin's concern is about far right nationalist militia

doesn't become dependent on russian energy we don't want your energy supplies to be dependent on what amir putin as washington's client seems green a pastas maybe it's time for a rethink of its customers some of us after all no one likes being boxed up by an angry cash on no one likes overpaying even if freedom is part of the deal. hong kong based political scientists joseph chang told us why this is a win win project of earth russia and china this is significant for both china and russia for china even sun lot in terms of energy security in terms of diversification of use energy sources from the east africa and so on to to the russian siberia it is also significant for russia because it means that it is less and under group in market it opens up the china market with tremendous potential and infrastructure built can also be used to supply oil and natural gas to south korea and japan so there is a lot of potential to develop the asia pacific market in support of the development of russian far east and eastern siberia in russia. residents of asbestos thought so for mining town in canada speak out

that amir putin took the russian federation over from boris yeltsin who stepped down voluntarily he took it over complete with its constitution national flag and answer the basic symbols of the new and democratic russia that had replaced the old soviet symbols left in the past together with the soviet union seemingly forgot. the shift in power on new year's eve moreover during the transition to the new millennium it was a really clever move. following a long standing tradition the whole state drifted into a state of rampant revelry and was incapable of a sober analysis of what was actually happening. at the same time russians were supposed to get used to the idea of a new president during these very days i started shooting a p.r. film that was supposed to be used in putin's election campaign. will do in this race will audiovox a little but if you want commission i read a month. or so. much of the footage was taken from my old film about putin the audience back then. notice trivial details such as the watch on his right wrist rather than listening to what he was actually saying. but looki

the insider or when it's good to have you on the program so this is what we heard today of what amir putin's spokesperson says that russia knows nothing about this case had nothing to do with it of course russia would say that it has rocher all for any evidence to support its innocence. not yet the only one statement we so is from russian interfax edge and see where this source from authorities say is that. they were killed no worries that there are a few but a suspected in terror attacks in that 2004 which actually doesn't look like they claim not to be guilty it looks like they want to explain why they did it so this is not the best defense. so so we have now such. evidence that actually russia was involved as a state for example you know his name i. liked him a practical it was deleted from all the databases police databases and also with so that. it was let's free up to the previous model in moscow in 2013 so he wasn't in prison for some reason he got raped by sport and could travel abroad so all of this all of this proves 100 percent that the russian authorities at least helped him and

and russia's president has said that the us are preparing a minute she operations in space that amir putin said his country has had to ramp up its own space sector after the door of the u.s. space command in september. summer is running out of mass vaccination program on thursday and friday in an attempt to stem this fast growing measles crisis immunization is now compulsory under state of emergency imposed last month families who are unvaccinated believed to be around 70 percent of the population big advised to fly a red flag or cloth outside their house to help speed the process 60 deaths have now been confirmed the vast majority of them children comes as neighboring fiji has postponed all sporting events to draw large crowds over worries the outbreak could spread. washington reports from summer's capital apia a country in crisis scrambling to vaccinate its people and get this outbreak under control. measles is an entirely preventable disease but that's not prevented many parents in samoa from having to bury their own children. who really. we really want to. take. the situation. here. so

russia's president is accusing the us of using space as a potential theatre of war that amir putin says the rapid developments of america's space command has prompted moscow to ramp up its own sex but put insists he's against the militarization of the cosmos it's a war trump says he wants the u.s. to dominate space. at least $58.00 migrants have drones after their boat capsized off the coast of mauritania the international organization for migration says survivors are being treated in the northern city of north hebrew it says the vessel was carrying at least 150 people from gambia and was low on fuel. some oil is rolling out a mass vaccination program to stem its fast growing missiles crisis 62 people have died from the disease with more than 150 new cases every day immunization is compulsory under a state of emergency imposed last month families who haven't been vaccinated are being urged to fly a red flag or cough outside their house to help speed up the process jessica washington has more from the some on capital appear we've just heard from the samo and prime minister his message is

of the soviet past also became a valedictory sign for me yeltsin died in the 7th year of that amir putin's presidency. but. so. does the president have a say over a lot of things but certainly the head of state has a say over many things. certain functions of the president are laid down by the law they are very comprehensive and presidential powers may become the determining factor for forming these functions correctly but if you live in a union as a rule have been as far as things i've been planning are concerned i've basically managed to meet the goals i've set for myself. but it was the bill that you so you could get to see. just what is your attitude towards the all embracing unity of the nation under the guidance of the wise visionary and just that it may have putin i do believe you should. trust him to i sense a slightly higher in the in your question. therefore. certainly be everything we used to call extreme and this certainly doesn't help but rather horse. who stood by me so all the bustling monuments and other elements of our talk received left over from the past and had not to l

talks underway in paris between the leaders of russia and ukraine meeting between that amir putin over not only as a lenski brokered by the leaders of france and germany is aimed at ending the 5 year conflict in eastern ukraine creating official say among the demands are a lasting cease fire in the region and the exchange of prisoners. and i'm not a step fasten in paris so what's come out of those talks. well we have yet to hear law and it's a big 8 hours now since the talks started here at dealey say and the talks have finished we've heard also the dinner between the 4 leaders has has finished already and we're waiting now to hear what has come out of the meeting but nothing a formal yet informally there have been some reports about what has been decided and it's sort of what has been expected a prisoner swap according to the russian news agency interfax has been decided here in paris there was a prisoner swap between ukraine and russia in september already that was the 1st one well there will be probably not one as well no sign of any ceasefire that was another thing that the preside

new arms control agreements are reached at an annual meeting of russia's defense ministry that amir putinsaid washington's withdrawal from a cold war era nuclear treaty and the expansion of nato were key concerns for moscow he says 82 percent of the country's nuclear arsenal has been modernized. bigger we are ready to work on new arms control agreements but until this process is launched we will strengthen our own nuclear forces i mean equipping ourselves with to t.j. hart with sonic missile forces with modern complexes and strategic missiles as well as you can use submarines are our navy and we will continue to work on the creation of other missile systems capable of defending russia and its allies violent protests have broken out at a number of shopping malls in hong kong during a busy christmas eve with riot police firing tear gas in a bid to disperse demonstrators protesters threw umbrellas and other objects at the police and charge them with battens families have been gathering in a busy tourist district to view the christmas lights the protests are now in their 7th month and demonst

talks are underway in paris between the leaders of russia and ukraine a meeting between vet amir putin and vladimir zelinsky brokered by the leaders of france and germany is aimed at ending the 5 year conflict in eastern ukraine which has led to the deaths of thousands of people there's the top stories from our desire to stay with us the big picture the china complex continues next hour we're back after that with a news hour in half an hour to join me then if you can. don's leadership of china was being built on a harsh imposition of rules at once landing from china's past as well as trying to break from it if you really analyze modern thought the idea was punishment ching idea basically is a legalism wrapped up with imported communist physiology mao was a master of legalism right he played legal these tricks better than most of the competitors. plays next trick in 1058 now we're trying to transform china from a struggling agrarian society into an industrial powerhouse. where . he called this transformation the great leap forward. particularly. when. much headway when. it failed. agric

now russia's president is accusing the us of viewing space as a potential theater of war blood amir putin says the rapid development of america's space command has prompted moscow to ramp up its own sector but putin insists he's against the militarization of the cosmos donald trump has said that he wants the u.s. to dominate space. now the pentagon says a u.s. warship has captured a vessel with missile parts believed to be linked to iran the seizure was made in the northern arabian sea and the crew has been transferred to the yemeni coast guard washington accuses terran of illegally smuggling arms to who the rebels fighting the yemeni government. the head of a japanese medical aid group has been killed in an attack in afghanistan tetsu anneka muhtar was shot dead along with 5 members of his team when their car was pushed he had been awarded an honorary afghan citizenship for his years of charity work no group has claimed responsibility for theater. meanwhile the international criminal court will decide whether those involved in the war in afghanistan including the u.s. should answer to al

of viewing space as a potential theater of war that amir putin has said washington is rapidly developing its military forces in space from to moscow to develop its space sector further britain said he categorically opposes the miniature as a sion of the cosmos but has had to ramp up russia's presence for the launch of u.s. space command in september as president donald trump has said he wants his country to dominate space. germany has expelled 2 russian diplomats after federal prosecutors so there was evidence russian intelligence was involved in the killing of a georgian man in berlin the victim who had fought with chechen separatists was shot in broad daylight last august a step fasten reports from moscow the kremlin denies any involvement and says the expulsions are unfriendly and unfounded. this is rapidly turning into a diplomatic row between russia and germany after german prosecutors have announced that they have strong indications that russia is behind the murder of a former chechen rebel commander selim khan hungers feeley and 2 russian diplomats have been expelled from germany

new arms control agreements are reached at an annual meeting of russia's the fence ministry that amir putin said washington's withdrawal from a cold war era nuclear treaty and the expansion of nato were key concerns for moscow says 82 percent of the country's nuclear arsenal has been more than nice. oh it's a mexican tradition painting the story of what someone believes it was a divine intervention for hundreds of years artists have captured the moment they felt their prayers were answered but today the sometimes surreal works of popular is pieces of art for mexico city al-jazeera salem fisher has the story. there from the devote the pious and the grateful a thank you mark in recovery good fortune or success in mexico they're called exotic paintings delivered to the church a devotion or gift after prayers were answered. with those who wanted their story to be known ordered these little paintings they were made by artists that worked near the church and people told them their story and they would interpret it painted erode a few lines about it at the bottom of a painting. as you know. the id

new arms control agreements are reached at an annual meeting of russia's defense ministry that amir putin said washington's withdrawal from the cold war era nuclear treaty and the expansion of nato were key concerns for moscow he says 82 percent of the country's nuclear arsenal have been modernized. to go we are ready to work on new arms control agreements but until this process is launched we will strengthen our own nuclear forces i mean equipping ourselves with strategic hardware sonic missile forces with modern complexes and strategic missiles as well as you can use submarines who are our navy and we will continue to work on the creation of other missile systems capable of defending russia and its allies iraq's parliament has approved a new electoral law in a bid to make elections fairer granting one of the demands of anti-government protestors that all gives independent politicians a better chance of winning seats in parliament also jabari is in baghdad she explains what the changes will mean for voters. there are being called a very significant change to the country's electoral syste

program we start with a major meeting in paris ukrainian president flawed amir's olinsky and his russian counterpart vladimir putin face to face for the 1st time with eastern ukraine on the agenda after 6 hours of negotiations the 2 leaders have agreed to implement a quote full and comprehensive cease fire in eastern ukraine it's the 1st time in 3 years the talks focusing on. ending the war there have been held the pair sat down with french president emmanuel mccall and german chancellor angela merkel who brokered the meeting the conflict started in 2014 it has killed more than 13000 people and displaced more than 1000000. these 2 leaders made separate announcements after those closed door negotiations. in which the parties have reached an agreement on liberation all the prisoners before the 31st of december following the principle of hold by all. it has been agreed to verify the list of prisoners and provide access by the red cross to all prisoners. this is certainly an important step towards deescalating the situation in eastern ukraine as well as easing tensions. with our correspondent masses is in paris he is

director at the chroma foundation she told us why this meeting with president putin is so important for ukraine's blog amir selenski to get right. it is very important and old so he wanted an aliyah summit he wanted summit only in september so it has been the russian side which has postponed the summit for the 9th give us a very important it takes place before the end of this this is part of this company also back home he's facing anti-government protests protests for the 1st time this is not because they demand they demand peace from selenski absolutely but also because the koreans are afraid of a capitulation that selenski since he is an inexperienced politicizing or make too many concessions to the russian side pro-democracy demonstrators in hong kong have called for strikes across the territory the call comes a day after protesters staged their biggest anti-government rally in months organizers say 800000 joined the march on sunday called to mark 6 months since the start of mass demonstrations calling for more autonomy what is t w charlotte chosen field reports many are too scared to take part in the p

earlier this month it was the 1st face to face meeting between the leaders of a lot amir's and in ski and vladimir putin aimed at tackling the conflict has killed 13000 people since 2014. and arrest warrant has been issued in the ivory coast for a candidate in next year's election former rebel leaders accused of misusing public funds and trying to destabilize the country sorow is due to return home to start his campaign but his flight was diverted to ghana and he's fired tear gas of supporters who had gathered to meet him chile's president has approved a referendum to change the country's constitution one of the main demands of anti-government protesters in recent months president sebastian pinera says a referendum would help unify the country on april 26th chileans will be asked to questions whether they want a new constitution and who should draft it the current one was enacted in 180 under the former military dictatorship for finishing it please see in the middle of this referendum the 1st in 30 years should serve us in leaving behind the violence and divisions that we've painfully and sadly seen res

amir zelinsky participation in a european summit aimed at ending the conflict with russia members of ukraine's no surrender movement gathered in central kiev at the summit in paris zelinsky will meet the russian president vladimir putin face to face it's the 1st time in 3 years that a ukrainian leader has met with putin selenski was elected back in may on the promise of ending the war with russian backed separatists which has so far killed more than 14000 people. hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets in malta once again calling for prime minister joseph muscat to resign immediately you have going leader has said he will step down in january the protesters say he should go now the political stability of the mediterranean island has been shaken by the death of definite. who was killed by a car bomb in 2017 the prime minister is not directly implicated but people in his inner circle have been linked to attempts at a coverup. the french government says it will see through the pensions reforms that have sparked a nationwide protests but will introduce its plans gradually and address public concerns transport systems across the country have been paralyzed for a 4th day is climate change demonstrators joined the