itself that president putin signed a pardon what he called humanitarian principles we go live to berlin shortly also this. year the idea that people don't deserve access to knowledge because people cannot. speak to a wiki leaks associate and co-producer of a movie which shows just how hard it can be for whistleblowers to get the truth in print. and syria's embattled kurds take their ambitions for a new level demanding an independent seat at next month's international peace talks in switzerland our top stories. now from a studio center here in moscow where it's just past eleven pm this is international so after a decade of incarceration is free russia's most high profile prisoner left jail and travel to germany on board a private jets when ati's peter all of it is in berlin and joins me now live what it seems peter that he's pretty keen to give his version of events. well we've heard the first comments from. himself he placed a short phone call to the newspaper the new times in which he said after ten years the feeling of freedom is amazing now it's believed that that phone call was plac

and awards night in berlin for the european film industry. south africa continues to mourn the death of nelson mandela, who died thursday at age of 95. the government is preparing a more more ale service -- as per pairing a memorial service in johannesburg on thursday that will be attended by leaders from around the world followed by a smaller funeral on december 15. >> with song and dance, south africans commemorate the life of one of the great leaders of modern times. thousands have traveled to nelson mandela's former residents to pay their last respects to the father of the nation. up, we were not allowed to do this or we would get arrested. >> he was so great. he liberated my grandmother. he liberated my grandfather. he made them sing. of the named enemy state, nelson mandela became south africa's first black resident in 1994. today he is celebrated as south africa's great healer. peopleout the country, put their thoughts on paper, a sea of flowers spreading out. a sign of mourning in a gesture of gratitude. familyesman for mandela's expr

we haven't seen him yet in central berlin we did. catch a glimpse of him slightly at the airport but those doing the talking for him say he's here and he's very grateful to those who have released them and very happy to be to be out and free and the big question is of course what will his next move be i think that is the million dollar question well from the open letter to be released by him and from statements from his his spokes person who's been speaking in moscow family is the main thing for him next now mr hodder called skis mother had been receiving treatment for cancer here in berlin she's currently in moscow along with his father we understand they will be flying here to berlin on saturday we're also hearing his son from his first marriage who is in in new york is on his way here to berlin and we believe his his second wife and the family that they have that are in moscow also will be will be coming here basically in the the letter he said the next move for him the very next move is to spend the new year's holidays with his f

>> welcome to the journal live from berlin. , reunitedon the show with his family in berlin and they are thrilled to be together again. hints heident obama might rein in the nsa spying program in a bid to restore public trust before leaving for his vacation on hawaii. and an uncertain christmas after yet again dropping points at home. man has former richest been reunited with members of his family here in berlin. it is the first time he has seen them outside prison in a decade. the reunion follows blood may or putin's surprised pardon of the kremlin critic last friday. aroundographers crowded the front door of one of berlin's most exclusive hotels, hoping to get a photograph of a prominent guest. only two days ago, he was behind bars in a siberian prison. so far, there are few images of russia's most famous orange -- famous former prisoner. experienceribed the is unbelievable. he spent most of his first day as a free man with his family. he met his ailing mother and father. his oldest son arrived from new york for the reunion. >> my family is finally reunited and we are very, very ha

prisoner left jail and travel to germany on board a private jet that's got the latest now from who is in berlin so what is the latest you're hearing from the german officials that. well the latest is that mikhail khodorkovsky is here in the german capital we believe but we can't confirm yet that he is in the market and along the hotel just down from the brandenburg gate in fact very close to where our studios are here now the reason we believe he's in that hotel is because former german foreign minister hans dietrich genscher was seen leaving not hotel now just again she has been instrumental apparently in securing a visa for mikhail khodorkovsky to allow him to come here to germany now we heard from russian prison authorities earlier on friday that said as soon as he left prison he was issued with a german passport with a father with a russian passport in order to allow him to travel but it appears that mr again she has been working behind the scenes along with the the german government here working with the russian government in order to push through a german visa for for him to allow him to

mikhail holder is getting ready to meet the press after finally being reunited with his family in berlin following his surprise release from prison. also this week eighty civilians are executed by islamist rebels in syria while western nations signal upcoming peace talks might not need a removal after all. and a big deal for ukraine russia agrees to buy fifteen billion dollars of its debts and slash the price of gas which kiev hails as its rescue from bankruptcy. the latest news on the week's top stories here want to national with me. thanks for joining us. and in just a few hours may help to give his first press conference since he was released from jail after ten years behind bars the man who was russia's most high profile prisoner is now in berlin where he was reunited with his parents and son on saturday let's now get more from all over who's live in berlin for us so please or what have you learned about what are called skis plans. well mr hart of course he's currently taking a tour around the berlin wall museum here in the german capital that's where in a little while he'll be givin

it is good to have you back in berlin. you mentioned before we went on air that they were shooting in the neighborhood at the hotel you are at. soldiers were in the hotel. is the capital securing now? >> during the daytime, it is relatively safe. but most of the fighting goes on during the night. but the looting's have already started. who will make sure that the soldiers will follow the orders again in the future? soldiers went into our hotel, our unprotected hotel, asking for food. the staff gave them food. but the question is how will it continue this gets out of control? people have really big problems. >> we saw the attack yesterday on a you and compound. there is a real escalation. is there an absence of dialogue right now? what could be holding the country together? this is after all an oil-rich country. >> 11 people think that only dialogue can solve this problem. the united nations want to achieve this. a lot of people think this is a power struggle between the president and his former deputy. this conflict, he sa

that's right they are heading to berlin now his mother marina. is still as far as we know at home. at the family home outside of moscow now german media is reporting that khodorkovsky headed to berlin thinking that his mother was was there and indeed she had recently undergone cancer treatment in germany but at the time of his really it's still here in moscow now her failing health is in fact a reason that president putin citing for considering. clemency bed and so so she plans to get to berlin as soon as possible we spoke with her earlier today about her travel plans. for i don't know when we're on which flight i still don't have the tickets i just got up i hope we will meet today you. know his daughter and also mentioned to the media how surprised she was in fact she stated in the past ten years i got used to living in a reality where my dad was in prison to realize and accept that i'll be able to see him every day is unreal that is how quickly the turn of events took place from the announcement that he would be released to his landing on german soil so for the first time in ten

former oil tycoon of course russia's was high profile prisoner has been reunited with his family in berlin for a huge surprise really. also this hour radical islamist rebels in syria allegedly massacred dozens of civilians during a battle in the suburbs of the capital damascus. and crowds gather in central kiev where antigovernment protests have raged for over a month now as ukraine secure was a fifteen billion dollars economic rescue deal from russia. the latest news on the week's top stories you're watching the weekly here on our international with me. and welcome to the program. says he has no interest in pursuing politics or being involved in business he was speaking ahead of his first major public appearance since being released from jail after ten years we're expecting his news conference to begin any minute in berlin and while we're waiting here let's now speaks to us he's a piece of all of us who is there in berlin for us as well that pieces so what more do we know about. these plans. well what we have heard from him earlier on sunday is a lot about what he won't be doing in the fu

and if so was not in berlin where the european film industry. continues to mourn the death of nelson mandela who died on thursday the ninety five the government is preparing for a memorial service miss the way to stadium in johannesburg on tuesday which will be attended by leaders from around the world. that service may followed by a smaller fuel on december the team. with song and don's south africans commemorate the life of one of the great leaders of all time thousands of travel to nelson mandela's former president since alexa to pay last respects to the father of the nation the we weren't allowed to use his middle of what is it just means that the computer instead the initial crates. keane. my grandmother. my friends love it. she sneaked into you once named enemy of the state's nelson mandela became south africa's first black president in nineteen ninety four today he is celebrated as south africa's great healer. throughout the country folks of contents give people a chance to put their thoughts on paper. a sea of flowers spreads out in fron

a long awaited reunion tomato what are called scheme meets his family in berlin after president putin pardons him on humanitarian grounds. washington is told to rein in unaccountable defense spending at the pentagon amounting to eight point five trillion dollars since one thousand and ninety six. egypt's ousted president mohamed morsi faces new charges this time over a twenty eleven jailbreak while his supporters of all ages are being thrown behind bars. in the first time in my life that the child is locked up in the military prison for having a ruling party follows a story of an egyptian egyptian pardon me a schoolboy who was sent to prison over his shoulder support for the country's deposed leader. thanks for joining in this hour i'm lucy catherine of the let's get straight to our top story me hell who has been a reunited with his family in the german capital he greeted his parents outside of the hotel where he's currently staying now the oil magnate had arrived in berlin just hours after his release from a russian jail this was for following president putin's pardon parties peter a

who is in berlin tell us peter what have you heard from the german officials who've obviously greeted khodorkovsky. well apparently received a warn your visa or on arrival to berlin shauna feld airport now he left the airport in a motorcade protected by police along with the for the german foreign minister hans dietrich genscher now it's understood that missed a game played a crucial role in negotiating the fees that it's allowed. to come here to germany now it's unknown exactly where he's heading in this motorcade at the moment it's believed to be the upmarket and along the hotel right near the center of the city here but as soon as we find out where he's gone of course we'll be bringing you pictures live from there via artie's news agency ruptly who where this is where i'm broadcasting from their headquarters here right in the center of berlin so we'll be wherever he turns up we'll have pictures of that for you straight away now. we have heard statements from various people regarding holocaust arrival here in germany chancellor merkel's press spokes person well cook said that the th

today, he gave a press conference right here in berlin. as south sudan seized with violence, world powers appeal to the nation not to fall in civil war. -- go into the winter break. free critic gave a news conference here in berlin on sunday just two days after his surprise release from risen. he chose to give his address from check point charlie, a symbolic location that served as a crossing point between east and west during the cold war. >> showed up at the checkpoint on sunday morning. who just emerged from a decade in prison, he looks fixed and at ease. there were hundreds of journalists on hand. many of them were from russia. he said that he was surprised by the huge international media interest. once one of the wealthiest people in the world. he is not had time to make any major plans but he did say his future would not encrypt -- would not include russian politics. corks i am not -- >> i'm not going to engage in any political activity. i said that my letter to president putin and reiterated several times since. i'm going to engage

and berlin and we will be covering it live on air and online as well at r.t. dot com. at least eighty seven's have been slaughtered in the syrian town of north of damascus after it was raided by radical islam ists some reports put the number of those killed at two hundred r.t. arabic channel went there to talk to why witnesses of the bloodshed. terror still fills the hearts of those who witnessed the militants entering the town about drugs they saw panicked disoriented people running for their lives and they ran themselves they will never forget the despair in the eyes of those who were forced to stay behind we have no reliable way to communicate with the people trapped inside but officials are saying the atrocities against the civilian population are continuing and people are being butchered and even burned alive and every bit of news coming out of the town is dealing a new blow to those whose families are still being held by the militants everyone working for the local authorities was to be killed regardless of their religion organon an asian they were all taken to b

on saturday now is another reason why berlin may have been a. good option for a place for him to go is this according to the a.f.p. his wife ina is in switzerland it's not too far away that she would be able to make her way quite quickly to him here in berlin now waiting for any kind of statement to come out of of the airport where he's landed or any kind of statement he's going to give a soon as we get that of course we'll we'll bring it to you but another reason why germany was perhaps the the destination of choice is that the well the support that's been coming out of germany for him we heard from german chancellor angela merkel saying that his was a case that she'd followed extensively and that she was very glad that he received this pardon from vladimir putin also the european parliament president martin schulz also saying that this was a progress and a positive step to pardon me hot. so what we know is he's here and will be bringing you updates from here as soon as we get any of the latest news but to find out what went on before he arrive

the fall of the berlin wall.caught on camera: revolution" continues. >>> the iron curtain begins to collapse, and nbc news anchor tom brokaw has a front row seat to history. >> you're seeing the destruction of the berlin wall. >> 1989 is a year of seismic change as political revolution spreads across communist-controlled europe. in early november tom brokaw travels to berlin to report on the political situation. >> i went because it was a good story. it was this kind of percolating situation. it was simmering. and you could feel it was going to boil over. >> the giant imposing berlin wall splits the city in two. >> the wall was this sinister symbol of the division between east and west. when you went to see it in person, i'd been there several times before, you could never adequately convey the coldness of it on camera. it was this ominous piece of slab of concrete. and we knew obviously about all the people who had paid for their lives trying to get over it. >> the day after arriving in berlin brokaw attends a p

has been here in berlin quite a quite a lot in the recent past she has been receiving cancer treatment here and a bill in city hospital. they were that was a fact the whole reason behind because of course he'd been granted the presidential pardon on humanitarian grounds was the the ill health of his mother's press secretary of the russian president dmitry peskov who is the the spokesperson for the timea food and now he said that khodorkovsky remains a russian citizen he is a russian citizen he's free to return to russia whenever he would like and live there should he want to also you said that he's he's free to stay here in germany should he want to as well it is pretty much as simple as that and no peskov also outlined the letters that were written by her to call ski to vladimir putin he said there was to one of them was a personal letter to president putin the of the was the official petition to be to be released from prison and that it was that petition that resulted in him receiving this pardon is released on humanitarian grounds due to the serious ill health of his mother we'll ge

from behind bars to berlin a former russian tycoon mikhail put our post he is about to be reunited with his family in the drama capital. as his family members begin to arrive here it's a family reunion it's been ten years in the making for the holder called skis. for the solid defense that a prize eight and trillion dollars goes and accounted for in less than two decades as part of the effort to keep the pentagon running. and another charges slapped on troops toppled leader mohammed morsi over a twenty eleven prison escape as police grondahl and he supporters who were protesting against a law restricting demonstration. this is on seem to national coming to life from moscow with me. and welcome to the progress. the parents of me here how to confiscate how reportedly arrived in berlin to be reunited with his with their son after he was released from prison friday as soon as the oil tycoon was let out of a russian penal colony following a presidential pardon he flew to germany that's now getting all the details from peter oliver he's outside the hotel where holder confiscate is believed to

and how to close he spent his first full day of freedom in ten years here in berlin and the out alone hotel just behind me now he met with his son pavol who flew from new york in order to in order to be with his father i'm thrilled to be here in berlin germany the day because my father is free. my family is finally going to see it and we're very very happy with us here and anything you can you hear people say to me how to cause he's mother and father had flown here from moscow now his mother has been here in berlin quite a quite a lot in the recent past she has been receiving cancer treatments here and a bill in city hospital in such a shock to me as didn't come believe i'm going to see him now i feel like it's one of my regular the things we hear the whole reason behind because of course he being granted the presidential pardon on humanitarian grounds was the the ill health of his mother so they have been reunited here the press secretary of the russian president dmitry peskov now he said that because of course the remains of a russian citizen he is a russian citizen he's free to ret

the parents of the me here who have reportedly arrived in berlin to be reunited with their son after he was released from prison on friday the former oil tycoon flew straight to germany after being let out of the russian penal colony following a presidential pardon that's now getting all the details from peter on over who's outside the hotel where hotel confiscate is believed to be staying how the pieces that he was on a plank bed just yesterday today he's in a luxury hotel so things change pretty fast. they do indeed because of what a called ski has spent his first night. of freedom in over ten years he spent it we believe in the hotel just behind me the the high end hotel and along here in central berlin. we also understand from his press service that he's had a meeting on saturday with his son pavel who flew in from new york to see us father also that his mother and father have made their way here to in order to to be with their son. no they arrived we hearing from the german newspapers today which is a term they arrived by a airliner rather than the private jet they brought becau

meets his family in berlin after president clinton pardoned sam on humanitarian grounds. plus the pentagon fails to account for an eight point five trillion dollar black hole in its budget as washington seems unable to rein in defense spending. egypt's ousted president mohamed morsi faces new charges this time over a twenty eleven jailbreak while his supporters of all ages are being thrown behind bars. the first time in my life that the child is locked up in the military prison for having a real look at all r t follows a story of an egyptian schoolboy who was sent to prison over his show of support for the country's deposed leader. thanks for tuning in this hour it's five am here in the russian capital catherine of and thanks for joining me on r.t. international well to our top story now. has been reunited with his family in the german capital he was greeted he greeted his parents outside the hotel where he is currently staying the former oil magnate arrived in berlin just hours after his release from a russian jail following president putin's pardon artie's peter all of

from a place in berlin that would symbolize the border between east and west. he also said he had no plans to enter the political arena. well as crossover not to detail means political correspondent shiny i was at a checkpoint charlie and attended the press conference simon. how did he strike you well michelle could've caused field remarkably composed into a tizzy made his first appearance in from the wells media posted ten harrowing news day in rush's prisons and today he said it's too early to speak about say he's plans immediately wants to spend time with his family know of course his mother is said has been receiving medical treatment here in belize. he hinted that he was beginning to back back to russia anytime soon although in most cases these very welcome tuesday that he said that he feared that he might need might not be free to leave again. that immediately as soon as a little bit concerned as human as you might expect it to somebody in his position. at this time the other interesting detail he states that he only found out that the very last min it's

from behind bars to berlin former russian tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky is in germany looking forward to being reality with his family following his pardon i'm released from prison. defense as a price eight and a half trillion dollars goes on a kind and for less than two decades as part of the effort to keep the pentagon running. and friday prayers turned violent in egypt as police just supporters of president he was protesting against the law restricting demonstrations. are welcome it's nice to have you company you watching. international just hours after being released from prison mikhail khodorkovsky is back in the lap of luxury for more oil tycoon was one of russia's richest men before being jailed a decade ago but following his presidential pardon he jumped on a private jet flew to bird lane and is now in a five star hotel all correspondents are following the story in russia randi let's cross live peter oliver and lindsey france first to you paint he's in you're outside the five star hotel where he's believed to be staying right now who is picking up the bill for this extravagant ta

at the upper class hotel the aren't a lot hotel not far from the brandenburg gate in central berlin though the reason we believe that he's there is because former german foreign minister hans dietrich again sure was seen leaving that hotel to go and give a statement to german television now missed again sure has it seems been instrumental in bringing mikhail khodorkovsky here to lynn and he has to have done a lot of work prior to him arriving here in fact he met me at the airport and help him achieve a receive a visa for one year to allow him to stay inside the shamed end zone now the fact that we saw is to ensure leaving the hotel and he was in the same convoy of cars well that leads us to believe that mr hart of course he remains inside that central berlin hotel now in that interview that mr game should give to german television station he said that. he was very grateful to the mercy of blood amir putin for granting him his pardon now that echo statements that had been released by one of mr holocaust the spokespeople through a an open letter and witchy thanked president putin for

>> welcome to the "journal" coming to you live from dw here in berlin. >> here's what's coming up on the show -- doctors report signs of slight improvement in formula one legend michael schumacher's condition. >> israel releases 26 palestinian prisoners as the u.s. readies another push on peace talks. >> celebrations kickoff as the world starts to ring in 2014. >> he's a man who has overcome the odds many times in his life, and now there are at least tentative signs that michael schumacher may be doing it again. >> doctors say that the retired formula one champion is showing some slight improvement following a brain injury. they are still monitoring his condition closely. the next few hours will be critical. >> our correspondent is in france where he's being treated. we will get the latest from her fter this report. >> michael schumacher has undergone further surgery as doctors tried to save his life. the motor racing legend's condition is more controlled now, but it is still too early to say what will happen. >> late in the evening, a new brain scan was carried out after a temporary

we know that his mother plans to get to berlin as soon as possible in fact we just spoke with her about her travel plans. for when we're on which flight i still don't have the tickets i just got up i hope we will meet today. now marina. his mother is is in failing health and in fact that situation was cited by president putin as one of the reasons he decided to consider clemency in this case. his. daughter also released a statement to the press in which she she said that for the first time in ten years she got used to living in a reality where her dad was in prison and to realize that she'll be able to see him every day is just on real so it was a very rapid fire succession of how things took place when his release was announced in fact some of the family members didn't even know what had happened they were finding out from media reports things happened very quickly when president putin made that announcement after thursday's q. and a with journalists it was less than twenty four hours later that he was on german soil now right now he is at the ad one hotel in berlin journalists of cour

a papal visit ahead of the orthodox christian church in berlin. and a stormy start to the festive season for western europe with severe weather and flooding. the conflict is escalating in south sudan. the united nations says it fears thousands of people have died in over a week of fighting between rival groups. >> the violence has spread through half the country displacing up to 80,000 people. there are also reports of a mass grave with 75 bodies in the rebel held town. >> they are expected to vote on boosting the number of peacekeepers on the ground as the fighting spirals out of control. >> 7000 troops are in south sudan to protect the civilian population. >> the united states is one of many council members that fully supports this proposal. we are eager to work with contributing countries to make sure the mission has the assets and resources it needs to fulfill its mandate. >> the former vice president says he is open to talks. a power struggle has divided the country. the sectarian violence has uprooted more than 80,000 people. 20,000 of them

is getting ready to meet the press after finally being reunited with his family in berlin following his surprise release from prison. also this week ages civilians are executed by islamist rebels in syria while western nations signal upcoming peace talks might not need assad's removal after all. under a big bond deal for ukraine russia agrees to buy fifteen billion dollars of its debt and slash the price of gas which kiev hails as its rescue from bankruptcy. the latest news and the week's top stories you're watching the weekly on our scene to national with me. and welcome to the progress. and in less than an hour. to give his first press conference since he was released from jail after ten years behind bars the money has russia's most high profile prisoner is now in berlin where he was reunited with his parents and his son on saturday he's piece on of ice following events for us. he has given a few short interviews and what we've learned from those interviews that he's given is that he has no intention according to he says he has no intention to enter politics or he has and he has no in

i have been in berlin. it was a reason that khodorkovsky had wanted to fly there is soon as possible in fact she has as far as we know at this point is still at her home just outside of moscow now she had recently sought cancer treatment in germany and in fact her failing health was one reason that president putin cited in considering this clemency now we spoke with her earlier today about her travel plans. for when we're on which flight i still don't have the tickets i hope we will meet today you know his daughter anastasio had also spoken to the media of expressing her surprise she says in the last ten years i got used to living in a reality where my dad is in prison to realize and accept that i'll be able to see him every day is unreal so the family including the son who was just recently residing in new york the family has all sort of converging on berlin on that hotel where all the journalists are camped out and in very rapid succession russia's most famous former tycoon went from being in prison to be

be reunited with his family mikhail khodorkovsky was released from a penal colony and arrived in berlin late on friday following a bombshell pardon by president putin let's get more details now from our teams in the france lindsay obviously he must be looking forward to seeing his family how soon will that happen do you think well very soon indeed and do we know that his mother plans to get to berlin as soon as possible in fact we just spoke with her about her travel plans. i don't know when we're on which flights i still don't have the tickets i just got up i hope we will meet today. now marina. his mother is is in failing health and in fact that situation was cited by president putin as one of the reasons he decided to consider clemency in this case. his. daughter also released a statement to the press in which she she said that for the first time in ten years since she got used to living in a reality where her dad was in prison and to realize that she'll be able to see him every day is just unreal so it was a very rapid fire succession of how things took place when his release was an

we haled holocaust he has not his son in berlin former oil tycoon flu strain to germany after being let out of a russian penal colony on friday following a presidential pardon all the details from. his own side of house how well he is believed to be staying high that he says so things are changing pretty quickly for me. yes i'm so just outside the hotel where we believe macau how to spend his excuse me where mikael khodorkovsky spent his first night of freedom in ten years. from his own press service in a statement that they released we understand that he has already had a meeting with his son pavel who flew from new york to to be reunited with his father and that he hopes to be soon able to meet with his mother and father who are who have been in russia now his mother has spent rather a lot of time here in berlin she's been receiving treatment for cancer here at a city hospital and it was that the illness and the state of health of his mother that led to mikhail khodorkovsky having his petition for a pardon being granted on humanitarian grounds so he hopes to be reunited with his with

a press conference here in berlin at the berlin wall museum on sunday perhaps will get some more insight into what he intends to do in the future from that press conference one thing we do expect him to say that. conference's. former german foreign minister. now it seems that mystic and she was instrumental in bringing. in he supply the private jet that flew him from russia to germany it seems he also played a big role in obtaining a visa for his daughter called short notice to allow him to be here german chancellor angela merkel said that she welcomed. germany and that she thanked the she trying times dietrich genscher for the work that he did in bringing a bit. german government for the work that they've done behind the scenes to ensure that because the cops he could come here to germany so that's how it stands at the moment will be waiting to find out what he says on sunday about any of his real future plans and the western wild has been debased lines behind me. but politician from the us skeptic. germany possibly if there's no hidden agenda in president putin's pardon the people of g

david tweed has more from berlin. merkel comes out in a nice position but in some ways the spd does as well. run is through what post they got. comes ony merkel strong. uble, it was my guaranteed he would get the post but he certainly gets it. he is, after all, the seco- most popular politician in germany after angela merkel. the other one to watch is sigmund gabrielle, the chairman of the spd. he has reinforced his position as leader of the spd party. he becomes the vice chancellor but he also gets a very interesting ministry because they will be felt the economy ministry and also give him the portfolio for the whole transition from nuclear power to renewable energy. that is some of the key policy initiatives of this government. that is a very strong position for him. the other interesting to look member whoa cdu moves from labor ministry and takes over defense ministry. a very tricky ministry. things can go wrong. but she is being dubbed as the crown princess of german politics. if angela merkel were to step down, s

>> yeah, not just berlin. in germany, but all of this was happening in a museum at checkpoint charlie. i was astounded this press conference took place at there. i asked him about it. he said these people were very helpful to me. they have an exhibit celebrating khodorovsky and paying tribute to his time in prison. he played down the idea were in the cold war anti-was some type of component of it. we have david tweed with us now. our expert in berlin to talk about this. this is a big success for angela merkel. >> i thought it was interesting that khodorovsky said in his news conference yesterday that he had to thank angela merkel. it was yesterday he became aware of our involvement in the negotiations which went for 2.5 years. amount of timey going into the negotiations. it shows the success angela merkel can do when she was her power behind a position on like this. negotiation is 86 years old. he was a forest minister -- foreign minister in germany and resigned in 1992 when of the wall was coming down. he was

no sooner has a new leader in paris or berlin been sworn in. across the rhine for dinner and updates. which is the swearing in thursday's eu summit in brussels on the merkel is impacts merkel three you might say reelected twice. this time with a huge forty two percent of votes short of an outright majority back in a grand coalition with the opposition social democrats seen this in two thousand. will gauge how much time to change this because last row because they are france's socialist president and hope for you the relationship with her with europe can help restore this is the new rules on state governments from having to write blank checks every time this message bank faces collapse. more broadly. we'll see how paris berlin and the growing power imbalance between germany and the rest of the car today in the false been kept and eight germany's plan for europe and with us to talk about it from berlin shocking danish former adviser to home and called german ambassador as well to nato thank you for for being with us here in the studio. it's hyste

now will be in berlin to bring that to you so you do join us here in r.t. or of course on our website r.t. dot com to see what he has to say. other news now the pentagon is secured a six hundred thirty billion dollars budget for next year even though it's failed to account for the money it has received since one thousand nine hundred six and whopping eight and a half trillion dollars of taxpayers' cash has gone to defense programs none of which has been audited the so-called black budget as part concerns over potential fraud has gone to church can now reports. the pentagon is almost certainly the biggest source of waste in the u.s. government of reuters investigation says since one thousand nine hundred ninety six the pentagon has spent eight point five trillion dollars in taxpayer money that has never been accounted for and nobody can say for sure how many billions of that amount were wasted on goods and services that were never delivered on over payments to contractors and many other things what does congress do about it nothing and national security expe

a giant menorah was also lived in berlin at the brandenburg gate. the holiday commemorates the rededication of the temple and solution -- in jerusalem. police, ito jewish was only enough oil to give flight for one day but miraculously, it lasted for eight. >> a comment that would delight people -- nasa released these images of the comet disappearing behind the sun. but it failed to reemerge on the other side, leading scientists to believe the two kilometer wide chunk of ice roca part. , was the lead to be 4.5 billion years old and was discovered by a russian telescope last year. astronomers are hoping they will be able to study the debris to learn more about the makeup of the universe. >> and eu summit with former soviet countries and on friday, falling short of the goal of signing an agreement with ukraine. the president said he was unhappy with the terms and rejected the pact. eu leaders accused moscow of trying to steer ukraine's foreign policy. >> we have a partnership with russia and that does not mean when we are dealing with another country w

>> welcome to the journal from dw in berlin. our headlines, germany's new cabinet is unveiled after almost three months after the federal election. south africa holds the state funeral for nelson mandela. hundreds of thousands are back on the streets of the ukraine capital of kiev for pro and antigovernment rallies. >> here in germany the lineup is set for chancellor angela merkel's new cabinet. in berlin the chancellor announced her picks to lead the ministers assign the. one is set to take over defense ministry that will make her the first female minister in german history to oversee the military. her predecessor will be interior minister and the finance minister will remain the same. six of the 14 cabinet posts beyond the chance colorry will be occupied by social democrats. two of them served in the cabinet under merkel during the last grand coalition that ended in 2009. for the others this marks their debut in the federal government. >> the day after the rank and file endorsed the coalition deal party leaders announced the n

mikhail khodorkovsky is getting ready to meet the press after finally being reunited with his family in berlin following his surprise release from prison. also this week eighty seven ians are executed by islamic rebels in syria while western nations signal upcoming peace talks might not need a sad removal after all. and a big deal for ukraine russia agrees to buy fifteen billion dollars of its debt and slash the price of gas which kiev hails it fresh from bankruptcy. and i welcome you watching a weekly here on r.t. intensional. now in a few hours mikhail khodorkovsky is set to give his first press conference since he was released from jail after ten years behind bars the man who was russia's most high profile prisoner is now in berlin where he was reunited with his parents and on saturday parties peter oliver has been watching the scene at the five star hotel where the ex thai king is stay. because of course he spent his first full day of freedom in ten years here. and the other lot hotel just behind me though he met with his son pavel who flew from new york at order to. be with his father thr

he was taken by surprise then found himself coming here to berlin. he said he wanted to fight for the freedom of those other political prisoners and he was also asked about going back to russia. and this is what he had to say: >> translator: mr. peskov press secretary to the russian president, said that nobody prevents me from returning to russia at any time. fortunately today, i don't have guarantees after this, i will be able to fly where i want for different reasons. >> so emma, he said he did not see politics in his future, but he did seem to express an interest in still wanting to use the political clout that he has, if you will. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. i mean mikhail khodorkovsky has become such a figure head over the last ten years it's unlikely we'll see him sprear from view altogether. i think he said the political struggle was not for him. what he'll do over the coming days, the coming weeks, the coming months, we do know he has a year belong visa to spend in germ are any but for the short term his priority will be spending time with

over berlin. he just wasn't going to do. cuban missile in something else. and now the berlin wall. and willy brandt writes in the letter i just going to sit there? are you going to let us be divided like this? are you going to let our freedom be taken? kennedy writes a very brilliant albeit wishy-washy noncommittal letter in which he is telling him that we will increase the troops, we will go into deeper negotiations, blah, blah, blah. but we ain't going to war, very clear. willy brandt is not amused, and then kennedy goes to berlin and he stands there and it may be as greatest speech of all. there is no way to measure the impact of that speech around the world. kennedy -- no way to measure the impact on them. he finishes his speech, he turns to bobby and he says, we would never have a better day in our lives than this one. you know? thank god, the microphones pick it up. that's a great question, thank you. what both cbs and the bbc, i'm sure our friends at c-span would add, is his anti, is he still regarded that way? polls are polls but man, do i read polls, and every poll i read

yes i hope you can hear me well the latest that we're getting here in berlin is from the reuters news agency reporting. quoting a girl in a police official who has said that yes he is heading here to berlin now that's just come to me in the and the last few moments we're also hearing reports that his his family his mother and others are heading here will be heading here they'll be coming tomorrow on saturday they'll be taking off from moscow to come if that's the latest the very latest that's just come through now open till this moment because of course he had been leading journalists on a a merry dance to find out where exactly he was going to be going it does seem that now is germany and right here to berlin it always seems like the most realistic option because his his mother has been being treated for cancer right here in the the german capital also chancellor angela merkel being quite vocal after the the announcement was made that president vladimir putin would be giving a pardon to specie said it was something that she'd followed for quite a while and that she was glad that was

it's just outside of berlin where the berlin seals, that's what the group is called, takes their yearlyn one of these lakes. now it's one of those things where they bear the temperature right today it was a warm day. it was 45 degrees. but if you know berlin it can be much worse. i don't know how long they stayed in here it is every year. they do it no matter how much ice is on the lake. here in the united states it has been much colder than it has been in berlin. temperatures have been quite cold. we all saw those temperatures across ontario. we saw the wave push through. what is going to be left behind is this right now. fargo at 14. tomorrow morning the temperatures are dipping back down to single digits right here. wind chills are going to feel below zero there. chicago, you're going to wake up to 14 degrees there. big problem towards california? we've been talking about the santa anna winds, we're looking at fire warnings in the area. we expect those temperatures to stay in place for at least the next several days. merry christmas, and that's a look at your national weather. >> thi