political stability in kazakhstan. it also will draw in tourists who will come to watch the asian games. and ithink this is a very big event for kazakhstan, moreover previously the asian games were only hostedinouth korea, japan and china. >>reporter: held across 2 major cities the government has invested $1.5 billion in preparing for the games, building new sporting facilities & improving the infrastructure which will cater to around 10,000 extra tourists expected for a week at the end of january. >>pashkovski: the asian winter games will leave an important legacy in the form of sports facilities. victory in the games will also attract more pple to the sports. and that is the most important legacy. >>reporter: with state-of-the-art facilities, including the 2nd largest ice-skating rink and one of the best ski-jumping facilities in the world, kazakh athletes won't have to travel to expensive european training facilities in the future. >>russell: kazakhstan might not be well known internationally for its sporting achiev

political stability in kazakhstan. it also will draw in tourists who will come to watch the asian games. and ithink this is a very big event for kazakhstan, moreover previously the asian games were only hostedin south korea, japan and china. >>reporter: held across 2 major cities the government has invested $1.5 billion in preparing for the games, building new sporting facilities & improving the infrastructure which will cater to around 10,000 extra tourists expected for a week at the end of january. >>pashkovski: the asian winter games will leave an important legacy in the form of sports facilities. victory in the games will also attract more people to the sports. and that is the most important legacy. >>reporter: with state-of-the-art facilities, including the 2nd largest ice-skating rink and one of the best ski-jumping facilities in the world, kazakh athletes won't have to travel to expensive european training facilities in the future. >>russell: kazakhstan might not be well known internationally for its sporting ac

ok artes and how to not have a from the overseas summit in kazakhstan thank you for. now for a look at some other major headlines from around the world this hour. interpol has put wiki leaks founder julian assange on its most wanted list it says swedish authorities want to question him over a sex offense which he did not dismiss it as part of a smear campaign the red notice as it's known is not an arrest warrant but asks people to contact the police if they know his whereabouts. former computer hacker is at the center of a global controversy after leaking classified u.s. diplomatic cables. flash floods and landslides caused by torrential rain in venezuela claimed at least twenty one lives a severe weather has also forced more than five thousand others to leave their homes the military has been dispatched to rescue efforts after a state of emergency was declared in effect region's unusually heavy rains which will continue past the end of the wet season affecting tens of thousands of people . stay with us for the business news coming up say. hello welcome to our busines

russia and the european security group fifty six member states of the a west c e have gathered in kazakhstan for its first top level summit in more than a decade their russian president dmitry medvedev is pushing for a new security treaty for europe and it's ready to resolve differences over conventional arms on the continent r.t. is not on the recovery has more from a stunner. president it has sad that. our vision for security and cooperation in europe is currently seriously outdated indeed the last hour see summit took place eleven years ago and a lot has changed in relations between russia and or c. in the past eleven years relations have been severely damaged during the hears of bush administration and russia had to pull out souls agreements on conventional arms in europe because all of the u.s. plans to deploy its missile defense shield in europe and russian president has said that there's a need to modernize always seen of course because of the reset relations between russia and the united states as well as recently during his annual address to the nation russian president has said tha

cancel world taxes for belarus after creating a single economic zone between russia belarus and kazakhstan and if president lukashenko had any doubts left about this this seemed to have been the final argument to convince him and today and in his journey he promised that the others would ratify the package of the documents needed for creating a single economic zone by as soon as first of january next year which is in less than a month and all three countries together with the overall population of one hundred and seventy million people will make up for eighty percent of the economic power the usus are used to have and to three leaders today have said that other countries are in some welcome to join and this is the next step towards deeper called ration between these three countries of course they face a number of difficulties while working on this package of documents as it was done in such a short period of time right after reaching the customs union the similar difficulties that european leaders were facing more and creating with the e.u. but so this really matters today have said that's

of the rocket blast off of the cosmodrome in kazakhstan. to catch the action in a couple of minutes here on r.t. . this week saw another spate of unrest in street protests across europe amid government attempts to tackle the economic woes at an east summit in brussels a permanent fund was agreed upon to bail out euro zone countries that are at risk of bankruptcy thousands of people continue to take to the streets all over europe protesting against tough spending cuts and other general strike in greece caused public transport disruption and closed schools and banks and court demonstrations were staged by trade unions all across the continent from the czech republic to spain probably olds the director of the euro skeptic bridge group says the new fund will not solve the euro zone's problem. it's a short term measure to for the markets but it will not solve the underlying problems that are causing these massive debts within these countries which is the euro they hope that so we attempting to solve the greek debt crisis would stave off contagio

very difficult to supply those all replicated domestically the presidents of russia belarus and kazakhstan are holding talks in moscow on thursday to cement the legislative base of the trilateral customs union and a single economic space artie's correspondent has the latest. today washout how sad it will cancel the world taxes for belarus after creating a single economic zone between russia belarus and kazakhstan and if president lukashenko had any doubts left about this this seems to have been the final argument to convince him on tuesday night in his turn he promised that belarus will ratify the package of the documents needed for creating a single economic zone by as soon as first of january next year which is in less than a month and all three countries together with the overall population of one hundred and seventy million people will make up for eighty percent of the economic power of the uses are used to happen and the three leaders today have said that other countries are in some welcome to join in this is the next step towards deeper corporation between these three countries of co

baikonur kazakhstan now people fly into orbit and back every year few months nowadays so r.t. looks back at how it all began you can watch our special report about the first man in space yuri gagarin in just over ten minutes time. chosen from among many. he was given a clear cut mission. a mission he successfully accomplished. and became the first ever man in outer space. hero of the soviet union one of the best known persons in the whole world. all his thoughts were focused on flights to could he ever think that his life's work would cost him his life. what happened in those few seconds. and what secrets these sealed barrels still hold. keurig are in. place. well russia or is hosting separate talks with the north and south korean representatives resuming the six party negotiations over tensions on the korean peninsula moscow is one of the most vocal advocates for a peaceful solution to the current crisis on tuesday foreign minister sort of a laugh it off and his north korean counterpart agreed that the turmoil must be resolved through diplomatic means only john yang also welc

baikonur kazakhstan. with people flying into orbit and back every few months now see back at how it all began you can watch our special report about the first man in space that's later today. chosen from among many. he was given a clear cut mission. a mission he successfully accomplished. became the first ever in outer space. to slowly jr one of the best known persons in the world. his thoughts were focused on flight . could he ever think that his life's work would cost him his life. what happened in those few seconds. and what secrets these sealed barrels still hold. your regard. and that's coming up a little bit later here on r.t. today now we're coming to you live from moscow let's check out some other headlines from around the world this hour and thirty eight people have been sixty wounded in a suicide blast at the mosque in southeastern iran and local officials stated that a second the suicide bomber was arrested before he could detonate his explosive vest it comes a day before a major religious holi

the rocket blast off from the cosmodrome in kazakhstan to catch the action in a couple of minutes from now here on our team. this week saw another spate of rest and street protests across europe amid government attempts to tackle the economic woes at an e.u. summit in brussels a permanent fund that was agreed to bail out euro zone countries that are at risk of bankruptcy thousands of people continue to take to the streets all over europe protesting tough spending cuts and other general strike you greece cause public transport disruption and close schools banks and courts demonstrations were staged by trade unions all across the continent france luxembourg belgium the czech republic and spain danish member of the european parliament mr schmidt believes the current crisis shows the euro is a failed concept. the euro as a construction has created this problem because it has destroyed the southern europeans countries competitiveness and the bailout now is just prolonging and thereby creating an even bigger problem because the dept will just grow and grow in this you know the eurozone is re

the rocket blast from the cosmodrome in kazakhstan. when he casually action in a couple of minutes here on t.v. . but first this week's or another spate of unrest and street protests across europe amid government attempts to tackle the economic issues i didn't see you summit in brussels a permanent fund was agreed upon to bail out euro zone countries that are at risk of bankruptcy thousands of people continue to take to the streets all over europe protesting against tough spending cuts and of a general strike in greece schools public transport disruption and close schools banks and courts and stations were staged by trade unions all across the continent from the czech republic to spain one of the countries was hit by the crisis has already had to apply for plano. musician turned political activist jim kor from the band of course believes his home country needs to abandon the euro. what we're actually experiencing here i believe is a top down engineer financial crash an implosion of the world economy by design designed so as to affect a

while the rocket blast off from the cosmodrome in kazakhstan. the action in a couple of minutes here or not see also. bring in a century old christmas tree to light up the heart of moscow but in the festive mood here and also interesting in that. the u.n. security council is holding an emergency meeting at russia's request to address escalating tension on the korean peninsula moscow's concerns come as south korea announced new military exercises along a disputed maritime border north korea attacks the south last month in response to similar naval maneuvers russia and china both called on south korea to cancel the exercises while the u.s. has condemned the repeated north korean aggression four people were killed in last month's northern office hillary assault on a south korean island but this time pyongyang warns it will strike even harder the security council has drafted a resolution calling on the parties involved to avoid any steps that will worsen the tensions in the region and all working on a. an old fashioned political analyst average of f

domino scene by you know as the southeast twenty rocket blasts off from the cosmodrome in kazakhstan sending them a trick on the once you have paolo nespoli and catherine coleman off to the international space station. all right now in just a few moments we'll discuss whether a palestinian state can be established without a deal with israel that's in our exclusive interview but for the meantime i'll be back with our top stories in just a moment. the official placation. i pod touch from the. life on the. video. all t's mine gold coast's an r.s.s. feeds now in the palm of your. question on the dot com. this week with. people the. first time the opposition has been given a time in the country. and in other news this week thousands of europeans are. across the continent while politicians struggle to slash their. leaders agreed to. eurozone economies. security forces are on high alert here in moscow. involving russian nationalist groups. and people in the past three days. and that nationalism is a. prime minister just some of the issues brought up by the. e.u. has been lost to the west ba

clinton was attending a meeting of the organization for security and cooperation in europe in the kazakhstan capital on wednesday. she later told reporters that the participants there agreed that despite the document leaks, the u.s. would continue to play an important role in the international community. clinton added that it is natural for foreign governments to raise questions about the leaks and pledged to offer a satisfactory explanation. >>> in washington, state department spokesperson phillip crowley said the u.s. government is investigating the leaks as a criminal matter. he said the government will continue to review security procedures to make sure that this does not happen again. the leaking of classified documents the whistleblowing website wikileaks is drawing mixed reactions. some say the site supports the public's right to know while critics warn that secret information is being leaked at the discretion of one individual. since its foundation four years ago, wikileaks has repeatedly published internal documents and video footage considered classified by the u.s. military. this

the delegates are gathering for this meeting of the osce in kazakhstan. those are live pictures coming to us. this is "bbc news." britain's big chill continues, with disruption to roads, rail, and car trouble. -- and air travel. opposition groups in egypt have described the result of sunday's parliamentary elections as fraudulent. the one a handful of seats. -- they won a handful of seats. >> and the opposition supporters ransacked a polling station. this mobile phone footage was just emerged. like most footage, it is impossible to prove its authenticity. but it matches eyewitness reports from sunday's egyptian elections. over the balcony go ballot boxes. the boats are destroyed. -- votes are destroyed. more put it appears to show but intriguing. two men are busy putting marks on ballot papers. others take them away to put them in the box in what looks like a procedure very familiar. it is impossible to authenticate, but many witnesses described polling stations on sunday with ballot boxes already stuffed full of ballots. the opposition, the muslim brothe

warnings where she did it so what we have now is twenty five million compatriots from russia in kazakhstan. and other places and they're still barely treated in russia and here wrote about it. he wrote about the system of education we will lose several generations he wrote and we did land ownership elections he wrote on so many topics but things do not improve only get worse and make no headway that the article was not read by the government but people did read it at least twenty seven million copies of it were stalled in the come some of the newspaper published by the way here. in the media was later it's not phone porton at that time it was like a bomb you could see people read meat everywhere the newspapers editors called us environment and told us that within a week they got two thousand letters and they planned to publish several letters in every issue. of discussion they published six letters and then another six and that was all because going to stop it and there was no discussion i was later trying to get those tax with letters but there was a fire in the office and they were all l

as the saudis say rocket blasts off from the cosmodrome in kazakhstan sending them make. money and katherine coleman off to the international space station. don't forget to look on for website called where you can see the new land again if you like there are also plenty more stories for you that. might catch. peter singer dancer an entertainer iranian born of ashes taught me about his international roots and skyrocketing career. and if you told installs can sometimes feel like calories but this time not treat fashion house is going to greet an exhibition here in its own right up until christmas and get the details on that it's. it takes pride of place at the heart of russia's capital over the festive season a century old christmas tree was delivered this week to the kremlin's cathedral square where it. stand tall for the next three weeks this year the tree was blessed by a russian orthodox priest for the first time to be decorated with thousands of russian lights and ornaments christmas trees have been back in use at the kremlin for nearly fifteen years now when president

seventeen years of negotiations at the same time it's already a member of a customs union with kazakhstan butterworth heiress lovers of all that head of research at deutsche bank in russia says the union members will not suffer from russia's action it's not necessarily bad for the future of the customs union if anything this will serve to accelerate russia's efforts to. gain membership in the w t o and once russia is of the w t o this should facilitate the efforts of kazakhstan and to join the w t o so overall this should be a factor that will bring all of the countries of the customs union into the w t o which in turn is again a very important catalyst for the development of this integration group of this customs union. in other news russian businessman alexander lebedev has confirmed he's planning to sell around four percent of air force shares the deal is estimated to be worth one hundred ten million dollars as leverage of sells the forty four million shares in russia's national air carrier shares are to be sold for private placement organized by u.b.s. analysts believe the main reason

as in, secretary of state hillary clinton arriving early this evening in kazakhstan -- >> nice to seelecture and persuade and reassure, and this is just a sampling of the last six months, that many of them now know what was said about them in those cables. you do not want to imagine the awkwardness, actually let's imagine it. it's dinner with secretary clinton as hostess and a table full of guests whose name cards include the comments made about them by invisible u.s. diplomats. so, open some wine for nicolas sarkozy, president of france yes, but also according to a cable, thin skinned and author authoritarian authoritarian. probably want to avoid sitting next to angela merkel that she's rarely creative. let's hope they're serving meat because putin is here, too, and he is russia's alpha dog. afghanistan's hamid karzai may not want to touch the food at all if it's true that he is driven by pairranoia. and just as well that king jong ill will never be invited to eat anything at this table, for he is a flabby old chap. as for libya's moammar gadhafi, maybe he gets a table all to himself

was at the baikonur cosmodrome in kazakhstan for the blast off. over my shoulder you'll be able to see these so used to make twenty rockets that will be blasting off sending cosmonaut the meeting called that out and astronauts apollo nespoli from the european space agency and catherine colgan from nasa into space now this is the product of two years of very intense training and the trio will be spending six months on board the international space station while they're up there they'll be carrying out a number of experiments and continuing the work in space that the international space station carries out now i think we can defy lots of the stuff they have hey i'll let you get on with the. dominoes thing. you know as the star he says to the rocket blasts off from the cosmodrome in kazakhstan sending them make. money and passing coleman off to the international space station. well now don't forget to log on to our web site that's dot com where you can always find many many more stories and here are some of them that my catch on he's a singer dancer

domino thing by you know as the story twenty rocket blasts off from the cosmodrome in kazakhstan sending them a trick on the once you have paolo nespoli and catherine coleman off to the international space station. while it takes pride of place. over the festive season a century old christmas tree was delivered this week to the kremlin's cathedral square. told for the next three weeks this year the tree was blessed by a russian orthodox priest for the first time it will be decorated with thousands of . christmas trees. nearly fifteen years now. the event was accompanied by a theatrical show. and a rabbit the symbol of the coming year according to the chinese. now i will be looking into. the colombian water. all the details coming up. the british. markets. find out what's really happening to the global economy. financial headline news to. bring you the latest in science technology from. india in the movie. the gateway hotel the grand imperial truly. socialist. run this is the kennel was how to treat. the latest headlines on the week's top stories here on. just a few hours remain before po

baikonur kazakhstan. it is now just right now it's running twenty minutes past the hour here in moscow you are with r.t. and from a trillion dollar conflicts to a squandered economy many believe the u.s. is going through its darkest time yet the federal reserve says slow economic growth is to blame for ongoing record high jobless figures but as christina for sol reports the numbers may in fact be mosque being an even harsher reality. the numbers by any stretch are staggering we just got in the government's monthly jobs report it really was a disappointment on all counts hope for some holiday cheer at the end of this long tough year but instead the unemployment rate last month rose to nine point eight percent nine point eight percent is the unemployment rate our various hourly earnings you know changing by some estimates that rate which translates to fifteen million people is actually closer to twenty percent or thirty million people without a job the bureau of labor statistics conducts a survey of househo

security in europe is in the spotlight as the fifty six member states of the gather in kazakhstan for its first top level summit in more than a decade russia says it wants to see reform of the organization for security and cooperation in europe so the group can function properly and we have live pictures here of that session which has started include overcoming disagreements over european conventional arms treaty which russia backed away from three years ago because of america's missile defense plans to retreat medvedev is also pushing his own proposal for better europe wide security. but he's won't go into it with the new treaty we have proposed would be aimed at guaranteeing common security for europe i think everyone who supports it here it's been discussed for two and a half years maybe the stereotypes of the past are still strong and this initiative is ahead of its time but it turned will inevitably come. in the pleasure of the us secretary general said. dmitri medvedev the plans for a new security system in europe are shaking up these talks and you can watch the full interview i

well security in europe is in the spotlight as the fifty six member states of the sea gather in kazakhstan for its first top level silent in more than a decade russia says it wants to see reform of the organization for security and cooperation in europe so the group can function properly with our live pictures here of that summit which has just started the key issues include overcoming disagreements to european conventional arms treaty which russia backed away from three years ago due to u.s. missile defense plans or c. secretary general says dimitri met relatives plans for a new security system in europe have shaken up these talks the interview is in twenty minutes time but i has a preview for you. propose of my present medvedev had one great merit because there were sort of a wake up call that not. everybody was happy with the family of greater europe with a current radiance regarding security a fresh look fresh approach to be given to the issues clearly energized in discussions here recently i think this laid the groundwork for a strong push to cover travel should to have this summit to

go see it by you know as the story stimulates once the rocket blasts off from the coast majola kazakhstan sending the message to become the monster paolo nespoli and katherine coleman of the international space station. it takes pride of place at the heart of russia's capital over the festive season a century old christmas tree was delivered this week to the kremlin's cathedral square where it will stand tall for the next three weeks last year the tree was blessed by a russian orthodox actually b.c. it was blessed by russian orthodox priest for the first time and it will be decorated with thousands of russian tricolor lights and ornaments christmas trees have been back in use of equipment for nearly fifteen years now when president boris yeltsin revived the praver evolutionary tradition since years event was accompanied by a theatrical showing including a visit from father frost and the rabbit the symbol of the coming yet according to the chinese calendar. that was our look at the big stories of the week and i'll be back in just moments. with the headlines. did i kill innocent kids allies

actively developing the west corna project in iraq we have large projects in kazakhstan by john egypt saudi arabia and latin america while dutch shell and gas promptly expand their partnership and explore oil and western siberia and russia's far east along with distribution projects in europe. the companies have not revealed their specific plans they still work together on russia's subtly in island after moscow for shell to cede control of the project in two thousand and seven and favorable terms shell has a twenty seven point five percent stake in a software in project while gas problem has fifty percent plus one share. the government hikes all as for duty this month by four point five percent to over three hundred three dollars per ton the duty on oil produced in siberia will reach one hundred eight rather dollars per ton from current ninety eight point eight dollars per ton. meanwhile russia may postpone its first sale of ruble boss to international investors the euro crisis has led ruble bonds to tumble as investors avoid assets they consider risky russia's also suffer a slow econ

seems like you know as the story still remains once the rocket blasts off from the cosmodrome in kazakhstan sending the make to become the monster paolo nespoli and catherine coleman of the international space station. now it takes pride of place at the heart of russia's capital over the festive season a century old christmas tree was the name of this week to the kremlin's cathedral square where it will stand tall for the next three weeks face here at a creek was blessed by a russian orthodox priest for the first time and it will be take rated with thousands of russian tricolor alliance and ornaments christmas chains have been back and he's had the kremlin for nearly fifteen years now and president boris yeltsin revived the pre-revolutionary tradition is he has event was accompanied finds natural shankly since you visit the frost and the rabbit the symbol of the cabbage and yes cutting to the chinese. and with christmas trees lighting out across the world many a grips with the festive spirit but there are those who view the holiday as a purely commercial event web journalist laurie hoffman

but you know is the story still twenty rocket blasts off from the cosmodrome in kazakhstan sending them a three continents you have paolo nespoli and katherine coleman off to the international space station. what i forgot to log on to our website is on t.v. dot com more stories for you that might catch your eye though at the moment the singer dancer an entertainer. told pti about his international roots and the sky rocketing career. and. can sometimes feel like galleries but this time. next edition here in moscow it's all right up until christmas and you can get the details on that and the other stories we've got. it takes pride of place at the heart of russia's capital over the festive season a century old christmas tree was delivered this week to the kremlin's cathedral square where it will stand tall for the next three weeks this year the tree was blessed by a russian orthodox priest for the first time decorated with thousands of russian lights and ornaments christmas trees have been back in use at the kremlin for nearly fifteen years now when president boris yeltsin revived the revo

theory but you know what is the story behind one of the rocket blasts off from the cosmodrome in kazakhstan sending the military called the monster paolo nespoli and proper and coleman of the international space station. while it takes pride of place at the heart of russia's capital over the festive season a century old christmas tree was delivered this week to the kremlin's cathedral square where it will stand tall for the next three weeks they share the tree was blessed by the russian orthodox priest for the first time and will be decorated with thousands of russian tricolor lights and ornaments christmas trees have been back and the kremlin for nearly fifteen years now when president boris yeltsin provides the pre-revolutionary tradition this year's event was accompanied by a theatrical sharing creating a visit from father frost and a rabbit the symbol of the coming guest according to his time. and with christmas trees lighting up across the world many of grips with the face with the festive spirit but there are those who view the holiday as appear a commercial event and web journalist l

sir the three leaders today have said that's we shall see a single economic zone between russia kazakhstan and belarus boy as early as the first of january two thousand and twelve. let's have a look at the markets now here in russia the board has closed higher on thursday most of the blue chips climbed with energy majors the best performers receive the transoceanic more than half a percent stocks in europe are pointing upwards with dutch chip equipment group s.m.l. up seven percent up from lifting its water booking estimate for the fourth quarter miners are doing well in the footsie with the prisoner all over. and u.s. stocks are high off the unemployment claims dropped to second lowest level this year stocks are trading highest level since september two thousand eight hundred three that u.s. wholesalers rode more than twice as much for a company called soft to me the biggest sales gain and seven months. now a group of french delegates including prime minister francois fiona is in moscow for talks on joint efforts in the economic scientific and technical human terran sectors oxys correspon

bike is the story still twenty rocket blasts off from the cosmodrome in kazakhstan sending the make to become the once you have paolo nespoli and catherine coleman off to the international space station. all right while it takes pride of place at the heart of russia's capital over the festive season a century old christmas tree was delivered this week to the kremlin's cathedral square where it all stands tall for the next three weeks and this year they tree was blessed by a russian orthodox priest for the first time ever be decorated with thousands of russian tricolor lights and ornaments christmas trees have been back in use at the kremlin for nearly fifteen years now when president boris yeltsin revived the pre-revolutionary tradition this year's event was accompanied by a theatrical show including a look at the post under rocket the symbol of the coming get called into the chinese calendar. and with christmas trees lighting out across the world many groups with the festive spirit but there are those who view the holiday as a purely commercial event and web journalist laurie harnesse

russian soyuz spacecraft is headed toward the international space station after blasting off from kazakhstan yesterday. it's carrying an american, a russian, and an italian who are expected to stay at the asf for nearly six months. >>> the government is banning drop-side cribs after more than 30 deaths of cribs. it can create a space for a child to become trapped or strangled. >>> and scientists say they have identified an enbalmed head as belongs to king henry the iv of france. nine months of tests helped i.d. the skull which has disappeared since the french revolution more than 200 years ago. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,467 after falling 19 points yesterday. the s&p dipped 6 points. the nasdaq shed ten. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the knee cake yierk the nikkei"ed up one point but in hong kong the hang seng tumbled. >>> profit takers apparently convinced the recent rally has run its course has moved in late wiping out morning gains. apple has followed the recent pattern. after being significantly hi

as in secretary of state hillary clinton arriving in kazakhstan -- >> how are you? nice to see you!u're so cold! >> reporter: she did not say, you know, i'd rather be home right now. she did not say, when asked by kazak women about the damage caused by the great leak of 2010 -- >> we consider it regrettable that information that was meant to be confidential has been made public. >> reporter: she did not say that it's just plain embarrassing, that now many of the leaders that she has to meet and greet and schmooze and cajole and flatter and lecture and persuade and reassure -- and this is just a sampling of the past six months -- that many of them now know what was said about them in those cables. you do not want to imagine the awkwardness. actually, let's imagine it. it's dinner with secretary clinton as hostess and a table full of guests whose name cards include, in metaphorical invisible ink, comments made about them by invisible u.s. diplomats. so open some wine for nicolas sarkozy. president of france, yes. also, according to a cable from the paris embassy, thin-skinned and auth

. >> united nations security council kazakhstan the mandate of its peacekeeping force -- the united nations security council has extended its mandate of the peacekeeping force. in the ivory coast. our bbc reporter has more from oba zsa zsa on -- from one area. >> they certainly do not want the former colonial power to meddle. this is the man in charge of the security forces. the leader of the young patriots. it is the youth movement that was used as a force in recent years be and he is under u.n. sanctions, as he was accused of inciting mob violence. >> my country as an independent entity. a sovereign country. we do not need to receive orders. we do not need france to put our country under pressure. >> one man was believed to have won last month's election, but his victory was overturned by the council. both men have been elected, leading to clashes. the ivory coast is the largest cocoa producer. many are muslims and came to work in the vital cocoa industry. northerners felt marginalized, and in 2002, rebels were prevented from taking power. there has been tension between the north and sout

while traveling in kazakhstan, secretary clinton addressed her latest concerns over the release. >> iarticularly worry about the human rights activists, the religious leaders, the critics of government who speak to members of our embassy about abuses in their own country, whose name may either be in a reporting cable or who may be identifiable because of the description of the person. >> and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america -- in florida, police are looking for two armed men who robbed a local walgreen's pharmacy. one of the men forced two employees into the back office and demanded they open the safe while his accomplice waited out front. a third employee, unaware of the robbery, came into view, but ran away. the man got away with an unknown amount of cash. fortunately, no one was hurt. >>> a new jersey transit light rail operator has been suspended indefinitely without pay after a passenger shot video of the employee texting while driving. officials say it's a clear rule violation, and it's against the law. the passenger said it's not the on

. >> he has agreed to create a free-trade zone with russia and kazakhstan that starting in 2012, while at the same time wooing the west with promises of greater openness. this delicate balancing act may be to kp the country from collapsing and keep himself in power. >>> security is extremely tight ahead of sunday's polls. police have been put on standby. he has warned against any protests and said he was prepared to take swift and vigorous action against demonstrators. he has also kept a firm grip on the media that has slammed the opposition as incompetent and dangerous. despite the intimidation, nine opposition candidates are taking part in the election. we met up with one of them and got this report. >> remote villages and winter landscapes. we have joined this opposition candidate who campaigns for the presidency. a former diplomat, he became active in politics a few years ago. now he is challenging the incumbent. >> the times are ripe for a change, for an end to dictatorship. i am running because i can tell that a lot of people support my candidacy. >> 7 8 kilometers north of the c