hour the latest in our special feature series really focusing on two thousand and eleven artie's sean thomas this time. talking about the extreme grief and pain he witnessed while covering the jaroslav a plane crash that killed the entire lokomotiv hockey team. i remember we were out of the scene and it was pouring down rain it was in the middle of the day we saw this one player in new jersey walking with two of his friends in this moment of shock in this very rare and very well moment that was very special that he shared some of his feelings and his thoughts with us in a time when he was just processing what was going on. with this is. to history in the making. testimony. ten stories that shapes two thousand and seven on our t.v. . the iraqi government is plunging deeper into crisis with leaders in gauging in a blame game after a wave of bombings that rocked the country thursday the atrocity comes only a few days after the pullout of u.s. troops it was the worst attack in months at least seventy two people killed nearly two hundred injured in a series of blasts across the capital crisis tal

a locomotive hockey team in russia sean thomas shares some of his thoughts and memories that didn't make it into his previous reports. you were hearing it on the radio in fact and. it was just. it was much bigger. as you got to. the personal connection. to the team. there was anger there was a frustration. there were tears. and the outpouring of support from everyone in the. picture. and stuffed animals and light candles in front of the stadium. it was just amazing to see such an outpouring of support. every season and. scene when it was pouring down rain it was in the middle of the day my classes were just. thousands of people came. walking with two of his friends. shock in this very. very special that he shared some of his feelings and his thoughts with us when he was just processing what was going on. the entire community rallied around this team and speaking to the individual members of the community the fans the people who really felt like they knew. the most serious loss of my life like losing family. they were like family they all had something to say and they all. internalised th

right now in a region in which america's reputation lies and friends in the eyes of many in iraq sean thomas r.t. . thanks for the impact of long wars on returning soldiers our website parks. dot com u.s. troops coming back from conflict zones could face their toughest battles yet with suicide now killing more servicemen and women than anime boards. also online three cars minutes completed their journey to the stars is russia so is rocket successfully dogs for the international space station bringing in new crew members details on r.t. dot com. now let's take a look at some other stories from around the world barack obama has greeted the approval of a short term tax cut extension by congress by asking for another extension the president said the move was a vague or break moment for the american middle class after he managed to overcome republican opposition for a landmark victory a conference committee will try to sew up a year long deal after the holiday season the bills will extend payroll tax cuts and jobless benefits for millions of unemployed into the new year. the cuban government is s

the largest oil reserves in the world won't be enough to pay for the peace erakat want artie's sean thomas investigates what that means for the reputation of the u.s. in the region and beyond. packing up to head home it may be easy to overlook the total costs of war at least one hundred or two thousand iraqi civilians killed as well as thousand american soldiers millions displaced from their homes not to mention a one trillion dollars financial burden still the former occupiers leave behind some words of encouragement. i can say that with confidence that in the next twenty or fifty years iraq will leader here in the in the gulf region that rivals any country inside of the gulf region i think that iraq now is a safe and secure environment it's not a safe and secure is as it should be or it will be but it's progressing very well the american occupation of iraq saw the fall of the baathist regime the capture and execution of deposed leader saddam hussein and the implementation of a democratic government but now nearly nine years later these are the country better off well it is our that they

right now in a region in which america's reputation lies and friends in the eyes of many in iraq sean thomas r t. so twenty twelve is almost here and is said to be the year of the presidential election as the us russia france and south korea will all go to the polls with millions yet to make their choice the question is what makes a good modern day leader new york resident laurie oftenest gauge depayin on the streets of the big apple. important elections will be held in many countries in two thousand and twelve what's it going to take to be a good leader in today's world this week let's talk about that what do you think is the most important quality for a world leader to have right now just empathy for what's going on right now just the inability to be able to be flexible just with the american people the people the world and a lot of patience i equate intelligence with humor. i mean say oh yeah a quick mind do you think that sense of humor would be appealing in a world leader think it's an international way of speaking you know everybody gets it and everybody likes it that circumstances are

and i don't leaving iraqis in a position of continued reliance on american resources in baghdad sean thomas or to . the founder of the future of freedom foundation take a poor murderer told r.t. that iraq is will never put up with a regime brought into power by invaders and this nine year war and occupation has been an absolute disaster you killed a countless number of people with this invasion occupation you've got us regime that is dictatorial in every sense of the word there incarcerating people without trial holding that man definitely i mean it's part of a dictatorship that just happens to be democratically elected and there's people there that are never going to accept a regime that came into existence compliments of a foreign empire that went in there invaded it without any cause and then what happens with it if iraq decides to go totally independent and oppose the u.s. government up then what happens with all those arms is just another recipe for a giant mess. well r.t. has spoken to a former ambassador to iraq his thinks the u.s. withdrawing troops from the country does not mean a

on solid new leadership it's hoping to bury its bloody past in iraq while turning a buck or two sean thomas reports. as u.s. troops leave iraq and official operations and here in the country this opens the door for private contractors to come in to help rebuild the infrastructure companies construction companies all of those companies are going to need their own security as well and one of the companies that wants a piece of that is. a controversial name blackwater they are trying to come back under a different name known as academy right of course is infamous for the two thousand and seven massacre at nice or square known as the nice or square massacre where seventeen civilians were killed after this incident the iraqi government suspended their business license to do business in the country of iraq after the tried to reinvent themselves and come back under the guise of services and now it looks like the company is trying to reinvent themselves again so that they can get a piece of this contracting by this time under the name of academy the new c.e.o. of the company ted right in an intervi

also the hat for you are a tease sean thomas remembers a plane crash that wiped out the entire jaroslava locomotive hockey team he looks back at the tragedy in our special series on the last twelve months. there was anger there was frustration there was sadness there were tears. and the outpouring of support from everyone in the town coming to place flowers and pictures and jerseys and stuffed animals and light candles in front of the stadium where the locomotive practiced it was just amazing to see such an outpouring of support. witnesses. to history in the making. testimony. ten stories that shapes two thousand and eleven on our t.v. . turkey is recalling is a massacre in france after the lower house of the french parliament passed a law making it a crime to deny the genocide of armenians in turkey in the early twentieth century if approved by the senate offenders could face a year in prison and fines of forty five thousand euro hundreds of french turks have been protesting in front of the national assembly in paris more than fifteen countries have recognized the slaughter of around on

a locomotive hockey team in russia sean thomas shares some of his thoughts and memories that didn't make it into his previous reports. you were hearing it on the radio in fact in the taxi on the way to work you know they were they were listening to it you know everybody was it was just hitting them the gravity of what happened but. this was much bigger than a plane crash it was much bigger than russia it was a worldwide event. as you got to jaroslava you felt that the personal connection of everyone in the town to the team. there was anger there was frustration there was sadness there were tears. and the outpouring of support from everyone in the town coming to place flowers and pictures and jerseys and stuffed animals and light candles in front of the stadium where the locomotive practiced it was just amazing to see such an outpouring of support. i haven't missed a single much since i've been living and you know. i go every season and that's why it's painful. i remember we were out at the scene when it was pouring down rain it was in the middle of the day my glasses were just. fogged up

of civilians but now it's trying to wash away the rebranding itself and it's now called academy sean thomas is in baghdad. well companies construction companies companies that will. help the country rebuild all of those companies are going to need their own security as well and one of the companies that wants a piece of. a controversial name blackwater under a different name now known as academy now blackwater expelled from the country in two thousand and seven has a bit dubious practices and questionable tactics especially after the massacre at square where seventeen civilians were killed after this incident the iraqi government suspended their business license to do business in the country of iraq after the tried to reinvent themselves and come back under the guise of x. services and now it looks like the company is trying to reinvent themselves again so that they can get a piece of this contracting pie now let me give you one example as to the types of contracts that this new account of the company is interested in the security cooperation is expected to have two hundred military personn

leaders our correspondent sean thomas reports. packing up to head home it may be easy to overlook the total costs of war at least one hundred fourteen thousand iraqi civilians killed as well as a thousand american soldiers millions displaced from their homes not to mention a one trillion dollars financial burden still the former occupiers leave behind some words of encouragement i can say with confidence in the next twenty or fifty years iraq will be all we do here in the gulf region rival's a country. i think. now is a shame. and secure environment is not a safe and secure is as it should be or it will be but it's it's progressing very well the american occupation of iraq saw the fall of the baddest regime the capture and execution of deposed leader saddam hussein and the implementation of a democratic government but now nearly nine years later is the country better off a ladies are that they below and also the u.s. troop invasion of iraq in two thousand and three and the grave mistake he committed made the situation here worse t

questionable practices we'll keep you up to date as more information becomes available in baghdad sean thomas r.t. . dr joseph it's a knock as from the security and intelligence studies program tells our team about the company's future and its checkered past. i cademy represents a long term trend a very trend in american security and military areas in which we see the privatization of all of these organizations or agencies and what we seeing now basically is a corporate is a shadow privatization of american military and security services and that's exactly what it represents it's got in trouble several times seen iraq. incidentally the new square massacre that killed seventeen iraqi civilians and of course a constant. constant cases of smuggling of weapons. being caught several times by the state department for instance a little later we hear from a former indian ambassador to iraq and the author of the book the ultimate prize he thinks that the u.s. doesn't plan a complete pullout from the middle east country full interview coming your way in a little bit but here's a quick preview. i don't