. >> the world according to vladimir putin. the russian president prepares for a marathon conference. >> and why tourists are flocking to the peruvian rainforest for medical treatment they can't get at home. >> welcome to the program. south sudan's army said it lost control of the capital. half of the people are seeking shelter with the united nations. it comes days after an alleged attempted coup. east african foreign ministers will travel to the country to end the fighting. it raises fears of a civil war and force thousands to seek shelter with the u.n. >> in the world's newest country many people are finding themselves without a home. the u.n. says up to 20,000 people are seeking shelter at its camps in the capital juba. >> we have been able to get medical assistance. we were able to provide that with emergency medical assistance. >> fighting broke out over the weekend after what the government says was an attempt coup. riek machar denies there was a coup. that disagreement is being fought out on the ground. soldiers of the

is vladimir putin the new king of the world? arco well, again, it is a very strange -- >> well, again, it is a very strange situation. i think vladimir putin is a good technician, but i doubt he is a good strategist. many of his cousin successes may turn into being very much relative eyes or may turn into failures. this depends on his partners as well. >> hanky for speaking to us. -- thank you for speaking to us. time now for sports. champ? hastennis just named german star boris becker as his coach. first, a look at football and france. >> extra time since he reached the quarterfinals of the french league cup. birding came off the bench to equalize in 70 minutes. it went to extra time. -- his 18th ofie the season. signed -- marseille is in front 30 minutes into the game after latching onto a knee headed flick. this player was brought down in the area by his goalkeeper, on the half-hour mark converted to make it 2-0. the serbian defender just before the break, but finished 2-1. bordeaux, who won the french cup , won the last eigh

>> he wrote to vladimir putin asking to be released. has taken this decision on humanitarian grounds in view of the sickness of his mother. that was the initial reason. believing thatin his mother was still here receiving treatment. she has been here receiving treatment for her cancer. she returned to moscow. there was a mix of their--. mix-up there. his parents are on their way here now. he was brought here with the support of the former foreign minister in a private plane. >> what is the role of the german government working behind the scenes to secure his release? how much involvement has there been? chancellor angela merkel says she repeatedly urged vladimir putin to take action on this case. ministerof the foreign , who did so much to open up the relationship with russia at that -- it is an interesting relationship. at leastt with putin twice. he is a political advisor to the legal team. it seems there is a lot of official german involvement the honda scenes in this case. it is very interesting areas will -- behind the scenes in th

>> yes. >> god bless his soul. >> the biggest winner of 2013 is russian president vladimir putin. he resolved the syrian crisis in the new york times that ended the military action against syria. in december putin snatched ukraine away from the west just before ukraine signed a trade pack with the european union. boosting russia's international prestige. okay biggest loser of 2013. >> barack obama and obama care. >> eleanor? >> you've got a small point there, pat. but the president still has his job. i think the biggest loser is the president of egypt, mr. morsi, who was deposed in the military coo and has not been heard from since. >> clarence? >> well, i think the lack of coherence strategy to deal with the obama care setbacks of even a bigger loser than president obama. >> martin? >> i've got a tied. the city of detroit, which went bankrupt, and the average american working class individual whose real wages have declined at a time of relative prosperity. >> the biggest loser is the concept of red lions. obama drew them and then smudged them, and then erased them completely. it

our discussion on vladimir put putin's rush. again we're joined by anders aslund, senior fellow at the peter's constitution for economic. kathryn stoner, and temuri yakobashvili at the german marshall fund. and just before the break we heard anders aslund talking about how russia is still a very poor country in comparison of its global rivals. it is not concentrating on becoming a richer country as far as it's people's standard of living. what do you make of this behavior? >> i think the shaefer there to hide the major problem that russia has, and that is an identity problem. they never transitioned into a nation-state, i can claim that putin is not a patriot of russian federation but something that would include form soviet union, but something else, probably eurasian union. and to put that in place, it' is partly an idea to be homophobic, and it's not a local kind of thing. he's now trying to gain more of the moral authority in those who opposed lgbt community. this is a part of a larger plan. isn't russia has not been a natio

vladimir putin is brilliant in the kgb insidious stuff. vladimir putin was a kgb operative and stationed in eastern germany. it is appropriate that he was allowed to go to germany. >> in denver, the community is grieving after the latest school shooting claims one of their owns. students have been praying for the recovery of 17-year-old senior claire davis. last night when they heard about her death they held a vigil. >> one of the things that we hoped for is for her to make it out okay >> claire davis was in a coma since december 14th when shot at arapahoe high school by karl pierson. >> last-minute shopping. monday is the first key deadline to sign up for health insurance through the government change. al jazeera's correspondent has more on what you need to know. >> if you haven't, you may want to pencil in a couple of hours to sign up for health care. millions of americans are uninsured. monday, december 23rd an a deadline for selecting a plan if you are looking for coverage starting january 1st. it's important for people in high-risk p

is mikhail khordorkovsky a threat to vladimir putin?> apparently he is not, otherwise he would not have been released. however, apparently on the one hand mikhail khordorkovsky has been a liability for president vladimir putin, a liability as long as he was in gaol. letting him out would be a threat. that was the situation up until his release. apparently vladimir putin was negotiating some kind of safeguards, terms and conditions that would not make mikhail khordorkovsky - no longer making mikhail khordorkovsky a threat. now we know the talk, negotiations offer the release have gone on for at least two years and engaged high-ranking members of the german establishment, including foreign minister hans-dietrich genscher. >> obviously this is stage managed. mikhail khordorkovsky said it was well managed, his release. it was like a 1970s spy novel. he said he doesn't want to return to the political side of activism. do you think we have seep the last of mikhail khordorkovsky? >> actually, there's nothing new about the statement he would no

a critic of vladimir putin was pardoned in a surprising move. we have more from berlin. >> is this is the moment days ago that they must have thought was impossible. a family reunited. a day after mikhail khordorkovsky was released from a russian gaol, he was back in the arms of his parents. in an interview he gave more details about conditions in prison. >> because for a year and two months i was in one prison and then in another. during the years i had long meetings with relatives and other times i was on a prisoner regime and had no long visits. >> mikhail khordorkovsky spent the last decade in detention. he'd been russia's richest men, a group of oligarchs who had their wings clipped. president vladimir putin's decision to pardon mikhail khordorkovsky on friday surprised many. but it comes weeks before the start of the socchi olympics. >> it's an enormous event, especially in the run-up to the olympics. it's a big step to soften a negati negative attitude towards putin's russia. i think that was the main motive >> during his time in prison m

influence. >> vladimir putin released his most high-profile prisoners. pussy riot, and his most important political prisoner russian oligarch mikhail khordorkovsky. >> i'm not going to engage in political activity. i said that in my alert to vladimir putin, and reiterated it assistance. >> the 'financial times' says of the releases: >> vladimir putin is anticipating international push-back. president obama has there are sent a delegation of openly gay athletes. whatever vladimir putin's reasons for releasing prisoners, it's not seen as a sign of change. >> it's not done from a position of weakness, but strength. >> inside the country he solidified control over russia. the country is a nuclear power. he lauds over some of the world's largest oil and gas reserves. the law in russia allows his re-electi re-election, meaning vladimir putin could be in power in 2024. >> in central african republic nine were killed in interreligious violence. french and african peace of keeping groups were on the ground trying to stop fighting. tensions remain high. andrew sim

up to 22,000 people are such eventually be freed under an initiative vladimir putin says is meant to mark the 20th anniversary of the passage of russia's post-soviet constitution. could it say he also hopes to deflect international criticism of his human rights crackdown ahead of the 2014 sochi winter games. >> among the tens of thousands to be released are members of

>> vladimir putin said both the loan and the gas price cuts are temporary. in other words, russia could up the price of gas deliveries, and it could also pull its money out. also bear in mind that the ukraine needs to come up with $17 billion in gas arrears to russia next year. now, the kremlin could call in that dead or not. it did ask for the money back. i saidd also raise, as before, the price of gas up again, all of that depending on what the context is next year. the ukrainian president has clearly pulled away from and brussels has suspended talks on the free trade agreement, but would he again start cozying up to brussels further down the line? that point, he will obviously have the shadow of the kremlin over him, with russia having a financial hold on him as a result of these deals today. away, yet, they did pull so he got something out of it, it shortly. >> he has got something short- term, and the russians must have realized it would have put the ukrainian position in an impossible situation to ask them to sign this customs union today. >> with futu

she joins her punk partners, calling their release a publicity stunt by vladimir putin. he u.n. is looking for 5,000 more peace keepers in south sudan. they say there have been summary executions. a catastrophic ice storm hits toronto in canada, cutting power to thousands of homes. weather wreaked havoc to many christmas plans. >> thank you very much for joining us. the last member of the punk protest group pussy riot was released from jail earlier monday, calling for a boycott of the sochi winter olympics. she gave a defiant speech. she called her release a publicity stunt by vladimir putin in the run-up to the games. >> flashing the victory sign, she walked free after spending almost 18 months in a remote siberian prison. it was seen as an attempt by the kremlin to improve russia's image. >> they just put on another show ahead of the olympics. such is their desire to prevent european countries from boycotting our olympics. >> another member was released she said it was a publicity stunt and would not give up. >> we remain in our human rights activity. we remain passionate abou

vladimir putin is brilliant in the kgb insidious stuff.e was a kgb and was stationed in eastern germany for a while. it is appropriate that mikhail khordorkovsky was allowed to go to germany. vladimir putin is repeating his soviet predecessors because a lot of soviet political enemies were ex-island to germany. in some ways it was a soviet deja vu >> why do it now, especially with the olympics coming up? a lot of people are saying he's trying to look good to the rest of the world. >> and it does >> it works. >> well, i don't know how it works, but he tries to look good for the rest of the world. his other message is that he can do it all. he can keep ukraine - our conversation last time - within the russian orbit and argue with germany. the european union is power. he can negotiate with the germans. putin has scores on keeping his own political orbit of other countries like ukraine, he has mikhail khordorkovsky released and score human rights points, humanitarian grounds and sent him to germany so he really needed angela merkel's support.

vladimir putin called it a humanitarian act.pussy riot" says it is a pr stunt meant to soften the image. they were jailed after performing an anti-vladimir putin song last year. >> she was released from a penitentiary, making her last of the "pussy riot" members set free. despite the amnesty, she remains defiant and is critical of vladimir putin who she called a tyrant. >> this is a cynical action. in reality, his act today is much more cynical. these remaining month could've been spent where i was there he refused to free those people who really needed it. it is a disgusting and cynical act. >> they were due to be released last march. the conviction for hooliganism triggered international criticism of the russian justice system. earlier in the day, she was set free from a colony. she said vladimir putin's amnesty was a publicity stunt and not a humanitarian act. a third member was released on a suspended sentence more than a year ago. she believes this is aimed at improving the image ahead of the so see -- sochi olympics. >> th

let's go back and see vladimir putin. there he is. he's continuing his state of the union address and we'll be listening. anna in particular and in doha to what he has to say and we'll tell you what that was. >>> growing fears that sectarian violence in the central african republic could lead to the civil war. 500 people have been killed in fighting between rival muslim and christian militias. that's in bangui. soldiers are trying to separate and disarm rival militias. nazanine moshiri has more from the capital. >> we are at pk12. a few days ago it was manned by seleka forces. it's under french control. we heard the commander giving orders to his troops. he told them to search any vehicle. disarming still going on, despite the deaths of two french soldiers. as we travelled in the armoured personal carrier things were tense inside. francis hollande, the president was here to boost morale. he told his troops that they are here to protect civilians and present further carnage. people going market, people feeling safer to be able to go ou

but that changed when vladimir putin became president. in 2003, he found himself at the center of an investigation into tax claims. he was arrested on charges of tax fraud and, in 2005, he was sentenced to nine years in prison. a year later, he filed for bankruptcy. the company was broken off and the government sold off its core assets, including oilfield and refineries to the state owned company. that company was headed by the americans former deputy minister. >> the european union has promised russia a bruising summit meeting on their jew political confrontational -- on their geopolitical confrontation . >> they blame moscow for applying undue pressure on the ukraine. >> there were smiles on the faces of eu leaders who could look back on a year winding down without a homegrown crisis. and they were up the non-ukraine saying that russia could not block the country's european future. german chancellor angela merkel echoed that message, saying that the eu's position was unchanged. >> the door is open and there is no date for it to close. w

. >> there's a dog that looks like vladimir putin. >> oh, my god! >> okay!ust forgetting that? we're not doing that? dog looks like vladimir putin, okay? >> and you think you've got the story. run with it! >> i am tempted to say that the best new thing in the world today is this moment of inexplicability which happened on cnn just a little while ago this evening. >> does it pay well? do you get a free lancer rate? >> i hope i get a chance to go over to russia and do a face-to-face interview with pravda and while i'm there, get a chance to talk to vladimir and maybe take my shirt off and do some things together. >> you can arm wrestle or something. senator mccain, thanks for being on. >> it's tempting to call that the best new thing in the world today, if only for mr. cooper keeping his exposure as mr. mccain says he wants to take off his shirt with vladimir putin and do things together. mr. cooper holding it together for that is an excellent, excellent thing. but behold the best new thing in the world today. why the long face? this dog was reportedly a stray

at the same time president viktor yanukovych is due tuesday to have another meeting with vladimir putin of russia. we don't think he'll sign the deal he needs on gas, cheap gas. he may be able to get aid from the russian leadership. ukraine needs help, whichever side it goes to. it's in talks with the international monetary fund and it's finding it harder to have a viable economy. so, the protesters here remain. they are in it for the long haul, but if president viktor yanukovych signs up with moscow, that will increase their anger here. >> the interpretations in ukraine were barely mentioned by the russian president in his annual sit of the nation address. peter sharp reports. >> the russian kremlin was said to be working on his state of the nation speech up to half an hour before delivery at the great hall. >> never shy to court international attention, vladimir putin would have been gratified by the forbes magazine voting him the most power of the person in the world. this was a speech addressed to the people of russia and those that exercised power across this great nation. >> no on

the pardon of vladimir putin was signed in the morning.n hour later mikhail khordorkovsky left the prison where he spent almost the last 10 years and flew to berlin and had this message for those a supported him during the 10 years in gaol: >> he was sent to the penal colony in 2003. his imprisonment was a symbol of what critics here and overseas ais the kremlin's abuse of the judiciary. he was named as a prisoner of conference by amnesty internation international. 50-year-old mikhail khordorkovsky was once the one of the richest men, known as the olly gash's. his company yukos was broken up and sold off to state oil company ros nest after an arrest on fraud and tax evasion. his surprise release seen as an attempt by the president to brush up his image. >> at a time when he is referred to as bad, as an evil leader, he is suddenly attracting the world to himself as a merciful leader who can pardon. >> on thursday at a marathon 4-hour news conference the russian president announced an amnesty freeing 25,000, including the punk group pussy ri

president barack obama said he was offended by vladimir putin's anti-gay legislation. dilip is standing by. this is the lowest level they have sent in 13 years. is it about making a statement. >> it is about sending a message. we heard from press secretary jay carney. he said this is not a message the united states would send in this manner. barackas a message that obama finds these anti- homosexual laws offensive. it's not necessarily a boycott from the united states delegation. it's certainly a snub, and i would maybe define it as a slap in the face to the russian organizers. it is about who is not part of that delegation. no first ladies, no vice president, not a single member of the net will be going to will be of the cabinet going to sochi. for the closing ceremony there will be a two-time olympic medalist from the ice hockey team. she is openly gay. that is a message the united dates is clearly sending to russia. >> what about the athletes? how do they feel about it? >> certainly proud. it will be difficult to find the reaction from athletes. we have heard from b

vladimir putin and his security forces are extremely worried as well.e's deployed some 40,000, special forces, police and agents, around sochi to make it as safe as possible, but the millitents have shown that they can strike elsewhere, they can strike often and at will. back to you. >> jim aceda, that latest report from moscow. >>> they're voting against the plans to raise more capital. they have been down. they're currently up at 1.7% in milan trading. >>> short coming and going on local government debt in china has risen to a staggering 17.9 trillion u.n. this is accord to go a new order of figures up to the end of june. chinese state auditor says some regions are showing risks but current levels of liabilities are controllable. he's called for an emergency mechanism to prevent debt risks. ricardo, how important is the chinese work? we know the chinese economy is very, very important. the question is is what you think it's going to deliver for us this year, how it plays in. >> our expectation is that the growth rate will be close to what the authorit

take those people who have been arrested in protests against vladimir putin last spring. many can walk freed by the amnesty bill now, but a lot of them will have to stay in jail. they are accused of having arranged unrest with riot police , although this evidence that riot police themselves provoked these scuffles. after all this amnesty we see now is no substitute to an effective or independent justice system. >> thanks for that. >> in europe, eu leaders say they have a plan to rescue failed banks without forcing taxpayers to foot the bill. the problem is it looks like it will tap into the accounts of depositors with more than 100,000 euros in a single bank. >> a preliminary deal has been okayed at a summit in brussels. the pact includes a fund the banks themselves will finance worth 55 billion euros. we will go live to our brussels correspondent. first, we have this background. >> eu leaders launched the summit, saying important progress had already been made. a head of the meeting, european finance ministers announced they had agreed on the third and final pillar of a

this white house has a long history with vladimir putin.hey know there's a good putin and bad putin. when you talk about olympics, this is a clear message to rush not only has obama and putin and russia frayed, but the very specific issue about banning gay propaganda is something that the united states fundamentally disagrees with. as you mentioned, typically the olympics are an opportunity for the u.s. to send a high-level person, a president, vice president, first lady to a country and revel in the olympics and this delegation is anything but. >> we've only got a few seconds but vladimir putin on the world stage is going to be a major problem for this administration or work on deals like the chemical weapons deal in syria and have sort of an uneasy alliance. >> just quickly, there's always ups and downs in the u.s. russia relationship. russia is a strategic player globally. there's no way to deal with iran, oil and energy policy around the world without fundamentally engaging russia no matter what the particular antics was. i notice vladi

vladimir putin. >> president barack obama against vladimir putin in a battle over the hotel gym. the sun newspaper suggests both put in a request of the fitness room where the summit was held. apparently the presidents did not want to compromise and work out together. ultimately the obama camp won since it turned in a request for the gym first. the russian president then decided to take a chilly swim in the lake outside. >> vladimir putin is one of our favorites on the "grapevine." he has long encouraged russian families to have at least three children. now he's bringing in soulful voices for his fertility campaign "boys to men." he says quote the stylish trio of boys to men is copping to moscow hopefully giving russian men inspiration ahead of st. valentine's day. he declared a conception holiday in 2007. women that gave birth nine months later were entered to win a refrigerator. how romantic. finally an unscripted moment that appears to have caught vladimir putin off guard when topless protestors appeared in front of both leaders. they were shouting and calling him a dictator b

will vladimir putin ride to the rescue, and at what cost to his neighbour. all will be played out in moscow as tens of thousands of protesters remain on the streets of key eve. fears among the people that viktor yanukovych will be forced to sign up to vladimir putin's union to get cheap gas to survive. >> the moscow-led union has three members, russia, kazakhstan and bell awe ruse. it's supposed to evolve into the eurasian economic union, a trade zone that could rival the e.u. in scope and power. it is opposed by the u.s., seep as an attempt to establish a ussr-style union amongst the soviet states. the head of the state newsagencies has an apok lip tick view of the russian system. the west will gain control over the ukrainian market, wealth plundered and n.a.t.o. tanks will stand at moscow's doorstep. scare monningering but they carry currency with russians today. >> the ukraine declared its independence from the old soviet union in 1991. to many russians it's as though it never happened. it remains a much-loved part of mother russia. it's a sense of shared

which is meeting with vladimir putin at the start of the talks which are going on even now. the ukrainian president said he wanted a strategic partnership with russia -- something that will worry and further enrich the protesters who are still camped out in independence square this afternoon. they want mr. gannett co. which to leave moscow's orbit in favor of the eu. ukrainian president to leave moscow's orbit in favor of the eu. for now, the ukrainian government said it does not plan to do that. it is looking for cheaper russian natural gas and also a multibillion-dollar loan that they need to avoid bankruptcy. for more on the story, we can speak to our correspondent who was in moscow. thank you very much indeed for joining us, joshua. it is very much cap in hand that is ukrainian prime minister headed to moscow. he needs money to keep his country afloat. >> that is exactly right. he has tried to turn this tug- of-war between west and east, over ukraine's trajectory, whether it will grow closer to the european union or sign-up for this customs union with russia -- he has tr

. >> russia's president vladimir putin said he will pardon his number one political opponent. mikael khodorovsky was once russia's new richest man. but then he was jailed. some 20,000 prisoners will be freed ahead of the olympic games. >> he spent more than a decade behind bars. now, mikael khodorovsky is said to be a free man after vladimir putin appeared to pave the way for his release. wrote atly, khodorovsky letter and addressed the pardon to me. he cited humanitarian reasons because his mother is ill. taking into account all of these circumstances, a decree to pardon him will be signed very soon. >> lawyers for karate -- four khodorovsky could not confirm a pardon had been made. formerly the world -- the country's richest man was arrested and charged with fraud and tax evasion in 2003. this was after a spectacular falling out between putin and up arovsky, who had built fortune from his oil company. he had used some of that money to support russia's opposition group, making the fatal mistake of mixing business and politics. along with his business partner, khodorovsky he w

vladimir putin referring to the pipe-line system, for access to the system. when he mentions that to questions raised about whether it will be part of a future deal or relationship with russia, concerns in the ukraine that the deal with russia is conditional, is reviewed every quarter, giving moscow leverage in ukraine. >> good to get your thoughts. jennifer glass with the latest from kiev. >> a special panel investigating the national security agency recommended it should have its powers prestricted, following allegations it has been collecting regards of billions of phone calls, including that of foreign politicians. >> the head of america's big tech companies were at the white house on tuesday and want reform of the spy agency. it looks like they may get their wish, quicker than expected. a surveillance review board report is due to be published but has been pushed out by the white house. the highlights - the n.s.a. will not keep a database, it will be held by the phone data companies. the agencies will no longer have a back door into programs. and the u.s

tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky may have already walked free after the russian president vladimir putin signed his pa. stripped of its full mocks the european union loses its top credit rating. and tense budget negotiations inside the block. for syria so it is community pressing for a seat at the negotiating table for the upcoming geneva peace talks hoping to grab the opportunity to secure their independence and their rights. this hour's top headlines from around the world it's r.t. international with me rule resewn a very warm welcome to you today reports are now saying that mikhail khodorkovsky may have already left the prison where he was serving the sentence for embezzle mint and fraud it comes less than one hour off the president putin signed a pardon for the former tycoon who had fallen amnesty plea let's get more on this now go to chris going off now joining us live here on the program what do we know yet god has he already walked out. well first of all i'd like to apologize for the sound problems that you may be hearing because we've just lended here at the airport and she said you can

the russian punk band pussy riot has been released from gaol as part of an amnesty announced by vladimir putin. mana alyokhina was sentenced to two years in gaol. the second member of the band is expected to be released. peter sharp reports from moscow. >> it was the moment when an obscure moscow all-girl punk band became a symbol of protest and opposition to vladimir putin. interrupting morning worship with the punk prayer "mother of god chase putin away", it was pussy riot's last gig for a while. it's not just any church. christ the saviour cathedral is the holiest of holies, the beating heart of the russian orthodox faith. pussy riot's rant at the altar drew outrage and criticism from church and state in equal measure. the court case was carried around the world. gaoled, sentenced to two years in a penal colony motivated by religious hatred. one of them was released later. the sentence triggered international incidents. at the news conference last week, he announced they would be free as part of an amnesty. >> i feel sorry for pussy riot, not because they were gaoled, but the disgrace

the sochi winter olympics is a prestige project for president vladimir putin. no one claimed either attack. earlier this year chechen leader called for maximum force to prevent the olympics from being held. the chechens want to sort of an islamic state out of russia much tens of thousands of police have been deployed to protect the olympics. organizers promised to make the games the safest olympics in history. >> well, let's speak to fred weir a journalist with the christian science monitor, joining us from moscow, via skype. little doubt that the people behind the bombers are the islamist fighters in the north caucasus region. explain why volgograd is being targeted. not only the attacks today and yesterday, but in october, on a bus. >> yes, this is the third attack in volgograd. it certainly demonstrated or demonstrates a concerted ability by this terrorist organization to hit repeatedly in a single place. it should be a well-protected city, as these things go. it's clear that volgograd has been chosen for some reason. whether or not it's because the main tar

vladimir putin operative in the kremlin, which the review said was not just another vladimir putin biography but a psychological portrait. so we only have an hour and we want to save 20 minutes or so for audience questions. so let's get to the question. >> russia never left the middle east. the middle east is right next to russia and the first of all, i think the russians have a defensive interest and if there is an explosion in the middle east, it will spread throughout the region and that money may involve saying goodbye, but it could unite the muslims in russia. another interest is to restore some of russia's influence which several decades ago was much larger. and i think russia wants to keep a foot in it and they are not prepared to expel america from the middle east in a dramatic effort, because they can't do to the expectations. so we have russia playing a game in which some games are possible. and this includes engaging russia in the top level of decision-making. >> how do you see a? do you see greater russian engagement than a decade ago? if so, to what end? >> i see greater russian

. >> there's a dog that looks like vladimir putin. >> oh, god. >> okay?>> we're just forgetting that? we're not doing that? dog looks like vladimir putin, okay? roll it. >> and you think you've got the story. roll it! i am tempted to say that the best new thing in the world today is this moment of inxlikability that happened on cnn just a little while ago this evening. >> do you get a freelancer writ? >> i'm hoping that i get a chance to go over to russia and do a face-to-face interview with prov dog. i would look forward to that opportunity, and maybe while i'm there get a chance to chat with vladimir about, you know, maybe take my shirt off and we can do some things together, huh? >> you could arm wrestle or something. senator mccain, i appreciate you being on. thank you. >> that's the loudest ah in the world. it is tempting to call that the best new thing in the world today, if only for mr. cooper on cnn keeping his composure as john mccain tells him he wants to take off his shirt with vladimir putin and do some things together. mr. cooper holding it t

to apologize for jumping in here it's r t international the russian president vladimir putin's annual question and answer session with a thousand journalists there members of both domestic and international news outlets let's give you some of the highlights here there certainly were some highlights of bear in mind if you want to keep watching online you can do so at r.t. dot com for right now though the issue of the n.s.a. and the spying scandal has brought up one reporter asking the russian president what's your relationship with barack obama now do you guys communicate how do you get along the russian president vladimir putin saying well he's envious that barack obama can get away with all this spying and it carries on to this day though that being said to me putin saying there's nothing to be happy or sad about espionage is one of the oldest professions in the world he did say however he believes america and the n.s.a. is only spying in order to combat terrorism although there should be some moral and ethical agreements another question mr president vladimir putin have you mr snowd

vladimir putin sees the olympics as a show case. >> he said vladimir putin didn't concede much but puseyt and others were slated for release in a couple of months. mikhail khordorkovsky has money and power. >> heap could use it to run political campaigns from abroad. i don't think he would be as naive and he thought because he was wealthy he could take on the kremlin and the russian state. >> whatever the reason, it has garnered him the eyes of the world. >> that was john terrett reporting. >> utah's attorney general is appealing a ruling for same-sex marriages ruling a ban was unconstitutional. district court judge robert shelby wrote this: >> salt lake city has begun to issue marriage licences to gaye couples. >> we got a text message from a friend who is an attorney and said robert shelby did an amendmentment get to the county court's office. we didn't understand all the details of what happened. but we went. and figured it out and realised holy moly. >> at the time that couple got married they said hundreds more were waiting for licence. >> the highest court in canada weighed in on p

visit vwdealer.com today >>> an outspoken critic of russia's president vladimir putin is free after ason. mikhail khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon and once the richest man in russia was convicted of tax evasion and fraud. he sat down with cnn's christiane amanpour for an exclusive interview. >> reporter: were you worried? in many prisons around the world there's violence between inmates or violence from the wardens to the inmates. you were stabbed with a knife? >> translator: i was stabbed with a knife once. when i was stabbed with a knife, i was lucky. it just -- he tried to get to my eye but got my nose. as a result, the dentist who was there was somebody who was also a plastic surgeon. and carried out the operation on me which means it was virtually not noticeable. >> reporter: was there a deal for your release? did president putin or his people say on this condition we will release you? were there any conditions laid? >> translator: it rather was the reverse. mr. putin on a number of times publicly said that he was ready to consider the question of my pardon i pardoning, but i ha

vladimir putin mentioned ukraine and his address, really only in deference. that was no strategic orientation. what he wanted to say clearly that we have our club, based on our values. this is the best thing for identity and we want a lardship role in it this distinguishes us making a situation. >> russian analyst taking to us from london. >> let's check on the weather with everton. how is the snow weather looking across eastern parts of europe? >> there's plenty of snow. over the next couple of days we won't see as much coming out of the sky. temperatures will remain low. big area of high pressure across central parts of europe. we'll drag a cold northerly to the black sea and turkey where we see snow. winds coming in from the west. 2 degrees celsius. plenty of mild weather if you have double figures there. with the high, easing to the east. it will squeeze the showers out of the way. drier weather pushing in. >> we have snow. it will sit there. we saw pictures of the conditions in the refugee camps or the refugees down around the becker valley. we can see h

live here in germany now you also outlined exactly what we heard of course he sent to president vladimir putin he said there was two letters one of them was a personal letter to mr putin the other one was an official petition for full release from prison on those who want to tarry in ground that was eventually. granted because of the the states it is mother's health she was released in order. to terri in grounds and is now we believe just behind me in the hotel here in berlin yet piece to obviously we held her close case waiting to see all the members of his family but do we know of any other plans case thinking about. well in an open letter that was really released on friday he did say that right now he wanted to spend time with his family that he was looking forward to spending the holidays with his loved ones and friends of course this will be the first time he's been able to do that in ten years. what his plans are for the longer term well we still really don't know he is sent to give a press conference here in berlin at the pearl in war museum on sunday perhaps we'll get some more i

. >> violence is no stranger to vladimir putin's russia, stemming from decades of conflict. 1999, the russian army inviteded chechnya, under orders vladimir putin described as an anti-terrorist provision. the conflict that followed lasted nine years. 50,000 civilians died, along with 5,000 russians, in 2001, a pro-moscow regime was installed. the conflict declared over. separatists group spread through the kauk -- caucasus. >> there's a pattern, before the largest events, and sochi olympics is the biggest of them all, there has been these sorts of attacks. what they want to do, first and foremost is remind the kremlin that they are here and a force to be reckoned with. >> doku umarov called on militants to strike russia and prevent them hosting the sochi games. it raises a question whether more attacks will follow, and where. the maximum impact is whether to pull off an attack like this. moscow is more difficult to penetrate. here you have a combination of a city that is sizeable. it's close to the caucuses and easier to get into than moscow. >> perhaps easier than the winter olympics

he was expected to conclude a deal with vladimir putin instead, but nothing has been signed.ell, pro e.u. and anti-yanukovych protests in kiev are now in its third week. it began when yanukovych pulled out of a deal with e.u. will there be a deal be made between russia and ukrainian is? is it still going to happen? >> reporter: they haven't signed on the dotted line but discussions are still open and ongoing with moscow. unlike for the moment negotiith the european union, which you were saying were rejection of that trade agreement. sparked off these pro european demonstrations. some reports even suggesting that the ukrainian president may be aging towards a deal worth $17 billion with moscow. now he desperately needs that. but the economy here is in dire straits. the deal with moscow clue the possibility of a cheap deal on gas and perhaps direct aid because reserves here are running out fast. the central bank quite simply is seeing its stock pile of cash ebbing away very quickly. >> tim, we can see behind you the di demonstrateors are still there. what would you say the mood

vladimir the games of putin. did you not feel these games to be a better games. >> thank you for joining us with that update. we go to theews, ukraine were thousands of anti- government protesters have marched. bearing eu flags, they drove 15 kilometers north and then walked to the home, surrounded by riot police. at the same time, they gathered in independence square to protest. the leader and boxing champion told the crowd that the protest movement would win against the government. the turnout was noticeably smaller than the opposition protest over the past month. the united nations monitoring force on the border between israel and lebanon says it has contacted the government in both countries and urged them to exercise maximum restraint. artillery fire. lebanese -- lebanese fromnment was accused -- the lebanese territory. remainsers examined the of two rockets. the border from lebanon, no one was hurt and there was no damage, but people living nearby are worried. israel responded immediately by firing dozens o

. >>> the top political opponent of vladimir putin has been released from prison and is now in germanyas peter sharp reports, putin's motives are still being questioned. >> reporter: whatever the criticism of president putin, he can never be accused of hiding from the press. a surprise announcement that he approved for the multi-billionaire. >> translator: he has already spent more than ten years in jail. it's a serious punishment. he refers to circumstances of a humanitarian nature. his mother is ill. and i think it is possible to make that decision and i will soon sign an order about his pardon. >> reporter: just two days ago putin offered $15 billion of state investment to its troubled neighbor ukraine. apparently no strings attached, apparently no pressure on kiev to join moscow's union. even some conciliatory worlds. >> translator: are we against the association with europe? we're not against the association at all. we simply say we have to protect our economy. we have a free trade agreement with ukraine. >> reporter: and then there's putin's amnesty, pewsy riot imprisoned for two

putin did not make any conditions that i had to accept any guilt. >> do you forgive vladimir putin? would say it in a slightly different way. i don't consider this to be rationale behavior and something which i do not consider to be rationale is something that i can live with. >> will you go into politics? what is your plan for the future? >> translator: i cannot say i have exactly decided on my plans now. but what i have certainly decided for myself is that i do not want to be a symbol that russia does not remain a political prisoner. i want to be a symbol of the efforts of society leading to freedom of political prisoners. >> we're talking about your family now. that was a huge sacrifice. ten years you didn't see your family grow up. what are your feelings and reflections on how this cost your family so dearly? >> that is my huge debt which i cannot give back. >> it's very emotional. thank you for joining me. >> translator: thank you. >> throughout all of these years, he has been a liberal martyr of political opposition. he was russia's most famous political prisoner. even though

. >> vladimir pejdo is serving four years for theft. he says he's housed here because of conflicts with other inmates. >> translator: well, i had some problems when i was in general population since there are a lot of bad people here. there are a lot of what we call rats. if i had stayed there, i could have ended up with six more months in prison. nowadays, if you break somebody's nose or jaw, they immediately give you more time in prison without any discussion. >> but it's outside of seventh block in the general population area that the uniqueness of zabela is most obvious. >> you walk out into this courtyard that was beautiful. they had this very large fountain. and i was a little shocked, turned my head and saw peacocks. on the yard. the prison yard itself. the further we got actually onto the prison grounds, everywhere you looked there were birds. >> then you look a little closer and you see flowers. beautiful flowers in bloom. and gardening. inmates planting other plants. laundry hanging out. and it is almost soothing when you walk

what the russian president vladimir putin said. but. this was the final stage of the image you see. talks. in these operations before they seem to governmental commission i would like to thank my colleagues from the russian government. has commissioned a sin of course the ukrainian government does well so there we were together on this. but it is a let me be frank with you not that i know that we would not be able to work at such a high speed had it not been for the political and will of russian president vladimir putin much i mentioned this when we met you know wider reformist and i would like to read to read it now our talks were not easy.

violence is no stranger to vladimir putin and stems from decades of conflict, in 1999 the army invadedhetchen under an antiterrorist operation. the conflict that followed lasted nine years. 50,000 civilians died along with 5,000 russians. in 2001 a pro-moscow regime was installed, the conflict officially declared over but separatist group spread through the caucus and it's the center of an islamist group. >> and before large federal events and sochi olympics is the biggest of all has attacks and they want to remind kremlin they are here and a force to be recommended with. >> reporter: and war lords called on militants to strike russia and prevent them from staging the sochi games. >> the maximum impact is to pull off an attack like this in the russian capitol but moscow is a much more difficult city to penetrate than volgograd so here you have a combination of a city that is relatively sizable, and volgograd is a big city and close to the caucuses and it has to be that much easier to get into than moscow. >> reporter: much easier than the winter olympics themselves an as the security o

a studio center here in moscow where it's just turned eleven pm this is international president vladimir putin says he'll sign a motion to pardon jailed russian tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky the businessman who spent more than ten years behind bars for embezzlement has reportedly already filed a petition to be pardoned. reports. well the president was hosting a media conference which lasted over four hours but the biggest news came after it finished he was surrounded by journalists and someone asked the question about me and suddenly the president said that the former had asked him to be released and he says the man is already spent over ten years behind bars and he is ready to sign all the necessary papers to wed in three you don't know who the kosky recently wrote a petition asking me to pardon him but he spent more than ten years in prison this is a serious punishment he cites humanitarian reasons saying his mother is sick i believe taking jew account of all the circumstances it's possible to take your respective decision and in the near future i will sign a decree to pardon him artie's

, he argued he was gaoled for opposing vo t vladimir putin >> president obama reduced eight prisoners sentences. the obama administration was looking at drug crimes and seeing if original sentencing was fair. punishment for crack co-cane was more severe than other forms of the drugs. >> the apollo theatre's roof collapsed. 76 were injured. 7 seriously. the cause of the collapse is not yet known. those are the headlines. you can always get us on aljazeera.com. becoming one? one of the biggest credit card thefts in retail history, and why you may be a victim. also tonight, an al jazeera exclusive. the shocking findingses of an in dependent investigation into the terrifies treatment of the disabled behind bars. because it is so believe, farfetched because of the way we treat people in prison, not just the deaf, and deaf, blind, and blind, the way we treat people in the prison system is terrifying. >> comments to america tonight. >> when i entered the car, my wife said look at your hand, it's shaking. and it was. good etching thank you for joining us. a new worry, being targeted by credit