itself now where they are degreesive footprint is being extended. this eflew, as you said, a lot of missions over the last 24 hours. in all, since 30 september, they've flown nearly five thousand and they've boosted their capabilities in the air markedly. they started with 30 fighters and they've been booted by 25 strategic bombers. they can launch their cruise miss ills from comparative-- missiles from comparative safety. they have got a submarine based offshore. it's moving its forces into

unused air bases in syria and it has got the most advanced air defense system really in the world that covers the skies over syria. now, political experts and military analysts in moscow says there is no question at the moment of russia overextending itself in syria, but there seems to be no clear-cut and well thought through exity strategy meanwhile, putin is about to start his traditional question and answer session for his end of year traditional q and a with 1400 journalists attending. what course can we expect this press conference to take this year? what issues will putin be pressed on? >> i think you can expect a very self congratulatryq & a from

putin. i think he will express his delight that russia is now playing a far more energetic and important role in international diplomacy and geo political activities. he will highlight the fact that russia has led the charge against i.s.i.l. by moving its air forces, as we just spoke about, into syria. he will point out that the role that-- i will interrupt you because the russian president is just starting to speak now at the kremlin. let's listen in to what he has to say. >> translation: nevertheless, i'm sure you have questions which need further clarification and explanation from my side and when i say "my side", of course i mean my colleagues, the administration and the government of the russian

federation. so i propose that we begin straightaway with questions. >> translation: i think last year, of course, we started a good tradition with starting off with the question with one of the most experienced members of the administration. i would like to give him the floor so he can is a question. thank you very much. >> translation: first of all, i would like to congratulate you on this 11th annual press conference. at last year's conference we talked about the difficult situation with regard to the economic situation in russia and i asked, as well as others, how long will it last.

we were told that at the worst scenario, we need something like two years to get out of it. i think that probably at the end of 2016/beginning of 2017 that date should come about. can i ask whether your mood has changed on calculating when we will come out of this economic crisis because its effects are really being felt and we would like to know your forecast as well. >> translation: thank you very much. let's begin by my telling you an old stale joke. how are things, says one man to

another? very, very bad. another six months go bad. what are things like now? black. no. that was sometime ago. it means that six months ago it was white. so that's the kind of situation. i have told you about our plans and how we are moving to get out of this crisis, what kind of outlook we see before us and mindful of the shortcomings of our economics also because of external factors and our expert record on oil, gas and the

exports, fertilizers so forth, and we took the view that the average price on oil would be $100 a barrel, and that was the beginning of 2014. we, until taking that as benchmark, we were, and we saw that as one of the main supports of the economy, which really affects all the parameters of our development plans. at the end of last year, we had to recalculate everything, even at the end of last year we did that because it went down by a half. it went from 100 t$100 to $50 a

barrel and that was a very optimistic calculation, $50, but what is it now? 35. so we will, obviously, be adjusting things in light of that. i just say that in answer to your question to explain things better. obviously, the fall in prices of our principal energy project have really affected all our figures and it has really affected our gdp to 35%, 35% drop in it, and i think it's very important that you note that because many of the other questions, which i'm sure you're going to ask, will be connected with today's situation. one has to understand these figures, know them and see them

as a baseline for future fo forecasts. over the last year the investment figures have fallen by 15% but at the same time we also spoke about this before, the statistics, the economic statistics show that the peak in the economic crisis is actually past the russian president vladimir putin given his annual press conference in moscow. a press conference which traditionally starts with opening remarks from the president, but this year he went straight to the questions from the journalists who are gathered there in moscow, some 1400 journalists attending his question and answer session which traditionally starts at noon and as a rule it lasts for

several hours. it has no limit. this one is expected to last three/four hours. with us is dimitri babich live from moscow. thank you for being with us. very interesting this year that the president chose to go straight to the questions and not give his traditional opening remarks, which usually last 30 minutes. why is that, do you think? >> well, i think that putin just wants to seem as open as possible, and in general i must say the general view of putin in the west is some kind of dictator who goes to the public and not able to answer direct questions. this is wrong. he likes to answer tough questions. usually he picks up the most hostile journalists from the audience and asks them to pose

their questions. the problem is he never changes his opinions and when people ask him, "what did you do wrong? ", he never says, 'i did this wrong", or "i did that wrong". he finds the reasons why he behaved that way and way it was the best way to behave the first question wasn't a very tough one. it began with a compliment to the president and then the journalist went on to ask about the economic crisis russia is facing. russia, of course, is struggling comicly because of low oil prices and international sanctions. we didn't hear the president reassure russians on that front how he was going to handle this economic crisis. what the plan was, basically. >> well, i think he was not asked about the plan. he was asked just how long will this difficult situation continue. i think that the mere use of the word "crisis" is interesting

because in the soviet union, for example, you could not talk about crisis. when there was a real economic crisis, you were supposed to talk about troer difficulties or something of that-- temporary difficulties or something of that sort. putin answered in a way that would be expected from him. he talked about the slump in the oil prices, that the prices fell by 50%. this is true. we've in to recalculate the budget. so, so far, it looks like a pretty usual chess game. you know, all the moves so far are pretty much the same as usual this is a press conference that's coming 11 weeks after russia launches the first strikes in syria. it also comes as relations between russia are turkey are poor since the downing of that turkish jet by russia. what can we expect the relations

to be on the foreign policy with turkey? >> a lot of people in russia were surprised when putin reacted in such a radical way to what happened on the syrian-turkish border. usually he been - before that he had been more patient with the western countries, with the united states and the european union and suddenly this out burst with turkey which was an important economic partner for russia. i'm sure that there will be questions, probably also from the turkish journalists. i would like to point your attention to the fact that despite all the hostile rhetoric, russia did not schedule the contract on the gas supply nor the atomic nuclear power station which the they signed up to.

it there is a lot of talk, but the economic ties remain the same for the moment, thank you very much. of course, we will be speaking to you throughout the next few hours here on al jazeera as we continue to listen to president vladimir putin's annual press conference. we will be listening in to what he has to say on the syrian crisis and russia's involvement there as well as relations with turkey and continue to bring you all the highlights here on al jazeera. for the moment, we will putin and move to other world news. rival parliaments in libya appear to be divide over a u.n.-backed deal to form a unity government. the u.n. hopes libyan pal petitions will sign the agreement in just a few hours in morocco, but the president of the national congress says none of the members have been authorized to sign. >> reporter: the gnc did not authorize any of its members to participate in or sign at the

meeting in morocco. any attempt to impose non-agreed outcomes will lead to more complications in the libyan political scene a ceasefire in yemen is in danger of collapse with both sides accusing the other of violence. the fighting between houthi rebels and forces loyal to the exile of the president is said to under mine peaks talks in switzerland. riots have broken out at a proposed center for asylum seekers. protests turned violent as crowds ripped down fences and threw beer bottles at police. police fired warning shots and made numerous arrests. five years ago today a tunisian street vendor set himself on fire sparking a revolution that would inspire other revolts across the arab world. mohamed bouazizi set in motion

events that led to the downfall of the president zine el abidine ben and ended decades of authoritarian rule. our correspondent returned to the city to meet the family and friends of a young man whose death is still being felt across the region. >> reporter: he said his cousin was trying to sell his fruit and vegetables but the police kept moving him on. he didn't have a permit, but there were no jobs and his family relied on his income, so he had to take the risk. >> translation: the police decided to confiscate his cart and scales when he went to the municipality to meet the governor he was turned away. they refused to speak to him. >> reporter: mohamed bouazizi's goals in life was to get married and earn money to help his family. the constant harassment from the

police and poverty prevented him. perhaps he felt humiliated after a police woman slapped him or helpless about the future. whatever, he decided he wanted to die right outside the offices of those who treated him so badly. his friend was nearby. >> translation: he set himself afire because he felt discriminated against. i saw him on fire and surround him and try to put the flames out. it was such a painful thing. >> translation: he felt lonely. he was suffering a lot at the time and had many problems. no-one was there to listen to his concerns and worries. >> reporter: his friends and family took to the streets. he was the first to upload the videos on facebook. >> translation: we were able to raise slogans like employment is our right and you gang of

thieves. we spoke out against the injustices and mohamed bouazizi's fate. that was the beginning. >> reporter: within weeks there were protests across tunisia. mohamed bouazizi's flight resonated to so many people. after staying in hospital, he died on 4 january 2011. ten days later president zine el abidine ben fled the country. >> translation: i remember how things were straight after the revolution. people stood together. unfortunately, politicians made promises and failed to keep them. we're asking for more nation unity. we hope the region gets its share of development and the state reaches out to people here. >> reporter: people here are tired of the slow pace of change since the revolution. many say life here is more difficult now, but the death of mohamed bouazizi did give

tunisians the freedom and dignity that elewd this young man all of his life-- eluded the u.n. secretary general has warned that burundi is on the brink of a civil war. secretary gen ban ki-moon has called for talks to prevent mass violence. a u.n. envoy will attend the region to impress peace talks. more from bujumbura and our correspondent. >> reporter: the u.s. secretary general's comments are part of an international call for urgent action. mr ban ki-moon says there were needs for urgent talks between the government and its opponent. he is sending his special adviser to come and have

discussions. there are also plans for the deployment of u.n. peacekeepers, something that the burundin government has tried. it is said that those who are agitating for the deploy of foreign peacekeepers in burundi have ulterior motives. he also said that the military and police are conducting themselves in a professional way as they continue carrying out security operations not only in bujumbura but also in other parts of the country china is objecting to a 1.8 billion dollars arms deal between the u.s. and taiwan. beijing has summoned a diplomat and threat ntas to impose sanctions on both. the u.s. is defending the deal saying it's arms sales policy with taiwan has been consistent and helped maintain security in the region.

political analyst says asian foreign policy is confused. >> it's difficult to understand it. the u.s. recognises the one china policy. that would include taiwan. it also insists on going on with the taiwan's relations act which says that it will give arms to twenties itself. this is saying to the state of georgia since you were involved in the confederate war, china will continue to arm you even though we recognise u.s. as one country. there has been military to military talks and engagement. from the u.s. point of view it is difficult to see the u.s. has not articulated a comprehensive foreign policy which involves both asia, europe and the middle east and this has been a bit of a hindrance. american exceptionalism is a rationalization but it doesn't

necessarily tell people where you stands in what is becoming a multi polar world asian market has opened with gains after the bank's decision to raise the interest rate for a quarter of%. the move is likely to strengthen the dollar and boost investment in the u.s. >> reporter: it was a sign of confidence in the u.s. economy. the federal reserve raised interests rates a quarter per crept. >> this action market the end of an extraordinary seven seven year period during which the fund rate was held near zero to support the recovery of the economy from the worst financial crisis in resession since the great depression. >> reporter: she said the increase was justified because inflation had been held to below the fed's target of 2%. thanks to progress and cutting the overall jobless rate to 5%. half of its level when the u.s.

economy was tanking. on wall street trading was heavy. markets closed higher. the rate increase could hurt american experlites, but-- exports, but it is exporting economies which is expected to suffer. >> as you start increasing rates, i think the reality is that it reduces uncertainty. >> reporter: the rate increase was widely anticipated so such so analysts say it was already factored into the market ahead of this announcement. the question moving forward is how high will the feds will it go and how quickly could that answer further shake things up on wall street and on main street. from credit cards to car loans, higher interest rates mean higher borrowing costs for consumers as well as businesses. analysts predicts the initial impact will be minor. >> consumers are benefitting

enormously right now from the huge drop in oil prices and gas prices still fally rapidly. it that has fleed up cash flow on retail goods, services, recreation, leisure and entertainment. >> reporter: the promised future increases would be gradual over the next year. news that is keeping investors happy at least for now it's not just the united states which is digesting important financial news. argentina is to relax foreign exchange restrictions which has been in place 2011. it comes six days after president macri took the office with promises of economic reforms. >> reporter: a much expected announcement by argentina's minister of finance. >> translation: we are aiming to normalize the economy. we inherited a complex situation, but we have started to fix it. that's why we are lifting

exchange rate restrictions. >> reporter: it was one of former president christina aissue's most unpop-- kirchner's unpopular controls amid rising inflation and a lack of faith in the peso, people have sought refuge in dollars. to control the situation, kerb largely banned the sale of dollars in 2011. now in an attempt to get this country's economy going, the new president is doing what the previous government said was impossible to do. >> reporter: there is lots of uncertainty in the financial district because nobody know what will be the consequences of liberalizing the exchange rate. this latest measure is popular amongst the business sector who say that controls were hurting the country's productivity. there are fears about what this new measure could bring about. government opponents say that

macri is devalue ewe eighting the country. it is around 30% inflation rate and these people have been demanding a pension raise for years saying they're worried about more inflation. >> translation: we have been demanding a raise and we are already seeing prices go up. we can only afford half of what we need to exist. >> reporter: since macri announced his plans to lift currency controls, prices which were already soaring have started going up. the price of beef has increased 30%, but economists say that macri made the right call >> it will be step-by-step to get argentina outs of this stagnation, but you need to have an integral approach because expectations are very high. expectations of change are high domestically and internationally. you have to fulfil those. >> reporter: after years of tight controls, macri's

government seems determined to liberalize the economy of latin america's third largest economy. there is no doubt argentina has a bumpy road ahead a chinese satellite has been blasted into space to explore dark matter. >> reporter: launching on board a long march rocket, china's dark matter particle explorer has set to give the country scientists a view none have had before. the 14 hundred kilogram space craft will orbit earth at anal tute at 500 kilometres. while its powerful space telescope searches for high energy gamma ray, electron and cosmic rays. using a series of detectors, the

craft is able to map the direction, energy and electric charge of these particles as they travel through space. from these scientists hope the telescope will see evidence of what's known as dark matter, which has never been seen or directly detected, but by looking at the movement of galaxies scientists have concluded it exists. more than that, they believe it makes up 80% of the mass of the universe. >> the distortions of light from galaxys which are playing with light from each other, these measurements of these distortions is telling us that there is an additional amount of matter in the universe that we cannot see. >> reporter: the space telescope is the first of four the chinese academy of sciences is developing to explore the universe. it is expected to start sending data back to earth within a few weeks and it's hoped these ultra high resolution images will provide sciencetists with a new

and previously unseen view of the cosmos a reminder that you can keep up-to-date with all the news on our website, al jazeera.com. the very latest of our top stories, as well as analysis and features. al jazeera.com.