this is you know we do is live for a roll in case closed a bit to get his name on the ballot appears to be over russian opposition leader alexina vali has been barred from next year's presidential vote and is now calling on his supporters to boycott it meanwhile president vladimir putin is set to be

nominated formally for a record fourth term also coming up. here to stay here russia's parliament signs off on a deal to extend its lease of a syrian naval port the move secures moscow a port for its fleet in the western mediterranean and a presence in the ms east. and clashes erupted in peru's capital after ex-president i'll bet a whole team already has been pardoned for medical reasons the move causing an uproar protesters accuse peru's current president of political opportunism issuing the pardon to save his own career. great to have you along supporters of president vladimir putin are. just to

nominate him as their presidential candidate later today all unlike in previous elections putin will be campaigning as an independent in next year's ballot instead of running for his united russia party his nomination comes a day after his main critic opposition leader alexina vali was barred from joining the presidential race of all he says officials are trying to stifle any possible challenge to putin. the election commission's vote was a setback for no volley twelve of the thirteen members supported the motion to bar him from running in next year's election with one member abstaining earlier the commission argued the opposition leader was in eligible due to a past conviction for embezzlement. but used. in a crime which alexei on the totally of it was charged with is a serious one which deprives a person who committed that crime of the right to run for the post of russian federation president. no valving can

sense the charge was trumped up to thwart his political ambitions speaking before the vote the kremlin critic said a candidate was needed to confront the country's problems. it's not about nirvana but a candidate is needed who will finally speak openly about everything taking place in our country now one who will describe our reality honestly the lack of any future prospects and the poverty i did that and that's why you want to allow me to take part in the election when you get you to respect me and i will but it just moments after the commission's decision to reject his bid in a volunteer released a prerecorded message calling on supporters to boycott next year's vote. we have now it's a boycott of the election but the way they want to carry out the vote is not a real election it will feature only putin and the candidates he has personally

selected the ones who don't pose any threat to him they haven't campaigned and they will not campaign but it's an example and. president vladimir putin is campaigning as an independent polls show him on course to win a fourth term. allowing him to stay in office another six years. now let's explore what this all means we're sure when she joins us from the russian capital of moscow emily with the most outspoken putin critic blocked from running what suspense is there left around this upcoming march election well that is the big question and i think that is the big question for the kremlin as well the most important issue for them for these elections they need to have them look to have them be legitimate and have them look legitimate to the outside world as well and one of the most important factors for that is turnout they need

the public to be interested in these elections now media reports on the weekend said that they could that the kremlin was actually calling for a seventy percent turnout that's their ultimate goal the question is how they will achieve that interest in the public after all putin is running for a fourth term as president perhaps the strategy of having putin run as an independent candidate could help experts here have been. talking about maybe this being a strategy to present putin as a new candidate a new face a new put in for his fourth term all right so they're contemplating a facelift is there any other credible contender who can challenge the incumbent. that's a good question my love there are two worth mentioning and worth watching the key word here is whether that you know there are credible first of all those who has

presented herself very much as a real opposition candidate she's been very critical of putin as well and just now the election commission has accepted her candidacy she was a journalist before a public figure and she has said the number in the can actually join her campaign so far that seems unlikely since he's been a vocal critic of her as well and also people have been accusing seeing a sub chuck of being actually a kremlin plot to legitimize these elections that the kremlin just wants to put forward a real opposition candidate candidate to make this look like a fair fight and the other interesting factor is largely unknown candidate that's being put forward by the communist party party. in the communists have traditionally come are often have come second in the presidential elections this guy is largely unknown we'll have to watch watch that space but so far the

opposition candidates and polls have received single digit results so it still looks like putin is likely to win all right and we sure are reporting from moscow thank you. and meanwhile the upper chamber of russia's parliament has ratified a deal to extend the lease of a syrian naval port by forty nine years the vote means moscow can now access syrian waters from the port of tartus the development is part of a deal between russia and syria that allows russia to boost its military presence in this war torn country well as part of the deal russia will also be allowed to maintain a permanent indefinite presence who may mean their base. well as syria as russia excuse me increases its footprint in syria what does it mean for that war torn country kind of vehicle but race is a former senior warders correspondent based in damascus and he's also an

independent researcher so glad to have you here with us to shed some more light about this latest developments why is russia committing in this way what's in it for them well syria is a gateway to the middle east seeders location is. this is why it russia has kept for a month on a nominal presence in part of truce naval base although it was basically across that base but now would be russian expansion and the russian projection of followed about coming election. to sort of become seeders become a spearhead for any potential russian increased influence in the middle east with the. it's a partial order very limited that it needs of the united states all right well let's talk a little bit about that as well a bit further because with this reinvigorated russian presence in the media east the u.s. retreating a little bit from the area as well the saudi iran rival e rivalry heating up is moscow jumping in the vacuum by committing to these this

build up we'll know in theater there was no vacuum because mosco has been calling the shots from day one this goes back to the obama administration and its failure to honor its commitment to comfort a search for the suspected use of chemical weapons against his own forthright the infamous red line two thousand and fourteen was the day when basically obama handed syria to russia and so there was no vacuum in that sense. the first clear advance that said look if you want to make it a law that afghanistan it suits it doesn't become you know that of hunston for russia but what does this mean let's take a wider view. does that mean for the region having that kind of permanent footprint now there what do the other leaders make of this development well it's a boost for the thirty thirty in an autocratic leader that is in the middle east that's what the russia's president's commitment to for continued president is the

president mean we have seen with the russian intervention military the visions he did two thousand and fifteen these are daily in regime for example a very. the jordanian king. let's say put the reforms in jordan on the slow on the slow fire to sort of repeat it through a bit of force because you have seen russia next door in syria as a boost for the more hardline systems that egypt so there is no need them before and basically with russia calling the shots now in the east and the levant in a way with it on of course right well let's talk about that because of this whole rivalry that we're seeing playing out in the region between saudi and iran how do you see russia up playing a role in that if at all. well it's a complicated issue for a photo russia because on the ground in syria the the the forces the shia militia doing the dirty for work for us on the ground has been the iran iranians but it is also that is not it's not it's not the love relationship between the iran and

russia that has been historic and then also the between persia and russia so one way. once iran in syria in a limited role and that same thought it seeks also an understanding with so that he be on all issues on a thing of the succession for prince so look for the king solomon for example and so it's a mixed bag for the show between iran and saudi arabia what does this mean for the embattled syrian president president assad what does this mean now russia is there to boost him permanently. as a stooge yes i mean that's why he tries to play on the tension. i mean iran and russia both you're on the bus about that but as we've seen from the putin triumphant to out of syria egypt few weeks ago when he went to the mean base he treated assad as a surrogate even that was a russian officer that russia wanted to advance to stand next to the and the

russian officer like this through the seat of president he treated him as a sort of good so he has a might stay for a while but he would not be seen in russia as an independent leader of syria side of the akubra ways former senior correspondent in syria for reuters thank you so very much it's. art want to bring up to speed now with some of the other stories making news around the world. syrian rebel groups have rejected russian sponsored peace talks planned for january saying moscow is trying to bypass the u.n. sponsored peace process the rebels have also accused russia of committing war crimes in syria and failing to put pressure on the syrian regime. memorials are being held across thailand to mark the anniversary of the two thousand and four indian ocean tsunami which left well over two hundred thousand people dead

indonesia was the country hit hardest by the natural disaster considered one of the worst in modern history. china has sentenced a prominent rights activist to eight years in jail for subversion gang is a blogger better known by his online pseudonym super vulgar butcher and has drawn attention for mocking china's government his lawyer says he will appeal the sentence. the west african nation of liberia is picking a new president in which could be the first democratic transfer of power in over seven decades voters are choosing between senator george weah a former world footballer of the year an incumbent vice president juice a verb ok the when it will succeed president ellen johnson sirleaf who won the nobel prize as the africa's first elected female leader for helping secure peace after liberia's back to back civil wars. well this is

a crucial vote for that country and evelyn today is in the capital monrovia evelyn set the scene for us where do things stand what's at stake. well. this election is a very critical election like beauty we know is one of the poorest countries you know we're a country has suffered from anything but at the to make it is the youngest one of the youngest democracy and for the fights time power will be transferred to elect a leader democratically elected in some more than seventy years this is the forst time in many years like the area is going to see such a transition. after the president so you can ministration.

evelyn who are the two on me or in ireland who are the two main candidates and what do they represent. well the candidates are from uncle bought stock george we are a war player and to come into vice president why current who has served presidents i mean you stray from the uniter bazzi what twelve years those are the two people in the election but the issue is emerging from these elections since the start of campaign i know most people calling for change that they cannot give another twelve year to the unity party where they are all the people on the other side would you will believe that it's a time for a younger generation but the arguments that the younger generation was represented by the four month. judge that he does not have the kind of experience like barry after twelve years of progress by president doesn't want this to get was coming up

but this cycle of on of election it seems very critical don't we have a very low turnout for to us funded morning up to now. evan podiatry reporting from monrovia thank you. and we turn now to peru where the country's former president alberto fujimori has asked peruvians for forgiveness after receiving a christmas eve pardon from current president pablo because in state although the pardon was based on medical grounds it has sparked two days of clashes in the country who was convicted of human rights abuses and has so far served less than half of a twenty five year sentence the pardon the latest improves continuing political crisis. protesters and police kirsch on the streets of lima the anger over x. leader alberto fujimori is pardon isn't going away. some demonstrators carry photos

of victims slain jaring for him henri's presidency. during a decade in power for him henri oversaw extrajudicial executions massacres and the forced sterilization of thousands of women. families of the victims are furious with current president pedro pablo could since the ordering food in mori's release . was made at the stanleys the rights to justice that we have are being trampled we are here rejecting that pardon and demanding that all the processes be made more transparent in a manner that must be followed and according to the norms that peruvian laws dictate what. president pedro pablo christian skee appealed to the people calling the pardon the most difficult decision of his life. i am convinced that those of us who consider ourselves democrats cannot allow alberto fujimori to die

in prison or for justice is not vengeance. nor is bringing guns which in ski had campaigned on a promise not to pardon for him henri his change of heart appears to many to be political possibly part of a quid pro quo that's allowed him to stay in office who had just survived a no confidence vote spearheaded by the daughter of our better tofu he mori when he announced for him henri's pardon. fouhy mori now age seventy nine is in hospital being treated for heart back and stomach problems his children are delighted by the turn of events. despite being intensive care it has been the happiest christmas of the past twelve years. you know they are new. to him raise legacy and really is a nation divided to support his credit him with defeating rebels and stabilizing

the economy he's opponents say he belongs behind bars and now they're demanding that the current president go as well. china is getting tough on north korea at least when it concerns that treat sanctions sanctions care that's right after the first time in almost three years there were no exports of oil products from china to north korea in november as government data released on tuesday shows that means no gasoline no diesel no jet fuel china is following sanction and put sanctions imposed earlier this year by the united nations beijing also imported no iron or coal or lead from north korea internationally isolated country depends on china for deliveries of most goods including food and even in that sector trade has slowed down. china and pakistan will look at extending their fifty seven billion dollars economic corridor or to afghanistan part of china's bases belton road plan linking

china with asia europe and beyond china has tries to position itself as a helpful party to promote talks between pakistan other scholars done both uneasy neighbors ever since pakistan's independence in one thousand nine hundred forty seven. let's listen in to what chinese foreign minister one he had to say on tuesday. to. china and pakistan are willing to look at including afghanistan other bases of the would win militarily beneficial principles discussing appropriate means to extend china pakistan economic corridor sure afghanistan. and this corridor will eventually become part of what is known as the new silk road it takes its name from an action to trade route one thousand years ago long caravans of camels brought for sale and spices and precious silk all the way from china to europe and today the chinese government is investing hundreds of

billions of u.s. dollars to revive this route by building ports and bridges and roads both in china and abroad this week we want to take you on a journey along with silk road and take a closer look at the most important stations and today we'll stop in tbilisi the capital of georgia is the only country in the southern caucasus with access to the black sea cutting shipping time to europe significantly and this is why the next in the next ten years the chinese government will sink two point five billion dollars alone into the georgian black sea port of larnaca building a brand new deep sea harbor there but georgia does not only want to be a transit country with so much trade going past their doorstep georgian businesses small and large want a slice of the action on the new silk road. for the guards is a family get together like this doesn't happen so often anymore they're all looking after their businesses and son georgie now works in china as

a marketing expert everyone here depends on chinese firms for their livelihoods to speak mandarin casually discuss the menu with a chinese restaurant stuff. i thank you mother because it's through use of our whole family is connected to china. and. it's. this new luxury hotel is a few kilometers from tbilisi it belongs to the chinese quarreling group the director is a friend of the family restaurant many guests here but the boss is thinking long term he's been in tbilisi for eighty years and has invested millions of chinese business park is due to be built close by with shops restaurants and a massive fim park. first they'll be a lot of concrete then many trees will be planted because that will look nice and be good for the environment because. this is the entrance to the business park

vacant land all owned by chinese investors a few months ago the biggest shopping mall in the caucuses opened here one hundred and fifty thousand square meters of retail space. but customers are scarce it's simply too far from the city center and western brands are not on offer. there are some shops like this for key. if you want to buy some furniture and other things you can come here and buy. mandarin lessons at the bend agrarian university in tbilisi the teacher is annie's mother. she can't complain about lack of interest there are more students studying chinese than russian here. i study china's because i seeing that it's a more perspective language in the world and also china innovates innovate

to much money in georgia we already have a good relation with chinese people and i think that we will we have to continue this relation. family know their future is with china and it's a sure thing that their youngest member is going to grow up speaking mandarin that it. because you're looking to buy a skyscraper and who isn't these days i have a top tip for you a chinese court is off a thirty nine floor building in taiwan and the northern shaanxi province the online auction is held on by oh that's ali baba's e-commerce platform and it is the biggest yes for the site with a starting price of over eighteen million dollars the buy i will have to spend quite a bit more it's picture so hot finished building dimly lit and not very inviting to be honest these days many chinese courts have taken to auctioning off goods left

over from bankruptcy's and lawsuits on the web including cars during jewelry rob recently even several boeing seven full seven jumbo jets. would buy one of those myself so it's bargain really. for disappeared in that auction thank you so much garrett now back here in europe authorities in western austria are keeping a close eye on the mountains above the vals valley after a massive landslide bury the area's only access road they're worried some of the slopes are so unstable that more rocks could still come crashing down a landslide came on christmas eve with people in a nearby village lucky to escape unharmed rocks keep falling adding to the tens of thousands of tons of rubble in the valley the mayor of vols says the precipice above the village still poses a risk. but if you follow the danger is far from over after the

first helicopter flight today we thought we could clear most of the roadblock but during the day than it turned out there is still a risk of rocks coming down to place told in light of the ongoing danger all evacuations from the valley have been suspended leaving around one hundred thirty people cut off from the outside world the rockslide just missed a group of children on their way back from a christmas service locals say it's a miracle no one was injured. you know it's ok who called me and it sounded like an earthquake the entire house was shaking we ran out onto the balcony where everything was dark there was a huge dust avalanche blowing down it was so dark and scary it was unbelievable everyone here in the valley just says it was unbelievable. and for. the sole access road to the village now lies buried under fifty metres of rubble and might not be cleared until the middle of the week for those who are trapped there's

one crumb of comfort because of the christmas holiday everyone was well stocked up on food. it's been a dramatic opening to the sydney hobart yacht race one of sailings most grueling competitions blackjack is leading the pack but early on it was a near collision between two of the favorites stole the headlines comanche wasn't too pleased with some erratic maneuvering from wild oats eleven to two yards almost bumped into each other just after leaving sydney harbor command she subsequently launched a special protest in favor of wins could mean that the race one day and thirteen hours falls this year. all right that's your a world news update for now more from us at the top of the hour now though it's time for the very best of our reporting this week and will stories that's up next here on the dot.

success from the. first. young musicians from germany and. the special. position.

to seventeen compass project. in the eye of the storm. christians in egypt for centuries they've lived here peacefully alongside muslims. the tensions between the religions are rising above me me a cut to christian family which is a few of these worrying developments in christian still lead a normal life here at all. in forty five minutes. as long as. my letters do not go to day nothing would change you know the banks. and so was the languages.

speaking the truth global news that matters g.w. made four minds. it's all about the moments that before. it's all about the stories inside. it's all about george chance to discover the world from different perspectives. join us and be inspired by distinctive instagram or others at g.w. stories the two topics each week on instagram. twenty one today a conductor conducts a musical experiment. a

conductor with a dream ok.