russians have gone to the polls with beijing taking place in the country's parliament she elections the fake it is now whether the current ruling party united russia will be able to retain the level of popularity it enjoyed four years think a joint us prospects election coverage. and in other news that shaped the week terror on tension iranian students stormed the british embassy in response to fresh sanctions the u.k. to close its mission there done to expel iranian diplomats from london. the un human rights commission a cold for international intervention in syria but russia and china voted against

the resolution saying that foreign meddling will only cause more bloodshed. on egypt's main islamist party it is the biggest winner in the opening round of the country's first parliamentary election since february is revolution. it's good to have you with us here on out see we are coming to you live from moscow with me rory sushi from coming to kaliningrad it's decision day for russia millions all across the country's nine time zones have been having their say to decide the makeup of the lower house of parliament the state.

now fighting has finished in many regions of russia but people in the western part of the world's biggest nation are still heading to the polls to cost that ballots are the key issue focuses on whether the ruling united russia party will earn enough support to remain the major parliamentary force for more on this let's go straight to aussie sara first started by live in central moscow her off to weeks of political campaigning and politicking people have been making that choice what is the latest on how the election is going. well the faithing is continuing tonight here in the capital is good even to see million people have already called the russian election committee saying that and more than forty percent of the hundred and ten million people expected to vote have already turned out now of course russia does have nine different times a day in many regions in russia the polls are now closed and the face will be being counted and now his local time in most case the polls are going to place at eight

pm and the last place for the post a case because in ingratitude now of the nine pm most k. time and of course you want to stay with us we'll be bringing you a special needs an analysis as all of that happens of course everyone very keen to cost that crucial vote no one being left out we've even seen how the two cosmonauts up on the i assess call thing that today and of course this is all be monitored by a large number of international observers t.v. watching the election process taking place today now we've seen a number of unsanctioned rallies happening here today in the capital they think and the elections and at various points in support of different policies we've seen police make a number of arrests faith from up. fishing groups and the groups in support of the ruling party the police presence monitoring that situation at the moment we've also see as a minor reports from some of the opposition observers he said there's some violations

of violations have taken place and reports of newspaper website hacking that have been however been any major violations reported by the international observers who watched that all go ahead and they're going to continue monitoring that as that goes on this full hundred and fifty feet in the duma seven political parties but selling it out to when they say to seven percent threshold that the parties need to get proportional representation in the lower house of parliament this election day that will be the exception if a party gets six percent it will get seats in the house if it gets five percent of the vote it will get one season the house is considered quite important the representation in the house of parliament this is the first time in russia's modern history the lawmakers are going to be taking up position for a period of five years well as we continue on into the evening with our election

coverage my colleague tessa us still has been taking a closer look at some of the major political parties and how they line up. this right here is the state duma the lower chamber of the russian parliament where laws are adopted and all bills are first reviewed and the term comes from the russian dumont meaning to think it was founded in one thousand nine hundred six but does survive the one nine hundred seventeen revolution however it did bounce back in one thousand nine hundred three when a new constitution was introduced and the upcoming election and the makeup of the six duma since one thousand nine hundred three. there are four hundred fifty seats up for grabs in the duma and the elected deputies will serve for five years well as it stands the stay do must be divided between four political parties. are currently has three hundred fifteen seats it's the biggest party in

the duma it's followed by the communists with fifty seven seats the liberal democrats forty seats and a fair russia has thirty eight. but let's look at those parties in detail now the ruling united russia party has a constitutional majority in the current parliament and is led by prime minister vladimir putin and with the upcoming election of president dmitry medvedev will be at the top of the party's list of candidates for the party's representation in the duma is not only made up of career politicians but celebrities as well such as one of the most decorated gymnasts of two time olympic medalist. former n.h.l. star the salt as well as the first man to walk in space alexei now the party's platform essentially revolves around modernizing the economy uprooting corruption and add to radicalism however united russia is also often criticized as bureaucratic inefficient and to some extent blamed for political and economic

stagnation. and the second of the number of seats is the communist party headed by its own. you got off the communist saw the biggest opposition force in the country constantly in second place and one of the most prominent deputies in this sector of us of federal he's a nobel laureate in physics in two thousand and the communist party promises a not for the first on the nationalization of key industries they're often criticized for sticking to a platform that caters to an elderly constituency that still dreams of returning to the glory days of the soviet union. or another old timer of the russian the state duma. he's a leader of the liberal democratic party of russia and what's often called a one man party he is widely considered to be a show mad at his over his eccentric behavior and sometimes shocking political views for example he advocated forcibly retaking alaska from the u.s. and openly expressed his hatred of certain ethnic groups from that is it is often

turned his words into action on a lighter note since resting chopping the knicks out of the reading was elected as a united russia deputy there's been no more poles in the state. fair russia is headed by he said again and as the name implies its platform is based on the principles of fairness freedom and solidarity calling for the proper functioning of a welfare state. this is the usual working place with a deputy no bells and whistles just a mike and a device with which to vote but not all deputies are interested in the daily debates over bills last year a huge scandal emerge when it came to light that some deputies consistently missed sessions and simply asked their party called the vote in their absence now only after public criticism from the president if they returned to work now despite the four comings of russia's politicians there are still hopes of the country will be able to put together the kind of polling that it needs to address its people's

demands and navigate russia's future so who exactly will be filling these four hundred fifty seats of the state duma they won't be long now to find. and i will be bringing you a detailed account of this day of decision in russia throughout the day and the first preliminary results are expected to be released at five pm g.m.t. shortly before that of four o'clock g.m.t. will bring begin our special coverage correspondence will be live from the central election committee as well as major party headquarters bringing you all the reaction and analysis as it all comes in. closes. the people prepare to speak. in duma election eleven. in-depth coverage of those won the hearts and minds of the russian. authorities. now ten minutes past the hour here in moscow this week has seen

a dramatic rise in tensions around iran with western nations on leasing more pressure on the islamic state last week britain along with the u.s. and canada. with fresh sanctions as punishment for what they believe to be a covert nuclear program it's parked outrage among the iranian public and on tuesday angry students stormed the british embassy the u.k. shut down its diplomatic mission in response twenty four iranian diplomats were also expelled from london it comes as washington is preparing its own crippling sanctions against iran's central bank but political analyst chris bambery believes provoking tehran would have disastrous consequences. as the sanctions against iran there is talk of some strike against iran over this nuclear program we should remember that really in nationalism runs very deep in people one memories of when for instance britain and america wants the coup in one thousand nine hundred eighty three to overthrow a democratically elected government which had nationalized american oil interests

and installed the shah of iran and the nationalism is runs very deep and for a really ensued maybe no enthusiasm present. many the mood around against any notion of sanctions against iran or indeed a british american need to strafe against the right policy of america and britain who between them have enough weapons to destroy the world many times over make sure you could weapons it does not have. in iraq the americans and the bruce do have plans for eventually a military strike is whether or not the kind of and i think those people who are committed to peace and don't want to see you know war should be concerned about there is actually a pressure in washington london paris to stop any talk of for the sanctions or any talk of a military strike against iran from iran over to syria which has reportedly accepted the arabs league plan to send a mission of foreign observers into the country this comes in the wake of sustained

foreign pressure on damascus with the un's high commissioner for human rights are calling for international intervention she said four thousand people have been killed since the clashes began almost nine months ago a serious ambassador to the u.n. responded by warning the solution to the crisis cannot come from abroad a resolution that could have paved the way for military intervention in syria was blocked by russia and china they believe the u.n. continues to ignore reports of atrocities committed by opposition fighters i think that foreign meddling would only make the situation worse political analyst a doctor who questions just who the sanctions that have been imposed are truly aimed upon. these sanctions are meaningless actually i think they're meaningless and on every level on the level on the economic level and on the security lap and it will not stop the violence western powers particularly the united states now to use these sanctions on iran to use the decisions of the arab league for their own

purposes to put pressure on syria to put pressure not for the syrian regime to stop the killing as they put it no they what they want is to weaken the syrian regime and to weaken the alliance between syria iran and lebanon i don't think they they. as so much for for syrian blood in libya more than one hundred thousand people were killed by nato bombings and the come through as devastated that nobody said any word so i can't actually believe that they're now searching about three thousand syrians when they are not actually what about more than one hundred thousand libyans it has nothing to do with stopping the violence on the contrary they're feeding the violence we can't expect the syrian government and the syrian army to end the violence if the other if the armed gangs do not stop atrocities against the syrian armed forces. with r.t. now is still ahead for you this hour here on r.t.

the never ending story of a saving figure. every week we have a news every week we have new hopes and we read nothing happens with monday's meeting between the german and french leaders offer anything new to ease public discontent more on that ahead. plus size us police continue to crack down on anti corporate protesters some officers are changing sides we meet one of them who explains why he joined the chorus of those unhappy with the current economic policies. egypt's state newspaper is reporting islamist parties have taken an overwhelming lead in the opening round of the country's first post revolution parliamentary election the muslim brotherhood freedom and justice party reportedly gained forty percent of the vote but the fundamentalist al-noor party thought to have claimed twenty five percent however the results are not final as most parties are set to go through to further election rounds over the next couple

of months but as artie's paula slater reports from cairo many in the streets feel their votes carry little weight. long queues devoted stained fingers and a record turnout over a sign of political interest in a country where decades of dictatorship has left little appetite for the power of the ballot the faces of candidates now down to one most of the street corner and while egypt sons are excited to be voting in a real mix and these same many hold nothing but. iran to boot but i just tried. to lead you down down with me. there are tens of thousands like mr mohammed young unemployed and frustrated they think it doesn't matter who they vote for because the military will still make all the important decisions and the problem is you know what are they actually going to produce a parliament that cannot appoint ministers that cannot appoint

a government. whose constitution whatever it turns out to be is going to be guarded by the army many in egypt say they will continue to camp out on top here square the center of the revolution and in front of the parliament building youth movement leaders like dravot are protesting and what they see as an empty vote offering no democratic mandate and will be you. know we will not go inside your office we have to go and you have to go and we do. two more rounds of voting still need to take place but the strong showing of the muslim brotherhood leaves little doubt that the islamic parties will have a significant majority in parliament for what it's worth although claims of a record sixty two percent turnout is already being questioned after a series of irregularities were reported the country's only female candidate for the presidency is not surprised. monitoring the

election just took the lead to their mistakes and their fraud we had no way for democracy. but the west has been quick to praise the election as an important step towards change although the americans are beginning to say well no the army must go back to barracks deep down they'll be perfectly happy to keep the army where it is of egypt if you give one point three billion dollars a year to the egyptian army which the americans do you with your expected to do what it wants which leaves little room for the people to get what they want sitting the stage for to hear turmoil policy r.t. . and the paula continues to monitor the situation in egypt you can follow her updates on her twitter feed and one of the latest tweets she reports on the word circulating on the rear swear those who attacked female journalists were planted by the regime to make the protesters look bad you can follow paula's personal feed for more updates on inside or just read the reach we set our city under school.

on monday europe could move closer to what's been described as the budgetary intervention in the running of e.u. member states german and french leaders are to thrash out a deal on creating a fiscal union of euro zone countries this would mean that the financial policies of nations would have to be approved by brussels and penalties for countries which break the rules this week belgium and greece saw massive strikes as people expressed anger at the painful austerity measures brought into control but economic analyst michael ross believes the european leaders are just creating a facade of action because they know the problems are here to stay. very weak we have a new emergency meeting every week we have a news every week we have new hopes and every wreak and nothing happens so this is the prognosis the forecast also for the e.u. summit next week and when angela merkel says no to euro bonds this means nothing

else then no to the euro because you must not be an economist to know that the common currency cannot work without a common bond market in europe we are twenty seven different countries with different cultures and different ways of living and of course they don't want to be ruled by brussels and nobody wants those also the germans don't want it and this is the real problem that we have with this common currency it is not backed by the several governments if you want to have a common currency who have to have one single rulership in europe brussels for example but nobody wants it so we are in a contradiction we are only cool the sec so i don't know how you will solve this problem. twenty minutes past the hour here in moscow police in riot gear have arrested more than a dozen occupy protesters shutting down their camp in the u.s. city of portland this time police overnight stays at parks where tens of being subtle but some activists refuse to go demonstrators accuse officers of using tough

tactics against a peaceful rally pushing people to the ground protester claims an officer hit him in the face with a riot stick police action came as part of a wave to dismantle occupy headquarters across the u.s. in the past few weeks and his arteries are unimportant are reports the movement's message is beginning to resonate even with those whose job it is to control. the streets occupy wall street has become an undeniable american household name. and police crackdowns against the democratic movement have become something of the norm not so normal is seeing one side endorse the other. retired philadelphia police captain gray lewis became the game changer on nov seventeenth arrested while demonstrating with occupy protesters on the streets of new york city the twenty four year veteran was held in police custody for eleven hours and

received one comment from a new york cop nobody spoke to me this one individual said that i had the testicles of an elephant although all of america's police force is part of the ninety nine percent captain lewis says cops secretly supporting o.w.m. face dire consequences by going public tremendous fear of losing their job being disciplined being fired and then what do they do everybody in the ninety nine percent has that fear and police officers also they cannot risk they have children they have one what would they do once are fired or no jobs available the nighttime raid on zuccotti park and subsequent arrest of dozens of journalists covering the story are among many reasons captain lewis. says he temporarily transplanted to manhattan that's close to dictatorship when you exclude the media. that's what the papers around the world know and that is very scary brutal scare tactics such as pepper spray the tongs and flash grenades canisters have been used against occupy

camps throughout the us oakland california resembles something of an urban war zone this fall leaving a war vet in critical condition and the eyes of an eighty four year old burning from tear gas oakland police officer fred chavez is the only octave cop who's gone on record with his support but totally agree with occupy wall street even to an extent what i can broker i am a part of the ninety nine percent for the most part people are peaceful and i want to see change many believe the biggest change could calm when or if u.s. law enforcement officials stop suppressing the right to assemble and begin supporting it despite his arrest captain lewis is back at zuccotti park showing unwavering support for the occupy movement standing roughly ten or fifteen feet away from him a group of new york city police officers yes they're here securing the area but some are beginning to show

a little interest for the first time i had an officer break ranks yesterday at the barricade line a white officer named officer murray and introduced himself and he started asking if you question i said do you know the risk you're taking and he was so brave that you said this is still america and until a supervisor ordered ordered me back to the line i'm going to talk with you i hope to get mainstream america involved the players involved realizing that we're all victims of corporate america and that corporate america has got to be stopped marina port r.t. new york. and i don't forget you can find more on the story online just for now let's have a quick look and see what's waiting for you at our teeth on. smartphones the hottest touchscreen may indeed be apple's i phone but in the short space of the past week two of them have gone up in smoke. and break dance battle top stars clash of the international contest is being held right here in the heart of

the russian capital. bending footage in full at r.t. dot com. all right in other news from this week here on r.t. pakistan is boycotting an international conference on the future of afghanistan due to take place in germany next week is the latest sign of a deepening crisis in relations between washington and islamabad following the most recent deadly nato air raid on a pakistani border post pakistan shut down a vital alliance supply route to afghanistan in response to the helicopter strike that killed twenty four of its soldiers the incident described by a top pakistani officer as quote a deliberate act of aggression triggered anti-american protests all across the country some experts predict the troubled relations will get worse as the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan comes closer. i think that both the united states and pakistan have this very strange relationship that they need each other and that

probably before it absolutely ruptures there will be some concessions but you know the the united states is planning to leave by two thousand and fourteen all its troops there what will be left behind pakistan is determined to have a force in kabul that actually pakistan wants to support it in other words for similar to the taliban that is passion to the base this is quite opposed to anything that the west wants so i think that the next two years are going to be fascinating when you've got two wholly different dynamics unfolding there. in about five minutes here on r.t. we talked to pakistan's former head of intelligence on the latest blow so u.s. pakistani relations. the newly elected president of kyrgyzstan as called on the u.s. to abandon a military base that's been in the country since two thousand and one could because

the locals near the base applauded the decision saying american troops have made their lives rather difficult to use oksana boyko tells us what's fueling their frustrations. they call it operation enduring misery several times a day u.s. military planes take off from an airport near the characters capital bishkek there and generating a lot of anger and mung the locals that's why there's it's so noisy here i can barely sleep back in soviet times the village of marar there was famous across kyrgyzstan for years gigantic whatever melons but ever since the americans landed here ten years ago locals say the quality of their crops has been steadily declining like most of his neighbors further nicholai which is convinced americans are dumping fuel on the field surrounding the base which is commanders deny your version i wish the u.s. planes come and go several times a day i know there should be the noise is disturbing but i sort of got used to

what's really bad is that they're killing nature the fields and the crops and people's health is getting worse to the airbase represents the shortest and the most efficient route to deliver you supplies and servicemen into afghanistan nicknamed the gateway to how it's the last safe start on the way to combat but for the residents here getting rid of the base is a battle in its own right but i mean it kind of seems we are going to america has so many enemies it's forty wars in afghanistan iraq libya but its enemies want to attack us smiling. one former colleague is perhaps than sandy american. and the victualling notice only to negotiate a three fold lease increase a few months later the following year by keith was ousted from office on allegations of corruption some really did to payments from the u.s. base mistrust and even has still it's between the locals and u.s. troops abroad are hardly anything new many countries are hosting american bases

despite sometimes very strong objections of the indigenous population but here in kyrgyzstan the issue so politically charged that it has already shown the power of making or breaking once presidency yet america's presence in the region has its legal benefits to military gear in accessories have long found their way to bishkek bazaars thanks to a shady network of buyers and sellers secondhand to use military uniform is held in very high regard here the owner of this business who doesn't want us to show his face says he usually gets it from american troops on the ground for a couple hundred bucks and he sells it to a wide range of clients many of whom come from all over the former soviet union according to the bases commanders do try to be nice in addition to sixty million dollars a year for the least use personnel in kyrgyzstan have done volunteer work and

raised money to renovate the local school and the locals are appreciative they say they have nothing against the americans per se except that they have long outstayed their welcome. artsy because they. are going to help us they are here in moscow i will be back with a recap of the headlines in just a moment.