up to fifty thousand people are expected to sand in central moscow in a second major protest against the results of this month's parliamentary poll. the opposition claims the vote was rigged and is demanding a recount while authorities promised over the forms why don't more in just a few moments. no merry christmas for syrians whose countries locked in a spiral of violence with the arab league looking for ways out of the crisis and the truth behind why it's happening. and turning from libya to somalia london names that a failed state and

a territory encamped leading to speculation and invasion is the next step. now i am in the russian capital you're watching r t with me arena joshie anything up to fifty thousand people are expected to gather in central moscow on saturday for another protest against the results of russia's problem and reelection earlier this month the mass rally is being organized by various opposition groups who claim the voting that was rick artistic work is going to joins us live now. so you are tell us what we can expect from this gathering today. all this rally was authorized for fifty thousand people on some of the social networks on the internet over fifty thousand activists have already confirmed they're planning to attend this event to

this point the organizers have managed to gather over one hundred thirty thousand dollars from donations to sponsor this rally a lot of people are expected so there's going to be heavy security there as well but authorities say they hope everything will go through peacefully just like they did on the tenth on baldness square which is so far the biggest protest rally russia seen the last twenty years where at least twenty thousand activists gathered demanding real action there and accusing the violations of having been rigged. that rally was authorized this one is authorized just hope everything will go through. all right now what's been the reaction by the russian leadership to these protests. president need to be. ordered to investigate all of the allegations of the violations during the election and you

know that over fifty criminal cases have been opened already and the results from over twenty polling stations across russia have been canceled the president also said that each russian citizen has the full legal rights to voice his opinion or hers opinion as long as it's done within the framework all without any provocation and you can be beautiful. any foreign influence in this process will not be accepted these statements were made just recently at the annual state of the union address where the president also voiced a set all free. proposals which has already been deemed the is the. political reform liberalizing system in russia there are proposals like turning the election off regional governors simplifying the procedures registering new

political parties and procedures to take part in presidential elections and so on and all this is actually needed as the newly elected parliament has already started working the following the election on december fourth now what do we know about the people who are behind the rally. at the moment there is no unified opposition force in russia consists of various groups some of them have been there before some of them just recently and it's only actually since the parliamentary election early december that they became really active and many took to the streets there are some well known figures especially in russia former deputy prime minister by the snoops wolf an opposition figure who is also known to be linked to washington national endowment for democracy and recent peabody's so he's actually found himself in the center of

a lot of scandal where some of his phone conversations were leaked into the internet and when he talked about some of his fellow opposition leaders described them really using some obscene language there's also figures like. who's a blogger on active anticorruption activists a serious critic of the kremlin but he's also known for his often aggressive and sometimes even nationalist oriented speeches resize them they're also going to long to be celebrities some. journalist public figures including even the first and last presidents of the u.s.s.r. . by your. thanks very much indeed for bringing us this update the work has been off there. to the stories now the christian world is getting ready for christmas but there is little festive spirit in syria the capital is recovering from a two suicide blast which left over forty people dead and more than one hundred

injured the arab league is searching for a solution to the crisis and trying to find out the truth behind the rest syrians just want the bloodshed to end r.t. sara firth reports. chaos and confusion in damascus as the capital which until now has remained largely spared from the violence starts to feel the effects of an escalating conflict. on. the first day of the league's work was a bloody tragic day the people of syria will never forget these terrorists. this kind of here the capsule is usually brightly lit it is christians here comes the ten percent of the population get ready to celebrate christmas but these scenes of devastation are a harsh contrast and a stark reminder of just how much the country has changed in the past nine months. last year to christmas we used to wish and pray for people in other countries that

were going through hard times with war we never thought that this year it would be us. this year is totally different because of the situation in our country. the priests here planning their own mark of respect for the coast. of syria our people to avoid the external signs of the beauties but to go. there one really feels like celebrating anyway when the country's hospitals are full of casualties the government claims it's fighting arms militant groups sponsored from abroad the while the opposition originally marked by its insistence on peaceful protests it's now been joined by growing numbers of army defectors and has become increasingly armed on the months quite downs by the government and this violence spreads its prevailing extremely hard to know exactly

who is responsible for what. you have for instance. from somebody who is not. government's. position the. government. taxing killings have been met repeatedly with claim counter-claim and accusation. have. two different views. don't tell me. more. from the truth the arab league team will be attempting to cut through the rhetoric and discover his version of events is most accurate they many remain skeptical about how much they'll be able to achieve but there's one thing that everyone here is shaping for and that's for the violence to

be stopped the christmas celebration. down this religious services will be happening people. are going to be with their country there are. russia supports the arab league's mission but attempts to make that backing official in the un security council was blocked by the u.s. and its allies were based author and political analyst. america says america is only interested in inflaming the conflict in syria. the reason they would want to provoke regime change is to put in place a government that would be friendly to us and its allies interests and of course to enable those interest to control strategic resources in syria and throughout the region which is the same case that we saw in libya i mean the whole justification of protecting the population was really just a front to be able to overthrow and assassinate really

a moammar gadhafi and put in place a government that would be friendly to the u.s. we have to remember that right after the obama administration with drew troops from iraq some of those were relocated to the border of syria from jordan and in preparation of arming this conflict and possibly engaging in it as well and i think that these terrorist attacks are part of that or part of maybe a justification to say hey there needs to be a stronger military presence from abroad in order to prevent further military conflict internally in the country that could result in the deaths of so called innocent civilians as the year draws to an end we're looking back at some of the major events that shaped twenty levon today we focus on the crisis in syria with our teams to us are still you sharing her thoughts about what she saw firsthand during a visit to a conflict torn country. well

when we went to syria it was sometime in october and the situation was getting very tense there so our flight arrived at the around three in the morning so you can imagine the surprise and the shock of the forces when three foreign journalists arrived at a time when there was a media bad international journalist there. be a syria you can see behind me traffic is just about started to flow again going into the city damascus was rather peaceful it was quiet although very tense still because everybody knows what was going on in the country. and what's interesting mostly for us is that we saw the kind of. diverse opinions on what was going on there was no clear. there were more than two sides it was not i want the regime or i don't want the regime. and there

was one time you were interviewing a young man and he was rather critical of the government gave his point of view and what you didn't see on the camera is that there was a group of men around him and listening to what he was saying. and afterwards after the interview was finished they all came up to us and said get us on camera we want to see what we feel. and then we also spoke to those people who were protesting specifically those who were on the streets in about twenty minutes outside of damascus one of the guys that we interviewed he actually disappeared for two days and he said he was held by security forces. after forty eight hours of detention and torture they took all of my money and belongings and threw me out into the. st. we also spoke with soldiers' families those who have been killed and you can't haul so feel that they are angry at the protesters because their sons

have been lost fathers have been lost husbands have been lost and you can't understand the point of view that they're coming from how console jer's killed their soldiers this is impossible whatever media says this is plainly lawyer. speaking about fear tell you one incident we were supposed to interview one of the leaders of the national coordination council the local opposition. the interview was sets and he when we called him he said i might have to cancel because we there were security forces we think who were at the office and they wrote some threats on the wall. we had to our fixer who translated what it meant. it said you're working for the u.s. we're going to kill you. and so they were threats at the

members of the f.c.c. particularly the leader. that was a scary time because we they were just outside we didn't know whether they would come in and we asked their our interview are you scared he said you only die once. so the syrians are very i felt hospitable people but when when it comes to political talk when it comes to expressing a political view in a crowd it can really get heated they would. jostle at the rally that we went to we've got pretty rough. our camera. and so forth. but that is your job you go in there he try to get only you try to do what you can to try to film as much as you can try to put it in as much context and we had to tell sometimes. to tell people please calm down otherwise we can't get anything on film heard here on the steps of the syrian capital outlook out there show their support for the government i don't think that's

a far cry from the images we've been seeing in other cities of a country where there have been reporting a lot of military force of any government protests this however one thing it's about where and this country whenever they'd be to use about syria would never really be everything you suppose syria i would really pay attention although everybody here say i think that's correct i don't think that's or got started as precise as i think it was so i'd like to think that because of my trip there and my experience there. that when i see something about syria i don't take it at face value i remember everything that i have gathered and good looks through with through that perspective rather than just what i see. art is looking back at the ten most significant advance of twenty one as seen through the eyes of our correspondents case miss any you can catch the series

online at our t.v. dot com. well the campaign in libya now seen as mission accomplished the british prime minister has turned his attention to somalia david cameron plans a summit in february to discuss what to do about what he calls a failed state and britain's secret services have named it the new training ground for terrorists or his laura smith explains why london sees somalia as a threat. in the words of prime minister david cameron somalia is a failed state that directly threatens british interests his solution options ranging from humanitarian aid right through to military intervention and reports suggest that in the new year following the perceived six acts of the libyan campaign in government circles somalia could be the next target for u.k. forces newspapers as saying that the royal air force could be sent to help african

union troops to support the weak u.s. backed transitional government equipment and money other main nations despite a tough economic situation. there around one hundred thousand somalis living in the u.k. making up one of the largest muslim groups according to m i five somalia is the latest terrorist training ground british residents from a variety of backgrounds pakistan baghdad dash yemen. jihad the risk is that they then come back to the u.k. and carry out terrorist attacks there's also the threats of piracy and the kidnapping of a tourists but crucially somalia has boston gas reserves and other natural resources including which the u.s. and other countries have had their eye on for years is many points also to somalia is to teach position presiding over a large parts of oil transport routes through the gulf of aden and usually

following military strategist to planning long term intervention somewhere. or. one of the biggest. community around here. most of. all. saying to me. have support to get a functioning system of government and. so you see this as a direct result of the perceived success by the government of the campaign in libya operation me to oust gadhafi successful next stop somalia. now coming up on our team what do you look for. do you think the sense of humor it would be appealing in a world leader think it's an international where you're speaking you know everybody gets it and everybody likes it. our own resident in new york and people on the

streets about the must have qualities for the world leaders of today. there was draw of us troops from iraq has left a wave of sectarian violence in its wake america's hasn't left stability behind but even the largest oil reserves in the world aren't enough to pay for the peace iraqis want sean thomas investigates what that means for the reputation of the u.s. in the region and beyond. packing up to head home it may be easy to overlook the total costs of war at least one hundred fourteen thousand iraqi civilians killed as well as four and a half thousand american soldiers millions displaced from their homes not to mention a one trillion dollars financial burden still the former occupiers leave behind some words of encouragement i can say it with confidence that in the next twenty or fifty years iraq will be a leader here in the in the gulf region that rivals any country inside of the gulf

region i think that iraq now is a safe and secure environment it's not a safe and secure is as it should be or it will be but it's it's progressing very well the american occupation of iraq saw the fall of the balance regime the capture and execution of deposed leader saddam hussein and the implementation of a democratic government but now nearly nine years later these are the country better off well it is all that they below and also the u.s. troop invasion of iraq can sue thousand and three and the grief mystique recommitted made the situation here worse there are so many mistakes committed by the u.s. military leadership especially in managing the civilian aspects here your base how to negative effect because. in fact many here say it was the american mismanagement from iraq and that led to the rise of sectarian violence in the country all people if you ask who brings the three of us to iraq he said us a.

whole them each to the infrastructure. he said. so i think. we must cooperate in order to. this. culture that hate. between two peoples the timeline for u.s. troop withdrawal was set in two thousand and eight and while the obama administration an issue. he tried to extend the deadline the official transfer of power came sixteen days ahead of schedule on december sixteenth two thousand and eleven but we hope that the future. all of. many good things if. and then we can look to the acquittal a balanced view we see. iraq he follow america must have been in everything on an american. good.

sources and also mind. many people who. our country right now the u.s. and iraqi governments are working on a new type of diplomatic relations building a new type of trust if you will but now the next step is in the hands of the iraqi government to move the country forward as america's influence waned political infighting and sectarian divisions in the iraqi parliament have diminished as well giving iraqis hope for a strong future i'm a bit of an often without as regards other aspects civil life the political and parliamentarian aspects as well as the economic aspects that it lets me see that iraq has good capabilities that have to be put to become one of the developed states but as iraq prepares to move past this dark chapter they have a message for their former occupiers to defend america that the

police another mistake. because you are mistake is a great mistake and it affects you. but is teach. you the future relation and friends are few right now in a region in which america's reputation lies and friends in the eyes of many in iraq sean thomas r.t. . thanks for the impact of long wars on returning soldiers our website parks. dot com u.s. troops coming back from conflict zones could face their toughest battles yet with suicide now killing more servicemen and women than anime boards. also online three cars minutes completed their journey to the stars is russia so is rocket successfully dogs for the international space station bringing in new crew members details on r.t. dot com. now let's take a look at some other stories from around the world barack obama has greeted the

approval of a short term tax cut extension by congress by asking for another extension the president said the move was a vague or break moment for the american middle class after he managed to overcome republican opposition for a landmark victory a conference committee will try to sew up a year long deal after the holiday season the bills will extend payroll tax cuts and jobless benefits for millions of unemployed into the new year. the cuban government is set to release hold most three thousand prisoners including man convicted of political crimes however those accused of serious of fans like murder or drug trafficking will not be granted amnesty president castro said this humanitarian gesture would show cuba's strength ahead of the coming days papal visit to the country. the tunisian assam boy has approved a new cabinet put forward by prime minister hamadi now falls to the caretaker

government to drive a new constitution sami was elected to work with moderate islamist party taking the majority of seats the formation of a new government marks a political milestone after the ousting of former president. in january. that i had of presidential elections in the u.s. russia france south korea and many other countries in two thousand and twelve the question on many lips is what does a modern leader look like they are g.'s big apple resident laurie hardness asked people in new york about what they expect from a potential candidate. important elections will be held in many countries in two thousand and twelve what's it going to take to be a good leader in today's world this week let's talk about that what do you think is the most important quality for a world leader to have right now just empathy for what's going on right now just the inability to be able to be flexible just with the american people and the

people the world and a lot of patience i equate intelligence with humor. i mean say oh yeah a quick mind do you think that sense of humor would be appealing in a world leader think it's an international way of speaking you know everybody gets it and everybody likes it circumstances or controlling all the countries so somebody step up and take the reins you know would you follow someone that was strong like that even if you didn't necessarily believe yes yes they're true leader no we're honest with people is having the ability to lead people more important than having the intelligence or the right kind of policy. yeah i would say it is because you have to have a whole team of people that are actually implementing your work so you have to be able to provide that process for them you know is it important for them to have

money so that they understand how it works or is it important for them to not have so much money that they're in touch with people who is probably important for them to have come up having no money i mean just nelson mandela i mean you look at mary came from. i mean he understood what it was what it was like to have nothing thing that's probably what made him such a good leader of course for me it was a new a possible. kennedy was because of one the leader of my mind because you had just really a man who was my vision was and he's now what he was a man who really wants to lead from. nations to the future do you think it's possible in today's world or is it too different a time now than it was in the path of sort of this totally different because of global war does that alter the very complex the not easy to manage met us included but of a so shows so show. is starting to change your mind over how to be the people no matter what qualities we'd like to see in the new world leaders of two thousand and

twelve let's just hope we aren't too disappointed in who they turn out to be. well sure they our financial duramax guys are explores how the u.s. and the u.k. are looking for ways to cut their debt levels that's after i give you a recap of today's top stories. in the.

world. science technology innovation all the developments around russia we've got the future covered.