indeed names that a failed state and a terror training camp leading to speculation and invasion is the next step and. this is r.t.d. coming to live from moscow now thousands are expected to take part in another protest against the results of russia's parliamentary election earlier this month the mass rally in central moscow is being organized by various opposition groups who claim the voting was rigged r.t.c. group is going off to tell us more. well you go tell us how many people are we talking about here that we're expecting to come out today. while a big crowd is really expected here on suffering of ave and such from moscow today the rally was authorized for fifty thousand but a little bit over that have confirmed that they're planning to attend this event on

one of the social networks final preparations are currently underway here with the soundtrack on the stage behind me very tight security kind of resembles preparations for a large open their own rock concert at the moment but i don't you say that before everything will go on peacefully just like it did on december tenth on bolotnaya square in central moscow which was the biggest protest rally in the last two decades in russia where officially these twenty five thousand people but the opposition says it's way more than that they gathered and said that the election was rigged and demanded every vote. well this can count as we know has been brewing for some time now so tell us a bit more about the government a reaction to this. president mugabe defies order that all of the allegations of

violations during the previous parliamentary poll be investigated over fifty criminal cases have been opened the results from over twenty polling stations across russia have been canceled and the president says that each citizen off russia has the full legal rights to express his or hers opinion as long as it's within the framework off the law and also stresses that any problem occasions or attempts off of foreign influence will not be tolerated these statements were made actually just recently at the president's a neural state of the union address where me the me the also voiced a set. but proposals which have already been deemed a sweeping political reform don't aim to look at bringing more liberally zation to the system for example the president wants to see the return off the elections off regional governors simplify the procedures for registering political parties and

even taking part in the presidential election now agreed to do it if it's already submitted these proposals to the newly elected state duma for their consideration. when you are a one we know about the opposition leader. well at the moment the opposition in russia does not put together some unifying force it's made up of various groups some of them have been there for a while and some of them are just recently but all of them put together afterwards really just in the beginning of december following to be parliamentary for which there are some well known figures in the opposition for russians in general like the former deputy prime minister but he's named soft who is known to be linked with an american. trust and has also found himself basically in the center of a large stand alone when some of his phone conversations were leaked into the

internet and basically were buddies and soft talked about some of his. fellow opposition leaders who didn't really pick the words as we may call it using some obscene. lexica there as well there's also the figure of one of the who's a blogger an anti corruption activist a fierce critic of the kremlin but he's also well known for his often aggressive and sometimes even nationalist oriented speeches for the signs that these figures there will be also celebrities public figures journalists of actors authors and so on including the first and last president of the u.s.s.r. mikail going to much else. all right your things were much indeed for bringing us the very latest reporting there. to other stories doubt as much of the christian world gets ready for christmas there is little festive spirit in syria the capital is recovering from two suicide blast which left over forty

people dead and more than one hundred injured they arab league is searching for a solution to the crisis and trying to find out the truth behind the unrest syrians just want the bloodshed to and her first 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 conflicts. on. the first day of the league's work was a bloody tragic day the people of syria will never forget. this kind of here the capsule is usually brightly lit as christians here count 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 house and pray for people in other countries

that were going through hard times with war we never thought that this year it would be. 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. but to go. there when really feels like celebrating anyway when the country's hospitals are full of casualties the government claims it's fighting 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 arms on the months of 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. the government's. position the. government. taxing killings have been met repeatedly with claim counter-claim an accusation. you have to use two different. means to see who is more. to the truth one of 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 going down this religious services will be happening. again for being with the country there are the. russians supports the arab league's mission in syria but attempts to make their backing official in the un security council were blocked by some western states new york based author and political analyst eva gallagher says the u.s. is only interested in inflaming a 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 interests 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 cut off the and put in place a government that would be friendly to the u.s.

we have to remember that right after the obama administration withdrew troops from iraq to 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 now as the year draws to an end we are looking back at some of the major events that shaped two thousand and eleven today we focus on the crisis in syria with our teams test our celia sharing her thoughts about what she saw firsthand during a visit to the 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 security forces when three foreign journalists arrive at a time when there was a media bad international journalists there but we're here in the center of the assyrian capital you can see behind me traffic is just about starting 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 i think mostly for us is that we saw the kind of. diverse opinions on what was going on there was no clear two sides even 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 so he 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 us 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 are protesting specifically those who were on the streets in how to stop that's 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 he was beaten up 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 at soldiers' families those who have been killed and you can't wholesale feel that they are angry at the protesters because their sons have been lost or fathers have been lost husbands

have been lost and you can understand the point of view that they're coming from you from how console jer's killed their soldiers this is impossible whatever media says this is plainly lawyer. speaking about fear look out 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 there wreck 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 there are 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 it got pretty rough. our counter-offer was pro kids and so point. ever do you know but that is your job you go in there she try to get you try to do what you can to try to film as much as you cat 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 work here in the south where the spirit of the hour. show their support for the government is a far cry from the images we've been seeing in other cities around the country

where there have been reporting a lot of the security forces and government photos whatever one thinks about where this country whenever they'd be 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 that's not 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've gathered and because look through with through that perspective rather than just what i see. looking back at the ten most significant amounts of twenty you haven't seen through the eyes of our correspondents in case you missed any you can catch the series online at our dot com. weather campaign and leave you 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 secret services have named it the new training ground for terrorists artist or smith explains why london see 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 its own military intervention 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's equipment and money other main donations despite

a tough economic situation at home there are around a 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 where british residents from a variety of backgrounds pakistan bag that dash yemen go to study jihads 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 aid workers and tourists but crucially somalia also has boston gas reserves and other natural resources including the rainy of which the u.s. and other countries have had their eye on for years has many points also to somalia is to teach it position presiding over a large part of oil transport routes through the gulf of aden you usually find when the military strategists are planning long term intervention somewhere. i'm looking

at a political map second the oil and gas one of the biggest suit is a huge somali community around here that i represent most of whom are from the south but not all and they're not saying to me he's into very they're saying can we please 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 may to oust gadhafi successful next stop somalia. now coming up on our t.v. what do you look for. do you think that i 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. our own resident in new york asks people on the streets about the must have qualities for the world leaders of today.

the withdrawal of u.s. troops from iraq has left a wave of sectarian violence in its wake america says it left stability behind but even the largest oil reserves in the world aren't enough to pay for the peace iraqis want are deshaun 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 that 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's on the fall of the baathist 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 our that they below and also the u.s. troop invasion of iraq in two thousand and three and their grief mystique he committed made the situation here worse there are so many mistakes committed by the u.s. military leadership especially in managing the civilian us banks here this how to negative effect because i said that in fact many here say it was the american mismanagement of iraq and that led to the rise of sectarian violence in the country all people if you us who brings the threat of us to iraq he said us a. whole damage to the infrastructure of iraq he said usa so

i think. we on american 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 initially 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. want to bring. in many good things if. and then he can look to the acquittal a balanced view with see. iraq he follow america must have been in everything on an american. subsidies not sources and also mind the many people who.

love. 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 up just a bit of fun with that as regards other aspects civil life the political and parliamentarian aspects as well as the economic aspects that lets me see that iraq has good capabilities but 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 don't another mistake. because your mistake is

a great mistake and it affects you. but it's teach and also your future relations 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 marty. and we explore the impact of long wars on returning soldiers and our website r t v dot com u.s. troops coming back from conflict zones could face their toughest battle yet with suicide now killing more servicemen and women and i mean bullets. will fall in line three cosmonauts complete their journey to the stars is russia so is rocket successfully dogs for the international space station bringing in new crew members details are on our team dot com. now let's take a look at some other stories from around the world a suicide bomb attack on a paramilitary camp has left at least six pakistani soldiers dead in the northwest of the country the bomber drove an explosives laden vehicle into the camps office

in the town of bondo the taliban claimed the attack was revenge for a u.s. drone assault that killed one of its commanders. the cuban government is set to release almost three thousand prisoners including man convicted of political crimes however those accused of serious of fans like murder as for drug trafficking will not be granted amnesty president castro said this humanitarian gesture would show cuba's strength ahead of the of coming papal visit to the country. 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 make 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. now ahead of

presidential elections in the u.s. russia france south korea and many other countries in two thousand and twelve the question on many ellipsis what does a modern leader look like well today artie's big apple resident laurie harshness asks 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 the people the world and a lot of patience i equate intelligence with humor. i

mean yeah a quick mind so 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 that circumstances are controlling all the countries right now 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 their true leader and were honest with people absolutely is having the ability to lead people more important than having the intelligence or the right kind of policies. yeah i would say it is because you have to have a whole team of people that are actually implementing your the work so you have to be able to provide that process for them so 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 so they're in touch with people i think it's probably important for them to have come up having no money i mean look at great leaders 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 i was a new apostle as the original kennedy was was of one the leader of my mind because you had to really man. my vision was and he's not what he was a man who really wants to lead 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 it is the thought of the very complex and not easy to manage met us included by have a social or social networking is started to change your mind over how to leave 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 shortly we'll look at the consumerism boom and rochelle but that's after a mine here of our top stories. whether you die from high or to the debts. catch the power of the wind or drift into duty. of the currents.

the well prepared is a must and if you're lucky. you'll never forget your experience we only need a screen that's going to be heard and. see. below the ice on our team. on the money with the business of russia this.

will go out here watching our t.v. let's take a look at the top stories up to fifty thousand people are expected to say and on central moscow in a second major protest against the results of this month's parliamentary poll the opposition claims the vote was rigged and want a reelection while the russian leadership has promised to let it go reforms. there is no merry christmas in syria where a spiral of violence continued with two suicide blasts in damascus.