today's news and the week's top stories from our team tens of thousands rally in central moscow protesting against the results of this month's parliamentary poll president promises sweeping political reforms. syria is not in a spiral of violence but more than forty killed in suicide blasts in damascus as the country struggles on the mounting pressure from the west and the arab league. and next of kin week off to north korea's leader of seventeen years kim jong il dies his youngest son steps into his shoes as the new supreme leader.

you're watching our weekly news if you are welcome to the program. tens of thousands of people amassed in moscow on saturday and other peaceful protests of the allegedly rigged parliamentary election police say thirty thousand gathered in a central square the organizers claim the number was much higher the rally echoed one held two weeks ago message remain the same hold another election. dress the protesters in his annual state of the union speech promising widespread political reforms some of which are already underway if you leave that to. the snuffles. the time for change has come. people are tired of not being able to promptly solve the most pressing issues people are tired of having their interests ignored speaking at his fourth and final state of the union address the president listed a set of proposals which have already been. to be sweeping political reform he

wants to change the rules for the registration of political parties as well as for taking part in elections in fact a total ground up rebuild of the whole electoral system today governors in russia are up for him to directly by the president they used to be elected in the ninety's but this was cancelled and thousands now the meeting with wants to bring the vote back as part of the move to vertical ice power in russia it took over a decade to build to the current vertical system of power but now russia's regions are told it's time to start gaining more independence from moscow the president's proposed reforms will also hit the state duma which will include two hundred twenty five deputies each independently elected within their own tutorial constituency and when it comes to new parties in order to register political parties need to gather at least ten thousand approval signatures and have representatives in over

a half of the eighty nine regions the new initiative is to reduce this figure to five hundred which should give the green light for more political forces the president's speech followed the recent parliamentary election which caused widespread discontent among the public the biggest brutus rally since the collapse of the you was a sore have been taking place across the country with tens of thousands of russians shouting out accusations of fraud and other violations over fifty criminal cases have been opened looking into the allegations while the results from more than twenty polling stations have been cancelled russia has enormous potential enormous human capital physical capital and has the potential to become a world leader and they would like the rest of the educated people would like to play a part in that the president praised the legal right to express opinion warrant any attempts to manipulate and provoke the people will not be accepted when you know it in the middle. we won't allow extremists or probably caters to draw society into

their shady enterprises we won't allow interference from outside in our internal affairs russia needs democracy not scales but getting back to the reforms to the need to be to finance to another proposal concerning his own paused as well you know order to run for president independent candidates have to gather at least two million approval signatures from voters three hundred thousand as asked the new figure currently being proposed which will most likely widen competition for a russia's top job even though the president doesn't plan to run for a second term in office it doesn't mean the reforms will be forgotten the need to be diffuse aiming for the prime minister's seat if he wins the upcoming presidential vote in mourning. is going to moscow. the violence struck in the syrian capital on friday when the twin the car bombings killed forty four people in damascus the suicide attacks are being blamed on al qaida the

opposition says they were staged by the government to justify its crackdown on protesters the arab league has started its mission to put a cloud to. have remains on the growing western and the economic pressure but it's the people who are feeling the pain and sara first reports from damascus. it's been nearly ten months since syria's uprising began the capital of damascus has remained largely sheltered from the conflict. in the bustling side and say it seems like it's business as usual this one says sets in the winds of change have begun to feel a little stronger the ad leaks and paste economic sanctions the effects the way it would be felt even had in a poor area of damascus and her family struggling to make ends meet her son here has learning difficulties fava beans for a living he barely makes one hundred fifty syrian pounds a day three dollars to support him and his wife. now the fuel for his vending cart

has become harder to get hold of with shortages the economic sanctions driving the price up. their last products available and the prices are pushed higher there have been fights over gas we've been trying to manage by cutting back as much as we can sometimes when we can't afford it which is don't eat the economic situation in syria was one of the areas president had been seen to be making some progress be it slowly the for a population that it started seeing the results of economic opportunity blocks financial transactions fuel shortages and blackouts have become the norm and this could be even done the financial times ahead. because of the economic sanctions people rushed to stockpile fuel and gas just in case people are a little bit afraid of the fact that water or gas might run out and this is why you

see these queues this in place by the arab league it was hate the sanctions would fulfill the government's hand when it came to ending the violence in the country is inside syria at the moment many feel it every day people who are being punished did see economic sanctions still. like taking the lead that he's the one here they. have become part of the day life for many people here in syria and the first ping from the arab league will be paving the way for an observer mission to at the end of the month much opposition they remain skeptical about whether that too will bring about any real change for these kids up in the west of the conflict areas change can come and they meant to seeing some parity of t.v. families like finding life under the sanctions increasingly desperate sara. damascus. well russia are supporting the arab league's mission in syria but

attempts to get official backing by the un security council were blocked by some western members while scales embassador to the un says their objections could be a barrier to securing peace it's a straightforward text. of commendation and support and appreciation of the efforts of the arab league. a pretty straightforward. expression of attention to it will help to put an end to violence unfortunately i can tell you that the number of members of the security council objected to hold up this is a little strange one of the difficulties we encounter in working on the security council because i would try to do something positive will inevitably be met with all sorts of concerns about balance why didn't you do this why didn't you do that and it brings us to two to square one in the entire conversation for the us is keeping up its harsh criticism of the syrian regime warning of new international

meshes they sit with your security forces from the streets of new york a satirist ted rall says the sanctions are well known washington to. i think we're going to be looking at the usual the usual trajectory of sanctions of more of a ramping up the sanctions trying to deny diplomatic recognition and cutting off all economic activity between syria and u.s. allies in the region these things almost have a a logical branching out that you see in one crisis after the other it's almost like it's a self generating power to a future war this is an opportunity for the united states to get rid of sort of a regional mini power that they find irritating and as a way to do a favor for it's such a fellow in the region israel there's not a human rights is something that the united states only cites when it's convenient for them and if the united states were to ramp up towards

a military action in the coming year they would certainly cite the arab league's statements as a way to justify it. one country which felt the full force of western interference the see it was live it and the aftermath is not over yet russia wants an investigation into the civilian casualties caused by tales mission deaths or water at the hands of rebels also r.t. it takes a look back at the events that shaped the year. my western colleagues explaining that. rixos hotel at that time was the safest place in the theater because nato knew that's where journalists. but we couldn't stop thinking. what if they make and the state. witnesses. to history in the making. testimony. ten stories that shapes two thousand and eleven on our t.v.

. it was the end of an era in north korea this week with the death of us a better ruler kim jong il from the heart attack age sixty nine he's youngest son kim jong un has already been named a supreme leader to keep the dentist beginning the secretive state t.v. channels shown thousands of people weeping in the streets kim jong il died a week ago his body is lying in state in the capital pyongyang the successor was the first to pay his final respects. in the needs of the pan call the special security meeting fearing instability in the region south korea said its military standing ready political analyst agency says actions are being directed from washington important thing here to understand is that for example the thought of south korea being on military alert it's not south korea that it's our military or it's the united states that is actually using south korea as

a beachhead ever since the end of the korean war the other hand we have to understand or should really be asking ourselves will the military the north korean military which are very powerful one million strong army four million reserve nuclear arms ballistic missiles will they really be subordinated to the new government or will they have a larger stanford is probably the key question is how will all of this unfold what will china do china has a very special relationship with north korea it's sort of a love hate strict father versus problem child relationship i cannot see however these things because north korea will undoubtedly not do that which china does not allow we have to always interpret north korea within the scope of the region of geopolitics of china which is the key power in the region. iraq's a government is plunging deeper into crisis with leaders and gauging in the blame

game in the wake of multiple bombings that hit the capital on thursday dozens died in the attacks which came only a few days after american troops pulled out the u.s. insists it's left a stable country behind joseph a writer for the world socialist web site things they says flare ups in the region are products of the occupation this was not about you know securing iraq and giving it freedom it was about securing resources and in the process. so kerry intentions devastated the entire society and this is really the product of that you have different factions of the iraqi elite who are battling over power over control over resources including particular oil contracts and drugs to unravel into a civil war that conflict the violence in iraq is very much a product of the occupation itself and you know that's really the source of the

crisis facing iraqi politics and iraqi society i mean look at what what does i.q. patient has produced over one million people killed by some estimates thirty five percent of iraqi children. living now is orphans destination of infrastructure the entire society has been scarred by this occupation by this war. russia is aging nato to look into a port solve civilian deaths in that we have caused by seven month campaign he writes groups are contesting nato has claimed that it's twenty six thousand s trikes did not cause any civilian casualties meanwhile former rebels are still talking supporters of colonel gadhafi as example of the reports. this is what it's like to look death in the face a group of men the young and old captured after the nadir propped rebels overran get off his hometown of sirte there was behind a camera delivers a verdict would you work for gadhafi. and the captives themselves seem doubts

about what's coming next. scenes like these play now that costly be as the rebels assisted by western powers so to liberate the country from gadhafi i've been lodgings about he said district tendencies grow more and more outlandish by the day and that seems to justify any sort of treatment for his perceived loyalists in some places the violence is quite bad the town we looked out in was called. and the militias from the neighboring town of misrata are terrorizing the people of to where they accuse them of having fought for qaddafi of having committed atrocities in his name this is one of the liberated tripoli's new landmarks a prison where moammar gadhafi was set to hold his political opponents with no access to lawyers and no chance for a fair trial. but while the

prisons new guards have a very elaborate in their rating gadhafi is ferocity his fear and hatred still reside in this neighborhood. obviously is a poor area in southern tripoli where more margo duffy had strong support base prior to his fleeing the district also and his name to the tourists presents a scene of torture and arbitrary killings but while gadhafi is gone the human rights abuses still remain rather from this area still disappearing without a trace their families are too scared to talk about. this is probably the only place in all the beer with families of a logic get after supporters can turn to for how mohammed to form peace and your earlier this year it investigated the fate of those who disappeared in good office prisons he is now primarily dealing with people who went missing under libya's new leadership it's usually mothers who come here and at first they are scared to tell

me that this son or husband was with pick a daffy forces they usually say he was a civilian court in the crossfire but i tell them that i don't care which side he was on all i need is accurate information so that we can start searching. mohamed and his friends have been taking photos of unidentified bodies that have been popping up across lee beer in recent months this naturists are probably their relatives most realistic hope of finding closure but even after sifting through them many managed to retain hope like this man whose brother disappeared on the front lines of banjo god. i hope he's in tunisia maybe he's in hospital maybe he's lost his memory or has no way of contacting us. they say hope dies last only bit it's still alive even if many people aren't going to wake up artsy tripoli.

for the violent ousting of the fierce colonel gadhafi with some nato help resolve a defining event of the arab world's shifting sands this year ati's roof and traveled inside libya throughout the year talking to both gadhafi family members and rebels here's her first hand account of her time in tripoli. we arrived in the evening this is how you'd expect this kind of story to start but actually we crossed that unusual border when the sun was too high. our driver told us to be careful we all thought that was a little bit unnecessary. but he explained that base way nato and qaddafi. could both blame each other if on this scope killed.

one our first night in tripoli would go to a very warm welcome rixos hotel we stayed was just. away from. his residence. and that was bombed that night as it had never been before and would never be wards. it was literally shaking curtains in our rooms were moved even with doors firmly closed my bed was just beside a glass wall i did dig. into the room because i was scared. an explosion could destroy literally. my western colleagues explaining that. rixos hotel at the time was the safest place in the because major knew best where journalists order but we couldn't stop thinking. what if they make a mistake the residents of secrecy with this search here in three really have been

woken up by a strike in the middle of the night and also some old bombs landed here this story as you can see behind me some world three story buildings. and there were no professional rescuers at the scene. with bare hands. and one after another they pulled out five dead bodies. where she couldn't see them but is themselves. because they were just wrapped up in blankets. lifeless bundles. in the morgue we heard that they were three little babies. they were lying there. the cold tables still in pampers. and next morning nato confirmed. it had made

a mistake the intended target during last night's best strike in tripoli was a military. from our initial assessment of us it appears that one weapon did not strike an intended target due to a weapons systems. of course i wanted to meet khadafi or his son safe. every journalist did but that was kind of impossible. as you remember one day after a news conference my friend and a time photographer came to me and pointing at the man. in his suit told me he wants to meet you the next night i got to call the car and he said wait someone told me weeks back to them to blindfold us but they didn't do anything like that. you know the option of hold the enter the room and no one paid any attention to. what he was different when he entered we all noticed we all knew that he is

right now in the room. there was an injury common knowledge from the very powerful man. he invited me to follow him in a separate. group. with questions many questions like what do you think about what do you think about the uprising hey and maybe what do you think about me what do you think about my father but i was calm and confident. and then he suddenly stopped and looked at my shoulders high heels. and he went. sweetie what about your questions and you know he looked like he didn't take me seriously actually and i looked at my notes and on the first questions there was did you or your father. give the order to kill civilians. but i didn't tell him that and i was like smiling just ordinary questions.

and he said ok let's go. and that interview was one of the past interviews in my life it's not the best interview safe was very sincere. very open he thought always before answering i was really literally electricity about trying to. we're left next morning and i had a feeling that i would never see this country again. i didn't go back six weeks later. but that was a different country already with new faces new heroes new everything. the country i had traveled in the summer of two thousand and eleven which is now just a part of history for good. he's remembering that ten key events which define the you can catch them on air or

on liability dot com also online now snooping on their own soldiers pentagon launches a surveillance program to tap into troops private correspondence and computer files . plus pepper spray and the rest's but it's not a riot it's shocking stateside to get their hands on some retro style sort of sneakers tales of pretty much. the search for survivors from the sunken oil rig in russia's far east has called off on thursday recovery operation is now underway the chances of finding anyone else alive are a note six more bodies were plucked from the icy waters and waters shore on saturday of the sixty seven people on board are only for human rescue eighty six remain unaccounted for the rig capsized in just twenty minutes while it was being towed back to port. well turning to some of today's world headlines now

the sudanese army says it has killed the leader of the four rebel group the death of tell you it would have led to justice and equality movement has not been independently verified and therefore rebels rose up against the sudanese government in two thousand and three a conflict the u.n. says has killed three hundred thousand people. who was also accused of fighting for the former libyan look and gadhafi. days of violent clashes between government security forces and an islamist sect have left at least sixty dead in northeast nigeria dozens of members of a militant group were killed in a shootout in the city of the two violence became so intense the troops were forced to evacuate the center a military task force has been deployed to try and contain the violence. security forces have opened fire of the testers in yemen's capital killing nine and leaving schools wounded in battle president rally he leaves the country tens of

thousands descended on president signs pallister mounting on trial police and military troops used live rounds tear gas and water to test his silence on the trail a transfer treaty which empties into three years in february. our care to help people throughout the world are celebrating christmas during midnight mass at the vatican the pope grounded on the commercialism of christmas. carolers to pass the superficial glitter concentrate only holidays trailing. in bethlehem the west bank's christian minority gathered together to commemorate the birth of jesus and in the time when these capital people flocked to see the christmas parade with colorful display featured acrobats other marching band.

the russian military communications satellite crashed back to work in siberia after failing to reach its planned all it on friday space experts say it was caused by a malfunction join the rockets third stage of the launch when fragments of the satellite hit a house making a hole in the roof but luckily no one was injured but it's not all bad news so the spacecraft did make a successful launch before docking with the international space station crew members on board three will spend five months in orbit conducting dozens of experiments. same with the size of the headlines in just a few minutes. well

done into the future new year's wishes on technology updates next generation playfields made from super strong cultural elite building materials good health which helps community isotopes clean your planet thanks to the revolutionary ways to get rid of our growing male kills and a long listen to the russian invaders. please don't listen church. or in bygone days dogs sleds were vital to get around. but today they're more leisure than life line. one drives people to quit their modern lives and settle in remote woods. one finds them up to

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