hope for asians rule today. two thirty pm in moscow we're looking back at the week's top stories here on our team tens of thousands rally in central moscow protesting against the results of this month's parliamentary poll president medvedev is promising sweeping political reforms some of which are already under way at the newly elected state. syria locked in a spiral of violence forty four killed in suicide blasts in damascus the country is also struggling under mounting pressure from the west and the arab league. a week after north korean ruler kim jong il dies his youngest son is appointed as the new supreme leader state television shows thousands openly weeping in the streets after

kim his death was announced while the secretive states neighbors are on high alert . next a former head of the u.n. nuclear watchdog speaks with r.t. about how kim jong il's death might disturb the already shaky stability in the region stay with us. well i'm joined by mr hans blix from stockholm mr blix chair to international atomic agency for energy agency for sixteen years and was the head of the u.n. inspections team in iraq prior to the second iraqi war mr blix it's great to have you with us sir now i'd like to start with i say latest news came young male who during who seventeen year old rule north korea has emerged as

a nuclear state has died of a heart failure now his son is the next national leader what do we know about him are things going to stay pretty much the same morris' riginal security under threat how vigorously will he have push for nuclear weapons. well we are generally rather ignorant about the architecture of the power building in north korea. but the changes be underway for some time but of course with kim your new. group didn't figure is. there's always a risk to in such a structure that there can be changes. i think it is important that the outside world. does not make them. because they will feel themselves in a situation of weakness and then the threats from the outside my notes

and provocative for the last few years iran was number one nuclear energy for the united states do you expect maybe a shift of interest from iran to north korea or does a country need to have oil as well to justify that much attention from the west. no i think both places are of great importance in the north korean situation first of all we know that within artillery range for north korea so even without nuclear weapons the situation there would be risky. and if north korea were provoked at here. there could be a risk of encouraging. forces in japan. i don't see that now. but that would be a risk in the case of iran. on the other hand we see that already in. their work in iran to develop it capacity. has increased threat.

and we hear. the states saying that they should bomb iran others say that they are all the nuclear installations are and that it is meaningless. to the presidential candidates that he thinks for a regime change but i don't think he explained whether he would like the a regime change to be the half. or the iraq. but all of the other is very similar similar to what happened in iraq. could we be seeing the new iraqi scenario unfolding here as far as iran goes well there are some similarities in the. escalation of the language and the threats.

that we had in the case of iraq and now having case of iran on the other hand we must remember that in the case of iraq they talked about. weapons that in fact did not exists today they are talking about iranian intentions that may or may or may not exist. but the difference is that iran certainly has a lot of nuclear installations iraq did not have that but in your own opinion is iran of any imminent threat to any nation at this point i don't think so really and it is true that you are merely dad has come out in that area very bad language about israel and wiping israel off the map of the world. but i think most people with me think that he is really talking to the arab street

he has one to one to the destabilize arab states that have supported the united states. iraq iran does not have a track record of aggression in fact it was iraq that attacked iran so i don't see an immediate threat from iran but i can understand that israelis are nervous but the u.s. and israel maintain the latest i ate a report provides very strong evidence that iran is seeking any nuclear weapon. here's the question do you think iran has a nuclear weapon no i think in nobody really thinks they have a nuclear weapon and i think one must read that report rather carefully. what they say is that they see some evidence that could be explained if they were dealing with a weapon or a mere weapon and that there seems on the other evidence that it's very hard to

explain unless they were working towards a weapon but they have not said that they established that iraq or actually intends to do it they might stop short of their weapons well judging from your experience how shit this intelligence be treated and how far can actually i a go in checking the credibility of such intelligence well they do are not the average sit here in the iran and it's a big country and then it places can be hidden so i think there are limits to what they can find out but that doesn't really affect what the outside world should do in my view they must continue to talk to iran and to persuade iran that they will not need any nuclear weapon nor do they need any enrichment capability and. if some european states the u.k.

and france and germany started such talks and they have been expanded to also russia and china and the united states are participants in it and i think that is the wise road to go they have offered iran some good things and i think they could offer a more things there is also on the way a big conference about a nuclear weapon free zone in the middle east which will take place in helsinki next year. and all originally the idea was to get the israel to do away with this nuclear weapons but i think if this conference were to try to do away with the israeli nuclear weapons and uranium enrichment capability and get the other states in the middle east to come along then there might be a more hopeful future you know many believe that iran actually may be willing to get to a point one is able to produce

a nuclear weapon but doesn't actually do it unless its security establishment is that a likely strategy it is possible we know from the case of israel that they do not admit that they have nuclear weapons they say that they will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons in the middle east maybe one day the iranians will say that we also will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons in the middle east and maintain the situation ambiguity but i think it would be better if all the parties came to the conclusion that they should have neither nuclear weapons nor a richmond capability and israelis would be more secure. there would be a warning now that syria saudi arabia and egypt might also go for a response and iran certainly should be nervous that israel is nigh to bomb them just as israel did iraq in the 1980's and syria in two thousand and seven

what is the likelihood actually that israel may be at this point now that it has isolated itself from turkey also from egypt it has disappointed sarkozy it has disappointed obama very strong rhetoric going on back and forth between iran and israel what is the likelihood that it has become more dangerous and maybe it will actually show for the first time that it us has it does have nuclear arsenal and use it probably to bomb iran. well it's hard to judge i mean some people think that this kind of language and threats by the areas individuals in israel and also by hawks in the night that it was the iranians from their present course however i am somewhat doubtful that one. way from. i think that carrots are better. that they can gain quite

a lot by staying away from. saying there will be a point where i will be convincing israel not to use its nuclear nuclear arsenal i think the israelis are very well aware of. its weapons and even when they talk about bombing iran there is nothing to suggest that they will use nuclear weapons for it and i do hope very much that if anything came to a war that no nuclear weapons would be used and it would also be very bad if they attacked the civilian nuclear reactors that iran has in bush or but any kind of attack i think is. in the middle east. sitting in. their sons they will have a counter attack of course. in the united states in the war so it's a terrible fire that they are playing with. and one last question why do you think

iran is so reluctant to accept all the incentives offered to them by the international community is it just not simply enough. well it may be a question of pride also i think that the western states that have talked to them some solid sometimes sounded rather high handed they have said that if you will suspend your to richmond to we may be willing to sit down with you and that is a sort of neo colonialists neo colonialist toll of proud people many others are and i think that the. they will have to talk to them i say important partner poor important states state that they are and to discuss with them what would they gain by abandoning enrichment they can gain a lot and i do not see that they have much advantage on the richmond because they

can import the fuel they need from russia or from other places. they have voted to look up our reactors this conscious we've been where i'm standing now we have ten and we imported a richer a new message. it is cheaper so i don't see iran would loose a very much by doing away with it they may be a lot of pride in this mr blix thank you very much for this interview. this was the plant that was responsible for causing the world's worst industrial disaster and now it had been abandoned in a condition where it had become a source of pollution or the most recent study that was done shows that this water

pollution and spreading. will continue to be in the more than hundred thousand people in. groups walking in affected children see the children to be ten times more likely to be born with birth defects in children in the rest of the country. in the sea as little as five hundred dollars for a lifelong. unpunished. brighten. from constant pressure.

stunts on t.v. don't. we stop stories on our t.v. tens of thousands rally in central moscow protesting the results of this month's parliamentary vote president medvedev is promising sweeping political reforms some of which are already under way at the new elected state to. syria locked in a spiral of violence with forty four killed in suicide blasts in damascus the country is also struggling under mounting pressure from the west and the arab league. a week after north korea really kim jong il dies his youngest son is appointed as the new supreme leader state t.v. showed thousands openly weeping in the streets after kim's death was announced while the secretive states neighbors went on high alert. next with sports stay with us.

hello welcome to sport on artsy comments are you from the russian capital with me or i'm on calls for of the following are just some of the stories we're covering for you today. losing streak over spartak moscow finally gets a win and the whole match against visiting out on guard. speeding through another title twenty eleven all round speed skating a world champion the bonds call but if he wins the russian side all ahead of european championship in hungary. three in a row that's the olympic gold set by the queen of the pole vault with the champion given at the scene by about. let's start with ice hockey and the continental hockey league where struggling puts up an impressive fight against the clowns in a losing effort the most courageous men escaping slovakia with an overtime win

thanks to a collage effort by patrick zach prince and live for their plans for as i love having now lost three straight and sit nineteenth in the table plants on the other hand have extended their win streak to four games and are ranked third overall league leaders scott meanwhile have lost three nothing against the top five teams in a men's itself road outing in bella bruce second string goalies for both teams in that one. and staying with ice hockey and they cage shell where sports find they ended a disappointing run of four straight defeats after a beating i have on guard three one right here in moscow constantine puts up of has all the details. sparked awkward terrifying one with dan defeats you know animations and surprisingly traded their captain alec began marriage to our more boys before on draft day just before the encounter while on guard last two previous games in shoot down both sides also place their head coaches

a recent spark back sam bracy that into and the rhyme a sunni and from are on guard while looking for their first wins behind the mansion this season the red and white stopped a chose to distance only conceded goals one hundred sixty however it was the host good to the lead just five minutes into the game martz zero four said boston i think somebody you call a canny possibility and one nothing after the opening period three minutes after the restart and spark that double bed one thing you got me hyla where they were a shot from the right circle and involves a brother because i spun around to him at the second is a meter inside seemed to be confused but managed to jump back into the game sound in seconds before the second intermission as alex and the buffalo thread erected the bar that flew past they want us to tend to want to support us after forty minutes however in the decisive period the red and weights managed to withstand the one birds attacks and then one more next season i don't think that

a breakaway and couldn't use them to their visitors had pulled the goaltender and that sealed the final score three one they have a very good club over there and i think with playing well you know we have set the player best games that are played and that's all we have to get back and. everything depends on us if we continue to play the way we did tonight i'm sure we can soon forget about the disappointing performances to get into that though it's an honor and suffered their third straight defeat while sparkler one second time in twelve manches to end their four mansion losing streak sitting nine points behind a play of sports because i'm out of a party. twenty eleven all round world and european champion speed skating event has defended his national title in moscow now vancouver olympics silver medal a skull but of took an early lead in the three day event after finishing first in the fifteen hundred meter race despite posting at third best results and sprints

the following day the champion still retained his lead by winning the five k. run cemented his triumph on the final day of the competition with a convincing victory in ten kilometers events called it is now gearing up for the european championships which will take place in hungary at the beginning of january . but. i've successfully completed an intensive training competition period and i'm in good condition i won't put him sponsor all time so everything is fine and i like the way things are going but i'm very pleased with the russians. now i'm going to train for the european championships which will be you know durant so apart from the riders badly from the title the weather may also create some difficulties with maturity basketball now and following this summer's a third european triumph the russian women seem to have started their first training camp as they target their mates in the olympic gold at next summer's games now russia qualifies the london swans it's twelve by winning this year's european

championships in poland in july and while the team has a thirty minute leaving three consider mental goals they've only managed to bronze medals in three of them pick appearances. as a mixture of proven stars and up and coming talents to choose from twenty five year old shooting guard. is in the running for the european player of the year award as is better and censor my earliest upon about all the russians are expected to take at least another bronze in london. the gold medals. and in the meantime russian pole vaulter get an ace in by is also preparing for the london games that's one of the year old aims to become the first female track and field athletes of win three straight olympic golds and a legend in her sports she set

a world record at the two thousand and four olympics in athens and then became the first woman to clear the five metre mark at the beijing games four years later but since that achievement the russians for has zips although her a mission that hasn't wavered isn't buying it has been training hard in her adopted home of malta carlo and is going all out for that historic third gold in london there she didn't cut it up i knew that if i became the first woman to jump muslims five meters then i would be making you fanatics history i will always be remembered and then achievement all of the other women who managed to do this will always be number two to a certain degree and being the first since paris is always good and i'm really happy that my name is forever in the history of the track and field is not going to disappoint my cheated once i don't consider myself to be a. new female track and field athlete has managed to become an individualist champion in three successive games this is my i want to become a legend i don't argue with. music entertainment plenty of skiing and the chance to

win sixty thousand a year olds things could hardly get any better for some of the winter sports maine says they hit the peaks in northern italy the biannual giant slalom sprint competition sold the likes of olympic gold medalist excellence pencil and bodie miller go airborne on a fast course which you can better start of the day but for participants were eliminated after each round american ted ligety was among the last man standing at his liver an absolute heartbreaker to local favorite giovanni first saudi it's out in finnish just two hundreds of a second behind the giddy watching the two thousand and six olympic champion clinched a prize the defending champion from two thousand and nine freshman cyprian over shar was third. and while football remains the king of sports in africa plenty of uganda's athletes have been choosing volleyball as their new competition of choice lately the pearl of africa now has every reason to root for

its national volleyball team as the sport rises to prominence. set up in the country's capital bringing together participants of all ages and while sizable tournaments are host to domestically the national team rarely gets to take on continental neighbors what's with so much enthusiasm for the game it's not a long shot to see the national scene finally get into its global event that's once the third season the all african games are on the agenda for now could this be that seem to be to the world championships and summer olympics of the not so distant future. moving on to the long distance once it's olympic games where the hosts are feeling the pressure of the world on their shoulders then saturates heather fell among those expected to get a podium finish again after a silver during the two thousand and eight beijing olympics that's when eight year old faces plenty of difficulties on her quest for the big gold domestic competition is fierce as only two spots in the national team are available why women are ranked

high enough to make the squad right now the new rules which combine the shooting and running disciplines have also slowed down the preparations of many athletes the challenge of making it to the games as formidable as winning in london but phil sees those domestic rivalries as a competitive advantage. it's incredibly tough in britain and the great part is because it's a tough one if you've got a really good team but that guy will have the good times of. a medal at the gates and that's what we're about as a country competing especially in tough and we've got a great history. there to get to get a medal. while over in new zealand and you shot but still are is continuing. his rise to the itself all this let it swirled jacksonville will be taken pour in it's one to twelve games in london after taking the junior circuit by storm the seventeen year old has already amass numerous world records as he moves up through

the age groups and the youngest ever male junior champion has given up school for now to focus on his sporting him bishop. with the more room with well going to the pens so it would mean i'm not going to have much i would choose to do it when i'm older so i'm as we're doing now and michael has her back to school. and were up there with him and so he's a. that's all we have time for right now but don't forget that some of the story sin here are also available on our you tube channel at artsy sports news so check it out so when you get a chance thanks for watching. witnesses . to history in the making. testimony. ten stories that shapes two thousand and eleven on our t.v.

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more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images seeing from the streets of canada. showing up.