live from moscow this is r.t. a warm welcome to you my name is kevin irwin with the weekly roundup of the top stories from the last seven days and first tens of thousands rallied in central moscow on saturday and another peaceful protest over the results of this month's parliamentary election thirty thousand people turned out of the capital according to the russian interior ministry but rally organizers said the true number was over one hundred thousand protesters were calling for a rerun of the election which they claim was rigged the rally echoed an earlier one that had been held two weeks ago when thousands took to the streets to have their say president medvedev addressed the protesters in his annual state of the union speech promising widespread political reforms some of which are already underway in the newly elected state duma r.t.c. got a press going off reports. 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 speeding and his fourth and final state of the union address the president was that a set of proposals which have already been deemed to be sweeping political reform he wants to change the rules for the registration of political parties as well as for taking porting away actions in fact a total ground of reboot of the 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 in the thousands now the meeting with wants to bring the vote back as part of the move to vertical eyes power in russia it took over a decade to build the current political 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 u.s.s.r. had been taking place across the country with tens of thousands of russians shouting out accusations of fraud and other violations were fifty criminal cases have been opened looking into the allegations while the results from more than twenty polling stations have been canceled russia has enormous potential enormous human capital physical capital and has the potential to become

a world leader and they would like the especially 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 you not be accepted but with him when you know it's going to then that 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 means democracy not chaos but getting back to the reforms that need to be another proposal concerning his own post as well in order to run for president independent candidates have to gather at least two million approval signatures from voters three hundred thousand that's the new figure currently being proposed which will most likely widen competition for 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 media

mediate if he's aiming for the prime minister's shoot if. coming presidential vote in morning. is going to. moscow. and go online to get all coverage of the mass protests in russia's capital we've got a video direct from the site of the rally on our you tube channel and while you're online as well we invite you to visit our twitter feed always got the latest firsthand impressions from our correspondents there and of course you can also catch up on the full background of the protests on our website our team don't call . news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images. from the streets of canada. showing up for a shot. activists

in syria say the opposition held city of homs is on the heavy fire from thousands of government troops and tanks they're calling on the arab league to dispatch observers know the area it wants and advance party of monitors flew into damascus last week to prepare for the arrival of primary arab observers their mission is to oversee a peace plan that guarantees that the regime ends its crackdown activists claim hundreds of civilians are being gunned down in recent days twin suicide blasts in damascus targeting government buildings also killed forty four on friday because the regime is under a set of heavy sanctions from the u.s. and the e.u. but as artists are a first reports next it's the syrian people who are feeling the squeeze. 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 sun so it seems like it's business as usual but as one says sets in the winds of change have begun to float

a little stronger the arab league's impose tough economic sanctions the effects of which have been felt even head in a poor area in the suburbs of damascus and her family struggling to make ends meet . has learning difficulties the beans for a living but 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. there last products available and the prices are pushed higher there's been fights over gas we've been trying to manage by cutting back as much as we can but sometimes when we can't afford it which is don't eat economic situation in syria was one of the areas president if that had been faints be making very well be it slowly for a population that it started seeing the results of economic opportunity

a lot financial transactions. blackouts become the. fifth they could be even the financial times ahead. because of the economic sanctions people rush to stockpile fuel and gas just. people are a little bit afraid of the fact that water or gas might run out this is why you see these queues this in place by the arab league it was hate the sanctions which the government had and when it came to ending the violence in the country is inside syria at the moment many feel is every day people being punished economic sanctions still just taking the lead that he won here. has become part of the daily life of many people here in syria. 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 to bring about any change. in the

west of the conflict areas change can come in they meant to seeing some parity of teeth families like. finding life under the sanctions increasingly desperate search for. damascus. u.s. and the e.u. say the stance against a mosque is his reaction to the regime's crackdown on peaceful protesters but they're refusing to do recognize that the opposition is also on the fighting to bring down president assad some analysts believe it's because the west's want to see regime change in syria what we see hear about these atrocities at five houses. down here and the so-called massacres none of these numbers are confirmed they are actually given and if you look at the media they are actually telling you that they are getting their information from the. rebel army but they're not getting it from inside the country but of course when you look at

the mainstream media at least here in the united states they are just repeating those numbers this is basically a make up of a psychological warfare first of all the decision on syria was made months or years ago even as the preparations began and this is in turkey on the border there there are nato air base there injured airbase in may two thousand and eleven so they have the decision they have had that this station they have been preparing for an actual war and then they begin the propaganda and the psychological warfare by trying to get the public support for an unwarranted and that's the pocket sea off the u.s. foreign policy you're looking at live playing right in front of you later this hour see the inside track on the year's most momentous events. meeting you that's where journalist. but we couldn't stop thinking. what if the

make and the state parties really for national correspondent sharing her firsthand reflections about reporting from the nato strike zone in water on libya. north korea still mourning the death of its leader kim jong il who passed away last saturday from a heart attack at the age of sixty nine his death was announced on state t.v. on monday by a weeping newscaster and thousands of people were shown crying in the streets his youngest son now kim jong un has already been named as supremely leader to keep the dinner still going the former rulers body is now lying in state in the capital pyongyang as north koreans continue to pay their final respects with a funeral planned for december the twenty eighth users desperate the country's neighbors on high alert japan has called a special security meeting fearing instability in the region while south korea says its military is on standby independent journalist tim shorrock believes that the

successor will need time to secure his position as leader. he's only been around for three years in the public light he went to school in switzerland apparently he knows a lot about how the internet works and he knows a lot about social media but beyond that we know very little except he's been appointed a four star general he has no military training very very you know this zero next to zero military experience but i think what these two leaders this closely held leadership in north korea once is a symbol of their regime and this is a clear you know successor symbol they can they can use to continue their power and i think the fact that it took two days to announce his death and they announced one hundred fifty personnel funeral committee means that they have the people lined up behind them have been you know on this decision and they're getting ready to move forward on whatever was going on before in terms of any kinds of discussions with the united states south korea with other countries that did take kim jong il who

just passed quite a few years to actually gain total acceptance with the power structure there with the powers that be there in the in the party in the government to actually you know take firm control so i think that's an open question maybe as the room is a struggling to keep former rebel forces from tearing each other apart two months after couldn't get daffy's death tribal violence is on the rise and but petion killing is a form of loyalists a constant a shadow of the country's future reports from libya. this is what it's like to look death in the face a group of men the young and old captured after didn't need a prop to. get off his hometown of sirte there was behind the camera deliveries that very day did you look for gadhafi did you. and the captives didn't sound seems doubtful about what's coming next. and it seems like these

where you know that possibly be as the rebels assisted by western powers so to liberate the country from gadhafi i've been longines 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 but no access to lawyers and no chance for a fair trial. but while the prisons new guards have a very elaborate in their rating good actors ferocity here and hatred still reside

in this neighborhood. obviously is a poor area in southern tripoli where more margot had strong support base prior to . the district also and as the two notorious prisons a scene of torture and arbitrary killings but while gadhafi is gone the human rights abuses still remain valid from this area are 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 out his supporters can turn to for how mammoth formed and your earlier this year it investigate the fate of those who disappeared and get off its presence 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're scared to tell me that this son or husband was with the khadafi 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. mohammad 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 the 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 banter about. 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 see dies last. it's still alive even if many people aren't. artsy tripoli hospital for the libyan uprising that began in february and ended in october as one of the top ten the vents and the that shaped almost all year broadcasting for us. the civil war saw a nato led coalition intervene with thousands of deadly strikes which frequently

cause civilian casualties and his reform covered revolution from inside libya looks back on her experience. we arrived in libya 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 they sway nato and khadafi. could both blame each other if drawn this scope killed. when our first night in tripoli we got a very warm welcome rixos hotel we stayed was just

a kilometer or two 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 moved to dig. into the room because i was scared that an explosion could destroy literally. my western colleagues explaining that. rixos hotel at the time was the safest place in libya because nato knew best were drawn in this war but we couldn't stop thinking. what if they make a mistake the residents of secrecy with districts here in street really have been woken up by a strike in the middle of the night and all summer all moms in london to hear this story as you can see behind me some world three story buildings. and

there were no. professional rescuers at the scene only man who bare hands. and one after another they pulled out five dead bodies. wish we couldn't see that but is. because they were just wrapped up a blanket. five live band. in the mall we heard that they were free little babies among the dead. they will line there. the cold metal tables still in pampers. and next morning nato confirmed. it had made a mistake intended target during last night's best strike in tripoli was a military missile site. from our initial assessment of it appears that one weapon

did not strike the intended target due to a weapons systems failure. of course i wanted to meet qaddafi or his son say for this 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 a call the card 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 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 a very powerful man. he invited me to follow him in a separate room and groom me 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. charlie 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 if not the best interview safe was very sincere. very open and he thought always before answering i was really literally electricity in that room. were 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 there was a different country already with new faces new heroes new everything. the country i had traveled in the summer two thousand and eleven it is now just a part of history for good. just one of the team bringing you the news that shows every day towards the new year will bring you more personal reflections to from our correspondents who saw in the biggest stories of twenty eleven to bring you the details of this child when in

case you missed any as well there on the web site out. there's been five blast close to christian churches across nigeria today it's killed at least twenty seven people the radical muslim psycho who claimed responsibility for the attacks the group was involved in days of violent clashes with military forces that killed at least sixty in the past few days stephen lanman a radio host and author from chicago told me opals elections contributed to the unstable situation in the country. boko haram may be an extremist islamic sect but he issue is very political corruption crow years. of age in human even last week was a way actions were first simply here. to tell you i was there was a way he represents the christian sterols about half of next year

a year is muslim here in the north they were my actual who are his eight year here they are being totally shut out of the system and jonathan is that close western charities close to washington ties close big oil in the east end here if there me and in turn the country over to big oil and let them just so so well it eats into the vesti agar that striving to. run the world brief now suicide bomber in northern afghanistan blew him self up during a funeral it killed nineteen people including a member of the national parliament that attack happened at the end of the ceremony as mourners were preparing to leave there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but local officials say they suspect the taliban suicide attacks are rare in the province which is considered one of the calmest regions in the country . in yemen's capital security forces have opened fire on protesters it's left nine

dead that's the tens of thousands marched today to the ex president's palace demanding that he should be tried for months of violent crackdowns on anti-government demonstrations and i stated seventeen hundred people have been killed in clashes since the uprising began in february. signed a power transfer agreement ending years thirty three year rule and giving way to his deputy to take over. away from a violent warfare for a moment it is of course the festive season and with christmas trees lighting up all day today let's take a look at how some people have been celebrating the holiday in different parts of the world in bethlehem the west bank's christian minority gathered with tourists to commemorate the birth of jesus thousands of palestinians from inside the west bank also converged on the town. and during midnight mass at the vatican the pope rounded on the commercialism of christmas urging followers to look past the superficial glitter and concentrate instead on the holidays true meaning when it

gave the capital taiwan people flocking to see a christmas eve parade in a colorful display including out on a marching band. sundries of course once again following its annual trek around the globe welcome to the end of just about an hour of his visit hope you were lucky you can keep track of his every step courtesy of us online on our website that we've got father christmas on great very special website monitoring say next progress is he in his reign to finish off a trip around the world this christmas. and a snippet of history larysa previous section two if you fancy a bit more reading on this day twenty years ago the first and only president of the soviet union because gorbachev announced his resignation in a live t.v. address big news then you can acquaint yourself with it again on our website.

twenty seven minutes past ten o'clock at night moscow time some good out sport with that in about twenty minutes my name is kevin owen you're watching r t this twenty fifth of december two thousand and eleven concha live from moscow and of course as i just mentioned if you are celebrating christmas in your part of the world right now while very best wishes to you for me and the rest of the team on here tonight the headlines coming up brochure.

world with a view from coors wishes on technology updates next generation places made from super strong interest lately building materials good health with a host of nuclear. toad's a cleaner planet thanks to the revolutionary way to get rid of our growing

landfills and a long list of russian invaders. please don't listen shirk. here in bygone days dogsleds were vital to get around. but today they're more leisure than lifeline. one drives people to quit their modern lives and settle in remote woods. one finds them up to survive in the freezing cold. a new beginning in russia's nals discover the arctic circle on r.t. . among the least explored areas. good and untouched by money. surrounded by steep law. case paintings on display for thousands of years.

eastern science and beyond the tiger. mom on sea. this is all to you watching the weekly from us top stories in the past seven days tens of thousands rally peacefully in the russian capital demanding a rerun of the parliamentary elections well president. promising an overhaul of the country's political system. international pressure syrian regime to end its crackdown on protesters has violence intensifies across the country with people struggling under a set of western sanctions soaring prices and food shortages.