dozens of new civilian deaths reported in syria as the arab leaders are to monitor the implementation of a peace plan hundreds of mercenaries from abroad are allegedly fighting for regime change there. shifting to the east pakistan with an eye on the future borders fresh ties with china after last month's deadly drone attack shattered it's already tense relations with the us. blessing or curse twenty years since the fall of the u.s.s.r. where opinion is still split on whether breaking up the union was the best choice for its people. six pm in moscow i met très

a good to have you with us here on r t our top story activists in the syria claim twenty seven civilians killed by government troops over the last day this is the primary team of arab league observers due to arrive in the country their mission is to implement a peace plan intended to ensure the regime and its crackdown on the opposition damascus denies committing atrocities saying it's fighting an armed insurgency funded from abroad well that's yet to be independently confirmed revolutionaries from other arab countries say they're willing to fight for change in syria are these acts on a boy who reports from post could offer libya. a butcher a dad the owner of these keep up shop in tripoli still undecided what's the most fitting time for syria's bashar al assad the sadness that is the claim it's the biggest game in the village not the city. not the city of. you kids the kids a lot of the people in the city. out of philly arab brothers the. the owners of the

shop have even put on display the syrian rebels tricolor but they're very firm on where the revolutionary support should be and we don't want syria and its soldiers we have a and our people such as syria these are just like only the subject we have only we have enough but i think yeah we want to leave. in less than three months libyan rebels have gone from being celebrated as liberators to being called occupiers shipley residents rally almost every week calling on the armed militia to leave and for some of the young man who's on the channeling enemy willing to part with their rifles syria seems like the next logical destination. i don't know what we're all ready to join the syrian revolution and with the help of allah we will make sure that what happened in libya repeat itself in syria the libyan man or the portraits of shaky bar are now ubiquitous on the streets of tripoli be some rebels

even styling themselves to resemble the famous revolutionary. war with the help of allah we can all belong to give aren't fighting for peace and freedom around the world. and it seems that che guevara's a deal with sporting revolutions have gotten a second birth in the middle east the arab spring has created a buoyant marketplace for soldiers of fortune they move from one revolution to another some motivated by personal gain some by conviction all others by venture if i put out a vision of freedom and for now it is the freedom to live by the gun. as your mantic and spontaneous as it may appear aiding the syrian uprising with mercenaries may not be such a genuine. video women and children in syria gunned down by snipers are inbound on you tube while it's still unclear who is pulling the trigger there are terrorists

who are shooting at civilians men women and children blind terrorism random killing simply for the purpose of destabilizing the country or from libya or from. pakistan's foreign fighters have been brought in here by the cia and the other western services. one man's terrorist could easily be a now a man's freedom fighter but with the united states it's now one of the high combat hige one of the leaders of chicle a militia was once on the cia most wanted list to date he's the face of the democratic leader who according to r.t. store says not a group of several hundred we've been rebels to syria just last month. to support the syrian people because we they are facing this situation before. it comes to be would. i think.

the use of soldiers of fortune is hardly new in this troubled region middle eastern rulers hard them for centuries a save cars against their own populations and it now looks like the history of mercenary. the middle east has got to it's new and no less bloody chapter. artsy shipley. according to u.n. estimates more than five thousand civilians have been killed in syria since march the regime claims it's lost thousands of troops fighting against armed gangs investigative journalist terry mason thinks foreign mercenaries are to blame for deaths on both sides they say delays five thousand people killed. by security forces of course it's absurd to of these a lot of people killed but very few by the security forces will still get them here by this my groups they put inside the code and with the same groups they use the media and know you have ways some different to the region but to have six and good

people coming from libya well now in syria especially with the military goes on the off where people believe he's now in turkey to organize all the fight and they're due to tripoli big which was the people from like no responsible for the security people they are you know they're inside syria and they may spend was first in libya recognize them here inside of the top of the say so called the free. syrian army but let's hear him. still to come this hour a disastrous chain reaction. so the there was there was panic i was outside of the car about to film the sound. and the police and the emergency workers still need to stop the sound seeing that. it was all in japanese but i could understand that was that you could see the fear and panic and also there was shall soon see nothing

that's really yelling only things to get back into the calm r.g.s. correspondent diver bennett looks back at the risk he face while reporting from japan ravaged by the wall the power of nature. but first pakistan facing a crisis in its relations with the us appears to be seeking more support for another powerful ally to the east china ties with america have been all but severed after last month's deadly drone attack by the us military and this year's raid to kill osama bin laden without islamabad's knowledge the pakistani president now firming up the country's relationship with beijing holding talks with chinese officials last week joseph chang a professor of political science at hong kong city university says the two countries have and have an important cooperative partnership with pakistan to counterbalance its relationship with the u.s. . well pakistan has been beating spece our live throughout the history of the

people's republic of china increasingly pakistan has has a certain strategic value to china certainly as for your normal pakistan's relations with the united states in difficulties because of the nato attack on is military post last month and the washington d.c. the fuse to deliver a policy. against any government and at the same time it is very significant that the top chinese diplomat but he was in pakistan he had met the president the prime minister the army chief of staff arguably the most powerful soldier in pakistan as well as the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and the head of the into services intelligence so it seems that china would be would have been ours to give more military aid to pakistan to balance against the weakening ties between pakistan and

the united states and it's also possible that time numbly play a certain mediating role between the military and the government and certainly tensions between the tool have been high in the recent year also. well christmas has come and gone in the west but in russia the big holiday season is yet to come let's go now to the business of the c.e.o. spending has been affected in the world's biggest country where long story short it hasn't really been affected because we're going to see an increase of twenty eight percent in spending to eighty one billion dollars in the holiday related spending around sixteen billion will be spent on presence alone and therefore the long lines big crowds at shopping centers and extra long traffic jams in moscow. before we get to business it's a day to celebrate first some commiserate for others twenty years to the day since the largest country on earth was dissolved the fall of the soviet union ended the

cold war created more than a dozen new states but sparked economic hardship and civil wars some even argue it made the world less stable by you leaving only a single superpower artie's a catherine mcgrath has more. even today many generate their own explanations for the fall of the global goliath but some putting it down to the role of just a few. i'll give you two reasons gorbachev and. the nineteen ninety one august coup was a turning point in the country's history with images of yeltsin standing on a tank creating a new hero yet for most here even that wasn't seen as causing a fetal crack in the soviet union it was all very sudden and shocking i mean there were people who even months before who were furious that this was going to go on forever so i mean all the billions and billions and billions that the u.s. and put into intelligence and forecasting will prove to be completely useless the

collapse of the soviet union was not so much a revolution rather it was a peaceful divorce of former republics longing for independence but the breakup led to long lasting and painful consequences. pushing your table to go so use a lot of the soviet union is really just a few of the little disaster of the twentieth century. and in that assessment lead him or putin is not alone older many russians began enjoying freedoms never imagined in the u.s.s.r. sixty percent still believe the collapse did more harm than good twenty years on russians still seem undecided over how to treat of the legacy of the u.s.s.r. in moscow most some of the names have long been a race from the streets and people's memories but some symbols of the past stand out so rigidly it can feel like those two decades never happened this morning amount a worker and guy who wasn't so took six years some thirty million dollars to restore

but even the government would consider taking down what is among the most famous unofficial symbols of the u.s.s.r. . and strong worker and a portly collective farmer were a symbol of crisp air a chance to billeted in a country with a planned economy everyone knew they would be provided with their metaphorical hammer and sickle and knew exactly how much to produce with them nineteen ninety one changed all that the post soviet economies were shattered their deficits skyrocketed production plunged and it took them years to get back on their feet in the last years of soviet union there was a possibility before us over here to continue with for terror and political regime but to liberalize the economy in the market in the same way as the charge. but among the political elite many didn't want to support the drive to modernize and in turn save the union instead they wanted to destroy it and during that descent many

republics were plunged into ethnic violence after gaining independence or before when it was clear the union was falling apart it seems as though you have the national minority started rocking the blanket to their side but there was. time the georgia virtually included self-assertive. into its territory series similar ethnic clashes between armenia and azerbaijan claimed the lives of over thirty thousand people one thousand people were killed in the transnistria conflict russia remains on a peacekeeping mission there at least a thousand people were killed in a post breakup clashes between georgia and south the search here and over one hundred thousand were displaced into g q stan the consequences were the worst sixty thousand killed and over a million people displaced even mostly with self didn't feel secure after the fall of the girl in world the world gripped a sigh of relief but it didn't last long when nato set about creating

a new wall made of me sells the lines steadily moved towards russia incorporating former soviet republics but leaving most out of europe's new security framework the west broke a number of promises to russia often russia could have expected that there wouldn't be a nato expansion that. russia. would perhaps even join nato or become part of a new system of european. collective security the full of the u.s.s.r. put an end to the cold war era forever a fundamental shift in global geopolitics with just a few now calling the shots and without a powerful counterweight today's world remains far from secure exiting the great childre our team. or is interested in your opinion today we're asking what do you

think the collapse of the soviet union meant for the world log on to our website r.t. dot com take part in our latest on line poll so far forty one percent say the collapse would have been good if nato had collapsed with it they say that if it had that it left the u.s. and check coming in second. fifty is convinced that communism offered a hope for a better future and the minority taking the opposite view saying the world is better off without the evil empire is the numbers for now but go online and cast your vote and try and change them if you like that's what our tea dot com the water there check out many of the other stories that are a click away. paying in cash could give you a bad arad latest security advice in the u.s. says that paying with bills could brand you a terrorist suspect plus. a. performance of russian carroll's classical favorites and folk songs at the kennedy center in washington played by russia's renowned your old philharmonic orchestra check it out

. time to take a look back at the major events of two thousand and eleven through the eyes of our correspondents covering them today we focus on japan's earthquake and tsunami that killed more than ten thousand people and caused explosions at the fukushima nuclear plant raising the worldwide specter of atomic disaster artie's ivor better of flex on his experience reporting from japan in the hours after the tragedy. covering the earthquake and tsunami in japan was very difficult because i was actually on my own the camera man and producing the visas so they had to wait and i

went with a flip camera a laptop when i was there and got a satellite phone and so on the road i was trying to do long lines whenever i could set up a satellite phone trying get a link. and only when i actually got there that was when i fully understood the full force of the tsunami i didn't i didn't appreciate that until i actually saw the sea of de vry legs. and i remember actually at one point setting up the lap to want on for a boat being perched on a on a on a road and just being dumped by the tsunami. and i was quite a surreal experience definitely. to begin with very strange if you were in a building suddenly you. could feel yourself shaking slightly and it was difficult to walk in a straight line for about thirty seconds and gradually these three days i actually got used to the tremors as strange as that sounds suddenly there was there was

panic i was outside of the car about to film a stand up. and the police and the emergency workers saw me just a sound saying. it was all in jack things but i could understand it was the can see the fear and panic and also they were shouting and tsunami literally yelling in my face to get back into the car there's no news crew there chanting and then to get back into the car and go in and as fast as possible because there was this. as a threat of another another tsunami there'd been a tremor a tide it receded and they thought another tsunami was coming so in those moments when. racing inland as fast as we could weaving our way in between all the day every. member looking around and thinking hang on a minute there's no shelter here. what it was he was destroyed in the previous tsunami and there's no high ground and the only way we're going to be safe is to actually. beat the water. i

had to take a taxi to sendai from tokyo to about ten hours because all the transport links were down and arrived in the middle of the nights no hotels were open the only place to stay was actually a relief center and this was inside the local government offices and the people there who just lost everything all they had were the clothes on their bank whatever positions they had with them at the time the earthquake struck and clearly their houses have been destroyed and they all they had been in the relief since it was it was a cardboard sheet of cardboard to lie on and i spent one not one night that i was pretty unbearable because it was very cold there's very little food around there were rations but all they had was just a cucumber and a slice of bread so that was that was one the other actually. on top of this was also the fear of radiation because the situation it was just going from bad to

worse and i was always in my mind it was a very real fear you could see it. amongst everyone else also. there wasn't any visible panic like it wasn't in japanese culture to panic and such but more there was certainly fear this is a town of a wall right around tough way between tokyo and fukushima i'm still one hundred fifty points is south all of the nuclear power plant but already the radiation levels here over double lot of those in tokyo going to make meeting one young fan. one young couple with a newborn baby actually just. i think a week old also been born to cover the before the before the earthquake and. the mother wasn't particularly well some of the she was very weak and obviously she wanted to stay put they were from sendai that they had left they just didn't trust

what the government was saying that this is troop situation in fukushima was under control and they just wanted to get out they were heading headings to a kid by whatever means possible. but then suddenly the tempo changed when there was a third explosion and then the fourth explosion and the different reactors in fukushima one morning the happening very quick succession and suddenly. everyone was very scared she. said or the news crews were. just suddenly packed up and left and that really difficult for me was i was on my own i didn't have anyone else to consult. and i just realized at that point ok i'm going to get out because the thoughts of japan's ravaged east coast norine life by the day every just lie strewn all over the place here a walls collapsed over here is a fallen down such as the force of the tsunami this is also the point where we don't turn back because the dog accounting is reading the highest it has done all day one point zero four might perceive its place how obviously when i left japan. i

felt great relief because covering the story being very stressful and then he eats in and then he slips but the story for me wasn't over though until when i was back in moscow. the next day i had to get to the hospital rooms checked for radiation and thankfully i was clear. every day up until the new year will bring you more personal reflections from our correspondents how the events that molded the year if you mistake them remember you can find them again a click away at our team dot com turning now to some other stories making headlines . across the globe a suicide attackers killed at least seven people in iraq injured thirty two others detonating a car bomb during the middle of the morning rush hour bomber drove his vehicle into a security checkpoint outside the interior ministry five police are among the dead this follows a series of bombings that killed at least seventy two people just last week and a few days after the u.s.

troops pulled out of iraq nobody has claimed responsibility yet but the suicide attacks are a hallmark of al qaida. the international community has condemned sunday's bombings in nigeria that claimed at least thirty nine lives including children series of blasts happened outside churches and targeted worshipers during christmas the militant islamist group boko haram has said it carried out the strikes the group wants to impose strict islamic sharia law across the country which is split almost equally between christians and muslims. south korea's former first lady league we hope is having a morning delegation to north korea to pay respects to the late leader kim jong il they've met his youngest son kim jong un named named as his successor the groups in pyongyang as part of a two day visit but are not representing the south korean government the former first lady said in a statement she hoped the trip would help improve ties between the two countries that are technically still a war the north korean leader died from a heart attack almost ten days ago. an update on the day's headlines right after

the business news with dimitri stay with us. thank you man hello and welcome to business r t the destiny of the south stream project seems to be hanging on the outcome of russia's gas talks with ukraine gas from c.e.o. aleksey miller says the prospects for the pipeline are tied into the outcome of the ongoing energy use future russia began the project in order to secure delivery of gas to europe without having to go through ukraine there was a sticky of course transit disruption saying the cost of russian energy supplies was too high as the price talks have now got off the ground then they say russia could cut the capacity of south stream or even stop the project altogether if a crane comes to agree to. christmas is over in most parts of the world but in russia the first season has only just begun despite the concerns in europe and the

u.s. shoppers still odd slowing down and there's of course but in many of the course we have found out russian men are at the forefront of the seasonal spending extravaganza. year's eve as when the russians give gifts and this year they're going all out at least eighty one billion dollars will be spend this the stamper and a fifth of that will go towards presents consumer spending is expected to increase by twenty eight percent and muscovites will withdraw twenty percent more cash than any of the month of the year that's about five hundred sixty dollars each if you are a russian woman then you can look forward to a particularly lavish gift as mandible spent twice as much as their partners so what kind of gifts are we're looking at what the most popular items are expected to be alcohol then we have a toys and finally household appliances so not all that romantic on

the christmas tree and the russians are not the only ones refusing to tighten their belts many experts had predicted americans and europeans would trim their spending but it's turning out to be a different story most surveys now suggest we will see an increase actually the average american is expected to spend up to twenty two percent more while in the u.k. some shops already seeing an increase in sales more than last year but this may be because it's been such a tough year for ordinary working people now about the holiday season this year so feel that they have an excuse to finally spend some money on themselves and their loved ones. my list now move to the markets well european trade is a drawing boxing day the russian indices are gaining the most in four sessions us an optimist the u.s. economy will continue. helping boost the outlook for us and this is a moving back into stilts therefore safe haven assets. on the decline all blue

chips. one of the biggest gain is almost two percent up for the other end. shares also slightly. news in brief now despite the lingering global financial uncertainty russia's still aiming to attract a further five percent more foreign investment in twenty twelve presidential way that got you got a call which said he expects investors to start bringing their cash in the second quarter of next year investment into russia grew around twelve percent this year but worse that money was short term credit which does not provide fundamental support. russia's caucasus is a step closer to welcoming more guests russia and france registered joint venture to develop tourism in the region plans to build five world class ski resorts and create over three hundred thousand jobs there by twenty twenty first earth the money is needed and backers hope to bring in between fifteen and twenty billion

euros to make the project a reality. that's all we've got time for this hour we will be back in fifty five minutes time with an update the headlines are next on. because. coming.

to the limits susan. subsists sci fi exists. thanks. wealthy british scientists some time to explain the point six. six. six. six six markets why not sooner.