big gulp is on the knife edge of gag tehran threatening to cut all but a vital route for bits of the world's oil supply to us they would close down a rainy a naval exercise. also the us said eat your business don't you think for the why it's very boring rage against seventeen non-governmental organizations which has drawn criticism that little has changed the mubarak regime was toppled in february . its largest protests in the months and bombs and the red continue with reports from activists that a hundred more people have been killed by state prisons trees day critics however say the reports come because.

international news live from moscow this is the with me us apollo thanks for joining us two u.s. warships have entered an area iran is using for launch scale naval war games further escalating tension between the nations the maneuvers are taking place in neutral waters close to the crucial strait of hormuz oil supply route which iran has threatens to block washington says the vessels are in a routine mission is again a check on is following developments for. day after day we see the degree of tension rising iranian and american warships kind of brushed shoulders earlier as u.s. ships passed the area where terror on is holding a ten day military exercise the u.s. fifth fleet said they crossed the strait of hormuz unhindered and that he was a routine passage iran's rights and to cut off the strait of hormuz which is the

major goal of oil artery forty percent of the world's tanker shipped oil passes through that strait the us said they would not tolerate any disruption of supplies which suggests that if you ran goes through with their threats we might see a full scale military showdown there but now based on the statements that we hear washington seems to think that iran is bluffing but right now you won't find itself in a situation where its main source of livelihood namely oil export is in danger because of the looming sanctions and the threats that are coming from iran indicate that it's ready to take action to protect its interests if attacked it's almost sure to retaliate right now were iran is flexing its muscle showing off its capabilities doing their naval military exercises and as part of the exercise on saturday they'll fire long range missiles capable of reaching israel by the way a touching upon some of the latest decisions the u.s. congress passed a bill that would dramatically complicate transactions through iran's central bank

european and asian nations iranian oil and use its central bank for their transactions president obama has yet to sign the bill and that's going to be a severe blow to the uranium economy around eighty percent of its revenues depend on crude sales e.u. ministers say. a decision on whether or not to boycott iranian oil will be made in coming weeks the west says all the rand has to do to avoid sanctions is to give up their nuclear program iran says they are not doing anything wrong by pursuing a peaceful nuclear program for civilian purposes some experts believe cornering iran like that by sanctions creates powder keg which could blow up at a slightest spark and a potential confrontation over the strait of hormuz can be that spark. and reza miranshah of the independent lobby group the national iranian american council says neither to us no we run one divines a route to be blocked but he said the lack of diplomatic relations for decades

between the two increases the risk of a dangerous. cold in the strait of hormuz for the iranian government would be the equivalent of cutting off its nose to spite its face its heavily heavily reliant on its on its income from oil exports the vast majority of which go through the strait that being said just because it's something that the iranian government doesn't want to do doesn't necessarily mean that it's something that it's want to have pressure increases to the point where iran is backed into a corner to governments that haven't been communicating for over three decades and when you don't have direct channels of communication that increases the likelihood of miscalculations and misperceptions and it reinforces a cycle of escalation in conflict and it increases the likelihood that you can you can take actions that might not be in the court and even with your own interests and rather than governments controlling the conflict the conflict begins to control the governments and we end up with an outcome that i think both parties independently would seek to avoid this is. late in the final countdown.

when these lines of police started moving me started moving towards the starting shooting towards our direction started tear gassing my cameramen with tear gassed i was injured that's when it really changed for me. brings you the view from inside the occupy movement out of the. close. to history. test of the. ten stories that shapes two thousand and eleven. all right the u.s. says that egypt has agreed to hold raids on pro-democracy rights groups as soldiers and police stormed offices of nongovernmental organizations including a number funded by washington the organizations the keys the ruling military of using the same tactics of repression as the previous mubarak regime documents and computers have been seized as part of an allegation of foreign funding of groups

that the military took power in the country are not rising in february which talk of a long time dictator hosni mubarak middle east history professor at west chester give us the nauruans davidson says islam is groups which are expected to win parliamentary elections turn a blind eye the military's continuing hold in power. the liberal element is the most adamant element when it comes to the egyptian army turning over power to a civilian government least so far they're the most adamant and the egyptian army. does not want to do that it has a great prestige stake in this it has a great economic stake in this the officer corps and i don't see them turning over complete control to civilian government and my guess is that the islamists groups. that somehow made in the coming days should with that reality that present reality

. and to syria now will launch the astray sions against the assad regime have taken place with reports of more violent crime downs against protesters local and can find a cause say over a hundred people have been killed by security forces so choose day when our league observers began fact finding visits to flashpoints violence has continued since march with state force in the case by the united nations of killing over five thousand civilians the government in damascus says opposition elements are also armed and have been responsible for killing sting and journalist iran's eba route peace to walk in the region as the conflict is being. anish from the outside this is a real worry we do not know what the americans are cooking right now obviously they are they are thinking of a much greater political context than syria they are thinking iran they are thinking the stability of iraq in the post american withdrawal and they are also and most importantly they are thinking israel how will the political vacuum if such

a vacuum is created in damascus affect israel israel's security and the northern border particularly the golan heights front israel cannot afford another security nightmare from their point of view of course to be added to that of south lebanon and gaza and this is really mostly what the americans are very worried about they are worried about. israel's security and then it's of concern about democracy or human rights in syria or anywhere else in the middle east i think the americans are yet to find a formula that would assure them that in the absence of assad there will be a political rejean that they can trust and i think this is what the americans are trying to ensure right now. and right now some of the international headlines in brief you need to lose a moon is attended a funeral ceremony to pay their last respects to the victims of an air strike thirty five kurdish civilians were killed and wednesday after the turkish air force

launched another talking to be a group of rebels based in the wrong things that are still under a month heads in the region on the number of protests held in takesh under rocket cities and in clashes. to get full spring is quite all right i wish all of the country's new conservative government has a group. of almost one billion euros the savings council across government departments within reason civil it's as if a continuing in one of the rituals hey you know. saying to me you know guys with beards little bit it can only keep it on the floor of the grave twenty one percent if you want to stay in the. north korea has officially named the country's new leader kim jung supreme commander of that one point two million strong military that had been doubts in some quarters that the twenty seven year old would replace his father who's been at the helm of the massive army between two years old died

nearly two weeks ago from a heart attack while traveling to an area outside people young. twenty twelve creeps closer we continue to live by these stories that dominated past this time is the occupy movement that expose social and financial injustice in the most unexpected places. i remember at the start of the so-called so-called arab spring we saw so many mass movements from europe to the middle east people rising up taking to the streets protesting and the question we kept asking ourselves over and over again is why not here why not in the united states i mean for years we've covered stories that touched upon social inequality economic inequality the overdue undue influence in fact that politics has been the money has in our financial system and i never

thought that this kind of popular outrage would really come to the united states but it would really hit home. when the occupy wall street movement began my initial impression i have to admit it was utter skepticism you know it sounded like some american protesters saw what was going on in the middle east and thought it would be i meet sort of symbolic way to emulate what they've seen for example into where square. one of the biggest things that really sort of woke me up as an individual was that that night in times square in october this was right after the supposed to be announced raid by the mayor where about three thousand if not more protesters had gathered around the park to to defend their space and they succeeded they weren't raided and we saw

literally thousands of people marching into times square which you know the physical contrast of the sort of a temple of consumerism which is times square in manhattan these flashing lights these logos these expressions of corporate power and consumer culture in stark contrast to. literally thousands of people who have gotten together to speak to shout to feel the physical presence of of other americans who are just no longer content to sit back and watch society unfold in the direction that it's taken. i was just feet away from the area where several police officers mountain of horseback sort of piled into the crowd hurting some of the protesters seeing with my own eyes for the first time the excessive level of force. old gentleman who looked like he was probably in his sixty's slammed down to the ground his arms and back women of all ages men of all ages carried away for doing what for sitting down

on the ground and not moving or making a point quietly. standing there with my camera man with this line of police officers several hundred of them armed to the teeth you know what. sticks out a line of protesters behind me you know i thought i was there as this protected almost impartial observer there to tell the story but when these lines of police started moving at me it started moving forward towards me starting shooting towards our direction started tear gassing my cameramen was tear gassed i was injured that's when it really changed for me there are at least a hundred the not two hundred three hundred police officers in full riot gear as you can see advancing behind us right now on the occupy oakland movement now one of the other interesting experiences a i think for me was sort of seeing the contrast between occupy wall street in new york and in oakland in oakland where there is

such a radical history of active as and where the people there the protesters there were so much more outrage so much more ready for a radical fundamental change of this in this country. but at the same time. one of the experiences that really stands out to be in my mind was the day of the port shutdown on the member second you know there are thousands thousands or tens of thousands of people who were gathered who were marching around. the t.v. is not a lot of police presence there really felt that perhaps we had turned a new chapter in this country perhaps this was going to be an opportunity for these kinds of expressions of political discontent with the sort of crackdown that we've that we've seen in the past and what happened that evening really really shook me to the core i have to say the contrast between these peaceful marches and.

seeing firsthand the streets of oakland turned into something i might have seen on the news and as you can see these are marching up behind me as sticks their hands baton thing and you know if you can get any closer on that shot i think that really galvanized this country and really woke us up to a reality the reality is that there is a lot wrong and there's a lot that needs to be changed but instead of sitting here and inviting experts to go and talk about it we're seeing people physically participating in what democracy really should be all about. i'm an american citizen i feel that i am here to tell the stories and i have a right to tell the stories and that is part of what this country is fundamentally founded on and sort of experiencing firsthand the the loss of the the inability to do anything the feeling of powerlessness and smallness. that's something that i think i'm not going to forget for quite

a long time. and that's the final obama report will sound upon some reflections from our team of international correspondents and that shapes twenty eleven and if you've missed any watch them again and. also now website. on the road that chilling discovery leaves the st petersburg these almost three hundred kilos of cameo stored in a movie together with a dead body. in knots you ain't seen nothing yet to see a mystical creature from russia's a wilderness comes to town to shine a light on the last fortune to find out more. than right now the moscow team recount the most exciting about this of the past year in this special program.

hello and welcome to the program on this weeks moscow out special we'll be looking over the highlights of the pasir twenty eleven has been an exciting year for the world of russian culture and indeed for the mosque are out so over the next twelve minutes we'll be re instancing you to some of the best bits from culture news and shows we've produced over the past twelve months and what had to be the most exciting events of the whole year the reopening of the bolshoi theatre. as the main

cultural symbol of russia twenty eleven saw the bolshoi states and finally returned to its former glory striking day or night illumination exterior now shines out a few years of being covered by scaffolding canvas and building materials. the reconstruction took six years and cost billions of rubles but now the pulitzer space is open to the public it can continue to not show showcase the present and future of russian and international talent. it's a once in a lifetime experience or for me it's. going out on to the stage and seeing the really. how big it is and how grand it is and how beautiful the restoration has been it's it's really once in a lifetime. next up on one of my favorite shows of the year was film the stasi the cosmonaut training facility originally

a secret apple space we ventured off to russia's only school for cosmonauts and then i was put through a whole range of training procedures underwater weightlessness zero gravity i'm being spun around inside a centrifuge. and really pushed me to my limits. the program also highlighted how american astronauts from she calls we know it's now what you call missions so she's the international space station project. to celebrities in twenty eleven now and many a list just around the world have made their way to the russian capital to film premieres concerts in private policies moscow sees many of the world's top axes saying it's impossible to come here every week. russian crowds love them and they and seems to be impressed with the city.

honestly there's an energy in the city. even more than when i was here two and a half years ago. very vibrant kind of this is under the surface you feel. a really positive energy. and possibility is there we went to the museum that houses the faberge eggs and the coronation dresses and. and perhaps the most exciting part of yesterday in some ways was going instead it outside the bolshoi theater it's been a dream of mine it's been great the people have been. so far and i hope i get to see some of the city this. summer to figure my dates out here but it's you know it was very it was colder last time that so many tourists come here that's get the christmas eve. it's beautiful is beautiful city going you know seeing the christmas trees exclusive interviews there are moving on and working

capital is a totally different place during the summer months open at terraces dominate the restaurant scene and people can enjoy a whole range of sun filled activities including sunbathing swimming and water sports temperatures are high and so is the entity of the capital's entertainment scene let's take a look at some of the shows we produced during the summer highlighting popular tourist destinations logs and hot and happening activities and excursions. when the capital heats up tens of thousands of sun worshippers and to moscow's forests seventy board is an island surrounded by an artificial lake and waterways are some a show in the area i took to a jet ski to prove how much metropolis in the summer being. the temperatures are. a trip to one of the beaches is the perfect way to cool down . next stop and as the oxford street or fifth avenue of the russian capital the street first sky has unquestionably been the city's most important

parish for centuries if here is the district has fundamentally changed over the centuries from a narrow medieval wooden distro to today's slightly a lemming eight lane highway. or some show on the famous street highlighted up from various statues to modern day sushi cafes this diverse berry will impress the most diehard of tourists. are we clear and sam and sharon are to explore every aspect of arts and culture we also explore cities outside of moscow and this summer saw me in the team travel to st petersburg to discover the exciting attractions surrounding the white's knights also known as the venice of the north and the eighteenth century it was piece of the great stream to create a window to europe and with a vast canal network breathtaking architecture and palaces that were built to rival their european counterparts his vision as. well achieved. our series of some of programs in twenty eleven looked at the cities and towns

restaurants waterways attractions and various some activities for visitors to enjoy . a city of palaces and museums brewed avenues and winding canals simply this place history has provided the city with a well finally to make sure i'm to see treasures. oh the best time to be here it's the summer for sure i just definitely love it really and love all the beautiful buildings the architecture everything the people there are so happy and the time this goes far beyond my expectations is incredible is something. you can only dream about. is about the hermitage museum the spectacular fountains of pisa half rivaling such will be seems as the loser in paris and the metropolitan in new york. truly is a cultural blunder. and peterhof which is often referred to as the russian side

is one of the most breathtaking sights in popular tourist destinations in russia. the one thing i love about my job here at our taste the crazy adrenaline filled activities i'm constantly asked to try out speedboats planes jumping heights being set on fire the list goes on and many shows we produce and try to give you an insight into the real russia from the food they eat to the music they enjoy developing pastimes to adrenaline filled sports so with that in mind here's a small selection of this from twenty eleven and me in action. going on the subject of flight was experience i will never forget invited to take to the skies in a young airplane to experience aerobatics it was a summer. at ten thousand feet as we banked to an incredible sixty degrees and experienced great weightlessness. not

the face hostage of any paying descent to experience what zero g. feels like to battle times under the loops the views from above are impressive but it felt different to a typical commercial flight. a program called moscow no one wants to. explore the police fire and ambulance made she seven says in the russian capital we saw how such facilities are constantly at the ready twenty four hours a day. and of course such a program involves not some action sequences and. finally the action sequences. action sequences represented by filmmaking and. expose the most film studios and we're invited to set up a new career and shazam

a drama called white tiger. the program finished off of the stunts most school while i was asked if i would like to participate. so cool she was and take shots i was given instructions away from donna was placed on my head and i'm just on the cream was applied to my face with everything ready for my back and legs of my suit and the flying cars. that i. love a little bit. but that was. going to be tried. as an efficiently run program it started to pass that students to safely undertake to find feats in the world of russians. and t.v. by now. i lived to

tell the tale and i did them both in one take but it's long been known that london is a magnet for many russians today the said to be almost half a million russian speakers in britain many jochen called the capital london grab as the ever changing multicultural city becomes a melting pot for new russians so early in the year the must go out to the british and french capitals to explore russian influence and connections abroad. you'll find just how much russian culture is imbedded into many aspects of western society one thing for sure promoting football clubs to major newspapers russians are certainly making their mark on the british capital. moving south into a series of russians have also been fascinated with french culture for centuries shows showcase how much christians devour the social scene in paris and as we proved the modern day french capital with russian connections and cultural aspects

. well there we have a small selection from the dozens of shows we produced for you goodbye twenty eleven how many people i meet in the u.k. for example have no idea about the cultural diversity of this country. and from palm trees in the south in the east i think russia is one of the most misunderstood destinations moscow also in petersburg offer two of the most spectacular cultural scenes in the world but if you haven't explored them well you don't know what you are missing the moscow team has a whole range of exciting programs planned for next year so stay tuned and watch out for more cultural excursions in twenty twelve. flies in the meantime best wishes from the moscow team and a very happy here. witnesses

. to history in the making of. testimony. ten stories that shapes two thousand and eleven on r.t. . download the official antti application to on the phone or i pod touch from the i choose up still.