take a look at the rallies and revolts that shake twenty eleven. pm the russian capital you watching r.t. was marina joshie iran is to test a long range missiles as part of its standing able drills in the persian gulf the maneuvers comments saber rattling was washington tehran's promise to block the vital oil supply route through the strait of hormuz if the west imposes sanctions over iran's alleged nuclear program than it should count reports 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 right into a cut of 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 u.s. said they would not tolerate any disruption of supplies which suggests that if you were an goes through with their threats we might see a 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 exercise but 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 import 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're not going to do and they're not doing anything wrong by pursuing a peaceful nuclear program for civilian purposes some experts believe cornering irad like that by sanctions creates a powder keg which could blow up at a slightest spark and the potential confrontation over the strait of hormuz can be that spark that she counts morning there was a rant stop nuclear negotiator has expressed iran's readiness for fresh talks with the west over its alleged atomic program parents olive branch comes just days after the state said any sanctions imposed against it would force it to block a key oil supply route the editor of consortium news robert perry says while in

either ron nor of the united states want the vital route to be blocked and war could still be on the cards for washington. i don't think any side here wants that to happen the iranians don't really want to see that kind of disruption to the oil industry that is their principal source of foreign capital the united states doesn't want to see that happen either because it would impact negatively on both the u.s. and european economies however sometimes when rhetoric you know that reaches a certain level and tensions reach a certain level and people taken positions things can cascade out of control and that's the risk here and we could see a war we could see some some kind of conflict. there's been a propaganda campaign in the united states very similar to what we saw before the invasion of iraq not a major news organizations have been hyping up threats about iran. we've seen

questionable allegations be given a great deal of weight here in the united states people have a tremendous animosity toward. the leader of iran so i think you have the kind of climate here that can then lead to something else and then of course you have israel which has been which has been making a point that it considers. the iranian nuclear program an existential threat so you add those combustible elements together and one false move by any party a mistake or intentional or provocation could lead to catastrophe. violence has yet again erupted on the streets of syria stanza thousands have rallied against their regime security forces have reportedly opened fire to stop the protesters activist also claimed dozens were killed in recent clashes in flashpoint cities all of which are being visited by arab league observers the u.n. says more than five thousand people have died in the ten month long and rest with damascus blaming armed gangs for the violent journalist. who used to work in the

region says the conflict is being managed from the outside this is a real worry we do not know what the americans are cooking right now obviously they are of they are thinking of a much greater political context than syria they are thinking iran they are thinking the stability of iraq in the american withdrawal and they are also and most importantly they are thinking 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 home to be forced to be added to that of south lebanon and gaza and this is really most of what the americans are very worried about they are worried about. israel's security and that 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. is gone there is going to be another alternative that america can work with and until the americans find an answer to this question we are going to have this this conflict raging on for a long time so i have for you this hour here in our t.v. with just hours till the new year what would you want to. see in two thousand and twelve. you clean up the politics than twenty two out make them do things that are good for the world to not just get to get reelected i would probably say that after gambling given the world be a better place without those things yeah i think they would probably be lots of benefits. plus a look back at the turbulent twelve months of two thousand and eleven from the arab

spring to war and wide protests r.t. wraps up the key events that marked the year in our correspondents were in the thick of the events watch their first hand experience on our website r.t. dot com. witnesses. to history in the making. testimony. ten stories that shaped two thousand and eleven on our t.v. . and let's now take a look at some other stories from around the world more violence has erupted in nigeria following the church bombings on christmas day that killed more than forty people army officials say two civilians died in a shootout at a market in the northeastern city of my degree while witnesses report the blast hitting the local mosque the recent wave of attacks in the country has been blamed on the extremist islamist sect. tens of thousands of people have fled their homes across the country fearing more attacks. demonstrators have clashed with police

across turkey in the second day off civil unrest following the botched government airstrike that killed thirty five chords on wednesday in the city of thousands rallied after the funerals of the kurdish civilians killed in the attack police fired tear gas used water cannons to disperse them turkish rise groups have appealed to the u.n. to launch an investigation into the strikes the government has referred to as an operational mistake. you. can john the son of the late northern korean leader kim jong il has been formally named supreme commander of the country's military forces senior government officials a player came drawn on head of the communist party on thursday following his father's memorial move a scene of the twenty seven year old consolidating his authority over the nation. tens of thousands of protesters have gathered in yemen demanding president saleh be put on trial for the deaths of hundreds of the armed activists the protests flared

up after side of power transfer agreement last month granting him immunity from prosecution in the wake of violent protests he also announced he would leave yemen for the u.s. demonstrations have racked the country for the past year calling for an end to thirty three year rule. the u.s. says egypt has agreed to halt raids on pro-democracy rives groups earlier soldiers and police stormed offices of non-governmental organizations including some of those funded by washington the groups accuse the ruling military of using the same tactics of repression as the previous mubarak regime documents and computers have been sees as part of investigations into foreign funding of organizations the military to power in the country after an uprising in february which toppled president mubarak middle east professor lawrence davidson says islamist groups which are expected to win parliamentary elections are turning

a blind eye to the military is continuing hold on power the liberal element is the most adamant element when it comes to the egyptian army turning over power to a civilian government at least so far they're the most adamant and the egyptian army. does not want to do that it's a great prestige stake in this it has a great economic stake in this the officer corps and i don't see. turning over complete control over your government and my guess is that the islamists groups. somehow it made in the coming days should with that reality that present reality. foreign policy analyst dr adil should move says he believes gyptian military government is making sure it stays in power but the people are determined for democratic change. this is part of the military discount the supreme council of

armed forces way of making sure. the revenue she basically is molded to the to the type of government they want because that's those are the same generals by the way who work for mubarak. so that's really basically his forte of the struggle has been a good using going to go forward or is that a good use and good of being molded and some doing into some missive role to the military but really the military has to step aside and disagree the government come to power once the election are held and the elections should be held as soon as possible they will not give up the body that easily but i think the egyptian people and the arabs in general how who lost the fear from corrupt government and they have restored of their dignity and they were not following another minute that he

dictatorship in the country i think all the evidence indicate that despite the sacrifices they have given. don't forget our web sites also got more news comment and analysis here's a look at what's there. as a granny and i and a lady finds herself behind iron bars after being moved from a detention center to a prison we uncover the details of you with us incarceration. and a cop club touching food a twin polar bear is playing in chinese suit charm viewers around the world get both story and video of the adorable pair at archie dot com plus you can watch all of our best videos on our you tube channel. if you.

download the official ante up location your only phone on called touch from the job store. like on the go. video on demand. old girls. street now in the palm of your. machine on the dot com. now with the hours counting down to the new year and with celebrations gearing up in all corners of the world we remember what made twenty eleven it was a year of rallies and uprisings as people around the globe went out on to the streets to demand justice freedom and economic equality hard as any so now it looks back at the protests that shaped the past twelve months two thousand and eleven

could easily go down as the most eventual year in yours. the killing of bin ladin after a decade long manhunt in libya's gadhafi after months of nato bombing and the death of north korea's kim jong il don't even begin to illustrate twenty eleven. times shows the protester as person of the year and although there were different slogans signs and demanded solutions twenty eleven will ultimately be remembered as the year people came out onto the streets the arab spring bloomed into a european summer which harvested an american autumn from cairo to california moscow to madrid to her ear to occupy global rallies shared common themes but if one thing stood out in the middle east and north africa alone it was protests that

lead down one road regime change. tunisia and egypt got rid of their dictators without war but. the nato allies began a humanitarian mission with a fierce bombing campaign the critics called it a mislabeled invasion to take down gadhafi for benefits the only reason they're interested in with libya is about the oil you hear anybody screaming and yelling about all those people last week that were killed in the ivory coast or whose sudan gadhafi was brutally killed in october as the world watched the graphic video go viral thousands of civilians were killed over months of bombing and that's twenty twelve neared syria found itself in a similar set up for intervention russia and china fearing a repeat of the situation in libya a civil war intensifies this is a direct. act that that rhetoric clash between the u.s.

and nato on one side and russia and china on the one you know on the other side you know much more david was in libya protests continue in egypt libya syria and many more arab countries as the year ends. the battle to save the drowning single currency left board rooms and banks in twenty eleven and flooded the streets of europe most commonly and violently in athens greek debt became the centerpiece of the euro crisis protests waged against desperate austerity cuts to qualify for i.m.f. bailout germany and france run for influence in the debt ridden zone i think we will see an exit of greece given the situation in which the greek economy find itself has become really unavoidable draining the economy of big brother germany can't go on forever greece and italy are now led by on a lark to brussels back technocrat leaders who are trying to curb the crisis coming

into a new year critics say twenty eleven bell outs or bust was the beginning of the end for the single european currency there's every chance the euro is going to crash. london burned for days in the summer of twenty eleven what began as a peaceful protests demanding justice over the death of a twenty nine year old man who was shot by police turned into days of riots and left authorities helpless talks of possibly bringing out the military bars to shops were looted car set on fire and windows smashed across the u.k. the police the job center all the banks everything that's happening the recession you know there's a lot of anger about that social experts also through of found multicultural programs and racism into the mix you know stop and so on a sense of place

a certain institution. but. probably institutionally racist as well the riots faded but the problems are still passing some say only a spark is needed to set the public off again. occupy wall street became a household name in the u.s. and around the world when the protests began in september if you were talking about it the mainstream media stayed silent until seven hundred people were arrested on the brooklyn bridge and that was truly based in the end of his fruits of american politics the crowd is easy since. they are disorganized they look funny when i protest nobody seems to know but negative coverage didn't stop us from spreading from small towns to huge ports occupied was not going anywhere rates on campus heavy handed police and burning pepper spray only helped occupy grow and read their

message of the need for economic equality and an end to corporate greed their slogan became we are the ninety nine percent and they the rich the one percent from oakland to boston the more people occupied the more brutality became more evident by was. what you're doing with your. right our police forces have been militarized they are working more in cooperation with the pentagon they're buying and being given military surplus to quit meant that has been kind of designed for use in war and this is something that. needs to treating the public as you would treat an enemy a public that has promised to come out in full force in twenty twelve.

elections were the push behind tens of thousands of people coming out onto the streets of moscow after allegations the december duma vote was raked. the protest at least fifty thousand strong the largest in recent history calls for free and fair elections and remained peaceful ruling party united russia lost popularity in the vote with official results putting their numbers at almost fifty percent but experts say a sixteen percent drop from two thousand and seven should be taken as a warning that i think a lot of people want to punish. united russia for having power for so long maybe not doing everything they could protest organized by vast groups of opposition members are set to continue in two thousand and twelve next year russia along with the u.s. and france holds presidential elections which makes it a safe bet people will be out on the streets in twenty twelve in europe america and

around the world and he's now a party moscow. and watch our special new york coverage later on saturday as our correspondents will be bringing you more on how they've seen two thousand and eleven. the obama administration is helping to restore momentum the spring for peace talks

with the taliban military contributor says washington needs to work hard not to completely lose all possibility of trust of ghana stand as a did in pakistan we have the political will the us military preponderance in afghanistan hasn't achieved any decisive victory nor it has managed to reverse the momentum to retake the initiative from going to work and their associates neither you know afghanistan nor across the border in pakistan their western alliance attempt to attain a breakthrough to reconcile with the irreconcilables you know afghanistan and pakistan hasn't achieved any tangible or long term results and just as was predicted the american replica of your i.q. surge in afghanistan hasn't impressed the military opposition to ever going to government neither in pakistan nor you know afghanistan in the minus another year

one hundred plus billion dollars the united states hasn't won afghanistan but it definitely has lost pakistani cooperation. and the new year is a strong incentive for people to start something new and say goodbye to the old today artie's very own new york resident laurie harshness asks people in the big apple what they'll be happy to see the back up come the stroke of midnight. two thousand and twelve is now a riving what would you rid the world of in the new year this week let's talk about that big wall street protesting because it doesn't really help anything at all if you ask me i'm a business student it's my fifth year in college and i just i don't know what the point as i understand what they're fighting for and i grieve for but for me i'm

like you just taking up space i would probably even ask gambling do you think the world be a better place without those things yeah i think it would probably be lots of benefits. i agree i think a lot of people would protest though oh i have no doubt a lot of people would protest differently including the government because they are ex of much money out of it would be occupy the liquor store time yes or no will borders and more borders let's just all be one country. because it's so difficult to travel or people trying to school put seem politics. make clean up politics in twenty two out make them to use things that are good for the world to not just get to get reelected oh poverty for sure yeah so how do you think the world leader should go about starting that. well distribute the wealth intolerance you'd make everyone tolerate all different cultures yeah. that's

a tall order i know well you asked if i could religion probably ban religion yes all of our spiritual but religion as a religion we think the differences. now. control no matter what you'd like to abolish internationally let's just hope two thousand and twelve brings us a little closer to a better world. for the moscow team recalls the most exciting entertainment events over the past twelve months and the russian capital. as the main cultural symbol of russia twenty eleven saw the bolshoi theatre finally returned to its former glory. the. next up in one of our favorite moscow out shows of the year was filmed the star city the cosmonaut training facility originally asked 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 under water weightlessness zero gravity and being spun around inside a centrifuge. to celebrities in twenty eleven hour many a list this time around the world have made their way to the russian capital film premieres concerts and private parties moscow sees many of the world's top actors singers and passion models come here every week. rushing crowds love them and they end and seem to be impressed with the city. and watch the best of moscow are from twenty one throughout the day here on r t well before that i'll be back with the headlines tango.

thank.

is the.

iran ready is a long range missiles for use during a ten day naval drill in the persian gulf to iran has threatened to block a key oil supply route if the west continues to tighten sanctions that's as iran's top nuclear negotiator expresses his country's willingness for fresh talks. fresh rallies flare up in syria with opposition activists reporting dozens of deaths at the hands of police the u.n. says more than five thousand people have died of the ten month long on rest was damascus blaming armed gangs for the violence. and the year of the protester s twenty one having draws to a a close.