i i i i. i. i. it is already two thousand and twelve in new zealand of russia's forests and telling of you but here in moscow there was still eight hours to go until we ring in the new year. this is our city with worldwide. everyone plans to test fire a long range missiles in the persian gulf over the next few days as part of a naval drill which has been increasing tension in the region almost daily saber rattling from the us which has was shipped now in the area earlier this week iran threatened to close off the key hole straight oil export crude this in response to western threats of sanctions over to ron's nuclear program correspondent. 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 to him to cut off the strait of hormuz which is the major golf 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 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 can 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. size 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 way of 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 iran 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 he's going to reporting right iran has actually signaled its readiness

to resume nuclear talks with major powers progress has been at a standstill since november when the u.n. atomic watchdog reported iran appeared to be designing a nuclear bomb which vigorously denies the editor of consortium news or. washington is simply using allegations to demonize iran. we could see 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 in the 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 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. you know turning our attention to syria now where the two largest opposition groups have agreed to unite against president bashar assad the violence continues across the country for the meantime tens of thousands of people of held rallies against the regime security forces have reportedly opened fire in response to government supporters have taken to the streets in several cities as well including the capital damascus arab league observers are currently monitoring the situation in five provinces gripped by an arrest they would be aware of reports that dozens have been killed since friday alone adding to the figure of five thousand the u.n. says have lost their lives in total the government blames armed gangs for causing the violence and journalist ramzy by road who used to work in the region says the

conflict is being managed from 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 the i thinking iran they are thinking the stability of iraq in the most 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. 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 the most that would the americans are very worried about they are worried about. israel's security. it's of concern about democracy or human rights in syria or anywhere else in the middle east i think that americans

are yet to find a formula that will 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. watching r.t. it's good to have you with us today still ahead for you this hour a recap before a final well we look back at the key of two thousand and eleven to find out why it's being called the year that changed the world you can also get first hand accounts from our correspondents who have been covering that year's key events on our web site of course that is r.t. dot com. witnesses. to history in the making. testimony. ten stories that shapes two thousand and

eleven on our t.v. . egypt faces the loss of about one and a half billion dollars in aid from the u.s. it's in response to thursday's crackdown on non governmental organizations in cairo egyptian soldiers raided the offices of ten n.g.o.s comiskey to computers and documents cairo suspect some of the groups receive illegal funding from countries including the u.s. and could be using the cash to stir up on unrest in egypt the country's military rulers have promised to end the crackdown and return confiscated material egypt is in the middle of a three stage parliamentary election which has been mobbed by violent protests the military has been in control since president hosni mubarak stepped down in february some observers suspect the generals are now reluctant to relinquish 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 has a great prestige stake in this it has agree economic stake in this the officer corps and i don't see turning over complete control to the government and my guess is that the islamists groups. somehow made an accommodation with that reality that present reality i mean. foreign policy analyst dr ideal shamu thinks that the egyptian people are determined to see out the remnants of mubarak's regime. this is part of the military discount the supreme council of armed forces way of making sure. the revenue 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 is part of that struggle is going to using going to go forward or is that a good use and got to be molded and subdued into some missive role to the minute thirty but really the military has to step aside and let the civilian 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 the mosque feel from corrupt government and they have restored the 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. now tempest the hour here in the russian capital let's get to some other world news for you in brief the r.t.

world update now first in nigeria where violence is continuing after a series of christmas day attacks killed dozens the most recent blast occurred near a mosque in the northern city of my degree just as worshippers were leaving friday prayers officials say the attackers killed four and injured several others an army spokesman has blamed the blast on the is the largest group book of tens of thousands of fled their homes since christmas day when the militant group launched a series of attacks on churches all throughout the country. clashed with police during a second day of protests over a military airstrike that killed thirty five on wednesday thousands rallied in the city of the iraqi or after the funerals of the kurdish civilians to at least thirty people were arrested as people use tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters parties have requested a u.n. investigation into the strike. the son of

a north korean leader kim jong il that of kim jong un has been formally named a supremely commander of the country's armed forces senior government officials declared kim jong head of the communist party on thursday following his father's memorial a move seen as the twenty seven year old consolidating his or thora he over the nation kim jong il who had ruled since one nine hundred ninety four died of a heart attack two weeks ago. but it's good to have you with us on this day the last day of two thousand and eleven now the new year has already arrived in the pacific and parts of russia's far east are making its gradual sweep all across the globe and as we prepare to ring in two thousand and twelve right here in the heart of moscow we are looking back at the key events that shaped two thousand and eleven it's already been dubbed the year of protests and artie's and he said now he's been covering many of them. two thousand and eleven could easily go down as the most eventful year in years the killing of bin laden after

a decade long manhunt 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 chose the protester as person of the year and although there were different slogan 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 libya was not so lucky nato allies began a humanitarian mission with a fierce bombing campaign but 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 nears 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 effect that direct clash between the u.s. and nato on one side and russia and china on the what you know on the other side 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 raged against desperate austerity cuts to qualify for i.m.f. bailout germany and france are primed for influence in the debt ridden so 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 cope the crisis coming into a new year critics say twenty eleven 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 a belt multicultural program and racism into the mix you know stop and so. on a sense of the place a certain institution. and 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 but 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 roots of american politics but crowd is easy since. they are disorganized they look funny what are they protesting nobody seems to know but negative coverage didn't stop us from spreading from small towns to huge ports occupied was not going anywhere grates 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 greet their slogan became we are the ninety nine percent and they are the

rich the one percent from oakland to boston the more people occupied the more brutality became more evident by. what you do with your. right our police forces have been militarized they're working more in cooperation with the pentagon they're buying and being given military surplus the quick 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. mentary elections were the push behind tens of thousands of people coming out onto the streets of moscow after allegations the december duma vote was raped. by.

the protest at least fifty thousand strong the largest in recent history called 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 sixty percent drop from two thousand and seven should be taken as a warning i think a lot of people wanted to punish. russia for having power for so long and 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 you see now way r t moscow. and we are always interested in

your point of view today we're asking you what do you think two thousand and twelve will bring if you are looking for a web site r.t. dot com you can take part in our latest online global web poll where the numbers so far sixty percent of you say it'll bring up blood to the world the cherry outlook for two thousand and twelve a quarter expect a financial and political hangover nine percent are preparing for more protests and fewer dictators and a minority who thinks the new year will bring a solution is to existing problems go online and cast your vote as well so we're prepared for you on our website today. you know me over snow men invades moscow schools of frosty's occupied a major amusement park in the center of the russian capital just ahead of the new year celebrations also. you can watch the live pictures from across the world as nations greet two thousand and twelve later today we'll bring you our

special coverage of. sharing their personal reflections on the key events of two thousand and eleven. with the live from moscow and now the new year's a time when people ring out the old to ring in the new today laura hofner star own

resident in new york asks people on the streets of the big apple what if they'll be happy to see the back off. 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 i think wall street protest 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 is 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 been. gambling 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 oh i have no doubt a lot of people would protest definitely including the government because they are ex of much money out of it would be occupy the liquor store time noble borders and

more borders let's just all be one country. because it's so difficult to travel or . people turn a school put seem politics. make clean up politics and twenty two out made them to things that are good for the world to not just get to get reelected oh poverty for sure so how do you think the world leaders 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. could

have you with us here in the moscow team recalls the most exciting entertainment events over the past twelve months in the russian capital. as the main cultural symbol of russia twenty eleven saw the bolshoi theatre finally returned to its former glory. next up on one of our favorite moscow out shows of the year was filmed at star city because we're not training facility originally asked secret for 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 and being spun around inside a centrifuge. to celebrities in twenty eleven hour many a list is from 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 sing is impossible

please come here every week. pushing crowds love them and they want and seem to be impressed with the city. and you can watch at the best of moscow out from two thousand and eleven throughout the day here on arts. but after another year of american boots on the ground in afghanistan the obama administration's latest tactic is to seek peace talks with its main enemy that the taliban military contributor says that washington is being pushed towards difficult solutions because it's losing trust in afghanistan just as it has in pakistan. political will the u.s. military preponderance in afghanistan hasn't achieved any decisive victory nor it

has managed to reverse the momentum and to retake the initiative from taliban have been at work and their associates neither you know afghanistan nor across the border in pakistan their western alliance attempt to attain a breakthrough and to reconcile with the irreconcilables in afghanistan and pakistan hasn't achieved any tangible or long term results and just as was predicted the american raploch at all of iraq is surge in afghanistan hasn't impressed the military opposition to that ever going to government neither in pakistan nor you know afghanistan in minus another year and one hundred plus billion dollars the united states hasn't won afghanistan but it definitely has lost pakistani cooperation. or that is the news for now i'll bring you a recap of today's top stories after a short break to stay with us. practically

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what is the. new sixty square kilometers of environmental devastation and those who are still surprisingly alive i'm finding are just. it's getting bad out here. but not saying hardly any birds squirrels you know. yes you know i don't know what's going on. on screen on our chief.

now four thirty pm on the last day of two thousand and eleven here in moscow you're watching on t.v. your headlines go like this so iran is planning on carrying out long range missile tests during naval drills over the next few days as it engages in military posturing with washington the move comes as the west threatens to toughen sanctions against iran over its nuclear program. syria's opposition to unite against the government amid a new wave of violence which is really.