i. i. i very well welcome to you this is all to you live from moscow with me rory sushi let's have a little treat to go straight to live pictures now from sydney and here we go fireworks for ringing in the new year two thousand and twelve fireworks being launched from the rooftops floating biologists of course the renowned sydney harbor bridge as well we hear that tens of thousands have been queuing up since early afternoon to get a good spot to view this world renowned display it's expected right now that a billion people worldwide are watching this live pictures of the new year two thousand and twelve from sitting right here when i. write i will bring you more live pictures throughout the day and evening here on

our city for now though iran plans to test fire long range missiles in the persian gulf over the next few days it's part of naval drills with champion increasing tension in the region almost daily and lead to saber rattling from the u.s. which has washington in the area earlier this week iran threatened to close off the key strait oil export route in response to western threats of sanctions over to iran's nuclear program correspondent garniture can now reports for us 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 in to cut off the strait of hormuz which is the major golf oil artery forty percent of the world's tanker shaped 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 with iran is flexing its muscle showing off its capabilities during 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 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 it 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. is going to kind of reporting with iran has actually signaled it's a readiness to resume nuclear talks with major powers progresses to stuns tools and so early november when the u.n. atomic watchdog reported iran appeared to be designing a nuclear bomb which tehran continues to deny the editor of consortium news robot washington is 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 an audit of 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 then of course you have israel which has been which has been making a point that it in sitters the iranian nuclear program an existential threat so you add those combustible elements together and one false move by any party a mistake or intention or probably occasion could lead to catastrophe and i turning our attention now to that of syria whether to largest opposition groups have agreed to unite against president bashar al assad violence continues meantime across the

country and tens of thousands of people have held rallies against the regime security forces have reportedly opened fire in response government supporters have taken to the streets and several cities as well including the capital damascus arab league observers the current monitoring the situation in five provinces gripped by only rest they would be aware of reports that dozens of 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 journalist ramzy but who used to work in the region says the conflict is being managed from outside the country. 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 as well 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 with 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 once that 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. you with our teams could have you to join us today still ahead for you this hour what changes would you like to see in two thousand and twelve. noble borders and more borders let's just all be one country here because it's so difficult to travel around. with just hours to go before the new year artie's laurie huff and us hits the streets of new york to find out just that. and we look back at the events of two thousand and eleven to find out why it's being called the year that changed the world and you can also get firsthand accounts from our correspondents who have been covering the years here. on our website party dot com . witnesses. to history in the making. testimony. ten stories that shaped two thousand and eleven on our t.v. . r.t.

is coming to you live from moscow egypt faces the loss of over one and a half billion dollars in aid from the united states it's in response to thursday's crackdown on non-governmental organizations in cairo gyptian soldiers are raided the offices of ten n.g.o.s confiscated computers and documents cairo suspects some of the groups received illegal funding from country using including the u.s. and could be using the cash to store up on resting egypt the country's military rulers have promised to end the crackdown and return congress created 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 was forced to step down in february some observers suspect the generals are 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 agreed economic stake in this the officer corps and i don't see turning over complete control to this government and my guess is that the islamicists groups. that somehow made an accommodation with that reality that present reality. and a foreign policy analyst to talk to a deal shamu who 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 you know who you should and basically is mauled to do that 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 the struggle is going to good use in going to go forward or is that a vote of being molded and some doing into some mess of role to the military but really the military has to step aside and let the civilian government come to power once the election are held and the election 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 their fear from corrupt government and they have restored of their dignity and they were not tolerate another minute that he dictatorship in their country i think all the evidence indicate that despite the sacrifices they have given. all right hello let's get to some other world news for you in brief this hour time for the r.t. world update our first to nigeria to a 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 do goody it's just as worshipers were leaving friday prayers officials say the attackers killed four and injured several others at least an army spokesman has blamed the blast on the islamist group boko haram tens of thousands of fled their homes since christmas day when the militant group launched a series of attacks on churches throughout the country. demonstrators in turkey have clashed with police during a second day of protests over a military airstrike that killed thirty five on wednesday thousands rallied in the city. it's after the funerals of the kurdish civilians took place at least thirty were arrested as people use me as police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse them meantime pro kurdish parties have requested a u.n. investigation into the strike. the son of the late north korean leader kim jong il kim jong un has been formally named supreme commander of the country's armed forces

senior government officials declared kim jong un head of the communist party on thursday following his father's memorial the move is seen as the twenty seven year old consolidating his or thorpey over the nation kim jong il who would rule that since one thousand nine hundred four died of a heart attack two weeks ago. the new year has already arrived in the pacific and parts of russia's far east and is now making its gradual sweep all across the globe and as we prepared to ring in two thousand and twelve here in 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 in eastern ari covered some of the big ones. two thousand and eleven could easily go down as the most vengeful 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 shows the protester as person of the year and although there were different slogans signs and demands of 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 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 effect that direct clash between the u.s. and nato on one side and russia and china on the one 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 to 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 felt multicultural program and racism into the mix you know stop and so. on a sense of 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 then truly based in the end of his fruits of american politics but it 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 spread 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 the rich the one percent from oakland to boston the more people occupied the more brutality became

more evident by. what you're doing if you're. right our police forces have been militarized they're working more in cooperation with the pentagon they're buying and being given military surplus quitman that has been kind of designed for use in war and this is something that leads 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 i don't most fifty percent but experts say a sixteen percent drop from two thousand and seven should be taken as a warning i think a lot of people wanted to punish. you know 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 said no way r.t. moscow. and that we're always interested in your point of view today we're asking what do you think two thousand and twelve will bring you can look at her website dot com take part in our latest web poll which could be nominated as two thousand

and eleven for most depressing poll so what do you expect of the new year here come the numbers about sixty eight percent of you say it will bring a bloodbath to half the world slightly less than a quarter expect a financial and political hangover six percent are preparing for more protests on fewer dictators and only just think the new year will bring simulations to existing problems i think you have a need to lighten up. tell us what you think log on to r.t. dot com be a part of our poll. for some online on our website and on the of snowmen invades moscow. school so frosties occupied a major amusement park in the center of the russian capital just ahead of the new year's celebration also. some other parts of the world people are already greeting two thousand and twelve you can watch live footage on our web site right

now we were just showing pictures of few minutes ago of sydney. today will bring you a special coverage of our correspondents are showing more posts in the reflection of the key events of two thousand and eleven. here with see the new year is a time when people ring out the old to ring in the new today loria half an hour and

resident in new york people on the streets of the big apple that what 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 be an eva after gambling the world be a better place without those things yeah i think it would probably be lots of benefits yeah i agree i think a lot of people would protest though oh i have no doubt a lot of people would protest definitely including the government because they make so 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 turn a school put seem politics. you'd make the clean up politics in twenty two out made them to use 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 all of a 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. and

on a lighter moscow outs he recalls the most exciting. entertainment events over the past twelve months here 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 one of our favorite moscow out shows of the year was filmed at star city the cosmonaut 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 the centrifuge. to celebrities in twenty eleven hour many a list this from around the world have made their way to the russian capital film premieres concerts and private parties sees many of the world's top actors saying

it's impossible to come here every week. crowds love them and they didn't 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 and not. our twenty six minutes past the hour here in moscow 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 of the taliban militia contributor says washington is being pushed towards difficult solutions because it's losing trust in afghanistan as it has already done and pakistan. politico will they 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 that 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 in afghanistan in the minus another year and one hundred plus billion dollars the united states hasn't won afghanistan but it definitely has lost pakistani cooperation. and i just a few minutes here on r t r e a max keiser talks about us going to be bunga bunga

parties to stay with us for about how about a week after a reminder of our top stories. wealthy british style.

markets why not come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike's cancer for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to kaiser report on our.

with r t time for the headlines now iran is planning on carrying out long range missile tests during the naval drills over the next few days as it engages in military posturing with washington the move comes as the west threatens toughest sanctions against iran over its nuclear program. syria's opposition unites against the government amid a new wave of violence which has left dozens dead since friday under the noses of arab league observers the u.n. says more than five thousand have died in ten months of protests with damascus blaming all.