all sides of the whole process now have increased this comes at a time where birth europe and the year worse are witnessing a very very dire economic situation economic problems both in the u.s. and europe and this latest step taken against iran will only of course said the president for increasing economic problems for the west in general escalation won't serve any side whatsoever we've seen the the economic situation in europe they'll be somewhat i believe very soon between the french leader and the german chancellor angela merkel to discuss the economic situation and so it's in nobody's interest to continue with this and i have to head back to the negotiating table the european union has agreed in principle i repeat in principle for no for an embargo on iranian soil now will that happen in effect will they take this measure in practice june will will see a meeting on january the thirtieth for the european union regarding this matter i doubt that that will happen i believe in from now until the end of this month until

the end of january we might see some kind of a solution with players like turkey coming in trying to bring about a solution the editor of the colbert report skirt affairs website told us that by trying to slip more sanctions on iran the u.s. and e.u. are only stirring up dangerous tension in the region. i think it's quite remarkable to think that france and the us and other countries would be willing to step up sanctions that have already had such a profound effect on the iranian people on the basis of their hunch that iran to run is developing nuclear weapons as as france has basically put it it's quite remarkable because that really does is tantamount to an act of war the idea that iran would really close off the straits of hormuz or attempt to do so would only be an absolute last measure resort for a country that relies on the importation of refined gasoline and other things through the very straits that they would be a stance of lee sabotaging and planting mines in so it's it's quite remarkable to think that that iran would do that in any other situation other than they felt that

the entire existence of their country was under threat so adding more sanctions to to the mix is is really just a recipe for military disaster i think. we're inviting you to share your take on this developing story on our web site the question is what do you think of these new sanctions on iran but this is what you've been telling us online let's take a look at the graph so far over half of you fifty four percent responded say iran he thinks pushed into a corner and will see a new set of sanctions is not toward seventeen percent less than last time believe the u.s. measures simply won't work the rest of you pretty evenly split there fourteen fifty between saying the world economy will suffer for sanctions drive prices sky would those of you think that only hurt the ordinary people in iraq cast your vote at r.t. dot com. the process of finding a single republican candidate to represent the party in the twenty twelve american presidential election officially got underway in the state of iowa the results that

were anything but decisive with a big spender mitt romney beating is strongly conservative rival rick santorum by just eight votes trailing with very small margin was wrong paul the only candidate who's against a war with iran even hours before the vote many people are still undecided after a republican election run up marred by sex scandals mudslinging in tit for tat but despite all of that former congressional aide and diplomat joel rubin believes it is wrong paul to shine the most. in his foreign policy is very distinct from the other candidates in that he has a more isolationist viewpoint he wants the united states to retreat from international. affairs in some areas that can be good he's opposed to military action with the ron who is opposed to the iraq war but the other candidates are all extremely hard on foreign policy very neoconservative ron paul does stand out among them makes voters want to support him. leading the party and getting

other republicans on board to really change the agenda no he hasn't done that someone who says i am a free american make it on my own and that's what ron paul really embodies but republicans also understand that kind of positioning will not win the general election against president obama. well as the republican campaign develops there's a growing question over just how much of a challenge obama can still post of them having come to power on a wave of hope four years ago his chances are beginning to look dimmer with many previously ardent supporters now expressing frustration with his broken promises and corporate influence that is more important as more. three years ago one historic campaign turned u.s. politics into a pop culture phenomenon. playing for the democratic candidate achieved unprecedented support international fame and

a record breaking six hundred fifty million dollars in donations. thousands of new yorkers celebrated the victory clutching an enormous american flag hand sewn by obama supporters but the winds have changed and the very same democratic symbol waved in honor of the president elect in a way you've strayed from the straight has been donated to the movement that became a phenomenon in two thousand and eleven there are about twenty people holding out david moffatt organize the flag project after being inspired by obama rhetoric a dream shattered by the subsequent years of politics as usual curly what's inspiring me is up is over just like that that's the thing that's inspiring me now but that's why i brought the fight so ws in the thing that inspired me about it is the fact that it's a grassroots movement. that had a like a very clear and transparent process artist shepard fairey seems similarly just in

chanted releasing an updated version of his iconic hope poster replacing obama with his now clear support for occupy wall street with an economy still in crisis wall street largely unregulated social programs slashed and over forty five million citizens on food stamps it all starts with making a decision to get involved obama's familiar prose may not be enough to win back his familiar fan base who didn't produce what people wanted him to produce in two thousand and eight professor and author dr cornel west was one of obama's biggest supporters i think he's got the vision has got the new season. at the freshness taking part in more than one hundred campaign events but last april the prominent intellectual told r.t. that obama has failed he's the friendly face of the american empire abroad he's in the process actually of becoming very sadly

a pawn of big finance and a puppet of big business and any politician here knows they are in trouble when the hollywood a listers start turning their backs are you happy with the way that obama has been running the country. you know. and i think i really think he misinterpreted his. his mandate yet the approval rating show voters are even more turned off with the alternatives leaving obama seemingly the lesser of two evils america's president clearly enters the twenty twelve race amid a growing band of disillusioned democrats most will still back barack obama over his republican rivals arguably with heavy hearts in two thousand needs he was the unassailable candidate of choice this time mr obama is likely to stay in i default. artsy new york come up here this earning their daily bread we

bring you the story of two wealthy expert on those who are raking in the dough right now having risen to the very top of rush's breaker resect. euro woes rage all in the new year with friends now threatening to pull out of the euro zone and to clear the fold unless the e.u. agrees to public cash into the economy the workable. polling stations have closed in egypt after the final day of a three stage vote the country's first democratic election in more than half a century final results of the be announced next week with the muslim brotherhood being the favorite so after clinching the lead in the first two stages of the vote last year earlier rounds are overshadowed though by clashes between protesters and the army egypt's ruling military generals have been accused of clinging to power and now face anger over their handling of protests that have left ninety sorry fifty nine dead since mid november darby raids on western sponsored n.g.o.s of out

of even more concerns over the country's stability to a spoke to london based political analyst chris bambery told me victory for the muslim brotherhood was always the most likely outcome of the elections i think you have to say that if you give people the right to term in their own future it was always going to be the case that is one of his policies would do well in egypt as he did again in here so i don't think it's a surprise but there are good. the tensions here people have expectations of the muslim brotherhood will deliver and some of the promises it made in the past the i would contain more radical elements in particular among that i've only used people who want democracy what will radical change and they will be expecting as well that mubarak should be brought to justice and some of those officers responsible for the torture and the killing of activists in that was reset are recent months to be dealt with and any talk of an amnesty for the military i think will inflame the sit out situation. the rise of islamist parties in egypt has prompted western concern for the policies that countries may adopt if the likes of the muslim brotherhood

steps into power we caught up with regional politics expert jeremy salt his outlook on the developments in the arab world is coming up next hour in artie's latest interview for you. really look at what's been happening in the middle east and the policies the western governments of followed since the beginning of this year they have always had the noble motive and we're doing this for this very very good reason but we don't have to be terribly skeptical or cynical to understand that actually behind the noble motive is self-interest if we look at what happened in egypt the west backed mubarak right to the very last and there was no longer possible to back him when it was indefensible they dumped him. greece has declared that it could ditch the euro and leave the euro zone in as little as three months that is unless the e.u. and the i.m.f. fund it with a second one hundred thirty billion euro bailout talks over the cash lifeline of

stall for months now with creditors demanding an overhaul of greece's economy which they see is ultimately doomed and belgium business journalist you're in but over veldts believes the numbers say it all the greece's exit is unavoidable. the greek economy is going down like a stone. g.d.p. contracted by four percent in two thousand and ten by six percent in two thousand and eleven and there is probably worse to come in two thousand and twelve and i think we are now at a point where everybody is research realizes that we cannot go on like this and unrest and even an arche in the country is becoming so much of a threat that some drastic things need to be done and my reading of what the greek government is doing is that they are trying to they are looking for an alibi to offer to their public by which they can say well it's not our fault it's the international community that pushes us towards the exit of the euro zone and i

think also here in europe brussels at quarters of the european commission people start to realize they really are at the end of the road there is no other option left for them they're in a deadlock they cannot rewind the greek economy and so they are facing in a big black hole more and all the stories we're covering on our website r.t. dot com online right now in fact that very story is one of the top ten events in shape twenty eleven of our correspondents firsthand accounts reporting from the world's hot spots in our testimony series if you missed it last week very interesting the first time thoughts of what they saw up close it's online from us and good night the planet party our picture galleries captured the high spirits from around the world as we all ushered in twenty twelve. next ex-pat entrepreneurs based here in russia tell us their success stories and describe their path to prosperity and the latest from our pathfinder series.

and today we bring the stories a very hands on bosses ear and go out to colin or e gurus who have baked their way quite literally to a fortune in russia's premium pastry sector for more than four years now they've been running the most successful business of its kind starting from scratch next they give us a taste of what it took. i have twice a week in the production center and the rest of the time i'm in the restaurant genya. genya but here that's just to make sure everything is ok definitely in the way when you're starting something new everything is more subtle the industry has existed here we had to do everything from scratch. when we started the business we realized. we had to. really difficult objectives one was

that we had to create our own brand and we decided to license at least initially in the nation's national brand for us and the whole point of our project the whole point of the business was that these products high quality bakeries hardly exist in russia today you don't get many customers here you can't help being there only to this and that customer should be greeted every time every time you are developing a company culture you know one of the most difficult things in russia a few years ago was to make sure your line staff smile is just smile if it's not interesting cultured at the beginning i would say if i come to the restaurant and if you're smiling i will give you one hundred. if you're not. really have a my desire your is away so it could give me a gate here but it's still a challenge the first was that we spent in two thousand and six we spent nine months developing a very small factory we basically had a thirty square meter room where we were trying to make something like fifty

products fresh every day and the biggest challenge was the local ingredients it would be insane to import let's say flour to russia when russia is one of the biggest low exporters in the world we were very very lucky that we did this because by the end of two thousand and eight when the recession started the first thing that happened in the recession in russia was a collapse of the ruble exchange rate compared to the euro so suddenly overnight imported prices up. thirty forty percent and that is deadly for any kind of business like ours but for us at least the cost of our products was relatively stable because for the main ingredients like sugar like flour we were using locally made products. it's still a lot of things happens in russia mechanically in the service industry we have a hard time meagerly the idea they followed the rules or did they have a problem so this is the difficulty in russia we are nice it states or in europe

it's a little bit easier because they have be used to it. you need to empty the garbage cans you need to clean up that place what is that carthon there higher on the other hands if we see that you are rooting hard to take it to heart. in other cultures that may be a little bit more difficult the idea to build a bakery business in russia was exactly right and the idea that the competition wasn't so high in the sector i would do again but i think i would make sure that we raise a bit more capital upfront than we did i would also make sure i think that we invest at the beginning far more in training of production people than we did we should have outsourced much less than we did four years ago we should have made much many more products ourselves and then we would be even more successful than we are today i think but yes i would absolutely do.

we're set to bring you more features about foreign entrepreneurs doing big business here in russia in our pathfinder series here on our teeth for the rest of the week as well exactly ninety minutes past eleven here in moscow where it's seen as one of the biggest blights on modern day britain tackling gang violence there is proving very difficult with the government saying a firm response is the only means of dealing with it but there is growing criticism that attempts to improve the situation under dressing the very roots of the problem that's a story that laura smith followed in the week. the dark underbelly of life in britain is in a city's gang culture dramatized here for a television series for gavin it was real life he got into a gang to escape a feeling of powerlessness an abusive home life where money was a constant struggle.

so. angry over the top. name for the crazy. people. at his lowest ebb gavin admits to having stabbed girl and his story isn't unusual in deprived areas nowhere is the question of how to solve the gang problem in london more relevant than new it lies in the shadow of london's two thousand and twelve olympic park but it's also got more guying than almost anywhere else in london around here young people say you start just by hanging out with your friends on the streets and you end up in a spiral of gang violence and fear. in you're more than half of the kids are living below the poverty line and they don't feel the government's doing anything to help

them how can you hold me. you have to have. a government really knew and understood. when gavin met sheldon thomas an x gangster himself he turned a corner and they're now working in a team to get young people out of gangs the government claims it wants the same thing and having laid the blame for august's riots firmly at the door of gangs their solution the carrot and stick method are as you found some excellent police work to identify and manage the highest risk going members through a combination of targeted surveillance enforcement and arrest for any offense however minor and positive offers of training employment and drugs treatment for

those who want a different life. but for those not prepared to break away from violence they will face harsher and tougher punishments but this isn't going to work according to sheldon thomas who feels the government is forcing him it every turn what they do is they look at. the memory for station of gangs gun violence burdens gang rape drugs digital that's just a manifestation that's what the causes of it because in stem from family breakdown morals gone out the window from society as a whole while the government rhetoric sounds encouraging other policies will undermine both carrot and stick economic austerity cuts will mean sixteen thousand fewer police officers on the streets and services that deal directly with gangs now will have their funding cut by between twenty and ninety percent in some areas that means young people like gavin in the future will have nowhere to go but the st

lawrence smith r.t. london. well as the british government plans further crackdowns on criminal gangs some are already feeling the full force of the law two men have been sentenced by a london court to fourteen and fifteen years behind bars for the racist murder of a black teenager almost twenty years ago the judge said the punishment would be much tougher of the better been adults at the time the brutal stabbing of stephen lawrence shocked the country as a stark example of racial division. the series of three explosions in the second largest city in afghanistan have killed at least thirteen including a child the first blast happened as a suicide bomber attacked a police checkpoint and two other bombs then went off later the violence comes a day after the afghan taliban announced plans to open an international liaison office in qatar something that could be a step towards formal peace negotiations. thousands of people are taking to the streets in northern peru protesting against the development of

a gold mine the demonstrators say waste from the works will taint their water supplies the protests co. one of the country's most heavily mined regions it also has a history of troubled relations with neighboring farmers and ranchers. next incredible story of two girls who were born just minutes apart in the same ward in the russian new rules but they were then accidentally swapped by a fateful mistake that meant they ended up with the wrong parents at his current on a ranch she reports on how the blunder was a little scuppered more than a decade later. meet anya she's thirteen years old muslim and lives with her father nine month in the chalabi town of kut based on the other side of town also thirteen lives with her russian orthodox mother yulia despite their differences in religion and culture they are recent friends sharing the same birthdays and ties that bind them deeper than what lies on the surface the long and simple in that moment i was in such a state of shock that i thought it was all

a joke of in one thousand nine hundred eight anya an arena born only fifteen minutes apart in the same hospital were accidentally switched at birth the discovery happened with us ex-husband who claimed arena his daughter looked nothing like him he refused to pay alimony but yulia insisted upon her innocence had the family take not one but two d.n.a. tests the results show that in fact the ex was not the father and both results showed that yulia was not arena's mother beautiful my first thought was that irina doesn't find out and the second was where is my biological child born with her lawyer and investigators by her side yulia discovered her biological child anya was living on the other side of town with ny much. they told me they switch my child with another at the hospital they said your biological child is with another family they gave me a picture of her and i was in shock for about forty minutes my hands and legs were shaking. two days later nine reluctantly phoned yulia they met and decided to first

introduce the girls to each other after they became friends the truth would be revealed to each of them separately but as we used to be the first time we used the girls to each other we came to visit we took pictures walked around and ate ice cream role models later she told me that my mind was my biological father in the beginning i didn't believe it but my mother said it's true i'm not lying. irina ananya now close friends decided to remain with the parents who raised them but the inconvenience of living in different suburbs. makes it much harder for the families to meet often so it's appalled that it breaks your heart one day back and forth i don't think that's the way to live it isn't adds to the suffering it's the teenage girls that now face social hardships their separate cultures beliefs and habits make understanding each other difficult very different they pray they don't speak when they speak i don't understand what they are saying what if they're saying something about going to the wrong regardless of their differences irina and anya

are happy to have each other as friends no matter the reasons that brought them together karen tara r.t. moscow. and just a few minutes tonight of his cross talk show looks back at the attempted coup in the soviet union just over twenty years ago now an event that many believe led to the u.s.s.r. as eventual collapse before that though a quick look at the top stories of make kevin know enough to this break.

we'll. be live i've

. i've . i've. wanted.

to. do a. the u.s. says it will stick to the mission. out of the persian gulf despite. the stay away from the standoff continues to drive up oil prices and tension. the republican presidential candidate race gets underway. just to the put forward to capitalize on disillusionment with barack obama. the euro's woes flare up again after a christmas lull with. the eurozone unless the e.u. . bailout cash. and egyptians head

back to polling stations for the third and final round of the parliamentary elections the first vote indeed since president mubarak was toppled and. coming up a look back at an event that shaped russian history twenty years ago the plot to overthrow mikhail gorbachev people. ask if the soviet union had any chance of survival after that attempted coup that's not a tease cross-talk just ahead.