for the single currency threatening to bring down the very union that created it. live from our headquarters in central moscow you're watching r t with me and he said now it's four pm here in the russian capital our top story a deadly explosion targeting police has rocked damascus and killed up to twenty five people it comes as the leader of the country's biggest military opposition group has reportedly called for president also a regime to be overthrown by military means meanwhile a former high ranking military official who defected to the opposition has claimed the government was lying when it said the violence was caused by armed gangs aided from abroad despite ongoing pressure and criticism arab league monitors will continue their mission to cairo based body denies its observers are being misled by either side and says they may damascus to compromise and to pulling out tanks from

civilian areas and releasing political prisoners richard spencer from alternative right dot com says the opposition is taking its lead from libya and using foreign forces to help further its cause. this is once again an example of rebels who will want to make a deal with the united states and use their power to their enemy in many ways the. tool of the american order the libyan situation began as merely a america is going to enforce a no fly zone yet once ball gets rolling so to speak it's ultimately going to eventually wade in regime change war the. rebels being you know lifted up to a new position after their enemy is taken out. of political analyst dr omar says

armed opposition groups are using the demands of grassroots opposite opinion rather in syria to suit their own agenda. they are profiting from the movement for a movement of people to protest for basic rights and they have rights and it is true that there are some legitimate demands on the part of the syrian people but it's such a big shame that some western powers and some fun in intervention in syria in affairs is using these people and using the demands of these people to reach political objectives and that's a very destructive move on the part of the united states and its allies in the region. we continue to follow developments in syria since the very first of the uprising ten months ago and we'll keep you up to date on all the latest details on that suicide blast in the capital as they emerge you can keep up with the latest on

our twitter feed and our facebook page for the very latest details. the u.s. military is in for a facelift after president obama announced america's focus would fall on its dominance in asia the plan calls for a shift in special forces operations improve surveillance and cyber warfare capability alongside a slight reduction in ground forces because of reports there are still plenty of unanswered questions. then you strategy is to move away from ground wars from long

term stability operations to mobile wars where the u.s. can as we don't put out a put it shift and deploy forces to fight any enemy anywhere they said they're going to invest heavily in new capabilities seen drones in space technology to give the u.s. military this whole new shape which is the defense secretary said it will be nothing like the cold war or the post cold war military meaning they're moving away from ground wars told words air wars toward the intelligence war so to speak the u.s. is pull troops out of iraq would still thousands of contractors behind president obama said it was draw all day for u.s. forces in afghanistan which is due in twenty fourteen but winding down the decade of being conclusive wars in iraq and afghanistan won't necessarily mean less wars but rather wars of a different shape the u.s. is already fighting this new kind of warfare on multiple fronts in different countries with the use of air force with the use of drones levy as one example the

whole country was destroyed mainly from air pakistan is another example not not a successful one though people in pakistan are infuriated by u.s. strikes which end up killing many civilians and as it happened recently their own pakistani soldiers although washington said the strike was a tragic mistake the u.s. will have to do a lot of damage control work to help the pakistani leadership overcome the humiliation so although the u.s. administration looks at the old strategy of ground wars is passe and irrelevant in this day and age yet it's not clear what result the new strategy will bring. but just hours after unveiling the plan was already drawing the ire of peace groups around the world many of them say the strategy is nothing but a military expansion disguised as a drawdown. this is not a step away from war this is not a step towards pacifism or a step towards a retreat from empire building it's actually the use of a military strategy that costs the american political leaders be they obama or

whoever takes his place afterwards less on the home front if there are fewer american casualties of all the bleeding is done on the other side of all of the destruction is done by those who are suffering the consequences of air war they feel that there will be less antiwar sentiment at home so it's not a promise in the progressive directions what the obama administration and what the pentagon are doing in it and obama signaling that explicitly in his speech he puts again the primacy of the turn towards asia which really is a turn against china i think they're looking forward to this competition and the evolution of a possible cold war type scenario with china which again gives the pentagon a long term enemy which justifies gives rationale to the continued expansion of the us defense budget this does not cut the defense budget it only slows the projected growth of the defense budget the u.s.

government's budget deficit is a major major problem in a threat to the united states standing in the global market but nonetheless the primacy of the military industrial complex is in fact intact so it is a budget shortfall you'll see teachers laid off nurses laid off firefighters laid off but the pentagon will get more than its fair share. well for more insight on these new u.s. military plans and what it will mean for america and the world we're now in time barty's military analyst again you herself thanks for being with us one of these proposed changes can you flesh out for us what exactly does the plans call for this fancy dargon that we're hearing break it down for us well the main shift here that's going on to happen is from the troop intensive low intensity counting insurgency. the main fockers on their one soldier one million per year expenditures with nobody profiteering from them to the high tech low footprint classical cold war on strace this this new shift is it is not white house

new military strategy it is not even not a u.s. national strategic this is a pseudo strategy that was lauded by the us military industrial complex that is where they're going to make money the united states has failed with the troop intensive so-called coin in iraq and afghanistan it's old the game is over so now they're shifting their attention to the high tech stuff so what we're going to see with the budget in fights. is it will be shifting from the labor labor intensive to the hardware intensive this is how under the age of us charity their military contractors are going make a mega huge bucks for by provoking another arms race in a classical fashion against china that is in a nutshell it is a china focused high tech. classical cold war arms

race united states against china so essentially it sounds like you're saying this is an expansion disguised as a drawdown but you say this isn't really an overhaul it's kind of being disguised is that why the changes now will most of the timing has been dictated by two reasons internally it's it's a by the looming because this super committee has failed to come up to come up with a specific proposal how to slow down the exponential growth of the u.s. military military expenditures that's internal pressure what's that called edge of a spirit this second or it's external pressure demand it's to the u.s. policymakers has the u.s. foreign policy so-called talented smart power soft power has failed in any fashion and for iraq within twenty four hours situation deteriorated in iraq and if the same is going to happen in afghanistan and with an official u.s.

admission all of that all the sitting up in the office for the taliban in qatar this is by default and the mission of us failure in afghanistan and pakistan as well who has been involved in the planning of all this is this really obama's brainchild you know a bum is just a talking head for god's sake he's only signed up whatever has been done under the intense turf battle between the u.s. army u.s. marine corps. navy and the air force so their tools are in the marine corps and the two winners of the high tech twenty first century projection. u.s. military threat that is the u.s. not the u.s. navy or air force it's the kind of truck tours for the u.s. navy for the u.s. navy and for the u.s. air force. they have there the main winners in this they knew war for

this shrinking year as budget thank you jennifer so these military analysts thank you very much for your input. well coming out later in the program here in our power play in the persian gulf. a very big mistake and simply currently with iran which has as much regional power at the moment we take a look at the western scrambled corner iran a terror on accuses the e.u. of starting an economic war with its latest set of sanctions. plus hussein was hanged. for what fate awaits egypt's hosni mubarak we bring you the latest from the trial on the outside leader. but first what began as a symbol of a united europe is now at the heart of the crisis that's tearing it apart ten years ago and the euro is in real trouble with countries plagued by debt crisis remedies failing to provide fortunes are just as are sillier reports from brussels.

the birth of an ambitious project a common currency celebrated with no less than a big bang. wrong you're you know. the more the better. yet ten years down the road the euro is not in the best of shape. a spiralling sovereign debt crisis credit downgrades rising interest rates tens of millions unemployed budget cuts and violent protests. the euro's growing undergoing the worst crisis he has ever been in and obviously the founders of the euro did not hope that this would happen for what began as a step towards a united europe has become

a race against time with leaders scrambling to keep it together. or skeptics along argue that the euro was flawed from the start. pursuing a political dream above all else well they say lumping together polar opposite economies like that of greece and germany into a monetary union could never work economic rationality has been thrown out of the window in the pursuit of this goal and we're now reaping the consequences of a couple that with internal squabbles and deadlocks there has to be a sign from somewhere that some economic entity that is credible is going to shift to back every euro zone and there are only two or three entities that can do that what is european central bank the other is basically the german government and neither of them right now are willing to do it but this exhibit shows the journey of the european union and the creation of the single currency with documented events in history that explain why it would have been appealing to decision makers at the time so much so the crux of the fundamentals may have been overlooked or

ignored which brings us to this point ten years after the creation of the euro its appeal has waned and despite last ditch efforts to save it its future is still uncertain in the spirit of the new year we asked for some predictions but one can be sure of is that this crisis is going to be a long and bumpy road however if you would ask me do you think that the euro would still exist in ten years time lads who would be yes they can't bring themselves to admit that it was a mistake and so i'm afraid we risk the very thing they purport to fear which is a disorderly breakup of the euro caused by having tried to keep it together for too long downgrades almost certainly i think you'll see a french downgrade i still think this is solvable if the political will is shown in certain member states to allow for what is called solidarity in europe. and if not if not we are in for a huge huge recession in europe in my prediction that at least greece will leave

the euro in the next year and what happens be only it is unpredictable euro watchers may have divergent views of the single currencies future but it seems whichever way the euro goes it won't be painless does or cilia r.t. brussels. it's sixty minutes past the hour coming up for you later in the program. this but it is an example of a failed me taking between the outside culture and the nature of people. partly offers you a view from the inside of how ancient communities and russia are struggling to keep their traditional way of life on the. edge of some prosecutors want capital punishment by hanging for the country's ousted president hosni mubarak and his close associates the prosecutors think i was no bark is personally responsible for the deaths of hundreds of protesters during the crackdown on massive demonstrations last year since the beginning of the trial in august the eighty

three year old has been brought to every hearing on a stretcher due to poor health radio host and author stephen leatherman says he believes the trial is aimed at diverting attention from scrutiny of the inter military rulers this is a distraction this is. believing that. for several days each and then try it was all it was so it was in the process i think things are worse now one of the military and. note also people running the country to say more closely allied with mozart well you. see people because all agreements are certain people are objecting to but i think the protests will go on and the people won't we. the violence will continue is the struggle that is the way to go. well to follow that trial of the deposed leader

head to our web site our team dot com course there's always plenty more there to be found here's a quick look at what's lined up walking the plank of political debate german voters disillusioned with the country's traditional parties are starting to turn towards the pirate party find out what it stands for also. new year fireworks italian style watch the spectacular scenes from mount etna as europe's most active volcano began its first eruption up twenty twelve that's story a much more at artsy dot com. it's easy to. see.

if you're. going to take three. three. three. three. three blown video for your media project a free video gone to our t.v. dot com. live from moscow iran's finance minister says the e.u. is waging an economic war against his country that's in the face of an embargoed on the rainy in oil which could come into force by the end of the month iran's economy has already suffered through the latest round of u.s. sanctions. alleged nuclear weapons program tehran's threaten to block a crucial trade route out of the persian gulf and warns us ships warships against

sailing in the area it's held a large scale ten day naval exercise near the gulf it has now announced plans for new maneuvers incendiary israel and the u.s. meanwhile are planning to hold their own joint offensive to rail any antiwar activists see western worries are very wrong suppose its nuclear ambitions as an excuse to curtail iranian influence in the region this isn't just about nuclear weapons if it were about nuclear weapons in the middle east then the united states would have a bone to pick with israel which is the only power in the middle east which actually possesses nuclear weapons it's not about that that's the cause of but the reason for this continued conflict is because the american administration simply can't live within iran which has as much regional power as it has at the moment you see the americans when they look at the iranian regime they see its links with syria they see links with hamas they see links with hezbollah and this is a challenge to american power in an absolutely critical economically critical

geopolitically critical area of the globe and it's that which is the sticking point for the american administration in my view there are some people hawks in israel hawks in the united states who want to stop all this militarily and it does seem to me that once we begin on the process of implementing sanctions of iran responding to the sanctions that there will be calls further down the road for direct military conflict and that in this case is even more dangerous than it was in the case of iraq. well we want to know your thoughts on how the new sanctions on iran will play out here's how opinion is stacking up at our dot com so most of those who voted over fifty percent believe the measures will push the wrong to desperation as tehran will regard them as an act of war eighteen percent say they will force spoil prices up damaging the whole world economy while an equal number think the sanctions won't work at all and just thirteen percent say they will harm the people of iran instead of the government vote today log on to our dot com and have your

say. let's take a look at what's making headlines around the world this hour in turkey a former chief of staff has been arrested after being accused of leading a terror organization planning to bring down the government general. is the most senior official in the dock in a series of investigations into of lives and to the party in the country the arrest comes after three elections resell for power structure in the country's government . a roadside bomb has killed at least four nato troops in southern afghanistan this follows another explosion that happened earlier in the day and claimed the life of another servicemen nine coalition soldiers have died in the country during january alone two thousand and eleven became the deadliest year in a decade for the alliance with over five hundred troops killed in the country. more than two hundred firefighters and aircraft water bombers have been battling

a huge bushfire in southwest australia the blaze which started on wednesday has destroyed almost eight thousand hectares of land officials say the flames don't pose a direct threat to homes or other properties. now it's time for our close up series as we continue to explore russia and bring its most spectacular corners closer this week our team has ventured to part of the country's far east region. this is russia's melting pot of cultures with all sorts of customs and traditions mixed into an amazing blend because tom barton discovered sometimes it's hard to adapt old habits to the pace of modern day life. the dance of the drums these are the nana and native people who were here in the

far east long before the first russian explorers arrived they still retain links to their pre russian culture. to the fullest opinion most nanay families are happy for us to teach our native culture here at the village hall there is a relatively large population of now and i and that's helped conserve some of the traditions of the central to the nano way of life has always been fishing the russians brought with the new technology and culture most of the eighteen thousand and eight sea now have other jobs but still take regular trips out onto the windswept ice. fishing is extremely important to us as part of our traditional way of life to fish drop we froyo them boil them smoke them and dry them we are all sorts of fish. which further to the east we find a much bleaker picture this village is an example of a failed meeting between an outside culture and

a native people whereas the night sea have accepted a large degree of assimilation but remain productive and connected to their heritage the origin people here have lost far more than just the native ways the orit's were also a native fishing people now their fishing boats lie broken and unused on the shore . at that of our parents are to blame they started the drinking the children seat and start as well some children grow up too fast they start smoking at six since soviet times attempts to integrate the origin to society have had disastrous results the houses here go largely unrepaired most orit's children soon drop out of school unemployment and alcoholism are rife. with torah where their culture and implanted ours will help them so they became dependent. now the social and economic situation has changed they need to start helping themselves but they're not ready

to do that oksana as house is falling apart and she hasn't stored enough food to last in the winter but her and her jobless husband want to be given a new house and free schooling. why is your husband not working does he want to walk he wants work but there's no jobs and in the navy town he would need to go there every day but it's not far she would need to pay for the boss to help at wages but at the moment. miller's house nearby is much better kept she is the village elder and shows me pictures of her grandfather revered as the last ground sharman amid a world still rooted in its origins but nowadays the people around her are very different they've given up they don't want to live a normal life there are now only a few hundred or it's left this village is perched on the edge of the sea but in

a quite different sense it's now clinging to the edge of existence tom barton r.t. . sports update is ahead for you here on our today first though a serb break and a recap of our top stories.

now it's not about spilling blood. it's the war of barricades from one side and fears blockade from the other. invisible border has cut people from the land for twelve years. the conflict that divided serbia into two hostile parts is still not over. the close up jeanne has been to doget stuff birthplace to the most ambitious football club in the world. not all argee goes to the far east where the timber industry affects the legendary siberian

tigers where the ancient native community loses its way. in the modern world. and where the country's mineral wealth starts its way across the ocean. well come to the bars creature rush it blows up on. one stream cascading from mountain slopes to you is miss mirage. but this beauty brings dents at a speed of more than two hundred kilometers per. step in the double launch. world of the true science technology innovation hall believes developments from around russia we've dumped the future covered.

at four thirty pm moscow time these are the top stories on our team a suspected suicide bomb attack targeting a police boss rips through a residential part of the syrian capital comes amid growing opposition calls to overthrow president also by military means. shifting strategy barack obama announces an end to iraq style quagmires in favor of a power shift to asia with extra emphasis on air domination and unconventional warfare what. you're on is calling the e.u. has proposed.