the century of the single currency threatening to bring down the very union that created it. what you are see a live from moscow worth six pm ominous and now with our top story this hour a deadly explosion targeting police has rocked a residential neighborhood in damascus killing up to twenty five people it's believed to have been a suicide bombing with the most of the casualties civilians syrian t.v. says the blast happened near a primary school it comes as the leader of the country's biggest military opposition group has reportedly called for president also the 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 richard spencer from alternative right dot com says the opposition is

taking its lead from libya and using foreign forces to help further its costs. 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 that you remain a tool of the global 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 to their enemy is taken out. political analyst dr omar and there sabi says armed opposition groups are using the demands of grassroots opinion in syria to suit their own agendas. they are profiting from the movement the

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 foreign intervention in syria in the 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've been following developments in syria since the very first sparks of uprising ten months ago will keep you up to date on all the latest details of that suicide blast in the capital as they emerge you can also follow our twitter feed and our facebook page for the very latest.

the u.s. military is in for a facelift after president obama announced america's focus would fall on a stop listing its dominance in asia the plan calls for a shift special forces operations improved surveillance and cyber warfare capability alongside a slight reduction in ground forces but as you can 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 drone scene space technologies to

give the u.s. military this whole new shape which is the defense secretary said would be nothing like the cold war or the post cold war military meaning they're moving away from ground wars toll 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 over 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 as passe and irrelevant in this day and age yet it's not clear what result the new strategy will bring was most argues military analyst who says the overhaul as a result of a power struggle between the branches of the u.s. military and arms contractors. 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 the troop intensive so-called coin in iraq and afghanistan it's the game is over so now they're shifting their attention to the high tech stuff this is how under the age of their military contractors are going to make a mega huge bucks by provoking another arms race in the classical fashion

against china a bomb 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 us army marine corps. navy and the air force so for the u.s. navy and for the u.s. air force they're the main winners in this they knew war for the shrinking you as budget. just hours after unveiling the plan was a ready drawing the ire of peace groups around the world many of them say the strategy is nothing but a military expansion in disguise 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 last 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 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 if there's 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 it's just gone nine minutes past the hour coming up on the program power play in the persian gulf. the american administration simply can't live with an iran with as much regional power as the house at the moment we take a look at the western scramble to corner iran as tehran accuses the e.u. of starting an acknowledgement war with its latest set of sanctions. a stellar beginning and no less spectacular decline ten years on the euro is in real trouble with member countries played by deepening debt and widespread disorder means that what began as a project to establish an economic european superstate is now quickly becoming its very undoing artists are sillier reports from brussels.

the birth of an ambitious project a common currency celebrated with no less than a big bang. the beginning of the strong euro. the barriers to the war. yet ten years down the road the euro is not in the best of shape. spiralling sovereign debt crisis credit downgrades rising interest rates tens of millions unemployed budget cuts and violent protests. the euro is growing undergoing the worst crisis that has ever been and obviously the founders of the 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. 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 it 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 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 the documented events of 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 city my prediction that at least greece will leave

the euro in the next year and what happens beyond that 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 our cilia r.t. brussels. well a happier tale coming up for you later this hour as we profile another successful business in russia that's building instead of breaking its balance sheet. we literally wrote our business plan in the tank you know between two thousand meters and five thousand six hundred meters so maybe that's why our business but. not enough to today's pathfinder is an american entrepreneur who's business in russia is definitely going on pale plus. this village is an example of a failed meeting between an outside culture and a native people aren't the offers you would view from the inside out how unities in

the us are struggling to keep their traditional way of life. iran is planning to hold a new naval drills near the strait of hormuz a critical oil trade plane out of the persian gulf to iran had earlier threatened to block it if the oil embargo on it which could happen by the end of the month iran's finance minister has described the pending sanctions as economic warfare the country's economy has already suffered through the latest penalties imposed by the u.s. due to suspicion tehran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program israel and the year last meanwhile are planning to hold their own joint defensive drill many answers more actively see western where are you so very wrong suppose nuclear ambitions as an excuse to curtail iranian influence in the region. this isn't just the by nuclear weapons if you 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 the continued conflict is because the american administration simply can't live with an 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. challenge to american power in the critical economically critical geopolitically critical area of the globe 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 the process all implementing sanctions of iran responding to the sanctions that there will be calls further down the road for direct military conflict will not in this case is even more dangerous than it was in the case of iraq we want to know your thoughts on how the new sanctions on iran might play out here's how

opinion is stacking up so far at r t v dot com most of those who voted over fifty percent believe the measures will push iran to desperation to tehran overcard them as an act of war eighteen percent say they will force oil prices up damaging the global economy while an equal number think the sanctions won't work at all thirteen percent say they will harm the people of iran instead of the government jumps the line let us know what you think about it r t dot com. you can also cast your vote online this hour plenty more on our website including walking the plank of political debate german voters disillusioned with the country's existing m.p.'s are starting to turn towards the pirate party find out why and what it stands for lots. of new year fireworks italian style watch these spectacular scenes from mount at no zero of the most active volcano began its first eruption of twenty twelve that and much more at our t.v.

dot com. next our series about the risk takers from around the world who took up the chance by setting up business in russia and are still reaping the rewards today or pathfinder is an american woman whose company helps tourists stray far from the beaten track. just any travel in russia is adventure travel for most people. i had a great time in my corporate career but i was working and living in thinking about when it's going to be the next trip i realize i'm one of these troops so i was talking with one of my best friends that we could do this organization actually i think we could do it maybe better and we literally wrote our business plan in the tents you know between three thousand meters and five thousand six hundred meters so maybe that's why our business plan is a little off. not enough marks to. one of the goals of our like life business plan

with this new company was that we're going to find really cool husband but my friend met her husband on that trip i'm so looking honestly all the businesses that were in our service business and because we've been operating for ten years and some of the businesses we've already given birth to a lot of let's say competitors who were you know our top consultants are top the managers who eventually decide they want to try to do this business themselves i've been to more than eighty three countries now before starting out for of it also since starting after every year we go to some new places to expand our offering we have our own helicopter school in the northern caucasus northern caucasus development corporations come to our company have the action and ask you know how can we help promote together to bring more high end luxury venture tourism to the region first thing we said was stop calling us the northern caucasus we call it el

bruce but there are so many beautiful places that have a veteran ocean but i would say general business in russia of course it was in a way easier to enter the market and in the ninety's but it was little crazier than now the business environment it's a little bit more regulated little bit easier to work because everybody is you know not paying taxes it's not like you're competing against the people who don't pay taxes at all i'm saying you know because we have quite a small group of clients we are growing every year but it's we're not a big agency so i can't say that are trying to like the rest of the market but what we do find it is that the people that have. more money than i can ever spend. and had the opportunity to travel everywhere in the world they want to travel in russia and what russia needs really for russians of that caliber and

also foreigners who want to travel is need we need more infrastructure bridges and i'm just of the season is very short so most people come between july and august maybe the beginning of september in june you can still have some snow on the ground and the mosquitoes are bad by kahlil has three hundred on the actual lake you have something like three hundred sunny days a year it's really a year round destination two thousand and twelve descending at least six to dish and around the world we have already planned iceland the mid probably mexico because we want to see the end of the mayan world and the end of two thousand and twelve she'll be off my missing and also around russia again it's another area of growth you have a lot of foreigners who want to come to russia the most important thing is having the right business partner. i have been really blessed i met my business partners most of them in the early ninety's when we were working together come a trophy and so we had some like expedition and tough experience together young

very good dinner guest because i can always talk about different places that i've been a good places to go i'm always dug. because i love it i really do i people ask you oh you know how can you see still living in russia all this time i said because every day still now you know it's never what's going to happen it's like maybe it's not always a good thing sometimes is a bad thing but there always was a surprise and never ever ever bored. well let's take a look now at what other stories are making headlines around the world in turkey a former chief of staff has been arrested after being accused of leading a terror organization and plotting to bring down the government general book is the most senior official in the series of investigations into alleged and two you're already plots in the country he writes comes after three elections resettled the

power structure in the country's government. a bomb blast has killed six children and wounded four others in southern afghanistan they've been for scrap metal foraging i should say for scrap metal at a dump where the device had been hidden this comes shortly after a roadside explosions killed at least five nato servicemen in the same region two thousand and eleven was the deadliest year for nato in afghanistan with over five hundred troops killed. more than two hundred firefighters and aircraft water bombers have been battling a huge bushfire in southwestern 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 is venturing 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 nine a native people who were here in the far east long before the first russian explorers arrived they still retain links to their pretty rubbish and culture. to them honest opinion most nanae 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 for the central to the nano way of life has always been fishing the

russians brought with the new technology and culture most of the eight hundred 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 froid them boil them smoke them and dry them we are all sorts of fish. but 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 their native ways the orit's were also a native fishing people now their fishing boats lie broken and unused on the shore 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 in 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 you think that if we tore away 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 them 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 neighboring town he would need to go there every day but it's not far she would need to pay for the bus 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. . well sports update is up for you later this hour first though a recap of our top stories after the supreme.

if they shoot something inappropriate for a public they can easily be shot my. guess is a war ok. i wish she would have never have what it has had. in a war a t.v. camera becomes an unnecessary what destroys their own safety all foreign nationals

including journalists and inspectors should leave. and it's clear what happens with such witnesses i got among my like. one of my many of my checks to be. true to her shoes shooting on our. the close up team has been to die new stuff birthplace to the most ambitious football club in the world. now argy 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 if well come to

the bars creature russia blows up. download the official r.t. application to your i phone or i pod touch from the i choose our story. watch on t.v. life on the go. video on demand ati's mind broadcasts and already says feeds now in the palm of your. question on all t.v. dot com. it.

would. be a good thing. at six thirty pm moscow time these are the top stories from our team back to suicide bomb attack targeting a police was ripped through a residential part of the syrian capital it comes amid growing opposition calls for the overthrow of president also by military means. shifting strategy brok obama announces an end to the rocks from admirers in favor of a power shift to asia with extra emphasis on air domination and unconventional warfare. iran is called.