the opposition calls for the overthrow of president assad militarily is this then a signal being sent here by the opposition. well it seems to be the case i mean some of the opposition are saying they have said regime organized this last themselves but i think it's unlikely the fact is that the national coordinator committee in istanbul which is being coordinated itself to a certain extent by nato. is not in control of all the forces on the ground so i think it's quite likely that the suicide bombing was carried out by an opposition force and western governments like france saying that even if they did it the conditions have been created for them to do it something they never say about suicide bombs in. israel or concrete which they're supported so i think the indications are that the bombing was carried out by the opposition to

create havoc and to create reprisals and a response we try to make foreign intervention more possible and yet on the other hand the opposition members are alleging a said regime itself may have been behind the attacks aiming to discredit the protesters what do you make of that well you know anything is possible in that country but i personally doubt that the regime or there would have done this i think all the likelihood is the the exact opposite the real question that has to be confronted is what are the aims of the opposition and the opposition inside the concrete is not at one with the national or donating committee in istanbul which is essentially now being orchestrated by the syrian muslim brotherhood and it's to occasion the u.s. allies and they are the people calling for an immediate foreign intervention

whereas the syrian national council in syria. itself which consists largely of progressive left wing kurdish parties has not called for a foreign intervention and are essentially insisting that the struggle against the assad regime continues within the country there are other groups also in the opposition calling for a negotiated settlement to bring this regime to an end so there are three different views the strongest group in the country of course is the muslim brotherhood and that is now in my opinion and i very clearly with nature well the head of the free syrian army has called for the word drool of the the current arab league's mission the arab league coming under a lot of criticism of the moment french officials even saying that the observers aren't capable of doing their job properly what do you think is behind that i think

it's behind what is behind that is that they don't want the these observers to witness anything that they're say it's up to i mean i recall very well in iraq. being made to get the inspectors out because they were coming up with reports that didn't justify war and i think what is going on in relation to these arab league commissioners who probably are not the most efficient people in the world is a similar thing get them out so they can see what we're about to do does that matter or imply really that the opposition groups on really interested in a peaceful conclusion to this and would pursue the military option at all costs i think some of the opposition groups of my own reached that position and though i think that it's it's it's not a correct position especially if they want to organize nato bombing raids on the country i think it's not correct but i think at the same time it has to be said

that the assad regime has brought this upon itself there was six. so year ago eight months ago six months ago for the regime to take an initiative going to go she said moment with the opposition inside the country they have not done so well just open the room to these rash maneuvers which are now being organized from istanbul author and middle east expert tariq ali thank you very much for time joining us live there in london thank you. well richard spencer from the alternative right website 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 talk their enemies in many ways the u.n. remains a tool of the global american order the libyan situation began as nearly

a america is going to enforce a no fly zone once that ball gets rolling so to speak it's all to me going to eventuate in regime change war the day and rebels being you know lifted up to a new position after their enemy is taken out. we've been following developments in syria since the very first sparks of uprising ten months ago and we'll keep you up to date on all the details on that suicide blast in the capital as they emerge you can also follow our twitter feed and auntie's 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 establishing its dominance in asia the plan calls for a shift to special forces operations improve surveillance and cyber warfare capability alongside a slight reduction in ground forces was going to go on reports there are still plenty of unanswered questions. the new 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 is 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 toll words air wars to word the intelligence war so to speak the u.s. is pull troops out of iraq would feel like 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 inconclusive 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. in there we spoke to all of these military analysts to seize the oval who's the result of a poem struggle between branches of the u.s. military. contract. 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 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 make a mega huge bucks by provoking another arms race in the classical fashion against china 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 for the u.s. navy and for the u.s. air force they are the main winners in this they knew war for the shrinking you as budget. well just as they lean 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 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 coming up later in the program military maneuvers in the middle east washington sending files of troops to israel for a planned training exercise but the move sparks worries of a possible build up to an attack on iran. that's still to come for us to stand up beginning and no less spectacular decline ten years on and the euro is in real trouble with member countries plagued by deepening debt and widespread disorder it means that what began as a project to establish an economy european superstate is now quickly becoming its very. sensitive reports from brussels. the birth of an ambitious project a common currency celebrated with no less than a big bang. theory is the beginning of a strong europe there you're. better for the war the better it will.

hit 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 it 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 the leaders scrambling to keep it together euro skeptics have long argued 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 all 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 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 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 my answer 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 the political will be shown in certain members 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 sitting 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 diverging 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. turning sixty minutes past the hour here in the russian capital this is our t. live in moscow coming up here later in the program. this but it is an example of a failed meeting between an outside culture and a native people are to your view from the inside out how ancient communities in russia are struggling to keep their traditional way of life a lie. that's still to come for you but first the u.s. is moving thousands of its troops to israel for a planned joint exercise it comes against the backdrop of increasing tensions in the persian gulf over iran's threat to block the crucial whole new strait some analysts have voiced fears it could be part of a build up to a military strike on iran while for further details let's join our correspondent she is in jerusalem so these latest movements should they be cause for concern. well certainly people here are concerned by the latest developments they come at

a particularly sensitive time in the region as the american president barack obama has signed into law sanctions that will make it very difficult for countries to buy oil from iran and what we're hearing from the israeli military is that it will reportedly be holding its biggest military drill ever with the united states and what's important to note is that we're not talking here of only a military exercise we're talking about the deployment of thousands of american troops into israel what we're hearing from both sides is that they will be testing various missile systems against rockets and against missiles what we're hearing though from the iranian officials is that they believe that this is the latest and most blatant sign that israel is planning to attack iran and attack at some time soon the israelis of course denying this their announcement comes just ten days after the iranians held a military exercise near the crucial strait of hormuz but the israelis say that this announcement that they'll be holding this joint exercise with the americans is

unrelated to the ukrainian exercise but nevertheless it does seem pretty serious when you do set against the context of what's happening there in the persian gulf can you bring us up to date on what's the latest from there at the moment paula. well tensions certainly are running high here in the region what we're hearing from tehran is that they believe that the european union is waging an economic war against it and this is a night of the e.u. considering imposing sanctions against iranian oil exposed exports and indeed if this goes ahead it could be implemented by the end of january what we're hearing from iran is a threat that they in turn will close and block the oil trade through the crucial for moore's strait and they've also warned the american naval presence in and around the persian gulf certainly tehran is feeling the pinch of the sanctions that the international community has imposed and looking to impose against it the

currency dropped to a record low after the american president signed into law those sanctions so what we're hearing from iran is also that it's preparing its own naval exercises that these exercises will go ahead soon they're part of a series that has been dubbed the great prophet so certainly that has people both here in the region and in the international community concerned paula thanks very much indeed that's part of their lives in jerusalem. and rb of the national iranian american council in washington claims the actions of american israel indicate that they are preparing for war against iran which could descend into a massive middle east conflict. we're getting closer and closer to war with iran. anybody who argues that this kind of extraordinary confluence of events of events planned exercises by the u.s. and israel the exercises that iran was doing in the in the persian gulf we have

sanctions in place with no diplomacy the only way that that ends is through confrontation back in september the u.s. actually provided israel with an advanced radar and for the first time actually deployed. permanently deployed u.s. troops to israel that was a small contingent of couple hundred troops what we see now though is this much larger exercise not unprecedented but definitely something that is going to have an impact right now as we see this sort of tit for tat in confrontation between the u.s. and iran the idea is that we're there to be a massive war in the middle east presumably with iran that we would be ready to have a set of command within israel and actually have israel set up a command center in europe at the u.s. european command iranian officials have said this they're going to consider any strike by israel a strike by the united states. when i'm at sea what else is making news this hour in date look at some other international headlines now in turkey

a former chief of staff has been arrested after being accused of leading a terror organization and planning to bring down the government. the most senior official in the dock in a series of investigations into alleged anti authority plots in the country comes after three elections reshuffle the power structure in the country's government. thousands of people are taking to the streets in the capital of yemen demanding the president steps down opposition leaders say they have strong doubts that he will resign despite a deal being struck back in november that agreement stipulated that president should have handed over power to his vice president in exchange for immunity from prosecution. well now time for our close up series here as we continue to explore russia and bring its most spectacular coolness closer this week our team is ventured to part of the country's far east the region.

this is russia's milton part of cultures with all sorts of customs and traditions mixed into an amazing blend but as artie's told bart 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 pretty rich and culture. and those 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 ninety 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 the 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 at six since soviet

times attempts to integrate the origin to society have had disastrous results the houses here go largely unrepaired most are rich children soon drop out of school unemployment and alcoholism are rife you thought that if we tore away their culture and implanted ours would 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 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 the sports update is still ahead for you later this hour first though a recap of all main stories also a quick break for you that'll be in about to three and a half minutes from now stay with us life in the sky this is auntie. to.

the close up team has been to die new stuff first plays to the most ambitious football club in the world. now on r.g.p. goes to the far east where the timber industry attracts the legendary siberian

tigers where the ancient native community loses its way in the modern world. and where the country's minerals wealth starts its way across the ocean. well come to the from mars creature russia close up. wealthy british scientists on hold some time to the such crimes. target. markets why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy in the cause. his record on. purpose and mission and free to couldn't take should free transport charges free. range mr free. three stooges free plume old free blog plug in video for your media project a free media. tom. pirtle

. her.

complete twenty four hours a day this is the main news stories this hour a suspected suicide bomb attack targeting a police bus rips through a residential part of the syrian capital up to twenty four. people killed it comes amid growing opposition calls for the overthrow of president assad by military means. barack obama announces an iraq style of patients to focus on increasing u.s. influence in asia with extra emphasis on an unconventional plus. an economic war being strong reaction is the latest in

a series of intensive diplomatic responses by to ron amid growing pressure from western powers over its nuclear project. well i'll be back with more on those stories in less than fifteen minutes from now with another brief update for in the meantime we return to florence to see what footprint russian artists and public figures have left on italian culture throughout the ages. hello and welcome to the program from architecture to music russians have been fascinated with it for centuries and today they come here in the tens of thousands he says.