the demonstrations were not truly peaceful and there were many incidents of. gary perpetrating crimes against the army against the security forces against the civilians and of course there were denying it the so-called opposition denying it for a long time but now everything has become clear these terrorist acts these shameful terrorist acts are a clear indication that there are armed gangs and there are terrorists working in syria to disrupt life in syria they are not aiming their aggression only against their regime but against the whole syrian people and against the whole syrian obviously what we are witnessing in syria is not a revolution but actually it is a very ugly conflict to dismantle not only the syrian regime but to change the whole area it has nothing to do with democracy and freedom and that there are certain forces international forces and local forces as well which

are actually trying to change the situation in the area for geo political reasons. respective of the costs that will actually be imposed on the syrian people on the whole area well let's get some other analysis on the latest syrian violence or for the middle east expert tariq ali believes the opposition research for the attack and that they are laying the ground for foreign intervention. some of the opposition are saying there he said regime organized this last themselves but i think it's unlikely the fact is that the national coordination 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 get it the

conditions have been created for them to do it something they never say about suicide bombs in. israel or countries which they are 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 tried make foreign intervention more possible i think there any calls for nato in under whatever disguise occupying syrian airspace i don't really on justified in shouldn't be supported by anyone we've seen what the six month bombing of the of libya has done on the ground the figures being touted now between twenty five and thirty thousand libyan people died in both bombing raids we do not want the same thing to happen in syria 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 homeys strait some of this invoice fears it could be part of the build up to a military strike on iran artie's paula slim who's in jerusalem is following developments. 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 iranian exercise 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 in light of the e.u. constituting imposing sanctions against iranian oil export 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 more strait and they've also warned the american naval presence in and around the persian gulf certainly tehran is feeling the pinch of these 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. the rand is also that it's good paying its own naval exercises but these exercises will go ahead soon 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. of the national iranian american council i should say in washington claims the actions of america and israel indicate that they're 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 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 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 confrontation between the u.s. and iran the idea is that were there to be a massive war in the middle east presumably with iran that we would be ready to set up 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. this is r t live here moscow coming up for you later this hour we bring you live coverage from russia's main cathedral show you how the

orthodox world is currently celebrating christmas more live coverage there the beautiful sights and sounds from russia's main cathedral in central moscow that's coming up very shortly. but next a stellar beginning in a no less spectacular decline ten years on and the euro is fighting for its very survival with member countries played by deepening death and widespread disorder it means that what began as a project to establish an economic european superstate is now quickly becoming its very. silly reports from brussels. the birth of an ambitious project a common currency celebrated with no less than a big bang. theory the beginning of a strong europe yeah you're. better for the war the better it will.

be a 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 is growing undergoing the worst crisis it has ever been 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 the leaders scrambling to keep it together. or 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. has been thrown out of the window in the

pursuit of this goal and when they are 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 if the political will be 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 beyond that is unpredictable euro watchers may have diverging views of the single currency future but it seems whichever way the euro goes it won't be painless. brussels.

followers of the orthodox church around the world a celebrating christmas right now including of course here in russia will for more on how the event is being marked we can cross to speak to all of our. crisis in. a special service taking place there right now tell us a bit more about it. along with christmas in the church is one of the biggest celebrations of the calendar year now this year being no different we're seeing a large service being being celebrated just behind me in christ because the main cathedral for russia has been presided over by the patriarch of moscow and all russia kirill. around five thousand people have inside the church right now for that service some also trying to get advantage point wherever they can around. the actual church just to try and hear the bells that have been ringing

they're not really right now but as part of this service they they do ring and off a lot of bells and hear them chinee out and we've of course this is a service that does go on for a long time. around three hours. of course in an orthodox church but one of the questions a lot of people are asking is why we celebrating christmas at the beginning of january now this is due to the the julian calendar which is followed by the russian orthodox church which. from the gregorian calendar followed by western branches of christianity meaning that christmas day in the russian orthodox church quoting to the calendar they follow falls on the seventh of january as opposed to the twenty fifth of december which is why this is happening right now this is one of the biggest nights in the all comes to evenings of celebration. marking the birth of jesus christ. from all around the world coming together not

just here in moscow but from all over. to celebrate the birth of jesus. thanks very much indeed live there in central moscow just outside russia's main cathedral to talk us through what's going on in the cathedral itself we can hear now from the correspondent karen. she is the editor she's indeed with the editor of russia profile magazine on the result and they are currently providing live commentry on all website that's. listen to them right now in st petersburg yes we're now in st petersburg at the holy transfiguration cathedral. prime minister putin attends a service as we've just been talking and discussing it with care and. it's he has established this tradition of not staying in moscow during christmas but but going to the church wherever he is sometimes he was in the village church two years

ago he went to a monastery i believe and the holy tricity aeration to see joule is one of the. one of the churches in st petersburg that's most beloved by people in that city because. it had never been closed. in the soviet times when when most churches inside petersburg were close by the communists just like everywhere in russia this one stayed opened. including during the war during the nine hundred days of the siege. we're now in the middle of the divine liturgy of the christmas divine liturgy as prior to this we saw. the. christ if you take us to to see what is happening in in st petersburg. i don't know if our viewers.

can hear. here what is going on we presently don't hear in the studio. but i can guess from the picture that this is the moment when the. paul soul. is. being read and of course you do have the choir singing yes and the choir is singing. the. apostle reading nativities is from polls a pistol to gil ations. galatians four four seven. but but when the fullness of the time was come god sent forth his son made a woman made under the law to redeem them that were under the lord that we might receive the adoption of sons and because your son's god hath sent forth the spirit

of his son to your heart's crying father wherefore they are no more a servant but a son and if a son then in your area to of god through christ already january seventh counteraction editor in chief of russia profile magazine on the right is a lot of their commentating live on the cross to save a cathedral just to remind you that you can listen to their common trait and watch the visual in full on our website at www dot com. hello and welcome to the program. music russians have been fascinated with it for

centuries and today they come here in the tens of thousands in search of everything from fabulous fashion to the world of its cuisine so join us as we explore various locations connected with one of the most historic and beautiful cities in the world . because he missed one of the main symbols of the roman empire it stands proud in the city after almost two thousand years actually called the fluffy the empty fater it was given the name of a colossal statue of nero that was later destroyed beneath the hundreds of tourists from all over the world including many russians the glorious history architecture through style and the climate are all reasons why rome a superior especially with modern day muscovites. i live in moscow and i think that the roman mosque will have many things in common and are really great cities each street. full of history coming to. it's really an eternal city i enjoyed

an impressive architecture. this is a nation with which and then. and many russians are very much into history they like to study it and that's why they like rome so much i was born and grew up in most cases and when i first came to all more than ten years ago i had culture shock i was so impressed with its magnificence and its history over. from the largest country in the world to. share many similarities as they both made a huge impact on the global and culture scene the last two centuries especially the mitchell appreciation of this cultural importance and today both countries created worlds flourish because each of those influenced showcasing classical music literature and.

moving on and to the onion shaped domes of the church of st catherine of alexandria the history of the compound goes back to the nineteenth century when the proposals put forward to building an orthodox church in the italian capital there are only a few russian orthodox cathedrals to route italy and this is the largest and most traditional looking also rocks church in rome. and russian cathedral abroad is not just a church it's a russian house in a way people come here not just for reasons but also to spend time together and communicate in their native language just something that you miss a lot in a foreign country. inside you can see various bits for icons and worlds by tell you a machine must is from the inside you'd never realize that the building is brand new. this church opened in two thousand and nine located on

a hill not far from st peter's it's designs and bright interior is a striking say the least as a new place of worship and run hundreds of russians from the nearby areas come to various religious services here and the building also acts as a social outlet for the community. the outdoor space above the chapel offers a magnificent view of the city. it is also home to a large selection of bells and whenever rang the sensational sounds can be heard around the city. next location now and welcome to. a glittering five.

having enjoyed. a hotel in the elegant. suites. and impeccable standing. on here. situated on the sixth floor. the.

popular. business or pleasure. also has several conference rooms and banquet several of which such as. the roman. whose and to find out more about the russian connection with the stunning hunt let's meet this week's guest great to meet you great to meet you in this wonderful hardstyle tell me where did the name come about well being. in the nineteenth century. cold. because of many of ash and they moved to b.c. rome were staying in these. so we we kept the name of the sea in.

a very very popular place. very. very much so and. growing. very popular with. celebrities and politicians and hollywood as well very much so very much many both russian and their local hollywood celebrities have chosen to come to the scene since since the day we opened. the very beginning when we opened in two thousand we hosted all the movie from the ocean and we. stayed here with. thanks very much for the time thank you. thank you very much. to the jury now you can see why do you suppose with hollywood. in your in the seventeenth century now is the celebrated meeting point for the high

profile guests from the seas restaurant basically put in the summer months. in the bush is i wouldn't be surprised to the secret to. this. spectacular in every possible way no one. is popular with russia. even the. outside here is. no press. moving on and there are many russian influences and connections in rome collection of russian icons has been put on display and one of the main sites of rome the san angelo consul the exhibition consists of almost fifty icons which were hand-picked by italian organizers from the collection

a private moscow museum showcasing religious art on display representation i can paint the fifteenth the trench of centuries. historical. event you can see many celebrity. guests. displayed at the café international artistic often came to the venue including. right in the google special like the cafe and spent a lot of time there writing his famous dead souls. the jerry thomas speakeasy project is a secret location in central. special russian. are created in a very italian atmosphere of the bar you can find quite surprising drinks. by russia the team has created a special cocktail menu called twist on a classic number three from russia with love. with such as the kremlin

flip. and said petersburg delight. wondering around the city site should be surprised what you might. bump in safety in the park available gazey a situated two monuments that were erected to on a russian right is this statue is of right and nikolai gogol the second is dedicated to alexander pushkin that was in belgium the year two thousand. created by russian sculptor yuri or a cough it was presented to the villa borghese the state by the moscow government as a gesture highlighting cultural achievements. as one of the most beautiful historic cities in the world as a popular tourist destination it's clear why millions come here trevi fountain here for example of the perfect photo opportunity but quite often it's the small

influences and nuances that make up a substantial soul and roots of the city and with the cultural connections italy has to russia it only helps create a culture and of creativity elegance and style. was an incredible city full of fortunately that's the time we have left on this week's program i'll see you again at the same time next week and sell them for me and the rest of the crew from the magnificent trevi fountain here in rome bye bye bye now.

this is good to have you with syria's interior minister says twenty six have been killed after a suicide bomb attack targeting a police bus ripped through a residential part of damascus becomes a position for the overthrow of president assad. and israel is preparing for a joint exercise with the u.s. but the truth movement sparks concern of a possible build up to a military strike on iran.

christians are celebrating christmas with churches and cathedrals across russia holding. vigils in the trash russian capital. of christ the savior if the live pictures as that takes place at the moment here in. will continue to bring you more coverage from christ the savior cathedral in the next. one hour tempted by big city life then disillusion the tragic story of a modern day revolutionary living on the us mexico border that's our special report next here on. the immigration bill goes down in the senate that is the subject of the seedings talking points memo critics of arizona's new immigration.