we've blown the field for you drug free media are t.v. dot com. the stories that shape the week here in r t while reporting confirmed as russia's president elect after securing a comfortable win in the polls but better believe tough challenges for the new leader why have. the election draws thousands to russia streets rallying for and against the outcome with the opposition movement facing a test for support amid accusations of failed expectations. the arab league sees i talk i with russia on how serious crisis should be out and then growing calls for foreign intervention and fears it could lead to further bloodshed. and greece receives a cold shower from ratings agencies after a final week seals of debt deal with private investors with moody's declaring the

country in default. and the russian capital thanks for being with our josh russia's prime minister vladimir putin will soon return to the kremlin for his third presidential term made official this week after he secured a first round election went but despite finishing way ahead of the other candidates there is a growing feeling that serious challenges lie ahead for the country's future leader are just like their shasta reports. it was one emotional minefield leggy did approach him yeah i do still i promise you we would when we get him i. only have one. but you but the prime minister may have just defined history as my decision but no one would be surprised if it was caused by the joy of victory i it

was hardly a shock as to john had been be elections clear front runner but eventually result of almost sixty four percent stunned even those at the helm who would never think of such a high result so it's even higher than that was predicted for ourselves and shows once again actually proves that we're going as a political figure number one of these countries and he's potential is yes so is yet to be oh so they're there but it's no time to party now many experts believe conscience real challenge in fact starts now. this will be sort of a battle between the two alternative concepts or all the state irrelevant coherent development strategies for myself i've been to fry the first concept as portugal and they want russian political system to be transparent whereas russia's economy where they will be no nepotism and no corruption but on the other hand this other

group of process elite as well as the russian public whom i associated with a deal they just need status quo they need just some ten dollars from the state they don't want any change which is the road to nowhere the change manifested itself in the sudden rise of mikhail you brought up in under four months the russian billionaire managed to persuade more than five million people to vote for him many say this new face in the country split six has serious potential and brought sort of already declared an intention to form an opposition party with putin promising he would cooperate with it to symbolize the new the new russia at least some dishes. all the other candidates. from the old and stylish saw it. and. then not you know any more leaders will be younger generation and figures speak for themselves second place communist leaders are

going to gain seventeen percent in his fifth compay for presidency less than he scored he had earned the parliamentary vote and experts say even this came mostly as protest voting in the eyes of many this is a clear signal it's time for french politicians to make way in western countries if a party loses the election its leader is known for changed if it happens again then he's definitely changed these guys had lost three times trying to dispel a lot of those folks are still seen as being somewhat out of touch you in the russian street is it all look these guys had their chance in the one nine hundred ninety s. to screw things up you know we still need stronger leadership and they're able to or we need a more concrete program to and they are pushing will continue his work as prime minister for two more months the period which could become crucial and decisive for the country's long term future what do you to put in will officially return to the kremlin on may the seventh that is when his inauguration takes place until then the

president elect will have to work out a strategy of holding a dialogue between those in power and those in the streets and given that some are still calling for him to step down even after such a convincing victory this may prove to be quite a task alexy russia ascii r.t. reporting from moscow. opposition rallies have taken place in the weeks leading up to the vote and even after the presidential election outcome thousands took to the streets but the number of those protesting is dwindling and the nature of the demonstrations is changing too far to the right of the list goes out as what's caused a shift in the protest movement. in the protestors unhappy with the results of the presidential elections to the streets the day after the most took place some kept the police busy. to give myself a decided tone steve you wanted two hours yes you weren't there yet it was a good no no no i'm not going to leave this square i'm staying here until putin leaves where the tents and there were no tents but there was

a fountain which all died some chose as a makeshift stage to make his statements from and from which police removed him and several dozens of his supporters. the situation repeated itself on saturday when police pulled that stuff from an electricity transformer again after the opposition rally was officially over but the counting said the opposition leaders seem to do little to keep people coming to protest rallies because they're both little girls who were there with the spirit if that hysteria that irritation and aggression that continues it would have alienated the population no one here wants a revolution no one wants to fight with police the people who come to these protests only want change they don't like shit all violence which is what could scare them away the results of the elections to the state duma hotly contested by many brought tens of thousands out in the streets of moscow the day after presidential elections nearly half of that number showed up to push this case

square and even fewer still to the demonstration on saturday young of the leverage here is that they don't always see every single protest action which took place over the last number of other seat why should a government that ridiculous not feel the way both credited with your guides you know harry potter there are some. the lack of a coherent idea absolute of unity among the opposition leaders for the waning support that i have i think these people all have a different agenda some don't even know why they're here if i was there i don't see different independent candidates if i could choose from but i don't think we can really reach any calls by protests like the even some of the most vocal supporters of the movement for their actions so solid foundations are necessary to carry on with a movement that was not some sort of regulation in structure is needed some sort of goals an understanding of what happens next which could be easily understood by people are also necessary of the protest movement which began as

a call for free and fair elections in russia following the vote for the state duma seems to have turned into haphazard series of gatherings they have achieved success in bringing people suited streets. try to attract more attention to their slogans but we are now witnessing that their slogans needs to be changed there is a need for a new agent the impact of the rallies seem to have only one slogan out with putin but what to do if he leaves no one seems to know in moscow and goals are to me. the west has been largely critical of both russia's election and its how come arthur was lying fraud even before the polls opened but i think a former foreign minister david miliband went even further calling put a dictator who wouldn't last his next hour in power are desirable looks into how this harsh rhetoric reflects the west selective coverage of russian affairs. a

ruthless dictator whose days are numbered not exactly the language of international diplomacy but that's what britain's former foreign secretary thinks of russia's president elect casting his aspersions even before russians cast their vote. david miliband is use in the sort of expressions dictatorship that don't conform to reality in a dictatorship people are not allowed to protest people are not allowed to walk arounds publicly with placards in the face of the leader of the country with derogatory terms written across the cards we've seen this in russia david miliband comments appeared in a british tabloid the morning of russia's presidential poll long before it finished the m.p. accusing putin of reversing russia's reforms but has a vested interests the sort of claim some experts say typifies the perception here uprooted and russia the coverage has been very stereotyped so that when bad things

happening russia then they get huge coverage and then when i think we're good things or progress like genuine economic progress that tends not to get reported david miliband may not be in government now but he's widely expected to feature again should labor return to power should that happen he'll face a tough job repairing relations with russia after such a venomous attack talk about getting off on the wrong foot as miliband asserts to a vital partners when it comes to foreign policy security and economic issues david cameron's reaction to putin's elections been far more measured until now the prime minister's haven't exactly been close thirteen didn't even make it on to cameron's extensive christmas card list last year but while cameron may not have congratulated putin on winning he has endorsed the result it's clear the election has delivered a decisive result evenly and your polling data put putin above the fifty percent needed to win in the first round the same can be said of britain according to the

electoral reform society two thirds of m.p.'s elected in two thousand and ten lacked a clear majority thanks to the ballot method of first past the post is russia's electoral system perfect. no it's not been overlooked so system in the world is perfect so let's not forget it's in britain no british prime minister ever achieves that he will need fifty percent of the votes the protest movement against putin's return to the presidency is certainly learn out but according to official election results it's too warm by those in favor received almost sixty percent of the vote predicts that support will last for long but while it does britain will have to like it or lump it if it wants to do business on the bennett's see the anaconda see assassins by the west russian authorities said their recent election was the most transparent in the country's history to support this claim there were

a record number of election observers and some two hundred thousand where cameras installed their polling stations later this hour we'll look at what role the costly to phonology played in assuring the fairness of about and also entertaining people around the world with record of videos becoming instant internet hit. russia and the arab league have agreed a plan to help syria and its year long crisis in which thousands of people die the agreement came after months of diplomatic bickering over how to tackle the turmoil speaking after the meeting with a haircut counterparts in cairo russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov says the agreed plan sounds an important message to all sides in the syrian conflict. we've agreed a joint position of five main points first to stop finance wherever it comes from secular to create an impartial and independent monitoring system for which no external interference forces the unrestricted deliberations humanitarian needs to

syrians and finally the firm support of christian and submission just not political stuff between the government and all of those issues because you've seen it was it's a new group they are banned or coffee on and is currently on a peace mission and damascus but his efforts were dismissed before they officially began a series external opposition firmly rejected the government talks the group's renewed calls for military pressure on the regime was followed by qatar suggestion to deploy foreign troops to syria but as our national ports outside interference in the country's conflict is raising fears of an even bigger crisis. as the syrian conflict stretches sounds in time it has also spread geographically by case of the uprising a felt far from the country's borders what's happening in syria is heartbreaking. and rages and what you've seen is the international community mobilize against the assad regime strategic analyst says one thing is clear though it's certainly gone

far beyond the words of sympathy and the cotton to those on the ground in syria that motor isolation has many more forbes' than officially stated and is during the operation in baba amr the syrian army arrested fighters from gulf countries in afghanistan iraq libya and some european states their work was coordinated by tori and saudi intelligence officers as well as cia mossad and blackwater agents but it's also seized israeli weapons especially in taking missiles and israeli drones the u.s. defense contractor formerly known as blackwater and now called academy was notorious for its heavy handed tactics during operations in iraq and pakistan while the u.s. and. many other countries have admitted al qaeda linked extremists groups fighting alongside beyond authorization in syria dr salim says some countries are using those groups to further their own interests. to get local players involved in order

to hide their involvement this is why we are mostly arabs like saudi arabia and qatar or iraq because countries don't have democracy at home of course they cannot ask first they're pushing it in syria they have another agenda. there are books and written sources where this plan is described in detail decades ago and hardcore shivah blogger and freelance journalist has been investigated for a new cold and in serious crisis since last year she says this is a story with three main chapters weapons smuggled across the border of mrs contractors and foreign cash. when you see a lot of money in syria then you really believe that this is comparable to what happened in the civil war in lebanon there were plenty of money then you will find that the book about congress will bellow do something nobody would kill him so. now you would see now this is

a big. city with more and more reports on international involvement emerging and calls to the opposition getting louder even for those at the grassroots for the uprising the initial euphoria is turning peter. we can see we regret what we did but we didn't want things to go down where we turned so much militarize. we never want to and don't want intervention. but here's our afterwards he says that it could be too late to stop this all too far into flames of conflict while the conflict between president bashar assad and his opponents here in syria at all to enter its second year another conflict is also in full swing between those calling on dialogue and political settlement as the way out and those who insist on military solution and the let's say certain into fights almost as important as the one claiming blood on the streets. written

or shot see damascus syria. the last paragraph said this week it was ordered to review its potential options on syria which include enforcement of a no fly zone and humanitarian airlift transport i asked her parents when they says washington's not interested in our sea and the middle eastern country. when you hear war hawks like senators lindsey graham and john mccain calling for bombs away and again go back and play over you see the same scenario their heads come in and they say we have to because we need to and we have to use diplomacy in the meanwhile they're building up the military conflict and you heard president obama say at the height of the iranian incident with netanyahu that he said you know that at this time when there is not

a lot of sympathy for iran and it's only now law i say. is on the ropes we have to quiet it down a little bit and still to come some world leaders just refused to take their food off the gas when it comes to iran. israel insists a military attack on iran is still on the cards even despite agreement between islamic state and foreign powers to renew talks on tehran's controversial nuclear program. plus nuclear fears continue to spread in japan one year after an earthquake and tsunami killed nearly twenty thousand people and triggered an atomic crisis. this week greece finally concluded a deal with private investors considered to be the biggest debt write down in history if we meant which reduces the greek burden by over one hundred billion euros was hailed by the european leaders as a solution to means economic woes however there was no applause from wayne's

agencies with moody's declaring athens in default on its debt at another firm fitch has downgrade agrees to restricted to full status chris we've heard chief strategist at investment firm troika dialog says there is a bigger threat hanging over not only greece but all western banks frankly this is no longer about greeks what's. at stake here is the bigger picture in europe is that if there is a technical default if that's what it's called then there would put at risk the whole face of the c.d.s. the c.d.s. market is essentially the bond insurance scheme for banks use when they take out to invest in bonds in one country and the be effectively paid insurance premium reflecting the risk of default in the country so the c.d.s. is a word for the shorts premium moving up and down it's what kids is a measure of how risky one country's debt is relative to another so if there's

a technical default in greece it needs to c.d.s. spreads didn't work and therefore there's no question the polls are but they're not going to see the spread of insurance premiums everywhere else is also and that's a most two trillion dollars business globally if that starts to its confidence in that system is undermined then you're looking at potentially catastrophic consequences for western banks and therefore the western economy so that's really what's at stake it really is the series. so we have to check out plenty more news stories and comments on our websites and there for you right now. shelling shot israel fires missiles at gaza killing at least fifteen palestinians including two militant leaders find the aftermath food in full. plus social networks tearing families apart and a wife who discovered her husband was already married.

to iran world powers have finally reached an agreement on resuming high level talks having a new hope for a peaceful resolution to the nuclear standoff islamic state however warned to go. nations will fail they thought west keeps piling on the pressure despite a push forward of policy from the us administration israeli prime minister a signal of during a meeting with proper obama that military option is still an option well a reports on ars that israel had asked washington for weapons that could be crucial in striking iran's on the ground facilities and us a fast cheap and turn south and american attack on iran would be far more effective thus putting military confrontation back on the table former reagan administration official dr craig roberts said amid all this round top war rather weak politicians have forgotten there is no actual proof iran is seeking to build

a bomb. it's not clear whether iran is is that. the combined intelligence estimate of united states government that is the advantage of pinned on the wall sixteen intelligence agencies is that iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program i think they said in two thousand and three that would be man years ago but the united states has demanded is that it can read give up its rights as they signatures to the nine pm for asian trading if you send a non regime in agree to inspectors you or you have the right to go you can energy and the united states is insisting that iran has to be excluded. your community because united states says is some term iran might decide to make a bomb it's a little thing it's just made up this contract we've got. through for

nuclear war and a truce it didn't sound the treaty they didn't pull it through rate and they're all good standing with their understates they receive all kinds of aid even. as you know in india. my sour we talked to iran's deputy foreign minister on the likelihood of military confrontation over his country's nuclear program. and now a brief look at some other stories from around the world several explosions have hit a bus station in the canyon capital no robbery leaving at least four people dead and dozens wounded witnesses say three people in a moving car threw grenades at a passenger terminal nobody claimed responsibility for the blasts yet but authorities believe somalia and only militants were responsible. to pam is marking the first anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami which left almost twenty thousand people that disaster also damaged the fukushima daiichi power plant

triggering a nuclear crisis but morial services will be held across the country at a minute's silence observed of the exact moment the quake hit one year ago. arnold are sending energy adviser at fairwinds associates many details about the nuclear crisis remain undisclosed contamination has spread well beyond the fukushima area. i think the government has been slow to disclose facts ever since the accident occurred there's clearly the cleanup is going to cost around here a trillion dollars u.s. that's just for the site but for the prefecture of fukushima as well but the contamination goes well beyond the pretty sure it could up in tokyo and not so sure literally homages away the entire north of the country as a public health hazard here because everyone is exposed to radioactive cesium

radioactive strides and other isotopes. now back to this week's main story of russians alike their leader for the next six years following claims of multiple violations during december a parliamentary vote russian authorities pledged to do everything to ensure a fair presidential polls are disavowing what say looks at how hundreds of thousands of web cameras controlling the vote provide enough transparency but also winds up larry. allegations of widespread voter fraud in last december's parliamentary elections set off a wave of mess approaches and mr putin sensitive to the incited opposition he ordered the installation of web cameras and oh all of russia's police stations. it has been a very ambitious and costly project for the russian government but the officials insisted it was worth it the first in history the cameras cost over three hundred million u.s. dollars for the online monitoring system doubling the initial cost of the vote

a price some critics said was too high although not everybody was convinced by the use of the web cameras to ensure transparency the cameras however did prove to be quite handy in some provinces such as day is done in one station the results were cancelled after cameras showed my lesions of election procedures for the web cameras to reproduce a fascinating slice of russian provincial life which went viral and got hundreds of clicks on social networking sites such as e.g. some even joke that mr putin gave us the best reality show. cameras captured various activities from a cultural dancing in chechnya to russian women apps training and lots of dancing at the polling stations recorded over five hundred years worth of live video are calling two experts with some real jewels among them while ordinary russians are

thought we were not watching we were looking at the cameras captured the every move and dropped one of media that it was a hit with over three hundred thousand hits on you tube shoot this man and bring in michael jackson's moonwalk back to life cost him his ballot we caught up with him and asked if he expected his video to be this popular i would say would be for fun not for fame actually i was surprised that we were the only ones who voted this way i thought there should have been more people like us there were a lot of opportunities to create whatever you want i hope next time people will vote more creatively what the election is over in the world and the country awaits the swearing in the presidency like most of commuting as for the rest of us there's very doubt we'll never forget the glances that people gave us all their lives from all across the country and those who thought that their moment on camera wasn't being watched but really we were looking.

the amount of c o t must go. well that brings us up to date here on our t.v. or i can always log on to our website r.t. dot com if you missed anything i would horrors here and i'll be back shortly with a recap of our top stories.