hello and welcome to r.t. twenty four hour news live from moscow i am you lash up of all of the latest news and every view of the week's events polls are opening in france in an hour's time as millions choose between the two candidates in the runoff vote the defending president nicolas sarkozy has already claimed the election isn't a nice edge as he closed in on rival france so our london the final polls. visited the headquarters of both candidates. as the french prepare to choose the future of their country word on the street here in paris is that they're likely to get a socialist president the first in seventeen years in the form of now here in front of the socialist party's headquarters there certainly high hopes for that but of course nothing is certain until the french cast their ballots hopefully agencies are the closest gauge of the public's pulse. still trailing behind along by between four and seven points now in the last final pitch he presented himself as a president who will unite the country blaming cycle for having been

a divisive president alluding to his anti immigration rhetoric for instance poland also says he will be the want to bring back equality to the country to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor essentially by heavily taxing big companies and rich individuals a lot has also been one of the loudest voices calling for more growth in the euro zone criticizing be a sturdy driven measures imposed so far by the e.u. now some say that a vote for a launch is essentially a vote for change but others would point out that only in the sense that they've had enough of nicolas sarkozy on sarkozy side there's a sense of cautious optimism the president's re-election bid has been an uphill battle but the fight is not over for him yet he has appealed to what he has called the silent majority of people who he says do not want to see france go the direction that greece went on criticizing the socialist plan sarkozy said he does not want to see more spending deficits higher debt and risk and indeed the markets have been jittery at the prospect of a no longer victory especially since there is a potential for a franco german deadlock on the fiscal pact that was agreed upon and what sarkozy

is hoping for now is to get the voters of the national front the pen as well as a centrist possible bayrou finish fifth in the race now at a time when unemployment is a top priority of french people it's not surprising that foreign policy is taking a back seat however it will be soon enough that the next president will have to deal with these matters so as the french go out or voted to choose a france that they want the rest of the world is watching and waiting to see what kind of france they will have to deal with. just or so your r.t. paris and do stay with r.t. for constant updates from france's millions that choose the next president. the syrian government has granted amnesty to two hundred and sixty five rebels ahead of monday's multi-party parliamentary vote the first such election in decades meanwhile a series of blasts rocked the wrist capital damascus and the northern city of aleppo on saturday killing at least three civilians understand for reporters blood

is continuing to bits played by both the regime's forces and the opposition hopes rest on the growing u.n. observer mission. in the heart of damascus thousands come out of the funerals of people killed during clashes in the capital once again drew into focus the very precarious situation the country now finds itself before the bodies of the that they carried through the streets of damascus as the funerals for the people who were killed under the station they just the story you've got the military the security watching that this is the same time as the un observers are supposed to be here overseeing the peace plan and not only in the day we've joined the u.n. observers one of the daily too is to flash point areas. this have been traveling to some of the areas where the focus is by things being breaking out and you can see on the ground smooth slow steps are being taken in the observers are really going

to be one thing over the coming period to be building on not observers also based full time in some cities like homs and it led many have felt that their presence there has. indeed we have little time between stops to speak to the people who live here those we do talk to tell us that the last few days have been quiet they don't know how long that will last in a situation is much calmer there's not much happening for today and yesterday have been fine for go there was a lot of problems we're here at the checkpoints on the device you know the u.n. has just done a tour through the area it's been a very very fast trip they've literally driven through stopping at some of the military checkpoints around to speak to some of the people but no more than five ten minutes at a time to give you barely enough time to speak to some of the people in the area and get a feel for exactly what's been happening here was the observers presence here does

seem to have made some small in rights situation in the country is far from stable tension in the. to live damascus is palpable explosions here a regular occurrence now and security everywhere is tight firefighters rushed to the scene after a demonstration preservers themselves have admitted a resolution won't happen the night and it will have to come in large parts of the syrian people themselves but with the holiday cheer lections next week and with the observer mission under close scrutiny a scenes like this would do anything to raise tapes that this mission will be a success but they also show the very real and urgent need for it to be say so. damascus. the syrian opposition is reportedly sending its missiles to kosovo to be trying to oust the assad regime that's thought to be going to the same guerrilla council built for the kosovo liberation army a group that for good is seen as terrorised by the do as the u.k.

and france and. the foreign affairs that's for the u.s. base chronicles magazine believes little good can come from this the charolais was singularly unsuccessful emits rebellion against the serbian security forces until a major bombing and even then they were not in gauging how much they're reacting because my orders quickly cleansing not brainy so now this should be a huge wake up call those syrians who are not supporting. your position especially the minorities even the syrian rebels. are on the caylee that means there will be a bloodbath of the fall of assad and there will be no room for anyone not the majority group which subscribes to its extremist credo whether it is there to greater albania in kosovo or. muslim brotherhood offshoot in syria.

next hour we'll speak with also cover spondon chris hedges who things there's no point in pushing for the ouster of syria's president when there's no organized opposition the country. i don't think anyone in the muslim world thinks that we care much about human rights or democracy we have since the first gulf war planted military bases some the size of small cities i think there is at this point absolutely no credibility i'm talking about within the middle east when the united states claims that it would like to bring liberty or democracy to syria my feeling is that everything should be pushed through to create some kind of a ceasefire rather than pass a resolution that calls for assad's removal or resolution. that calls for intervention or anything else there's no real formal opposition. you know it's a sort of a match so they just went through this in libya. egypt

saw a shot sergeant violence this week as a mass rallies against the military rulers ended in deadly clashes tension between the interim authorities and protesters hasn't testified less than three weeks before the country's first post revolution presidential election on wednesday at last at least nine people were killed when a group of all too conservative islamists were tongues by unknown assailants while staging a sit in against a country that big barred from the race most rushed to blame the military for that time but some locals undocks of it said the protestors were armed and provokes the situation also is a weekly rally that this time was predominantly islamist also resulted in deadly clashes and hundreds of arrests police used water cannon tear gas and live ammunition to disperse the protesters to try to break through the bomb while the defense ministry and the military keep reiterating that they will hand over power after the election when he actually has doubts that that will bring the desired.

the military wants to crush this revolution every way possible and they're using every tool be have including the government which is not adhering to any of the demands that have been put forth since the first day of the revolution many believe that even if. you discount transfer of power you should believe in government. that won't change anything because in the end of the day i believe that. once through him power today before to morrow what the thing is that they want to hand over power without being prosecuted for any of the crimes that they have been committed before that they have that they have committed in the past year and a half any outcome that will come out of this presidential process order that even the any election process will only be favored scout. and another country that's been seeing anti-government protests for more than a year at home and bar res human rights activist has been arrested in the capital's airport and it isn't many say could further escalate into unrest the head of

bahrain still right center was detained upon returning to the country and has come back for a sunday court hearing where he faces charges of participating in the protests police have not given a reason for their arrest about the speculation it could buildings to a recent interview have given to the world's most famous whistleblower juden arsalan and you can have a chance to see this latest edition of the wiki leaks founder is our own show on tuesday right here on us. speak to two leading revolutionaries one from bahrain where the revolution failed was the leadership where the revolution is now in turmoil what makes a revolution and where is the arab spring going to go. to in toronto x. rocks russia's republic of biggest on thursday night killing thirteen people and injuring more than one hundred two car bombs went off in the capital within twenty

minutes of each other merino question i'll talk to the road who was out some of the victims as they mourn their loved ones. national mourning. under muslim tradition three days after the funerals family and friends come to the symmetry twice a day to pray and to pay respect to their loved one. go. to massive car bombs hit the capital. straight claiming more than a dozen lives this freshly dug grave is the final resting place of twenty nine year old police officer. back of his name is hendrik here. shamita says he feels lost without his brother who'd acted as the head of the family since their dad passed away years ago. the first blast happened i tried to call him but he. called me back saying he was around to go into the sea to help he said all those fine with him but the scene is

a mess and he has to stay out to help i get here crisis through his phone he said i'm going to call you in five to ten militants ok. but he never called back the next time she would see his brother would be in a morgue. piece of metal that the big places around the border into his chair became well through. the cemeteries keeper says at least this family had a body many others received only body parts in plastic bags it's a sad fact that the recent attacks on the police and authorities and his town i'm merely the latest incident in a long running history of violence in russia's volatile focuses region but thursday's tragedy has already become the most devastating once the first explosion took off here when officers from this police post stopped the car for documents check apparently the driver was a suicide bomber minutes later as many police cars and i'm real and stains and

emergency crews and fire brigades reach the area the second last occurred it was much more powerful you can see the crater is huge one some reports say the second last had a force of one hundred kilos into intake roland and it claimed the most victims the double attack one home after another as a tactic commonly used by international terrorist organizations such as and in places like iraq and afghanistan is designed to kill as many people as possible if their right you are the networks around the region is hosting is training is even. funding some of the activities of you know terrorist in russia in the instant lives were snuffed out families left devastated. women again under the rules of islam don't go to cemeteries they grieve at home the mother along with the wife of a good teacher say he never liked cameras and they have to console themselves with

the few pictures they have been roof of the shooting left in the morning and then came back you forgot something i told him this is a bad luck will be fine once if you try to calm me but. i don't know how long i'm gonna live but i'll leave for value it. leaves behind two little girls. i'll tell them to be google's their father is watching us and we'll tell didn't proud of him because he was a brave man he ran to help and died he was the best father in the world i'll tell them. in russia's biggest town. and so they head for your own r.c. on his first day in office u.s. president barack obama made america promise trial in one hopes to keep away from the u.s. soil is said to highlight obama's unfulfilled by. god and u.s.

secretary of state hillary clinton praises recent talks with china relations between the two sides that still clouded in dollars. that's later this hour but fuzz president richard better have just one more day to enjoying the kremlin before handing over to vladimir putin's russia's leader all the credit for his liberal views and push for reforms as well as steering a reset in relations with the u.s. that as president he also saw some of the largest protests in modern russian history is an eastern hour takes and back at his town. but easy d.m. but i sees gave you get out see did meet the other door each medium one term in the kremlin was it too little time to make a dent in mr medvedev is going to be remembered as someone who had genuine reform intentions and who was impeded on achieving all of those reforms through

the political process through the structure of the political system. at the dawn of his presidency georgia attacked south is said here by the media and much of the world community blamed russia destroyer who was in this case that only but he did the actions on the georgian side led to dishes among them a russian peacekeepers children women the elderly a dying in south set look at the most of them are citizens of the russian federation those responsible for the deaths of our citizens will be punished mr. wright the misconception that russia attacked georgia put serious strain on international ties into an independent council of europe report up held that georgia just launched the attack for months medvedev spawn policy was overshadowed by the war but it wasn't long before a warming in u.s. relations something many argue is his foreign policy legacy the words of the

russian president at the time of the reset button press and u.s. and russian relations dramatically improved over the next few years by twenty ten medvedev and obama signed a new start and cut both country's nuclear arsenals by a third. as a result of hard work we've created a treaty that fully complies with the interests of both russia and the us back home medvedev wants reforms focusing on the justice. system and wall of law. one the people behind bars. this persecute. business people for justice special justified persecution. corruption and i think that he has managed to start some cases jump start the process. but

little changed on high profile cases like mikhail khodorkovsky russia's former richest man still serving his sentence for economic crimes madrid has pushed for modernization and diversification could have been a highlight of his presidency and he still has a chance to if he presses on as prime minister and we can be sure that without modernization the russian economy has no future it may be based on vast natural but we cannot rely only on them the job swap with putin was the last straw for medvedev supporters who hoped he would run for a second term but the secrecy and surprise of the swan added to the negative sentiment prior to the biggest protest russia has seen hears. further. in december after claims of vote fraud in the parliamentary election madrid of came back on line and laid out changes that his response was too little too late yet but

if i propose complex reforms to our political system. i don't discuss that i hear people who are demanding change and i understand i can with. the outlined a series of measures including the easy registration for political parties and direct polls for regional leaders maybe it is administration continues to strasse how much work is left as he prepares to step aside as president and take over as prime minister i have loved. says it will continue to under president bush and all initiatives all the strategist discussed with him here you proved all the things the government was a key vehicle to implement all the initiatives put forth by the by president need to be different the good acts aren't convinced debates are bad thing although what made it looks like it will be and how his policies might be implemented with putin

back in the kremlin but that made me think it's moved as president would have only seen real results during or even after a second term in office if the question of how do you trouble by between what i traded to this president what he might do i mean he's now a r t moscow. and today before the jury a person returns to the crime then antigovernment protesters will take to moscow streets opposition activists initially promised a march of millions but have later said they expect around five thousand people to turn up and will be bringing you live reports from that rally and on monday join us fast national coverage of the presidential inauguration from seven in the morning.

has been held at gun tunnel basis to thousand and six yet he stood in front of a military tribunal for the first time in three years only yesterday they confessed mastermind of the nine eleven attacks khalid shaikh mohammad and his four accomplices refused to answer questions and to plead sharing the seven hour hammering that charged with almost three thousand counts of murder and could be sentenced to death the trial is being held by a military tribunal at who got autonomy and attempts to try the man in the u.s. failed spree jessica because of a public backlash and american lawyer eric montoya believes the timing and planning

of the trial is questionable one has to wonder why now you know within twenty four hours of president obama taking office issued an executive order to close guantanamo bay as the most powerful leader in the world and that did not occur for what reason i have no idea of the sort of three years later on the eve of another election i think what they're trying to do is take that issue off the table and say well we're at least trying to proceed in an orderly fashion but i think it's a fairly thin bill and people will be able to see through it does a tremendous injustice to the memory of those victims are not a little bit and i think it does a tremendous injustice to the thing that we call the justice system in america they have no plan and it's taken three years to get to this particular point and this is going to be another tremendous and sad waste of us resources on on a matter that can be resolved in a number of different ways and they just so not to do so. don't forget all the

stories we're covering here also lined up on our web site called there's always plenty more in life and yet they give you the nation's address and to avoid course the you are twenty twelve championship in ukraine over the treatment of the country's x. premier league units from a shunt who claims it has been releasing by prison guards and it's a major controversy over at the reportedly showing that something was pm striding iran has south despite saying she was bedridden and all the details at home for you . on the world witnesses the warning this soup in the end event which sees alice celeste's own a bit and much bigger and brighter disco details on our website.

the relations between china and the u.s. two nations many see as rivals have been described as the most consequential of the century by hillary clinton the remarks came after the u.s. secretary of states today high stakes talks in beijing but despite the praise the visit was of a shattered by a number of disagreements china accused washington of meddling in its internal affairs by shouting at chinese dissident activist there later beijing has agreed to let him go and it's also wary of the u.s. military buildup and there's a specific they want looks like an apparent effort to contain china's growing regional clout dr chua having from the foreign policy in focus think time believes the u.s. china corporation is being forced upon them it's very bipolar kind of relationship because in many ways our china's our number one trade partner. and they hold the trillions of dollars in u.s. bonds we are all kind of locked into an international market so on the one level

the cooperation is kind of forced on us by the fact that we're so interlinked at the same time you get this growing military tension and chinese are also very uncomfortable about the fact that about eighty percent of their energy suppliers are arrive by sea generally through the yellow sea those to the energy supplies are basically controlled those waters are controlled by the u.s. fifth fleet and the u.s. seventh fleet and that makes the chinese nervous. and coming away way showcase the u.s. finding its military clout across the continents in our special report of the fall that's up about whether remind our top story.

to a substantial degree and one form or another socialism has spread the shadow of human regimentation over most of the nations of europe and the shadow is an approaching a river. in the early twenty first century military bases a network of military bases all around the forms of the evil empire that the united states is trying to do that's astonishing most americans have no idea there are more than a quarter of a million or more than two hundred fifty thousand u.s. troops stationed on these bases all around the world. we don't have foreign bases

in america we don't have any british base we don't have any korean base we don't have any french bases or you know we just all american bases in bases of why are the noises our north of those bombs to us at all because they're our bases but for other people it's almost like a cancer here for the speed. since the into world war two the spaces have been. we're here to provide a safe and secure environment for everybody. the questions you have to go to get everything you need to join me on a journey to the heart of the problem to a place is hidden from the terrorists you going to meet some real credible insiders although they may not be the usual news makers you see on t.v. .

look. at least. there hasn't been anything yet on t.v. . it is to get the maximum political impact possible. before the source material is worth helps keep journalism honest. we want to present. something real.

prawns heads to the polls in a runoff but which will define whether any pull downs like crazy will be the latest a unity that swept from he's opposed by the crippling debt crisis. major presidential campaign is mocked by escalating violence as protests against the military religious turn from being peaceful and deadly car shows. also arrests north caucuses as wrong by twin terror attacks in the public in the republic of dagestan that left at thirteen people dead and more than two hundred injured. plus an anti-government rallies expected in moscow a day before it led to a putin takes over from getting treated better as russia's president up next it's our special report.