the week's top stories on our blogs even a potential returns to the kremlin as russia's president with a slew of new challenges ahead one of the biggest being the protests which grew into clashes at his inauguration. a jihad his terrorist group says it carried out dual suicide bombings in syria's capital which became the deadliest since the unrest began. the search is on for the reasons why a schoolboy superjet plowed into a volcano killing all forty five on board russian teams reaching the nation in the hunt for the black boxes. and austerity anger fuels mounts protests in

spain are the clashes and italy with warnings that the fury among europeans over economic misery could tear the e.u. apart. thanks for joining me karen taraji with r.t.e. for the weekly russia's latest president took his seat this week as well as a matter put ten returned to the top job but it's a very different world when he was last in the kremlin and all eyes are on which course he will take the question being if putin can move forward now that he's back . to reports. for the third time. the thirty three word oath to become russia's president with an air of ease and call. as i fulfill the

jew cheese of the president of the russian federation i swear to protect and guarantee the rights and freedoms of our citizens to observe and protect the constitution of the russian federation to protect the sovereignty independence and territorial in. a vast state to serve its people faithfully. but the task he's taken on could be more like an uphill ride experts believe any leader who's been in power for five six seven years in a difficult position because people get used to him and taken for granted he has to then reinvent himself international challenges have changed greatly since used to previous terms while russia's new president faces an absolutely different situation at home the country has become more politically active and with so many reforms promised by putin during his campaign he has no choice but to start fulfilling them and the set out for reform and not a reform on paper but something we'll something that both the opposition and you

know the regular people not just in moscow but all throughout russia can see that this is really putin to point the eyes of the world are also on what putin's foreign policy will be many believe it's likely to stay close to that of me that individual however statements on foreign policy have given a hint that we may see something new off to roll first he insisted russia will firmly defend its interests over american missile defense plans in europe he also said he would not be going to the next g. eight summit in the united states it has already made some analysts speculate that the relationship between moscow and washington would not be so rosy the return of putin to the presidency. heralds a strong not a decisive shift but a strong shift in emphasis away from the failed reset policy that hillary clinton offered when video first the people and its president and i think it's been clear

that the reset has brought nothing positive for security or stability in russia it was a time bind measure on the part of washington simply to allow it to build more of its ballistic missile. and since solutions and put more pressure on russia's security situation the next few months say experts will be instrumental in defining putin's long term strategy the question is whether russia and the world will see any you putin willing and able to face difficult challenges. r.t. moscow. people which the new government probably needs to convince most are the opposition better of crowds before and after the inauguration some of the most recent protests and mascaras altered in ugly clashes with police and hundreds of arrests artes and is now in political analyst to meet the bar bitch examen who's driving the demonstrations. who is the russian opposition well of course it depends

who you ask but also if you take a look for yourself what you'll see most often are a lot of different colors organizations and parties well to help us kind of decipher who's who in this i think we can call it modern russian opposition is to me he's a political analyst for voice of russia radio thanks for being with us i want to start with alexis the widely and surrogate so just because they're the most well known at the moment they're constantly getting arrested and being released just briefly tell us who they are and why they've become the prominent leaders not. by typical leftist populist like will does he use them more into corruption and nationalist. but let's focus on the flanks for a bit looking at this video this is this is sunday's protest which for the first time turned really ugly you see these there's so and the left front it's called what what are the main focus of that party it's a flag we saw a lot of on sunday you see the red flags with the red star so this is an image

abroad people might think it's you know a communist party because they read russia communist so what they write because it will do so for recently because. he is. left for aung to the reason why all of the communist party of russian federation human being chronically ill participate in all these actions get him constantly arrested that's his style with flagons that they're on ikea's where he is the traditional. russian and i guess what does that mean in terms of there are several groups which do not i why themselves with. the communist party over the sunday i was there and they were clearly some people who were trying to provoke violence a lot of these so-called anarchists you can see here basically were running into the riot police and also were wearing a lot of these masks. let's talk a little bit more about the nationalist fight that we see sometimes i believe it's white there it is. what's this if it means someone you know all of the groups all

the nationalist groups that are strongly opposed to the current government strong appeal to white. bread. but who also but would not like to be associated with communists or leftists what does it mean that. when we see tens of thousands of people on the streets of moscow as opposed to small groups like we see here which we saw after the inauguration sit ins trying to happen why when you see the thousands of people the masses do we see so many different flanks if they are so anti putin can't they just get under that banner all these groups have a mutually exclusive view they're not simply i think in his degree not simply contradictory they're just in the school of the nationalistic he was put in of being the liberal the liberal secular which you know would be the nationalist the leftist think he was which you know the soviet social system is a liberal secular bordering on reviving the soviet imperialist so they can't agree on anything the only thing that they can agree on is that they don't like what they

want the current state to collapse that's about it to meet their political analyst from words of russia radio thank you very much for trying to help us understand what's happening with the opposition in russia because certainly people in the country have never been more involved in politics played a series of anti putin rallies that started last weekend has now dwindled to an indefinite sit out in one of moscow's central squares the gathering has already been labeled occupied by from the name of the poet whose monument adorns the square now many people are there however the numbers are growing and there were some surprising visitors to farmer brought his cow to the protest he's got some serious beef over russia joining the world trade organization it was an eye opener for muscovites who aren't used to livestock on the streets but police say so long as it's on a leash no law is being broken. around

a thousand opposition activists are currently marching through central moscow very interested in how the police respond to what they're calling peaceful walks in the capital so far no incidents have been reported and we are following along with tell you what happens right here on our t.v. . islamist extremists say they're behind the twin bombings in syria's capital on thursday in which fifty five people were killed and around four hundred others were injured they all know front thought to share the same jihad as ideology as al qaeda posted a video online saying it carried out the worst terrorist assault in syria since the start of the uprising last year it also says the suicide bombings more in response to an attack on residential areas by president assad's forces the claim confirms fears that al-qaeda linked extremists have joined the anti regime fight parties sara furthur met syrians who've been living through more than a year of violence and whose hopes rest with the u.n.

observer. the sound of gunfire and heavy artillery brings outs and lives. with the u.n. observers in it live in there's been some pretty heavy gunfire. throughout the night so. you know we'll see government seemingly has very tight control at the century and it's in the areas of it live and the fierce fighting is continuing there's no cease by here both sides we're told of violating the peace plan we fully the u.n. observers into it on the way passing through homes and hama other areas mona does it based and there is that is seen some of the base destructive fighting as we passed through homes we have a brief an emotional conversation with the residents after when the safety. we would want people who are still fighting the. war but it's clear. that he tries hard not to show perfectly encapsulate the level of

devastation that has been on people's lives here throughout the course of the conflict is on to it live on a stretch of road this names are being extremely dangerous it's a journey that would have been near impossible without the u.n. presence with the volatile situation criminal gangs thoughts operate in this area. we find it live under siege like conditions a quiet and intimidated city i don't know since a year and a half ago no one knows what's happening we go to sleep and wake up with fear some say is the government and other states armed groups we don't know who's doing that last you get a chance to meet it let's governor and ask him about the situation here. even if there is a little unrest in some areas here in a few spots it's due to people who are breaking the. checkpoint after checkpoint then we enter into an area outside of government control and it's

a unique chance to see the u.n. monitors in action almost a month into the peace plan and you have monitors on making small steps on the ground it is going to be a slow process throughout the course of the conflict it's been hard to come to some of the areas where the fish has fighting happening and get a gauge of exactly what the situation is on the ground the u.n. observers traveling to some of these areas have given them access to what we see is a frightened population and the city the symbol is the olive branch the symbol of peace right now a city at civil war sara firth. there's a fear at the u.n. peace mission in syria is being undermined from abroad as the director of the complex form organization explained tartini having militarily experienced witnesses on the ground who can tell what is a mortar shell and what is

a burning tar being fired on the top of the roof more than an ordinary journalist can does help but please bring this thing that maybe possibly will contribute to stabilizing it of course military observers any sort of observers can deal with a few determined. who wish to infiltrate the country and place explosives in the middle of a time for head of american intelligence assessment james clapper himself said that americans believe that the earlier bombings were done by groups infiltrating from iraq into syria to places it's most likely those that are sponsoring these groups will be in the gulf states will be gulf states who will be by the funding it all stimulating these sort of attacks it doesn't take a great deal of investigation to work out. for both sides. the peace process is not what they're wanting to see they want to see the ball and overthrow of the

regime anti-government rallies have gained momentum in bahrain following here asked of the country's leading human rights activist a week ago now be over a shop an outspoken critic of the regime what was detained for organizing and participating in the protests just days after meeting with wiki leaks is chilling assad's himself believes the interview which aired on r.t. last tuesday prompted his arrest. when i said in my twitter account that i'm going to meet julian assange then i'm going to speak to me t.v. program my house was surrounded by almost one hundred policemen and. machine guns. and they realized that i was not at home just. to tell me to come to the public prosecutor today at four o'clock where i am going to do it i'm going to go back i mean i have to face china less than middle east affairs expert option return see believes our shops around us exposes the west elective approach in dealing with the

arab uprisings there is no case against in the case against the british and american and european governments that are backing bahrain i don't know i don't know how long julian assange has been under house arrest here in this country without charge but they obviously seem to think that they're going to arrest his interviewees very disturbing what's happening to the president of the bahrain center for human rights is not just him more worryingly of course is. no longer strike just on his daughter who is also being in custody you know killing people fifty dead in a country that small equates to a lot of people this is an apartheid state being backed by the obama administration in the years two thousand and nine two thousand and ten as if seeing what was about to happen in bahrain the obama administration stepped up sales which include equipment used by the authorities in bahrain to suppress the protests and to this is ongoing and they know journalists that have coverage the next edition of china's

show is here on our team next tuesday and if you missed the program that allegedly triggered nabila arrest you could have tar website barry can catch all the edition so far at sun stuff r.t.t. dot com. and speak to two leading revolutionaries one from bahrain where the revolution failed once in egypt where the revolution is now in turmoil what makes a revolution and where is the arab spring going to go. sixty minutes past the hour and recovery teams are scouring the side of wednesday's deadly crash which saw a sukhoi superjet slam and tween in indonesia has the story. it was the demo flight that ended in disaster rescuers in indonesia have attempted this week to scale the treacherous terrain outside jakarta at the site of the crash of the russian sukhoi superjet one hundred forty five people were on board and

authorities say there are no signs of survivors ever since the plane disappeared on wednesday family members of those who were on the plane have been gathering here at the airport hoping for any word from authorities about what could have happened to the plane they've also been putting up memorials like this one to remember the lives that were lost that day the med had no idea his wife was on board the jet that took off for the second time on wednesday for a thirty minute demonstration for potential customers an airline executives his wife was heading the cabin crew that day because that's when they got to she was not supposed to fly because shouldn't tell me i wasn't informed of that normally when she flies she would tell me while authorities are still continuing the search and investigation into exactly what happened many believe that the poor visibility in fog that day contributed to the plane crashing into a nearby mountain. the sukhoi superjet was on

a tour of five asian countries demonstrations had already taken place in kazakhstan pakistan and meehan are the multibillion dollar plane is the first commercial aircraft built in russia since the end of the soviet union and already had one hundred seventy orders placed for its part just around the world it's not yet clear if the crash will affect the jets future as well as sukhoi reputation but some aviation experts say it won't this is going to have a temporary. sukhoi very much depends on the report to cool. to the primary called the crash was we have to remember of course because the jet you thought implying here in commercial it's a very new across a very modern russian rescue teams will work alongside indonesian search teams until the investigation is concluded hoping that family members like they can get

some answers that the bit that it's be able to i just want to find out what happened to her preassure either our teacher carda indonesia. still ahead on r t of the pressure is on for france's new president and the crown ushered in france while only learned but will be no honeymoon period within minutes of crucial negotiations which could dictate europe's debt survival plan plus. jailed russian businessman victor boot and gives his first interview to english speaking media since his extradition to the us exclusively tells r g about what's behind his conviction. it's been another turbulent week for the troubled and taal sturdy anger spilled onto europe streets in spain tens of thousands marched in eighty cities across the country on saturday with a loud demands for an end to cuts and economic misery really are in the wake of violent clashes erupted in the italian city of naples where hundreds of protesters

attempted to storm a local tax office that says euro zone's future again descends into doubt over greece sticking to the harsh plan to dig it out of debt party leaders are in a last ditch effort to form a coalition or following last sunday's inconclusive election if they fail it will mean going back to the polls in a few weeks political and strategic analyst dr on the song don't believe he says the protests we're seeing in europe could soon spill into revolution. it is very clear that this financial loss holds is like an artichoke first you start with the weakest so then you go to the heart and the heart is from germany and the other aaa greece has already hit you know the bottom and very soon other countries will do the same because it's not just working class it's really middle middle class which will be squeezed without any picture for the sake of these financial interests

and this is something which goes against the grain of democracy and begins to grain of dignity and freedom so i think search for the situation at least in some countries is really ready for. something very similar to an arab revolution. another worry for the e.u. is all staring france where the newly elected president francois plans to renegotiate the fiscal pact driven by a german chancellor angela merkel they'll meet on tuesday after a lunch is sworn in tests are selling sums up the nation's mood as she joined the crowds welcoming their new leader. out to the old. in with a new. president to ask a victory in the french presidential elections the people here are saying that france is once again peaceful if they're here they have voted for change but the

question is how soon are they going to see that chase and what kind of crowds are they really going to have and the world is asking precisely the same question. is is that people rejected because it would then france would also france for many reasons one of them was this based on arrogance so we can hope but in foreign policy is going to move in the right direction that is less arrogant. be it arrogance or something. there was no hiding nicolas sarkozy's eagerness to lead the libyan intervention sending french warplanes in first he of course betrayed himself all along as deliberate of libya but he kept that extremely quiet as allegations kept coming out about his relationship with gadhafi you know the much good sacco's he has created an awful image of france we don't want divisions within the french society we don't want the bombing of arab countries we are

friends of the arabs. a lot is being branded france's new hope or gadget on task ahead of him to sort through the euro crisis and clean up an image which many think is no longer in line with what's traditionally french while foreign policy took a backseat during the campaign a lot it did throw out two moves one go head to head with germany's angela merkel on renegotiating the e.u. fiscal pact believe me she will experience in the coming month the negotiation power of america because america will face an election in one year and will not be willing to compromise we said with a french president and to withdraw french troops from afghanistan a year earlier than planned it's a sign that i think he wants to scale down the foreign policy but i would guess that is going to be more considerate of what is happening in the in the rest of the world and will focus on economic issues within europe at the end of the day all the

french really want are jobs and leadership that truly represents them both at home and abroad. tesser cilia r.t. paris. it's not just the burden of cutbacks that's got your pants fired up as we report on our call. hundreds marching through london and enough to buy them all against corporate corruption we've got the details and the video online for you. plus how's this for getting to grips with your gadgets with the man who's. literally attached to this choice the details are all on our dot com. twenty four minutes past the hour a russian businessman victor boot convicted of arms trafficking by the u.s.

has compared america's justice system to a witch hunt in an exclusive interview with r.t. he's serving twenty five years for conspiring to kill u.s. citizens and sell arms to colombian militants but he insists he's innocent this week it was just sided bood will be sent to a super maximum security prison despite his trial judge recommending medium security confinement the jail in colorado is known as the alcatraz of the rockies that houses america's most dangerous and violent criminals lawyer wants the decision stalled right now victor boot is still in a new york prison from where he exclusively spoke to our t.v. about why he's been targeted. what is happening to me it's a pure political career and kind of. the murder you know dream really are true that give you an overreaching heart for inquisition where going over your mom accepted. that you are going to keep going through the. battle i don't want to don't commit

to anything to have published. when i was very very hard crimes would never take these a lot of food you have got a record not your breadth of crime i better evolve with this conspiracy rove ballplayer bold. decision to kill americans which are very you are kirkpatrick who works for the truth here. and in the next hour we'll bring you all of victor books first interview to an english language channel since his extradition to the u.s. from thailand let's now take a look at some of today's world news turkey's football championship final ended in a mass riot hundreds of angry supporters of east on both sides fenerbahce reacted to their team's goalless draw the title was given to our travels and goal outside their eyes and so raging spectators stormed the pitch as well as throw players and

chairs police had to protect players with their shields as they fled to the locker rooms the violence continued on outside the stadium with police cars torched and buildings vandalized. a former taliban official who became a senior member of the afghan peace council has been killed in a drive by shooting in kabul our saw iraq money was reportedly a close figure to president karzai and responsible for peace talks with taliban insurgents the group earlier threatened a spring offensive and down lawmakers and officials as well as american and coalition personnel on saturday for nato true. were killed in separate incidents. afghanistan's president hamid karzai has been sharing his thoughts on forecast on his country's many issues an exclusive interview it's here only on r.t. on monday to what extent when i would call them paid mercenaries how much are they going to be in your defense to protect your administration nine your successors

none none you're saying the mercenaries like blackwater will not play a major role absolutely on this kind of tradition this is one of the issues over which we have in many. generation but they will be here they will be they not as far as the afghan government goes in no way no mercenary no way no way. and a few minutes our special report attempts to answer why iraq was invaded when the evidence for doing so was fabricated that's after a recap of our headlines. download

the official t.m. placation. i pod touch from the i.q. samples to. life on the go.