today's top stories and the rest of the week well that's four more years barack obama's new term kicks off with a tougher foreign policy slapping new sanctions against iran and all the rising drone strikes in yemen. fresh violence flares in gaza as israeli strikes kill at least six palestinians four of them teenagers but israel saying that it is ready to step up rhizomes against the militants. and the syrian president bashar al assad president pledges to stay in his war torn homeland no matter what this as he speaks exclusively to our t.v. .

well the best of our weekly stories live from our moscow headquarters you're watching r t with me lucy catherine of well after the most expensive election campaign in u.s. history barack obama was reelected this week as the u.s. president beating his republican rival mitt romney and although many have picked obama over romney because of his softer talk on foreign policy he hasn't quite walk the walk as artie's guy nature can found out. in the wake of president obama's reelection there was no sense of euphoria as in two thousand and eight but his victory did come as a relief to most americans his challenger mitt romney was widely seen as more aggressive especially in his foreign policy rhetoric also a seemingly out of touch with middle class america if congress fails to come to an agreement on an overly a deficit reduction package by the end of the year. everybody's taxes will automatically go up on jan. first waiting for him right after reelection is the

so-called fiscal cliff a combination of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts all we need is action from the house. and i've got the ben bridge to sign the bill right away. but averting the fiscal cliff was probably not the first issue addressed by the president he also rise the drone strike targeting a group of al qaeda militants in yemen on wednesday the u.n. has raised concerns about the legality of such strikes due to reported heavy civilian casualties on lack of transparency on the u.s. part we're in uncharted waters when it comes to policy american policy related to drones this week the administration imposed financial sanctions against iranian officials so the u.s. planes but jamming satellite broadcast and blocking internet access in iran that comes on top of a whole lot of other sanctions that have been put in place by the u.s. which proved to be crippling for the iranian economy the goal is not to change the iranian government's decision making it's actually leverage ordinary civilians

against the iranian government and to threaten to topple the government by inciting you know food riots or you know people who are unhappy because they can't you know their grandparents are dying and can't get medicine and on friday despite president obama's claims the u.s. should move away from the cold war thinking in relations with russia the white house launched its first permanent military presence on polish soil the issue has been a constant sword in the side of relations between moscow and washington as the u.s. also plans to install missile interceptors in poland but the president every other democrat that i'm aware is also made it clear that if it needs russia is still opposed to it still sees it as we just don't have enough to go ahead with the president's actions so far have shown while he may be talking soft he's acting tough looking at some as president obama's first moves after reelection one could say. he puts the idea of america being the wall police very seriously but the

question is who can hold that wall police itself accountable in washington i'm going to check on. well according to london based author and journalist option or tongue america's foreign policy is going to remain just as it is regardless of who's at the helm there be very little difference between a republican or a democrat yeah as we can see from president obama's policy of covertly funding syrian rebels and do you know about assassinations in tehran on their own streets of academics we don't know what is obama promising except this kind of vague idea of constructive engagement while all the terms supporting i mean at the hold with these terrorists we know president obama has been actively courting along with his secretary of state we. in the rebellion in syria and of course supporting roles who are developments in libya so how so many will be hoodwinked into thinking that

president obama or president romney would be different when it came to foreign policy i don't know where they get that from well israel says that it is ready to strike harder against militants in gaza and with prime minister benjamin netanyahu warning of an escalating response to shelling from the strip this has at least six palestinians for civilians among them have been killed since saturday in the worst violence that country an area has seen in recent months well here's more from archie's policy. the latest figures we have is that the number of palestinians who have been killed has now increased to six four of whom are teenagers now we do understand from islamic jihad that the additional two people who were killed were members of the organization so only two militants were killed most of people killed were in fact civilians there also around who have been injured in these because of all the into the gaza health ministry spokesperson and among the injured are

children not like this among the israel gaza border off quite commonplace of israel often however it tends to kill civilians rather than the militants that it says it is targeting this morning sunday was it watching rockets in southern israel in retaliation from the gaza strip there are reports of injuries but nothing serious the palestinians are vowing to take revenge on these deaths and as a result israel is warning all its communities and the other gaza built border to stay within fifteen seconds of shelters in case there is any kind of rocket solver later today so tensions here are running extremely high this is one of the highest casualty counts in gaza in a single incident in recent months it comes at a time of the new tension along the israel gaza border it was only some two makes ago that egypt mediation managed to calm down and only a few were up. well serious president insists that he will not leave his country

and an exclusive interview with our team. that only the ballot box can determine his future he also told r.t. that he believes western powers chosen as one of their bogeyman and he also warned against foreign intervention in syria want to sew a chevron on day met with the embattled leader in damascus. but the thing that really marked me the most is how really how much more complicated situation inside series that from what we see in the media because i talk to people yes the country is divided and even the people who didn't like us before this conflict started are now so scared that fundamentalists will come to power fundamentalists who are fighting on the side of the free syrian army and syrian people are not about that i mean this is like the only secular that had a lot of different religious groups always living in peace with each other whether it's sunni or shia or always or christians so they're really scared that if the

army will fall apart and then you know you have this extremist muslims coming to them and asking them to basically be just like them so it's not just about assad i think people feel like whether he goes or stays. it's only can get worse if he goes because it will get i mean the terror attacks will continue and the fundamentalists will come to power so they're very scared of that. that he is not a western puppet he also denies the fact that civil war is taking place in his country he is saying that it's not a civil war it's a conflict where he has defied different fractions of terrorism. on the fact that the financing of this terrorist actions was unprecedented and it was coming from abroad he also said that if the west were to intervene militarily it would have to do from atlantic to pacific the problem. is going. to be more the whole world came before because if you have a problem if you drop the loss of. ability in the region and

coexistence. it will have a domino. to the pacific. you know because you know. it's going. to go but you do so. nobody can pick what's next but. i did in our to exclusive friday through sunday on r t r t dot com well after that interview aired at least one member of the free syrian army which is of course the main armed opposition group there threatened to president assad that he would follow the fate of libya's leader moammar gadhafi according to the hard masri he's the head of the f.s.a. as media department assad is doomed. channel he said he would not leave syria we know this very well because he will not be able to leave syria he and his people will not manage to leave the country the free syrian army will

not let him do this he will not get out of syria line you'll be lucky if he meets the same fate as. well meanwhile the syrian opposition remains locked in talks in qatar trying to consolidate its alliance against president bashar al assad this as a deadly bombing ripped through the country with the latest attack killing at least twenty soldiers there the syrian national council which is the main opposition group has come under western pressure to a separate unity plan this amid growing frustration from other dissident factions now on friday the s.n.c. elected a new leader and issued appeals for what about that is to help out assad meanwhile the president of the arab lawyers association. says that western attempts to gain political influence in syria are failing. the only close ability it had was with the western powers we all remember when the u.s. forced many countries to attend a meeting in turkey to recognize this as the system it only representative of syria

which was part of the political gimmick that the u.s. and the western powers nato france britain were following because what they wanted is the change of regime but this is a unique case whereby there is a true revolution within syria but those who are recognize. the u.s. and others have absolutely nothing to do with it and so most of them have never been there and most of them have been out of the country for tens of years and the us knew that and the west knew that but they were still nevertheless recognized as the representative of the people now they have come to realize that actually that evolution is going on in syria there is the i mean there is the people who are revolting in syria and they have no links with the external. people who are complaining to represent them so i don't think they have credibility before i don't think they would have credibility at the present moment because this is an effort

to create better volution ordovician everybody in the west created this something outside and this they called it a present that. well more stories up ahead for you including anger in. trade unions call for another strike a head of a parliamentary vote on next year's budget this is just days after violence spilled into the streets of the greek capital to the government to pass new astaire any measures to secure its latest bailout also to come china is going through a once in a decade of change of power we'll bring you more analysis on how the country is on track to become the world's biggest economy these stories and much more for you after the short break. usually the police and occupy protesters are like oil and water but in atlanta

they've come together to save the house of a former detective jacqueline barber unfortunately ms barber lost a lot of money battling cancer and was facing eviction which she turned to occupy homes for help so far she's managed to stay in her home despite it being sold out from under her feet but the main thing is that her fight to stay in her home has become like a bridge between two groups who are usually at each other's throats the police and occupiers the thing is the cruel economic practices can affect us all even retired police like ms barber i know there are some irresponsible people who buy things they can't pay for and here the police have to do something about them but they shouldn't throw you out of your home that you've paid for for years just for getting cancer no one should have to live with the constant fear that their home will be taken away after years and years of payment just because they got sick and america thought we believed in private property not eternally rented from big banks

but that's just my opinion. more news today boylan says once again flared up. and these are the images cold world has been seeing from the streets of canada. showing corporations are all day . in the song rifle. i shoot disappointed. only done in good faith you feel free to argue so you can use the truth on

the most reliable of the twentieth century. legend. code should make calls. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so for likely you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize that everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm trying hard look at is a big picture. welcome

back you're watching r t with me lucy caffein oh well greece could be a step closer to receiving the next stall ment of its international bailout but only if its parliament approves next year's budget that's while trade unions are calling for another strike just days after athens narrowly passed on a start a new a stereo budget well this week police have used tear gas and water cannons against the greeks protesting further budget cuts demonstrators hurled petrol bombs with more than one hundred people detained the new measures which include. a tax hike on pension cuts is said to be the worst so far in three years of the greek debt crisis journalist charlie mcgrath says the situation won't change for the pattern until applicants acknowledge us that it is bankrupt. we already have people killing themselves in front of greece you have people that are losing everything using. the

last thing to go i think is going to be you know their sense that they have anybody representing them with so lark whatsoever you have this tyranny of the technocrat majority inside reason hundred fifty three out of three hundred vote more austerity and that people i think it is they continue to lose all hope that they have any control of their own financial destiny whatsoever how can you do anything that you don't digress into but potentially civil war the financial health of the country is not going to change for the better until they realize that they are in default they're bankrupt and they tell the banks that are holding their debt and the european union and the e.c.b. and the trail they are going to default this is what happens in the market their their prospects for a return to a healthy economy has to start with their realizing that they are completely and utterly broke and start over from scratch. well it's a once in a decade power transfer and is currently underway in china and the new leadership will have to tackle the growing challenges of the world's second largest economy

the i.m.f. says that in real terms china has the u.s. economically highest twenty sixteen beijing is promising to increase its influence across the globe bottling up buying up annulling businesses in europe and building up infrastructure and pakistan as well as cashing in on africa's vast natural resources well the chinese economic model has so far proven to be successful and more resistant to financial turmoil this is what senior fellow at the chung q institute in as a way away explains i must have heard that name there apologize for that. china has a successfully avoided the major crises like the one nine hundred ninety seven asian financial crisis or two thousand and eight or wall street united states find a show. to nami china's economy has been growing for three decades running roughly ten percent a year so i think this leadership world segment china's

ascendance to a leading power state ten years from now the world large economy then united states economy unlike the united states where not going to impose more than. all philosophy is that we have built up a largely successful or more that which is working for us but i think if this more there is a really successful impact go well beyond the china support the united states should not worry that much china's rise being a lot of opportunities for the united states as well. well meanwhile the country is also looking to soar to the heavens next summer if you want on to our web site r t dot com you can learn more about china's manned space mission which is set for takeoff this june. also for you there trigger happy president obama's reelection prompts americans to stock up on guns and ammo you can find out why on live.

well while the libyan town of bani walid is still struggling to heal the scars of the siege which took place less than one month ago libya is touting itself as a new travel hotspot or to sarah for a visit at the world travel market in london in order to find out why the tour operators are remaining silent on that tragedy we're here at the world's top of market a trade show you taking place in london or people can come to look for holiday inspiration that scouts exotic spot for a honeymoon one country you probably wouldn't expect to see being touted as a tourist destination and that's libya the places where the tourist interesting to the site is a political side so it's. going to go into you got to be saved more than even dollars to big dollars like. new york but there's somewhere that is not mentioned

in the guide book but he will lead a desert town this remain loyal to formally declare no gadhafi is just a few hours dry southeast of the traditional tourist destination tripoli but it's a world away from the safe environment the two guides the pitching. the town's become the scene of some of the fiercest fighting since the libyan uprising last year that despite reports of indiscriminate shelling and gas attacks on the local population at the hands of the libyan army there's been an almost total media blackout in the. us he ran the story for more than a fortnight before anyone else picked it up back in london and despite libya being . case it seems that bernie will lead has once again been conveniently left out the conversation when i saw this. it was a ghost with surprise and i came to the feedback of the situation of the moment in libya and if we have so many people it means our situation is the key becoming more

stable and we can think for next season to do something with libya and it's a wonderful country so. what about what's happening in the moments when you were lead do or do you mean what's happened was being happening there this being fighting do you know about that no we went to confront the tour operator i saw you speak and some people eat telling them about what's been happening in bani walid at the moment. this is a club. that's coming for the future. there's a reason because it was deeply disturbing is that despite a growing body of evidence about crimes against civilians and increasingly vocal concerns from human rights organizations he came media and government remained resolutely silent they've got to sort of package nish as a success is very important for nato so we have been of these countries have been liberated in inverted commas as great places to go great places to invest and the reality for the everyday person in these countries is

a living hell really pick up one of the travel information then you will be given reasons to visit living here and undoubtedly there are many there's a concerning silence in a case by the u.k. media a seeming refusal to talk about what's been happening in places like bani walid the reality is that the new government is struggling to control its militias and bridge the deep divides that remain in the country but none of that you are going to read about in across the. surface r.t. london. or world news making headlines for you this hour in pakistan a series of violent attacks across crushing have claimed on. lives of seventeen people injuring dozens of others gunmen on motorcycles carried out step all targeted killings with a magazine editor and seven harry students said to be among the victims the motives for the attacks are not yet unknown clever sectarian political and ethnic violence in the city has resulted in nearly two thousand deaths this year. saudi arabia's

top spiritual leader has issued a prohibition against any contact with foreign press does have made ongoing pro-democracy protests denouncing the regime has urged his worship girls in the capital of riyadh to save their complaints for the authorities to move she also said the international media was unreliable and accuse them of wanting to destroy their nation's unity and. well deadly and dangerous feared for its effectiveness we explore the secrets behind the kalashnikov assault rifle up next here on our t.v. . it's perched atop a jaw drop and a view from the ball scrabble and stretches this fall is that all you can see up for a city to all of siberia for centuries. it lost its economic importance even before it was bypassed by the chance i bear in railway but the

a spiritual center. things like these are a yearly occurrence thousands of orthodox worshippers implicity water to commemorate the baptism of jesus. there when you pull up on board them it doesn't matter if it's minus thirty it's a siberian tradition i do it myself every year for everyone to overcome their worst fears it is desirable to take the plunge. but that's picture postcard churches the story of a city built by opportunist explorers political exiles and crafty fur traders. in the fifteen eighties the russians had only just conquered siberia taking it from the muslim. surrounded by enemies the balls to be their stronghold constructed on

top of the city but soon enough it became an economic hub siberian fire was the oil of its time bringing in a third of all russia's state revenue but the ball location head of the says for the russians are their own to moscow is one of the most popular places to send political dissent is not any people were exiled that once a giant bell that was used to incite riots was supposed to set a three hundred ten. the russian heiress across who led a revolt against the eight hundred twenty five known as the decembrists worse than hair and drove. there they created a replica high society adopting the latest fashions as soon as they came out or at least once they made it from paris to siberia. but the city also serves up some bit of irony for the russian royal family after the bolshevik revolution. this is the office was nicholas the second spend most of the last year of his life his whole

family had been exiled here they led a fairly comfortable existence this was a big house but they weren't allowed to see visitors or go outside themselves leading this ordinary normal countryside lifestyle they even had thoughts of escape but within the year the saw and his family would be dead. never again its political significance but the streets will always echo with glories paulist. will likely provide them livelihood first inhabitants in the future.

i am a professional. i always intrude with the firing single rooms full automatic. i know the fatigue you know. i take pride in my work but for one thing. i do not know my job is. not the one who kills the distinction belongs to the polls my tree. i am an assault rifle my name is go rushing to go. somewhere near moscow a group of elite soldiers from russia's interior ministry or amounts to start an exercise in the morning they line up information according to tradition they pay homage to post comrades who have died in the line of duty. this unit has taken part in many counterterrorist operations across russia. they have a variety of firearms at their disposal but their weapon of choice is still the color shrink. kalash.

there yet. these soldiers with special training lasting almost until. it's regular procedure a modification to the kalashnikov assault rifle to be tested in such units it would be hard to imagine a tougher testing ground for. one rifle for every batch is thoroughly scrutinized before being sent to units in a field. in a scientific trial. the rifles designed. that when he realized his first model was to be subjected to a severe test he looked away he couldn't bear to see it with his own eyes. testing a new variant of the kalashnikov goes through seven stages first the gun is placed into the dust chamber where the.