to be in the. as the first stage of syria's chemical disarmament is to clear the success we recap on the diplomatic achievements that prevented a u.s. strike on the war torn country and look at how the civil conflict transport during the year. the u.k. government tax lowering drive seems to be stuffing the wallets of. only leaving no reason for those on a basic wage to celebrate this festive tie us. julian assange challenge other big names in the world of online privacy protection and freedom of information and getting ready to give talks here in hamburg to the. communications conference.

which is joined us my name is kevin oh and it's eight pm now you're a moscow you without international it's been thirty three months now of bloody civil conflict in syria and twenty third teams brought no relief to the people of the war torn country indeed on the contrary from the conventional stand off between the government and opposition the conflicts grow multi-dimensional marred by infighting between various rebel groups. and this year the opposition grew more fragmented with many rebel groups increasingly dominated by radicals need a study by a defense consultancy shows that out of one hundred thousand opposition fighters in syria more than half are extremists made up of jihad this an islamic hardliners the rest are more moderate but their voices are being increasingly drowned out by the radicals this year in syria was also marred by a growing number of attacks on christians of an ancient town of miller becoming

a front line now r.t. crew indeed was right in the midst of the standoff between the government and forces and the islamic rebels is a report that our correspondent reflection of filed at the height of the fighting earlier this year. the late oh so. the mood is cheerful soldiers are smiling and relieved the jihadists have been booted out. but some of them were killed some of them escaped. locals joins the army to defend their native town the soldiers in light colored uniforms of the so-called national defense but the terrain here is very difficult with mountains and caves but we know the area better so we are carrying on with the operation. but we come across one grocery shop owner who we have filmed back in two

thousand and twelve then he told us that the armed rebels hasn't come to their village and why would they. this time he's armed with a gun a month syrian soldiers and he has some questions again. syria is a land of history and of love they sent terrorists here from all corners of the world to kill syrians and each other why i asked the world why if the european citizen is so much just slapped across the face they'd be a scandal while in syria how many victims how many hundreds of thousands have been slaughtered why will it stop with quickly find out that it won't be today held by the militants for a week it seems that mountain tops of fear hotel still poses a threat that sufi hotel our goal was to liberate them push on to mark tough climb on a street but we couldn't do it the snipers are everywhere my lul is home to many christian

tocchet and monasteries as well as mosques everywhere we go here we see either crosses on the nets now added to these we see black jihadists flags. it's time to had back. but while in the car something goes wrong. we take cover in a place where we find dozens of army soldiers hiding from enemy's bullets. the main road has been targeted and it seems our only way out. we think over our chances when our engineer gets heat. is going to go. much good if you scratch. but. thankfully it's not serious. but it becomes clear we can to wait to minutes more.

ok much of a shock when i'm stuck here in this corner and we're now trying to get out of here feeling this what. was up no no no. that was. the worst had been anything done to back then they go clear a lot. more focus off of the bullets did you hear them whizzing by. but now say that we've reached the safe area. they're firing from

behind this huge area and you're told that this is the syrian army get to. refugee women who were there is too much so you get there. and we leave well given. until forces continue their friends if one marla the ledge which despite the claims remains under siege. nasty reporting from syria. of course the syrian conflict could have taken an even more dramatic turn this last august when the u.s. threatened bombing raids on the country followed major chemical attack near damascus that killed hundreds washington blame the assad government for the atrocity but failed to produce any evidence you may recall the airstrikes were shelled only after moscow intervened helping the negotiate a landmark chemical disarmament deal that led to a un resolution that kickstarted the destruction of syria's chemical weapons and production facilities the first stage of the process has officially been completed now what is really explains what's next. well you can see the first hurdle or

rather a task at hand which is destroying the facilities where the chemical weapons were stored and produced and then gathering all the chemicals together that that stage has been completed now we are at the stage two and that is the transportation of all chemicals to the port of latakia and now the there is a deadline for that and that was december thirty first but organization for provision of chemical weapons is saying that deadline is most likely not to be met because you don't have to transport the chemicals the route they have to go via the route from damascus to a talkie which of unfortunately is rife with various armed gangs populating the area so that could present some danger although russia is helping out in that regard by sending its special heavy duty armored trucks and lorries in order to transport these chemicals now after they reach the port of latakia the chemicals will be boarded on several vessels belonging to denmark norway and head over to

italy where they will be transferred to another vessel this one belonging to the united states there is also of course the issue of the actual destruction of the chemicals and there are two ways that could be done and the details are being figured out today. by all parties participating in this rather difficult and very sophisticated task and according to the russian there presented to the russian history of foreign affairs there are some kinks that they need along the way when talking to the representatives of the united states but again russia is remaining very hopeful that the talks today will be very productive and of course they're saying that they're smoothing things out along the way as they go. but you could wish for the another major international mission to on syria's of course peace talks which are exposed to take place at the end of january but whether the syrian government or the opposition will finally sit down together at the negotiation table and whether that would help bring the conflict to an end of course only twenty forty will spell out for us. these are.

braving the elements in order to stand up to us oil giants. this comes after a massive hunger strike that returned the world's attention to the place that sums up the gulag of our time. it's an undeclared global battlefield in which a young and it's just one of the front lines. the british government is bending over backwards to slash taxes and raise living standards for its people the result rich individuals and big business is the stuff of the pockets of more cash while the public pays the price but despite criticism

from pays the tax authorities are willing to change the status quo it seems as police reports. for many of those working here in the city of london two thousand and thirteen has been a year of prosperity thanks to a tax cut that kicked in earlier this spring ukase highest earners have been able to make even more money than yeah the rate of tax for people earning over one hundred fifty thousand pounds per year has gone down from fifty pence to forty five so for every hundred pounds they earn over that fifty pounds used to go straight into the treasury but that figure has now been reduced and now they're only paying forty five pounds to the tax man from every hundred now all these save five as a rounding up in the u.k. zero position labor party has done the math they say that collectively the u.k.'s highest earners have saved almost one hundred million pounds thanks to the tax cuts

you have seen the longest fall in living standards on record you've got half a million people using fruit parents now you've got think homelessness is up by around since two thousand and ten these are serious problems why is the government choosing to cut taxes at a time like this when the government's made such play of the need for services lisp is bizarre and there's little evidence that it's benefited the the u.k. economy so most people. have their tax cut they're not investing that money this investment is still on the floor they're just trying to you basically london isn't called a millionaire's playground for nothing you have more super rich individuals living in the capital than anywhere else in the world you have the world's most expensive houses here and butlers a back in fashion but away from the glitz and glamour thirteen million brits are going to be starting the new year living in poverty u.k.

prime minister david cameron has been fighting off claims that his political party only represents the privileged few but this later. tax cuts only benefits the richest one percent while the boy see. the rich getting richer in the us is world very bold are there with wall street setting aside nearly one hundred billion dollars for new year's bonuses and activist fighting corporate dog one of the told is that cash will be coming straight out of tuck's pork these big wall street banks pay their employees a very high b salary usually in the range of like one hundred fifty thousand to two hundred fifty thousand but then on top of that they get this sort of performance bonus and the way that they're tallied is there's a number of surveys they basically have to touch us how much money they have set aside for bonuses in two thousand and thirteen and that's how we arrived at the ninety one point four four billion dollars it is crazy right especially when you think about earlier this year there was this bloomberg article about how the government there is like

a government subsidy of eighty three billion dollars so it's almost as if all of that government subsidy is just going right back into bonuses but this is just way that wall street has worked for a really long time before say we're going to continue to see these problems and that's why we're saying listen you shouldn't get to take these big dollars that you've gotten in this gotten ways and give them to yourselves you should give it back to the people that you've harmed. come up with a program still turkey's leadership teaches on the edge of a political abyss we get expert opinion on the future the leadership is crowed continue to call for the resignation of the whole government. plus to the highly addictive drug threatens to get its teeth into tens of thousands of drug use is bringing fost and painful death.

speak your language. programs and documentaries in arabic it's all here on. reporting from the world talks about six of the c.o.r.p. interviews intriguing stories for you. to find out more visit our big.

clouds gathered over the premiership of turkish prime minister bedouin with thousands of protesters demanding his government resign there on a recent high level corruption scandal that's already forced him to replace ten of his ministers on the surface in istanbul. well the first good drama continuing to unfold today and prime minister looking increasingly under pressure as he tries to stem the full out from not corruption probe targeted dozens of his allies now on the back of that we've seen a number of resignations amongst which three cabinet ministers one a thing called for the prime minister himself to resign up for his part one has responded to pensively cooling the corruption crackdown and international smear campaign that's done little to restore credibility though even though wednesday we saw antigovernment protesters clashing with police and again tonight we're expected

to see at large scale demonstrations that protesters gather to cool for the prime minister to resign we're going to be following that closely but of course protests not an unfamiliar cyclists stumble streets even the past year but as we protest movement of polls. has the threats the prime minister leadership and what you're seeing right now the so interesting it's a threat not just coming from the streets and from these protesters but from within his own government as well. right now are some sort of. activists are gathering for a mass anti-government demonstration along with protesters crowded into the square they she's should be joining us live with the details next as you keep up to date with her as well following a twitter feed of course. let's talk more about the reeling turkish leadership we're joined live by historian professor of international relations

person mark on how the market into a man doing that until recently had been joining a good public support it's changing this change quickly isn't it. yes so what we have had is in who remember the protests over the redevelopment of centrist jumbo gezi park or about protest crowds on the streets not only this time of the capital ankara in may and june but also an economic we used over a ten or twelve years to think of turkey as being almost immune to the world economic crisis and one of the ones great panels of support was that his government seemed able to produce economic growth and growth to learn and of course without allegations of corruption what is there proved in a real sense and now we have the allegations of corruption we also see more generally in the churches all of those. and. many people would say well whatever's wrong i'm better off because for a long time the been courting the e.u. as well that's been on off on off more often on admit but he's also been seen as

a man that supported a secular state but most recently has been supporting islamists abroad he changes his stance well i think he's always been regarded by many of his and his opponents as a bach really a secularist or his off sensibly accepted the secular constitution of turkey because you have to do that in all the election as he's been reinforced in our three successive election wins you see him shifts towards water streams all season to more indorse in a more islamic for instance restrictions on the sale of alcohol his own car rants about how we are strict about morality codes in universities months and we're also months of his own supporters. a local level so there is a people of the country one. i think most people in turkey or muslims but how they would want a strict sharia law assistant those i think is more open to question and of course there's also the generation gap and particularly the people stand in opposition to allow tend to be young secular students young secular professionals what is

a big threat to iran today is of course that corruption is and many ways a much more deadly challenge to the oath or if you want as presented themselves as being essentially sincere devout people who are poor won't have weapons and materials one to one turkish with assesses that then begins to undermine us between the community or us because he has a big problem with one of. muslim organizations that are. based in america to a very powerful inside turkey has been huge for now between this enormous ngo we want which has a big role in education but in force and spears of her life is going to survive this crisis you think. if he survives if it's much weakened a matter for his main project which was to happen so whoever is president of turkey i think may well be now really just on the back burner but actually when you cast a new install the problem for his opponents is there isn't an obvious figurehead

who can replace him who's only perhaps within his own political party and that of course would be a big change because he's been so dominant to respond but it would of course leave his opponents and the various other political parties to register because it was a story that party in power but that party may now be approaching that seems as. one of the resigning ones to school with murder and salters on this is the first time we've had a public challenge to his authority who insomnia. mark one for us mark i think for much of it with us thank you. and if you want to know more on the bribery scandal drove the turkish leadership to the brink of collapse invite you to head to our website r.t. dot com with all the teeth of the course there for you. also the arctic thirty three peace activists just a step away from leaving russia after moscow dropped all charges against them for trying to board an offshore oil rig and issued exit visas you get the full story on our website r.t. dot com and it also turns out that the e.u. politicians hollywood big shots and even vatican officials don't always practice

what they preach when it comes to piracy as it emerges they've been downloading huge amounts of illegal content we've got that story to. write the scene. searched for. and i think that you're. on a reporter's twitter. instagram. julian assange as the wiki leaks founder has been holed up in the ecuadorian embassy in london for over a year hiding from prosecution we talk about him next glenn greenwald the reporter who broke the n.s.a. scandal and whose partner was held in question under anti-terrorism laws and jacob apple the wiki leaks hacker detained a dozen times at the u.s.

border today they will be headline is it a major conference in how bird on surveillance and previously artie's peter all of us there to. well it's the thirtieth anniversary of the chaos communications conference here in how it's drawing more and more supporters people are made aware of just how fragile their online privacy actually is now i'm joined by michael ettlinger who is a online privacy campaigner michael thanks very much for speaking to me how people started to take more of a interest in looking after their online security you know a lot of people do it in a different manner. some start to encrypt so you made something that we would like to support those people how to do it how to manage p.g.p. for example as a ron's reducer communication on the internet whatever this is going to be a big impact for everybody's life and i think we're just looking at the beginning of a big saying to somebody like myself who's barely computer literate is there anything

that i can do is to look after my own online security. cost start to encrypt the e-mails start to use open software start to change your system on your computer not microsoft not apple but use linux are you going to and anything like that people away a year ago before these leaks from edward snowden just how would risk we are online . normal most of the people didn't realize that some few people always were talking about it on the events like these ones here by accident normally they haven't been a big voice an immediate now would you like to see edward snowden here perhaps next year as a speaker i would like to hear from today it's as fast as possible and i would like to have an german government to give him a safe place and a secure place here in germany i would prefer it that thank you very much that's michael ettlinger who say privacy online privacy activist here talking the

chaos communication conference. here all over the good news through him from of the russian news was. breaking news bosses in southern russia. car partly pulled up over outside a traffic inspection office but an hour ago in the city called here to go believe the reports of at least two people killed there but the numbers not yet being confirmed police are evacuating people from nearby houses this just to recap we're in a cars exploded in i think here to go to be confirmed it's a city definitely in southern russia to kill there the numbers not yet confirmed police revaluated people from nearby houses pickups we don't know of course. more world news now in brief let's take a look through some of the other headlines today three people dead over one hundred twenty arrested in a wave of probe morsi protests that are sweeping through egypt in cairo police fired tear gas and protesters will stones at security forces as clashes follow the arrest of at least twenty three activists from the muslim brotherhood and

accusations of inciting violence just days this after declaring it a terrorist organization the brotherhood are promising more rallies i am a taliban suicide bomb attack on an international military convoy in afghanistan has killed three service members six civilians and choose their rockets were fired at the u.s. embassy in kabul after followed rather by another attack that injured three police officers the recent spate of violence comes as president karzai considers allowing u.s. troops to stay in the country beyond twenty fourteen. i. a substance that devours you from the inside it is addictive to almost every almost every case in russia the drug known as crocodile has got its teeth into tens of thousands of drug users here despite it seeing gradients being restricted by over the counter they're readily available as artist david koch never found out. it's two years since drug addict alexina lost his best friend and every december i have

visited his grave. andree was a group photographer he was into advertising he was involved in several projects but the thing just killed him he couldn't stop it chased him to death that thing was dust some more of an extremely addictive opioid to which users inject as better known as crocodile because it gives. gangrenous skin as also described as the flash is seeing zombie drug it causes severe brain damage users skin eventually falls off and kills addicks within two years alexi managed to escape the consequences of the drug but his story is more of an exception than the rule in reality those who try the so-called world's deadliest drug even ones pay dearly for the cheap oil and all too often they end up here or abroad and you've got to remember boyfriend couldn't work because of the drug he needed to inject again it

became an obsession in the end he was only working to afford the crocodile is cheap costing just in terms of the price of regular herring and most worryingly it's is really manufactured at home using over the counter chemicals. is that one of the main factors widespread over responsible decisions made about could be under the ninety's where the health minister is the sales were gracious of medicine which contains called the alexy agreed to show us just how easy it is to get the vital ingredient painkillers. we're on our way to the drugstore i don't have any prescription but i believe i'll get everything i need the it's not a problem. it didn't take him long just five minutes and he was back alexy tells us. a crocodile is made by combining cantin with ordinary household detergents or invent gasoline with larry

summers just even for people had so many different really dangerous toxic ingredients what they get in return is a very intense and very short time the addiction has developed so fast faster than heroin this is a drug of poor those who can't afford anything as one of the lockyer addicts has survived after quitting crocodile alexy has a stark warning. don't do it this thing just turns you into a monster it eats you inside it's so painful it's so scary you lose everything your friends your family everything. i do question our team my scalp. scary stuff and just to update you get on the rather sparse information we've got at the moment but it is what we've got breaking news this hour in a blast has hit a city in southern russia we believe it's the city appear to go risk apparently early reports say a car pulled over outside a police checkpoint there an hour ago and then it exploded we're hearing that at

least two people have big killed the numbers are still to be confirmed as early days these are evacuating people from nearby houses because don't know whether it's a terrorist or whether the car simply exploded or whether it was a bomb eccentric cetera but that's all we know at the moment a blast appeared a ghost and i will update you of course coming up larry king's exclusive tour of u.s. news history watching r.t. international. although i have gone duck hunting a few times i've never seen the duck dynasty t.v. show but gosh i heard about the stay.