volgograd mourning the deaths of thirty four people after two blast ripped through the city's been a real way station and a trolley bus all in less than twenty four hours. fresh revelations claim the n.s.a. intercepts computers bought online and then bugs them with special software and spy gadgets before they reach their owners plus. a look back at the top scandals and breakthroughs that shape the global events of two thousand and thirteen. it's noon in moscow a very good to have you with us our top story this hour the first funerals are to

be held in volgograd after the city was devastated by two bomb attacks in less than the space of twenty four hours at least thirty four people confirmed dead scores more wounded artie's margaret howell reports from a city in mourning. it is tense it's also very somber the traffic seems to be moving more slowly than i was able to catch up with some of the family members of people who have died namely the father of the security guard one of two people who will be having a funeral today and here is their story it's been one more of an easy night for the residents of russia's southern city of oakland and loved ones of the injured in two terror attacks held vigils in hospitals others mourned. he was a good man a good father a good son a good grandson there not so many of such good ones around the good ones die first they say. with barely contain tears

a lot of near levy clutches the memory of his son who was the first victim of sunday's attack in the train station thin again it was a security guard there. he had this job for about a year or so how it all happened on the video footage he was standing by the railing during the security check and then there was this man coming in and he just barely made it towards him and then there was a blast and it was over and no more footage he stopped that man who was trying to get through the security gate as he had to yes that's what the camera showed i saw him doing his job smiling he did what he had to do that it was his duty. sergei's family mourned by the night with only the conviction that he carried on his responsibilities to bring them any small comfort for others in bulk of the night frontal relief in the knowledge their loved ones were spared but they woke up the next morning to a second suicide bomber this time on

a city trolley bus. i can't remember anything i was deafened by the blast we had almost reached the bus stop when the explosion went off it was like an electric shock all over my body i can't remember i didn't see anyone i was sitting and looking out of the window when it happened i think i was the last to be carried out of the charley bus now no doubt any of the people of the southern russian city expected to have two suicide bombers factored into their new year's eve celebration shopping and travel plans. it is still reeling after two terror attacks within the span of twenty four hours we met the tolly in his home just hours after his friend was killed. i was shocked he had a family a young wife and a small child it's very sad to realize that a young man died in such a tragic incident which. stories like these are poring over the ball the grove city

limits with the residents there hoping for more time to mourn their families and friends and rebuild their lives in boca margaret how will r.t. . another one of the victims of sunday's blast of overrides main tracy train station was police officer dimitri macro who eye witnesses say also threw himself on the bomber possibly saving the lives of dozens of people investigators have been saying a both explosions were carried out by male suicide bombers and sources have named a suspect in sunday's attack saying it's a russian citizen who was reportedly a member of a dagestan based militant group volgograd is a main transport hub which could have been one of the reasons it was targeted as you. in c. the city is about a thousand kilometers from moscow and about seven hundred kilometers away from the olympic city of sochi but security has been tough and across the country geopolitical analyst at stop imperialism dot com eric draitser says russian intelligence has extensive experience dealing with these kind of situations. what

we're going to see is certainly a very public crackdown one that's intended to send a message but likely the real machinations are going to happen in private as the russian intelligence services in the various other relevant agencies do their work behind the scenes remember that this is precisely the kind of work that the russian intelligence services were doing in the in the aftermath of the boston bombing here in the united states which according to the narrative also emanates from that very same region so we'll see much of the same and hopefully at least from the perspective of russian society we'll see an improvement in this situation as the services attempt to root out those terrorists meanwhile the international olympic committee rejected claims that attacks on belgrade could jeopardize security at the upcoming sochi winter games body issued a statement saying it believes russia will have no problem keeping the olympics safe and secure at the latest developments an expert analysis online at r.t. dot com you can find a timeline of the tragic events in volgograd and much more but click away. also

online something to be intrigued about in the new year hours of phone conversations and scores of messages between tony blair and george w. bush just before the bombs went flying over iraq could soon become available to the public and. the sun is flipped holes its north has become its south find out if the burning giant really has turned itself upside down and what effect it could have on other parts of the solar system including planet earth. the n.s.a. seems determined to keep up its surveillance new revelations saying the agency has been intercepting computers bought online so it can implement them with spying software an article in germany's der spiegel magazine says the agency installs rig monitor cables too that can allow personnel to see what's displayed on the p.c. monitors of those they're keeping under surveillance this along with multiple disguised bugging devices that send and receive data with the use of radio waves. journalist david seaman thinks the revelations will backfire on global tech

companies. my understanding of it is that this is extremely widespread but is not so much the companies cooperating with the n.s.a. as it is the n.s.a. pouring tremendous amounts of money and talent into developing these hacks we're talking about complete orwellian control of innocent people's phones and innocent people's computers and laptops and i think that it undermines basic faith and confidence in american tech companies this is going to lead to a massive loss of revenue technology has the power to lift all of us up to provide more innovation and transparency than ever before in human history and that's the path that the internet was already on you see the explosion in online media and everybody has a voice in opinion in this global society but the n.s.a. has destroyed a lot of that it's undermined basic faith in the internet. and still to come we look back at how edward snowden's revelations shocked millions of people around the world this is the n.s.a.

spy scandal arguably became the biggest news story of the outgoing year we'll recap the details as well as the other top of events of two thousand and thirteen and if you minutes. taking a look first though at some other stories making global headlines this hour seven time formula one champion michael schumacher fighting for his life after a skiing accident in the french alps doctors one they can't predict the outcome is there a certain remains in a medically induced coma forty four year old sports legend was skiing with his teenage son off piste when he fell and suffered a head injury that required doctors to perform two operations. three tries by french chinese and now australian ice breakers to reach a russian ship have stuff stuck in the antarctic have failed the vessel the academic chicago has been stranded since christmas stuck in the ice with its crew set to be evacuated now by helicopter and american icebreaker the polar star could still give it a go but not for another week despite this scientists aboard the stranded ship weren't wasting their time continuing their research and even getting to know the

local wildlife. in a more than one kilometer long train carrying crude oil crashing into another train in the u.s. state of north dakota the collision set off a series of explosions i left more than twenty wagons on fire no one was injured but local authorities evacuated a nearby town just in case the incident raised alarms over safety of the growing oil by rail traffic following a spike in fracking in north dakota more than two thirds of the state's oil production currently shipped by rail. and there's been an early morning fighting between south sudanese forces and rebels in the flashpoint town of bor this ahead of today's deadline given by militias or given to militias by the country's government to end hostilities and start negotiations recent fighting is estimated to have left at least one thousand dead well rich south sudan has been in the grip of a power struggle between rival groups since it gained independence in two thousand and eleven. more coming your way after this short break stay with us.

the beginning of. a phase from my life. for six months. as the people. and it's as easy to hide as a scooter. because the island is so in the space of the new indigenous people but there are all those who do choose this frozen life. this is could be. if your. secret lover. was able to build the most sophisticated.

fortunately doesn't sound anything tunes mission to teach creation why it should care about humans and. this is why you should care only. twelve minutes past the hour now as the world counts down to the final hours of twenty thirteen we're looking. some of the main stories that shaped the year well everyone will have some personal things to remember some of the year's main events reached out to affect millions of people from the global spy scandal to diplomatic breakthroughs in the middle east and the early release of russia supposed famous prisoner here's how twenty thirteen may go down in the books. i would describe this man as an american hero he's a hero but each node is a hero the whistleblower sent a world wide wake up call with the ultimate revelation of twenty thirteen the

former n.s.a. analyst told it all america was spying on citizens world leaders friends and foes alike and the man has broken the laws and i damage the country i think is a traitor snowden quickly became the most wanted man of the year with the us ready to stop and search a president's plane just in case. my first thought when i was forced to land was how can your opinion countries obey the will of the us i imagine these nations would defenders of democracy snowden made moscow's airport his home for weeks before finding a way out that it was not his plan to end up here there was the united states made him stale us by revoking us passport and russia to its credit actually recognized international law and granted him put the whistleblower remains in an undisclosed location in the russian capital we didn't exist for just this one

last. night vision lying to others want. to suck a. person someone pull the trigger snowden promises to keep the leaks coming through twenty fourteen together we can find a better balance and man's surveillance and for a minute the government that if it really wants to know how we feel asking is always cheaper than spying. the u.s. government can and will shutdown it came to a standstill for over two weeks in what's becoming an annual tradition grand america took a beating here lawmakers couldn't agree on raising the debt ceiling and came very close to defaulting on some seventeen trillion dollars ok then surely the market's going to say we don't want to play this game many more we're not ulit you money at

any price the i.m.f. and world bank warned of dire consequences while china called for the world's de americanizing given that we see time and time again this political crisis appear in the us i think there would be more calls for sort of trying to reduce dependence in america eventually a deal and thousands of federal employees could go back to work parks and war memorials reopened and protests die down but the shut down side effects lingered on this was really a spectacle following a series of spectacles that has downgraded america's image worldwide to levels i've never seen solo. with a new president a new mood iran's hassan rouhani broke the ice on over thirty years of frozen times between tehran and washington rouhani is this diplomat he will not be the one to

back up from diplomacy first a phone call with obama while on his maiden visit to the un then the nuclear deal of the decade the iranians have shown time after time that there is no evidence that iran's nuclear program is anything but peaceful is something that has been ignored by the western media and western governments but this despite all that iran's real cillian is has forced these countries to accept. enrichment and again the russians and the chinese have played a very constructive role iran agreed to restrict and regulate its nuclear program but maintain the right to peaceful energy in return sanctions and rhetoric eased russia held diplomacy for sealing the deal the west said it's harsh sanctions secured the breakthrough. ten years on and iraq still reels from violence a decade since the u.s. led invasion but twenty thirteen was also one of the bloodiest years.

the united states employed a classic divide and rule strategy pitting people of different sects against each other and in inciting violence that is completely unprecedented in that country this is a billion deaths continue to mount at the time of the occupation the us occupied years favored certain groups in the population against others demolish the state that existed and so they're put in its place we are going to give you something new and better democratic and wonderful. the message to assad is good. he has the most phenomenal amount of blood on his hands assad didn't go nor did the rebels . meantime the syrian civil war reached a hundred thousand deaths well it's still not resolved as to who was behind august

chemical attack which killed some fifteen hundred people appear. to our investigation that that was used by opening so anybody who reads the facts and puts the dots together which is easy to do and they made it easy to do. understands what those facts mean those facts weren't revealed yet brought obama very close to direct military action against a mascot he was committed to launch a bombing campaign but then a breakthrough for there's a historic resolution is to force the whole for dualists on syria in the wrong time russia and the us let it deal which saw president also agreed to give up syria's chemical weapons the slow disarmament process began but still no sign from the fractured rebel factions of a willingness to unite for peace. the

arab spring is still not blooming it's actually quite shameful to see countries and leaders of western governments who hail themselves because of democracy supporting the slaughter of democracy and its supporters in into it the only may have pulled the trigger yes but it was the west that loaded the gun mohamed morsi and the muslim brotherhood didn't survive long at the helm of egypt he spent most of twenty thirteen behind bars when he was removed by the military after mass protests hit again we have seen the german. government overthrown. is i see a shrink full in the western leaders are going around calling this is an old sanctioned military coup in tunisia and libya the chaos continues people are desperate to try and put a cover all of what has been created by the libyan disaster in the fall of gadhafi

. one time in most not going the guards strap it it down to a chair then they put a mask over his face so that the detainee can't move bite or spit then the nurse snakes the feeding tube into a nasal cavity a mass hunger strike refocused global attention on the prison at one point most inmates were refusing food the prisoners has not met one another and speak different languages keep saying the same thing that we were tortured we were abused very tied. to the chair they shackled our legs to the ground they. struck a cross and they forced in a tube into our noses for said twice daily the routine for many at the prison which president obama pledged to close over five years ago. drones targeting terrorists but killing more civilians how many people are we going to have to kill before we can finally say ok that's it objective achieved war over we

can call this thing of terrorists in yemen and pakistan but also wedding parties and family dinners entire communities being shattered so you may have one or two or three intended targets be killed the bad guys but then you have one hundred two hundred three hundred completely innocent people being killed america does not take strikes to punish individuals we act against terrorists who pose a continuing and imminent threat to the american people. ahrendts is back mass protests has returned to kiev almost a decade after the aren't revolution because ukraine dropped out of an e.u. trade deal and plenty of politicians from around the world joined in the us in the e.u. talk a lot about european values and western values but is it a western value to allow a foreign country to come in an influential electoral process to influence politics

on the streets of course it's not the east wants to go east the west wants to look west and everyone in between wants to say what about the look at the rhetoric that was emanating from brussels in washington when ukraine failed to sign it became clear that it was very much directed against russia and that it was good for the ukrainian people. space rocks pack a punch a flaming meteor streaked across the sky and slammed into two lab and skin central russia with a shockwave equal to twenty nuclear bombs though so many rumors from a jet down to a satellite and even to the start of the end of the world it damaged dozens of buildings injured hundreds of people but took everyone by surprise no one saw it coming. viral videos of its final moments helped r.t. to a billion views on you tube the first news channel ever to do so. you

might have hit or miss an online gold mine because i. absolutely triumphed as a dollar has crash and ninety per cent i guess a bit coy as bit coy is set to take on the world and root out the banks stirrers the world's most popular digital currency stirred up supporters and cynics cyber criminals love it drug dealers use it terrorists are looking into it the risks are clear but bitcoin snapping at the dollar's heels and the banks are getting nervous if they were complete with the monetary system if they felt it was. then they wouldn't be looking for an option like bitcoin it's a sign of where the society is going but it's old money that troubled greece and the austerity crowds weary of years of financial life support from abroad or the government crackdown on the rising right shouting the openly fascist golden dawn

party which was connected to the killing of an anti rightwing rapper. people are ready to go after go lions chemical companies are feeding us and our families now sort of laugh or eat a table rather than farm to table protest against food giant monsanto peaked in two thousand and thirteen with activists trying to spread awareness about what they say are the dangers of genetically modified foods while sandu has been continuously voted as the most evil company on the planet year after year with stiff competition most media outlets didn't cover this growing global movement nor the one gathering steam to fight the likes of chevron and the energy giants fracking projects. the controversial process to release oil and gas deep underground ignited global campaigns against its damning environmental potential irrefutable evidence of contamination air pollution water contamination battle between big business and the

interests of the people. putin proved hard to predict. who the coast recently wrote a petition asking me to pardon him he spent more than ten years in prison this is a serious punishment he sighs humanitarian reasons saying his mother is sick and i believe taking jew account of all the circumstances it's possible to take a respective decision and in the near future i will sign a decree to pardon him he sailed her dark or ski was released along with members of pussy riot and greenpeace activists in a nationwide amnesty international a their relations with the rest of the world have been deteriorating rapidly ever getting worse and worse and perhaps hussein with this is trying to put a stop to that or a marker and to slow down the process but inside russia there are many questions about how their course ski and the fall of the oil giant yukos the russia will be able to know where is the money all the people who are well russians to of course

cheekily feel the call of course he got what he deserved the move has been called everything from priya limping p.r. to simple logic and continues to puzzle many in and outside of russia most are waiting to see what mikhail khodorkovsky will do with his freedom in twenty fourteen and beyond. and later today of starting at seven g.m.t. tune in for our special coverage as we as we politely see twenty thirteen out the door entering in the new year. i'm an old school kind of guy i like tradition and heritage and all that stuff when i look to the past i see that there's a lot that we could learn from our ancestors however one that we don't need from the debtors' prisons which according to

a fox news report are somehow on the rise in the united states in the twenty first century the a.c.l.u. and the british center for justice claim that the local courts have been sending individuals with unpaid fines and fees jail which the courts may not even realize is illegal these courts are locking up people with fines that have exploded in size due to interest imposed on the initial amount and for the representation they had when they were in court which i always thought was supposed to be free but worst of all some are still in prison for fees they occurred while being in prison like having the audacity to use toilet paper hey that's taxpayer money down the toilet the kicker to this all is that throwing people in prison for their public debts costs more than the debts the prisoners have to pay off that's right the local governments lose money doing this someone please resurrect the founding fathers america is running out of time if you aren't worried about this comeback of debtors' prisons or you think those rednecks deserve it so let me ask you something

how's it going with paying off all your loans and bills i hope for your sake you don't miss a payment a fascist my opinion. drugs some of the sixteen percent puts came from illegal fishing. the european union is ironically taking fish from some of the poorest nations on earth so this is a very serious and very urgent problem that needs immediate international action. but turn. fish. leave. day illegal fishing.

expeditions to the north pole. as a way. continues to. the rising.

three seasons here. people on the island because of a. very small few chosen to live here. we go home yes. my legs are frozen just let me. be careful.