well few people do it like the scots to for scots have a talk with a good building welcoming of what could be a year to remember well on september the eighteenth people vote to answer one question should scotland be an independent country we should add that after three centuries spent in a not always happy marriage to london now there is no turning of the referee turning off the referendum track and the bill that set the rules will pass in november a couple of weeks later the first minister unveiled a six hundred seventy page blueprint that lays down the main principles on which a future scotland will be governed should it become independent it was first being one of the our team used to cover the campaign extensively for us let's speak to are going to be sorely wrong to milo again from one of the it wasn't long ago you're hot foot but for most of the. poem so you talk to of course in the north about how popular it is but there are some differing views as we head into the new

year what's the general consensus that you think. well first of all a very happy new year to all if you will got a couple of hours to go before the united kingdom celebrate here but looking forward to the new year of course it's going to be a major year for scotland at the end of twenty forty they're going to have that independence referendum and there is everything still to play for indeed the united kingdom this time next year could look vastly different says those campaigns set to kick into gear to try and convince faces either way ahead of that we went up to scotland to speak to some of the scottish people to find out how they're feeling about it all. once the tastes have been made and the glass is empty scotland will wake up to what's to be a very big year come september eighteenth and scottish faces will be asked yes no question should scotland become an independent country in the arguments for and

against what sort of swayze to say yes what's crazy saying no i think just financially knowing where we're going to be job security not everyone's course a new year resolution to revolution i think the bank is going to get engaged twenty four mark and forward to the birth of my second child dealt with the most growing whatever happens scotland's future now lies in its people's hands i think it means office going to try and go down the road and get them to not look after themselves not sure which way it's going to go down so that everything leave everything to me yeah. r.t. edinburgh. well it's all a call c.-k. people get up to celebrate new year of course try to come midnight the traditional song old lang syne will be sung by many people and that's actually a song that was written by scottish poet robert burns and

a song about old acquaintances and of course as we gear up for that independence referendum and as we said with everything very much still to play for that song to take on a whole different meaning this time next year well reality is it needs to happen fifty percent plus one of the population doesn't vote for it the latest poll say just barely a third of supporting it so is it dead in the water really looking ahead. well i spoke to scottish minister alex salmond a couple of months ago and i put that to him that you know whenever we analyze the polls it always looks like yes the independents campaign's falling slightly behind and he said look polls are one thing but you only have to peak once in this game so he's very very confident as are many of the people you speak to in the yes campaign look it's very split across the united kingdom it's a very divisive issue right now but it is historic clearly that they were granted that independence referendum so scotland certainly is a great help in

a later on tonight the scottish new year i think a lot of excitement that what the year ahead going to hold for scotland and a really crucial question of course there especially for you brits will be u.k. need to replace the union jack if scotland is out. or that's a controversial one i don't think anyone's really wanting to get into too much of the detail about that right now some of the things going to really be you just do some of the designs people have been sort of. the blue. ribbon also you know maybe we can have a competition a united kingdom wide competition we'll have to get on that. art is there a further live with us from london you have a great new years yeah thank you for going to see. well ukraine's seeing out the year rather more unsettled than people might have hoped it's at a crossroads after the president refused to sign an association deal with the

european union. for huge crowds of course the capital demanding to be made part of the e.u. even though that offer was not actually on the table in any meaningful sense those protests have been ongoing for weeks. well lectures heskey witnessed all of it let's go live to him he's in kiev tonight it's not quite new year's you know you are now at the saw you of course yes well happy new year when it comes to you in about twenty five minutes or so alexei let's talk about serious matters though what is happening. the protesters are planning a big turnout tonight a fellow playing a concert that will happen. yes exactly first of all happening to you in moscow we are about ninety minutes away from you here in fact i just walked through the independence square and it's hard to say whether it's a new year party here or something else because no international bob stars lined up today as it had been promised earlier but still a stance of lineup of ukrainian rock stars pop stars rock stars will be here to

entertain tens of thousands who will be celebrating the new year here but essentially this is a political protest this is the anger at the country's government and the president president something which has been going on for more than six weeks now and it's rather turbulent six weeks for ukraine as i mentioned in my report. first they wanted to be in europe. then they wanted a revolution. that. ukraine's leaders feared that a free trade zone with the e.u. would cause industry to collapse the crowds never bought that but when the police used force against peaceful bro e.u. protesters. they stopped caring altogether. government building stormed barricades built and top western politicians dropping

by the german and dutch foreign ministers and a deputy u.s. secretary of state before u.s. senator john mccain weighed in taking a swipe at russia stalks while stirring up the key of crowds himself premier others with a few. america is with you. but none of them dug ukraine out of its mess mosco later agreed to help with a discount on gas prices and a fifteen billion dollar loan for the now entrenched protesters the lifeline was a sellout. any treaty with russia is not worth the paper it was signed ah. give still has the crowds what's more twenty fifteen will see ukraine choose its next president a leader who needs to make a difference and whether it's embittered sides continue to fight or unite. the one thing whichever to my eyes is the happenings at the my gun right now is the better is the christmas tree over there usually it is a christmas tree which the authorities set up in the central square for people to

come here to celebrate right now is something of a protest symbol is covered with ukrainian flags it's covered with protest banners and even. the banner of the former prime minister unit i'm ashamed to who is now in jail indeed the euro might done has become something of a state within a state it lives by its own laws people are sleeping here they set up tent camps they cooking food and it's really unlikely they're willing to disperse that anytime soon but what's the opposition's plan here i mean are people just going to stay on the square until the elections in two thousand and fifteen. well that's a very long time for the people to stay here in the square especially considering that the traditional january frost is on its way and it will be minus twenty thirty degrees here and clear but the opposition already said about its plan to hold the protest at least until the end of january than in fact holding a huge national wide strike on a generally the twenty fourth that's how it is right now but definitely twenty

fourteen will be a very turbulent year for ukrainian politics because in a little more than twelve months from now at the end of january twenty fifteen people will take to the polls to elect a new president and that will be some very serious political battle especially. everything which is happened in the last two months in this country is going to talk about as we head into the new year thank you for your important nice to see you happy new year to cheers and actually. we've been to all four corners of the globe to try and bring you some stories which our networks and newspapers downplay or just plain avoid sometimes our correspondents have traveled extensively to report on people struggling against big corporations or against government policies they see as unfair or she has also been to places that few journalists are allowed to see for example america's notorious overseas prison kuantan i'm obey let's take a look at some of those shots. a. large group of

protesters have clashed with the police the police are holding their ground right now as you can see there's fires behind me tear gas is in the air it's a little bit difficult to brief here. on the police to break up another night of protest here in ankara and here's the water cannon just coming in as well as don't know whether these protests. we're now inside two active camps at guantanamo camp five fold single cells where the so-called less compliant detainees are held camp number six is one filled with communal cells. but a lot of those people now will monitor the crowd probably a little although not every law is really about right ahead but basically very very ugly right for the love thank god i got a right. these are your clothes

and environmentalist have been counts out here braving the elements in order to stand up to us oil giant chevron and the remaining government which is giving them the green light to start exploratory drilling in the field a bit that without any public consultation. from the whole thing you hear is that you never quite know what's going to bring every years eventful for good and for bad you never know what's ahead well every night we've been on the lookout to bring you the latest to bring you up to speed on the stories of the day let's discuss some of the major news events with longtime r.t. contributor afshin response times he's joining us now you know of course host if you're watching in britain the show going underground the sepulcre especially if you're in the u.k. online is what you choose i should hello and happy new year to you the great city of london behind you now come for you here or you haven't one story in the summer that really changed so much for so much of the world yes much limited would snowden

let you take it from there. yes i think a year ago it was all about wiki leaks but whereas wiki leaks released information that showed the extent of the way u.s. diplomats were lying to leaders right around the world of course edward snowden showed a kind of total spectrum dominance over their own population these countries have been spying on their own populations and calling into question whether democracy can really be the word to describe the systems in these countries if everyone's communications at the most minute level are all being bugged by the government. what's the weight of public follow you for guys like chelsea manning people like edward snowden they seem to have public support the majority of public support does that mean their life. i'm not going to say chelsea money could chelsea

but he's in jail for thirty five years but for people like them and potential future will suppose as their lot got any easier the job because of the potential backing they're getting from the public all different different well different countries reacted differently to the news and all the revelations here in britain there was a faster go situation we must remember that the impact well it's not over yet if glenn greenwald the person who has the secret is saying that only one percent has been released so far we can expect much more information of course they are doing the redacting of data and information so as not to harm agents in the field from the cia and the national security agency and other u.s. authorities so we haven't seen anything yet and of course i'm sure it'll encourage a whistleblowers right around the world to continue doing this because of course the unfortunate circumstance of the chelsea manning's imprisonment and president obama almost saying that edward snowden is guilty before he even had

a trial that that won't stop the way things are going. was it may change the way the information is released perhaps not to mainstream newspapers anymore talking of which of course the guardian was at the forefront of that in britain the guardian newspaper and it bore the brunt of the flak for it at a tear in chief was before parliamentary inquiries etc etc did they even visited the offices there but the paper didn't give it remind us why we don't know whether the paper did give in because the editor of the guardian told us a little bit later than we we would have thought he was quick to cover the story that the fact that the british government sent around heavies to smash up computers so i think any future whistleblower will think twice about giving it to a national newspaper with all the protections that might offer federal authorities in the united states for instance because they see themselves more responsible the whistleblower might release it straight to the internet and redacted because if

a newspaper releases it certainly in britain they're liable to have heavy sent around and the head of the entire british civil service come around and tell them you're not allowed to release this information as for the intelligence committees that summoned the editor the they are asking whether he was a patriot it was mccarthyite britain two thousand and thirteen i don't think there's anything like it since since the civil war the idea of parliamentarians asking before the state whether they're patriotic or not but certainly any newspaper main newspaper will now have to worry whether there are the government to get us and people around to smash up their equipment option i want to ask you something about a story we're covering also throughout two thousand and thirteen and we'll be closely watching in twenty fourteen iran they elected a new president a more moderate president in summer two thousand and thirteen house haasan rouhani been successful in promising those changes. it was ironic that in the

past few hours he graduated nicolas maduro of venezuela in municipal elections venezuela of course another or oil superpower the biggest oil resources in the world because rouhani has a reputation for taking new liberal action rather than the kind of chevy style reforms that took place in the oil super states in latin america rouhani has a very tough job ahead of him and he he only got through by a whisker but he has alliances within all sides of the ball the politics of iran whether he's going to succeed it's very difficult to say some people saying that if you only come ons around thirty five percent if you do the number crunching he's in a very precarious position i mean some people even comparing him to a moment morsi in the sense that there's such great hope for the same time what are his economic policies going to be and could neoliberal reform and privatization threaten his presidency write offs in the coming year also expected to bring the

long anticipated end to the war in afghanistan and what legacy has the u.s. that invasion some call it occupation left in the country. i mean because a very quick to deny what happened the other day when the national intelligence estimate from the united states was released saying that the taliban will basically take over and there was no point in any u.s. action in afghanistan post nine eleven because by two thousand and seventeen it will be run by it's a laugh it's i think karzai has a point the national diligence estimate does get it wrong as it did just before the fall of the berlin wall i think things are changing a great deal if you look at iran connections for instance with afghanistan and afghanistan connecting up with russia and china and india so actually what's happening here is a great game involving the future superpower plus what we are seeing which the

united states and nato powers have been sponsoring which has been salafi al-qaeda linked just love these will be the difficulties that cause i will have to contend with but i think at the moment no sign of him confirming the security pact that would allow u.s. soldiers to stay on longer than the end of this year have a comfy into this year you want to go into this british that's right your new year's still hasn't come home would like to wish you from both haven't i a wonderful new year's and let our viewers know that they can always join you in going underground in the u.k. and then find that online at r t dot com thanks so much for that night i should go by happy new year. now across the atlantic the united states still has many hours to go before they stand off twenty thirteen and it's a year that many will be glad to see the back of your in april the deadly bombing at the boston marathon a vote terrible memories of nine eleven then later in the year the government shut

economics talk a little bit earlier on the way let's go stateside now and stateside r.t. america host sam sachs is in washington looking very dapper tonight we've celebrated new year already you've still got it covered so before you go off the party you might be popping off for an hour or so and let's just talk about the main events though talk with an awful boston bombing was not awful but it happened in april does not count so start of the year but we all watched in dismay. it really was a pretty wild week back in april i remember was at a well known american sporting event it was in a major american city in boston and it was all captured on camera the blast and also the gruesome aftermath from it was the first american to seen anything like this in their own country since since and as far back as nine eleven so it was fairly jarring for the whole nation in the way the rest of the week played out sort of like a television drama from speculation early on over who did this to the police naming

suspects and in presenting pictures to people to that wild car chase through the streets of boston into that city lockdown. that occurred before they captured finally the younger brother dzhokhar it really gripped the country and i think it leaves a lot of lingering questions moving forward that the country might have moved past the bombing and healed but there are still questions about why the bombers did this could law enforcement have seen it coming and it was the police response and locking down the entire city of boston that friday appropriate so those are all questions that the country is still going to deal with long after the bombing sam this time of year we saw the deadly newton shooting that left twenty six people twenty young children dead by january we heard from obama about some promising new gun control laws that we might see really nothing's changed what has happened in terms of gun control this year and i mean i was in washington with you in october and there was two suitings in the time that i was in washington what is happening.

yes sadly these sort of shootings are happening on a on a consistent basis i mean just before the newtown anniversary there was another school shooting out in colorado look on a federal level nothing has happened with regard to gun control there were calls to do three specific things expanded background checks because currently forty percent of guns are purchased in the united states through private dealers not licensed dealers and that's they don't have to get a background check so people wanted to close that loophole the other two main gun reforms were a ban on certain types of assault rifles and a ban on high capacity magazines basically guns that are can carry upwards of twenty to thirty bullets even one hundred bullets. there used a lot of these mass shootings allowing the shooter fire multiple rounds without ever having to reload but ultimately the senate could only get the expanded background checks checks provision in a bill and despite that bill getting a majority of support in the senate back in april it failed because it couldn't be done mostly republican filibuster since the no new efforts at a federal level like gun reform and nothing new in the way of addressing mental

illness or inequality which are known drivers of this sort of violence on a state level however there have been a handful of states that have passed over gun control laws including banning assault rifles banning high capacity magazines applying all gun buyers to go through background checks but that doesn't mean that gun reform are still aren't out there fighting the fight they hope that twenty fourteen they might see something get through congress and change of subject kevin again fracking all anti fracking campaign is going to one hundred percent progress is what has been a big can set in america as they could said a lot of countries around the world american crude oil production is expected to break the country's old time record in three is partially because of fracking is controversial way they get it out of the ground the gas and oil one of the main concerns we've been talking about it at length but just sum up for us one of the main concerns of the people who up in arms about it your country. well the main concerns are basically that it's poisoning everyone around fracking wells fracking involves injecting enormous quantities of liquid chemicals into the ground

. break into natural gas reserves and those chemicals can leach in the groundwater you've probably seen videos of people who live around for acting wells lighting their tap water and fire there's been documented research showing the animal suffering around fracking areas people suffering from all sorts of illnesses as well the credit of natural gas companies a lot of these concerns have been ignored with a massive p.r. push and investment in their own scientists who say fracking is safe plus rocky opponents have to go up against the political and economic benefits of that comes with me of the united states being able to use domestic resources despite the costs that i just mentioned to america sucks in washington d.c. we salute sir thank you for being on the program tonight when it gets to you. thank you thank you to well there was one story of this year that quite literally kevin was out of this world february i guess huge explosion in the sky above chile advents cata whole city running for cover in fears of armageddon i thought it was

the end of the world everybody saw it of course because of those dash cam video because there's so prolific here in russia as drew far. back you put you to watch that because you were at the forefront of covering this amazing story but you look at that picture again and it shelton over cho you have these twenty eight miles of a challenge that was that was traveling at thirty three thousand miles an hour when you exploded the force and i'll tell you about five hundred kilo tons of t.n.t. that might not mean anything to you but the shockwave literally not people off that we saw those poor souls in the offices at the time though larry windows blown out it's amazing we'll probably know you blown out across a hundred mile radius and that's how big it was unfortunately around about twelve hundred people were injured from this mainly from flying glass and debris but there are also people who suffered burns because at its height that explosion was three times more powerful than the sun more intense than the sun so people who had their skin exposed suffered burns some of them what actually actually happened to the rock itself or pieces of the rock well they were spread across

a great area but they did find six hundred fifty. grand chunk at the bottom of lake cool which is pretty close to chelate bins and they managed to bring that up a couple of months ago so that's proof as if it was needed to the list for the future but yeah it's an incredible find incredible story i mean if it were your office online exactly i mean because it does but people holding photos of. that show i could never forget that it was one of the big hitters thankfully didn't land on a school or really populated areas well that could've been horrendous it could land of pretty incredible amount of hits on you tube but it did and particular because of that dash cam footage just to let people know case there unaware of this is that most people in russian i do have these dash cams that lay on their dashboards because they're afraid while they use them for insurance purposes in case they haven't had one you have one you said you know one kevin i don't you don't you i just actually but anyway a lot of people catch a lot of stories as they happen it's first hand footage and this goes on you tube in russia well r.t.

gathered just four of these videos together with footage from security cameras put them on you tube and that got thirty eight million hits or talking of which yeah we go over a billion a billion hits in the year on you tube that was a huge story for us to be true of stories definitely grip your attention and helped us cross that huge landmark point didn't it for any news channel as you say one billion views on you tube i put together a special program on it when i catch it on you tube in twenty third saying we became the first t.v. network to do so so that's thanks to you for watching the videos on our channel for clicking and for common thing as well that's right and the crash was probably the most spectacular out of all those but repente more on our you tube channel channel that got over a million hits so i think we can have a quick look at that base. they just spy on everybody. all the time fundamental constitutional order the government

doesn't get just fine with you just that do you think you. show the good of going to. an aircraft carrying the champion russian i saw he team lokomotiv yaroslavl oh. wow. i'm julian assange. his book. oh.

yeah it's really amazing we're so grateful to have taken our so much and hopefully they'll continue to do it of course into the new year as well thanks for that. as well in fact you've got a news political i'm going to get out. right so address back soon to spot it from us tonight as minister that's right we had a great time with you trying to bring you what we saw in two thousand and thirteen and taking a look at our predictions for twenty fourteen the year ahead of course twenty four teams still yet to get it most of that europe africa and in several of the americas as well well if you're planning to do to mark midnight we do hope you enjoy the celebrations thanks for watching our program is still one part of russia yet to welcome the new year the territory of kaliningrad on the baltic sea that'll be happening a couple of minutes so hello to you all to internationalise here throughout the night with your views without proof and hope you'll stay with us. throughout the

coming year as well from us have annoyed good night how can you. survive the atrocities. to make cycles a solution. has changed his life and the world around them. by giving. hope. and loves to so many children. nikolai the arab world.

so we leave the baby. bush a secure. part of the visible. shoes that no one is asking with the guests that deserve answers from. politics only on our team. we in the new year in this edition of crossfire we ask what is in stores as we start two thousand and fourteen and what will make this year different even better from the years of his past who should we keep borrowing and what stories should we be far. from where i'm.

going to. be. coming up on our team morning in volgograd in the last two days a major russian city has seen a series of terrorist bombings as the funerals begin for the victims president vladimir putin vows to annihilate the criminals behind the attacks the latest from the scene ahead. and what are the new stories you missed in two thousand and thirteen from bradley manning to get mo our t. has covered many of the stories that other news networks seem to overlook coming up we'll break down this year's most under-reported news and goodbye mayor bloomberg new york's nanny state mayor will soon be out of office but he will not leave without a bang or should i say a ban from ease cigarettes to sugary big gulps we'll take a look at the bans.