i'm. crossroads of the world the latest landmark to say hello to twenty fourteen celebrations in full swing across the globe as city by city welcomes the new year. russian president vladimir sure he is not only stood united in place of trial russian president vladimir putin says he'll fight terrorism to the end in his new year message to russia before heading to the city of volgograd where to bomb attacks killed thirty four people. as latvia enters the euro zone at the start of twenty fourteen we'll look at what this could bring for the country based on ever

increasing debts of those already in the club. and our correspondent is your chance to become more familiar with the olympic host city of sochi all that is there to catch the eye and report from the streets and squares of the winter games. happy new year and wherever you're watching us it's great to have you with us as we ring in the new year here on r t i match reza with you as we welcome two thousand and fourteen around the world the new year has just come to new york and the rest of the u.s. eastern seaboard this is live pictures from times square where the famous crystal ball has counted down to midnight and massive crowds have gathered to sing old lang syne and new york new york it's already two thousand and fourteen in other cities across. the globe from the great wall of china and the world's tallest skyscraper

in dubai to the onion domes of the kremlin and the player of the london eye all perfect backgrounds for some spectacular displays of fireworks and more all the best shots for you to enjoy and many more to choose from as well as the place where you may spend your next new year's for all of us on the r.t. news team we wish you a very happy new year. russian president vladimir putin has arrived in the southern city of volgograd which was devastated by two explosions that killed thirty four people and left many more wounded those tragic events from the president to rewrite his annual new year address in pledge to the nation to fight terrorism to be. nice but then you russia there's always to united in face of trials that argue that we are

friends and we mourn the victims of the brutal terrorist attacks we viewed and we will continue to fight these terrorists with determination but i do use the resolve and commitment to wait until they are all gone with the idea we will provide support for the victims and their families we will accomplish everything we have planned and we will restore a build everything we have decided to restore our belief that the president already laid flowers at the site of the latest blast on monday the explosion ripped through a trolley bus during rush hour putin also took a tour of one of the hospitals where many of the wounded are being treated and wish them a fast recovery and a happy new year meanwhile the city has started three days of mourning for those who fell victim to acts of terror margaret howell reports. it is a somber mood here of course with all that has happened over the past couple of days i want to say though of volgograd is a city of hope and i was really encouraged on our way back from dinner we saw some

children and they were dressed for the new year and you know this is a city of hope and it this something this is something that does happen globally it is a global issue it's not a russian issue and cities across the world have dealt with terrorist attacks like these and unfortunately volgograd this is happens here but a sober mood yes with the three days of mourning and there is a damper here on the city we do hear a little bit of fireworks in the background but not what you would expect on new year's eve but we were able to visit with the victim's family members who had them other family members die as well as victims who survived these attacks and in particular one young man the security officer who died the first victim of the terrorist attack he was able to speak with his father earlier and. 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. this is a city of hope and i have faith that they will be able to to overcome something this this heinous to tap into them and using this period this time to reflect and not to celebrate as much as the rest of the world. all the efforts to rescue a russian vessel trapped in the antarctic ice have so far failed australian ice breaker had to abort its attempt due to the weather while the chinese one got stuck as well on its way to the russian ship on our web site r.t. dot com you can learn how the seventy four people stranded there marked the start

of the new year. also online setting the date agreement reportedly reached between iran and world powers i mean if limitation of the nuclear deal then the details of the pact on r.t. dot com. right from the scene. of . the first strike. and i think you're. on our reporters with their. instrument. to be in the cold. for a lot of media there was more to celebrate at the start of two thousand and fourteen as new year fireworks exploded in the skies over the capital riga the country became the eighteenth member of the eurozone as artie's paul scott reports the opinions on the adoption of the euro are not unanimous. you know you have to

understand if a country wants to be independent it has to have its own independent currency a currency it prints itself and controls itself under it and his organization are calling for a referendum he says the latvian people have had the euro forced upon them and haven't been allowed their say the claims of the vast majority of the population are opposed to the move. there's always some who will benefit at the top end but the majority will lose out latvia will import goods from other e.u. countries at a cheaper rate which will mean we produce less and ruin the economy. recent statistics from a leading latvian pollster showed that fifty three percent of latvians are opposed to the move while only twenty two percent think it is a good idea with legitimate concerns over the state of the eurozone the bank of latvia has launched a p.r. campaign in an attempt to convince people now is the right time for the country to switch currency whenever we have a chance we explain to people that sloppier is

a small open economy with both loans and deposits very much in euro's already and there is again the country it's entrepreneurs and it's people will have by seeing higher ratings and lower interest rates on their on their on their lives although there's little public support and economic instability across the continent one leading opposition figure says the government simply has no choice but the news business it's inevitable we took responsibility to join the eurozone when we entered the e.u. time will tell it doesn't matter what money is in our pockets it matters how much of it we have. now to make life easier for small businesses and the customers alike all prices on display is going to show two amounts the price in lots and the pricing euros twenty.

years for too exposed to accept both flats and eras but whatever currency you choose to pay we're supposed to give you change in your us that is not going to work i don't know i don't know how it's going to display here for me but i hope somehow it. it will work well but of course it will be confusing especially first two weeks as people like kareena learn to adapt to the new currency the long term effects on the not be an economy remain to be seen in this case the proof of the pudding. riga latvia. greece though seems to be fed up with its own euro putting but despite ongoing economic woes the country with almost a quarter of its population at risk of poverty is beginning its term as the rotating e.u. president starting january first let's take a quick look at how austerity has impacted athens and some other euro economies in the four years of austerity all the nations shown here have seen their debt increase in greece and spain by forty percent this despite the fact that all

countries adopting the euro must not allow their national public debt to exceed sixty percent of g.d.p. at the same time the average income of those living in these countries has fallen in each of them except germany and the worst of all greece is what you see here meanwhile the country's leaders are giving assurances that i things will leave its bailout program next year without the need for a thirty eight package one greek journalist we talked to says what the e.u. did to his country should be taken as a cautionary tale. i believe that greece can give some lessons of how sturdy masers in a time of crisis and when a country has a huge problem that this is very big in the only two disasters there in that sense we can beat some lessons to other european countries in the space of the countries in the european very free but there is nothing else for europeans to expect from greece at the moment these european presidency can not really make any changes in

the europe in the european union that is controlled primarily by very lean and by some big financial institutions in the core of the european union. no doubt about the most anticipated moment of twenty fourteen for winter sport athletes of course their chance to shine at the olympic games in sochi an enormous amount of work has been done because a world class resort had to be turned into an international winter sports haven pretty much from scratch here's our teams to say with all you need to know about the host city it's always been the subtopic all vacation spot for russia and now it's on the world's map for winter sports so it's she wore hose that sports men and women dignitaries and spectators come the winter olympics and paralympics games. sochi is one of the southernmost places in russia as the unofficial capital of the

riviera of the caucasus the beaches and marina make the city popular in summer last skiing in the nearby mountains make it an ideal place for winter vacations. russian is of course the main language used by days in the service industry of brushing up on the english while key information signs are also being translated your first reaction to sochi is that it's big with high rising buildings and an urban attitude this may surprise many the wrong many faces to the subtropical city its basic beautiful collection of dns divina shops and natural mineral spring keeping fit with the daily show is an e trend. the international olympic committee as the owner of announcing that the twenty second olympic winter games in two thousand and fourteen are wardak to the city of sochi. and gymnastics in

hockey a since the pool of the plexi has become a world class resort the lympics are renowned for reviving and regenerating host city here the mix of new buildings rail line and will cost the city fleet the games with a strong legacy in the caucasus for generations to come. it's obvious on the easy to said that what's going to happen here is that they will have a beautiful ski resorts nice hotels nice facilities nice transport and differently they have the potential to attract tourists here no doubt spread across two distinct areas the game's coastal cluster its way into ice events in the city and the mounting cost for sports plex skiing and bobsled the two clusters only thirty minutes apart making these games one of the most compact ever held but have all the infrastructure changes made a difference for those who call sochi home including people with disabilities.

first of all there are many ramps and many planes are accessible now. first of all the winter theater here in the square i used to visit it quite often actually my expectations were superseded by the reality i didn't expect that it would be so good a window lympics with. innovative technology and environmentally friendly. showcase russia to the world. so. stay tuned for more reports from this year's city of olympic gold dreams from top to say will be airing throughout this month here on our team. so much for the twenty fourteen olympics what's this place like why is is so special as the russian resort prepares to welcome the world how are the games shaping the city's present and future life so it will bring you this is the moment they are reporting from a very cold and snowy windy mountainous stuff yet the son dylan picks

what they say. on our team. they can few moments now to look back at the main events that defined two thousand and thirteen in those i will leave their mark on the year to come as americans celebrate the new year with hopes of leaving all their troubles behind there are still plenty of challenges to face in two thousand and fourteen or makes sense if cuts to the ever looming debt ceiling to pressure to rein in mass surveillance are his guide and she has been taking a look at what's ahead for the states it was a year of cliffhangers we heard the white house direct military action we saw the us congress threaten default to blackmail the president it's been a roller coaster but very few enjoyed it and here's a quick look back at some of the twists and turns. team obama prepared to hit syria the u.n. bulked while others worry that u.s. strikes could benefit extremists. now the american people wouldn't buy it

either so president obama finally took up the russian proposal to cut a deal and we will work together in consultation with russia and china to put forward a resolution at the u.n. security council requiring assad to give up his chemical weapons and to ultimately destroy them under international control desist for war in syria left many americans wondering why their representatives weren't as robust in helping them so appalling to me that in this circumstance in these times we spent two or three or more weeks deciding whether we should conduct what is laughingly referred to as a humanitarian war in congress the republicans used the. to blackmail president obama and funds for a medical insurance scheme for millions of americans which is struggling to get off the ground anyway the government close for over two weeks and us default fears put the world back on economic alert with suspiciously dramatic time in congress eventually you'll do it but its reputation was sealed it will leave millions

dangling on the brink of a catastrophe so a few can score political points you had many politicians calling for reforms in the wake of further snowden's revelations and at the same time calling him a traitor the obama administration of course had to do some damage control after all the revelations show that the government had lied to the people about this program but it seems it's going to be damage control more in words than actual change of policy we hear words transparency and oversight more often but the reality is this president obama himself said he's quite happy with the way with how the program works the boston bombings in april which killed three people and injured two hundred sixty four in fact and it actually said something about how this surveillance program works the two perpetrators somehow flew under the radar although the f.b.i. and the cia had received warnings from russia about one of them a year before it happened but the u.s. law enforcement didn't act on those warnings possibly looking at the guy you know

was from chechen descent and thinking it's russia trying to solve its problems and that it has nothing to do with the you well it turns out it's not just for problem but it seems that washington is starting to see it more clearly. in ukraine you your festivities though couldn't make up for the deep divide within the country protests continue in the capital kiev as the opposition calls for closer ties with the e.u. . has been following the dissent. 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 it's rather turbulent six weeks for ukraine as i mentioned my report. first they wanted to be in europe was then they wanted a revolution. that was the. 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. the 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 american is where you find me 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 on. key of still has the crowds what's more twenty fifteen will see ukraine choose its

next president a leader who needs to make a difference in whether its embittered sides continue to fight or unite. the one thing which ever to my eyes is the happenings at the my done right now 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 flag as it's covered with protest banners and even. the banner of the former prime minister yulia tymoshenko who is now in jail indeed the euro my 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're cooking food and it's really unlikely they're willing to disperse that anytime soon the opposition already said about its plan to hold the protesters at least until the end of january then 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 the people will take to the polls to elect a new president and that will be some very serious political battle especially considering everything which has happened in the last two months in this country meanwhile one of the major developments to come out of russia at the end of twenty thirteen was the pardon of former oil tycoon mikhail khodorkovsky who spent a decade behind bars once the country's richest man he'd been in prison for tax fraud and bezel meant president putin granted how to cope schemes pardon on humanitarian grounds the former tycoons mother is seriously ill or looks at what could be next for him after ten years in jail that's called skin now has to decide what to do with his new found freedom and some of his plans have caused a few raised eyebrows. some of my comrades remain in jail they are my fellow sufferers for example my friend platon lebedev alexei protrusion there are

still other political prisoners in russia not only those related to the u. cos case i am free now and i'm asking you to think of it as something which symbolizes that the efforts of civil society can lead to the release of some people who no one thought would be able to walk free the chicken was the head of security for mr hart of course his oil company yukos he is currently serving a life sentence for five counts of murder in two thousand and seven a court convicted of ordering the shooting of the hoff the mayor of a town in siberia but the court had clashed with us over his insistence that the oil giant pay taxes due to his town by yukos was registered there so when it came to tax revenues it was answering to the mayor of next to your guns but the whole of they depended on him and that was the only reason why he even mattered only time will solve the mystery surrounding my husband's murder but i just like had a coffee to confess and clear his conscience while on trial for the murder of

children was serving twenty years in prison for the attempted murder of former could have caused his visor or. after quitting her post with you because she went to work as the head of p.r. for the mayor of moscow it was then that a bomb was placed in her moscow apartment fortunately it doesn't no one was home. comments about political prisoners as self-serving. how to use a hostage of his own past he can't act differently now if he ever recognizes what his security forces were doing he will automatically become responsible i think now he fears that. may start talking and what the third ucas case could potentially be is a further investigation into those murders and assaults which the company security forces carried out how to craft. he has no other choice he will continue to insist people from the security department up a little president and he will pretend to be pushing for release the adulation

heaped upon mr howe that he has left some of those watching feeling only half the stories being told despite his insistence that he was a political prisoner many in russia believe that he broke the law and that's why he was sent to jail if you go school r.t. moscow these are pictures from scotland where people have marked the beginning of what could become quite a historic year september eighteenth scots watch to decide whether they want their country to seek independence or to sarah ferguson. it's going to be a major year for scotland at the end of twenty four saying 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 services campaigns set to kick into first 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 the new ones the tastes have been made and the glasses and scotland

will wake up to what's to be a very big year come september eighteenth and scottish faces will be asked the 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 knew when we were going to be job security but 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 either to not look after themselves not sure which way it's going to go to go and sort of everything like everything to be yeah so if r.c. . thanks very much for spending part of your holiday with us here at r.t.

and a very happy new year to our u.s. viewers up next a voyage to antarctica or if you're watching in the u.k. or the option for going underground. molo obviously we should be quite concerned about a lot of the recent revelations about spying and so forth the internet remains the most powerful tool for the spread of freedom in the world today. choose your language. surely we can we know if you're going to send us a still some. choose the consensus you can. choose to give to us that you think. choose the stories that in your life choose the access to.

cape town south africa the i condemn it few other of diesel electric research vessel the sport. pilot is aboard an officer with unrivaled knowledge of these waters he still has to ship out into the atlantic and then returns to dock. this is the very last opportunity for several weeks to call home with a cell phone very soon all mobiles will be far out of range the ship is setting sail for a vast and inaccessible area if there's any kind of emergency they'll be no one to provide any kind of help. the russian ships sail south to the land of eternal ice and snow to antarctica.

the first officer will now explain the code of conduct on board there are twenty three passengers aboard the i could demick for the rough and for some this is their first trip to the antarctic zone but for one passenger it's become a familiar journey this is the twenty sixth time he's followed this route. back a nine hundred sixty four. trip we went. who was the first time i felt so acutely just how far away. ten days and nights of ocean like. this is. as you can see there is nothing there. the ships. have to look up. no one to

relay messages except. antarctic autumn winter in the southern hemisphere begins at the same time as the northern summer several times over the short summer season the academics will approach the coast of the most remote. final voyage of the year to live almost a year's worth of food and fuel to the ice stations and take away seasonal crews and aircraft. which. are. a passenger ship. and an aircraft carrier. detailed navigational and operational plans are in place but has arrived and no one can ever know just what to expect from antarctica.