welcome to the twenty fourteen time zone by time zone cities around the world are welcoming the new year and the planet is of course celebrating in style. with a nice but then you russia has always stood united in face of trauma it's bloody mary says they'll fight terrorism to the end in his new year message to the nation before heading to the city of volgograd where two bomb attacks killed thirty four people. as latvia enters the euro zone at the start of the year we'll look at what two thousand and fourteen could bring for the country based on the ever increasing debts of those already in the club. our correspondent giving you the chance to

become more familiar with the host city of sochi and all that's there to catch the eye in a report from the streets and squares of the winter games capital. 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 is making its way toward the u.s. west coast it's just arrived in chicago dallas and further south in mexico city just an hour ago the crossroads of the world times square was the center of the holiday excitement that's where we saw the famous crystal ball count down to midnight as massive crowds sang old lying zion in new york new york it's already twenty fourteen other cities from the great wall of china and the world's tallest skyscraper in dubai to the onion domes of the kremlin. and the flair of the london

eye all perfect backgrounds for some spectacular displays of fireworks and more all the best shots for you to enjoy and maybe the next place to select your new year destination from all of us here on our best wishes and a very happy new year. of course twenty thirteen didn't end oh i'm the happiest of notes in russia after the bombings in volgograd russian president vladimir putin traveled to the southern city devastated by two explosions that killed thirty four and left many more wounded and tragic events there prompted the president to rewrite his annual new year address as he pledged that the nation will fight terrorism to the end it was also the first time he reached out to the nation not only from the kremlin but also to the flood stricken city of how about all those where he also marked the new year with those left without homes because of the disaster there. was nice but

then you rush there's always stood united in face of trials that argue that we are friends and we mourn the victims of the brutal terrorist attacks we view and we will continue to fight these terrorists with determination that i.d.'s the resolve and commitment 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 monday the explosion ripping through a trolley bus during rush hour you know so took a tour of the hospitals where many of the wounded are undergoing treatment we wish the victims a fast recovery and a happy new year meanwhile the city has started three days of

mourning for those who fell victim to these acts of terror margaret howell reports from volgograd. 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 is 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 you know 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 was she's 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 efforts to rescue

a russian vessel trapped in ice in the antarctic have so far failed and australian icebreaker had to abort if that suited the weather and the chinese one got stuck as well as on its as well on its way to the russian ship you can go to our website dot com to learn how the seventy four stranded people on board marked the beginning of the new year. also on the line setting the date an agreement reportedly reached between iran and world powers on the implementation of a nuclear deal all the details of the pact and. right to see. the. first lady. and i would think that your. instrument. in the. world. for

a lot of you there was more to celebrate at the start of two thousand and fourteen as new year fireworks exploded in the skies over riga the country became the eighteenth member of the eurozone paul scott found out though 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 and claims 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 swap here is a small open economy with both loans and deposits very much in euro's already and very is again the country its entrepreneurs and its people will have by seeing higher ratings and lower interest rates on their own 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

customers alike all prices on display is going to show two amounts the price and lots and the price in euros twenty police. are too exposed to accept both flats and eras but whatever currency you choose to pay we're supposed to give you change in the u.s. . that was 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 remains to be seen in this case the proof of the pudding. riga latvia. release those 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 starting its term as the rotating

e.u. presidency starting january first stake a quick look at how the blocks policies affect the athens and other european economies in four years of austerity measures all the nations you see here have seen their debt increase in spain and greece up to forty percent this despite the fact that all the countries adopting the euro mustn't allow their national public debt to exceed sixty percent of g.d.p. at the same time the average income of people living in these countries has fallen except in germany and it was worst of all in greece meanwhile the country's leaders are giving assurances that athens will leave its belo program next year without the need for a third aid package one greek journalist we talked to says what the e.u. did to his country should be a cautionary tale. i believe that greece can give some lessons of how to masers in a time of crisis and when a country has a huge problem that this is a very big only disaster 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 presidents see cannot really make any changes in the europe in the european union that is controlled primarily by burling and by some big financial institutions in in the core of the european union. no doubt about the most anticipated moment of twenty fourteen for winter sports winter sports athletes it's of course their chance to shine at the olympic games in sochi a huge amount of work's been done because a resort city had to be turned into an international winter sports haven pretty much from scratch there are teams to bottom out say with all you need to know about the host city it's always been the subtopic pool vacation spot for russia and now it's on the world's map for winter sports so if she wore hose that sports men

and women dignitaries and spectators come the winter olympics and paralympic 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 wrongly faces to the subtropical city it base a beautiful collection of dns divina shops puff and natural mineral spring keeping fit with a daily stroll is a new trend. the international olympic committee as the owner

of announcing that the twenty second olympic winter games in two thousand and fourteen are awarded to the city of sochi. and in the six and a half years 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 lines and world class facilities will leave the games with a strong legacy in the caucasus for generations to come. it's obvious on the easy to say that what's going to happen here is that they will have a beautiful ski resorts nice hotels nice facilities nice transport and definitely 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 mountain cluster 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 places 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. lympics is all set to showcase russia to the world. so. they turn from reports from this year's city of olympic gold dreams from say that will be airing throughout the week here on r.t. . the sochi home of the twenty fourteen olympics was displays

like why is it so special as the russian resort prepares to welcome the world power the games should be the city's present and future a lot more so it will bring you this is the moment they're very cold and snowy windy mountain is to be on the olympics but. on our team. after a quick break we'll take a look back at two thousand and thirteen and take a look at the stories that shaped the year. in the final. and the rest. will be.

seventeen minutes past the hour now let's take a few moments to look back at the main events that defined two thousand and thirteen and those that will leave their mark on the year to come the arab spring

now in its fifth year but the turbulence only seems to be growing across the region as revolutions pave the way for counter revolutions alike peaceful democratic movements came face to face with mounting radical islamist agendas all foreign powers were weighing in to make a diplomatic impact artie's middle east bureau chief polis leader has before. two thousand and thirteen was a tough year and many of those same challenges are expected to follow into the new year one bright spot though could be the interim nuclear deal that was signed between tehran and world powers. preview since the arab spring and most of the region is still reeling in egypt people will head back to the polls after a year two more political uncertainty and violent upheaval. libya's a nation divided with chaos all around two years after gadhafi has fall. while it's the same old same old in the israeli palestinian peace talks. iranians though might

see some of spite in two thousand and fourteen after world powers clinched a breakthrough nuclear deal but amid if it's to make the six month agreement more permanent one country is determined to upset the apple cart israel's going to be demanding things that we're going to hear extreme the males a lot of dealing and screaming i think the run isn't doing what it's supposed to do you know what it internationally as an historic deal israel's prime minister lamented it wasn't historic mistake to iran agreed to constrain its nuclear drive in return for temporary reprieve from sanctions the six negotiating powers agreed to recognize iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy including its right to enrichment under the conditions of this program is placed under strict control by the. issue of syria meanwhile is on track to meet the chemical weapons destruction deadline by mid two thousand and fourteen it's a conflict that into a new face as the ways to signals to the syrian opposition that president assad may

stage after all. of these stories and the deeper trains they reflect are certain to remain in the headlines while the syrian civil war is going to continue to be a major story in two thousand and fourteen of course it is the major security concern of this region it's a war that's left some one hundred twenty. thousand people did its continued for nearly three years some six million people have been made with fiji's two million of them outside of the country we do expect that the war will continue to be felt outside of the country you need to look at countries for example like iraq and lebanon these people states where the sectarian violence continues to be played out the damascus government certainly does believe it can win this war and if not when it then at least retain control over the areas where it currently has its grip what we do expect for two thousand and fourteen is that the opposition will continue to be dominated by islamists extremists and the knock on effect of this is that it's going to be increasingly difficult for the damascus regime to enter into any kind

of negotiations or discussions with them and at the same time you have external outside power was that also going to withdraw all the support for the opposition this means that the geneva two summit that it is currently slated for january does not have a particularly good prognosis struggling syrian people their hopes up for it and for an end to the bitter civil war this year a key international conference on the grocers' will happen later this month also when the cards chemical disarmament of the country due to be wrapped up by june but analysts one of the increasing threat posed by radical islamists. since the beginning the assad government has made it clear that it's willing to enter into talks to try to seek a negotiated a political settlement to the three year long dispute since the beginning the opposition have not wanted to have a negotiated settlement they wanted to carry out civil war they felt that they had the power of western and and other regional forces behind them but it's become quite clear and i think the september settlement between the obama administration

and the russian government and the assad government they seek a negotiated settlement is an indicator that the rebels cannot win the war in spite of all of the arms and money that have come from the outside the syrian army is prevailing the syrian people in the main don't want them they rebel when they're living under their control so i think the prognosis is is quite bad for the geneva settlement i think the assad government feels confident and is willing and is prepared in carrying out military offensives against the rebel force that it sees as it's quite split u.s. saw a number of scandals in two thousand and thirteen with the troops scope of its covert global monitoring missions exposed by whistleblower edward snowden but he subsequently stressed another major issue as r.t. sorry for ports the snowden revelations arguably the biggest security leak in u.s. history and the impact of that really cuts governments and countries well why didn't they move with that felt then hey in the u.k.

but as you're about to see it wasn't just edward snowden he paid the price getting the truth out there. as with a revelation came to the began playing. if the government couldn't get its hands on snowden they'd get that they kids even the pun there if the journalist he got the leaks into the. this k.p. case the bailiffs with this year laid bare deeply embarrassing the prime minister he promised to protect privacy rights but instead of reining in the spooks the knives were out for the newspapers do you love this country. how do you want. to. live in a democracy. most of the people working on this story british people who have families in this country who love this country. yes we patriots.

and one of the things we all patriotic about is the nature of the democracy in the nature of a free press for a while and it looks like something was going to be done all the ukase intelligence themselves for the first time giving evidence in the public but there was none of the high handed interrogation that the whistle blowing journalists enjoy it as a serious conflict going on between a. growing national security system in the west and those people who are trying. to expose what that system is doing and so as president his twenty fourteen days he worked so hard to expose the truth remain more resolved than ever to keeping that debate alive. in ukraine new year festivities however couldn't make up for the deep divide within the country protests continued 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 is rather turbulent six weeks for ukraine as i mentioned my report. first they wanted to be in europe was then they wanted a revolution was that was 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 gun 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 his 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. well thanks very much for spending part of your new year with us here on our team a report on life in the world's harshest climate and your way and if human.

brains clouding community fears its good name has been tarnished after incidents of people in clown costume scaring members of the public the copy cat craze believed to have been started by a man known on facebook as the northampton clown involves people dressing as the circus characters to surprise passers by in public places i know what you're thinking you're thinking that sounds a whole lot like the terrifying clowns of westminster george osborne with his big red nose and floppy feet scaring citizens into taking on ever more debt for fear of missing out on the property ladder or the equally our fire stephen king like clowns or ben bernanke m.r. carney wearing their big red frizzy wigs and tearing menacingly in through your window at night pointing teeny tiny scored goals of the bankers.

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. summer is coming to an end didn't talk to the crew of the academic field of is waiting for the most of those new research station to come for winter everything has to be done quickly if the wind gets any stronger. will be able to take off and there's no other way of getting people onto the ship from the station they need to hurry when to begins tomorrow.

used to be the. station. now it only works during the summer. in the southern hemisphere. and ends in much. so seasonal operations. during the summer. those. windows open filled with. given even the slightest chance to sneak in it will be impossible to get out. to be shut down no one can survive without heat.