i think it's going to be fourteen everywhere the new years enjoyed a spectacular welcome across the globe with crowds of revelers ringing it in times like times. president putin the city of volgograd mourning the victims of successive suicide bombings pledged to fight terror until the end is near address. it welcomes twenty fourteen and a new currency but many doubt the adoption of the crisis battered euro is going to turn out well. just over a month now before those winter games start in sochi we report them from the city prepared to host the olympics and to wow it's guests.

good evening shoots eleven pm new year's day here in moscow if you're watching around the world very happy new year for me and the world wrong in the new year everywhere on the planet now it is officially hopefully at least twenty forty and here's how it's been welcomed across the globe as take a look well straightly and were among the first to see in twenty forty with a traditional dazzling display of fireworks over a million people packed around the iconic bridge in sydney harbor which is little more than seven tons of pyrotechnics first to crowds to gathered in new york's times square to watch the famous crystal ball count down to midnight always a few. want to see as it goes rio held its traditional party and iconic copacabana beach talking of icons over a million revelers gathered there some dressed in traditional white for good luck yellow to. it's well for you people from the champagne drinking crowds filled the

streets of the french capital it was the same while in london hundreds of thousands watched the city being it's a bun of the breathtaking display and it was a. very happy. for russia the celebrations were mobbed by those tragic events in volgograd with thirty four people killed but two suicide bombings in two days president putin changed his traditional new year address in the wake of the attacks promising a massive crackdown now on terrorists he also visited the morning city to pay tribute to the dead visited the injured in hospital to his margaret howell reports president putin has arrived in volgograd and he has had a very busy morning he laid flowers at the site of the latest blast on monday an explosion that ripped through a trolley bus during rush hour we know is also taking a tour of one of the hospitals here where many of the wounded are being treated he was briefed on their condition and met them personally wishing each of them

a fast recovery and a happy new year the president also held a meeting with the heads of the federal security service and emergency committee on their current terror activities of the tragic events in volgograd where we're on putin's mind however even before the new year as he rewrote that annual address to the nation pledging to fight terrorism still the very end and he was speaking for the first time not from outside the kremlin but from the far east city of culture oscar where it was hit by a massive flood last year. with russia has always stood united in face of trial but argue that we are friends and school in a way mourn the victims of the brutal terrorist attacks. we are here and we will continue to fight the terrorists with determination to reduce the resolve and commitment to the untold they are all gone what really will provide support for the victims and their families we will accomplish everything we have planned was them

knowing we will restore a build everything we have decided to restore our ability to pass that will despite the new year's festivities the city is an morning until the third of january commemorating the thirty four victims of the two terror attacks. and the youngest victim of the volgograd terror attacks three of token overs regain consciousness now is the latest we know she was transported to moscow for treatment after being at the center of the explosion which left her in a coma with a head injury so sadly a mother and grandmother were killed it was one of the girl's blanket to save her life and if you want to find out more about what's happening above right see how the locals are coming to terms with a tragedy to have her website out into a call. along with a new year levy is welcomed in a new currency becoming the eighteenth member of the euro zone but with the euro still emerging from a severe crisis many a lot fear of got their doubts about adopting the single currency for scott reports

for. no 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 control itself. under is and his organization a calling for a referendum he says the latvian people have had the euro forced upon them and haven't been allowed their say contained the vast majority of the population are opposed to the move. there's always some who will benefit the top end but the majority will lose out will import goods from other 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 very 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 customers alike all prices on display are going to show two amounts the price in lots and the pricing euros twenty.

years for two exposed except both latin eras but whatever currency you choose to pay we're supposed to give you change in your us. so it's not going to work i don't know how 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 effect on the uniform of the remain to be seen in this case the proof of the pudding really eating got artie riga latvia. for years over but greece's economy has been struggling more than most is taking over the rotating new presidency for this year politicians say the rolls a chance to prove the greece is of normal country despite all the economic woes let's take a quick look at how some e.u. measures have been affecting athens and some other european economies as well in the four years of the u.s. thirty measures the nation shown here have seen their dead increase reaching the

highest levels in greece and italy these could countries no longer meet the eurozone requirement to limit the national debt to sixty percent of g.d.p. did at the same time the average personal incomes fall in all those states except germany greece is the worst affected along with the presidency athens assumes power over the blocs regulations but one journalist we spoke to doesn't believe greece will look to change much. i believe that greece can give some lessons of how. in a time of crisis and when a country has a huge public that this is very picky and leads only to disaster in that sense we can meet some measures through other european countries and especially 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. coming up scotland marks the start of a major year of decision scots love to say yes or no to becoming independent from britain from the fireworks and festive spirit last night r.t. trouble to edinburgh to gauge public feeling on a potential break away. for just a few weeks' time russia's most anticipated event of twenty forty gets under way the world's winter roughly waiting for their chance to shine at the olympic games in sochi the city's newly constructed venues are promising a warm welcome and a first class service by mazzei looks at what's on offer. it's always been a subtopic cool vacation spot for russians 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 for 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 go wrong to the faces to the subtropical city to the base to get a full flexion of the end to find a shop called metro middle spring keeping fit with the daily show is a new trend. the international olympic committee as their owner.

with announcing that the twenty second olympic winter games in two thousand and fourteen are wardak to the city of sochi be until six in the house yes the poor little plexi has become a world class resort in cape town we now believe by the regenerating they succeed here the mix of the new building rail line and we'll have to find it's easy to gauge the strong legacy in the caucuses for generations to come. it's on the easy to said that's 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 games coastal cluster it's well into ice event in the city and the mounting cost for sports like skiing and bobsled the two clusters only thirty

minutes apart making these games one of the most compact have a helped. 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 lifts 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 i went to olympics with many first innovative technology and environmentally friendly to such a limp pace is all set to showcase russia to the world to bang with say such eat our teeth. many more reports from the sheer city of olympic dreams from tumbling mobs i throw the weight probably stay on r.t. . so choose one of the twenty fourteen olympics what's this place like down the line is is so special as the russian resort prepares to welcome the world

power of the games shaping the city's present and future life so see it will bring you this is the moment they're rebuilding from a very cold snowy windy mountainous tough yet beyond the olympics but come on say. on our team. there's a media lead us so we believe that maybe. by the same motions to cure the other your party there's a vote. for shoes that no one is asking with the guests that you deserve answers

from it's all on politicking only on our t.v. . speak your language. programs and documentaries in arabic it's all here on. reporting from the world talks about six of the ip interviews intriguing story for you if you're. trying. to find out more visit arabic. look at some of the events will be remembered for it was a turbulent year for america which is rocked by the boston marathon bombings also the government shutdown left and balancing on the verge of default when it almost

launched a war in syria plus of course to twenty thirteen revealed how the n.s.a. hacked the country and the rest of the world. in washington can send is this report . 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 un bulked while others worried that u.s. strikes could benefit extremists are going to. hurt 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 live many

americans wondering why their representatives weren't as robust in helping them so paul and to me that in this circumstance in these times we spend 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 debt limit to blackmail president obama and starve funds for a medical insurance scheme for millions of americans which is struggling to get off the ground anyway the government close over two weeks and us that default fears put the world back on economical lurch with suspiciously dramatic timing 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 and you had many politicians calling for reforms in the wake of for 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 in 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 he has nothing to do with the you well it turns out it's not just bush's problem but it seems that washington is starting to see it more clearly.

as you can the thousands of protesters in ukraine of remain camped out in central kiev for the new year's celebrations independence square has been the heart of anti-government protests for over a month position kind of a closer ties with the e.u. . has been following the demonstrations from the very beginning. but 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 was that was 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 krauts 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 flags it's covered with protest banners and even. the banner of the former prime minister yulia timoshenko 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 you know she was yesterday there will be time for thousands of right wing activists marching in the ukrainian capital top members of the country for the cause for both the party leading the end of the rally demonstrate has traditionally used the occasion to carry torches and to chant nationalist slogans. the n.s.a. chief said terms justify america america's spying activities have gone down well. it's a tremendous foreign intelligence capability that has the ability to see things are going on in the united states and help people really understand what their. you tube video made so many people are angry it was given over sixteen thousand dislikes of people who watched it go out to dot com see exactly what riling the masses of you fancy to you your president for the russian navy doesn't have good people it does cruise missiles and torpedoes more details about russia's new nuclear submarine just

a click away. these pictures show scotland welcomed a year which promises to be momentous for the scottish people on september the eighteenth decide whether or not they want their country to go it alone after three centuries as part of britain in the new year address to the nation david cameron urged the scots to say no we're to stay with the u.k. our sisera furthest against which way the vote could go it's going to be a major year for scotland at the end of twenty fourteen 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. kicked into first gear to try and convince faces either way ahead of that date we went up to scotland to speak to some of the scottish people to find out how they're feeling about once the tastes have been made and the glass is empty scotland will wake up to what set 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 a saying i think just financially we are going to be job security but not everyone's course a new year resolution. i think the bank is going to getting paid twenty four. forward to the birth of my second child out be the most growing whatever happens scotland's future now lies in its people's hands i think it means all of us gone but it's time. to go to not look after themselves not sure which way is going to go down so that everything they haven't. served. the digital currency not only moved from the dark corners of the internet to dinner

table discussions it also changes the game to prove government regulations it was once considered money only for the tech savvy but just over a month ago its value skyrocketed above a thousand dollars for the first time patrick murk from the general council of bitcoin foundation believes it does have the potential to become genuinely mainstream. i do think that what you're going to see with big coin is a internet reference currency a currency built for the internet that enables consumers to reap tremendous advantages there's no person behind big going or company behind because that's the whole point there's been some volatility but that's not unexpected when you think about a new system that's just come around we're just about to hit five years old right for a technology that's very very new and people are just starting to learn about it and get excited about it but i think over time what you'll see is that the price will level out it will come to a level that sustain that's sustainable through here again the supply and demand

market mechanics as the market for big coin matures you won't see the dramatic swings that could be even a couple more years from now before we get to that level so that but it will likely happen if the live news updates that make the headlines right now thirty explosions rocked a five star hotel in the somali capital mogadishu near the international airport you can just an hour after twin income homes went off in the same area killing at least eleven people and injuring seventeen when you say gunfire followed the blasts to hotels popular among politicians and high ranking officials. manager of formula one brother michael schumacher says his client's condition is stable but critical tonight the forty four year old sporting legend suffered severe head injuries when he hit a rock while skiing with his teenage son and have gathered outside the hospital where he's undergone two operations on his brain and he remains in a medically induced coma. a palestinian ambassador has died after an explosion at

his home in the czech capital prague it's reported he was in his residence at the time with his family was only a safe when the blast happened he checked police say it appears to have been an accident ever it's not immediately clear what caused the explosion. after the break crosstalk looks at the crystal ball for twenty fourteen people of all his latest guest discuss what to expect in the twelve months ahead we'll see again the thirty five minutes. millions around the globe struggle with hunger each good. what if someone offers a lifetime food supply no charge. they can the very strong position against g.m.o. and we think that's. the genetic anymore the right products are priest. there is no. evidence that there is any problem with genetic engineering

when you make a deal. or is free cheese always in a mouse trap. the. poor and the free. enterprise is profit. for these golden rice. such. as the twenty fourteen olympics what's this place like the line is is so special as the russian resort prepares to welcome the world power the games should be the city's present and future a lot of mall so it will bring it this is the moment they're reporting from a very cold snowy windy mountainous tough beyond the olympics but the bungling say. today on our team.

mates. hello and welcome to cross talk where all things are considered i'm peter lavelle ringing in the new year in this edition of crossfire we ask what is in store as we start two thousand and fourteen and what could make this year different. and even better from the year that has passed who should we keep our eye on and what story should we be following. to cross-talk what to expect in the new year i'm joined by my guest in washington kelly vlahos she's a journalist and antiwar dot com we also have medea benjamin she's a code founder of code pink an author of drone warfare and we also have kayla williams she is author of the book love my rifle more than you young and female in the u.s. army and she's also a truman national security project well all right crosstalk rules in effect and

happy new year to you all right kelly i'm going to give you an opportunity you probably know never get again global television it's two thousand and fourteen we've just gotten started we did a program on two thousand and thirteen all three of you are pretty pessimistic ok there are a couple of bright spots but now one of the new year so kelly give me your wish is crazy as it may sound for two thousand and fourteen go ahead well i don't know how crazy it is but what i wish you know right off the bat is i want to know what's going on in afghanistan you know we left two thousand and thirteen with a very uncertain. picture about whether or not president how many cars i was going to allow troops to stay in that country are u.s. troops and nato troops to stay in that country there's a number of sticking points in terms of getting a deal meanwhile we have tens of of thousands.