off to. i. see four teams enjoyed a spectacular welcome across the globe with crowds of revelers ringing in the new year times by. president putin this is the city of volgograd mourning the victims of successive suicide bombings after a pledge to fight terror and till the end is near address. last year welcomes twenty fourteen and the new currency but many doubt the adoption of the crisis battered europe was going to turn out well. and just over a month now before those winter games start in sochi we reported from the city preparing to host the olympics some to wow its guests.

in moscow it's just after midnight here and have a good morning she for me kevin so the world's rowing in the new year here's how twenty four teams welcome to cross the globe straightly and were among the first to see in twenty four teams with a traditional dazzling display of fireworks in fact over a million people packed around that iconic bridge in sydney harbor which is lit up with if you can take more than seven tons of pyrotechnics it was more or less so it all starts off in the festive crowds gathered in new york's times square to watch the famous crystal ball. of midnight rio not to be held its traditional party on the iconic copacabana beach we're about a million revelers gathered this summer dressed in white for good looks and yellow to attract wealth into the new year and we have the front champagne drinking crowds here filling the streets of the french capital london to hundreds of thousands watched the city being lit up by another breathtaking display seems to get better

every year ever hear of r.t. international course. wish you were very happy. of course for russia the suppressions of my brother's tragic events in volgograd with thirty four people were killed but two suicide bombings in two days president putin changed his traditional new year's address in the wake of the attacks promising a massive crackdown on terrorists he also visited the morning city to pay tribute to the dead and visited the injured still in hospital of his margaret how 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 whoknows 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 but the tragic events in volgograd where were 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 him outside the kremlin but from the far east city of culture osc where it was hit by a massive flood last year. with russia has always stood united in face of trials that argue that we are friends and school in a way mourn the victims of the brutal terrorist attacks. we're here and we will continue to fight the terrorists with determination to resolve and commitment to the one told they are all gone whereby 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 billy well despite the new year's

festivities the city is in mourning until the third of january commemorating the thirty four victims of the two terror attacks well meantime on the youngest victim of a grad terror attacks three month old vic so called nova now she's regained consciousness there she is 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 a mother and grandmother were killed it's one of the girl's blanket that saved her life if you want to keep up to speed with more of what's happening older crowd see how the locals are coping and come to terms with the tragedy got the latest started don't come. along with a new year latvia's welcomed in a new currency becoming the eighteenth member of the eurozone now but with the euro still emerging from a severe crisis many in latvia of course their doubts about adopting the single currency is poor skull found. 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 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 and lots and the pricing euros twenty. years for too exposed to accept 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 have an hour. 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 we need to scott r.t. really good luck to. the eurozone member greece who's a common has been struggling more than most is taking over the rotating presidency for this year and a politician so the role is to change the chance for the prove it group says that greece is a fully functioning country not my mouth despite all this economic woes us take a quick look at some of the e.u. measures they've been affecting athens and some other european economies are weak in the four years of the us territory measures the nation's shown here have all

seen their debt increase reaching the highest levels in greece and italy now those countries no longer meet the eurozone requirement to limit their national debt to sixty percent of g.d.p. but the same time the average person incomes fall in all those states actually except for germany greece is the worst affected along with the e.u. presidency athens assumes power of the blocs regulations too with one journalist we spoke to saying he doesn't believe greece is going to look to change much. i believe that greece can give some lessons of how the maser are seen in a time of crisis and when a country has a huge public debt this is very picky and leads only to disaster in that sense we can beat some measures rather 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 président see cannot really make any changes in the europe in a european union that is controlled primarily by burying and by some big financial

institutions in in the core of the european union. coming up scotland marks the start of a year of major decisions scott's going to say year so no to becoming independent from britain it's rather fireworks and festive spirit last night r.t. travelled to the british gauge public feeling out of potential breakaway. but just a few weeks russia's most anticipated event twenty fourteen gets underway the world's winter athletes are waiting for their chance to shine at those a little games in sochi the city's really constructed venues are promising a warm welcome and a first class. say looks at what's on offer. it's always been the subtopic call vacation spot for russians now it's on the world's map for winter sports so 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 some a loss 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 a 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 a new trend. the international olympic committee has their own or.

of announcing that the twenty second olympic winter games in two thousand and fourteen are wardak to the city of thirteen. and sixteen yes the pool of the plexi has become a world class resort 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 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 differently they have the potential to attract tourists here no doubt spread across two distinct areas the games coastal cluster is what i see vents in the city and the mountain cluster for sports like skiing and bobsled the two clusters only thirty

minutes apart making these games one of the most compact have a 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 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 firsts innovative technology and environmentally friendly the such a lympics is all set to showcase russia to the world to bang with say such r t. more important issues city of limpid dreams from time of say through the week we promise you as well here on r.t. . search for the twenty fourteen olympics was this boy's life and why is is so special as the russian resort prepares to welcome the

world power of the games shaping the city's present and future what sochi will bring it this is the moment they're reporting from a very cold snowy windy mountainous stuff yet beyond the olympics what the bomb would say. on our team. on their way to and talk to the crew of the i could to make sure the face many challenges. here you have to look out for yourself crashing on to rocks trapped in pack ice in extreme conditions anything can happen and always comes up with surprises you have to keep your eyes open because if there's always something going wrong the ship carries huge reserves of water food fuel as well as helicopters and people able to survive extreme conditions they're ready for anything even an apocalypse she's really an incredible ship calling all antarctica stations this is

academic a field of radio check please respond. well and said good bye then to take a look at some of the events is going to be remembered for sure will. it was a turbulent year for america which was rocked by the boston marathon bombings then that government shut down left of balancing on the verge of defaults and almost launched a war on syria too and of course twenty thirteen revealed how the n.s.a.

hacked the country and the rest of the world not his eyes in washington politics you can send as this report. it was a year of cliffhangers we heard the white house threat 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. baulked while others worried that u.s. strikes could benefit extremists never. 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 us 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 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 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 for over two weeks and us that default fears put the world back on economic alert with suspiciously dramatic timing 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 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 well it turns out it's not just brush this problem but it seems that washington is starting to see it more clearly.

some of the protesters in ukraine have remained in central kiev for the new year celebrations are dependent. protests for over a month with the opposition goal of a closer ties with the e.u. . 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. 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 remember all those 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 of atomizes the happenings at the might done right now is 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 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'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 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

election as your skill level meantime thousands of right wing activists are marching in the ukrainian capital top members of the country's radicals for both a party leader manual rally demonstrators traditionally use the occasion to carry torches and nationally slogans. in a series chief's attempts to justify america's spy negativities to well. and it's. and it's foreign intelligence capability that has the ability to see things are going out in the united states and help people really understand what's there. while this you tube video made so many people angry it was given over sixteen thousand dislikes thumbs down from of those who watched it go to r.t. dot coms exactly what riling the masses also if you get a moment to check this out the new year president of the russian navy doesn't have gift wrapping but does a cruise missiles insult god to torpedo those more details on russia's new nuclear submarine just

a click away. these pictures here i would show how scotland welcomed a year which promises to be momentous for the scottish people whether it'll be fireworks or not remains to be seen on september the eighteenth they will decide whether they want their country to go it alone after three centuries as part of britain in a new year address to the nation david cameron urged scots to say no we're to stay with the u.k. sort of further vesta gates which way the vote could go. 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 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 once the tastes have been made and the glass is empty scotland will wake

up to what 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 is saying no i think just financially we are going to be job security not everyone's course a new year resolution revolution i think the bank is going to get engaged twenty. 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 stamp out on the road and get them to not look after themselves not sure which way it's going to go down so that everything they haven't yeah so. through the world's top news stories in brief third explosion tonight rocked

a five star hotel in the somali capital mogadishu national airport it came just an hour after twin bombs went off in the same area killing at least eleven people injuring seventeen when this is a gun fire followed those blasts the hotels popular among politicians and high ranking officials. the manager of formula one driver michael schumacher says klein's condition is stable but still critical the forty four year old sporting legend suffered severe head injuries when he hit a rock while skiing with his teenage son fans gathered outside the hospital where he's undergone to operations known as brain and remains in a medically induced coma. the 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 as safe and the blast happened the czech police say it appears to be an accident whether it's not immediately clear what caused the explosion. it's going to midnight twenty five i heard mosco thankfully without

international after the break of filming crew travels to dr cohen if you're watching us in the u.k. going underground with host afshin rattansi is right after the break seize. recently the federal reserve system celebrated its one hundredth birthday in the big con game that just a few years ago no one seems to know about has been in place for one hundred years so let's celebrate the federal reserve by remembering all their accomplishments since nine hundred thirteen firstly they've managed to take the printing of money out of the hands of the u.s. government and thus out of the hands of u.s. voters i what it comes to money who needs to mock received representation anyways they also made to whittle away the dollars tagging to gold until nixon finally said

forget gold let's print our way out of vietnam because there's no link between the dollar and gold the purchasing power of the dollar has reduced by at least twenty three times since the fed came into being lovely but what about the next hundred years well. if the recent rounds of quantitative easing are any sign of things to come then we are going to be seeing a lot more inflation and big private bankers getting richer while we all get poorer bad people generally don't survive one hundred years but bad systems sadly can go on and on and on forever but that's just my opinion. choose your language. because you know if. someone. chooses to use the consensus you. choose the opinions that invigorating to. choose the stories that in high life choose the access to off to.

cape town south africa the i can to make few other of diesel electric research vessels the sport she hoist a flag to show the ream pilot his opponent 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 bust 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 end of a tunnel 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 them explore 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. any other

ships just icebergs. no one to relay messages except. as a miles away now. much. 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. 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. details navigational and operational plans are in place.