the world welcomes two thousand and fourteen with bang as champagne celebrations and fireworks mark the occasion. president putin visits the city of volgograd mourning the deaths of the victims killed in two suicide blast after new year's address where he pledged to fight terrorists until they're defeated. the euro zone welcomes its eighteen member. swaps for euro's public disapproval and fears joining a losing team. let the games begin russia's first ever winter olympics kicks off just over a month we take a look at what spectators and athletes can expect. and

broadcasting live from our studios in moscow this is. going to have you with us now fireworks and festivities all across the globe as the world welcomed the year two thousand and fourteen australia was among the first to to ring in the new year over a million and a half people enjoyed the fireworks at the landmark sydney harbor bridge literally tons. around the world but the display in dubai the city set a world record by firing off four hundred thousand the fireworks from the world's tallest tower new york the city famous crystal ball on times square dropped as the clock struck midnight to set off celebrations there now while the traditional beach party to welcome two thousand and fourteen was held in brazil

corks popping off bottles in the birth nation of champagne is what went on in the french capital also check out this amazing display in the london. where every party international wishes you happy new year. now for russia the celebrations were marred by tragic events in volgograd where thirty four people were killed by suicide bombings on consecutive days president putin rewrote his traditional new year's address in the wake of these attacks promising a massive crackdown on terrorists he also visited the morning city to pay tribute to the dead and visited the injured that are still in the hospital or he's 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 outside the kremlin but from the far east city of culture oscar where it was hit by a massive flood last year. with news but the new russia has always stood united in face of trial but argue that we are friends and school in a way more in the visual image of the brutal terrorist attacks. we do and we will continue to fight the terrorists with determination but i do use the resolve and commitment that we've been told they are all gone what do 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 well despite the new year's festivities the city is and morning until the third of january commemorating the thirty four victims of the two terror attacks the youngest victim of the volgograd terror attacks a three month old of talking norma hasn't regained consciousness 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 her mother and grandmother were killed while the girl's blanket actually saved her life. for more on what is happening in volgograd and to see how locals are coming to terms with the tragedy you can head to our t.v. dot com. lot via has become the eighteenth e.u. states to join the euro zone banks have started exchanging currency with the new

year's arrival but according to polls over half of the nation citizens are anything but enthusiastic about the swap people fear that inflation will push up prices and that. losses from joining the euro will outweigh the benefits scott reports. you know you have to understand if a country wants to be independent it has to have its own independent currency 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 swap here 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 customers alike all prices on display is going to show to a mouse the price in lots and the price in your ears twenty places. for 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. . so it's not going away 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 really eating out. riga latvia. greece which is struggling to get out of a six year recession is assuming the six month rotating presidency meanwhile within

the country people are growing increasingly angry towards brussels it has been pushing for athens to accept austerity measures in exchange for bailout payments well let's take a look at how that plan has been working out so far now since the financial crisis first hit the euro zone in two thousand and nine nations across the bloc have seen their debts increasing with greece doing of the worst ironically even germany. long a bit over the sixty percent debt line that's the limit of any of the country set to joining the e.u. are required to be below meanwhile cuts imposed by governments across that you have led to a fall in the average personal income in a number of states germany is among the few nations you can see plus four percent there that has enjoyed an increase greece has been the worst affected here as well along with the e.u. presidency athens assumes power over the blocs regulations but one journalist we spoke to doesn't believe greece will look to change that much. i believe that greece can give some lessons of how the maids are seen in

a time of crisis and when a country has a huge problem that. only disaster in that sense we can beat some lessons to other european countries and the space of the countries in the european very free but there is nothing else for europeans to do expect from greece at the moment these european président see can not really make any changes in the europe in the european union that is controlled primarily by burying and by some big financial institutions in the core of the european union. russia's first ever winter olympic games will open in sochi in just over one month the world class resort has been rebuilt into a winter sports haven which is all set to become a welcome spectators and some of the world's top athletes to be there. it's always been a subtopic all vacation spot for russians now it's on the world's map for winter

sports so what 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 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 a new trend. the international olympic committee as their owner. for announcing that the twenty second olympic winter games in two thousand and fourteen are wardak to the city of sochi. and then the six in hot yes in the probable plexi has become a world class resort in lympics are renowned for reviving and regenerating host city here the mix of new buildings rail line and will cost the city for when the big games with a strong legacy in the caucuses for generations to come. 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 game's coastal cluster its way into ice events 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 held up 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 on 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 lympics with many first innovative technology and environmentally friendly the sochi olympics is all set to showcase russia to the world to bang with say such our team will stay tuned to r.t.s. to bomb ontario will have more reports from the winter olympics host city

throughout the week. the search for the twenty fourteen olympics what's this place like the wind 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 more sochi will bring you this is the moment they're reporting from a very cold snowy windy mountainous tough beyond the olympics but. today on our team. on their way to antarctica the crew of the i can 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 antarctica 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 are going to make a field of radio check please respond. and welcome back you're watching our team international live from moscow now that two

thousand and. thirteen is in the book so let us rewind just a bit and take a look at some of the most significant events it was a turbulent year for america it was rocked by the boston marathon bombings the government shutdown left a balancing on the verge of default and it almost launched a strike on syria two thousand and thirteen also revealed how the n.s.a. spied on u.s. citizens and the rest of the world is going to looks back at the major news to come out of america in two thousand and thirteen. 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 un ball while others worry that u.s. strikes could benefit extremists near. the american people wouldn't bite

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 pawling 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 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 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 if 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 to actually 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 who was

from chechen descent and thinking it's russia trying to solve its problems and that it has nothing to do with the you it turns out is not just for this problem but it seems that washington is starting to see it more clearly. now it was part new year's celebration in part protests in the ukrainian capital gives independence square has been the scene of anti-government rallies for weeks now the country's opposition wants closer trade ties with the e.u. . has been following the demonstrations from the beginning. 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 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 grain 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 that the my done right now the better is 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 around fifteen thousand right wing activists marched through the ukrainian capital they were celebrating what would have been the one hundred fifth birthday of. a divisive political figure in the one thousand thirty's and forty's the demonstrators consider him a leader of ukraine's independence movement but others say he was a nazi collaborators. in the netherlands some people braved the weather to find a cool way to celebrate the new year. check this out very cold too cold for my taste but thousands of dutch plunged into the north sea for the country's polar bears. we have got to. put.

a group of researchers trying to bridge the gap between animals and humans and produced a gadget that can translate what a dog is thinking into english. but the full story. in is new year's address the u.k. prime minister called on the country for unity that says scotland is set to vote in an independence referendum next september david cameron urged people to vote no saying that their family of nations are better off together r.t. sarah for travel to edinburgh to find out if people there are ready to make the big decision. 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 vote 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's to be a very big year come september eighteenth and scottish faces will be asked yes no question should scotland become an independent country in the arguments for and against what sort of swayze to say yes what's crazy saying no i think just financially new and we're 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 to 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 to get to know the cast themselves not sure which way it's going to go down so that everything's like everything to be for yeah so. at him play. now in the coming hours australian scientists are set to be evacuated from a russian research vessel that has been trapped in ice in the antarctic for over a week now a helicopter will transport fifty two people and scientific equipment to a nearby chinese vessel and then on to an australian icebreaker operation is expected to take seven trips to complete a long planned rescue was delayed because of strong winds and a blizzard but the weather has now improved meanwhile the russian crew will remain on board to continue with attempts to free the ship from the ice earlier a few vessels a powerful australian icebreaker among them failed to reach the ship because of the thick ice surrounding it. and some more news making headlines around the world for you this hour a third explosion has rocked a five star hotel in the somalia capital mogadishu near the international airport

it came just an hour after twin car bombs went off in the same area killing at least eleven people and injuring seventeen reports say that an exchange of fire followed the blasts the hotel is popular among politicians and high ranking officials the islamist militant group al-shabaab is suspected to be behind the attack. in the u.s. at least thirteen people have been wounded following an explosion and a fire at an apartment building in minneapolis the injured have been transported to local hospitals authorities said that weather conditions hampered the work of firefighters there are reports that some people could still be trapped inside and the cause of the explosion as of now is under investigation. in iraq sunni militants have stormed police stations in several cities in the country's western province of unbar they have freed prisoners and seize weapons over one hundred inmates were released according to local media reports meanwhile

a separate attack on the police headquarters of a city north of baghdad has left at least four officers dead another twelve wounded come several days after at least ten people were killed in clashes that erupted after government troops broke up a sunni protest camp. coming up next r.t. international gets on board a vessel and takes you on a journey to antarctica but if you're watching us in the u.k. our team meets a group of russian polar researchers. recently the federal reserve system celebrated its one hundredth birthday in that 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 want it comes to money who needs to mock received representation anyways they also managed 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're 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. yours but bad systems sadly can go on and on and on forever but that's just my opinion.

choose your language. of choice because you know if. someone. chooses the few for the consensus you can. choose to opinions that invigorating to . choose the stories that in high life choose the access to off to. cape town south africa the i condemn it feel that if diesel electric research vessel the sport she hoists the flag to show the rheem pilot is a bonus 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 ship sails self to the land 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 couldn't make sure they're off and for some this is their first trip to the antarctic. but for one passenger it's become a familiar journey this is the twenty sixth time he's followed this route. back in one thousand nine hundred sixty four after. 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. much 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 takeaway.