in the stories that shaped the week here on r.g.p. international a cold war frenzy grips the mainstream media after president putin unveils russia's new strategic arsenal in his annual state of the union address. the white house and the country learning of that new threat from russian president warning he said at first reason and in the west in particular not to mess with russia and he says he's not bluffing. election polls and italy's general election have closed after a bitter campaign over immigration and jobs with the e.u. nervously awaiting what could be a game changing result also ahead. civilians continue to come under heavy shelling in syria's eastern good one week after a humanitarian corridor was set up to allow noncombatants a chance to leave so far only two children have managed to escape.

by broadcasting live direct from our studios in moscow this is our team international thomas certainly glad to have you with us. now president putin outlined his vision of russia's future on thursday delivering the annual state of the nation address to parliament he also revealed details about the country's new nuclear arsenal which he said includes missiles that are too advanced to be intercepted by any existing air defense systems and our senior correspondent but i have explains more about the hardware that is getting western news outlets so worked up. if you aren't russian the first hour of putin's speech would have been boring taxes and corruption science and industry that sort of thing after that

though it got real hot real fast and i mean russia is a major nuclear power basically nobody wanted to talk to us nobody listened to us so listen to us now rockets lasers nukes in a rush hooted unveiled an arsenal of new weapons bigger faster stronger and deadlier than any that came before the law. am the some super heavy i.c.b.m. two hundred ton missile capable of penetrating any existing defense in service at the end of the year next an enigmatic new development seemingly nuclear powered cruise missile it flies extremely low to avoid detection and can hit almost anywhere in the world says putin up next it's just fantastic an underwater

drone submarine also nuclear powered with a nuclear payload it can reportedly underwater for months and months silent and needy undetectable next to the oven god the hypersonic missile extremely fost rockets that can actively dog and the vaid and the missile defenses that it is heading for the target like a meteorite to top all of that off laser weapons systems though putin didn't go into detail saying only that it still classified the russian president says all of this isn't to intimidate or scare anyone or invade anyone these serious where. buttons designed for one thing restore and guarantee russia's strategic power in an age where an ever expanding nato is trying to nullify it.

we have no plans and have never had plans to use this potential to achieve offensive or aggressive in russia's in hands military power is simply a guarantee for peace on our planet for it preserves restore parity in the world sure that there's no point in engaging in a senseless arms race after all mutually assured destruction has kept the world safe for the best part of a century. president putin's speech caused alarm across much of the western media he had rested himself with n.b.c. news after many outlets accused russia of risking another cold war the white house and the country learning of that new threat from russian president warning adverse arisen and in the west in particular not to mess with russia computer graphics of missiles flying over mountains and heading over oceans and he says he's not

bluffing several analysts in the west have said this is the declaration of a new cold war are we in a new arms race right now my point of view is the individuals who have said that a new cold war has started are not really analysts they do propaganda if you were to speak about arms race then an arms race began at exactly the time and moment when the u.s. opted out of the anti-ballistic missile treaty. but in real putin also said the new weapons serve to counteract washington's deployment of missile defense systems in alaska and california and nato is also expanding further into eastern europe with two sites set up in romania and poland new locations are soon to be established in japan and south korea as well now we spoke to several political commentators they told us president bush's speech was really just about emphasizing that russia has an effective and up to date nuclear deterrent. thing these are not designed

for war fighting these are designed to send a very clear message that president putin said quite clearly which is that these these systems are basically if you mess with us we will nuke you and we will not hold back now that is a strategic statement it's not a statement about escalating to deescalating which is what the russians are often accused of and were accused of officially by the american government through the decades after the cold war the usa really ruled the world and that balance of power is now shifting with russia coming in with many other major players from what putin is saying and i hope he's absolutely right that this is a deterrent against the american led defense system and that's a very important effective top. three. i don't see an intensification of hostile talk or scheming and planning has in the cards so it's very reasonable to expect in the short term they will be calling upon

moscow to reenter into overall full and skip arms to go shushan talks that is certainly the greatest likelihood and certainly what for dinner putin. is looking for. voting has ended in italy's general election and the exit polls pointed to a possible hung parliament with voters favoring anti-establishment and center right parties a center right coalition that includes silvio berlusconi's fourth italia and matteo . nor does expected to be the anti-establishment five star movement in both the chamber of deputies and of the senate it is projected the coalition will get about forty percent support and the five star movement thirty two percent to one associate reports now from rome a must see here thank you very much for being with us. so tell us more about the voting today and how did this all play out. well john it's been quite

an election here in italy with lots of passions flying throughout the election campaign throughout the election day and now that the polls have closed we're expecting results to trickle in throughout the night with the final results possibly being announced by to morrow afternoon now in terms of the political contenders that we've seen here in italy the five star movement certainly came out doing quite well so far this is a movement that was set up back in two thousand and nine by a comedian in fact and has gone from being a political movement to really being a force to be reckoned with in the selection now this is an anti-establishment euro skeptic movement that's also anti immigration that doesn't fall on any kind of side whether left or right they're just against all sides of the spectrum. we also of course have ford so tell us silvio berlusconi's movement who himself of course is not able to run for public public office political office given his previous convictions and nord which is of course

a party that. has been seeing to be forming a coalition with those are some of the bigger contenders now the democratic party which was in power that was run by much iran see who in fact staked his political career on the referendum which he failed did not do quite well so far now lots of issues in this election immigration certainly became the bigger one of them with all of the sides being quite passionate on this topic with even protests taking place in italy in the days leading up to the election. was was. well this is certainly been an election

that's been described by the media as quite cut chaotic a disappointment some have called it a farce no least throughout this evening when we've been know going from a press area to press area there's been issues with internet connections with the journalist forced to do live shots outside in the street in the rain so really to some of the international media this is been quite a surprising way to handle being able to cover this this election but certainly italians themselves have described the process as quite confusing let's take a listen. how do you joel is he going to be disillusioned the programs are always the same and after the first three months in power the political parties never keep the promises they made to the whole it was pretty complicated it was a bit unclear and there will be consequences. while you are trying to gain the trust of eight is creating a mess like this amounts to a real shot. well over this time when italy went to the polls they were also

using a brand new election law which has been untested here previously that encouraged parties to form form coalitions before the election and now that we have the five star movement doing quite well so far with what we've seen with the results coming in so far they are going to be the single largest party in this election now lots of questions about once the results are finally announced how they're going to move forward in terms of being able to form any kind of stable government to be able to run the country because of course the whole idea of implementing new election laws was to bring some stability to the country but with the way the election has been unraveling there been lots of questions about whether that is going to even be a possibility so we're going to be here throughout the night and of course tomorrow when the final results to come in right artes on associates and you know stay dry stay on top of it and we'll be coming back to you i'm sure all right we can now cross live to marco but sonnie who is a professor of the history of political theory at the university of maine long

thank you for being with us here on our team international it's an interesting one to say the least that's for sure there in italy cording to exit polls the anti-establishment parties have received a plurality of votes with the center left facing defeat what are your thoughts on the results so far. well actually you were talking well thank you for having me tonight but you were talking about forty percent of the center right i don't think it's more than thirty five in the exit polls at this moment so there's there's no what i'd say is there's no clear majority there's one clear result that is the democratic party that was in power is gone like twenty twenty one percent will say but it's pretty much gone and the issue was so clearly that of immigration that bothered them a lot and clinton clearly created that that mass for them the other thing is the movement the five star movement again the whole south. it's more than thirty

percent nationwide but since they're not making more than. getting more than twenty five twenty twenty five percent in the north clearly they're getting forty percent easily in all the southern regions and they were promised in money for not them and actually tell you the truth you know the southern part of italy has been very much on welfare in the past forty years so and very much assisted by the rest of the country so they want it even more and the other thing is i don't see any majority any majority or any coalition coming out directly you know from the from what where the perspective was though of the few few days ago the center right should have won but i'm not sure they got a majority you bring up a. good point about the division between the north and the south people who might not know about italian politics or about life in the country itself know about that

big division there. so going back how do you explain that the right wing parties were so popular ahead of the election despite the fact that we saw almost daily anti-fascist protests across the country. well right there we were talking we're talking the big thing the big challenge was what between silvio berlusconi and mocktails salvini whoever it was going to wind up right so probably matilde selenium will be a little bit ahead and we will he will be tempted to form a government with a five star he said no i will not do that but he will be tend to there is nothing in the italian electoral law that prohibits that right you go there you go in parliament and you see if you can form a majority once you are there now if we were in the weimar republic of the nineteen thirties and were nine hundred twenty s. we'd gone vote looking for a majority you know voting three four five times but i guess in europe right now

it's not an option so they will find some sort of. coalition but the most likely coalition which is actually the coalition that was in power for the past five years was very loose goni with raincy rents berlusconi was actually not i mean not openly but was in truth. on the side of raincy for five years so but this time there are no numbers you know for it's a tally with berlusconi's guy like fourteen or fifteen percent and the democratic party has got twenty percent so they do not have a majority so there's no clear majority in any of them can come up there is there's not is not like in germany where when this no clear majority you know what's going to happen the two major parties will go for the gross a call this young in italy there is there are three three big parties in two or three more and actually the center by. was fooled by the clearly by

the immigration issue has no doubt about that all right marco beside a professor of the history of political theory at the university of milan thanks for helping us sort through this night on art international. all right now people in the v. embattled syrian district of eastern good are still struggling to leave but they are taking fire from militants will bring you that story and more after the break you're watching our international story. i would still like to be for the everyone in it for the peace and stability that but it's the rest. of the pakistanis or the indians all the month by and large. is

this just peace and stability within the region that is the goal. with. all foreign troops inside. the focus of ending the war and that's not going to mean goldfish humanitarian concern which is falling apart schools of a lot of civilians the shelling of damascus by rebel groups that's not enough for the body that was mentioned earlier there's a mix of that with the political objectives which some people may still have. all right welcome back you're watching our two international now russia's military says only two children have managed to escape the besieged syrian district of

eastern five days after russia set up a humanitarian corridor to help civilians leave it says that militants in the enclave have been preventing others from escaping by opening fire on them and if that the insurgents are using the people. there as human shields of the u.n. security council earlier adopted a resolution demanding a thirty day ceasefire across syria without delay russia sees the opening of a humanitarian corridor and its attempts to establish ceasefire windows as a step towards implementing it back call damascus has also attempted to evacuate the wounded and tried sending forty six aid trucks to the area but they were unable to get through as militants opened fire along the monetary and route now aid workers stationed at a government checkpoint close to eastern good told us about the plight of the civilians there. i'm here with the syrian army and i'm ready to help leaving

eastern ghouta we have ambulances here list the bus they have around the clock to provide first aid to people from the east and a medical also worked twenty four hours have provided the coolest equipped with all modern facilities medical workers also ready. if there was some people who wanted to leave eastern goods but all of a sudden we only saw a gunman opening fire using mortars to intimidate civilians. let's take a look at the area right now and now eastern good located just outside of the syrian capital damascus it has been occupied by various rebel and islamist groups for years and under siege since two thousand and thirteen and here in north of good is a refugee camp that is hoped to fleeing civilians can be rote relocated to efforts to provide safe passage for those desperate to escape are being coordinated with

the syrian red crescent now buses and violence are on standby hoping the militants will cease fire long enough for civilians to get out but people inside the insurgent held on klav are being notified about the location of the chord or the leaflets text alerts and the loud speakers first aid points have also been set up near the exit to the court or the situation is very. despair in the district meanwhile it has provoked heated debate at the un security council. the fighting has not stopped the opposition groups operating in eastern good to have make clear their commitment to the ceasefire on the very first day the militants use the declared pools to stop an onslaught on the second day the same mortar shelling has continued into. looting of the humanitarian corridor oh not

a single person has left the danger zone. there were reports that the assad regime once again used chlorine gas as a weapon i'm tired of asking this but do you understand how pointless it would be for damascus to use chemical weapons both from a military and political standpoint whereas for the militants it would make perfect sense i think you understand this perfectly well but you persistently look for a pretext for an armed intervention. russia does not get you know laterally rewrite the terms of the resolution if russia is able to deliver a five oppose let it deliver a twenty four hour one you would need to be put to reduce our western partners are portraying this situation as if the resolution applies only to damascus and to russia as if it all depends almost exclusively on the will of our country may i ask you what you have done to implement the resolution which if any of you lifted

a finger do you use your influence on those who you consider the moderate opposition have you persuaded them to lay down their weapons and release hostages. always playing with fire the one who was doing that was five dollars for the i think weapons. scenario is who is financing them or is providing media coverage for them. and trying to show that that what is happening. is a big must go of innocent people what they care about is those whom they had supplied arms who they have finances who they have been breathing in the last few years and now they have lost all but they don't have the same coach to admit that they lost the water always do they just keep on bargaining and making all those claims. well many media outlets have been quick to compare the situation in eastern good hour with what was seen in the previously besieged syrian city of aleppo but

as r.t. if you got it done of comment they often overlook a number of inconvenient truths in their reports president arafat and his russian are like the accused of unleashing all out war against the people of ghouta russia and the syrian government are launching an offensive action as army has fired hundreds of missiles and mortars on civilian homes and hospitals hospitals are targets in syria and the regime has been bombing them ruthlessly among all things eased goatees one of the last jihadi bastions just like aleppo it's been a long time den of the nusra front and the likes and since then new strain and salaries have only been getting cozy of their militias and he's due to have a record of forcing civilians to sit tight amid the fighting and the worse it is for them the better the evidence indicates that non-state armed groups in eastern guta and the bid to kill or josh islam are also responsible for inflating the price

of food and other basic necessities they're arbitrarily restricting the movement of civilians wishing to leave and abducting and arbitrarily detaining people. human shields is a tactic favored by all terrorists including those who were in aleppo. and just like a nice fellow pows there are no western reporters in trouble i'll go to reporters shoes are filled by young prodigies. but. this this one was a shame that our country seat of the muskets. in the name for serving is the goal but. i thought. the white helmets a group marketing itself as a civil defense initiative for their volunteers work and bomb sites as diligently

it seems as they have at the scenes of jihadist executive. wherever jihadi factions first they bring their white helmets in tow. like aleppo is no exception. that does it for me i'll be back in about thirty five minutes with a full of news stay with us.

i played for many clubs over the years so i know the game inside out. the ball isn't only about what happens on the pitch put the final school it's about the passion from the fans it's the age of the superman ija kill the narrowness and spending two hundred twenty million on one player. so it's an experience like nothing else not to because i want to share what i think what i know about the beautiful game a great one more transfer. and thinks this minute. fifty years ago pregnant women to come together as a sleeping pill. to. the side effects what terrible but not all known. war. across europe victims are starting legal battles demanding at least some

compensation. in two ways first will the physical damage itself as well as a constant reminder that the people who actually perpetrated this crime has never been the justice and it has been a couple. of . long and welcome to well to part the concept of geopolitics as the grand chessboard the region aided in asia and it is also in asia where that vision is unraveling most rapidly the united states still maintains a military foothold in afghanistan but all around the country said b.z.

building new networks of trade and diplomacy called good is the region at defining and perhaps redefining its own imperatives well to discuss that i'm now joined by him that read bonnie hart former foreign minister of pakistan madame hard's great to talk to you thank you very much for your time. now pakistan's foreign policy has made a very dramatic shift over the last decade or so. and it's interesting that while your and successive governments may have disagreements on internal politics there is a quite a bit of consistency when it comes to foreign policy in terms of putting regional lodge and their regional relations had of geo political interest what do you think spurred that change and how sustainable it is it's a natural change i think it is perfectly i would even want to argue that it is in any way unsustainable because as i said it is natural to change french speaking to something that we should've had embedded within the foreign policy paradigm of

pakistan from the divi got our independence and own fourteen focus nine hundred forty seven because in many ways if you look at pakistan's bust foreign policy management you see this uncomfortableness with your geography so you see a pakistan which is trying to reach out to countries which are far away which are sometimes oceans and seas. and try to really have very strong strategic ties with countries which of far far far away and ignore the countries which are very well within the region which are right in the neighborhood which are right within the region so i would say i would even go there i would only argue that when you say that this government has been able to take what we created forward the region the pivotal focus on foreign policy i think it could have done a better job because. i think we invested very gritty it just didn't obviously taking that forward but i think we invested very gritty in our immediate neighbors and then of course the region is now i think you're putting it very diplomatically

in terms of saying that pakistan was trying to reach out to. certain countries oceans away because i heard you say in other interviews that you believe that your country actually serves as a proxy to the united states during the time of the soviet intervention in afghanistan serving. a training ground for jackie dean and you also recognize that your country paid a high price for that i heard you say that. allow terrorism and extremism take root in pakistan and change the fabric of your own society wouldn't that have happened anyway regardless of your cooperation with the united states because we see that the growth of extremism in many countries across the world particularly muslim countries no absolutely not and i don't think i'm particularly trying to be to the political here i would not use the word proxy but i would just say that pakistan because of its proximity to one the sun sharing a border of thousands of kilometers we would be.