the year of the protests terrorist twenty levon draws to a close we were back at how the revolutions and rallies made of water was. in the russian capital you're watching r t i'm marina josh welcome to the program iran is to fire a long range missiles as part of its stand a naval drills in the persian gulf the maneuver is common it saber rattling with washington iran's promise to block the vital oil supply route through the strait of hormuz if the west imposes sanctions over iran's alleged nuclear program and if she can has more. they have today we see the degree of tension rising iranian and american warships kind of brushed shoulders earlier as u.s. ships passed the area where terror on is holding a ten day military exercise the u.s. fifth fleet said they crossed the strait of hormuz unhindered and that he was

a routine passage iran's rights into cut off the strait of hormuz which is the major golf oil artery forty percent of the world's tanker shipped oil passes through that strait the u.s. said they would not tolerate any disruption of supplies which suggests that if you ran goes through with their threats we might see a military showdown there but now based on the statements that we hear washington seems to think that iran is bluffing but right now you can find itself in a situation where its main source of livelihood namely oil export is in danger because of the looming sanctions and the threats that are coming from iran indicate that it's ready to take action to protect its interests if attacked it's almost sure to retaliate right now with iran is flexing its muscle showing off its capabilities doing their naval military exercises and as part of the exercise on saturday they'll fire long range missiles capable of reaching this world by the way the touching upon some of the latest decisions the u.s.

congress passed a bill that would dramatically complicate transactions through rennes central bank european and asian nations iranian oil and use its central bank for the transactions president obama has yet to sign the bill and that's going to be a severe blow to the uranium economy around eighty percent of its revenues depend on crude sales e.u. ministers say. a decision on whether or not to boycott iranian oil will be made in coming weeks the west says all the rand has to do to avoid sanctions is to give up their nuclear program iran says they are not doing anything wrong by pursuing a peaceful nuclear program for civilian purposes some experts believe cornering iran like by sanctions creates a powder keg which could blow up at a slightest spark and a potential confrontation over the strait of hormuz can be that spark. got to shake out reporting that now the editor of consortium news robert parry says while neither iran nor the united states want the vital route to be blocked at war

against iran could still be on the cards for washington. i don't think any side here wants that to happen the iranians don't really want to see the kind of disruption to the oil industry that is their principal source of foreign capital the united states doesn't want to see that happen either because it would impact negatively on both the u.s. and european economies however sometimes when rhetoric you know that reaches a certain level and tensions reach a certain level and people taken positions things can cascade out of control and that's the risk here and we could see a war we could see some some kind of conflict. there's been a propaganda campaign in the united states very similar to what we saw before the invasion of iraq an audit of the major news organizations have been hyping up threats about iran. we've seen questionable allegations be given a great deal of weight here in the united states people have

a tremendous animosity towards. the leader of iran so i think you have the kind of climate here that can then lead to something else and then of course you have israel which has been which has been making a point that it considers the iranian nuclear program an existential threat so you add those combustible elements together and one false move by any party a mistake or intentional or probably cation could lead to catastrophe. violence has yet again erupted on the streets of syria stands a thousands have rallied against their regime security forces have reportedly opened fire to stop the protesters activists also claim dozens were killed in recent clashes in flashpoint cities all of which are being visited by arab league observers the u.n. says more than five thousand people have died and the ten month long on raw. asked with damascus blaming armed gangs for the violence journalist ramzy brode who used

to work in the region says the conflict is being managed from the outside this is a real worry we do not know what the americans are cooking right now obviously they are they are thinking of a much greater political context than syria they are thinking iran they are thinking the stability of iraq in the american withdrawal and they are also and most importantly they are thinking how will the political vacuum if such a vacuum is created in damascus affect israel israel's security and the northern border particularly the golan heights front israel cannot afford another security nightmare from their home to be forced to be added to that of south lebanon and gaza and this is really most of what the americans are very worried about they are worried about. israel's security there and it's of concern but the markers your human rights in syria or anywhere else in the middle east i think the

americans are here to find a formula that would assure them that in the absence of assad there will be a political rejean that they can trust and i think this is what the americans are trying to ensure right now. is gone there is going to be another alternative that america can work with and until the americans find an answer to this question we are going to have this this conflict raging on for a long time i still had here in our team it was just hours till the new year what would you want to see in two thousand and twelve. people you know politics in twenty two out made them do things that are good for the world to not just get to get reelected i would probably say that after gambling you can get world be a better place without this thing yeah i think it would be lots of benefits. plus i . back at the turbulent twelve months of two thousand and eleven from the arab spring to worldwide protests r.t.

wraps up the key events that marked the year our correspondents were in the sake of the events so watch their firsthand experience on our website r.t. dot com. witnesses. to history in the making of. testimony. ten stories that shapes two thousand and eleven on our t.v. . now let's take a look at some other stories from around the world the more violence has erupted in nigeria following the church bombings on christmas day that killed more than forty people army officials say two civilians died in a shootout at a market in the northeastern city of my degree while witnesses reporting a blast hitting the local mosque the recent wave of attacks in the country has been blamed on the extremist islamist sect. tens of thousands of people have fled their homes across the country fearing more attacks. demonstrators have clashed with police across turkey in the second day of civil unrest following the

botched government airstrike that killed thirty five kurds on wednesday in the city over here thousands rallied after the funerals of the kurdish civilians killed in the attack police fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse them turkish rise groups have appealed to the u.n. to launch an investigation into the strikes the government has referred to as an operational mistake. can ya know on the son of the late north korean leader kim jong il has been formally named supreme commander of the country's military forces senior government officials declared came dawn own head of the communist party on thursday following his father's memorial the move is seen as the twenty seven year old consolidating his authority over the nation. tens of thousands of protesters have gathered in yemen demanding president saleh be put on trial for the deaths of hundreds of armed activists the protests flared up after

the power transfer agreement last month granting him immunity from prosecution in the wake of violent protests he also announced he would leave yemen for the u.s. demonstrations have racked the country for the past year calling for an ant to sell its thirty three year rule. the u.s. says age of tazz agreed to halt raids on pro-democracy rise groups earlier soldiers and police stormed offices of non-governmental organizations including some of those funded by washington the groups accuse the ruling military of using the same tactics of repression as the previous mubarak regime documents and computers have been seized this part of investigations into foreign funding of organizations the military took power in the country after an uprising savvier in which top of president mubarak middle east professor lawrence davidson says as long as rubes which are expected to win parliamentary elections are turning a blind eye to the military is continuing hold on power. the liberal element is the

most adamant element when it comes to the egyptian army turning over power to a civilian government least so far they're the most adamant and the egyptian army. does not want to do that it's a great price do you take in there's it has a great economic stake in this the officer corps and i don't see the turning over complete control to this is the government and my guess is that the islamic groups. somehow it made in the coming days should with that reality that present reality. foreign policy analyst dr audio as he believes the military government is making sure it stays in power by the people are determined for democratic change. this is part of the military the supreme council on forces way of making sure.

the whatever you should basically is molded to the to the type of government they want because that's the sort of the same generals by the way who work for mubarak. but really the military has to step aside they want all of the above the fault of that reasoning but i think the egyptian people and the arabs in general have lost their fear from corrupt government and they have restored of the dignity and they will not tolerate another military dictatorship in their country i think all the evidence indicates that despite the sacrifices they have given. and don't react our website it's also got more news coming out analysis and here is a look at what's there today as a kind of an iron lady finds herself behind iron bars after being moved from a detention center to a prison we uncover the details of your two shank as incarceration. in paris at cobb club touching fruitage twin polar bears play and chinese to charm

you is around the world to get the full story and video of the adorable pair at r.t. dot com plus you can watch all of our best videos on our you tube channel. just . download the official auntie humbly cation your only phone on called talk. from the i.q. zaps to. life on the go.

video on demand. r.s.s. feeds now with the palm of your. question on the dot com now less than a day left until the new year and with celebrations gearing up in all corners of the world we remember what made two thousand and eleven it was a year of rallies and uprising as people around the globe went out into the streets to demand justice freedom and economic equality and he said now he looks back at the protests that shaped the past twelve months. two thousand and eleven could easily go down as the most eventful year in years the killing of bin laden after a decade long manhunt libya's gadhafi after months of nato bombing and the death of north korea's kim jong il don't even begin to illustrate twenty eleven. time joe's the protester as person of the year and although there were different

slogans signs and demands of solutions twenty eleven will ultimately be remembered as the year people came out onto the streets the arab spring bloomed into a european summer which harvested an american autumn from cairo to california moscow to madrid to her ear to occupy global rallies shared common themes but one thing stood out in the middle east and north africa alone it was protests that lead down one road regime change. tunisia and egypt got rid of their dictators without war but libya was an awful lot nato and allies began a humanitarian mission with a fierce bombing campaign the critics called it a mislabeled invasion to take down gadhafi for benefits the only reason they're interested in with libya is about the oil you hear anybody screaming and yelling

about all those people last week they were killed in the ivory coast or whose sudan gadhafi was brutally killed in october as the world watched the graphic video go viral thousands of civilians were killed over months of bombing and that's twenty twelve neared syria found itself in a similar set up for intervention russia and china fearing a repeat of the situation in libya as civil war intensifies this is a direct effect that wrecked the clash between the u.s. and nato on one side and russia and china on the war in on the other side much more david was in libya protests continue in egypt libya syria and many more arab countries as the year ends. the battle to save the drowning single currency left to board rooms and banks in twenty eleven and flooded the streets of europe most commonly and violently in athens greek debt became the

centerpiece of the euro crisis protests raged against desperate austerity cuts to qualify for i.m.f. bailouts germany and france bond for influence in the debt ridden zone i think we will see an exit of greece given the situation in which the greek economy find itself has become really unavoidable draining the economy a vague euro brother germany can't go on forever greece and italy are now led by on a lark to brussels back technocrat leaders who are trying to curb the crisis coming into a new year critics say twenty eleven bell outs or bust was the beginning of the end for the single european currency there's every chance the euro is going to crash. london burned for days in the summer of twenty eleven what began as a peaceful protests demanding justice over the death of a twenty nine year old man who was shot by police turned into days of riots and

left authorities helpless talks of possibly bringing out the military bars to shops were looted car set on fire and windows smashed across the u.k. the police the job center all the banks everything that's happening the recession you know there's a lot of anger about that social experts also through a felt multicultural program and racism into the mix you know stop and so on a sense of place certainly institutional. and probably institutionally racist as well the riots faded but the problems are still passing some say only a spark is needed to set the public off again. occupy wall street became a household name in the u.s. and around the world but when the protests began in september if you were talking about it the mainstream media stayed silent until seven hundred people were

arrested on the brooklyn bridge and that was truly based in the end of his roots of american politics that crowd is easy since. they are disorganized they look funny when i protest nobody seems to know but negative coverage didn't stop us from spreading from small towns to huge ports occupied was not going anywhere rates on campus heavy handed police and burning pepper spray only helped occupy grow and read their message of the need for economic equality and an end to corporate greet their slogan became we are the ninety nine percent and they are the rich the one percent from oakland to boston the more people occupied the more brutality became more evident by.

what you're. right our police forces have been militarized they're working more in cooperation with the pentagon they're buying and being given military surplus to quit meant that has been kind of designed for use in war and this is something that. needs to treating the public as you would treat an enemy a public that has promised to come out in full force in twenty twelve. parliamentary elections were the push behind tens of thousands of people coming out onto the streets of moscow after allegations the december duma vote was raked ha ha ha ha ha the protest at least fifty thousand strong the largest in recent history called for free and fair elections and remains peaceful ruling party united russia lost popularity in the vote with official results putting their numbers i don't

most fifty percent but experts say a sixteen percent drop from two thousand and seven should be taken as a warning i think a lot of people wanted to punish. united russia for having power for so long and maybe not doing everything they could protest organized by vast groups of opposition members are set to continue in two thousand and twelve next year russia along with the u.s. and france holds presidential elections which makes it a safe bet people will be out on the streets in twenty twelve in europe america and around the world and he's now a party moscow. and you can watch our special new euro coverage later on saturday as are these correspondents will be bringing you more on how they've seen twenty eleven.

the obama administration is hoping to restore momentum this spring for peace talks with the taliban artie's military contributor says washington needs to work hard not to completely lose all possibility of trust in afghanistan as a did in pakistan. with political will the u.s. military preponderance in afghanistan hasn't achieved any decisive victory nor it has managed to reverse the momentum to retake the initiative from taliban going to

network their associates neither you know afghanistan nor across the border in pakistan their western alliance attempt to attain a breakthrough and to reconcile with the irreconcilables in afghanistan and pakistan hasn't achieved any tangible or long term results and just as was predicted the american replica of in afghanistan hasn't impressed the military opposition to their going to government neither in pakistan nor you know afghanistan in the minus another year and one hundred plus billion dollars the united states hasn't won afghanistan but it definitely has lost pakistani cooperation. ten years always a strong incentive for people to start something new and say good bye to the l. today aren't these very jani york resident laurie harkness asks people in the big

apple what they'll be happy to see the back off come the stroke of midnight. two thousand and twelve is now a riving what would you rid the world of in the new year this week let's talk about that i think wall street protesting because it doesn't really help anything at all if you ask me i'm a business student it's my fifth year in college and i just i don't know what the point is i understand what they're fighting for and i agree for but for me i'm like you just taking up space i would probably say that after gambling the world be a better place without those things yeah i think we would probably be lots of benefits yeah i agree i think a lot of people would protest about oh i have no doubt a lot of people would protest differently including the government because they are acts of much money out of it would be occupy the liquor store time yes or no will borders no more borders let's just all be one country. because it's so difficult to

travel or. people trying to score points seem politics. you'd make clean up politics than twenty two out make them do things that are good for the world to not just get to get reelected oh poverty for sure yeah so how do you think the world leader should go about starting that. well distribute the wealth intolerance you'd make everyone tolerate all different cultures. that's a tall order i know well you asked if i could religion probably ban religion all of a spiritual but religion as a religion we think the difference that. own. control no matter what you'd like to abolish internationally let's just hope two thousand and twelve brings us a little closer to a better world. well

the moscow team recalls the most exciting entertainment events over the past twelve months and their action capital. as the main cultural symbol of russia twenty eleven saw the bolshoi theatre finally returned to its former glory. next up on one of our favorite moscow out shows of the year was filmed the star city the cosmonaut training facility originally asked secret apple space to ventured off to russia's only school for cosmonauts and then i was put through a whole range of training procedures under water weightlessness zero gravity and being spun around inside a centrifuge. to celebrities in twenty eleven hour many a list this time around the world have made their way to the russian capital film premieres concerts and private parties moscow sees many of the world's top actors saying it's impossible these come here every week. pushing crowds love them and they end and seem to be

impressed with the city. so was the best of moscow from twenty one throughout the day here on r t before that though i'll bring you the headlines.

wealthy british style. that's not i'm not surprised with my current american. markets why not come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with max cons or for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into kaiser report on r g.

the move to move to. new. the close up gene has been to the new stuff first plays to the most ambitious football club in the world. no argy goes to the far east where the timber industry attracts the legendary siberian

tigers where the ancient native community loses its weight in the modern world. and where the country's mineral wealth starts its way across the ocean. well come to the bars creature russia blows up. welcome back you're watching r t live from moscow these are the top stories iran's long range missiles are standing by for a ten day naval drills in the persian gulf to iran is threatening to block a key oil supply route if the west continues to tighten sanctions over iran's alleged nuclear program. fresh rallies flare up in syria with opposition activists reporting dozens of deaths at the hands of police the u.n. says more than five thousand people have died in the ten month long on.