if this was or against china for instance assuming china you know main source of. foreign exchange for china will be to export energy it is an act of war this thing is how you're going to implemented and who's going to respect that being with your opinions like the french foreign ministry pathetically is saying look we have to curb our imports of iranian oil what's going to happen to the european economy if that happens now it's one hundred eighth a barrel so it's going to be one hundred training and in one month could be one hundred forty one hundred fifty and you want to recover the economies of the us and europe as well with oil at one hundred fifty it's not going to happen and it's totally counterproductive. law and amendments and the way it's going to be interpreted by the obama administration i'm not sure they're going to try to provoke a confrontation against south korea for instance an ally with russia china or with countries in south america or in central asia for that matter. and the editor of

the corbett report current affairs website says that by trying to slap more sanctions on iran the u.s. and e.u. are only stirring up the dangerous tension in the region. i think it's quite remarkable to think that france and the u.s. and other countries would be willing to step up sanctions that have already had such a profound effect on the iranian people on the basis of their hunch that erodes iran is developing nuclear weapons as as france has basically put it is quite remarkable because that really does is tantamount to an act of war the idea that iran would really close off the straits of hormuz or attempt to do so would only be an absolute last measure resort for a country that relies on the importation of refined gasoline and other things through the very straits that they would be a sensibly sabotaging and planting mines in so it's it's quite remarkable to think that that iran would do that in any other situation other than they felt that the entire existence of their country was under threat so adding more sanctions to to

the mix is is really just a recipe for military disaster i think. we're going to share your take on this developing story go to our web site to tell us what you think of new sanctions on iran so far this is what the numbers are looking like over half of those who responded say iraq will be pushed to desperation saying new sanctions for seventeen percent think the world economy will suffer a sanctions drive poil prices sky word almost as many as fifteen percent believe u.s. measures simply won't work and thirteen percent say iranian people not the government will be most hurt by the sanctions cast your vote at r.t. dot com. the process of finding a republican candidate to contest the twenty twelve american presidential election officially got underway in the state of iowa off the results however were anything but decisive with career politician mitt romney beating his conservative counterpart rick santorum by just eight votes just

a few points behind the two was libertarian ron paul the only anti-war candidate in this year's lineup even hours before the vote though many people were still undecided after a republican a lecture. grownup marred by sex scandals mudslinging and terror attack p.r. i despite all of that a former congressional aide and diplomat told rubin i leave it's ron paul who stands out from the rest of. its foreign policy is very distinct from the other candidates in that he has a more isolationist viewpoint he wants the united states to retreat from international conflicts of international affairs in some areas actually good he's opposed to military action with a rider who is opposed to the rock war but the other candidates are all extremely hot the issue of foreign policy very conservative ron paul does stand out among its . voters want to support him spars leading the party and getting other republicans on board saying really. no he hasn't done that someone who says i am

a free american and i can make it on my own and that's what ron paul really embodies but republicans also understand that kind of positioning will not win the general election against president obama. well as a republican campaign develops democrats are beginning to wonder just how much appeal president obama still has having come to power on a wave of hope four years ago his chances are beginning to a dimmer with complaints from voters of broken promises and corporate favors driving them away archies when important has more. three years ago one historic campaign turned u.s. politics into a pop culture phenomenon. for the democratic candidate achieved unprecedented support international fame and a record breaking six hundred fifty million dollars in donations.

thousands of new yorkers celebrated the victory clutching an enormous american flag hand sewn by obama supporters but the winds have changed and the very same democratic symbol waved in honor of the president elect in a way each straight from a straight has been donated to the movement that became a phenomenon in two thousand and eleven or thereabouts when people holding up david move food out organize the flag project after being inspired by obama rhetoric a dream shattered by the subsequent years of politics as usual curly what's inspiring me is up is over to us like that that's the thing that's inspiring me now but that's why i brought the fight so ws on the thing that inspired me about it is the fact that it's a grassroots movement. that had a like a very clear and transparent process artist shepard fairey seems similarly just an chanted releasing an updated version of his iconic hope poster replacing obama with

his now clear support for occupy wall street with an economy still in crisis wall street largely unregulated social programs slashed and over forty five million citizens on food stamps it all starts with making a decision to get in obama's familiar prose may not be enough to win back his familiar fan base didn't produce people wanted him to produce in two thousand and eight professor and author dr cornel west was one of obama's biggest supporters i think he's got the vision. the newness he's got the freshness taking part in more than one hundred campaign events but last april the prominent intellectual told r.t. that obama has failed he's too friendly face of the american empire abroad he's in the process actually of becoming very sadly a pawn of big finance and a puppet of big business and any politician here knows they are in trouble when the

hollywood a listers start turning their backs are you happy with the way that obama has been running the country. no no no and i think i really think he misinterpreted his. yet the approval ratings show voters are even more turned off with the alternatives leaving obama seemingly the lesser of two evils america's president clearly enters the twenty twelve race amid a growing band of disillusioned democrats most will still back barack obama over his republican rivals arguably with heavy hearts in two thousand and eighty was the unassailable candidate of choice this time mr obama is likely to stay if i default. new york. will still have through this hour here in our to earning their daily bread we tell the story of two entrepreneurs who bank their way

to the top and russia's top and pastry sector. and the euro won't flare up again with athens now threatening to pull out of the eurozone unless the e.u. and i.m.f. funnel more balance out of cash into its collapsing economy. the first egyptians are heading to polling stations once again as the country's first democratic election in more than half a century enters its final phase results are to be announced next week with the muslim brotherhood being the favorites after clinching the lead in the first two stages of the vote last year earlier poland were overshadowed by clashes between protesters and the army egypt's ruling military generals have been accused of clinging to power and now face anger over their handling of protests that have left fifty nine dead since november reason army raised on western sponsored n.g.o.s have also added to concerns over the country's stability the mideast expert to rico

elise says that in order to ease tension the military has to give its people what they want and step down. the door to you if egypt shows the military to be a defense. to say you know the country against outside attack while intervention in mostly eclipse. rather tall because for the last thirty to forty years egypt has essentially whether on dome of barak or on just about being a multi eaten dictatorship run by the miller crean people want an end to that so when the miller creek works mobarak on trial again it's an attempt to divert attention from its own rule in the concrete that is what is really worrying people and that is or should be discussed and attacking the geos the jim carrey is is so i think to show that foreign buyers are manipulating of concrete and so for which is again nonsense i think washington has

a great deal of influence within the military after all big billions of dollars i mean begin a billion dollars a year that's a huge amount of money. well rise up is the most parties in egypt has prompted western concerns for the policies the country may adopt if the likes of the muslim brotherhood to step into power we caught up with regional politics expert jeremy salt his outlook on developments in the arab world is coming up next hour in our cheese interview. during the for what's been happening in the middle east and the policies the western governments of followed since the beginning of this year they have always had the the noble most you know we're doing this for these very very good reasons but we don't have to be terribly skeptical or cynical to understand that actually behind the noble motive is self-interest if we look at what happened in egypt the west backed mubarak right to the very last and there was no longer possible to back him but it was indefensible that dumped him.

greece has announced that it could ditch the euro an exit the euro zone you know as little as three months unless the e.u. and i.m.f. fund it with a second one hundred thirty billion euro balatka all talks over the cash lifeline have stalled for months over the poor performance of austerity measures and fears for the future belgian business journalist your husband overvotes believes the numbers say it all and that greece is and is it is unavoidable. the greek economy is going down like a stone. g.d.p. contracted by four percent in two thousand and ten by six percent in two thousand and eleven and there is probably worse to come in two thousand and twelve and i think we are now at the point where everybody is research realizes that we cannot go on like a list and that unrest and even i'm going to key in the country is becoming so much of a threat that some drastic things need to be done and my reading of what the greek

government is doing is that they are trying to do it they are looking for an alibi to offer to their public by which. they say well it's not our fault it's the international community that pushes us through wards the exit of the euro zone and i think also here in europe at the brussels that quarters of the european commission people start to realize they really are at the end of the road there is no other option left for them they're in a deadlock they cannot rewind the greek economy and so they are facing in a big black hole. well it's seen as one of the biggest blystone in modern britain but tackling gang violence there is proving difficulty with the government seeing it seeing a firm response rather as the only means of dealing with it is growing criticism though that attempts to improve the situation are addressing the roots of the problem archies morris smith explains.

dark underbelly of britain is in a city's gang culture dramatized here for a television series for gavin it was real life he got into a gang to escape a feeling of powerlessness an abusive home life where money was a constant struggle. at his lowest ebb gavin admits to having stopped and his story isn't unusual in deprived areas nowhere is the question of how to solve the gang problem in london

more relevant than. two thousand and twelve olympic park but it's also more than almost anywhere else in london around here young people say you start just by hanging out with your friends on the streets and you end up in a spiral of gang violence and fear. in you're more than half of kids are living below the poverty line and they don't feel the government's doing anything to help them how can you hold me. you have to have. if the government really knew and understood. when gavin met sheldon thomas an ex gangster himself he turned a corner and then now working in

a team to get young people out of gangs the government claims it wants the same thing and having laid the blame for riots firmly at the door of gangs they're still lucian the carrot and stick method are as you found some excellent police work to identify and manage the highest risk members through a combination of targeted surveillance enforcement in a restaurant offense however minor and positive offers of training employment and drugs treatment for those who want a different life. but for those not prepared to break away from violence they will face tougher punishments but this isn't going to work according to sheldon thomas who feels the government is forcing him it every turn what they do is. the manifestation of god's gone for i don't know this gang rape drugs that's just a manifestation. of it and stemming from from the breakdown moles

gone out the window from society as a whole while the government rhetoric sounds encouraging other policies will undermine both carrot and stick economical steroids he cuts will mean sixteen thousand fewer police officers on the streets and services that deal directly with gangs now will have their funding cut by between twenty and ninety percent in some areas that means young people like gavin in the future who have nowhere to go but the street nora smith r.t. london. with more on the stories we're covering can always be found on our website our two dot com here's a look at what's online for you right now we focus on ten events that shape twenty eleven and bring you our correspondents firsthand account on reporting from the world's hot spots in our testimony series. and the night the planet partied our picture galleries capture the high spirits from around the world as we heard in twenty twelve and much more for you r.t.

dot com. up next expert entrepreneurs based in russia tell us their success stories and describe their path to prosperity in the latest from our pathfinder series. well today we bring you the story of him and go hard to call unary gurus who break their way to fortune in russia's premier premium pastry sector for more than four years now they've been running the most successful business of its kind having started from scratch they now give us a taste of what it takes. i have twice a week in the production center and the rest of the time i mean the restaurant genya. genya be it that stuff bushels just to make sure everything is ok definitely in the way when you're starting something new everything is setup the

industry has existed here we had to do everything from scratch. when we started the business we realized that we had to really difficult objectives one was that we had to create our own brand and we decided to license at least initially in the nation's national brand for us and the whole point of our project the whole point of the business was that these products i call the bakery hardly exist in russia today you don't have many customers here you can help in that order yes and that customer should be greeted every child every child you are developing a company culture you know that one of the most difficult things in russia a few years ago was to make sure your line staff smile is just smile if it's not interesting cultured at the beginning i would say if i come to the restaurant and if you are smiling i really give you a hundred books but if you're not then we really have

a my desire your reason away so who is give me the agape the seal but the feel of chad first of all that we spent in two thousand and six we spent about nine months developing a very small factory we basically had a thirty square meter room where we were trying to make something like fifty products fresh every day and the biggest challenge was the local ingredients it would be insane to import. that's a flower to russia when russia is one of the biggest flow exporters in the world we were very very lucky that we did this because by the end of two thousand and eight when the recession started the first thing that happened in the recession in russia was a collapse of the ruble exchange rate compared to the euro so suddenly overnight imported prices were up thirty forty percent and that is deadly for any kind of business like gods but for us at least the cost of our products was relatively stable because for the main ingredients like sugar like flour we were using locally made products. it's still

a lot of things happens in russia mechanically in the service industry we have a hard time the idea they followed the rules or did they have a problem so this is the difficulty in russia we are nice it states or in europe it's a little bit easier because they have be used to it. you need to empty the garbage cans you need to clean up that place what is that carthon there however on the other hand if we see that you are working hard to take it to heart. in other cultures that may be a little bit more difficult the idea is to build a bakery business in russia was exactly right the idea that the competition wasn't so high in this sector i would do again but i think i would make sure that we raise a bit more capital upfront than we did i would also make sure i think that we invest at the beginning far more in training of production people than we did we should have outsourced much less than we did four years ago we should have made much many more cells and then we would be even more successful than we are today i

think but yes i would absolutely be. asked. well how more features on foreign entrepreneurs during big business in russia in our pathfinder series throughout the week. let's take a look now at some other stories from around the world this hour a series of three explosions in the second largest city in afghanistan have killed at least thirteen people including a child the first blast occurred as a suicide bomber attacked a police checkpoint and two other bombs went off later the violence comes a day after the afghan taliban announced plans to open an international is on office in qatar something that could be a step towards formal peace negotiations. thousands of people have taken to the streets in northern crew against protesting against the development of

a gold mine demonstrators say waste from the works will take their water supplies the protests come in one of the country's most heavily mined regions it also has a history of troubled relations neighboring farmers and ranchers. now to the incredible story of two girls who were born just minutes apart in the same ward in the russian urals but were accidently swapped by a fateful mistake it meant they ended up with the wrong parents are karen taraji reports on how the blunder was only discovered more than a decade later. meet anya she's thirteen years old muslim and lives with her father nine months in the chalabi town of kut beast on the other side of town also thirteen lives with her russian orthodox mother despite their differences in religion and culture they are recent friends sharing the same birthdays and ties that bind them deeper than what lies on the surface of the and in that moment i was

in such a state of shock that i thought it was all a joke in one thousand nine hundred eight anya an arena born only fifteen minutes apart in the same hospital were accidentally switched at birth the discovery happened with us ex-husband who claimed arena his daughter looked nothing like him he refused to pay alimony but yulia insisted upon her innocence had the family take not one but two d.n.a. tests. the results show that in fact the ex was not the father and both results showed that yulia was not arena's mother but that a bit of one was my first thought was that irina doesn't find out and the second was where is my biological child born with her lawyer and investigators by her side yulia discovered her biological child anya was living on the other side of town with ny much. they told me they switch my child with another at the hospital they said your biological child is with another family they gave me a picture of her and i was in shock for about forty minutes my hands and legs were shaking. two days later nine reluctantly phoned yulia they met and decided to first

introduce the girls to each other after they became friends the truth would be revealed to each of them separately. the first time we introduced the girls to each other we came to visit we took pictures walked around and ate ice cream later she told me that my mind was my biological father in the beginning i didn't believe it but my mother said it's true i'm not flying. irina ananya now close friends decided to remain with the parents who raise them but the inconvenience of living in different suburbs makes it much harder for the families to meet often it breaks your heart one day back and forth i don't think that's the way to live it just adds to the suffering it's the teenage girls that now face social hardships their separate cultures beliefs and habits make understanding each other difficult very different they pray they don't speak or write when they speak i don't understand what they are saying what if this saying something about me. regardless of their

differences irina and anya are happy to have each other as friends no matter the reasons that brought them together karen tara r.t. moscow. in just a few minutes here on our to cross talk looks back at the one thousand nine hundred one august coup attempt in moscow an event that many believe contributed to the historical lapse of the soviet union. that's after a quick look at the top stories after this short break.

we'll. just see a. period

. from. more news today is once again flared up if these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada.

corporations are rooted a. cool. you're watching archie live from moscow worth seven thirty pm the headlines the u.s. says it's warships will stick to their missions near a crucial oil laying out of the persian gulf despite warnings from iran to stay away from the standoff continues to drive up oil prices and tension. there probably can presidential candidate race gets underway in earnest by voters remain indecisive over just who put forward to capitalize on disillusionment with the iraq obama. the euro's woes flare up again after christmas law without them threatening to ditch the euro zone unless the e.u. and i.m.f.

funnel more bailout cash into its collapsing economy. and egyptians had back to polling stations for the third and final round of their parliamentary election the first row there since president mubarak was toppled in february last year. next a look back of the event that shaped russian history twenty years ago a plot to overthrow. peter the bow and his guest asked know if the soviet union had any chance of survival after that attempted coup that's up next and cross talk on our team. and.