And staying safe, German Authorities wrapup security across the country, that is ahead of new years eve celebrations. My name is Christopher Spring and good to have you with us. The day after president obama slaps sanctions on obama on russia, moscow on washington had continued to exchange diplomatic blows. Earlier today, the russia recommended expelling u. S. Depomed. President Vladimir Putin has chosen not to take any immediate action. Now his sanction has countrymen packing their bags. They were given 72 hours to leave. This mansion in new york state was abuzz with activity after 35 russian spies were expelled. The compound and itself and in maryland were ordered closed. Under the watchful eye, the russians strive away. Russian officials have another story. The u. S. Says this place was used for espionage. I think it was what scandal is that they went after us. They know full well that those abilities that they that those facilities they mentioned where for our kids. This is christmas time. Meanwhile, in moscow, the cold war style events made Vladimir Putin look more states the mike in his u. S. Counterpart. Rejecting a earlier proposal to strike back at washingtons actions. The russian president said he would not expect expel u. S. Diplomats. He invited them and their children to a party. On the streets of moscow, people reacted with defiance to the u. S. Moves. Our russia has always existed and will always exist. We dont have to negotiate with anyone. It is the motion negotiate with us. This is not nice on the apart of obama to leave in this way and end the year like this. In my opinion, he built as his policies in regards to all countries. Often says he will wait until donald trump moves into the white house before he decides on further steps. Whether trump would reverse the Obama Administration costs sanctions remains to be seen but putins magnanimity is counting on closer ties to the new truck administration. Lets get to do from the United States on this. We are joined by wayne mary. He is a specialist in u. S. Russian relations. It was a conservative think tank in washington. What is your take on and thats moscow today . How are you interpreting the russian reaction . Collects and my view, president putin that this entire episode is much more about american domestic politics that it is about domestic relations. As between moscow and washington were already pretty dreadful and they could not have gotten much worse. As important, by not responding to the american expulsions of russian diplomat has been much guaranteed that the relationship will start off with President Trump and a better time. What this is really all about is the outgoing American Administration responded to pressure from capitol hill for both republicans and democrats. More from people on mr. Trump party than his own. And to some degree trying to leave behind a legacy in relationship to russia that will make it more difficult for donald trump to improve the relationship. Ive no doubt that in trump tower, they have no we know the donald trump sees better days ahead in that relationship. Now we have seen that Vladimir Putin is willing to precipitate. Unfortunately, i think this recent series of responses to this on the american side are unlikely to contribute anything to the good reputation of the outgoingor to make things more t for the new American Administration. Think that is their intent. Point youre saying, in your view, are the sanctions not proportionate, are they unjustified . It depends on what they are responding to. Cyber espionage is something that all countries practice. United states as well. The question is what countries do with their Cyber Espionage. There is still a valid question. To my my mind, a very real question about whether or not the russian or Cyber Espionage was actually the source of the leaks that the wikileaks that Julian Assange expose. Wikileaks did not need the russians. Julian assange had a better vendetta against hillary clion that he was pursuing on his own. We now know the Democratic National committee and its senior figures practice no Cyber Security whatsoever. A 14yearold hacker could have broken at kilis files. I think there is still a real question. Not that russians are committing Cyber Espionage. Of course they were. It is what they were doing with what they were learning. I to tell you that there is a significant number of people in the intel Intelligence Community who are still rather quite skeptical about that. The perception in the american political environment is that there this is basically all russian in origin. Somehow, we have to respond. Im bad to say that i am recalling the character the of the French Police officer from casablanca who says he is shocked to learn that gimli is going on as he collects his own little winnings. The United States committed Cyber Espionage i guess the german chancellor. Not only did we use our technical means to be her blackberry and other Digital Communications but we shared what we learned with the the German Intelligence Service which is prohibited by law from getting the Credit Information about german political leaders on their own. You might ask the question what was the United States trying to do . But involving themselves in german domestic politics . Many thanks for talking to us. This just in, there has been a response from donald trump to Vladimir Putins announcement. Trump weighing in on twitter of course. Tweeting that this is a great move on the delay of a put in. I always knew he was very smart. Turning out to the conflict in syria. Russia is seeking endorsement to the United Nations for his peace plan in the relation countries. Loss cap has submitted a draft resolution to the United States with a both expected tomorrow. The ceasefire brokered by russia and turkey is taking hold across syria. It has been marred today by continued fighting in western syria and also near damascus. In inlet, one of the places thousands of Opposition Forces fled to from aleppo. There is anger at the terms of the ceasefire. For now, the sounds of war have been replaced with chance of protest. These antigovernment demonstrators welcomed the ceasefire. And emboldens the machine. The people are inclined to support the ceasefire. They want to be up to live in peace. This ceasefire is not acceptable to us. It is insincere. The syrian army is killing people. The regime is selling our country to iran and russia. They are bringing in militia to kill our people. For others, there is relief. This despite fears that the government could focus is military efforts on england. A rebel stronghold. The ceasefire is good. It is good for the people. We need a and to the bombings and the killings. The people are very tired. We dont want any further war. God willing, the of this is the end of the death of and destruction that has been inflicted upon us. So far, the deal is mostly holding. There have been clashes near damascus. It is one of the rebels last districts near the Government Health capital. According to the syrian observatory for human rights, Government Forces had carried out at least 16 airstrikes against opposition fighters on friday. Russia and turkey are looking ahead to new peace talks and they said the u. S. And the u. N. Are welcome to participate in the future. The next meeting is about a month away. As skirmishes continue in places, there are fears that syria could slip back into war once again. Our correspondents in istanbul been giving us more on this. Turkey is working so closely with russia in the syrian conflict. I asked him why they appear to be getting washington on board as well. I think that while moscow are not widely seen as the two most important place in the syria civil war, they do a knowledge that even with their influence, they will need all the support they can get. In one particular area, the syrian opposition. It is extremely fragmented. It is in many groups. Turkey does have an close over many but it does admit that it doesnt have influence over all. The u. S. Has been one of the main backers of the Syrian Rebels and they will be looking to the u. S. To use its influence in dealing with the rebels and holding them together. Beyond that, there is a question of the syrian kurds. They are excluded from the ceasefire. Ultimately they are seen as part of the resolution process. The u. S. Is one of the main backers of the syrian kurds. They could play a potentially very important role. The on that, but as for moscow both for moscow and the others. They both have important roles to play. Here in germany, the authorities are rolling out massive security measures ahead of the countrys new years eve celebrations. That is a nice surprise after the terror attack in berlin which left 12 people dead. It is also the reaction to cologne after last years new years eve celebrations. North african immigrants assaulting hundreds. Berlin is getting ready. Concrete barriers block the streets. These are security measures unprecedented in the german capital. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to ring in the new year here. Amid increased police presence. Here inside the party, you are probably in one of the center spot to germany. He had 13 kilometers, is hundred security guards and stringent security checks at the entrances. Dangerous firecrackers are the least of firefighters worries. 1600 firefighters will be on duty. A slight increase over the number planned. Terrorism remains an abstract threat. That is what it was before the december 19 attack. That is what it has remained. We have come up with planned of actions. Plans of action. By contrast, in cologne, on the other side of germany, security precautions have increased dramatic. Five times more security will be in the train station. We will focus on intervening in any event of disturbances or potential danger. In order to protect the many people who want to celebrate peacefully. It seems like people in cologne will never be repeated. The citys new years eve celebrations turned into a scene of mass sexual assault. Hundreds of women reported being groped, robbed or raped. Now security is better equipped to face potential terror threats. Still to come on this program, indias controversial gas crunch cash crunch. More on that after this very short break. Do stay with us. Will come back. Vladimir putin has decided against titfortat measures against u. S. Officials in his country. That is after the white house opted to expel 35 suspected russian spies from american soil. The move followed allegations that russian actors influence the u. S. Residential election in a bid to favor Donald Trumps chances. And a nationwide ceasefire in syria has taken hold in many parts of the country. Fighting has continued in some areas. While russia and turkey press ahead with their peace plans for the wartorn country. United nations secretarygeneral is handing over his job to former portuguese prime minister. He said farewell to the organization today. His turn and office ends at the end of the year. He said he had tried to give a voice to the voiceless during his decade in the job. He leaves in the shadow of criticism for failing to be visible enough and for presiding over United Nations in decline. It has been the last day of trading today. Here is the latest market news. Stock markets in some locations around the world are still trading. With just a few hours to go, lets have a look at how some of the most important markets performed for the year. The bluechip short tempered covered and will remain strong for the rest of the year. The puts in london hovered around 6000 points for the entire first half of the year. Surprisingly for many, a rally getting almost 14 and 7142. In tokyo, they started at 91 thousand points. The call they lost a quarter of their value over the summer. As for the dots in frankfurt, it had its shares of problems. And the never ending dieselgate story at volkswagen. The index is up 6. 5 for the year. Ending trading at 11,481. Wasnt a good year for the dax . They filed this report. 2016 was a remarkable year for people here at the stock market. It will be a year that most will remember for a very long time. It was a year shaped by political events like almost no other that i can remember. And eu country wanted to leave the union and then the election of donald trump. Someone who has never Held Elected Office before, a populist in the white house. Yet, people pegged high hopes on donald trump. His collection was one of the reasons why share prices were covered for many shocks throughout the year. They close at higher levels, a record on wall street and a new annual highs here in frankfurt for the end of the year. That also made forgotten crises in between for the oil industry and banks and on the chinese economy, trump busty Federal Reserve raising Interest Rates contributed to a strong dollar and a very weak europe at the end of the year. 2017, traders are hopeful that it will be quite as turbulent as 2016. It wilalso be a political year. They are convinced. That only will they be washing donald trump in the white house, there will be elections here in europe. Germany, italy, the nestlings, that could cause new turbulence here in the market. Investors who put their money and oil received very good returns this year. Oil prices increased the talking more than any year since 2009. Several members agree to cut productions substantially early next year. The move pushed Prices Higher in january. Crude was selling for 35 per barrel. Now it costs more than 56. The deadline has come and gone for indians to hand in their bank notes. The tech down crackdown on tax evasion has hit the economy hard. They wanted to take 5000 rupees bank notes out of circulation. The benefits of this bank note with drawer of our proving elusive. Withdrawal our proving elusive. This is usually full of customers this time of year. Sales have gone down by almost 70 since the monetization happened. You can imagine what our business is like them. It will be sometime before our sales normalize and go back to the way things used to be. It is a vicious circle. Many are desperate to take out cash but banks dont have enough of the new notes to distribute quickly. Cashstrapped customers are spending less. Therefore businesses dont have my to hand over to suppliers who are in turn running it hard to meet existing demands. Our incomes are based on the supply of goods. Now there is no supply because there are cash problems everywhere. The first two months after the molestation were so bad that we dont even have money to buy food. Now that the catch is coming back into the market, hopefully the supply of goods will resume. The Indian Government assures the public it is playing a longterm game that requires patience. With consumers unable to easily spend their income and small cash Online Business is going under, patience is wearing thin. That is your Business Update for now. Back to christopher with world news. We are going to take you to kenya now, that is one of many countries across the world which has a problem with plastic bags. Plastic bags and supermarkets causing all matter of environmental problems. The government and kenya has introduced a ban on plastic bags. Implementation is patchy. Many are going to continue to circulate. For a group of local entrepreneurs, that is turning out to be a business opportunity. This is bus of the Company Challenge gift tags. Bags. His staff of 15 make carryout bags with handles. The aim is to find a replacement for plastic bags. It is too much. Especially in our country. Some places that we used to go take hours. We can no longer do that. The rivers and roads are full of plastic trash. It poisons the water and hinders the flow. It is an of struggle. It is a major culprit. Food is delivered wrapped in plastic and then sold. Also plastic and up in the river. And up in the river. Realized business is good. Especially when developing products with new customers. A number of youngsters have found work at his company. James is 20. He was trained on the job and is now one of the firms most experienced members of staff. Ive worked in this place for seven years. It is a really good job. It secures my livelihood. Yes, i fully depend on it to sustain my life. The bigs so for 30 or . 40 each. More than 50 businesses are regular customers, they want to develop new products. That is the immediate plan my now. It can increase sales. That should mean that there will be fewer plastic bags disfiguring and polluting the environment. A small but significant victory for Environmental Protection and kenya. In kenya. We leave you with the memory of a great african musician who passed away this year. He died in april, age 66. The superstar across the african continent and beyond. A great man performing in germany five years ago. Stay with us. Rnvx this program is brought to you in part by Cie Tours International for over 80 years featuring all inclusive tours and go as you please value vacations throughout ireland and britain. Cietours. Com [music] [music] hello and welcome im Patricia Oreilly and im delighted you could join us for another