syria's president says he's planning a new constitution just a day off to tens of thousands came out in a mass show of support for him but short of assad is still struggling to quell a nationwide uprising despite ongoing promises of reforms but his supporters say the government needs more time to push through a change. has more from the center of damascus. but voices of support was and continuing dissent some and in deadly clashes polar opposites in their demands but in some way united by the newfound zeal to take a stand for years to separate the syrian capital was have gathered show their support for the government that is going is a far cry from the images we've been seeing in other cities around the country where there have been reported clashes with me security force has ever had any government protests edition however one would think it's a real matter where in this country political discourse is sometimes the trip to africa that was at the very basic you look at somebody. oh her husband and

young children one of many families who braved the heat and joy the crowds in downtown damascus i'm sorry but it's true that we knew nothing about politics before but now we take a stand even if i'm a sunni muslim i'm pro this president. ever since most people started revealing their political stance openly some people would mock me and say since when do you know about politics what do you know there are divisions among family members some are pro a son some are anti but that's how it is. it appears that apathy is becoming less of an option for citizens of this nation now under intense international scrutiny i never watched news i never cared you know i never never had any interest in politics but. i think most of us read books and watch the news media articles you know based on the no one. and then you have the right background and the issues of

a kid until you can think. yeah there are those like you i heard saying we're no strangers to taking a side and making it known he's long been voicing his discontent and what he calls a repressive regime and today facebook is one of his main tools in cordoning to dissent coalition activism has evolved in syria for me i feel that my voice goes further now back then it started with stating an opinion but i'm going to jail it hit a good dad and no one would even know about it that has changed now that people are more politically aware hussein has been thrown in jail says he was tortured and finds himself constantly looking over his shoulder i was detained for spreading the word on the violent crackdown in daraa but i feel like a coward if i didn't risk my life while those on the streets are doing so asking for the regime to fall call staunchly opposed by those on the other side yes.

we. want political curiosity and activism among syrians are growing whatever side of the divide they're on people here see the future of their country is at stake but all are adamant that future is firmly in their own hands. that's our cilia r.t. damascus. and now your chance to get involved with us here at r.t. we're asking what you think about the situation in syria in today's vote on come to have a look at why is it the president assad is still in power while cut off a has been toppled over half of the respondents say it's through to russia and china are opposing the bombing of syria around a third believe assad has more public support in his country nine percent say the opposition isn't united enough while the remaining few things seriously it is just more of your voice now dot com. well i still ahead for you this

hour here on our european way of tackling the debt crisis exercising pressure on member states and regulating the banking sector among the latest moves by the e.u. which experts say it's doomed to failure. because make a hearing we invite you for a tasting to check out what's being served all the way up in space. to the u.s. now where more people have been arrested following the latest wave of public protests against excessive corporate influence in the country of mass demonstrations have spread to dozens of cities a month after the so-called occupy wall street movement first flared up in the big apple. looks at how the protests continue to grow despite reported police brutality and hundreds of arrests. activists have been camping out in sleeping and demonstrating for weeks now and they seem as committed to this movement as they

ever have been before if anything i think the arrests have inspired them to to fight harder and stronger for their for democracy what they say for democracy for fair treatment for for balance and equality for all americans because that's at the core of what their movement is about these demonstrators are very committed to not acting violently they want to demonstrate as peacefully as possible members of occupy wall street walked through. particularly down park avenue and they went door to door to the homes of the five wealthiest new york city residents and that includes the c.e.o. of news corp rupert murdoch and also the c.e.o. of j.p. morgan chase diamond and these protesters were walking through the streets door men standing outside of the buildings were cheering them on when they got to the hole

jamie diamond there was a police barricade there but they continued to demonstrate and the reason they were demonstrating and and going door to door to the to the wealthiest new yorkers holmes is because at the end of this year two percent millionaire tax expiring meaning the two percent that was required for millionaires to pay they won't have to pay any more complain and twelve and a lot of these new yorkers say that this is an indication of how the wealthiest americans reap the largest rewards and if they're paying if they're going to be paying that mandatory tox a lot less revenue is going to be coming to new york city and new york state and the ninety nine percent with the majority of those living here are going to suffer and they say that's just an indication of the richest always reaping the benefits in the rewards and the common american always you know suffering the consequences. artie's marina portnoy reporting right there were public distrust towards the u.s. government's also growing this according to the latest polls and more than two

thirds of americans now say they are unhappy with washington and its artie's a guy nature can reports the white house and congress are heavily influenced by equally unpopular powerful corporations. investing in politics has proved to be good business in america just a few million dollars in contributions and some lobbying can bring a company billions in bailout loan guarantees tax refunds another stimulus all of the expense of the every american taxpayer it's both in the election system and it's in the ongoing lobbying and service influence industry these are powerful powerful businesses their whole business model is around using influence to break the rules of the game in their favor so far u.s. corporations have been successful in ensuring that the laws introduced to regulate wall street after the financial meltdown of two thousand and eight don't function those measures were effectively scuppered by u.s. lawmakers the corporations were also successful in keeping their tax cuts intact

and finding loopholes for getting billions of dollars in refunds the government over one percent for the one percent by the one percent perpetuates itself passes rules that allows the banks to get be regulated it restricts our democracy three years after washington gave almost a trillion dollars of taxpayers' money to bail out corporate giants unemployment in the country is over nine percent the national debt is well past the tipping point and the congress is looking to cut essential social programs for her thousands of americans took to the streets to ask where is their bailout and how can i moderate income that arrests one hundred nine while in the pool and doesn't arrest a single one of these bankers or the people would cause this to us just boggles the mind in the meantime goldman sachs one of the main architects of the current crisis is richer than ever it has announced seventeen billion dollars in bonuses alone for

its staff when asked about the impunity enjoyed by the corporations president obama said a lot of that stuff wasn't necessarily illegal it was just. immoral and many agree it pretty much stays that way but not only do the lawmakers come under fire for accepting generous contributions from corporations and then acting to return the favor but the president himself was accused of bias and cronyism on a number of occasions one of the most recent scandals involves a solar energy company cylindrica which went bankrupt and cost taxpayers almost six hundred million dollars that's the amount that the government approved in loan guarantees despite receiving persistent warnings about the company's financial stability the deal was pushed through by a foundation which in turn was a major donor to president obama's election campaign since last year corporations have been allowed to funnel as much money as they want into political campaigns now they don't even have to disclose the amounts they spend their time trying to value

elections is very serious the new law effectively gives the corporations even more influence in washington leaving many americans in fear that their voice might no longer count or draw all these people onto the streets of washington and other cities in the us is the understanding that their government and their legislators represent the interests of the top one percent as they call them the very wealthy corporations that can afford influence in washington to skew the system in their favor. going to check on our team washington d.c. . in time a rough immortal technique who's taking part in the occupy wall street movement says the u.s. government is too preoccupied with wars and promoting democracy in other nations you can watch as a full interview in about twenty minutes time a photo a preview. when people look at this nation they see republicans completely in the hands of corporations democrats pandering to them nonstop we see them also involved

now to the president as part of expanding wars expanding occupations not standing up for human rights you know being blind about so. global issues that are important to people here because they reflect on our democracy what we do outside of america defines our democracy here. all right and our twelve minutes past the hour here in the russian capital european banks should increase their reserves to withstand market turmoil that's the new plan put forward by the head of the european commission to solve the debt crisis and the move is designed to force banks to set aside more assets to save the system from collapse jose manuel barroso also wants no dividends or bonuses paid until they've done it but british euro m.p. nigel farage told r.t. the real aim is to save the banks. what it is it's a way of preparing the banks for the inevitable deforms that that are going to come

from those eurozone countries and that's why they're recapitalizing the banks i mean i've just been in this parliamentary chamber with mr barroso these people are absolutely intent creating a united states of europe they don't care how many millions of people are chucked out of the unemployment scrap heap they don't care about the tide of humanism misery that because they have got their political goals in the first place i mean the whole thing. what countries need who are trapped inside this economic prison called the euro is they need to devalue without devaluation having austerity packages pushed upon them which is forcing them into a downward deflationary spiral which in my opinion in greece and possibly in portugal too could lead to revolution what we're doing is stupid and very very dangerous indeed there is now a split in europe from north to south and in the north we are witnessing a democratic revolution against the whole concept of the euro and the idea that people like mr broke my old friend herman van ryn poyet should govern five hundred

million people it is not acceptable. with r.t. and live from moscow more news videos and of course the latest updates are waiting for you online right now for example. turned join of og jailing of ukraine's former prime minister has sparked outrage on the streets of kiev and a flood of criticism from russia the u.s. and the e.u. make sure you can read more dot com. also or go to our you tube look at the startling footage here it's a cargo ship that hit a reef and it started leaking toxic materials all off the coast of new zealand but again you tube channel for that. more news today violence is once again flared up. in these are the images. from the streets of canada. a giant corporation today.

past the hour here in the russian capital. spending long and lonely months in orbit meal times on the international space station are certainly a highlight but eating in zero gravity is a challenge both for the diners and the high tech chefs who have to plan the menu on earth so. long for a small taste. after traveling at phenomenal speed for two days cramped in the small space of a so used rocket cosmonauts arriving at the international space station going to be . how do you eat in zero gravity. well you have to be a bit more careful than down here on earth every little piece of food that gets out of your group will float away and you will not be able to keep track of it. to make sure cosmonauts enjoy their lunch without worrying that

a rogue morsel will disappear into the inner workings of some potentially lifesaving computer equipment the russian space agency designed this special table is a threat to the others you know there are two heating compartments here this eerie and in between is a trap for crumbs it works like a regular vacuum cleaner this is important because choking on a crumb is very risky in zero gravity it can have grieved consequences. all the food eaten in space has to be specially prepared here on earth that preparation doesn't come cheap cosmonauts need three thousand calories a day the same as an olympic sprinter and providing that cost over six hundred dollars a day with most missions lasting for six months each cosmonauts grocery bill comes in at a hefty one hundred ten thousand dollars per mission and at those prices it's no wonder that the people behind cosmic catering a proud of their product. as the chief designer of space food with twenty three

years of experience in the space food industry i can probably say that russia's space food provides the healthiest sleep first and the most nutrition rich diet for a cosmonaut. even the most simple food requires special care and attention this tree in moscow produces space spirit and the work which goes into making it ready for all but it is almost as high tech as the i assess itself that. there is no mold in this bread you know mold spores we've developed the recipe which stops mold growth the bread doesn't go bad for fifteen months thanks to the special recipe and technologies we use when baking it. even when it comes to something simple like bread there's still plenty of choice for your hungry cosmonaut here with all in all we make five types of bread gingerbread white bread that's what i have here on the table now right bread with caraway bread moscow style and dinner bread those

currently around one hundred sixty options for cosmonauts on board the international space station including all of the taste from home from soups to main courses and desserts and even the basics from salt and pepper the bread. pretty good. after a hard day's work on board the i assess it's nice to see that some of humanity's finest minds still have time to play with their food i thought ok i've got a yellow one for you good color nice and bright you ready ready good job yeah me here one more a couple more is make it three keep them coming was the. peter all over artie. all right i'll come to you live from moscow let's do the world update time for some headlines from around the world for you this hour there are unconfirmed reports from libya the one of moammar gadhafi sons has been captured in the city of sirte some officials from the national transitional council say. he was taken to benghazi

for questioning there's no official proof yet to confirm the claims that was a senior army officer as well as national security adviser and his capture would be seen as a major victory for the n t s. a shooting rampage at a hair salon in a small city near los angeles has left eight people dead and currently in a critical condition police called the suspect as he was trying to flee the scene finding several weapons on him the motive of the shooting remains and clear but there are reports the gunman was targeting his ex-wife. egypt's ruling military council has blamed christian religious leaders for sunday's violence which left twenty six dead general said the minority of protesters were peaceful but an armed crowd eventually joined the group and began attacking soldiers officials deny troops opened fire with live ammunition all ran over them with armored cars sitting drivers were in a state of panic and trying to this. i. small radiation

hotspots have been detected in the japanese cities of tokyo and to yokohama other levels are actually higher than in some areas that were evacuated and around the crippled fukushima nuclear plant so to say the radiation poses no danger to health but more checks are being made the discovery comes seven months after an earthquake and tsunami brought fukushima close to a nuclear meltdown. well the consequences of the near nuclear disaster in japan were far reaching germany has taken the lead in europe promising to give up nuclear power by two thousand and twenty two and fill the gap with renewable sources but it's not all positive an eco friendly future could well be one of blackouts disappearing industry and huge electricity costs as artie's tom barton reports. germany has long had a strong green anti nuclear movement but it was one accident that finally turned

the tide against nuclear power there. by twenty twenty two and the use of nuclear energy in germany so what now the green movement and its hopes for renewable energy have been given a huge boost renewables mostly wind turbines and photovoltaics better known as solar panels currently supply eighteen percent of germany's electricity indeed germany has big plans for green energy i mean to go from eighteen to eighty percent renewables after the nuclear switch off some say it's crazy to do it this way but others say second option is to say when somebody can make it happen it will be the germans but a closer look at the russia out of nuclear reveals there's more hope riding on its renewable replacements the natural readiness that planned eighty percent will take forty years at least and with nuclear electricity disappearing in germany in eleven years that will leave

a decades long energy gap that's the view of energy expert claudia canford who sees only one way to bridge the energy gap and it's not agreement we have new. fire power plants here in order not to have that kind of germans have long been a world leaders in their enthusiasm for a new about energy and their disdain for nuclear power now they've taken the leap of faith but it's far from certain when technologies like this will be able to take over or whether in fact germany will have to resort back to the fossil fuel age ironic seeing as the nuclear switch off was pushed by an anti emissions green lobby and it gets worse as any replacement power green or not will require billions of of dollars. construction expense pushing up the cost of electricity that's not good in a country like germany with such

a large industrial base energy and electricity prices in germany are pretty high compared to our competitors in europe now if they go for the rock then we think we'll lose competitive noise that could lead to major industries relocating production out of germany but perhaps the greatest problem facing renewable efforts comes from the same public the back to nuclear shutdown in the first place it's easy to say you want renewables but already massive opposition is emerging to the massive power grid lines and infrastructure that will have to be built all over the country hapless acceptance i think it's a more concern is the greatest danger not the economics not to policies support but it's a public acceptance all of which could leave germany very far from its green dreams of a renewable energy system. r.t. . right out of the business news unit here.

thanks for a welcome to the business update despite the ovals rollercoaster last month russian lenders have sin no hike in the conversion of verbal deposits into foreign currency on the other hand top lenders burbank managed to double new deposits to over two billion dollars. given the fact that oil prices are holding up very well above one hundred dollars per barrel given the fact that we're seeing signs of better stabilization in the global economy i think there is scope for the rouble to gain some of the laws ground in the wood manger of the year also we see that the policy of the central bank is more active and supporting the so why i believe that they will bill is more likely to appreciate from the current level than we can. in the remainder of this year. the minority shareholders of team key

b.p. have increased the claims against british partner b.p. they now want to said soon but in dollars compensation following a collapse the piece tie up with ross net they initial request was a quarter of that at the beginning of the year also may have to be peer group to join to develop the reach arctic fails russian partners and team blocked the deal saying it's violated their rights and demanded part of the tie up minority shareholders now want to compensation for the revenues they could have made if the deal had gone ahead. that's a look at the markets oil is trading in the red after the american petroleum institute reported to you as gasoline demand fell the most in more than five years in china exports climbed the least since every last month as imports slowed whites which is dropping a dollar and a half trading at eighty four dollars

a barrel while grant is at one hundred ten dollars per barrel. in europe stocks lower the footsie falling from a two month high that says mining companies declined following reports of slowing exports growth in china and germany's debts to shedding more than one percent. and russia the markets generally lower as oil dropped after the international energy agency reduced its global demand forecast for twenty twelve both the r.t.s. and the why it's losing more than one percent this hour or so have a look at some of the individual moves in the why is that while the decline here is led by gas braun one and a half percent lower well the quilt is losing one percent the company says it's going to spend more than ten billion dollars a year over the next decade to develop new future projects and one of much all is bucking the trend of the game as the company has reported a forty percent increase in revenues for the first nine months of the bitter

western front on capitol highlights his favorite stocks. if you believe in a road to continue then you should be in financials and should probably be. material soon. stops if you believe that we just see sort of a relief rally continue to go down further on you should try to be as defensive as you care and telecom which we. haven't really had a defensive characteristics of the mobile. trade in the u.s. are listed in the u.s. so they become the russian proxy in the u.s. so that could be selected utilities maybe maybe. it was hard work but i think that the universe is quite small. russian diamond producer all are also is considering growing its business by overseas a causations the commerce sunday or imports the firm's consultancy to be capital are encouraging it to purchase canada's cutty mines the company accounts for three percent of global diamond production and just the key diamond assets of beach be

belligerent trial and mining major controls eighty percent of all. target it's not yet known whether b.h.p. billiton would agree to sell the mine but the capital says the price could be as much just want to have been in dollars. that's all we have time for know europe today it's more analysis on our web site r t dot com slash business.

the syrian. president.