two days after she was sent to jail for seven years for abusing power while in office over a gas deal with russia. bringing you the top news commentary and stories from russia this is r.t. glad to have you with us let's get right to those top stories right now nineteen people have died during clashes between government forces and armed dissidents in northern syria according to human rights groups in reaction to crackdowns against anti-government protests which have killed over three thousand civilians this year the e.u. has imposed new sanctions on syria is largest commercial bank in a week which has seen huge counter-demonstrations supporting president assad in the capital damascus the regime which has previously promised to bring in reforms says it needs more time to do so while international pressure intensifies parties are

silly reports from the country in crisis. but voices of support. and continuing dissent some and in deadly clashes polar opposites in their demands but in some way united by a newfound zeal to take a stand where near the fence they're in kaffir with the hour and have gathered show their support for the government that is going is a far cry from images we've been seeing in other cities that a country where there have been reporting office with the kurdish forces that is a government protests an issue however one would think it's a matter where in this country because of course it is sometimes the intensity of the very very few that everybody with. her husband and young children were one of many families who braved the heat and joy the crowds in downtown damascus was 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 assad some are anti but that's how it is. it appears that apathy is becoming a less of an option for citizens of a nation now under intense international scrutiny i never watch news i never cared you know i never never had any interest in politics but. i think most of us read books we watch the news media articles and on facebook we want to know want to know people and then you have the right back around and other issues about your country where you got because. you have there are those like you who are you missing who are no strangers to picking a side and making it known he's long been voicing his discontent of what he calls a repressive regime and today facebook is one of his main tools in coordinating

dissent. activism has evolved in syria for me i feel that my voice goes further now back then it started with stating an opinion going to jail that hitting it dead 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'd 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 a call staunchly opposed by those on the other side yes it was we'll see if we. keep the key. to keep in mind. while 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 the future is

firmly in their own hands. that's our cilia r.t. damascus. and you can also have your say on the developments in a syria at our to dot com we asked you why president assad is still in power and khadafi is not so far the majority believe it's a rush it's because china and russia have opposed foreign military action against syria just over a fifth of the think bashar al assad has more popularity and international support than colonel gadhafi eight percent of you say the syrian opposition movement is clueless while the rest believe assad's continuing a hold on power is down to his ruthless reputation please cast your vote dartrey dot com. anti wall street protests continue to swell in the u.s. as demonstrators say that hundreds of recent arrests have only inspired them and brought more people to the movement protesters say they're fed up with the rule of banks and bonuses flowing into the pockets of the rich while ordinary workers and

the poor continue. suffer more meanwhile protesters have literally given the brush off to a call by new york's mayor michael bloomberg for them to leave a park so it can be cleaned with demonstrators saying it's merely an attempt to remove them after he recently attacked their campaign or he's more important explains why the protesters are doing their own cleaning. the occupy wall street protesters are taking part in our massive cleanup effort today on wall street all the demonstrators hundreds of them that have been camping out there and sleeping there for weeks are pulling out their brooms their mops even brushes to clean the every square inch of. the park that the. reason why the demonstrators are doing this is because new york city mayor michael bloomberg paid a visit. personally on wednesday evening walk through and told all the

protesters that they would have to temporarily leave the park on friday so that it could be cleaned up now the protesters believe that this is an effort city officials are making to remove them from the grounds that they have been camping out so they decided to take the initiative and clean the park on their own now of course the occupy wall street movement has been referring to themselves and the majority of americans as the ninety nine percent they believe that one percent of americans the richest that live in the u.s. basically the vast amount of money and that the disparity between rich and poor is growing deeper and deeper some facts were compiled by a variety of different organizations and those statistics include the fact that the top one percent. forty percent of america's wealth now this disparity of courting to reports is worse than it's been in the past twenty five

years at its worst level a second point is that the top one percent take home twenty five percent of america's national income and the third point is that the top one percent owns half of the country's stocks bonds and mutual funds this is joe. a little brief synopsis of the life he obviously used it in before and they talk about corporate greed possibly or when they talk about the economic disparities out within the united states. reporting from new york and keeping with his story demands to trim of the huge power of big banks seems to be falling on deaf ears in the white house and as our t's gonna cheat you can explain so washington isn't ready to turn its back on old friends. 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 it's in the ongoing lobbying in service to 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 loss 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 picture wakes and self passes rules that allows the banks to get deregulated 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 her thousands of americans took to the streets to ask where is their bailout and how good are a little country 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 course just boggles the mind in the meantime goldman sachs one of the main architects of the current crisis is richer than ever it is 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 companies celebrity 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 upcoming trial of by 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 what drew 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. our t. washington d.c. . and still ahead for you this hour the ultimate light snack. check out what's being served up in space as we unveil the process of cosmic catering. a new criminal case has been launched against ukraine's former prime minister yulia timoshenko she has been charged with laying the burden of debts from an energy corporation she added onto the ukrainian budget this comes just two days after two machine co was sentenced to seven years behind bars over her gas contracts with russia here is our correspondent in kiev alexy or chefs. this story is very complicated and pretty dark because this case in fact refers to she fifteen years

ago when you go was a was the head of the united energy systems of ukraine company she signed several contracts with the russian defense ministry and according to prosecutors and key of she owes four hundred million u.s. dollars to the russian defense ministry and the essence of this new criminal case is that she tried to put this debt on to the ukrainian side didn't this violates the ukrainian law this is of course a very interesting new twist in this saga with the trial of you look so much and go indeed two days ago she was sentenced to seven years in prison who are abusing the power during the signing of contracts of gas deals with russia back in two thousand and nine this new case may only add fuel to the fire off a very tense and very furious act is a very furious reactions from all over the world we've heard reactions from the united states which condemned the prison in the view that so much and so we shall we heard reactions from the european union which said that a possible agreement on association between the european union and ukraine could be

canceled and even an invitation for mystery on a coach to visit a meeting in brussels in a short future may also be cancelled we also heard very harsh reactions from moscow which claimed that all those gas deal signed in two thousand and nine were completely legitimate we've already heard very interesting statements from president bush who said that in fact this particular law under which he was too much ankle was present could be abolished in ukraine decriminalised by the ukrainian parliament and thus. could be set free but according to many experts she will still be unable to run for president or run for parliament and will still have to repay almost two hundred million u.s. dollars in damages which she inflicted to the korean budget. the u.s. and south korean leaders have pledged to close or trade and security ties in washington d.c. after their two countries struck a long sought free trade deal president. visit comes as opposition grows in his home country and in the u.s. against government plans to build

a base for use by the american navy christine from the los angeles based korea policy institute says these plans only add to instability in the region. i think it's bad for korea i think it's bad for. china relations it's bad for korea china relations it's bad for the growing arms race that we're seeing throughout east asia where is the problem is that it is going to stage aegis destroyers and those aegis destroyers are connected to a u.s. missile defense system and so a lot of activists the pieces peaceful protesters are saying who's space is this really anywhere is this a u.s. space because it will be tied to the u.s. missile defense system is it part of the u.s. strategy to contain china and is it going to foment a regional arms race which pice korea in between us and china i would say that the chinese are very concerned about. the closeness of the u.s.

military to their territory i know that the north korea. as if it is a u.s. and that the presence of the u.s. military on the korean peninsula is really delaying the process of reading and it's not just the presence of pieces but it has been the ongoing u.s. policy on the korean peninsula whether it's the massive amounts of military exercises that take place on a regular basis north korea views as a confrontation to their own you know unfortunately these kinds of things really delay the peace and the reunification process between the two countries i mean there is growing resentment and and calls not just korea enslave the people in the canal in wa to say we've had enough of u.s. military occupation it's time to it's time to close down these bases and trying to think about a different way of achieving security. well not have

a look at some other stories making news around the world right now. three people have been killed and thirteen hurt in a restaurant blast in downtown rio before it opened for customers after staff arrived the explosion caused damage to apartments in the building above where the cafe was located an investigation is underway but a gas leak is suspected it is feared gas may have built up in the restaurant of the day and night before when it was closed for a public holiday. an estimated four hundred remaining fighters loyal to colonel gadhafi have pushed back interim government fighters after a day of fierce street fighting is the hometown of syria this comes as the new libyan leaders have backtracked on their claims that one of cut off easy sons may not seem has been captured in the besieged city meanwhile human rights group amnesty international has accused the country's interim leadership of torturing thousands of detainees and called for the abuse to stop. at least fifteen

people have been killed and almost fifty wounded after a twin explosion attack rocked eastern baghdad according to officials a device went off near the house in the shiite city district just moments later a car bomb exploded in the same area as people were gathering out the side of the first blast the terrorist attack follows an earlier series of bombings targeting iraqi police that struck the capital on wednesday killing dozens. a french inquiry into attempted rape allegations against x. international monetary fund chief dominique strauss kahn has been dropped for lack of evidence journalists been on had accused him of trying to rape her eight years ago during an interview the prosecutor's office says strauss kahn had admitted to behavior that would qualify as sexual assault but that he couldn't be charged for his lesser offense under french law as it happened more than three years ago

earlier this year he designed as head of the i.m.f. over a different attempted rape charges against a hotel worker in new york which were later dropped. for cosmonauts and during a long stay aboard the international space station food is one of the few distractions from their day to day routine but preparing a meal is it no he task for scientific chefs at home who must stir up a space safe menu that's both nutritional and tasty r t sent peter oliver for a lunch that is out of this world. after traveling at phenomenal speed for two days cramped in the small space of a soyuz rocket cosmonauts arriving at the international space station going to be packing but 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 the rogue morsel will

disappear into the inner workings of some potentially lifesaving computer equipment the russian space agency designed this special table. or through to the others you know there are two heating compartments here in 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 to 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 costs 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 those prices it's no wonder that the people behind cosmic catering a proud of their product. as the chief designer of space food twenty three years of

experience in the space food industry i can probably say that russia's space food provides the healthiest sleeve first and the most nutrition rich diet for a cause. 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 small 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 who will be 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 but it's

currently around one hundred sixty calling every 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. that alters pretty good. after a hard day's work the i assess it's nice to see that some of humanity's finest minds still have time to play with their food. ok i've got a yellow one for you good color you ready ready good job yeah me here a couple more this make you three keep them coming. these are all over. and that's a look at your news at this hour up next we talk to a new york hip hop artist who has been with the anti wall street protesters since they first took to the streets over four weeks ago he shared with r.t. the disappointment and frustration behind the outcry.

occupy wall street has now entered its fourth week of demonstrations and this move has now believes the price this nation forty five two hundred cities had over the past few weeks many well known names have thrown their support behind me me my current guests proper optimists and a revolutionary immortal technique thank you for joining me thank you for having me

on the program the first few weeks you came down here to speak to the crowd off from what i understand you were very bothered by the fact this movement was being marginalized right now for one week into it mainstream media is down here we see all these satellite trucks around why do you think they have gone. as you report about what is taking place here and throughout the country you know there's an old phrase in the media if it bleeds it leads you know the more shocking the more outrageous it is the more that they want coverage because they know that all the stations the smaller media outlets the blogging sites those sites that may not be necessarily mainstream media that have the attention of millions of viewers are starting to actually pay attention to what's going on here which one is which is one of the biggest expressions of democracy in the past few decades here in america i think the tipping point might have been the arrests the mass arrests here in the eight hundred people peaceful protesters on the brooklyn bridge it took place i

know you've been very outspoken about it and of the police brutality i think that very much the police brutality when it hit the when it hit the internet became viral because you saw a bunch of defenseless people that were simply expressing their freedom. to speak their mind in a public place then they were penned off then they were sprayed down they were obviously not in danger of harming any police officers and then all of a sudden you see white shirts coming out worf and and seemingly unable to be held responsible for anything that they do almost as if they're above the law i want to ask you about something that new york city mayor michael michael bloomberg said about this demonstration he said that these protesters are trying to destroy the jobs of working people in new york city mayor michael bloomberg said that this demonstration is not productive do you think that this is. an illustration of disconnect what do you think about no i think that's

a perfect illustration of a connect his connect to wall street bloomberg is what seventy five percent or about owner of bloomberg l.l.c. has a sixteen billion dollars stake or so down the wall street this is business of course he feels threatened and he's going to do whatever he can including making the police more and more confrontational to listen. the type of negative response that he wants from these protesters he wants to goad them into violence he wants to make them argue amongst one another he wants to find issues of race religion sexual orientation whatever he possibly can him and people like him to exploit people that are coming here who simply want to express themselves how is this anything but a democratic expression of freedom of speech like. the momentum nationally that the u.s. to step aside from the occupation side from the visual what do you do when we start forcing the money when we start bleeding them down that's when they get the mess

that's when they get it through their heads oh my god 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 was expanding occupations not standing up for human rights you know being blind about several global issues that are important to people here because they reflect on our democracy what we do outside of america defines our democracy here there was a there was a sign out here that said you know police offices you one bounced check away from being out here with the rest of us to look at a lot of people think they're angry they're screaming at cops but you're going to stand there just working class individuals whose their boss the mayor the mayor is good money with wall street he's literally. he's closer to wall street than america's there's room you know i mean. that's that's his homey those are his people when they die you pours out

a little liquor for them so when he says something to the police commissioner the police commissioner says something to the white shirts and the white shirts kicked down to the soldiers this is a certain amount of cynicism that i have when people say oh they're all evil they're all we can know they're not evil they're all we can the people that are innocently following orders if they don't follow orders they lose their job like the sign said that one. bounced checks from being right here with the rest of us to at some point everybody has to question what they're doing and why they're even here what they're doing at their job if they're being expressive their democracy and a greater question what did they ever really do to be considered an american. if you fall out of a pool in new york or new jersey or kansas that's why you're an american that you have a stand up for you kumin rights and your civil rights if you have a question of government and trying to infringe on your civil liberties would you ever try to reform a government that's done nothing but in this country dry stealing from people constantly. if people come here from the opposition people love consistently been

a part of taking advantage of the people that are here that are upset at what we're doing because it exposes what they've been doing this whole time which exposes the corruption behind closed doors then we know we're on the right path and i'm telling people right now that i'm going to continue to come back down here to this movement i was here when it started i won't be here when it finishes because it's never going to finish because we can never stop reforming our democracy the moment that we stop reforming our democracy it ceases to be a democracy at the moment that the revolution stops that means the revolution has been betrayed we're here to stay and we're not going anywhere.

and broadcasting live direct from the heart of moscow this is r.t.m. sean thomas let's take a look at the top headlines tensions and crisis intensifies in. syria as human rights groups say nineteen have died during clashes between government forces and armed dissidents has split in the country is underlined by huge crowds rallying in the capital damascus to support president assad despite increasing international pressure against him. and wall street protesters are bringing their campaign right to the doorsteps of american billionaire says demonstrations against washington's of loyalty to big business sweep nationwide meanwhile new york's mayor michael bloomberg has been given the brush off by demonstrators after demanding they vacate their camp in a park so it can be clear.