islamist law looks about to take hold an egyptian following the final round of voting on a new constitution opponents argues in the muslim brotherhood of rigging the ballot to cement its power. primary school killings in connecticut sparked fierce debate over whether america's love of guns has gone too far with manny demanding stricter control over those who can bear arms. bahrain sees more police brutality and harassed for speaking out as the opposition describes the situation in the gulf kingdom as its worst political crisis. yet for taf lawmakers in moscow give the go ahead to fan u.s.

adoptions of russian children in response to washington slapping sanctions on russian officials. and hysterically insurrection in europe while spaniards seize over a hate a budget strikes in greece put a damper on a credit rating upgrade. it is now i am the russian capital watching r.t. with me marina joshie welcome to the program our early results from the final round of voting age it's troubled referendum suggest the new constitution is likely to pass it follows nearly a month of pro das was the latest violent outbreak be the country's second largest city of alexandria girl isabel true has more from the capital cairo. the preliminary results are in for egypt's contentious constitutional referendum egypt

appears to voted for the constitution sixty four percent say yes. thirty six percent have said no this comes after mass to send in the streets across the country the past three weeks against this constitution opposition forces say they mean for the presidential dictatorship and was drafted by the islamist dominated assembly of the twenty seven governors that went to vote in the last week only three voted against the constitution. and minutes say this in the last round is largely due to the fact that in the last seventeen governments there were two votes a large amount of them are rural governorates with large muslim brotherhood supports places their opposition forces for their part say that the reason it is a yes is because of electoral violations they say they've seen a number of instances of possible vote rigging including missing judges unsupervised polling stations missing ballot papers stuff the ballot boxes and also

campaigning by the mr brotherhood groups. also. conservative salafist groups with in the polling stations telling people to vote yes the biggest news of the day however is the resignation of the vice president mohamed mickey this is largely seen to be perhaps because in the draft constitution as it currently stands there is no post for the vice president this comes in the background of deepening violence across the country on friday we saw clashes between rival protest groups islam is rallies in egypt second city exam in support of the constitution there was rock throwing and also burning of cars the police had to intervene would take us comes just one week after similar clashes and xandra and of course three weeks after very bloody scenes here in the capital cairo we saw ten people die in my book . history. outside the presidential punished with

a deepening political crisis and neither side tracking down now the constitution is likely to be put in place we can only expect dissent from the street and possible violence across the country while asking our blogger journalist an opponent of the new constitution explains why he thinks the documents want i did vote myself and i voted no for the constitution and i think the vote this vote is not about the constitution but about the legitimacy of the muslim brotherhood and the direction they're taking the country the constitution itself is a very flawed it takes away more freedoms it gives police powers to detain people for more than twelve hours for twelve hours and cement the military role in egypt something unprecedented in all of egypt's constitution the numbers so far in the past results have indicated that this constitution will pass the amount of voting illegal irregularities confirm that and the regime is determined as well to let

the. well living alone and the revolutions and israel scrambles to secure its future as a maelstrom of uprisings leaves the jewish state surrounded by a less than friendly neighbors that's coming up here in r.t. . and then dangerous after six months holed up in the door an amnesty in london a whistleblower joining us on promises to release millions of confidential documents we know government in the world unaffected and that's in just a few minutes. a moment's silence down the last victim laid to rest it's one week since twenty children and six staff in a can out of primary school were killed in one of the worst mass shootings in american history the tragedy has sparked fears debate on gun control laws with manny saying it's too easy for the public to access military grade weapons. and found out if

america is now ready to change its treasured second amendment. a week after the tragedy at the elementary school in newtown president obama made the same pledge as when he became president four years ago to try and get assault weapons off the streets of the u.s. it's a pledge he has failed to deliver on this is not the first issue the first incident with a gun by over four years. were a few but the administration indicates this time it's different this time they're serious it will take commitment and compromise. and most of all it will take coach shooting is full and it's a skill and it's an important part of our hearing the debate taking place at the moment suggests a national consensus on the issue is far down the line and the dialogue between those who support and those who oppose such a ban comes down to this with guns comes safety if the guns are in the hands of the good guys if you not believe the stupid man on the powerful special interest group

in washington the national rifle association has successfully fought any form of gun control legislation for years and the solution they offer to the epidemic of gun violence that has plagued the us is more guns. the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun constitutional lawyer roger pilon things along the same lines and suggest arming teachers to prevent massacres like the one in newtown connecticut you're always going to have people who are going to be doing these kinds of evil deeds what you need to do is protect yourself against the weapons in schools and you go to a movie theater you have to carry a gun because there there will be there maybe someone with a semiautomatic you know wiping out the entire theater. as we have seen is that what you're suggesting. where do you put it provocatively like that what

i'm suggesting people movie theater yes because the police cannot be everywhere there are almost three hundred million privately owned firearms in the u.s. around ten thousand americans die in got violence every year the gun murder rate in the u.s. is almost twenty times higher than in the next twenty two richest and most populous nations combined. we have three hundred million guns in america but also a population of three hundred million people so that's one gun per person and more guns are actually the solution to deterring shootings of any crime it would have this problem in the first place the gun adam lanza used to kill twenty young children and six adults of the sandy hook elementary school was an a or a fifteen semiautomatic rifle it's a military style rifle that can shoot hundreds of rounds at a rapid speed it belongs to adams mother who he also murdered nancy lanza

a teacher at the same elementary school owned six guns numerous types of assault weapons are readily available for purchase in the u.s. at gun stores at gun shows and online after the newtown tragedy many americans are calling for change again make it inherently make it worth something we could meet. because you can't you could create change previous meaningful attempts to change hit a wall and that wall is the second amendment of the constitution the right of the people to bear arms skeptics say the most the restoration can do is require background checks at gun shows but again adam lanza's mother a teacher at an elementary school would have probably passed any of those checks and her military style rifle would have ended up in the hands of her son anyway that constitutional lawyer i spoke to seem very certain that nothing major is going to change when it comes to gun laws in america does that mean more massacres like the tragedy in newtown in washington i'm going to check on. well political analyst

do you think the debate on gun control will be tough for both sides. there's stronger a tradition and a belief among many americans. to post. on the right that there's certainly some rights under the constitution under the second amendment to the people for rights and there is a cultural so the house romanticized the use of. the most issue of guns to particularly hold it with you're going to have people who are going to be opposed to the private ownership of guns and they're going to argue about the massacres the cure and then you're going to have the. second amendment the right to possess some bear arms they're going to argue that they can be used for self-defense supports for ponting for instance and of course they're going to say that a lot should be strengthened to prevent the mentally unstable to get a hold of guns. christmas on the streets literally knew we were in for it on

a new york's hidden home was as america splashes out billions on christmas decorations and tinsel. plus reunion and space the ice has welcomes its latest crew man after a two day journey with a spacewalk and more than one hundred scientific experiments i have. bahrain as seen a massive anti-government pro asked this week where the opposition's saying the country is suffering the worst political crisis in its modern history its use a monarchy of gagging the voice of the people with one of the top activists arrested and charged for tweeting about monday's rally the ma'am report about police using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators the monarchy has repeatedly been criticized by human rights groups for its crackdown on the opposition movement eight people have been killed thousands arrested and some reportedly tortured during the almost two years of unrest political science condom

al says the government is trying to avoid real reform they trying to. position. the international community that they have lifted the ban on protests but at the same time they are mostly they're behaving just as they are jailing three quarters of the population or oppose them and the bob relation is no longer. the population wants to leave you and again to leave the country they want democracy they're tired of two hundred thirty years oh. why is there such silence in the united states when the by relations of human rights are so gross i just mean and generally quiet. partisan and of course you and everyone else know most of the reason and that's because the fifth fleet based in bahrain from the bahrain the u.s. uses that as

a pivot point to try to intervene and control the middle east's the idea. is clearly there are. a joke in the modern world and the only ones who don't get it on the. while israel's aggressive settlement policy has left it isolated on the world stage the arab spring is laughed at short of fran's in the middle east surrounded now by a less than welcoming as the us government's some israelis remember fondly when despots ruled the region our disposal reports. there's a storm brewing in the middle east and it's leaving a chill in the hearts of most israelis say what you might about the arab spring it poses an obvious problem for television zaman and so we've seen just a few weeks ago. plenty of missiles falling on israel form a radical. i dream and we see. already the beginning of may be

a. christian war in the golan heights we see plenty of the angels in the mediterranean sea israel's backyard has become a lot more dangerous in the last two years weapons from libya are leaking across borders and landing in the hands of a known militant groups the trouble ahead is symbolized by the muslim brotherhood sweep to power in egypt from this rally in june and ominous promise by the movement to make sure and not climb over the capital at a minimum what we'll see is the free flow of weapons money and supplies from egypt into the gaza strip we will see egyptian volunteers going into the gaza strip to fight that's the minimum moving up from there the possibility of egypt israel war is by no means impossible but it was democracy that brought the muslim brotherhood to power and ideal both israel and the west came to espouse but both are now waking up to the reality that things might in fact have been better under the previous

dictatorships at least for them we had a difficult situation but at least we had the contact you know with the leadership secondly president was committed to the peace process. this iteration today is that we are confronting a new president who belongs to a certain institution a certain movement which do not believe in the right of israel for existence israeli leaders know all too well that whatever friendships however useful they have with arab leaders it doesn't alter the basic threat posed by an arab awakening that in most countries is empowering militant islamic groups we will expect that these governments when when they will will but pressure not only on the friends of we feel also this. the new changes in the board democracies that is emerging in the arab world will have a tremendous challenges and. in order to maintain.

law and order to establish a real democracy the need need some time but television fears that in the time it takes for that democracy to really take root and for the arab public perhaps one day to accept a jewish state relations with its arab neighbors will get far worse before they get better the challenge now for israeli leadership is twofold to avoid inflaming arab public opinion while protecting israel and also to counter the growing to space many israelis feel of a growing isolation in an increasingly volatile neighborhood policy r.t. tell of of. russia is one step closer to imposing a total ban on adoptions of its children by u.s. citizens as the lower house of parliament has given the green light to the motion the baddest part of wider legislation targeting those who abuse the rise of russians abroad moscow is responding to washington's travel and financial

restrictions on russian officials suspected of involvement in the death of lawyers here gaming he died in custody during a massive tax fraud investigation three years ago president while they were put in however says the u.s. lacks the moral standing to accuse others of human rights violations. our u.s. partners and their lawmakers say they're concerned about human rights in our prisons that's fine of course but there are plenty of issues they have themselves abu ghraib and guantanamo where for years people have been detained without charge it's inconceivable that prisoners walk around in chains like in the middle ages they've legalized torture inside their own country if something like that happened here it would cause an international outcry but it all remains quiet in the u.s. we've heard plenty of promises to close guantanamo but it's still there it's still operating maybe there is still torture going on there secret cia prisons has anyone

been brought to account and they're pointing at our problems well thank you we're aware of that making this the ground for passing anti russian laws it's something absurd and we have a no way provoked such action. well the statement comes as part of lot of reports and of your q. and a marathon with the media will be bringing you more highlights after am g.m.t. here on r.t. . and we get leaks with the lowing website is ready to release a vast trove of new game changing information concerning every government in the world and that was one of the points joining the sun made as he addressed a crowd of journalists and supporters from the door an amnesty in london this week the whistleblower mark six months since he was granted asylum there he says he intends to stay there until the threat to his life posed by the u.s. is gone we can make spokesperson christian happen since has the website is ready

for a foreign information war against washington. where we know about the ongoing. investigation and the secret grand jury you know something there jr there is. an ongoing attempt to find an angle to bring charges against julian and possibly all those working for we do so as a very serious matter of course very shameful for the obama administration not to stop that for the man who was right even taken four years ago to increase transparency and what we have seen is totally the opposite which comes against whistleblowers. that you know presidents in history will continue our work as we have done just by difficult situation that you has been in in the ecuador embassy you know for six months but problems with your house arrest that hasn't stopped us we have continued to work. the economic blockade has not stopped us either even

though we are getting into a dire situation financially but the battle that we have decided to go into world war and i'm sure we have agreed to that as well in the new year. amid the financial gloom greece saw a little lie this week by the ultimately a few felt like celebrating athens was. in its first credit rating boost since the crisis began but a general strike over a staring manager caught and a merriment short on top of that four of the biggest agree banks have come out asking for a twenty seven billion euro bailout meanwhile in spain protesters held a mock funeral for the country's budget after the government approved drastic new cuts thousands of doctors policemen and public sector workers staged daily protests over layoffs investment advisor patrick young says a lot of the blame lies with madrid the truth is there is no money to pay all of these nurses and doctors there is no money for this loutish government

infrastructure it has to be privatized sold off there have to be savage cuts because truly spain has spent the last decade living on the never never it was built on the back of a huge property bubble the bubble was unsustainable nobody managed to manage starts and unfortunately while we can obviously say it's a tragedy for the poor independent health care professionals there's just no way to manage to find the money to pay them in modern spain here is a government that has effectively and an overall majority they can do absolutely anything they want and they seem to be absolutely determined to do more or less nothing and it's really a tragedy because they're not helping the spanish economy under not helping the people either the spirit of christmas isn't just a good feeling it's a multi-billion dollar industry lights tinsel decorations all make for a pretty sight but sometimes they obscure those less fortunate parties maureen apart from new york. imagine a country with no homeless people i know it's not the most festive or jolly like

question to ask during the holiday season but see here in the u.s. nearly six hundred thirty four thousand people went homeless last year and as it turns out just a sliver of the money american spent on blinking lights tinsel bright stars and shiny presents could actually end the nation's homelessness epidemic. is the way. there is going to were it is a waste. decoration you created me. imagine how much santa could do for a loan with low income housing with that kind of money that's what people need housing is all for show us and a lot a lot of very desperate people on the streets of new york texas wherever i mean it's it really is a sad situation and i think we can all do better you know maybe sometimes people go a little overboard you know we want to we all be in the christmas spirit but i

guess there's other things that you could be doing with your money six billion dollars spent just on lights and all and all that because people want to get into the spirit right and they want to forget about all the ugliness in the world and that's not right they need to remember the homeless as well we came here for this time and we're all wrapped up in it but when you point that out it's a shame you know top white house officials say that the government would need an annual budget of twenty billion dollars to effectively eliminate homelessness by twenty twenty at top of the obama administration however even though that money sounds like a lot we should put it into perspective according to the national retail federation americans spent more than six billion dollars on christmas decorations last year and holiday sales reached a reported four hundred and seventy billion dollars so in this season of giving as . americans are spending in the cloud of holiday spirit they could essentially be

curing a huge social problem that continues to plague the nation reporting from new york marine upper nile arctic a luxury yacht belonging to the late apple founder steve jobs has been impounded and am starting to find out why the best buy one of america's richest man before his death last year is not or the high seas. abit on the side three time u.s. olympian of best to having a saucy second job she says her husband knew about it but couldn't do you think to stop or to find this and much more at our. outs been a two day journey into space for the latest addition to the international space station crew since they blasted off from the baikonur cosmodrome and castle stan

join team members already on board the ice after their capsule success we docked with the station spacewalks and more than a hundred scientific experiments are planned to keep the crew busy for the next five months. or more on the goal of the latest mission. a farewell guitar music was in the air as the next cruise the international space station said that last goodbyes to. it'll be in the cockpit to do so as the i assess is next commander chris hadfield and actually when we're sitting on the launch pad inside our soyuz there will be music playing both two to warm up our bodies and to warm our hearts do it while the music will be a comfort there was months of work ahead on the station preparing a launch is like a technical and scientific symphony no rocket crew and an older sister of engineers around them chewing up for the main overtures. for the families this time is as

nerve wracking as it is exciting chris hadfield's wife say she will still feel connected to what is up there again for music but like really if you're here if you like to be playing so much music because they get it you good part of it life and then you were part of it life so that they were sure that you know play lots of surveys that yes there's a spec corner on my s.s. trust a guitar. but being away from home at the most special time christmas surely that is talked. when i'm up in space i start to feel homesick i'll probably do what i do on earth and that is to. to open up my guitar and. and play songs that are important to me we shouldn't feel too sorry for chris thomas as well as enjoying music to look down on her as we celebrate so it's

seasons greetings sweet sounding space merry christmas. happy new year to. tom watson r t baikonur as a stone. and to pakistan now and a suicide bomber has blown himself up during a political rally leaving nine people dead these are the scene. of chaos in northwest pakistan after the blast the march was held by the awami national party part of pakistan's governing coalition more than twenty people injured in the attack were ferried to a local hospital a prominent local politician a member of the group died in the explosion the party supports secular ideals and has repeatedly been targeted by the taliban. presence across england have found themselves waiting through the streets after torrential rain their cars flooding the south west regions of devon and cornwall have borne the brunt of the severe weather emergency services have been overwhelmed as houses have damaged roads taken out flood warnings are still in place in the

area. well in just a few minutes our team meets with some of russia's most outstanding paralympic athletes to hear their stories of courage and success in the face of great on's. do we speak your language anything about the role or not advanced. news programs and documentaries and spanish more matters to you breaking news a little too much of angles stories. for you here. in troy altie spanish find out more visit.

since childhood for the americas always stood out from his peers he hates losing and has never missed a single training session he came first in everything be a swimming ballroom dancing or chess at the age of sixteen or started to lift weights.