e.u. decision makers struggle to plug a trillion euros tax home paul fraud thrives at the highest levels of europe's political elite. u.s. government is once again caught spying on a reporter sending shock waves the journalist community with is that press freedom is under threat. and the u.s. senate panel backs a push for an arms bill to give the syrian opposition lethal aid i think at the first such move by lawmakers since the beginning of the crisis.

well news and much more twenty four hours a day this is r.t. even leaders are facing tough talks on tax fraud in brussels and over one trillion euros slipping through their fingers every year well this is a time when they're struggling to justify painful austerity measures being forced upon crisis hit member states and there's also in our reports the efforts in brussels look even less convincing not of tax scandals involving some of the top politicians. tax evasion no that's a hot topic right now here in the e.u. especially as e.u. leaders have decided to go ahead and talk with the likes of switzerland so-called tax havens but are non e.u. members to establish some sort of a more transparent exchange of relevant to banking data and this also comes at a sensitive time for citizens there those who are asking at a time when they are having to pay higher taxes and deal with job losses those belong to the top one percent of the very wealthy of the countries get away with tax evasion and tax fraud leaders of his speaking quite loudly about this clampdown

on so-called offenders and a number of scandals have arisen in various countries starting with friends of a former budget minister there had to step down from his post he's been accused of having a secret swiss bank account we're talking about an amount of six hundred eighty five thousand euros there and also another politician over in greece a former minister of finance there has been accused of being involved with one of the country's largest tax scandals us about one point two million dollars we're talking about here now over in germany the boss of one of the world's biggest a football clubs byron munich he's also want to investigation for fraud of about millions of dollars there now here in belgium. has been accused of trying to hide her wealth from tax authorities so that her heirs don't have to pay a seventy percent tax and another royalty over in spain princess christine as she's been indicted on charges of complicity in tax fraud that's amounted to about seven point eight million dollars but putting all these together it's just a fraction of the want to trillion euros of the european commission says is lost to

tax evasion and tax fraud each year the e.u. commissioner for taxation anti-fraud has expressed disappointment of the lack of progress made by the bloc there's still a level of opposition coming from a couple of countries namely austria and look some work both of which are key to protect their own banking secrecy laws and this commissioner also pointed out the rather than relying on third party countries or non e.u. member countries like switzerland are more nicko the bloc should take bigger steps in imposing a tougher tax avoidance laws now today the summit is going to show whether leaders are willing to take that step or if all of this is just talk reporting from brussels. well the e.u. summit comes as a new poll shows fewer young europeans believe the crisis management efforts will be effective as you can see here there's a huge percent of those who don't believe the future will be bright look at that in france pessimistic sixty five percent italy sixty six percent which is even

gloomier if we look at opinions concerning employment in italy a staggering ninety two percent of people there are pessimistic about job security and europeans are also becoming increasingly worried about having a secure pension when your tiny minority saying they're confident about their future and that this doom and gloom it's young people in particular who seem to have lost faith piece all of the reports now from portugal. with unemployment on the rise the portuguese of facing a new set of challenges if you don't want to be a statistic if you don't want to be a number you have to. be committed with their own responsibility of making your own job joe has done just that turning his back on an education and social the job in advertising he moved out of the city now teaches people how to grow mushrooms

you are used to a model in which the opportunity is given to you now the new model you have to make or an opportunity. drawn towards fungal farming juta the mushrooms recycling abilities he says portugal's politicians could learn a thing or two from his produce we really really need to find new nutrients to spring to live. every day full natural. he's even found a good use for some of his old textbooks yeah as the breeding ground for a potential new mushroom that's easy to grow by anyone but it's not only in the countryside that new agricultural projects are under way with the portuguese facing rising prices and ever decreasing wages urban farms like this one becoming a very important way to make sure families can put food on the table small allotments are springing up right in the heart of lisbon operating without proper planning permission. turn

a blind eye to their development. everything is just too expensive so i try to get everything i can't afford from my little garden sometimes there is a good crop so i can sell it for extra cash and nothing goes to waste here even garden pests can have their uses if you know how i collect these snails from my crop when cooked right they can be quite tasty in fact many think of them as a delicacy it. grilled or in the silliest unemployment is it a record high in portugal with pessimists suggesting it's only a matter of time before it passes the twenty percent mark economists in the country are accusing portugal's european partners they ignore in their situation people in the north should look more close to the direct human consequences of these policies and if they have a better knowledge of what's happening in those fields they will change their mind about what's what needs to be done in the near very near future joe is somewhat

more philosophical just be patient and things will come at their time and that's. it's the best lesson that i learned with mushrooms peter all of the portugal. i would high level tax fraud record unemployment and grand despair among europeans we're asking you what you think he was heading cast your vote at r.t. dot com harry eruptions is the financial collapse ahead or an end to the debt crisis in the poorest states be forced out of germany become increasingly dominant we're going to r.t. dot com and have your say. scandal

around the u.s. government spying on journalists appears to be spreading and latest twist it's been revealed that personal phone records and e-mails of a fox news reporter were seized as part of a leak investigation this latest incident comes on the heels of an associated press wire tapping scandal and members of staff had their calls and e-mails monitored and washington correspondent on a chicken looks at the implications of these cases might have for journalism in america. journalists here especially those covering national security matters first saw their sources drying out because of the administration's unprecedented hunt for leakers and whistleblowers as if that wasn't enough of a blow to investigative journalism downturn they see that they themselves could be targeted as criminals for soliciting information from government officials the story of the fox news reporting investigated by the f.b.i. for having sought information from a state department official sent truck waves throughout the journalistic community the secret blanket surveillance of over one hundred a.p. reporters that was another shock all of this led to the question about whether the

administration mistakes journalism for espionage to talk about this i'm joined by tom hartman the host of the big picture here on r.t. . tom there's a department official who apparently leaked classified information to the fox news reporter he was charged under the espionage act the fox news reporter is being investigated as his accomplice in the alleged crime the obama administration has used the espionage act this world war one era law to prosecute other whistleblowers if these people are being prosecuted as spies who is the enemy that they are spying for well if they were going to prosecute the reporters themselves then obviously the enemy that they're spying for is we the people people united states. to the best knowledge they are not prosecuting the journalists but they are investigating the journalists as if they were criminals back during the bush administration when judith miller had that information about the view of these he

went to her and said please give us the information give us your phone records tell you she said no and she went to jail rather than giving up their sources so now instead of asking reporters asking news agencies they're simply going in with all the power. over of the spy agencies of america and you know what i think this is a violation of personal something that i personally found extremely alarming and it was a new york times article from her out a year ago about drone strikes and innocent people dying in those. and they cited no named u.s. official who said that those reports on civilians dying in drone strikes they help terrorists so if that's how they see those journalists maybe it's not surprising that they go after them like this there is there i've always been governments and people in governments who use the excuse that you know you're either with us or you're with the enemy. you know they don't understand that there's also there's you know what's in the interest of the country and it may not be the best interest of

the administration this was the argument that was made about people who are trying to win and johnson with the gulf of tonkin and obviously we've over and over and over again we've heard this argument and it just doesn't doesn't fly thank you thank you very much so spice terrorist helpers journalists can be accused of all kinds of things i guess a responsible journalist in the eye of the administration would be the one who diligently copy paste only what the government decides to put out there on its website and in press releases and that would be a sad day for our profession in washington i'm going to. call in from the website truthout says the latest surveillance case means the very nature of investigative reporting is at risk. the obama administration has really taken the executive branch powers of intimidating the free press one of the key issues here and i think this is very important is that the case of fox news producer was

actually a coconspirator in this this has never been asserted before as far as we know in the united states wiki leaks us on j. and bradley manning or outliers that there is a limit to disclosing government information but the reality is that the government often leaks information and if it leaks classified information and of course it doesn't prosecuted itself this is the nature of investigative reporting that the obama administration is going after obama ran in two thousand and eight and to a certain degree in two thousand and twelve on a play at form that he would make government more transparent but instead he is making government more opaque i mean while that's the u.s. government's apparent war on whistle that has got this place some media outlets are taking steps to shield their sources and new york has launched

a system that allows people to anonymously have it leaked documents and messages to the magazine nazis were in a court not have contests. one of america's oldest and most prestigious news publications is pulling up page from wiki leaks and creating a platform for whistleblowers and sources to anonymously leak information the new yorker magazine has launched a strongbox and open source dropbox that allows people to send messages and leak information without their identities ever being revealed now the forebear reportedly uses multiple laptop thumb drives a rich and poor the bad boy that the new yorker ever finding out where they're coming from this way if anyone in the justice department wants to know the source of the information new yorker officials can tell them now strongbox is being billed as a secure digital route for sources to use the underlying code for strongbox is

called dead drop it was created who created by wired editor kevin paulson and the late hour and swartz the r.s.s. inventor and open source not to miss swartz committed suicide in january at the age of twenty six while facing a federal trial and thirty five years in prison u.s. prosecutors were targeting the ready founder for downloading millions of online at the democratic polls and publishing them online for free today the obama administration's target has changed now journalists from the associated press and fox news are being investigated and persecuted for their reports on national security issues a climate that has caused the new yorker to combine the first amendment practices of julian assange and aaron swartz in order to protect the bradley manning's of the world reporting from new york arena r.t. . was the lead few support for syria from within this room the team looks at the

school board commits me to whatever it takes the friend president that's the. stuff the pentagon office for more money to maintain going toe prison you talk to a former god who explains what's been drawing inmates there to stem cells for months. and. some of these traditional chili lines they've been bred and developed and passed down from generation to. this is a total destruction of the culture of new mexico by telling them i mean this this is not going to impact a swelling in mexico whatever happens here throughout the whole world now we're eating out about in the in the open in the eighty's in all the awarding of snow or . genetically engineered crops why do you think this country is full of obese and sick people because we have

a crappy food system. more news today violence is once again flared up. and these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. showing corporations to rule the day. ok back here with l.t. . the pentagon is asking for almost half a billion dollars to maintain an upgrade the guantanamo bay prison adding to doubts there's any genuine intent from the u.s.

authorities to close a facility more than one hundred detainees have been on hunger strike for three and a half months now in protest over their indefinite detention without charge r.t. talked to a former guard at the camp attorney holbrooke's explained why most prisoners would prefer suicide through starvation to being kept there. some of the some of the tactics that i saw practice in guantanamo i just never really want to wish to relive again omar kotter and a number of other detainees said they were privileged to something we called the frequent flyer program or even essentially move them every two hours whether removing them from camp delta camp echo or moving them from bravo block to charlie block be it a little move or a big move the idea was that every two hours they would be moved and they wouldn't be able to sleep this was essentially fought to wear down their psyche and make them more. probable to give up information during interrogation i think it speaks volumes about the conditions at guantanamo bob you see saying to him if suicide

through starvation is prefer able to. staying alive and then going through the monotony of guantanamo distance the only reason the detainees are being force fed is that the the u.s. military or rather the powers that be are scared that these men have enough conviction to to literally starve to death and they know that if these men do starve to death it will make the u.s. look bad in the global global perspective if the pentagon wants four hundred fifty million dollars more to maintain and restructured one ton of i think that's basically just preparations for the next batch of people are going to fill it. as it stands right now the weeks to so many millions of dollars taxpayer money in one hundred. it's just ridiculous and absurd to think about but if we just devoted another four hundred fifty million i think that's just perfect evidence right there there's no intention to close up one where the. well the full interview with terry

holt brooks is available for you when i website at www dot com also that today medical mismanagement is what she was all the way to reveal about surprising. since many pounds been discovered in the u.k. into a storage percent. less self-made space food all possible as nasa designs three d. printers that you know to take some action means in orbit with details on that on our website. the u.s. senate committee has voted for a bill to the syrian rebels who are trying to topple president i said regime is the first time in two years of the ongoing civil war that america's lawmakers have agreed to give the battling opposition lethal support and other the bill still has a long way to go before it could come into force or threatened historian gerald horne that means washington has meant nothing from its past mistakes the pressure

has really been ratcheted up in washington with regard to these rebels the israeli lobby in particular has been quite energetic and quite active with regard to lobbying for aid to the rebels which is quite curious since if these rebels come to power i dare say that israel will have many sleepless nights the implications are quite ominous obviously the u.s. authorities have not learned the lessons of history for example we recall that in afghanistan in the one nine hundred eighty s. the united states supported extremists and then on september eleventh two thousand and one those extremism those allied with them attacked new york city and washington we recall that the u.s. authorities backed extremists and libya and then also temporary love in two thousand and twelve those extremists killed the u.s. ambassador chris stevens and been ghazi and it's plunged the obama administration into the ground the investigations sadly and tragically it seems that they would like to see history repeat itself. meanwhile the syrian and israeli army's have

exchanged fire in the disputed golan heights well the next by television and front line attacks have become more frequent in recent months with israel launching airstrikes near the last case as r.t. has put us there explains there's at least one community in israel that's ready to defend president that. we're ready to die defending our people strong words from a share preparing young men to go and fight in syria except his recruits are not rebel fighters or soldiers in damascus there is really druze a minority islamic offshoot we need to go help defend the community in syria and president assad. we have relatives there are people are there and they were attacking them in the name of islam. the tipping point came after rebels targeted the truce village of kind of near the israeli syrian border and killed seven people by the hundreds israeli jews volunteers started signing up short of i would be

honored to be the first man who crosses the border to defend the druze community simon y d works in an israeli factory but feels it's only a matter of time before he'll be asked to cross the border into syria. i hope that they won't need us but you can't know what will happen now the situation in the druze villages is stable but if this changes we will go for it we are waiting for the orders from our shakes and we are totally ready israeli jews who live in communities in the gulf and the golan heights after the forty eight and sixty seven war they found themselves cut off from their families in syria after israel occupied the heights those who live here on the israeli syrian border our residents of israel but see themselves as syrian. they're loyal to the alawite regime who they see as a minority like him selves they live in fear for their families in syria after the rebel assault on a druze village i learned where. we're under attack we're under foreign attack

they're using foreign soldiers to fight inside syria and some syrians are helping them. some have other ways to fight back this man goes door to door selling his book about a respected to share all the proceeds go across the border. the druze community in israel collected one million dollars and center to the syrian druze from my abilities because we collected one million shekels people paid what they could in order to help their relatives in syria the call to fight has not yet been made but as the conflict in syria starts to spread beyond its borders more and more communities are being torn in some many allegiances here randi and when a relative is killed the test for tatter vendetta is likely to last for years but we are just waiting for an opportunity to help and we are ready to give our lives policy r.t. on the israel syria border. he spoke to the south african president jacob zuma

about ways of resolving the syrian crisis making its leader a part of the solution the full interview is coming up later today but. i don't know what is it that makes people think he should leave is a syria has been a problem that has developed in syria is part of it he must participate in dissolving it what syrian people should do is to find a solution a solution that must be accepted by everybody in the clued in what happens to those who have been. on either side of the syrian situation has been allowed in the main by the members of the sea tried to cause well all been calling for. a kind of coming together of the syrian people to solve their problems that they should be helped to set back some countries have been saying no there was a time who could have come in who could've said solve the problems find

a solution whatever views people didn't do so because it was not satisfying the interests. reef look at out some other international news students in chile have hurled homemade bombs and clashed with police during protest of education cuts police responded with water cannon tear gas thousands of marched through the city of el paraiso demanding free education began two years ago has been gaining momentum of the government still refusing to meet the students demands. and rescuers are continuing their search for survivors in the oklahoma city suburb of moore after it was struck by a devastating tornado the number of reported dead has been reduced to twenty four

including nine children own two hundred people were injured in all neighborhoods destroyed. that's all for me for now but stay with us for a special report. wealthy british style.

markets why not come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike's conjure for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to kaiser report on our. controlling the seeds is not some abstraction whoever provides the world seeds

controls the world's food supply arlington steel vanity fair. for the first time corporations are patenting products that are self replicating uncontrollable and irretrievable. genetically engineered pollen carried by wind insects bacteria viruses and humans has inadvertently traveled the globe. scientists in laboratories and corporate spokespeople would have americans believe that pollen from flowering plants in the open environment can be controlled farmers hay fever sufferers and anyone who observes the chaotic natural world would disagree tonight a look into the world of genetically modified organisms through the lens of new

mexico's iconic chili peppers. at the plant genetic engineering laboratory on the campus of new mexico state university in los crucis scientists are developing a genetically engineered chili pepper. genetically engineering the new mexico chili pepper has stirred controversy because it is a cultural heirloom and defines new mexican cuisine this is what the mexico is known for and this is what makes this unique i mean this is this is threatening this is very threatening to our stars there are. well. the seeds are sacred some of these traditional chili lines they've been bred and developed and passed down from generations here in new mexico where we interface with nature we interface with traditional culture we have a different experience and a lot of it is reverence all of the social and economic and marketing ramifications impacts.