kind of a reservoir of goodwill interest in all things then underneath this. all the time certain interests in sweden have been developing stronger and stronger ties with united states and that is especially true of the military conservative elements of society helping out and there have also been conservative elements in the social democratic party who have been very pro-u.s. very pro-military especially those. unions that are involved in the arms industry but a really major turning point with entry into the european union. and european you should probably know is in terms of foreign policy and military intelligence. and a subordinate to the wings of the united states really nato is completely infiltrated you know so as soon as the social democrats announced that they were going to lead the country into the european union you started to see very clear signs that this

region was adopting its foreign policy to the needs of nato the interests of e.u. and united states and so forth how does this all play into julian assange just and this saxon spy probes and the push alternately for his extradition it's a hot potato as you can understand for the government here and now that they have been exposed through various wiki the beaks. as having you know. concluded it of the united states the ways that they had never before admitted over it was often suspected. it's an especially delicate time for them to go out and openly cooperate with an extradition process and reinfeld as i understand the prime minister has apparently declared that this is not a political issue it will be have a completely through the judiciary and so on and so forth i think he is not.

entirely candid there. do you think that a staunch if extradited to sweden will receive a fair trial. well the trial is one thing if he is tried it will be because of these accusations of sexual misbehavior. then extradition is a completely separate process. whatever happens as a result of the trial the united states will probably request that he be extradited for three weeks crimes that they're trying to invent you know he was in the united states and that would be a separate process and it will be reviewed by haven't got all the details yet actually and when i called the justice department to try and get clarity on this matter the people there weren't too sure about how it would work either but the next version process usually is first process by the immigration department and so

i understand it then it can be appealed to a court of law and been government can get involved it's stated right there and the legal procedure so there is room for political decision making in this matter. and then of course there are also many informal ways for the government to look at its interest to you know to the people underneath. what do you think of claims by an american blogger that america's most notorious right wing strategist karl rove could be involved somehow in the push for a song just extradition i'm very skeptical about that for a couple of reasons in the first place it was bush that he got into the white house not obama and he is anathema through democrats because he is famous for. three dirty tricks on them that's one thing. the second point is you don't need karl

rove to get the united states interested in extradition there. interested in that anyway and they have their normal channels quiet invisible channels for arranging these things the last thing they want is a high profile political figure rove to get involved in this and draw attention to it and do you think that he will be extradited to sweden. i can only tell you what . his sponsors british lawyers have said to me about the british case in terms of the law they have a very strong case and if it were only. a question of the law then they figure that they have a seventy five to eighty percent chance of rejecting the swedish request for extradition to sweden then the question is how much how much politics can be put so they say carefully that they have a fifty fifty chance something like that. then if he comes to sweden.

most legal people that i know here in sweden when they look at what is known so far about the charges against the songs i think that the they are absurd that he will be convicted on the available evidence so if he is convicted of something here it will most likely be something very minor like then he will be either in jail for a while or released having suffered enough so to say and then it will be up to us to issue its request for extradition. and then i feel that will be largely a question of public opinion if they are indifferent and if the media here succeed in their apparent efforts to give. a bad name to give them a bad reputation then the government will have a lot of political freedom to. submit to the u.s. request sweden is regarded as

a neutral and independent country do you. but you can say. with some accuracy that when sweden join the e.u. it ceases to be an independent nation. it's a simple course politicians in order to justify. the entry into the wood frame just the opposite but i've documented the ways that the membership in the e.u. has affected. sweden's independence and essentially eradicate it or. else we didn't is not an official member of nato but there are anti nato movements that are growing here in sweden in finland why is that well there's always actually there's always been in sweden and finland which are the two remaining nordic countries that are not in nato there's been a strong opinion against nato membership but essentially now through part of the so-called partnership for peace sweden has become

a de facto member. made to officials said sweden is better equipped and performs better. in cooperation with us through. partnership for peace than many of our formal members do and that's true. and already in your one thousand five hundred believe it was an official of the defense ministry here. we are so already so deeply involved in nato and participate in so many nato activities that the only thing that's missing to become a former member is the signature on a paper why does the political elite want to be in nato what's in it for sweden well i think that the. closer sense of affinity with the united states government than they do with their own people that's the short answer and do you think that's we didn't will eventually join the alliance i think it's quite

possible. it is it is again it's not. public opinion question. because. one of the key factors here is what symbols if finland goes into nato then that would create a lot of pressure here and then number two if the u.s. can somehow manage to conceal all of the terrible things that's doing around the world and we don't become so visible anymore as they now are in they have been in iraq and afghanistan and that they can do more things that look like peacekeeping and the press here has actually helped to disseminate that right rather successfully for them out of the large i think the majority of us i mean the swedish or population thinks that the afghan a school they afghanistan war is a peacekeeping operation and i've seen you referred to as an x. or a former american citizen why is that yes i was a u.s. citizen i moved here in one nine hundred eighty eight and that was because i was.

very much i admire very much the swedish society as to the gist of it at that time and that started to deteriorate almost as soon as. the so in a way is came of that historically interesting time because it's interesting that previous generations built up this wonderful society with this wonderful general welfare system and very wise foreign policy. which was the. inspiration for much of the world you know because many people in the old soviet union when they thought about what we do next there's look to sweden as an example because the trial of the. well that's free from has just been allowed to disappear through vitiate and to be gradually dismantled.

the more people we killed the half the officers were it got to be like a game like to see who could kill the most people and the different ways you could prove to me keep peace killed or be i tell you no here's someone serious you know where we have the most fears they will get the most fierce in changing you should be reversed overnight you women children and five men around the circle open up awful automatically there are sixteen. she was taken and raped by six or seven people in front of. the most of them going. well when one deals with war for us to realize that this tremendous amounts of damage that have done not just human damage but damage the physical environment in

which the battlefield takes place tremendous amounts of damage done by aerial bombs by napalm boy chemicals that whether it's a sonic boom say factoring in mammals or it's the burning oil fields in iraq or destroyed coral reefs in the pacific for purposes the list just goes on and on the geneva conventions of nineteen forty nine states that there shall be taken in war to protect the involved against widespread long term and severe damage the united states although it is accepted almost all of the provisions one has taken exception to that. we use special old fish and accessory clip meant. they are

ready for every play. those who. were in the previous i. want you so. you know. wealthy british. was. really happening to the global economy with my. global financial headlines.

the army have reportedly started arresting anti-government protesters. and many other countries with terrorism related calling for the creation of an islamic state hitting the streets of the u.k. the country where the radical organization partly responsible for the egyptian rest was queen. president obama signs a new nuclear treaty between russia and the u.s. following months of hurdles and debate on both sides of the atlantic historic deal will come into force this saturday when both sides exchange signed documents. russia's first passenger jets and soviet times gets ready to soar into a high flying market after overcoming several. one hundred. to perform commercial flights in russia and the c.i.s. . so the headlines here back at the top of the hour the meantime we'll bring you the sports have to go away.

i. have you with us this is sports today i mean i know these are some of the stories we're covering this hour. making a splash ian thorpe shakes up the swimming world by announcing he's to come out of retirement to compete at the twenty twelve london olympics. dates maria sharapova proposed to line up for russia once again a couple of years after her last appearance for the four time champion. towering achievement in germany dalton wins the empire state building race for a record sixth straight year. we're not in a moment but let's start with the news that ian thorpe who dominated the world of swimming for a decade before retiring through illness and injury has announced his return to pro

sports the twenty eight year old five time alone picked gold medalist says he wants to compete at the highest level next year's london olympic games being his main objective thorpe says he will concentrate on the one hundred metres freestyle with a view to swimming in the relay events as well. and so i was sitting with it in my gut for a while thinking about what this was going to look like i was then taken in to save the swimming venue for the london olympics and you know it's extraordinary venue and i could actually i could taste it. which you know i haven't felt this wired for about swimming for a very very long time. to tennis or russia are going for their fifth fed cup title in twenty eleven for mill your full fronts the first hurdle and the opening round in moscow. to see a public dinara safina joined by live to rival maria sharapova no less ahead of the weekend's quarterfinal clash russia currently set third in the world rankings will

be taking on the ninth ranked french for the ninth time we're number thirteen should up about flying in a day late the first time in three years and compete but the twenty three year old didn't miss a beat and went to work on her four hands right away team russia two players in the top twenty public in cobo with. twenty third new france participant is in the top fifty russia last one all in two thousand and eight with italy taking the next two team titles. let's get the ball rolling stateside where the content continues to super bowl forty five american football and american sports biggest event of the year the annual media day taking precedence on tuesday for a stop with a partner in the morning session. out of difficulty having to travel around dallas in the midst of a must of snow storm the usual slew of questions followed ranging from in-depth talk to kill discussions to the more mundane but the most popular query year after

year will simply how are you feeling fight is before the biggest game of your life . is something that i have to read i have to embrace you know because when you play his game. to me jerry is to win the super bowl. and i'm here now and i'm going to i'm going to except every moment of it all the hype i'm going to. let me eat it up you know you got to do it it's a special brew and it's what you dream about as a kid growing up a new account of what he wants in the forty nine ers one of the super bowls special be a part of this now record six time n.f.l. champions pittsburgh talk to the media in the afternoon session after arriving in dallas the day before the steelers delighted to have overcome a long early season injury list as they seek their third vince lombardi trophy and half a dozen years. you know start a season off well you know not having our star quarterback for the first four games of a guy like aaron smith who means a lot to our defense playing musical chairs or dolphins have been losing choice for

two or three games. just a bunch of resilient guys who just you know stood up together. a band of brothers really and we came together and we are going to find our way in our third super bowl six years. old this week which players have earned the most in the twenty ten campaign tom brady becoming the second player to take home an individual award the new england patriots quarterback honored as. fence of player of the year for the second time the thirty three year old making a record three hundred fifty five straight through with all its being intercepted thirty six touchdowns on four picks the highest ratio and f.l. history surpassing his own record from two thousand and seven twenty one odds of fifty voters selected brady philadelphia's michael vick was second with eleven votes pittsburgh safety troy polamalu was honored as the league's top defensive player at the beginning of the week the twenty nine year old green bay linebacker

clay matthews by just two votes their teams of course facing off in sunday's super bowl. mean hailed by arson as the man he wants to prove the catalyst for the gunners title charge this season started against everton on the bench and but after just eight minutes on the field netted equaliser the twenty nine year old looked relatively off color this season following a stellar new year in london the house and stop reports continually linking him with a transfer to chelsea though however fingers positive remarks seem to stress that he wants to play a major part for as long as possible the emirates. meanwhile former brazilian star rim aureole has decided the usual move from the field to monitor meant isn't for him the nineteen ninety five world player of the year has chosen politics taking up a seat in his native countries congress their forty five year old who was a conduit for the brazilian socialist party representing rio de janeiro state seat

he julie won with a plethora of votes to spur mario now a member of the fifty fourth congress which will run until twenty fifteen and believe it or not he'll meet up with his former strike partner there but himself will begin working as a real state member of parliament. as before as if it is in week i'm sure i will make a difference there's so much to be done i think this country likes health education and i want to link these issues with sport which has been my life so it's going to be fine for the past ten years i've been working in a social project and i hope i can continue and increase this work that's why i go to school to x. we have to do a few children out of streets which is the most important a bubble. brings us to formula one of a ferrari or hoping to be prancing out sop the podiums in twenty eleven from the alonso finished second to sebastian vettel by a mere four points last year earning the italian team third place in the constructor standings sound the two time champion says he knows the importance of

putting in the time to get to grips with his new research before the march seventeenth season starts. but i owed it to my lips. in three days time to go back to model number. two they would be very mechanical problems so. no movement off the top of the constantly hockey league rankings with maintaining a vast sports following that whedon stays action nine goals from two other games also drawing interest on the day the hawks from home really spreading their wings late in the season the haven't lost at all this year and only twice in december. hitting a brace with both goals set up by his legendary czech counterpart. alexander boyd cough came through with a double of his own a severe how their way with sports back in the midst was rock bottom side metallic novokuznetsk were shut out but the visiting service that. took it up brings us all

into winter sports now where cross-country skiing continental cup has been held here in moscow constantine the top off went along to find out more. cross-country skiing in a park in the center of the russian capital it may surprise locals but not citizens of the european cities where such competition is our usual occasions the stars of russians key get to try out the course before the latest races maybe then that in fact true and runs manolis not. winning the final in the sprint was allowed to. pick and tend to be very likely for me it was a hard freeze because in. potential. today. the men's final turned out to be a real crack at the horse runs mental is that when you who are twenty eight sam was the first to cross the line in the dramatic race after his main rival lost his balance. it's great that this come edition was held here despite there being less

fans than say at a world cup event they're happy with how the day turned out moscow has been desperately trying to host the lack of the world cup in cross country skiing and the good news is this city has now won the right to host it in soviet times we always hosted the world cup and once you get the competition back after today's races we talked to ski federation officials and they approved your idea probably we will change the venue but for sure it will take place in moscow next year. after the competition international ski federation hants wanted to verify if moscow was able to host a new man of the highest caliber and they passed the test so next year the capitals see the world's best skiers racing somewhere not far away perhaps even on red square concern about r.t. . on finally german thomas dold has been showcasing his new york state of mind once

again the german fossa stop the big apple's empire state building for a record sixth straight time quite a flight of stairs for the competitors as they seek to reach the summit of the world's tallest buildings ladies first australian. it's above the other sixty more of the first to reach the observation deck she later hopes to rule for her country the twenty twelve olympics gold scaling the same distance over fifteen hundred stepson who didn't look pretty effortless recapturing his title while some of the women were still finishing the race the world record holder an awkward drubbing not sure if we'll go for the magnificent seven or not over yet though. i don't see why it should come next year right now because all i have long nearly every thin so i don't know the time bradley you know it better than me but i think the only thing is to break the ten minutes more good to see that he's not short on confidence there a lot as all your sports. the

violence in egypt shows no signs of nation as molotov cocktails are thrown into the crowd and guns are fired join me for this new in a few moments before will. also the turmoil in cairo i was in many other countries with terrorism related groups calling for the creation of an islamic state hitting the streets of the u.k. the country where the radical organization partly responsible for the egyptian on the rest was created. aromatic really huge and a bitter break up the new york times is under fire for using julian assange to boost his profit and popularity but then ditching him after the launch of a criminal investigation. and from centuries old weapons making traditions to state of the art new technologies are close up series takes it to the stronghold of russia's defense manufacturing the city.

eleven am in the russian capital you're watching r t with joshua welcome to the program now the egyptian army has started their resting anti-government protesters in the center of cairo and marks a change of approach by the military which previously wasn't intervening in clashes between supporters of president mubarak and anti-government demonstrators five people are reported to have been killed in a morning gunfight in cairo's tahrir square that follows a day of heavy violence in which hundreds were injured the country's braced for more trouble as it enters its tenth day of andras. has more from the egyptian capital. than downtown cairo as those pro mubarak an anti mubarak supporters take on one another in front of the cairo museum there has been a.