the escobar the great hunt parties. egypt braces for a fresh wave of protests far five people's anger at president mubarak's latest refusal to step down he looks at why the embattled leader won't go. sweden's under fire for its controversial wiretapping law criticized as the most far reaching eavesdropping plan in europe we can leaks cables suggest america is pulling the strings. russia's foreign minister says mol school not tolerates the right to go is more preconditions from japan going talking about the disputed territories but is ready for all.

three pm in moscow this is archie with me nice in the way we begin in egypt this hour where clashes have reportedly erupted between mubarak supporters and protesters gathered near the presidential palace in cairo earlier the egyptian army made an official statement promising to lift the state of emergency as soon as the current situation ends and ensure free elections in the near future hundreds of thousands of egyptians have begun flooding the streets of cairo as protesters promised an unprecedented rally this comes after president hosni mubarak once again invalid to remain in office until september in a televised national address he promised to transfer some power to his vice president omar funding mom but not step down himself the eighty two year old also cited his reluctance to bow to international pressure something many believe he's done on a regular basis is going to change you can. has more from washington d.c.

. the u.s. wants an orderly transition as they say president obama said hosni mubarak's statement on the transition of authority was not clear and needs more explanation mubarak basically said in his address that he was not going to run for president in september and egyptians will have the chance to elect whatever leader they choose but in the meantime he said he was not going anywhere we spoke with senator ron paul earlier and he thinks mubarak is following washington's plan we had a lot to do with mubarak being in power and staying in power like we subsidize and we own him these are puppet dictator he does what we tell him because he gives so much money he's gotten probably sixty to seventy billion dollars and i understand his family probably has sixty or seventy billion dollars stashed away in swiss accounts and other places around the world washington can hardly be considered to be impartial when it comes to power struggle in egypt it's a strategic location for the u.s. mubarak has been a close ally for thirty years the u.s.

has been pumping billions of dollars into the egyptian military and they certainly don't want to lose that whoever is in power there is a great chance that they won't lose that although the position is it's up to the egyptian people to choose their next leader washington is apparently pulling some strings the man who was sort of in charge during this tumultuous transition and who is seen as a possible alternative to mubarak is a big cia friend it's all marsalis he has reportedly orchestrated the brutal interrogation of terror suspects abducted by the cia also in the run up to the u.s. invasion of iraq in two thousand and three the cia relied on mr slim on to beat confession out of a detainee who said that i'm hussein had connections with al qaeda something that was proven to be false but back in the day was perfect for the americans who desperately needed an excuse to invade iraq so he's an old friend not hostile to israel at that that's basically all the u.s. wants from the future leader of egypt in official statements of course u.s. officially says. the u.s.

officials say they want to see a leader who hears his people's grievances but they're certainly black receive here just a year ago when asked about human rights violations by the egyptian government i remember obama's response was edge of this our close schools ally and it's not the job of the united states to a lecture egypt on democracy and human rights the right to recruit it has changed in recent weeks the u.s. took up its is old the role of democracy preacher but if you watch american t.v. listen to american politicians it's all about u.s. interests not really about egyptians they want democracy for egypt but a democracy that will be ok with the united states well we also spoke to richard howitt member of the european parliament who explains why it's so hard for mubarak to leave power and why his u.s. back successor is not a viable choice. for someone who's been an powerful autocrat over thirty years and he's used to pulling the leaves of power with really no checks and

balances on him this is a situation that psychologically mentally he's not ready for and i think he and the people around him ashore but the protesters continuing i think at the point of the appointment of nice to see them and there were hopes that he could be an honest broker in this situation but what we've seen since then is interviews where he talks about the quote love of the egyptian people for me barack he's talked about even threatened the military dispersing the postal service interrogators and yesterday he even said that the egyptian people were not ready for democracy so statements around except to bow and it never seems impossible that he could be a temporary head of a transitional unity government in place of mubarak he is absolutely tainted by the

mubarak regime. well with people in egypt demanding change peter lavelle asked his gas to dictate what democracy is and the role of those who promote it heated debate in our cross talk show is coming up later this hour here's a preview. we just why don't the world just let the egyptians alone leave the egyptians alone we've got tunisians alone we've the people of palestine alone we've the people of lebanon alone and let them decide their fate and then we can deal with them. yes that would be the best course but that would involve. it would not involve in action it would involve reversing the status quo namely the us would have to cut all the laws i was a president of the united states to which to which you are out there who are hearing isn't for you sir that is why you do it during a free press of to a string of islands. and really interest of the united states of america it's not watching out for the interests of the united states of america and i'm trying as he was being. derived from as i say how nice it would buy my imprudence writing my

writing is a human being to say that we should not be killing innocent people we should not be torturing innocent people opposed to the u.s. government i am an opponent of the us government. the extradition hearing for wiki leaks founder julian assange has resumed in london he is wanted in sweden for questioning over sexual assault allegations first hearing this week with both sides expected to deliver their final statement arches laura has the latest from the british capital it was supposed to be a two day hearing that took place earlier this week and we're now into the third day and we're expecting from friday's proceedings that placing statements will be made it's still not clear whether we will hear anything today but we do know that if the verdict goes against you and i saw she will then be able to make an appeal

so this is a case that could still go on essentially for months now what we've been hearing this week is the prosecution saying that there's no reason to deny so shouldn't go to sweden to answer questions about these alleged sexual assaults but what we've been hearing from the defense is a case mainly based on human rights violations now earlier i spoke to go around ruffling who's a swedish rape campaigner and he told me about the strange way in which this case is being conducted from the very beginning according to the swedish police. and to the prosecution what they say should be done in a rape case you should video document and to do with the police or if they can't be done it should be tape recorded in these cases with these two accusers it's just summaries it's it's the same type of procedure you use when you investigate the bike theft this is a case that's really descending more and more into farsi this is a man who is being extradited to

a foreign country when all we really know about him is that he slept with two women back in august last year unclear circumstances today on friday a new book has come out by a man called daniel burke who used to work with julian assange and in fact lived with him for a short while he makes him allegations about ourselves that are very unfortunate coming at this time he says that he's gotten complex and that during his time at wiki leaks he has turned into an iraqi the kind of man that previously he would have wanted to expose and vilify and he also accuses julian a soldier of harassing his cat he says that when a soldier was living with him in germany he he entered into a battle of supremacies with tomcat attacking the cats at every turn and wanting to wanting to make sure that they knew who was boss so this really is a case that is just sending more and more into a sort of farcical situation since we heard that the u.s. were preparing espionage charges we haven't heard any more about that of course the

defense his main fear in this case is that following extradition to sweden as on should then be very quickly extradited on to you the u.s. now r.t. has had access to wiki leak wiki leaks cables from the u.s. state department and from them we've learned much more about sweden's close relationship with the us govt and wiretapped at the behest of the us swedish intelligence service the f a has the power to morning. and intercept all internet traffic in the country and thanks to leaked u.s. state department cables we now know the controversial law was adopted after pressure from washington and the security services were deliberately kept out of it to reassure the swedes there was no funny business force to operate under strict data storage and protection laws for swedish citizens they are concerned that the public may perceive their involvement as an attempt to work around these restrictions by using

a foreign intermediary that's poisoning any chance for success the u.s. interest is clear eighty percent of all the internet traffic from russia travels through sweden and from there to america but most mentioned by a by government representatives that no no no the purpose is not to spy on swedes it's the morning monitor among other things russian trying to traffic but what kind of information they are worth i think the information that is made accessible to special services by this law is of course sensitive and there are ways it can harm russia's political interests. the law has been slammed by some as the most far reaching eavesdropping plan in europe and prompted widespread protests ahead of its implementation cables also suggest the swedish government was colluding with the u.s. to avoid involving the public at all costs. the agreement may have to be presented

to parliament and a vague constitutional requirement for matters of great importance if so the process will take considerably longer and be subject to public scrutiny something the government of sweden will want to avoid as the ministry of justice continues to analyze the proposed text and is also considering how to craft an arrangement that will avoid the need for parliamentary review very soon no parliamentary control of what the. us. and of course the general public in sweden has. even less controlled much of the pressure comes from the united states and from the corporate industries it's being in the swedish government he is more than happy to. to to do whatever these american corporations. ask through the american government judging from the date on the leaked cables while sweden was debating whether to pass the bill the americans were already negotiating with the swedish authorities on what kind of information they wanted they see the twenty third meeting has an opportunity to

seek precise details on the type of information the united states wants and overall aim of the agreement and it's clear the us ended up getting what it was after at least in terms of information on the eighty percent of russian internet traffic that passes through sweden our intelligence cooperation with sweden on brusha is excellent do you a direct hit left in a general burgess who'll be here next week for exchanges with the swedes on russia and of the topics now it's not just information on russia that the us is off to its reportedly carrying out its own investigation into wiki leaks founder julian assange still says all this information to see if it can bring espionage charges if it can and applies to sweden first extradition all this close cooperation that we've seen may mean his feet won't touch the ground your and it's r.t. . here with our live from moscow still ahead this hour.

parties close up series gives you a real taste of the centuries old culture of war and find out why the your vision song contest holds a special place and its history. russian president dmitry medvedev is personally checking moscow's transport security following the recent terror attack on doma dead of an airport which killed thirty six on friday he made an unplanned inspection of one of the city's transport hubs saying he was satisfied with what he saw but that wasn't the case today ago when he arrived at one of the capital's train stations on announced the russian leader managed to find only one policeman at the site and saw no metal detectors at the building's entrance he promised a tough response to the security measures witnessed. it's coming up to quarter past the hour a look at some other major headlines from around the world millions of iranians are

staging rallies across the country to mark the thirty second anniversary of iran's islamic revolution among those on the streets are supporters of the uprising in egypt and tunisia earlier this week the iranian government up the pressure on the country's opposition who planned to stage a separate pro egyptian rally on monday the chief prosecutor dismissed the activist calls as a point to undermine the regime. of pakistani police chief has been a us embassy worker detained over the deaths of two men would be charged with murder he added that the man's claims of self-defense were unsubstantiated and that one of the men he killed had been running away it comes amid reports that the u.s. is threatening pakistan but the expulsion of its envoy unless the employee is released on the grounds of diplomatic immunity. still to come later today for you in a special report we reveal the true story behind the hunt for the colombian drug lord

who was once the most wanted man in the world pablo escobar. this b j how did she strike. she was trying to store. data to. what sprung the traps they laid for. him up on the radio we have the search box around the area. we thought was missing. one sharp turn to take. out the global drug industry as godfather became the most wanted to trophy the world to see. how the escobar the great times and parties. our close up team continues to explore the western your roles area as they get to know the culture and traditions of the more should republic and its capital city.

well you'd morson republic is known for its centuries long traditions which represent a mixture of mythology ancient religions and ethnic rituals its creative spirit gives rise to local talents achieving success home home and abroad one of its famous songs ski is still one of the most played composers in the world while others less famous try to make their own culture mark artie's arena found out what makes tech. welcome to the latest installment of a course of serious work continuing to cover various regions and places in russia and this time we were more to learn steve's and rich cultural traditions it is known as the birthplace of russian composer tchaikovsky this is a place where for centuries christianity and shamanism paganism have co-existed peaceful way and of course this is also

a place where all of those traditions so pertain and still are very deeply felt to this state because there is a lot more that are more to i can boast in terms of cultural and traditional aspects and let's watch report now on some of those things. when you come to your in for a surprise though it's known for its weapon producing factories and plants the first thing that catches your eye is this it is architecture which seems to have changed a little over the centuries and once you dig deeper you find the more people are good at preserving their heritage and not just on the outside in the culture for me is a part of my life it's the way of my life you know my mom la la but it's my grandmother's . fairy tale to tell this is very ecological very educational thing and coming to her very close to nature culture but of course to get a full taste of the culture you have to get out of the city and go to the village

where traditional songs dances food and drinks are still very much a part of everyday life so we hit the road to raj through the snow and ended up in the village of ground zero and the home of a local celebrities who made waves in russia's last bid for your vision song contest glory but don't expect to find any short skirts and hair extensions here most of the stars are over the age of seventy and dress much more tastefully. all but we come here in the evening meet so watch t.v. and seen during the commercials blow. these grandmothers became an unexpected hit coming one place short of representing their country but they still caught audience's imagination with their songs giving some of the world's best known hits a new sound. was.

created after a vision wanted to come home quietly that would more people and we didn't want to make a fuss but people found out and when we got back to our village they gave us a grand welcome back party with songs and dances. and these take a creative hands on approach to everything they do but i'm trying to do right now is obviously. like me. you make this little basket and then you have put the stuff in the side this is a traditional dish and. comes out of it afterwards when you hear something like.

what we do people do the same thing in every village and more to. the people here seem to have a song for every occasion be it a wedding baptism birth or see a need young man after the army or whatever life throws at them the good lord find a way to market and maybe it's that approach which has kept these traditions going strong for hundreds of years. it even goes go r.t. . russia's foreign minister says moscow is ready to cooperate with japan but will not tolerate its radical position on the disputed korean islands this comes as the japanese foreign minister entered talks with his counterpart on his visit to the russian capital charges your piece can always following that and joins us live here gore what's the bottom line of these talks. no radicalism or any preconditions that's the message from russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov right

after his meeting with his japanese counterpart let's listen to what he had to say . viewpoint for when japan adults are radical approach towards the peace treaty with russia which happens regularly and is shared by the countries governments he's impossible to negotiate these issues and i said to mr million hora that we're still ready to work on the peace treaty but with no preconditions let's go to that which is the territorial dispute between russia and japan over the southern crew islands has been going on for over half a century now and swears up every year during the so-called northern territories the in japan talk your claims that these southern islands are traditionally and historically japanese territory while russia says that they are a strategic part of russia and that is one of the outcomes of the second world war

so they continue standing firm on their positions but nevertheless both sides said that they are ready to talk more about this issue and also to work together in main . other sears from the energy to business of course which is only growing every year. it sounds like they're agreeing to disagree for now your gold is going to live from moscow thanks for that well that wraps up our main news block you can always find more stories on our facebook and youtube pages or log on to our website r t dot com let's get down to business now with kareena she joins us. by kareena what's the latest on the t n k b p paying the dividend dividend i should say here well it looks like b.p. will get its dividend from the russian british joint venture eventually now although a our russian partners in the joint venture had promised to block the estimated one point eight billion dollars payout for the fourth quarter now that was up to b.p.

and russian oil john ross they have an els an asset swap and oxygen ration deal a claim the deal compromise the competitiveness of take a b.p. run counter to the terms of the alliance but might seem cool cough law firm goals b o p says it has little terms of blocking the dividend if it goes against the shareholder agreement. i think it would be quite difficult for them because there's a shareholders' agreement provides for no brigade of the. at least forty percent of the. each quarter and it makes no real difference are you such proud to. the shareholders or not. other stories got expects as of nine percent of gas to europe this year and predicts prices will be fifteen percent higher that would give an average price of three hundred fifty two dollars per one thousand cubic meters compared to three hundred

six last year exports to europe exports to europe are planned at about one hundred fifty two billion cubic meters of gas this year but are still below pre-crisis levels of one hundred fifty eight point eight billion dollars. russia's largest oil producer has increased its profit by eight percent to three point three billion dollars in two thousand and ten turnover rose to almost thirty seven billion dollars that's a thirty six percent gain on the previous year. is a subsidiary of. now let's look at the markets stocks in europe struggled for direction on friday with mobile phone posting heavy losses agreed to form a software partnership with microsoft ok shares dropped almost twelve percent that's the biggest drop in almost ten months here in russia stocks now up three days of losses as oil climbed to the outlook for produces. nearly half a percentage. point six percent thursday russian equities biggest one day fall and

. now state lenders burbank is up almost three and a half percent doubled its january net profit to nine hundred forty million dollars severance climbed three percent after the steelmaker cancelled an initial public offering of shares in its nor gold unit bucking the trend is that losing a percent this. russian mining nor gold is postponing its i.p.o. in london due to uncertain volatile markets the company sought to raise four billion dollars in the offering and nord gold operates in. africa and produced around six hundred thousand last year. and that's all the business news for now but you can always find most always if you log on to a website. see a complex business or join my colleague me to read that made me think our next hour from.

culture is that so much knowledge among different angles i think a little more give a real commitment for even under the worst kind spoke russian people all around the

world demonstrate time and again they want freedom and democratic institutions whose. nature and discover is. the best a communicate with the wild. test yourself and become free. see what nature can give you. our goal must stop going. back all free.

will have a rally will sell lots of beer will. they will wear uniforms that little damage isn't down to the black man know that but very little damning the white. and they are the key to our problem are already. wealthy british style holds. the. markets. scandal. find out what's really happening to the global economy in these kinds of reports. download the official placation to on the phone on called touch from the story. life on the go. if video on demand. money fuel costs.