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extradition approved court rules the man behind the whistle blowing web site wiki leaks should go to sweden for questioning over sex crimes. to fight the verdict and insists the case is politically motivated join me for more in just a few minutes. let the people decide their own future and that's a message sent by prime minister vladimir putin as he addressed western meddling in international affairs at a meeting in brussels. russia you agreed to coordinate efforts in the ongoing political and economic crises in north africa a few moments. it's really braces itself for a massive flow of migrants and calls on the e.u. to rescue it from a humanitarian crisis which could see more than a million people flooding the country from the troubled arab world.

this is r.t. here in moscow ten pm now in the russian capital and seven pm in london where a called has ruled in favor of joining the songes extradition the wiki leaks founder is wanted for questioning in connection with a sexual assault allegations during a trip he made to sweden last summer as much as lawyers fear he won't receive a fair trial in sweden and risks being handed over to america on espionage charges u.s. is currently investigating his website which released a swathe of secret diplomatic was washington wants him held responsible for leaking classified information. that brings us now the latest from the hearing in the. sensually what we saw this morning was the judge knocking down these defense argument out of the water essentially one by one he said that our sons had not in

fact made himself available for questioning whilst he was in sweden and that our soldiers swedish lawyer had missed led the court when he said that he had. was unco on contactable and avoided interrogation while he was in sweden he also said that the european arrest warrant had been issued for our sons' might be disproportionate but it was valid and it was definitely issued with a view to prosecuting ourselves for these charges and he also said that certainly one of the charges that is being brought against these allegations that are being made against student ourselves for sexual assault certainly one of them would constitute rape in the u.k. and all four of them were extraditable offenses assault has always maintained his innocence in this case and in fact he says and his defense team say that this is politically motivated in connection with his work with wiki leaks wiki leaks of course we've seen releasing a series of cables relating to the u.s.

diplomatic service some of which were deeply embarrassing for the u.s. government to us and has always maintained that this is in order to facilitate his extradition on words to the u.s. we have heard in the last couple of days from the justice department in the american justice department in london saying that there are no charges currently against assault in america but that there is an investigation underway into wiki leaks but the judge again said that there was no evidence that our son should be extradited on to america all of that he might be tortured all that he could be executed or that he could be sent to guantanamo bay if he indeed was sent to america well this is very unlikely to finish the defense team have already said that they're going to launch an appeal they have now have seven days in which to do that they will take the appeal first to the high court and then if that doesn't succeed up to the supreme court here in the u.k. and then if they have to they say that they will go to the european court of human rights so this is a case that will certainly continue into the summer but i wouldn't be surprised if

it carried on for much longer than that. well brian becker the director of the answer coalition in washington told me earlier that the u.s. is trying to put an end to wiki leaks and julian assange extradition to sweden is proof of that. in the director's chair i believe is that washington government particularly the obama administration and the cia they want to stop wiki leaks they're doing all sorts of extraordinary actions stopping corporations to not allow donations to be made to wiki leaks these charges have been pursued unusually vigorously for charges of sexual assault they should those kind of charges should never be trivialized but the fact that they are trivialized routinely and that this case has used extraordinary measures with the european arrest warrant and finally this proceeding for extradition when mr assigned was willing to cooperate with swedish prosecutors while he when he was there i think it's clear that behind the scenes is the american government if they're going to go after wiki leaks and shut

it down well why aren't they doing the same against the new york times or loaned or the guardian it's clear that they consider wiki leaks that be a subversive organization because it believes that government secrets especially classified documents that should not be classified that conceal the truth to the public to the people of the united states of the people of the world about us foreign policy which dominates world politics especially for the people in iraq and afghanistan they believe that those stories should be told so there's an unfair prosecution and persecution there is not a measure of justice if there are guilty then they should all be prosecuted but again that's not what's going on in the british court today i think what the american government wants is to have mr assigned in custody so that ultimately he can be extradited to the united states to face charges for the release of those documents brought back or talking to be a little earlier now the continuing crisis in north africa has highlighted the need for russia and the e.u. to coordinate their efforts in terms of foreign policy and economy that's according

to prime minister vladimir putin who addressed the media following a meeting with the european commission president jose manuel barroso and that you bush has been following the events in brussels for. obviously our question is dominating world affairs at the moment and this was no exception although vladimir putin has kept his powder dry on the issue up until now we have come out with a passion clearly for foreign powers to stay out of the conflict in so much as to allow the democratic process and the people to elect their own leaders in that region themselves he gave several examples of how interference has brought the reverse effect it was because of that which is today we say we're concerned about things happening in libya please note the following the north african cell of al-qaeda is also concerned about what's happening in libya do you think that's a coincidence i would like to go back in history a little the former leader of the iranian revolution where did he live he lived in paris and as a whole he was supported by the western community now the entire western community

fights against the iranian nuclear program i remember just recently our partners were very active in supporting democratic elections in a palestinian autonomy and have mass one and immediately they declared how mass a terrorist organization and started fighting against it we need to give people a chance to determine their future themselves we need to give them an opportunity to take a natural way without any foreign interference to build their future he also said that the is the mystification of north africa was unlikely in his view if the democratic process was allowed to take its natural course of course this is having an effect on the economy already we're seeing brant oil prices at one eighteen dollars a barrel analysts say it's set to double in the short period they were putting was very open about the fact during the conference that had the e.u. already allowed such gas projects as north and south stream to pass through the european union the prices for energy would be lower he reminded the e.u.

that it was in both sides interests to to allow maximum corporation between a u. . russia. italy fears it'll be brought to its knees as a new wave of immigrants is expected to flood the country thousands of refugees of reach its shores from the unsettled arab world the government has called on the european union to help with the predicted invasion of up to one million people. of reports now on how locals are dealing with the situation. at eighty miles off the coast of north africa the tiny italian island of lampedusa has relied on fishing and tourism for its mean sources. but for the first time in years the boats on the mets are dry. but. they're always out here we haven't gone out to sea for twenty days now since the recent uprising in tunisia the island has been flooded with refugees or five and

a half thousand arrived in just two weeks sometimes up to three hundred refugees just one tiny fishing boat to make the perilous journey to the mediterranean island dozens have already browned many of those who meted have nothing to turning local life here on its head with jobs they have already been cases of vandalism and theft. who started leaving the lights on at night they always wonder around none of the locals are used to lock their doors now that this people are here comfortable due to its location lumpy doozies for millions with refugees but never so many in such a short period of time and with many voicing strong beliefs officials say identifying genuine cases is one of the biggest problems. we are historically a free nation and we want freedom of islam we want to live like our prophet told us

in holy books to live in an islamic state. at this refugee center where they are provided with food. clothes and medical aid all financed from the state budget is designed to house only around eight hundred people so under tight security hundreds of refugees are flown to the mainland each day. we sent four planes yesterday but on average two planes with refugees leave every day to crew tony bari and pollute. italy and tunisia used to have an agreement under which most refugees were intercepted before even reaching the island but now that the government has been overthrown the floodgates have opened i with violence continuing to spread in both north africa and the middle east already warned other e.u. states up to three hundred thousand refugees could flee libya alone for decades

managed to remain isolated. with the supplies and no one was afraid to leave their. five something changed and the biggest wave of refugees may still be out there. this tiny island but the entire continent it was still all for the one to do it. colonel gadhafi is clinging to the last vestige of a country which only a matter of days ago he presided over in tiny the capital tripoli now reportedly the only part still under his control it as he is called on thousands of mercenaries to defend his bastion as he's faced with more defections from his own regime revolt now into this tense day the overall death toll has been difficult. and conflicting reports put the number between three hundred and two thousand and foreigners caught up in the trouble or attempting to flee and meanwhile the swiss

government has ordered the freeze of any assets belonging to the libyan leader in the country's banks. bahrain yemen and algeria all calling for. the anti-government discontent has spread across the arab world with tunisia and egypt leading the charge and sweeping aside a decades old cycle of oppression. has traveled to caro to investigate whether the revolt has brought real change to egyptians. one month on from the outbreak of the revolution that's on the bottom step down from power many protesters who stood up to the egyptian regime to what they achieved until you square. but the moment mubarak stepped down and it was announced like we had on the screens on the square and people just couldn't resist for a second to get overwhelmed by the joy of get rid of that big figure of corruption or the regime western leaders were quick to throw their support behind the popular revolution in a country that spent the last thirty years under mubarak and that these democratic

change has to start now. it needs to happen now for the growth of freedom and democracy in egypt ultimately of the united states can't have sort of the dictate what happens but you know we can what we can do bill is we can say that the time is now for you to start making a change in that country or however support wasn't the only thing coming from these nations during the uprising western rumors were rife that mubarak had fled tyrone was headed to germany and later british foreign secretary william hague said that colonel gadhafi had left tripoli in the midst of the ongoing crisis there but protesters are now very heated up it's all very hard to each of these countries and the fact that they might be falsely made to believe that they have won but they have a victory is very dangerous because they are heating up the situation opens the door for other countries other power structures to come into egypt and to come into

libya into coming to tunisia and all of the other countries to try and take some advantage in some cases might be great about this from what is happening the charge shell of a political party's headquarters in a country policed by the military todd lee the image many in the west would associate with a democratic nation however this doesn't stop world leaders from speaking about a newly democratic egypt. the country is now being watched over by the armed forces while a partial curfew is still in place in cairo many key figures of mubarak's regime remain in the current cabinet including prime minister ahmed. feek a figure of hate for the revolutionaries who met with david cameron during the british leaders visit a visit that was termed in some circles as cameron was on his way to the gulf states to hawk the u.k. arms industry political groups in egypt are calling for a million man march to demand a new cabinet so how do those who helped remove mubarak feel about the future the

army is in charge they're taking they're taking action they are the hand the upper hand to keep everyone everything under control so yes and we're getting more and more to figured that out and hated and think about how we're going to deal with it we don't want to make who plays a military regime with another potentially elections could take place in around six months however political sources in the country suggest this could come too soon for a nation emerging in three decades of dictatorship peter all over r t cairo egypt. mark almond an international relations expert told r.t. the west is confused now whether the democracy it's been calling for could invite to power extremist regimes all over the arab world. in egypt and tunisia there was an extensive military relationship between the united states for instance and egyptian and you know maize but i think that played some role certainly easing out to president mubarak now the problem of course is that many of the influential

american so-called neo conservatives who have been vocal supporters of people power revolutions in the past in ukraine and georgia as well as now in the arab world quite a bit of a dilemma they want. people power they want to see new types of regimes come to power but also they are very concerned about islamic terrorism and of course we've seen in particular in north africa in libya in the past in algeria particularly in one thousand nine hundred thirty violent radical islamic groups who also had contacts abroad took part in terrorist attacks and from have had some role in the caucasus too so there is a bit of a dilemma for washington do you support revolutions that could spiral out of control. more calm and international relations expert more world news for you in brief for you this hour very nearly seventy minutes past the hour rescuers in new zealand say they have little hope for more than two hundred people still missing as the death toll from the choosers earthquake reaches ninety eight at one site alone up to one hundred twenty people on accounted for in crews are continuing

to comb through the rubble in the country's second largest city meanwhile thousands of flights across shows recently reopened in an attempt to escape the devastation. mexican authorities operated six suspects in front of the media arrested for the fatal shooting of an american immigration and customs agent a week ago they were caught in a raid on the gang safe house and it's believed three of them took part in the attack which sparked outrage in the united states a second american agent was also wounded in the incident when the ambushed as they drove towards mexico city. peru bolivia have declared a state of emergency with massive flooding affecting both nations in bolivia three people were killed and almost seven thousand were left homeless after torrential rain battered the country for the past few weeks swollen rivers burst their banks destroying crops bridges and washing away roads there were similar scenes in peru where some three and a half thousand people lost their homes. the controversial islamic cleric abu bakar

bashir has denied terror charges as he returned to court in indonesia accused of setting up a cell that was preparing a series of high profile attacks on western hotels in embassies claims he's the victim of a u.s. conspiracy and that all charges against him fabricated the man has previously escaped charity which is in two trials that attempted to link him to the two thousand and two bali bombings. the world's most journeyed spaceship discovery is preparing to lift off for the last time its final mission comes after almost three decades of orbital travel than the which marks the beginning of the end of the u.s. space shuttle program with the remaining two also heading for the scrap heap later this year and as art is going to take our reports it's a loss that some americans are finding hard to accept. by the end of this year nasa will no longer be able to send humans into space according to obama's plan responsibility will go to private companies which are expected to come up with

cheaper ways to ferry astronauts to low earth orbit they know that they have a big step to take when they if they're thinking about putting humans into space and that's going to take a you know the next phase of their development so i have a oh gosh i. can even estimate exactly no one can say for sure when the private american companies will come up with a new spaceship for years to come it will be the russians so use that's going to be the only means for people to reach the international space station which is perfectly fine with the leaders of russia and the u.s. but doesn't sit well with many americans how could this how. we could make it to the moon first and build this wonderful equipment and then. and now we're we're reduced to being passengers on a russian ship and that's that's sort of it's a wounded pride thing wounded pride revealed itself in comments by some american

lawmakers astronaut scientists and former nasa officials comedians in the u.s. did not miss out on poking fun at american sense of pride so we pony up the cash then after right on the hope of the backseat all the take the wheel. yes you know you are going to let us touch the radio they will let us eat snacks or stop to use the bathroom should have gone before we left. use but those the nasa who now actually work with the russians like astronaut sunny williams have different sentiments i couldn't imagine when i was growing up walking through red square or going to a russian company and working hand in hand with my russian colleagues or going to their families homes and having dinner with them and likewise when they come to the u.s. and so i think. maybe we're not competing but we're working together think it's more of a time of joint cooperation and learning from one another that's just as healthy as

the competition we had in the past it's not the first time americans have to rely on the russians to take their crew to space they depended on washing rockets during the two year grounding the few s.-p. scratched after the two thousand and three space shuttle columbia disaster columbia exploded during re-entry into the earth segments here all seven crew members died shuttles track record includes another tragedy in one thousand nine hundred eighty six the space shuttle challenger broke apart seventy three seconds into its flight . the russians so use proved to be the safest way to deliver people to space and now with the shuttle retiring it will be the only way we're no longer racing against an adversary we're no longer competing to achieve a singular goal like reaching the moon. in fact what was once a global competition has long since become a global collaboration the leaders of both russia and the u.s. are saying space is no longer a place for competition it's now

a ground for cooperation but the question remains if ever wanted here in the was ready to accept it i'm going to check out our to watch. by the way go to for more on our top stories as well as videos blogs and analysis here's a quick taste of what you can find there at the moment the world's first robot marathon is underway in japan on an indoor track and your ability will be put to the test during the a lengthy forty two kilometer distance. and arguably france's most successful movie export actor star of the vinci code talks to r.t. you can catch the interview about his latest film based on the plight of presumed jews during the holocaust that's all online at all dot com.

well the business update with kareena is coming your way in just a few moments here on r.t. stay with us. hungry for the full story we've gone to. the biggest issues get a human voice face to face with the news makers. in indonesia well she's available in hotels coming down the resort and spa. resort and spa only come a come down a remote have been turned down a sentry in bali resort to spawn sunday a beach hotel the western resort use a dual club med bunny if you tell someone you're just in bali resort and spa the ritz carlton hotel grounds many articles of hotel full seasons hotel the sultan hotel.

welcome to business here and world leaders are considering the prospect of an oil shock resulting from the unrest in the middle east and north africa could prices have surged to a two and a half year high on the back of supply disruptions. shares of russia's energy companies have done well in the crisis but speaking in brussels prime minister putin has said spiking while prices are not in russia's interest. different studios and it was a this is a serious stretch to economic growth in the world if this goes on i can tell you the russian economy is not interested we want prices to be fair we realize if economic growth slows down worldwide this will have a negative effect on our economy as well so we will do everything we can with our european partners to prevent this from happening. russia has limited options to pump more oil though energy minister says it can provide extra gas to make up for shop falls in need as production russia faces the same jeopardy as the rest of the

world from an economic slowdown but it is likely to get some political credit for being a reliable energy partner. if is the beginning of the. big global instability of course of can be very bad news for russia strategically because it's . the beginning of the call of so for will global call them and so on. of course the serious serious strategic problem for russia but they were speaking about next month's us of course carol prices is a good news for us and one more good news is that. when compared with those oil and gas markets now we understand what the very real political stability of this regime so that is where we will see the increase of the role of russia as a supplier for them because first of all do you. take a look at some of the numbers crude is retreating a touch from earlier highs after saudi arabia said it was considering stepping up supply to compensate for the loss from libya light sweet crude is just over ninety

nine dollars a barrel up one point three percent on the day brant crude is trading at over one hundred fourteen dollars a barrel up three percent now turning to equities both the r.t.s. in my eyes it's closed in the black helped primarily by the energy sector defensive gold stocks were also doing well among the losers are retailers banks industrials and miners let's have a look at some individual shambles now the monkey leaders up more than five percent at three and a half percent higher so did lukoil help by news it signed a deal with american bank going to mass or not to develop to offshore oil fields and well maybe up and go produces again as price for their precious metals surge high and gold is up two point four percent europe and it makes news day that puts the end in the red down for a fifth day the longest losing streak since july the dax has finished under eight percent lower indices were heavily weighted by banks and industrials two sectors

that are struggling most were down certainty created in the middle east she has a ten percent or frankfurt concerns its merger with gold. white and may fail. and u.s. stocks edged lower in midair trading investors way signs of a better job market in the u.s. against surging oil prices also the labor department has fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week but better than expected unemployment figures and some fairly robust corporate results are not moving enough to stop investors looking for a safe haven. to events currently grabbing headlines one news the middle east conflict was pushing up oil prices the second event which is linked to this is global inflation and with that in mind we've had food prices going up and that's continuing on talk about you know how to be energy prices coming up adding to the if you want. to sort of for inflation that looks more and more bleak on the back.