i could do with down south the rumors of it's already granting journal songs asylum as the whistle blowers quest for refuge and does it seemingly finally but you know that's a perilous state. journalists are in the size of the syrian rebels despite the mainstream media's tendency to blame damascus for all it's done and hasn't done. more violence in afghanistan while revelations is a horrific conditions in an american one hospital something a top u.s. general try to sweep under the carpet.

you saw in russia and around the world this is all she was me thanks for joining us first june and a soldier's fate isn't quite sealed just yet with ecuador's president personally debunking media rumors the whistleblower had been granted asylum in this south american country instead president rafael carette says he hopes to make the decision later this week meanwhile remains i quote it was embassy in london he sought refuge gangstas exhibition just sweden which many of his supporters fear would be only a stall before he'd be handed to the united states to face political if you all charges and more now in a song just plied with his lower smith who's been in touch with ecuador as president press all things. we put in a call to the presidential administration in ecuador who said that he denied that there has been a decision any made on whether to grant. asylum in ecuador now that of course is not to say that he will be granted just. just

a denial of any decision having already been made and what was being recorded earlier with an unnamed official. put it all saying that a decision had been made in that the decision was to. refuse to do that as we heard a television address by president rafael correa saying that he would be making a decision about this plea this week that on wednesday he would be taking advice from various people and that following that he would be making his decision so we are expecting a final decision to be announced on thursday or friday later on this week so we do know that it's and we also know that ecuador sees this as a humanitarian act the president and the foreign minister in ecuador have said that they see this as an act that would protect us on his right to life and freedom. and that special working on the case and i quote also as recent on sweden has been less than enthusiastic to say to a deadline to an american state regarding june and a song for asylum bid and kevin zeese antiwar activist and member. support network

says even if the whistleblower gets the green light from ecuador they'll be plenty more challenges that. he needs to get safe passage out of great britain you know england has to agree that there are negotiate they're good or it sounds like they were been trying to negotiate a great deal prior to making this decision so maybe that's already been done but if not that will be the next challenge save. you know it doesn't solve the problems which are just too outstanding and once he's in the air you have to have the u.s. military are there you know surround assad just plain and bring him down sweeping a room down united states force no land and outside record or so this is not a done deal it's a big step and it's a good sign that a country will stand up with you is anjan say that we recognize that you're being mistreated that this which our news and and and pushes for to try to find a political. there's one thing

a story doesn't lock it's plot twist and for every secret that the whistleblower shed light on he found himself attracting a growing crowd of enemies more and more desperate to bring him down and from banks to governments and even public figures openly calling for him to be killed christine for now with more on just how far it has or escalated. we first met julian assange on here in washington in two thousand and ten where he unveiled the collateral murder video at the national press club on. it showed it to u.s. army pilots treating war like a video game killing countless civilians in the process including two journalists a songe appeared in our studios later that night to talk more about wiki leaks and what he hopes to achieve with his website the first. in the fourth state is to get information out about the real world and the second step is to comment on it and to

think about the. sources who can get. through to the information out to the public in the weeks following a sauna and wiki leaks were everywhere wiki leaks wiki leaks wiki leaks wiki leaks wiki leaks but it wasn't long before publications that originally partnered with wiki leaks like the guardian der spiegel in the new york times turned against a saw much as did many others who said he should be killed to get her for the american people the way to deal with and they were in the end the nashik your united states the way to deal with this is pretty simple we got special ops forces i mean the dead man can't leaks that this guy is a traitor a treasonous and he has broken every law of the united states he was then accused of sexual assault by two women in sweden a sign says the sex was consensual and denies any wrongdoing the founder of wiki leaks arrested by british police this morning after turning himself in he's now facing rape charges in sweden who a british judge has granted wiki leaks founder julian assange bail julian assange

is appealing against an order to extradite him to sweden he spent much of the last two years on house arrest in london julian assange also had a show on our team requests. that can change the world tomorrow where he interviewed hezbollah leaders saeed has on those rollo come as well as ecuadorian president. rafael correa. dorrian people think about the united states and its involvement in latin america in ecuador and it would be president rafael correa that would give julian a songe the green light to make ecuador his new home has been living in the ecuadorian embassy in london since june nineteenth since the president said he would make his announcement after the olympic games president correa said if he does grant a songe political asylum it would be an informed decision and one made in the name of human rights in washington christine for south r.t.

. and of course will be covering a sound request for asylum sorry over the next few days here on r c and also if you missed any of the world famous whistleblowers our own shows here on r.t. you can watch all of the twelve episodes online at our sound at all. there hasn't been anything yet. it is to get the maximum political impact on. the source material is what helps journalism on when. we want to present. something. going on our reporters without borders have sent an open letter to the syrian rebels raising the alarm of an increasing number of attacks against journalists on the ground the group which advocates freedom of information says government

correspondents are prime targets while foreign journalists are also receiving death threats from the opposition that's being taken as further proves nothing is black and white and see where. there has been finding out. january eleventh two thousand and twelve the first western journalist was killed in homs frenchmen. are missing. the initial reaction from france and many french journalists were that of anger and condemnation over here a fence elevation to speak of jackie's colleague who was with him in syria when he was killed. we can't show it as we're used to be now there's only a black and white picture of. hope and he was a great friend he was always smiling it was hard he always wanted to go places always curious he loved his job he was also someone who was very friendly who would go filming we were happy to do together because we would be able to live you

adventurous make believe to siri really have this need in his body to tell what's happening on the other side of the world with his camera with my camera we were always together because i lost a friend christoph says his initial thoughts were that the syrian government was behind the attack however this the week after death a journalist from this newspaper published an article stating the possibility that he might have been killed by fire from the opposition clearly information that went against the dominant narrative in the media but he did find that he wasn't alone in coming to that conclusion i made by mistake by random french intelligence guy. i don't understand why your report didn't pick up. the new is that there are because it was our conclusion intelligence services and friends got reach a conclusion that he was killed by a mortar eighty one millimeters coming shooting from the rubble area by mistake i

published this story it was denied of course by the minister of defiance ministry of foreign affairs of all because it's not really politically correct little correctness that's playing into what is increasingly become an information war as much. as it is a civil war where the villain is usually the heavy handed regime and the rebels are shown as advocates of freedom and democracy but the reality is not so clear cut alex thomson chief correspondent for britain's channel four news wrote how he believed he was led into a death trap by the syrian rebels quite clear the rebels deliberately set us up to be shot by the syrian army and in a life phone interview he told r.t. my point is did joran was dead for damascus you don't have to be very clever to work out that the deaths of any journalist at the hands of the syrian army are going to be in a powering blow again for president asad the motivation for the rebels to pull a stunt like that seems to be very obvious i'm not angry about it i'm not upset

about it this is a war and these things will be done both sides are involved in very dirty tactics in this war this is a nasty and dirty war on both sides and nasty war we're truth is a small victim as those who've lost their lives what to say do so for me it's most important to know who did work when this becomes clear that we can go on with our lives but now we are still mourning every day you know every day where you just are still your r t paris. how the pentagon shame has said his confidence the u.s. could successful in force a no fly zone over syria leon panetta how are the odds this would require a major policy decision which hasn't been made yet and he also accused iran of training syria and pro-government militia saying to iran's involvement in the conflict could this interaction traits political analyst thought stop imperatives

in dot com says washington's latest rhetoric once again reveals its double standard policy towards syria. what panetta is really saying is that the iranians are meddling in the internal affairs of syria but that's precisely what the united states qatar turkey saudi arabia and the rest of them have been doing all along so essentially to say that the a rainy ins should stay out and that syrian should be allowed to determine their their future for themselves is to say that the united states must do the same thing but of course panetta won't say that this really demonstrates the u.s. is desperation in syria they know that they're outmatched diplomatically they're outmatched in terms of the foreign policy and so what they the only thing they can do is use syria as an issue to demonize the iranians which is the ultimate enemy in the region or the us establishment if they were truly interested in letting the syrians determine their own future determine their own fate the united states would

stop sending in al qaeda forces the united states would stop using turkey to smuggle weapons into syria the united states would pull back from all of these ventures then you would see the syrians determine their future outside of u.s. meddling and so coming out the end across there is rebranded. as in the lucrative business of private military contractors. not to for money but also to fix the black hole so tarnished n.h.l. thought of. almost fifty people have been killed and many more injured in a series of a tox across afghanistan the west death toll in the south west of the country a string of suicide bombings bad as locals while shopping and preparing for the missing holiday that ends the month of ramadan a separate bomb blast also struck at an office in the northern can do is call that the surge in violence comes as u.s. troops granted eight hundred sponsibility to afghan security forces and provide

training for them but as an educator not reports the legacy of the american invasion leaves much to be desired. senior u.s. military officers blew the whistle on horrific conditions at the national military hospital in tabel they revealed photographs from twenty ten some graphic images showing severely neglected starving patients at the hospital which the u.s. military sponsors and helps oversee witnesses describe the conditions there as quote unquote auschwitz like lacking basic necessities like feet and soap the hospital treats afghan military personnel but the mentors are mostly americans one of the whistleblowers colonel mark fassel served as inspector general for the nato training mission in afghanistan he says the mission's top commander general william caldwell tried to stall the requested investigation into reported abuse and mismanagement at the hospital his version response to me was how could we do this or make this request. with election coming and then he made the

really. shocking come and he calls me bill. what does that mean i took it. for it to the president stage moreover a general calls command apparently ordered to destroy any photos and videos from the hospital here's the memo that they issued in september last year it says quote on a social personal photos or video or audio recordings of patients or health care events which already exist will be destroyed or deleted end of quote so apparently they wanted these shots destroyed or delete it while putting forward. positive images like this one positive clips like this one but here at the national military hospital in kabul doctors nurses and technicians are working with u.s. military advisors last year the commission on the wartime contracting estimated that the u.s. lost up to sixty billion dollars to waste and fraud in iraq and afghanistan they

call the estimate conservative but in the case of this military hospital in afghanistan it's not just about money pocketed by some incompetent contractors or corrupt local officials but also about apparent attempts to hush down human suffering and possibly cover up abuse to present a training mission in afghanistan as a success story i'm going to shut down. and don't forget that you can find all the stories you may have missed on our website and here's a taste there was that for you right now. high powered support for internet freedom apple co-founder steve wozniak gives these thoughts on a weekly leaks. web regulating the bills and you can watch his exclusive interview to r.t. online. plus they continue victims of the fukushima disaster a gruesome discovery reveals a butterfly's living near japan's tsunami crippled nuclear plant have genetic

mutations sparking fears the leaked radiation might still affect humans. a top official in germany has praised greece and spain for taking major steps in cold botting the euro crisis is a position to be echoed by chancellor angela merkel that how about flies in the face of warring new statistics showing the european union is entering a dreaded double dip recession i'm glad merkel has also greenlighted a european central bank plan to directly by ups punish under tiny and debt something for go heads of germany have long resisted say berlin's been left with no choice with both road trip to week and i could ask for a full state bailout at the time so that's something marco can't let happen and he

spoke to a noted german economist. then who believes the you simply hasn't learned the lessons of your crisis. what i find very surprising is that the united states would never think of bailing out california when it was bankrupt or every state is responsible for itself if there is a loss it has to be borne by the creditors of that state while at the same time they argue in europe there should be an international bailout and this is all too obvious they want to save and rescue their own investment this kind of tora bora capitalism which we have seen in recent years this irresponsible capitalism resulting from the gamble for resort action played by the banks they've been invested in risky enterprises hoping that their profits the profits will be privatized while at the same time expecting to be bailed out of something goes

wrong this kind of capitalism should not have a future. the destruction and pain are always the grim realities of any war but as the expression goes one man's suffering is another's despite some private military firms having had that image side by alleged war crimes their services remain in high demand also as tom barton talked to some new players in the field. fighting for profit the trade is as old as warfare itself but modern private military contracting is a growing market and russian companies want in on the action this training is to hone the skills of the staff and it is military training not just security they don't want to be here in this forest outside moscow they want to be working in places like iraq and afghanistan.

question security systems or r.s.b. is a private military company founded by former russian soldiers they offer convoy and guard duties around the world their unique selling point they say they are more careful than other firms about what they do. we know that there is no state no high ranking official to back us we work on our own a russian company must respect all the rules and laws of the country of residence as well as its lifestyle and mentality with. guns for hire so what's the difference between military contractors and mercenaries that's the tag that some american firms have been labelled with after killings where they were based for guards from u.s. based military contractor blackwater which has since changed its name of facing fresh indictments for allegedly opening fire at a baghdad road junction in two thousand and seven killing seventeen iraqis the discrediting of firms like blackwater has opened up the market for russian firms

says r s b but in this business there will always be a tension between morals and money. the purpose of creating a private military company is to make profit and as a rule the biggest profits come from clandestine operations so that is tempting for the company and for individual operators should not be permitted he would call them what you will the market is there for a reason the private sector is supplying services that overstretched state forces either can't or won't provide such as in the treacherous waters off somalia come under bring your car crew did everything in their capacity to fix the engine as quickly as possible but i remember my heart throbbing because we knew there were pirate ships in the vicinity them who could assault us at any moment to get them while pirates bandits or others could strike it seems governments and companies are prepared to accept the controversy and pay for the likes of dimitri and his kind tom barton artie. and let's now have

a look at some other international news in briefs. has been wronged by a french on to government approach which saw at least eleven people arrested several demonstrators were reportedly wounded as police used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds the violence comes after a port postponed it's about exam twenty opposition figures who are facing jail sentences for allegedly plotting to overthrow the ruling family bahrain has been rocked by the ongoing anti-government protests lasting for more than a good. measure that styles and people have gathered for a demonstration against the ruling islamist party in the central tinnies in time not see the heart of the twenty eleven hour prizing they demanded the release of five people arrested one police dispersed a previous protest last thursday with rubber bullets and tear gas on monday this week the muslims also took to the strength of the capital to fund their power is a moment to the country's constitution that's my traduced one of those right under

this government. at least thirty people have been injured after police broke up a massive demonstration against a dam built on colombia's monday left over about muslims blocks the main road connecting that land with this southern quetta department protesters claim the construction company is not fulfilled its obligations to provide adequate compensation for their displacement down sector flood areas and six local municipalities. time now for the business with case here in place news in the world of finance hello there katie so what's happening today. good morning i want to start with the asian markets because they're up and running and what we're looking at just now is they are sliding and it's for a third day in four we've got companies that gray is the social networking site they're forecasting profits that disappointed investors not just an example because

that seems to be a general thing in most of what's going on today we got big japanese banks as well extending their weakness from the previous session of s. is that also reassessing the chances of central bank stimulus to support the global economy and now they don't seem too optimistic that is actually going to be happening they've been waiting patiently for a long time but the losses are limited and that sort of the best in the estimated u.s. retail sales that we had come out and also the german growth figures they're having to ease their concerns for a global slowdown altogether so with that in mind let's have a look at the u.s. will be able to see how they close that yes they will straight i did mention the retail figures they have a mixed reaction ready and a lot of that was because investors were taking these steps to me or reduce chance of quantity of easing from the federal reserve now at least that's what credit agricole anyway there was also a report that showed greece is trying to extend its all sterile program that's

according to the financial times moving on that britain standard chartered has admitted breaking the u.s. sanctions over iran the lender has agreed a three hundred forty million dollars settlement with new york regulators that accuse it of hiding operations with the islamic republic now the bank said the amounts of illegal transactions totaled forty million dollars instead of the claimed two hundred forty billion. let's get on to some exchange rates and i did mention the greece situ. about them seeking more raids apparently they want a two year extension of their austerity package and as we can see the european currency is responding rather flat at the moment is one twenty three twenty three as for the ruble though it's going to be moving and shaking. two hours time to give you the updated figures that that brings us on to the equity markets here in moscow and they finished up higher actually we had both the r.t.s.

of the my sex they're off and positive territory they are set around six tenths of a percent the my so it's just slightly ahead and seven tenths of a percent they were supported by those better than expected g.d.p. data figures from germany as well as retail figures from the u.s. as well prices they are easy for them now to stockpiles in the u.s. the world's biggest crew consumer rose the first time in three weeks out according to an industry report that means that the potential for more supply in the market is now a reality and moving on the u.s. car giant general motors facing a three billion dollar lawsuit over the fells sell of the swedish all to make a solid two russian and chinese investors not g.m. is accused of deliberately bankrupting the swedish or to make a braking hopes to save the struggling company artie's marina port meyer explains. defunct car maker solve automotive may be running on empty but the saga surrounding its bankruptcy is only accelerating now the swedish company filed for chapter

eleven back in december after takeover talks with chinese and russian investors failed u.s. auto giant general motors which owned part of saab was reportedly against chinese carmakers assessing saabs technology licenses now if they're war if there was a successful deal made that would have purportedly provided saab with the nuff capital to stay alive while also saving some three thousand jobs in sweden according to experts g.m. would have also profit now spyker cars which currently owns saab is accusing g.m. of intentionally driving saab out of business by railing takeover talks with chinese investors spiker leverage those charges in a three billion dollar lawsuit recently filed against g.m.

meanwhile some experts are questioning if g.m. was simply using saab as a pawn in a hidden economic conflict or divide between the east and west and if that is true could that be a developing trend in practices within the global economy that question and many others may likely be raised when spiker cars and g.m. face off in court merino port r.t. new york. i get a yearly i'll be back in about fifty five minutes i have another brand out of all the market action. thank you so much indeed all there waiting for you that. coming up next a prominent german economist who says the world should not fear the e.u. crisis but rather the growing economic problems of american states as there's nobody to bail them out.