if you knew me from phones to. me don t. don't come. i could do with tom selleck room was always already granting driven asan just saw him as the whistle blower's quest for refuge and visit family final but no less perilous state . journalists are in the science 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 surface of a riff and conditions on an american ron paul special something a top u.s. general tried to sleep under the carpet and.

international news and comment life this is all she was me thanks for joining us today and a soldier's fate isn't quite sealed just yet with acquittals president personally debunking media rumors the whistleblower has been granted asylum in the south american country instead of president ruffo carette says he hopes to make the decision later this week also in german while remains and i quote always embassy in london and you sort of refuge bag gainst his exhibition to sweden which many of his supporters fear would be only a short story before he'd be hunted to the united states to face political fuel charges and more now in a song just blind with his lower smith who's been in touch with the ecuador president's press office. 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 asylum just

a denial of any decision having already been made and what was being recorded earlier with an unnamed official. saying that a decision had been made in that the decision was to grant refuge to. television address by president. 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 and we also know that could do it sees this as a humanitarian act the president's foreign minister in ecuador have said that they see this as an act that would protect his right to life and freedom. and the working on the case and i quote also. wouldn't have been less than enthusiastic to negotiate with the latin american states regarding june and asylum

bid kevin zeese. bradley manning support network so even if the whistleblower gets the green light from ecuador they'll be plenty more challenges ahead. he needs to get safe passage out of great britain you know england has to agree that they have negotiate their good or it sounds like there would have 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 that which you know it doesn't solve the problems the charges are still outstanding and once he's in the air you have to worry what the u.s. military or the universe around us are just plain and bring him down and sweeping a room down united states force no landon outside her door so this is not a done deal it's a big step and it's a good sign that our country will stand up with june saajan say that we recognize that you're being mistreated now that this which our news dandan and pushes for to try to find a political form. and if there's one thing

a sound just story doesn't block it's plot twist for every secret that the whistleblower that shed light on hey found himself quo in clod of enemies or more and more desperate to bring him down from buying state governments and even public figures openly calling for him to beckel it's also his christian for with long just how far it has all escalade. 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 step 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 it but we need sources who can get. through to the information out to the public in the weeks following a sauna and wiki leaks were everywhere with 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 it 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 to 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 t.v. quit. that can change the world tomorrow where he interviewed hezbollah leaders saeed has on those rollo come as well as ecuadorian president. rafael correa. people think about the united states and its involvement in latin america. 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 and since the president said he would make his announcement after the olympic games president correa said if he does grant as political asylum it would be an informed decision and one made in the name of human rights in washington christine for his our party. and of

course will be covering a song just quest for asylum sovereignty over the next few days here and i'll see for you and also if you missed any of the world famous we're still blows our own shows here on r.t. you can watch all the twelve episodes online at our songs dot com. there hasn't been anything yet. it is to get the maximum political impact of. the source material is what helps journalism. we wanted to present. something our. reporters without borders have signed 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 proof nothing is black and white in syria as there has been finding out. january eleventh two thousand and twelve the first western journalist was killed in holmes frenchmen. 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 the syria when he was killed. christopher can't show it as we used to be now there's only a black and white picture of. he was a great friend he was always smiling he was happy 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 adventures when we do serious really have this need in this body to tell what's happening on the other side of the world his camera with my camera we were always together i lost a friend christoph says his initial thoughts were that the syrian government was behind the attack however the week after. the 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 it because it was our conclusion that intelligence services and friends got the conclusion that he was killed by a mortar of eighty one millimeters coming shooting from the rubble area by mistake

i published this story it was denied of course by the minister of the fans ministry of foreign affairs of the because it's not really politically correct political correctness that's playing into what has increasingly become an information war as as much. it is a civil war where the villain is usually the heavy handed regime and 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 added a life phone interview he told r.t. my point is did joran elites are 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 palin 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 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 every day where you just are still your r t paris. panted inching of has said he's confident the u.s. could successfully enforce a no fly zone over syria leon panetta however added this would require a major policy decision which hasn't been made yet and he also accused iran of training syrian pro-government militia saying tehran's involvement in the conflict

could provide this inspiration and eric draitser to political analysts full stop imperatives of dot com says washington's latest rhetoric once again reveals a double standard policy towards syria. united states is the pot calling the kettle black essentially doing whatever it can to foment a chaos to to turn sunni is against shiites to turn al the whites against kurds and so forth and try to destroy the syrian state in that way and then they'll turn around and say that the iranians are doing the same thing by forming pro assad militias this is unbridled hypocrisy as i already mentioned but i think we could take it one step further to show 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 would be the only thing they can do is use syria as an issue to demonize the arabians which is the ultimate enemy in the region for the u.s. establishment. so coming out for you in the program mercenaries rebranded hold

on the new plaza in the lucrative business of private military contractors. not only for money but also to fix their black holes have tarnished image of that. almost fifty people have been killed and more than and many more injured in a series of attacks across afghanistan there was death toll came in the south west of the country a string of suicide bombings ahead daren as locals were shopping and preparing for the muslim holiday that ends the month of ramadan the separate bomb blast also struck in the north and produce province this imagine violence comes as u.s. troops branch in a hundred sponsibility to afghan security forces and provide training for them. to check our no records the legacy of the american invasion leaves much to be designed . senior u.s. military officers blow the whistle on horrific sense of the national military hospital wing tabel they revealed photographs from twenty ten summer graphic images

showing severely neglected starving patients at the hospital which the u.s. military sponsor. and helps oversee witnesses describe the conditions there as quote unquote auschwitz like lacking basic necessities like heat 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 make this request. with a look coming and then he made the really. shocking come and he calls me bill. what does that mean i took it.

for him to the president stage moreover a general called command apparently ordered to destroy any photos and videos from the hospital here's a 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 this choice 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 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 kind of santa. and don't forget that you can find all the stories you may have missed on our website and here's a taste of all there for you right now high powered support for internet freedom acts of it apple co-founder steve wozniak gives these thoughts on a weekend leaks mega op loud and controversial web regulating bell's entrepreneur exclusive interview to alton on the mind. and the continuing victims of the fukushima disaster a gruesome discovery reveals that bought supplies living near japan's tsunami crippled nuclear plant on genetic mutation is sparking fears the leaked radiation might still affect you but.

there's been uncommon praise from germany tools greece and spain which berlin says are taking major steps in cold botting the euro crisis how about flies in the face of warring new statistics showing the european union is entering a dreaded double dip recession. has also approved a risky european central bank plan to directly by ups punish a ton in debt despite that being something for a go ahead of germany had long resisted and on it's a berlin it's been left with no choice with both madrid so weakened they could almost full stay by a lot at any time and that's something marco clinton let happen in the next hour here and also he was speaks a noted german economist. who believes the e.u. simply hasn't learned the lessons of the human crisis. what i find very surprising

is that the united states would never think of bailing out california when it goes 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're in vest 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. there's a destruction and pain are always the grim realities of any and all too frequently

private military contractors like blackwater have only added to the misery alleged war crimes top the list of complains that hobson is the image of the security fans but also has tom barton has talked to some new players in the field the things they can't fix it. 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. russian security systems or r s p is a private military company founded by former russian soldiers they are for convoy and guard duties around the world they are selling point they say they are more

careful than others about what they do. we know that there is no state no high ranking official to back us but 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 where when you're holding your 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 aristide but in this business there will always be a tension between morals and money who chose the company the purpose of creating a private military companies to make profit and as

a rule the biggest profits come from clandestine operations so that attempting 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 of them who could assault us at any moment and put it on them while pirates bandits or others could strike it seems governments and companies are prepared to accept the controversy and paid for the likes of dimitri and his kind tom barton artie. let's now have a look at some other international news and breathe through this hour long worrying hard. on to government protests which saw at least eleven people arrested several

demonstrators loyal to. police used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds the balance comes after a clip posted its verdict on twenty opposition figures who are facing sentences for allegedly plotting to overthrow the ruling family bahrain has been damaged by the ongoing anti-government protests to get anything. some others have gathered for a demonstration against the ruling islamist paul also in the central to new zealand town of c.d.b. said the heart of the twenty seven uprising they demanded the release of nearly thirty five people are arrested one please discuss the previous protest last thursday with rubber bullets and tear gas on monday this week from gaza is also tied to the streets on the top or so to vent anger toward proposed amendments to the country's constitution that might reduce when those rights under the islamist government. and the police say see people have been injured after police broke up a massive demonstration against

a dumb thing built on columbus the land of riba just blocks the main road connecting their land with the southern cattle department protesters claim the construction company is not filled its obligations to provide adequate compensation package the supposed. to six point two it's. time for the business now with casey hello their cases so the law gets all suffering today that right. still taking a little bit of a saying we'll get to the asian markets and be able to see that they all sliding for a day and for some things to talk about we've got china air space international disappointed investors as well as the social networking site gray as well also failing to him. press and still mike has a down and was off to an official the world's biggest oil producers said china's golden years of growth are. big japanese banks are also extending weakness from the

previous session and investors are also reassessing the chances of a central bank stimulus to support the global economy and now they don't seem to be too optimistic about it as we can see the figures just let's see how wall street closed up yesterday that now the positive u.s. retail sales figures they had a mixed reaction in the u.s. session because a lot of investors were taking these steps to mean now reduced chance of quantity of easing from the federal reserve at least that's what just just the credit agricole were saying and a way as also been a report will show that greece is trying to extend their a c. program that's according to the financial times and that didn't go down too well until now one bank we've been falling for a closed in britain standard chartered they have admit is breaking u.s. sanctions against iran the lender has agreed a three hundred forty million dollars settlement with new york regulators that accused of hiding operations with the islamic republic now the bank said the

amounts of illegal transactions totaled only fourteen million dollars instead of the claimed two hundred forty billion took in the money and see the exchange rates there will be a was the common currency is flat i did mention the situation in greece apparently they're going to be seeking an extension of two years to get their house in order we can see the russian ruble which will be in less than an hour now as you can see that finished up higher basket of currencies that brings the songs of the markets here moscow which also closed but again they'll be opening up very shortly indeed we managed to gain here must go there yesterday both around seven tenths of a percent for the hour test on the my stakes is better than expected results come the u.s. helped. german g.d.p. figures helped to provide a little bit of support here in russia. moving on to the oil prices then they also falling that's off to stop balls in the u.s.

the world's biggest crude consumer of course rose for the first time in three weeks us according to an industry report which is now signaling the potential for more supply in the market and therefore prices now moving on general motors is facing a three billion dollar lawsuit over it interfering into a possible set of sub of the u.s. coal giant is accused of deliberately bankrupting the swedish auto make it is said of handing it back to the russian and chinese investors artie's marine upon my experience. 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 enough 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 speicher cars and g.m. face off in court. r.t. new york. back about fifty five minutes talking about the russian i think is ok casey thank you so much indeed. up next the struggles and courage of america and here in the maze children who bad the imprint of agent orange a deadly toxin that was once sprayed over the vietnam's jungles that's just after the headlines for.

my parents really truly honestly believe that what had happened was as a result of my father's exposure to agent orange i was born with multiple problems . i was missing my leg and my fingers and my big toe on my right foot i use my hands a lot in my artwork i find myself drawing my hands quite a bit to me for my hands you know just as if anyone would but they do tell a story they tell a story of. their oxen.