north korea warns all foreign embassies in pyongyang to evacuate citing critical tension and risk to the regime that reportedly ordered another ballistic missile to be primed in the face of encroaching american and south korean jets and warships. and in light of the escalating muscle flexing between north korea and the u.s. britain says it needs a better nuclear arsenal a friend which critics believe doesn't exist. hidden billions revealed the president's international celebrities the captains of industry are implicated in a mammoth tax avoidance scheme by millions of leaked e-mails from the british virgin islands. plus thousands of birds slaughtered poultry markets closed. caused by six bird flu deaths in china but we investigate whether the panix been blown out of proportion our top stories this hour.

live from our new center here in moscow this is twenty four hours a day north korea as well as foreign embassies in pyongyang to evacuate in light of the rising tensions and risks on the peninsula it follows reports from north unarmed a second ballistic missile with an unknown payload on the east coast of the country washington and south korea meanwhile say they are taking all precautions dispatching more ships and missile systems towards the north. has the details. with tensions on the korean peninsula escalating we do have confirmation that north korea has asked for an embassies to evacuate their staff from pyongyang in the event of an emergency saying at least to the british embassy that the north koreans

will not be able to guarantee the safety of staff the embassy staff there in the event of conflict following april tenth it certainly is a tense situation there although we've heard from diplomats saying that tensions on the ground within the north korean capital were rather calm at the moment what we know from russian foreign minister sergey lavrov is that the russians are currently considering the proposal but there's been no decision made as of yet to whether to actually evacuate the staff we know that the russians are in close contact with other allies in the region and let's take a listen to actually what the russian foreign minister had told r.t. when asked about his worries in this rather tense situation because you are in close contact with the chinese american and regional partners highly concerned about the build up of tension which is so far been we're trying to understand why

we've been asked to evacuate and whether it's in order or just advice for you so as as you can see there the staff are still considering this proposal this has been of course a rather tense situation north korea has said that nuclear conflict could break up at any time on the korean peninsula and really what has been an escalating war of words over the past month we do know as you mentioned least according to south korean press the north koreans had moved to intermediary range missiles sort of getting them ready for a potential conflict but at this point no one at least in the diplomatic community really believes that this could lead to an all out break of war this as these kinds of tensions have course taken place in the past and diplomat. at this moment are simply looking out this rhetoric as opposed to a. potential conflict although we should of course mention that the united states had deployed military assets to the region and it certainly didn't but these

tensions won last week the americans and the south koreans have held joint drills in many ways. have to keep a close eye on the situation as it develops but so far we do have confirmation that the staff have been asked to evacuate but no confirmation yet whether any embassy will actually take them up on their suggestion and. that part of the trillions of dollars hidden in tax havens by the world's most powerful and influential figures could soon be a matter of public knowledge. about stosh money and the british virgin islands was already implicated the friends of french president and american politicians in top arab ruling families and only god. just who is behind it. let's just look at the actual league we're talking about two hundred sixty bytes of documents here two million e-mails and about one hundred thirty thousand people

from one hundred seventy countries could be implicated in this massive leak this information was passed to the a washington based international consortium of investigative journalists in collaboration with the u.k. the guardian newspaper and other media information was given by an anonymous whistleblower now already this has really caused a lot of effects we're talking about a money stashed in the british virgin islands and you know it's not illegal to set up a company in the british virgin islands there are a mammoth of reasons why you could be doing so personal reasons to keep your wealth discreet however where when we're talking about possible criminal offenses such as tax evasion or tax avoidance that certainly would be coming to light and already there's been some embarrassment we're looking at the front wall and close friend for example also his campaign manager during the presidential elections and now he had been forced to to reveal his in the name of his chinese business partner and to acknowledge that he has offshore investments also and this is a embarrassment afonso along because a lot is so staunchly against

a clamping down on tax savings also we've seen a number of a politician saying that they may already be thinking of leaving their post because of this investigation we see russian oligarchs names public public officials from the u.s. from the u.k. basically around the world now what does this all mean it's really interesting to see that we've seen a slew of whistleblowers or citizen journalists making use of technology to reveal important information and in fact it has really proven a bit more effective if you will than the government or legal systems in place around the world when it comes to clamping down or looking for transparency and governance pursuing those values of course of revealing information we have to acknowledge that it is a double edged sword however when it comes to really going after those in high positions. who may have been hiding information that should be made known and should be criminally or publicly liable the rules of the game has certainly changed with that with this way of technology and whistleblowers and leaks of information

and the what they thought they could hide forever from public view may not be the case anymore to sicilia them a summary cleric gives syrian rebels a license to rape a video address posted online he says it is a little fact for jihadist fighters to sexually assault any woman from a different religion we've got more on that story for you in just a few minutes from now. but first two months without food but still retaining a good appetite for justice the hunger strike among going to move prisoners has managed to bring the issue of human rights in america's anti terror facility back into the spotlight un human rights chief has called for the prisons closure one uncomfortable questions are being thrown towards the u.s. state department. looks into whether officials there are prepared to answer them. a russian citizen of one thousand or more. of the man who spent eleven years in the

prison for his alleged links to al qaeda and russia haven't been concerned with the situation right now in the prison where the hunger strike has asked a delegation to visit this detainee when a journalist asked if there are new and about how things were with him in gaza from the state of situation there was a very interesting exchange between the state department's spokesperson and the journalist let's have a listen mr mingles of has refused through his own legal counsel to meet with any russian delegation we've conveyed that to the russians so we're not able to facilitate the interview that they requested because we have a longstanding policy of not forcing such interviews if they're not voluntary so it's ok to apply to all of the battlefield of course rudiment one trial but we're certainly going to respect his right not to sue the russian. not to sue the russian

valuation we have when work is interesting which wrote to you we have been we have been working hard as you know to. meet international humanitarian law standards at guantanamo including the right to refuse visits by individuals victoria nuland went on to say that the invitation for the russian delegation to visit guantanamo still stands but the russian foreign minister says he knows nothing about this invitation the majority of the one hundred sixty six detainees at guantanamo have been held without any charges for nearly eleven years more than half of those eighty nine have actually been cleared for release but the authorities failed to either send them home or close the facility altogether has led to the current act of ultimate desperation with one hundred thirty inmates now on the hunger strike according to lawyers at least three people have already been hospitalized and almost a dozen are being forced fed through a tube. but the authorities who worry about inmates right to accept or reject a meeting with the country's delegation seem to be taking no action at all to bring

this protest that could turn fatal to an end instead camp officials have been already pressuring detainees to end their hunger strike by methods criticized by human rights watch dogs worldwide hunger strikers have complained of being denied drinking water and being forced to drink from the tap lawyer say that they further exacerbated their conditions and lead to health problems with their kidneys or in areas systems and stomachs in addition the prisoners claimed to temperatures in their cells were being kept extremely cold so you can see for yourself whether these facts actually correspond with what the state department spokesperson said at the press conference about respecting inmates rights well let's get a legal perspective on the plight of those still incarcerated quantum over then i'm now joined by jonathan have hits he's a professor at the seton hall university school of law victoria nuland she didn't come across as very confident at all while the u.s. authorities so confused over their own message well i

think the united states is facing the continuing problems of guantanamo the intractable problems of indefinite detention of holding individuals for more than a decade without charges or without charges in a recognized court and i think it's very difficult to. be able to justify this when you have to really going to tie yourself in knots to do so where does the problem lie there seems to be a conflict of interest the u.s. government is taking a lot of flack isn't it for what's happening there but is that really entirely fair we got caught and of course the military doing their utmost to block the release of the prisoners it's not all up to the white house is it. i don't know certainly not i think that the there are it's in a number of factors a you here you have the military as you say continuing to press for holding detainees and use military commissions rather than regular courts and particular you have congress which has placed very onerous restrictions on transferring

detainees to other countries including detainees who the white house has cleared for transfer and says it's not in the u.s. interest to hold anymore because they don't present a threat but in the day i think the white house cannot escape blame president obama made a very big deal about closing guantanamo issued in order to do so and then has not taken the necessary steps and granted it's gotten more difficult to do so over time but i think first he didn't act when he had the power to and even now he's not you who lies in the full powers he's had including and particularly transferring detainees who he's cleared for release and really you know staking. the power prestige of the office behind closing the prison just briefly your lawyer is international law being broken here could anybody not be held to account with this indefinitely detention i should say i think indefinite international laws being

broken in a number of respects it's you know first of all i think that the indefinite detention of individuals who don't pose a risk of a threat and is not imperative for the this curity is violating international law i also think the prosecution in military tribunals for offenses like material support for terrorism or conspiracy that aren't recognized as war crimes under international law also violates international law and i think also the absence of accountability for the torture and the other abuses that occurred in guantanamo during its first years is another violation of international law the state has a duty to investigate and prosecute offenses in the united states has not done that in terms of officials who it will gauge and torture don't have it's a professor at the seton hall university school of northern a state thank you very much indeed for joining us my pleasure. well this is r.t. live here in moscow britain is looking to pour billions of pounds into cementing

security by renewing its submarine based nuclear deterrent the country's prime minister is citing what he calls the evolving atomic threat from north korea which is topping the headlines with its harsh american drive conservatives are seeking a like for like replacement of the outdated trident fleet members of their coalition partners the liberal democrats and the opposition labor party however are voicing objections to this plan more to find out why i'm joined live by jeremy called who is a british labor m.p. so what's wrong about the prime minister's initiative after all it's about making everyone sleep soundly in their beds isn't it. one hundred billion pounds on a new nuclear missile system at a time when austerity is the order of the day in britain which cuts in public services redundancies and rising unemployment is not a sensible use of money the claim that it makes britain more secure is really simply not credible the on that argument every country in the world with nuclear

weapons we signed the nuclear nonproliferation treaty when it first came around as one of the five declared nuclear weapon states they are all required to take steps towards disarmament replacing the tried and system with a new even more expensive system is not taking steps towards disarmament i want to see a more peaceful world i do not believe that nuclear rearmament will bring that about but sadly we do need a nuclear deterrent we even david cameron saying this is a very difficult dangerous time and it would be unwise not to have any nuclear deterrent surely. look at the nuclear weapons free zones of latin america of central asia and of africa and look at the large number of countries around the world that do not have possess or want to possess nuclear weapons and you realise that it is not essential for security in fact it's a weapon of mass destruction there are five declared nuclear weapon states so i

hope we'll all really seriously take steps towards disarmament of though they're not showing much signs but at the moment the norm declared weapon states are india pakistan israel and north korea iran is claiming just developing a nuclear weapon system but remains a member of the nonproliferation treaty the nonproliferation treaty review process begins at the end of this month in geneva with the press comm i think that would be a good opportunity to reengage the whole concept of a nuclear weapons free middle east which must of course include israel and try and ask them as part of a treaty process to. decommission the nuclear weapons otherwise the alternative would be a nuclear arms race in the region with many countries egypt saudi arabia and others all if they want to be quite capable developing their own nuclear weapons but judging by what the u.k. government says the british people are surely fearful of a potential attack from north korea and iran is that not realistic it could be

a target. you know i don't think it's realistic i think that the majority of british people are very concerned about the idea of spending this amount of money on a new generation of nuclear weapons and then you ask the question why are we targeted is it because we've got. or is it for some other reason many other countries the world manage perfectly well without nuclear weapons and not themselves under threat or under target what we need rapid is an international engagement with iran not the vilification of iran and its people but in gauging with iran likewise with north korea and i hope that a country will take the initiative actually talking to north korea rather than the way in which the rhetoric is being ratcheted up all around i have criticisms of north korea as i'm sure everybody else does but i don't want to see them wasting their resources on nuclear weapons i don't want to see a nuclear war breaking out in the korean peninsula or anywhere else the time is now

to talk rather than ratchet up the rhetoric which can only end in catastrophe for millions of people german labor m.p. there in london thank you very much and if your thoughts thanks for joining us live here on r.t. i'll be back with more news for you in just a couple of minutes join us after the break. that's a meteorite only. ten thousand tons per told through space towards russia. with the power. of a nuclear. city open sky full on r.t.

. the international airport in the very heart of moscow. he continues here an r.t.s. salafi cleric has issued a fatwa online allowing one is of jihad in syria to rape sunny women he specifically mentioned members of president bashar assad and the white sect as possible targets well for more on the situation that's top live now to dr beller

he's a syrian academic in london a member of the syrian dawdled human rights groups say that syria's facing a rape crisis with forces on both sides accused of sexual assault just how bad is. indeed syria is facing a rape crisis only and not only a rape crisis but also child abuse crisis and targeting all sorts of civil life it is quite bad and it's been bad from the start but little attention has been paid from the start of the crisis in syria now and this is what we're hearing is. is a new islamist clerics in fact words that have been released legitimized rape and child abuse well john this is rescissions child abuse this is highly disturbing and clerics permission to issue such a fatwa we're not hearing much from the opposition about this ali what why not

well simply because those who are committing the war crimes and the. and the child abuse and and and the rapes on the ground are the very same tools that the opposition is using the opposition on the ground has has militants so-called f.s.a. or so-called free syrian army as well as those who are fighting under the umbrella of the store front or al-qaeda or other other similar affiliations those are the tools who are committing these atrocities and if they are to be condemned by the opposition it means that they are condemning their own tools and human rights groups they complaining the situation is getting very little coverage we're talking about it now with you here in r.t. but why do you think the media is generally ignoring this. well i mean from from the very start this is a war syria on all fronts so media is only one of the fronts on the ground you have

extremists who are being sent with doctoring idiology and at the same on the power on the parallel you'll have a media war that justifies these acts sometimes it masks these atrocities sometimes it blurs the idea and makes it so murky that such atrocities are reported to be blamed on both sides while we know that for example the syrian army for decades has been involved in conflicts in several conflicts inside syria and outside syria and such atrocities have never been heard off and linked to the syrian army these things we've only come to hear after the unfolding of groups such as a qaeda which we all know that was created when the americans created the al qaeda to fight the soviets in afghanistan and since then we've been hearing about rape

and sexual jihad jihadists. and child abuse it's very disturbing so briefly and clearly as as another factor or just just briefly what can be done about it or is this just a sad twist in tragedy of what is happening there in syria what are your thoughts. well i mean ideally ideally this whole holding the support to these. extremist groups but knowing the reality the west is going to do very little about this it's very now important to clarify a few points. about this about this issue it is not only that. the clerics are permanent thing women rate but they are also permitting child abuse girls who are less than fourteen year old and it is not only about one certain sect and it's not only towards a wide spot towards christians this is somehow a spin of the story actually the sudanese themselves who are in the in the refugee

camps in jordan are being exposed to the same threat and are are being also abused so the what can be done is an international and international agreement stop the jihadist acts around syria and stop violence to be streamed from the syrian border specifically here we're talking about saudi qatar and turkey we know that tacky and saudi are completely entrenched in the muslim brotherhood idiology a very dangerous idiology that can legitimize any of these forces acts under the name of islam which is completely illegitimate based on a disturbing consequence of what's happening there in syria thank you very much indeed for joining us live to talk about it here on our to your son about a. bird flu panic is spreading across china and its neighboring countries many thousands of poultry being slaughtered in markets are being closed down to prevent the spread of the virus six people have died so far out of the fourteen infected

raising the alarm over a possible outbreak of the new flu strain of the sean thomas has more in the virus and the panic. there is evidence of a localized type or panic specifically regarding the h seven n nine strain of the flu virus if you look at what's happening in china twenty thousand birds slaughtered from one market there from a place where the birds tested positive live birds tested positive in hong kong the stock market shares dropped particularly in relation to chinese airline companies because they want to restrict travel vietnam bans poultry imports from china japan puts health posters up at points of entry from people coming from china taiwan raises the corn to level alert and us in canada they decide that they're going to move to develop vaccines specifically for the h seven n nine virus just to be on the ready now all of these moves are localized it's not coming from the world health organization in fact of the world health organization on the other hand they

are saying they want a more measured watchful response in fact they are saying they're not going to be mass producing any vaccines they're not going to be making recommendations for trade restrictions and they are not recommending special screenings for one thing if they stop what they're doing and do you know this h seven n nine vaccine then they're going to have to put regular flu vaccinations on hold and they're also pointing out that there's no evidence of the disease spreading easily between people and that you actually have to have contact with a disease bird in order to contract that so here's where it gets interesting leading vaccine companies the top three where the money is being made and where it gets controversial they're all into reading they're saying hey we want to do this we want to make sure that this happens let's go through the swine flu back in two thousand and nine first case in mexico march seventeenth april fifth epidemic mentioned for the first time in the news twenty seven first confirmed deaths from that time until may third the swine flu was the most covered story then from may

each day new countries getting on the bandwagon and if you break it down back in the thirtieth of june forty million expired doses had to be. of a us order of two hundred fifty one million doses that was eighteen billion dollars of profits for the drug companies made in just the course of a few months to put this in perspective the c.d.c. says that the united states country of three hundred fourteen million about thirty six thousand deaths from regular from the flu so given these small numbers looks like a lot of hype over nothing more news and often asked stay with us. what if one third of the population of a capital city of a small arab country took to the streets in protest while the mainstream media would scream the people of nation x.

are crying out for democracy we have to intervene and take their oil i mean help them but the earth shaking a large protest isn't an arab country it's in paris france and for traditional marriage yes protesters in paris claim that they had eight hundred thousand people on the streets of france's capital and even though the police said that half those numbers for a city of less than two point five million people this was a huge protest for a cardless the european union loves to educate the world about democracy and show the liberal values around and yet that doesn't really seem to listen to the citizens very much who want to stop the madness of waves of illegal immigrants bailing out members on the times of other nations and for focusing the union's national attention on social issues like gay marriage instead of creating jobs to the e.u. officials out there who claim to believe in democracy maybe it's about time you actually try you know listening to a few voices who disagree with you before you keep promoting policies against

possibly the will of the majority but that's just my opinion. you. so choose your life stream quality and enjoy your favorite. if you're away from your television just doesn't matter with your mobile device you can watch on t.v. any time anyway.