foreign leaders under surveillance the latest leaks from the n.s.a. whistleblower reveal how delegates of the g twenty summit in london four years ago a former russian president among them were targeted by u.s. and british intelligence. feared to add some tension to the g eight summit convening in britain against a backdrop of austerity protests. but it's syria that is set to take center stage for world leaders at the g eight in northern ireland looking to narrow their differences amid fears the conflict. even further.

broadcasting live from our studios in moscow this is thomas good to have you with us british and american intelligence spied on world leaders and officials new evidence from n.s.a. will blow or edward snowden puts the recent surveillance scandal on a new scale delegates of the g twenty summit in london in two thousand and nine among them russia's then president dmitry medvedev apparently had their computers monitored and phone calls intercepted the leaked documents emerged as britain hosts another major international gathering the g eight summit in northern ireland artie's public because there. this really is the worst possible timing for a story like this to come out where just kicking off the thirty ninth g eight summit here in la today now we know what we know from the documents that edward snowden has revealed is that the british security agency was spying on

foreign dignitaries at the last g twenty summit that the u.k. also hosted back in two thousand and nine so not setting a great precedent as host of a summit we had even reports that they set up fake internet cafes in order to intercept the e-mails of the whole delegations of foreign dignitaries and even tapping into the phone calls of the then president of russia dmitry medvedev so not a great atmosphere for the start of the g eight summit i think that some of the world leaders at the summit here today might be a little bit more careful about what they say over the phone or write in the e-mails in the light of this information now we know that david cameron in response to the news has already said that the u.k. just doesn't comment on security issues or masses of intelligence the g c h q story has a somewhat overshadowed what had become the main headline of this summit which is

the escalating crisis in syria now we know that russia and the u.s. approach the crisis extremely differently and we know that there have been tensions raised over the last week over the u.s.a.'s pledge to provide military aid to the syrian opposition now the british prime minister david cameron speaking yesterday after talks with a lot of it in downing street well he also called for bashar al assad to step down he said that britain will continue to provide support to the syrian opposition we know that russian president vladimir putin well he his view is somewhat different he questions what will happen one of these weapons are provided to the syrian opposition nepali it looks like the g eight leaders just can't get to terms with each other on this but how is the general public's reaction to this been of the gathering. well there has been an unprecedented amount of security at the summit had just driving through from belfast to law and last night just

going through all the checkpoints there's police standing everywhere and they're guarding obviously the security of all these foreign dignitaries the world leaders that are here but they're also trying to guard against any potential protest as a massive fifty million pound ring of steel erected around the good result itself where the summit is taking place and of the protests well there are forty been a number of them we've had a misty international marching through belfast in. calling for the closure of guantanamo bay talking about the hunger strike that's been taking place the breach of international law the inmates being held without charge. and and it's not just sort of human rights cause as we've there's been a lot of global lists there have been trade unions taking to the streets talking about economic issues the g.

eight summit was that it did come about initially as an as an economic summit and people talking about world hunger and poverty and questioning why world leaders on to addressing these issues why that would put them really that this represents this summit represents the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a very small minority. well when it comes to the g twenty v.i.p.'s snooping or to contribute or option we're told so he told us britain has served as a surveillance platform for the united states for decades. i think that kind of blanket surveillance we're talking about fake internet cafes in education being set up blackberries routinely monitored that surveillance is being used and of course with their own the rage and presuming they were trying to make those talks amenable to washington and british interests these kinds of revelations show that when government such as britain and the united states come close to worrying they will

use this to try and persuade different officials of different governments to sway them for many years written knew or some british people realized that the national security agency was basically using the united kingdom and the largest spying outfit in the united states is here in britain but who runs the spying who or where is the sovereignty and perhaps british people will realise that they are living in a state where their media and all institutions surrounding them all industrial aspects to civic society are under a kind of surveillance state that is not being covered in the news the problem is the mainstream media will try and prove this and say everyone knows this ever and if everyone knew this all world leaders and all delegates at that summit in twenty are doing know that they are being surveilled then why do the british or american authorities do this here in london the revelations of the g twenty spying come as

the scandal caused by snowden's earlier disclosures on the extent of u.s. surveillance after its own and foreign citizens is gaining momentum dozens of lawsuits are being filed against the government's practices while many lawmakers continue to defend the operation it has also emerged that the scope of the surveillance and of the help it received from corporations may have been underestimated here's our washington correspondent going to can with more. what edward snowden revealed could be just the tip of the iceberg we're learning that in addition to internet giants thousands of u.s. technology finance and manufacturing companies that include software and hardware producers banks internet security providers satellite telecommunications companies thousands are working closely with u.s. national security agencies according to the people familiar with the exchange the cooperation of some of the company says helped the u.s. government infiltrate computers worldwide so this certainly adds to edward snowden's account note and said he believed that the n.s.a.

has carried out more than one thousand hacking operations globally snowden said he was releasing the information to demonstrate quote the posse of the u.s. government when it claims that it does not target civilian infrastructure unlike its adversaries he also said quote we hack network backbones like huge internet routers basically that give us access to the communications of hundreds of thousands. of people computers without having to hack every single one in these sources who speak on the condition of anonymity say u.s. companies help intelligence agencies do exactly that and they say it's not subject to any oversight now it's all done of course on that the umbrella of national security but there are some very obvious discrepancies here robert muller director of the f.b.i. for example he said the massive surveillance program that the u.s. has now could have prevented nine eleven then what about the fort hood shooting in two thousand and nine the perpetrator of that one needle molly costs on had been

exchanging e-mails with anwar locky for a period of time or time alonso are now i have multiple warnings over several years radical content on his you tube what web page. one may ask the question then why this massive collection of information when all of that was missed well it's not just the u.s. government that's under fire for the extent of the surveillance many wonder why so many companies supplied the n.s.a. with data ortiz looks at what might be in it for the firms. the story certainly raises more questions than it answers as my colleague reported earlier we know now that thousands of companies have been sharing sensitive information with the u.s. government in exchange for various benefits now this raises concerns about the extent of the private sector collaboration with the u.s. government not to mention questions about what exactly those benefits were now the details may be murky at this point but let's go over exactly what information we have now companies who did hand over data to the government got

a big thank you that's according to michael hayden who used to head the cia as well as the national security agency which runs of course the prism program and mr hayden told bloomberg this if i were the director and had a relationship with a company who was doing things that were not just directed by law but were also valuable to the defense of the republic i would go out of my way to thank them and give them a sense as to why this is necessary and useful all right well what kind of thank you exactly are we talking about here well again not a lot of details but anonymous sources did tell bloomberg that leaders of the companies who handed over data to the government were showered with attention and information by government agencies in fact in some instances that meant quick warnings about the threats that could affect their bottom line for example serious internet attacks and who's behind them of course this exchange of information is supposed to be voluntary and well at this point we don't exactly have evidence that

this is not the case but well most of the companies seem to have participated simply because the government asked them for help one former c.e.o. paints a slightly different picture in two thousand and one when some telecom giants allegedly were asked to participate in an n.s.a. information sharing program one company qwest initially refused to play ball and according to court documents filed by its then c.e.o. joseph nacho as a result of that decision the company was denied lucrative n.s.a. contracts he believed to be worth fifty to one hundred million dollars retaliation he says for refusing to partake in the government's spy program. so to sum it up companies that share data are into government goodwill information about threats possible classified information and of course there's concern that those who did not play along could could have been left out of lucrative government contracts course we don't have more information on this but that's per syslog the point the lack of transparency about this data swap is

a major concern now it's done in the name of security but at what cost and to whom this is reporting for our team in moscow and back to our top story the latest leaks from the n.s.a. whistleblower reveal how delegates of the g twenty summit in london four years ago a former russian president among them were targeted by u.s. and british intelligence live to london now and to richard norton taylor he writes on defense and security for the guardian the u.k. newspaper that published the leaked documents proving surveillance at the london g twenty summit in two thousand and nine which are not taylor thank you very much for being with us now the timing of the spying exposé is it just a coincidence that the paper ran this story just before the g eight summit kicks off. well you can guess i suppose i mean we've had quite a lot of material already coming out of the whistleblower edward snowden and today obviously as if you're a journalist you would say you're writing about material which is linked to

a g eight even though some years ago and there's one meeting starting today. that obviously gives you the extra freshness or a given free saw or makes it more provocative and more like i supposed to be spoken about i should say i have not seen the dawkins myself and i write for the guardian and have it for some time but the answer your question is it's no coincidence i think now the timing is interesting g eight g twenty they are very similar events do you expect the revelations to lead to some tension and during this particular summit or deal a blow to the trust during the hosting country. i mean i think i would have hoped that people know that the americans and the close allies in the whole intelligence exchange of intelligence is the u.k. but other countries even friend even allies. would know maybe that they've been

they've been they've been snooped. spooked and there and then their diplomatic and economic information has been. has been looked at secretly. i think that some people make a point about that i hope i don't think it will actually upset the whole program i don't tend to be brought together and big were actually starting to hear some of the new change in the g. eight but on the start button are going to say that we're actually already seeing some tension like the russian delegation has already voiced concern about this president i mean it has and it upset relations already. well i think it it i hope the russians and others have raised the issue but mike my. only question i asked really is in what forum do they do it by lastly do they do it privately or will they actually do it in a main prend recession of the of the meeting and it's get in i'm not trying to be cynical i mean i i think it is that they've got i would be surprised and they have

to raise it one way or the other the question is exactly in what and what kind of meeting they do it now the u.s. government claims that the aim of these sweeping surveillance programs that snowden has revealed also through your newspaper was to tackle terrorism that explanation certainly does not fit in with the current scandal what were the agencies possibly trying to achieve in spying after foreign political leaders. well if there are two kinds of information that the british and americans we need setting a call in the latest leaks which the first is under the guise of anti terrorism if you like and getting information about individual communications that's one thing a separate power thing all the same machine the same computers the same agencies you know the n.s.a. in america and the g.c. is great britain doing or intercepting and targeting a different kind of information which we know about which being revealed today i differ matic and economic intelligence which ready have very little to do with

terrorism and that's that some people would argue i suppose it could be sometimes a case if you are dealing with of terrorists a dating of money laundering that is sort of economic information but it's quite clear from these leaked documents that a lot of the information is to try and get information on one's competitors in international before international meetings for example turkey a nato ally. and a vote by the russian would be south africa is also trying to come a couple of country for example for reasons of. finding out what their negotiating positions are on economic or diplomatic international talks and that of course has nothing to do tourism you're right all right appreciate your thoughts on the subject richard norton taylor defense and security writer and former security editor for the guardian live from london thank you very much for being with us here on r.t. . kicks off in northern ireland a look at the agenda just ahead. and money matters are also expected to fall under

the spotlight as the west briefs crusade against tax avoidance that and more coming your way in just a couple minutes right here on our. series technology innovation. developments from around russia. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so. you think you understand it and then something else you hear sees some other part of it and realize everything. is a big issue. speak your language. programs and documentaries in arabic it's

all here on. reporting from the world talks about six of the interviews intriguing story for you. visit arabic. well a syria's civil war is expected to become a the hottest topic as a g eight leaders a convene in northern ireland meanwhile the conflict is expanding assad troops have made significant in vance's in recent weeks while the leader of the opposition's free syrian army says it's in urgent need of weapons iran is reportedly gearing up to send thousands of troops to beef up syrian government forces but it's a lebanon's hezbollah which has openly engaged on assad's side the rebels are

reportedly being backed by mercenaries from the gulf states and al-qaeda linked to ji hottest such as the al nusra front the opposition enjoys widespread diplomatic support in the west and the prospect of lethal aid from the u.s. and some european allies despite warnings of dire consequences. even the most optimistic analysis of the rebels would have to admit there are a variety of people not only fighting sad but also fighting each other the whole idea that we can be confident that the weapons we supply even if we give them to people we train will stay in those hands of those hands when turned against ours it seems to me to be extremely night in practice i'm afraid the risk it that the sort of people who would actually break use of these weapons may initially be primary against the sad but we've seen from afghanistan over the last thirty years to the present day we can use to from the chaos in libya were american diplomats and have been killed british attacked it's a very young what lies to think that we really do control these people on the ground. well with syria firmly in the spotlight of the g eight there's also the

issue of tax evasion the british prime minister david cameron is keen to push forward or to use that business presenter clearly bill beam is here to fill us in on the latest so what's happening there right well the latest we've got a bit of an exposé going on we've got the international consortium of investigative journalists they've come out identified people and organizations and more than thirty countries that have been using these tax evasion is now as i say it's called the i c i j is already spent behind exposing the awful dealings of politicians all of rogue nations and even religious leaders as well and these revelations come just as questions prime minister david cameron tries to drum up global support for international rules that would serve to ensure total tax transparency in these tough economic times cameron could do with a little extra cash but this is all rather ironic considering that britain created the tax haven in the first place and britain has ten crown dependences under its

leadership including the virgin islands jersey and all renowned for their generous tax office and mr cameron has already held an agreement by the u.k.'s overseas territories and crown dependences to sign up to a tax evasion can't bought these twelve still not finalized until he can get his own house in order may find convincing the rest of the global leaders a tough task now on i'll spend areas from business new york magazine how realistic a tax haven free world really is. it means. the thing about the system is necessarily international. any country. who chooses to abide by this. is. convenient services for people trying to hide money. means that the whole thing

becomes a mockery there's no way of controlling it so you can work towards it it will take time and probably it's a good idea. several countries like cyprus. still. as a business it becomes a big. because they have. so that we have a. tax that is not going to be. keeping us updated on the g eight thanks for being with us always interesting to hear. this bear of the west. is about to hand over the iranian the presidency you can. get nuclear energy for the country being alternately mired in the throes of an economic crisis. in the us where gun makers reporting record

sales during a year of deadly shootings americans react to the president's push for stricter weapon control. america has voiced skepticism over north korea's proposal to launch high level talks between the two states to suit tension on the north korean peninsula the obama administration says any negotiations should come with concrete action from north korea specialist dr tim thinks america is reluctant because it won't benefit from peace in the region. preconditions are there so that the negotiations both get off the ground. if you don't want to have negotiations and the simplest way to do that. so much as way is to demand preconditions of the i was. set so that i think it's what the american. i mean and then the question

of course is you know why they do that why don't they. and you know that that's the difficult one and i think basically the number of reasons but the main thing is is china wants tensions on the korean peninsula as are the containment of china so they're very loath to increasing. salute do you choose the situation. let's take a look at some headlines making news around the world for you this hour police in turkey have taken down the barricades in taksim square where union federations have gone on a one day strike the rally follows a nineteenth night of fierce clashes between security forces and anti-government demonstrators on sunday prime minister erdogan also rallied to tens of thousands of supporters in central istanbul in a show of strength even as the central square was being cleared.

parental rain and floods have ripped through northern parts of india killing at least twenty three people there over fifty more are reported missing and rescue teams are trying to supply drinking water and food to the region cut off after roads were washed away officials are warning of more casualties and destruction saying the downpours are to continue for the next three days. germany has become a magnet for many immigrants in recent years seeking work outside their financially struggling homelands a report by the paris based organization. for economic co-operation and development shows the number of newcomers from greece and spain alone has more than doubled since the beginning of the crisis in two thousand and eight but as artie's peter all over explains some successful germans are now looking for a quick exit. packing up for a new life elsewhere yemen's and his family are joining

a growing number of germans seeking a future away from home. germany is a nice place right now the future looks very dark so we're getting out and that's why his software business and plan tire company are for sale and he setting up a new business in canada away from what they see is shortsighted policies by german and european politicians have a good all they're doing is taking the debt higher and higher and by breaking their own rules it's something the family has been planning for a long time after one and a half years their paperwork is now in the final stages as well as his family yes is also moving almost two million euros worth of business to canada people of always move to new countries in search of opportunities but last year saw over one hundred thirty thousand jet off from germany the most in a generation an increasing number of making the move to to concerns over where the country's economic. among the most popular destinations were switzerland the united

states australia and canada away from the e.u. and the bureaucracy of brussels he clobbered does the feeling. we're going to see intrapreneur muslim europe it's one hundred times easier to shut it down here than create one i still raise it to be a long queue for the last year on this side of the job is. dr roth is a lawyer in bavaria heading to new zealand and sees the current system in europe is almost comical the team get bored look at the ten commandments there are probably around five hundred know what's here then. move my production can i maybe. it's over ten thousand words most of the nonsense this will leave you are a bit like a banana republic with so many or was no one can follow them. with dissatisfaction in the e.u. on the. germany runs the risk of seeing more and more of its job creators taking

off to find new opportunities elsewhere be sure all of us i take every. way for you in the wake of the latest u.s. agency leak cross-talk looks at just how much security american citizens get for the freedoms that they're forced to give up. good lumber tour. was able to build a most sophisticated robot which fortunately doesn't sound anything tunes mission to teach music creation why it should care about humans. this is why you should care only on the.

mission free accreditation free in-store charge is free. range means three. three stooges free. old free broadcast quality video for your media projects a free media. hello and welcome across all things are considered i'm peter lavelle.