what's a lower on the run edward snowden finally submits a request for temporary asylum in russia and is expected to end his transit limbo at a moscow airport in a matter of days. campaign against cottage sovereignty the british government pains a grim picture of how independence would damage scotland with repercussions ranging from currency problems to imo roaming charges. and western made weapons destined for the syrian rebels and up in the hands of pro-government forces sparking concerns that the west is on able to control which groups get hold of its deadly firepower.

this is r.t. coming to you from the russian capital on marina joshie welcome to the program. fugitive whistleblower edward snowden could soon be able to leave the confinement of a moscow airport transit zone worry he has been stranded for over three weeks now the u.s. intelligence leaker has officially request a temporary asylum in russia with a view to seeking a long term refuge in south america and our genes are farmer joins us now was more on this outside of chairman of the airport hotel andrew so we know that. the lawyers add volunteered to represent outward snowden talk to r.t. what exactly did he say. just to reemphasize after being here for three weeks mr snowden should walk through the exit here and on to russian soil proper as you said within a few days and that is because he has applied for temporary political asylum and

although that could take three months to process in the meantime he's expected to receive. within five days that then when i allow him to walk through passport control we should remember that he doesn't have a valid passport or a valid visa now his lawyer has said that mr snowden has applied for asylum because he fears for his own life should take returned to the u.s. . capitol for something to become a. migration service agent why he chose to file his petition in russia and why he came here he replied that he fears for his life and wellbeing and also fears that he could face torture or execution and what he says sounds quite convincing much as the us still of ministers both capital punishment and. therefore i believe that under such circumstances and considering his written petition he should be granted temporary asylum i think this would be a humane step and since russia is acting humanely but the u.s. government cannot view this as hostile behavior towards the united states average.

that mr snowden has agreed it appears in principle not to release further documents that could harm u.s. interests while he is on russian territory in his words mr snowden's words that goal is attainable now that is an important point because president putin has made this a precondition of asylum he went to great lengths to stress that russia's role in this saga is a humanitarian one and should not be seen as a hostile act to the u.s. he also said that mr snowden's actions were actually in defense of human rights. and your thoughts on that of human rights work usually bears some cost for those involved when this work is done under the auspices of the united states government with its financial and political support it's quite acceptable but when someone criticizes washington the situation becomes much more complicated the incident with

the believe in president playing illustrated this. ok andrew one sirs snowden has everything in place all the documents and stop what will happen then what sort of options does he have in front of him. well first of all marina he will have to find accommodation we're not quite sure what sort of help he will get to do that but we are told that's one thing he will have to do if he is granted temporary asylum it will mean for one year he will be able to live and work in russia as an ordinary russian citizen after that we're not sure what will happen maybe he will decide he likes it here maybe he will decide that he would like permanent asylum here he also has other options on the table notably latin america and three countries there venezuela bolivia and nicaragua have in principle offered him asylum so this is the long term the short or we do know is that mr snowden is probably feeling wore a tease and he can look forward to starting perhaps

a new life and a new chapter in russia at least he'll be able to leave the airport as well or andrew thanks so much for bringing us this update from outside airport and a farmer there why we're snowden is still in transit zone of the airport there and you can follow his weight on our our web page r.t. dot com. now artie's contributor option returns he believes america's right wing media will do everything possible to portray the n.s.a.'s filed a fan of the nation he's applying for temporary asylum presumably so he can just go about his business as a normal citizen walk into the venezuelan embassy in moscow walk into the ecuadorian embassy and fill out forms and papers the obama administration was so quick to just say right make him a normal citizen and cause him trouble in this way well they didn't just go they've been so dreadful because the most go trouble because all sorts of governments

trouble notably the bolivian one with the high jacking drama to place a few weeks ago they're going to make lots of allegations in the press and you'll see them in lots of right wing newspaper is that the national security agency is a beacon of freedom and without their ability to surveil your skype account your outlook dot com account and recent revelations about microsoft the forces stationed in iraq and afghanistan which is came from all casualties what rubbish we know the american government in the corporate surveillance state is desperately seeking around to prove that they need to be able to be through all of our emails all of our phone calls for our own security. we've been closely following the twists and turns in the snowden saga both on air and on the web some to go to archie dot com for our timeline also on the line you can see the full interview with anatoly katrina the russian lawyer helping the former n.s.a. contractor with his asylum request. scotland is looking ahead to its

september twenty fourth teen vote on whether to become an appin country but in london the government is campaigning hard against succession has been investigating the warnings from westminster scottish nationalist have dismissed as scaremongering . it's just over a year until scots have to answer a simple yes or no question about whether or not they want to break with the united kingdom the scottish national party says there's absolutely no doubt that scotland has the potential to be a successful independent nation with a strong economy but the british government wants scotland to stay in the united kingdom. i believe that england scotland wales northern ireland we are stronger together and we would. it is time to speak whatever the consequences because something very special is in danger but sense of danger is one that the british

government has recently been accused of playing on too heavily though in the run up to the referendum westminster has been busy publishing papers on how it believes independence will be bad for scotland the latest and most bizarre caution is about mobile phone bills a new government paper suggests that if scotland breaks away then scots visiting the u.k. and using their phones will need to pay extortionate very ming charges the scottish government has already debunked that myth saying that all roaming charges in the european union will be abolished in twenty sixteen but according to whitehall scotland might have to reapply to join the european union as well the british government has also been keen to remind that the royal mail on the post office will no longer be for scotland should they choose independence nor will the two hundred or so public bodies that deal with bureaucratic procedures such as issuing driving licenses managing roads and even broadcasting such as the b.b.c.

if all that hasn't put off for any of those considering voting yes in the referendum next year well a recent think tank report has cautioned that an independent scottish army would struggle to defend itself and what about money well the scots say they'd like to keep the pound something the u.k. chancellor george osborne has been quick to dismiss so if the scots choose independence it could be no pounds no easy you know army high phone bills and not even any royal mail to use as an alternative their piece of cautions have led to accusations that the anti independence campaign is engaging in scurrilous scaremongering what we're getting now is the kind of fear factor managing you can't be part of a single currency union a sterling union if you have independent you can't have this you can't have got no these are big. substantial debating point but it shouldn't be used as a gun to the heads of score a few friend this is going to be a punishment scotland's first minister has already said that the british

government's so-called project fear isn't going to walk that we go through that to be every bogeyman scare mongering initiative will be dismantled a couple of disintegrate like dracula and all how more horror films thirty's of course sions on obscure subjects has reportedly angered senior figures in the u.k. government by telling on petty issues such as these many say that only giving credence to the scottish nationalists probably break a london earlier my colleague larissa she heard both sides of the argument from jonathan shafi from the radical in the pants campaign and george eaton who writes for the new statesman magazine february a poll suggests that thirty percent of scots are supporting independence to join shafiq. these numbers sound accurate to you right now think the support for independence is increasing just as the government and the coalition government

waste minister and creases it's a tax on working people with things like the bedroom tax with things like for example the cutting of public services as we see these things happen i think that support it and the paines is rising because people want to break with corruption they want to break with a right wing government they want to see a socially progressive scold me feel we've got much better opportunity of doing that independent and scotland itself go it alone or george eaton some say scotland is the richest part of the u.k. outside of london so perhaps scotland actually could go it alone. i agree with that i think scotland could go and i think it would be economically viable and i think there's still it's still a big risk and it would create a lot of economic uncertainty for instance what currency would scotland use that examined sense consistently given different answers on that what would it's boring rate be what its credit rating be we need much greater detail on this but i think scotland can make a good go of it and so on and so on that countries have

a similar size which do you wish them well on their own but i just think that scotland is better for being part of the u.k. and the u.k. is better for having scotland as part of it the truth of scotland is more secure today konami clee if we are breaking with westminster we want no truck with illegal wars which cause security problems we want no truck with the standard to which cause great deal of issues for people that are facing not just job losses but actions from their own homes and we have the opportunity here to build a society which is in fact good advance of everything that is doing just no should we want to oppose war we want to we want to oppose the states and in their place we want to see scotland taking a peaceful role in the world but we also want to see scotland it's actually building an alternative to the markets and you look at those in which let's be honest there's one run put in westminster and there's run rampant in the city for too long one of the major issues to bring up here and that is the nuclear deterrent

issue the tried and defense system the fast lane nuclear based on another major issue many scots want it gone but it employs six thousand people in the region that would be a sizeable loss to the local economy mr shafi wouldn't that be true see the train as she isn't just a question of money it's not just a question of economics it's also a question of models it's a question of where you see your country standing in the world and actually to me but it's in looks out of the way basement still looks out under the facts and i would argue that washington looks at it as that this is not anything to do of defense this is everything to do with the projection of imperial power and we want an answer in fact that the vast majority of scots want an end to try. still ahead for you this hour we look out the outpouring of public anger in the u.s. following the acquittal of george zimmerman who was accused of murdering a black teenager. and as the world student games draw to a close in russia it was a record medal haul for the house host nation the competition comes under fire from

critics alleging the event has become politicized. she good laboratory to mccurry was able to build a new most sophisticated robot which all unfortunately doesn't give a darn about anything tunes mission to teach music creation why it should care about humans in the world this is why you should care only. what drives american foreign policy values are merely interest washington claims it supports democracy as a universal value but makes glaring exceptions when it suits its geo political purposes and what about the neo conservative agenda is it the genetic code the pax americana. mission of free cretaceous free in-store charges free. range month free.

three stooges free. download free broadcast quality video for your media projects a free video don carty dot com. welcome back you're watching are to live from moscow to u.s. and european arms intended for syrian rebels are ending up in the hands of pro-government forces pictures have flooded the intern. showing shiite militias fighting alongside president stroup using western weaponry and that's fueled concerns that washington is unable to control where its weapons are ending up as artie's got edge to counter reports. weapons don't discriminate us made arms are now showing up in the hands of iranian backed

militias fighting in syria analyst philip smyth points to photos with hezbollah fighters coding u.s. made m. sixteen s and m. force fitted with laser and holographic sights as well as an two or three grenade launchers how do they end up in their hands if there's a will there's a way and if you want to get let's say an m two zero three grenade launcher on an employer car being you'll find a way to get it so long as you have the right amount of money and the right amount of for connections it's not clear whether the weapons were captured stolen or bought on the black market this weapon might be ended up in the hands of hezbollah from. a. military only been his army of course illegal but they believe that he's a muslim so a source could be the source of this weapon in iraq. similar u.s. designed weapons appear in the hands of syrian rebels including fighters with all new sort of front and al qaeda affiliate the u.s.

has designated a terrorist group and it shows the alarming tendency for the weapons to change hands in unexpected ways but despite this the obama administration has decided to directly arm the rebels in syria a move supported by washington's hawks and we can give them the heavy weapons that they need who's there who's them i know them i've met them they're there unfortunately for senator mccain some of the rebels he met in syria were kidnappers and his office had to issue a statement saying the senator did not know that when he agreed to do a photo op with them but not everyone in washington thinks flooding syria with more arms is the solution a group of congressmen have introduced the legislation to block on authorized u.s. military aid to syrian rebels arguing that the law prohibits any military assistance to syrian opposition forces unless congress issues a formal declaration of war since our nation's security interests in syria are unclear we risk giving money and military assistance to our enemies. there's great

ironies supporting the syrian rebels one will be supporting forces that are associated with al-qaeda the two thousand and one use of authorization of force said specifically that we could go after the taliban al qaeda and associated forces we will now be one of those associated forces because we will be allied with al qaeda against assad the voice of caution comes not only from the president's opposition in congress but also from former administration officials for us to think we can influence or determine the outcome of that i think is a mistake i thought it was a mistake in libya. and i think it is a mistake in syria we overestimate our ability to determine outcomes you may think that the u.s. has learned the hard way that by arming friends you may be arming your enemies but it seems you with meters yet again are ready to take that risk in washington i'm going to take on the u.s. government is facing domestic pressure over

a controversial court ruling that sparked mass protests george zimmerman a neighborhood volunteer in florida say second degree murder charges over the killing of unarmed black teenager trayvon martin last year was found not guilty professor breath from the university of minnesota believes superman's acquittal overflights and deep racial bias within the u.s. legal system. all that data shows the justice system in this country is racialized from the moment of impact police arrest more people whole and white people. are convicted in greater numbers they serve sentences that are longer and there are greater numbers of people color in prisons in the united states are given in terms of their population so we already have all that data and that this we see as a continuation of that trend this man has been acquitted so now is the time for our

government to hear our voices that's why i live in minneapolis and the state of minnesota we will have thousands of people in downtown minnesota in front of a court to share our concerns about these issues. and over on our website our t. dot com we are asking whether you saying zimmerman's acquittal was justified let's now take a look at the responses so far so what we've got at this point is most of our viewers agree with the court's decision seeing as there are man's actions as a legitimate self-defense a slightly smaller a number of people disagree saying zimmer man racially profiled the victim and instigated the violence sixteen for sand seventeen i should say are concerned by this particular case and there remain are at this point are undecided and say not enough evidence was provided so you can share with us your point of view on this issue if you haven't already by logging on to our web site r t v dot com.

and i think i'm. so. already said one title of a detention center say the mass hunger strike there is real landing was some of the inmates now accepting meals the lawyers are playing down those claims though saying the hunger strikers only accepted a token amount of food to break the first day on the ramadan fast meanwhile human rights lawyer clive stafford smith who is on a hunger strike in solidarity with the detainees as the root causes of the protests are still being sidelined it doesn't really matter how many people are on strike because the real principle here is that the fifty two percent. for release should

just be released to present the president said so so they just need to do it now in terms of the ones who are on hunger strike the u.s. military. and they've done just the last over the years. some of the prisoners are in the taking a little bit to eat because that sort of program does during ramadan to break through for us but i'm not giving up i think the military certainly plans to continue with force i'm afraid but everything the military understands is trying to force people to bend to their will. then the united states won't start releasing prisoners and i think finally we're getting the message through the words house and hopefully some prisoners will start being released too late. and i was having around the world egypt's interim president has sworn in a new cabinet dominated by a liberal and a leftist politicians the current government doesn't include any members of the

muslim brotherhood which propelled mohammed morsi to the presidency the cabinets will have to tread carefully as it starts work in tans amas fear of daily street protests and rioting by the ousted leader supporters. tensions remain high in belfast after rides that have been raging for five consecutive nights members of the progress unionist movement hurled cattle bombs at police who force the crowd back with water cannon and rest follows an orange order parade which was barred axes to the streets in northern belfast separating loyalist and nationalist communities. french police have arrested a norwegian heavy metal musician on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack christianity was previously convicted of murder in norway and reportedly has close connections to the new nazi movement he has been described as

a sympathizer brevik in a region mass murder responsible for bombing and shooting rampage two years ago that claimed seventy seven lives. now the world student games are drawing to an end in the russian city yes because on russians are well meaning lead in other metals cowan has been somewhat marred by criticism that the government's been politicizing the games all to talk more about the image of the competition we're now joined by paul scott from the whole city because on all thank you for joining us so what sort of legacy will remain after the games. well for the last twelve days because iran has played host to more than thirteen thousand student athletes from over one hundred sixty countries now these games boasted more sports than ever before and there were more gold medals on offer than even at the london olympics last summer three hundred fifty one gold for grabs in total that is a record breaking number tens of millions of people have watched these games

worldwide and russian estimates say that seven hundred thousand spectators have descended on over the last fortnight since the spectacular opening ceremony which took place in the forty five thousand all seater cazan arena behind me now has been one of the largest universe yards of all time but it hasn't gone without its criticisms on the russian organizers have stressed from the start that they say this is a dry run a dress rehearsal if you will for the winter olympics and the hope is that if there are any organizational issues that need to be ironed out lessons can be learned from and taken for which is next year. well we are hearing there has been a lot of criticism around the games bowls preparation. so where does a conference. well russia has been criticized in some quarters for politicizing the games in an attempt to enhance their sporting reputation ahead of what's going to be a huge decade for russian sport now russia tops the medals table at the moment by

some margin as well they have one hundred and fifty one gold medals in second place is japan who have just twenty four and in total russia have two hundred eighty five medals. just eighty four in total and there is some criticism that russia have fielded professional athletes up against the. who are the games organizing committee who oversee the games they have to check the eligibility of any athlete who competes. has been passed it says that they fit the criteria and also when the games are being held in china two years ago it was china who taught the medals table by some distance so it's not unusual and the other thing that's been levelled at organizers is the cost of the games at the start of the games a russian estimates put it at four point five billion u.s. dollars but the suggestion is this isn't just a one off payment for twelve this is an investment not just in future generations sporting generations but also in the city has undergone a huge transformation of its infrastructure in the last five years new hotels have

been built a new transport network a brown university campus and thirty sporting arenas have been built from scratch as well one resident even said to me that the city is simply unrecognisable from how it looked five years ago so that's going to be the legacy of these games as for now well you can probably just hear in the background behind me rehearsals are taking place for tonight's closing ceremony. medvedev will be in attendance and the bottom will be officially handed over to south korea where we're going to host these games in two years time. to concentrate on the next big global sporting event to hit the shores which is the world championships in moscow in four weeks time. and coming out here in r t it's the latest edition of. stay with us for that.

place right on the scene. of the first strike. and i think picture. on our reporter's twitter. and instagram. clearly in the no place on the mosque to. demean speak your language. programs and documentaries in arabic it's all here on all t.v. reporting from the world's hot spots the v.o.i.p. interviews intriguing story for you. then try a small t.v. arabic to find out more visit arabic don't call teeth don't call. hello

and welcome to crossfire where all things considered i'm peter lavelle what drives american foreign policy values or merely interests washington claims it supports democracy as a universal value but makes glaring exceptions when it suits its geo political purposes and what about the neo conservative agenda is it the genetic code of pax americana. to cross-talk the neo conservatives and democracy i'm joined by my guest in washington mark jacobson he is a senior fellow at the german marshall fund and a senior advisor to the truman national security project and we also have my.