on r t. whistleblower on the run edward snowden to submit a request for temporary asylum in russia and is expected to end his transit limbo at a moscow airport in just a matter of days. a campaign against independence the british government paints a grim picture of how sovereignty would damage scotland with up with cautions ranging from currency problems to high mobile phone charges. and western made weapons and up in the hands of pro-government fighters in syria sparking concerns that the u.s. is on the able to control which groups get a hold of its deadly fire power.

thanks for joining me this hour we've got world news and analysis live for you i'm lucy catherine of and you're watching our t.v. well fugitive whistleblower edward snowden could soon be able to leave the confinement of a moscow airport transit zone where of course he's been stranded for over three weeks now the u.s. intelligence leaker has officially requested temporary asylum in russia eventually hoping to gain long term refuge in south america r.t. as andrew farmer brings us more from the sharon metro airport. after being here for three weeks mr snowden should walk through the exit here and on to russian soil proper 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 is expected to receive documents within five days that then allows him to walk through passport control we should remember at the moment 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 he return to the u.s.

that you typically see when asked by 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 as the u.s. 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. while the lawyer did add 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. human rights work usually carries 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 bolivian president's plane illustrated this mr snowden 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 haul we do know is that mr snowden is probably feeling poor taste and he can look forward to starting perhaps a new life and a new chapter in russia. meanwhile are taken to a better option where toensing says that the case has become a diplomatic headache for all countries involved. as applying for temporary asylum resume we said we could 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 we'll spank him unknown 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 the government's trouble notably the bolivian one with of course

the high jacking drama took place a few weeks ago. good to make lots of allegations in the press and you'll see them in lots of right wing newspapers 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 would sustain formal casualties what rubbish we know the american government and the corporate surveillance state is desperately seeking around to prove that they need to be able to be through all of our e-mails all of our phone calls for our own security of course we have our tea have been closely following the twists and turns in a snowden saga both on air and on our website at r.t. dot com you can check out our timeline also there you can see the full interview with ana told me i know he's the russia lawyer who is 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 independent country but

in london the government is campaigning hard against a succession artie's poly boyko has been investigating the warnings from westminster that scottish nationalists 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 than we would. it is time to speak out 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 course shown 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 raving 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 and 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 wool that hasn't put off 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 pound no easy you know army high phone bills and not even any royal mail to use as an alternative they're a 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 you know if you have independent you can't have this you can't have got no these are big. debating point but it should be used as a gun to the heads of score if you want 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 work that we go through that to

be every. month to. disintegrate like. how much a horror film the release of caution is 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 nationalist party boy care artsy london. earlier my colleague worry sushi i heard both sides of the arguments from jonathan shafi from the radical independence campaign as well as george who writes for the new statesman magazine february poll suggests that thirty percent of scots are supporting independence to jonathan shier. these numbers sound accurate to you right now think the support for independence is increasing just. government and the coalition government waste minister increases it's a tax on working people with things like the bedroom tax with things like for

example cutting of public services as we see these things happen i think the support and the paines is rising because people want to be corruption they want to break with a right wing government they want to see a socially progressive. opportunity of doing that independent can lend 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 that'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 consistently given different answers on that what would its boring rate its credit rating be we need much greater detail on this but i think scotland can make. countries of similar size which do you wish do 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. scotland is more secure today i can omit clearly if we are breaking with where we want no truck with illegal wars which cause security problems we want no truck with the stated to which cause a great deal of issues for people facing not just job losses. and we have the opportunity here to build a society which is in fact good advance of everything that. we want to oppose what we want we want to impose a state in their place we want to see scotland taking a peaceful role in the world but we also want to see school and that's actually building an alternative to the markets and you look at those in which let's be honest there's one rampant 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 terror issue the trident defense system the fast lane nuclear based 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 and 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 britain looks out to the west mr works out and in fact i would argue that washington is that this is not anything to do 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. so ahead for you this hour we'll look at the outpouring of public anger in the united states following the acquittal of george zimmerman who's been accused of murdering a black teenager. and as the world student games draws to a close in russia where the record medal haul for the horse nation of the competition comes under fire from critics who are alleging the event has become politicized.

but all told you my language as well but i will over react to situations i have read the reports so i'm like you know pollution you know i will leave that to the state department to comment on your latter part of the month to say to mr kerry you have a car it's all your dog you know gone. over there joe no more weasel words. when you have a direct question be prepared for a change when you punch be ready for a. pretty a speech and a little bit on the freedom to question. right to see. her street. and i would think that your.

welcome back lucy catherine up here well u.s. and european upper in ri is apparently ending up in the hands of pro-government forces in syria this despite western pledges to support the rebels there are pictures that flooded the internet showing shiite militias which fight alongside president also troops holding western made firearms and that's illustrated the washington's lack of control over where the weapons are ending up with parties going to can reports. what this is don't discriminate us made arms our national will not be in the hands of iranian backed militias fighting in syria analyst phillips might 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 or three grenade launcher in an m. four car being they'll find a way to get it so long as you have the right amount of money and the right amount of for a 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 i don't believe that he's a muslim so a source could be the source of this weapon 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 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 are you 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 an unauthorized 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 risk giving money and military assistance to our enemies. there's. 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 forming friends you may be arming your enemies but it seems us leaders yet again are ready to take that risk in washington i'm going to take on and with no letup in sight in syria's civil war the human cost is continuing to rise with the latest u.n. figures putting the civilian death toll at almost one hundred thousand all those details for you at r.t. dot com also on our web site marshall travel at cosmic speeds britain develops

a super jet capable of reaching the lower earth orbit in fifteen minutes flying passengers from the u.k. to australia in less than four hours plus. breathing new life into ruins we've got the story off how officials in libya want to transform the rubble of the late leader moammar gadhafi as residents into a family recreation area block on to r t v dot com. the u.s. government is facing domestic pressure over a court ruling that has sparked public outrage thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in cities all across the country following the acquittal of george zimmerman a neighborhood watch volunteer in florida who had faced second degree murder charges over the killing of an unarmed black teenager trayvon martin last year now law professor charles rose says that aside from racial profiling issues the case has highlighted the need for tighter gun controls. the roots of ease with which you could not only purchase

a weapon but then use that weapon to defend yourself in the state of florida in approximately twenty other states is really what led to this tragedy not the issue of race i prefer to think that what it gets us in the united states to do is to what we as a nation of immigrants always need to do to talk about how we come together and that issue of race is an issue that's always present within the united states and it gives us an opportunity once the emotion is run itself out to talk about this in a way that can be positive for the country in the long term was not about race it was about self-defense and who was the aggressor race had nothing to do with it but it's become synonymous with racial issues within the united states and that's a once something takes on a life of its own becomes very difficult to separate them back into what the objective truth is my big and of course our website our to dot com we're asking whether you think is a moment to quit or a was justified let's take a look at how those of you who have voted have broken down their well so far now

shockingly and the largest percentage of you right here in the blue agreed with the court's decision saying that zimmerman's actions were legitimate self-defense now a slightly smaller number in the pink right there disagrees saying that the men effectively thracian we profiled the victim and instigated the violence seventeen percent of you in the orange are not concerned by the case from the remainder are undecided and say that's simply not enough evidence has been provided so far so it's not too late to vote log on to our to dot com and cast your ballot. authorities at guantanamo bay say that they have a mass hunger strike there is relenting with some of the new president is now accepting meals the lawyers meanwhile of playing down those claims saying that the

prisoners only use up to a token amount of food this to break the first day of the ramadan fast meanwhile human rights lawyer clive stafford smith who is on a hunger strike himself in solidarity with the inmates he says 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 and present the president said. 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 this the last thirty years. some of the prisoners are in the taking a little bit to eat because that sort of program does during ramadan to break your fast but i'm not giving up i think the military said they're continuing for us i'm afraid but everything the military understands is trying to force people to bend to

their will. then the united states from start releasing prisoners and i think finally we're getting the message through the way to the house and hopefully some prisoners will start being released far too late. well on to some other world news for you in brief right now and we begin in egypt where the interim president has sworn in a new cabinet dominated by liberal and leftist politicians now the current government doesn't include any members of the muslim brotherhood which had propelled mohamed morsi to the presidency the cabinet will have to tread carefully as it starts to work in a tense atmosphere of daily street protests as well as rioting by the alstad leaders supporters. tensions remain high in belfast after riots that have been raging for the past five nights members of the probate ish unionist movement hurled petrol bombs at police will force the crowd back with water cannon the unrest follows an orange order parade which was barred access to a street in northern belfast that had been separating the loyalist as well as

nationalist communities. french police have arrested a norwegian heavy metal musician on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack on a christian vicar as was previously convicted of murder in norway and reportedly has close connections to the neo nazi movement there he has been described as a sympathizer of. the mass murderer responsible for a bombing as well as the shooting rampage two years ago that had claimed seventy seven lives. the world student games are drawing to an end in the russian city of cazan russia's overwhelming lead in the metals count has been somewhat overshadowed by criticism that the government has been politicizing the games r.t.s. paul scott is in the host city. well for the last twelve days to more than thirteen thousand student athletes from one hundred sixty countries now these games posted 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 whopper grabs in total that is a record breaking number tens of millions of people have watched these games worldwide and russian estimates 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 arena behind me now has been one of the largest university of all time but it hasn't gone without its criticisms and 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 forward to sochi next year while russia topped the medals by some margin as well they currently have one hundred fifty one gold medals to the name of the nearest challenger in second place who have just twenty four or so you can see that russia leads them. by some margin

a staggering distance and it has led to some people suggesting that russia politicizing the games in intent to enhance the nation's sporting reputation added what is going to be a massive decade of sport for the country how this criticism stems from the fact that russia do have a number of professional athletes competing in their ranks up against the amateurs but they're the games governing body the committee that oversees the games they check every athlete for eligibility for dentures and all the rules are the same for anyone and for russia's part they say that less than ten percent of the entire squad is actually made up by professional athletes now the other criticism of the police being here and occasionally organizers is the cost of the games at the start of the games russian estimates said that the games cost four point five billion u. s dollars now that's not just a one off payment plus what organizers jesting is not a one off payment for a twelve day parties a long term investment not just in the future of russian sports in the next generation of sporting updates but also in the city of design which is undergoing

a huge renovation in the last five years that the new transport network you heard tells a new student university campus and of course the new sporting venues have all been built from scratch in fact one local resident told me that the city is simply unrecognisable from how it looked five years ago when the city was awarded the games. but all attention turns to the stadium behind me where tonight's closing ceremony is set to take place prime minister dmitry medvedev will be in attendance and the bottom will officially be handed over to south korea placing the games in two years' time. well i'll be back with more news in about half an hour but for now we continue our special report on the powerful interests behind the genetically modified food industry thanks for watching.

wealthy british style sign some time to surprise. markets why not come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with my next concert for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to kaiser report on our. more news today violence is once again flared up. and these are the images go worldwide and seeing from the streets of canada. giant corporations are old today.

primarily it's to allow the crops to drink poison. herbicide. eighty five percent of all the g.m. crops are sold with the herbicide that it's designed not to die from. so rolled up ready soil is designed not to dump it from around the purpose of genetic engineering is on the coat tail of conventional and does feel agriculture that is characterized by the proliferation of agro chemicals fertilizers pesticides herbicides fungicides all of these chemicals how. costs in on energy production they have cost in environmental cleanup this is self-propagating genetic pollution we have no technology today to fully clean up the damage gene pool maybe we will in the future but we're not feeding the products of good food science to the entire population and releasing me to the environment

where they can never be recall. any scientists who tells you they know that g m o's are safe and not to worry about it is either ignorant of the history of science or is deliberately lying nobody knows what the long term effects will be geneticists dr david suzuki genetically engineered foods go through a rigorous review before they are approved the review includes analysis of the trams sharing plant versus its parent and there's a standard that you have to meet called substantial equivalence they have to be equivalent in terms and nutrients have to be equivalent in terms of processing they really have to be basically indistinguishable except for the transgenic trait the concept of g m o's being substantially equivalent comes from the first bush administration when under heavy.