whistleblower on the run edward snowden submitted a request for temporary asylum in russia and it's expected to end his transit limbo at a moscow airport in a matter of days. a campaign against independence the british government paints a grim picture of how solvency would damage scotland with rep akasha as ranging from currency problems to high mobile phone charges. and western made weapons end up in the hands of pro-government fighters in syria sparking concerns that the u.s. could be unable to control which groups get ahold of its deadly firepower. thanks for joining me this hour we've got live news and analysis for you i'm lucy

caffein of and you're watching. well fugitive whistleblower edward snowden could soon be able to leave the confinement of a moscow airport transit zone this is where 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 farmer brings us more on this 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 when i allow 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.

official that you typically. when asked by 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 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 were actually in defense of human rights i was assured on the 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. when someone criticizes washington the situation becomes much more complicated the incident with the bolivian president's plane illustrated is 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 more teas and he can look forward to starting perhaps a new life and a new chapter in russia. and our take contributor optionor tongues he says that the case has become a diplomatic headache for all countries involved. these 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 make him a known citizen and cause him trouble in this way well they didn't just go that route so drabble because most go to trouble because the government's trouble notably the bolivian one with of course the high jacking drama took 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 newspapers that the national security agency is a beacon of freedom and without their ability to surveil your skype account your outlook dot com accounts 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 force we've been closely following the twists and turns in a snowden saga both on air and on our website that's our t.v. dot com so log on you can check out our timeline there also there you can watch the full interview with anatoly the russian attorney who is helping the former n.s.a. contractor with his asylum request. scotland is looking ahead to its september two thousand and fourteen vote on whether to become an independent

country but in london the government is campaigning hard for british unity parties probably boycott 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 now we would. it is time to speak out whatever the consequences because something very special is. that 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 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 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 pound 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 for 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 if you thought this is going to be a punishment scotland's first minister has already said that the british government so-called project fear isn't going to work that we go through that to be every.

month. how more horror film the release 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 nationalist party boy care artsy london. earlier my colleague heard both sides of the argument from jonathan shafi from the radical independents campaign and george writes for the new statesman magazine february 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 increases 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 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 school and we feel we've got much better 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 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 excitement as consistently given different answers on that what would its borrowing rate its credit rating be we need much greater detail on this but i think scotland could make a go of it and so on and countries of similar size which do you wish him 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 konami cliff we are breaking with where we want no truck with illegal wars which cause security problems we want no truck with a state or two which cause a 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. we want to oppose what we want we want to oppose a state 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 rampant in. 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 trident defense system faslane 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 shafiq would not be true to 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. that's the way westminster works out and in fact i would argue that washington works out 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. and lots more stories ahead for you this hour him including hard to look at the outpouring of public anger in the united states that's following the acquittal of george zimmerman who's been accused of murdering a black teenager. and as the world student games draw to a close and a rush own with a record medal haul for the host nation the competition comes under fire from critics alleging the event has become politicized.

we speak your language i mean some of the will not to do. with these programs documentaries in spanish more matches. that will turn into bangalore's stories. here.

altie spanish to find out more visit i. welcome back i'm lucy caffein of the united states has pledged its support for the rebels fighting in syria's civil war but american weaponry appears to be in directly ending up on the other side in the hands of pro-government forces pictures have flooded the. internet showing shiite militias which fight alongside president assad's forces holding western made firearms those arms could have come from a number of different sources. reports. weapons don't discriminate us made arms our national wind up in the hands of iranian backed militias fighting in syria analyst philip smyth points to photos with hezbollah fighters coating us made m. sixteen s and m. force fitted with laser and holographic sights as well as am 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 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 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 so hard 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 great irony 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 you with meters yet again are ready to take that risk in washington i'm going to take on. and of course 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 our team dot com also on our web site commercial travel at cosmic

speeds britain develops a super jet capable of reaching lower earth orbit in fifteen minutes and flying passengers from the united kingdom to australia in less than four hours plus. breathing new life into ruins libyan officials want to transform the rubble of the late leader colonel gadhafi as residents into a family recreation area that story and much more for you at r.t. dot com. news just in for you. the russian attorney who is acting on behalf of edward snowden said that it is possible that the whistleblower could apply for russian citizenship but as he has not include excluded the possibility of on italy could

have added it is unlikely the fugitive will be denied temporary asylum in russia snowden had earlier filed an official request for that temporary asylum after more than three weeks in limbo of it within the transit zone in moscow's sheremetyevo airport. 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 united states 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 the racial profiling issues in the case it has also highlighted the need for title tighter pardon me gun controls. to the 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 asia of race is an issue that's always present within the united states and it gives us an opportunity once the emotion has run itself out to talk about this in a way that can be positive for the country no longer 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 what something takes on a life of its own becomes very difficult to separate them back into what the objective truth is my big. well i want to give our viewers a chance to weigh in on the story so if you head over to our team dot com you can vote on whether you think acquittal was justified so let's take a look at how the responses have broken down so far now the largest share of you in the blue thirty nine percent agree surprisingly with the court's decision saying zimmerman's actions as legitimate self-defense now

a slightly smaller amount in the purple disagrees saying that zimmerman was a racially profiled had a racially profiled the victim and instigated the violence now sixteen percent of you right here in orange aren't really concerned by this case at all and there are maner of your underside and say there's simply not enough evidence has been provided in this case so it's not too late to vote head over to our to dot com and cast your ballot. authorities at guantanamo bay said that the mass hunger strike there is relenting with some of the president is now taking meals the lawyers are playing down those claims however saying that the president are only a step dad a token amount of food at this to break the first day of the ramadan fast meanwhile human rights lawyer clive stafford smith who is on a hunger strike in solidarity with the inmates says the root causes of the protest are still being sidelined. it doesn't really matter how many people are right because the real principle here is that the fifty two percent. for release should

just be released and 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 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 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 for and start releasing prisoners and i think finally we're getting the message through the way to us and hopefully some prisoners will start being released tonight. and as time for some other world news 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 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 nearly daily street protests and rioting by the ousted leader's supporters. tensions remain high in northern ireland after riots that have been raging for the past five nights members of the pro british unionist movement hurled petrol bombs at police who had forced the crowd back with water cannon and the unrest follows an orange order parade which was which was barred access to a street in northern belfast separating loyalist and nationalist communities. french police have arrested in the region heavy metal musician on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack christian vicar niece was previously convicted of murder in norway and reportedly has close connections to the new nazi movement he has been described as a sympathizer of anders breivik the norwegian mass murderer responsible for a bombing and shooting rampage two years ago that 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 artie's paul scott is in the host city. well for the last twelve. to more than thirteen thousand. one hundred sixty countries now these gangs boasted more sports than ever before and there were more. than even at the london olympics last summer three hundred fifty. tens of millions of people have watched these games worldwide and seven hundred thousand spectators. over the last fortnight since the spectacular which took place in the forty five thousand. behind me that has been one of the. overall time. criticisms on the russian organizing

from the start that they say this is a dry run. if you will for the winter olympics and the hope is that if there are any organizational issues that need to be. in one hundred fifty one. just twenty four you can see them. suggesting that politicizing the games and. the nation sporting reputation at what is going to be a decade for the country. do have a number of professional athletes competing in their ranks up against the. game's governing body the committee that oversees the games. eligibility.

rules are the same for anyone. ten percent of the entire squad is actually made up by professional athletes now the other criticism being indication the 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. dollars now just. organizes jesting it's not a one off payment for a. long term investment not just in the future of russian sports or the next generation of sport but also in the city which is undergoing a huge renovation in the last five years the new transport network. university campus and of course the sporting venues 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. well all attention turns to the. closing ceremony is set to take place prime minister dmitry medvedev will be in

attendance and will officially be handed over to south korea in the games in two years time. well back to our top story now the russian lawyer acting on behalf of edward snowden has said that it is possible the whistleblower could apply for russian citizenship on a head added that it is unlikely that the fugitive will be denied temporary asylum in the country the lawyer also believes that snowden will soon leave the transit zone of sheremetyevo airport where the former n.s.a. contractor has been stuck for more than three weeks now also according to snowden is ready to agree to the kremlin's demand that he stop leaking documents that harm the united states in order for his asylum bed to be a step dad. because he told me he may stay in russia. he may stay in russia here permanently but he will become a regular russian citizens with all the rights and responsibilities that entails.

well you say well that's coming up as the latest edition of peter lavelle's crosstalk and watching marty. to the. science technology innovation hall the list of elements from around russia we've got the future covered. exactly what happened there i don't know but a woman got killed. years later is when i got arrested for for a crime i did not do. we have numerous cases where police officers lie about polygraph results. innocent people to confess to police officers don't beat people

anymore i mean it just doesn't happen really. in the course of interrogation why because there's been this is like meant no because the psychological techniques are more effective in obtaining confessions than physical abuse and they were off taking they could do what they wanted they can say what they wanted and there was no evidence of what they did or what they said. hello and welcome to crossfire all things considered i'm peter lavelle what drives american foreign policy values or merely interest washington claims it supports democracy as a universe.