breaking news this hour an r.t. whistleblower and former army private bradley manning has been sentenced to thirty five years in prison after he was found guilty of handing america's secrets to wiki leaks. former egyptian president hosni mubarak will be set free after a court ordered his release despite a pending retrial over his involvement in mass killings during the two thousand and eleven revolution. massacre or mass hysteria rebel claims that syria's government launched a major chemical attack near damascus denied by officials and locals accusations coincide with the arrival of u.n. investigators our top stories this hour.

international news and comments live from our studio center here in moscow where it's just turned nine pm this is r.t. so to our breaking news this hour whistleblower bradley manning has been sentenced to thirty five years behind bars the former army private who leaked thousands of classified u.s. documents to wiki leaks we'll also be dishonorably discharged producer andrew blake was in the courtroom. colonel denise lind just handed down a sentence of only thirty five years and i say only because private manning came into this case looking at potentially a life a life sentence he would have faced life had he been found guilty of aiding the enemy and then when the conviction was finally handed down a few weeks ago he was downgraded to a potential maximum sentence of only ninety years so thirty five years is really much less than a lot of people had expected and even the prosecution asked the court for a minimum of sixty three years ago that he was first picked up outside of baghdad iraq he was deployed as an intelligence analyst at the u.s.

army and he was arrested and charged with a number of crowds related to his admitted role with the anti-secrecy website wiki leaks manning earlier this year actually admitted yes over the course of a couple of months i uploaded and shared all sorts of files that were diplomatic state department cables one time will be detainee assessment briefs documents from the afghan war the iraq war manning did all this he said because he wanted to lift the fog of war he wanted people to actually see how the u.s. people is behaving overseas and his revelations really did spark a lot of debate which is exactly what he wanted of originally he said that he made these disclosures so that people can make informed decisions recently he also said you know maybe i took the wrong route he made a statement last week and said there were other ways i could have done this perhaps you know who am i to think that a junior intelligence analyst could really change the world later on the defense will begin the appeals process they plan on petitioning president obama to pardon p.f.c. manning and we'll have a little bit more details on that later in the day following a press conference this afternoon. today my colleague one of the noughties news had

to i'm across the in correspondent lucy come and discuss the plight of manning there were also joined by michael cohen he's president and general counsel for the national center and leader of the party party in the u.k. . this is a leak of classified information and very upset with my government having charged him with espionage is overreaching it's trying to clamp down on a society society saying if you try to release information we're going to go after it was hard as we can and instead of doing a balancing test and looking at the nation's right to freedom of speech in the first amendment versus the government's legitimate need to protect it do you view his relationship with wiki leaks as a mistake in that respect do you see him as a principled whistleblower who simply made the wrong call choosing the wrong publisher of the wrong platform. absolutely edward q because it was new on the

blog no one under stood exactly what it was or how it was going to fully respond to information that was. gone through congress he would not be sitting in a jail cell. and that is a great shame the leaks themselves i mean there's a it's been described by critics at least within that within the u.s. government at the moment that there isn't a sort of a push towards over classifying information i mean in the year two thousand and eleven this is long after manning was done in the custody of the u.s. classified ninety two million documents so that sort of makes that very difficult to decide you know where that fine line should be drawn and the other issue that we should keep in mind is of course that bradley manning at least according to his own statements he did try to approach the new york times the washington post with the leaks initially before going to wiki leaks he was rejected and so he felt at that time that we could expose his only options to definitely several issues to consider here overclassification being one of them and then of course it's not just the

military guys that we're going after here there's also been a push to essentially make it more difficult for journalists to go to government. does the pursuit of mining send to whistleblowers in the us do you think let's face it this is decades in prison bradley manning is facing decades in prison this is a devastating blow for him of course but of course all of us who have supported the work of whistle blowers and supported the importance of actually protecting the work of whistleblowers let's not forget that that was the reason why bradley manning did what he did it was very he was very clear about it it was about holding power to account this is an attempt to actually put a chilling effect on the work of journalists and to intimidate sources but nevertheless i think what we've seen recently is that actually people are not

willing to be intimidated. well many excuses point intense debate within the u.s. as well as internationally or he's going to con reports on whether americans see the whistleblower as enemy or hero among bradley manning supporters we hear outrage on the one site i mean thirty five years murderers get more leniency and some sort of a relief on the other side he will not spend his whole life in prison but he certainly will be robbed of this youth as his lawyer put it many people support bradley manning because they support the public's right to know they don't necessarily support the fact that he broke the law but they realize that there are things they would have never been exposed to debate it had it not been for bradley manning now generally speaking americans don't care that much when it's about their government's wrongdoings abroad they care more about domestic policies possibly that's why you don't see a huge percentage of support for manning in opinion polls but bradley manning may

have actually gained more support in the wake of edward snowden's revelations more and more people are starting to realize that the government will always be trying to sweep controversial issues under the rug u.s. troops may have never left iraq had the iraqi government granted them immunity from prosecution something that the obama administration was trying to negotiate around the same time bradley manning leaked all those eye opening files we wouldn't be having this conversation if it weren't for the leaks. or to use been following bradley manning's trial closely website coleman is keeping you up to date where you'll find the latest analysis and opinion on his case. forward gyptian president hosni mubarak ousted from power in the revolution of two thousand and eleven could be freed from prison as early as tomorrow the court has ordered his release as part of a case into allegations of corruption but mubarak still faces a retrial over claims he ordered the killing of protesters two years ago or to

build true reports from current. this is actually a legal decision grounded on proper law even though it seems quite ironic that two and a half years after this revelation people are calling for. ouster and wanted him to be in jail he could be seen walking on the streets in the next forty eight hours basically hosni mubarak has been in detention in prison now for the max amount of time someone can be detained without charge now because we're seeing a retrial that means essentially the clock is being turned right back to two thousand and eleven before he started any of these trials so it's almost like he'd never been sentenced in the first place because he's already been in detention for several he is now can't keep them in before he's actually sentenced now with he has been in jail obviously because they've been other charges against him knew of charges in regards to to corruption now that he's been acquitted if they're used there's no reason to keep him in jail however he still have forty hours left for the prosecutor to basically appeal the decision to release him if they decide that

he should be released in. see you know how long they'll keep him as that goes for weights the reaction on the streets is being wrought largely makes people here are kind of reeling from the situation in the last few days because basically when the bloodiest weeks in egypt in modern history and in the fighting between mostly supporters and security forces who will get by that the fun of hosni mubarak could be free to the same time is almost too much for some revolutionaries here he is speaking to me and told me that what was the point of coming out of the streets two years ago what has been the point of fighting for justice and freedom and bread in the last two and a half years is the very person they started by to get is to be walking free we will see what happens as his trial is start to restart again on the twenty fifth of august at the same time as many other leading muslim brotherhood figures will also stand trial and somewhat ironic that these two that figure is it because it basically to be facing trial at the same time but largely on the streets people are pretty upset that this much hated figure could be seen to be walking home in twenty

forty hours. what he's built through there in cairo this is r.t. live here moscow will be following the latest developments from syria that's coming up after the break stay with us. what defines a country's success. faceless figures of economic growth. for a factual standard of living.

coming up to twelve minutes past the hour here in the russian capital the news continues now russia has suggested allegations that the syrian government launched a massive chemical attack near damascus could be a deliberate provocation there are conflicting reports about the alleged assault and some say dozens maybe even hundreds of people were killed while syrian officials deny any involvement when i gave the attack came shortly after u.n. inspectors arrived in syria to look at earlier claims of chemical weapons used by

both sides parties correspondent in the region takes a detailed look at current and previous accusations. media reports are citing the syrian revolutionary command council which says that government forces loyal to the syrian president bashar assad were flying over the area after the bombardment using chemical agent now this is attack happened in the rebel held area of eastern damascus in a place called eastern ghouta the area has witnessed heavy fighting between opposition fighters and the army what we are hearing is reports that the north through a front which are fighters that are affiliated with al qaeda are also operating there now some reports do suggest that more than a thousand people were killed in this latest attack but other reports talk about dozens dying graphic images have flooded the internet showing an alleged victims choking foaming at the mouth and displaying other possible symptoms of the attacks

in syria the origin of this footage however is unverified and that point needs to be made that no one knows where it was filmed or who filmed it we are trying to get more details at this stage from the area we have been speaking with local residents who complain that there was fighting there earlier but they insist that there have been absolutely no signs of any kind of chemical attacks the first to break this news was the saudi arabia network or a beer now suddenly arabia has its own agenda inside syria its antique the syrian president assad and therefore any kind of reports of the use of chemical weapons we must take this into consideration reports have been vehemently demarc denied by the syrian government while they have caused a huge storm elsewhere in the world the u.k. is demanding an immediate action by the united nations security council the arab league says that the incident should be investigated at once and all of this comes

at a time when u.n. inspectors are inside the country conducting a chemical probe the situation with chemical attacks is far from clear we need to make the. point that the first reports of chemical weapons was that they were used in the field back in march the nineteenth this year by the tech fieri terrorist groups when they launched a rocket attack in cold. now that did cause widespread destruction in syria immediately demanded an investigation from the united nations the syrian government also has said that it is aware that sarah and projectile are being manufactured. in the suburbs of damascus and this has been confirmed by fighters who've been arrested by the syrian army the united nations for its side has said that it has received up to thirteen reports of chemical weapons used in syria the one from the damascus government of the rest mainly from the united kingdom france and the united states both sides of the conflict and here we're talking about the rebels in

the government have however denied using chemical weapons the inmate the united nations independent investigator carla del ponte to say that there was strong support suspicions that the rebels had used this illegal seven guests the issue has become part of political manipulations in terms of what is happening inside syria the american president barack obama has declared that any kind of chemical attack would be a red line that could ultimately trigger american intervention inside syria but as i say what actually happened today at the moment for some clear warning that when you create a political analysts patrick henningsen believes even if the attack did take place it's too early to point the finger at the syrian government. of course if we look at the history of this particular region to go to a region where the attack is said to take place is very active with the front and

they've also been implicated in using makeshift chlorine bombs in aleppo back in march so there is a track record there the evidence unfortunately does not stack up with these present claims of the syrian government perpetrating these attacks or who benefits from a chemical attack in syria while the opposition benefits it's quite obvious the syrian government does not benefit the opposition benefits because this will be the key to unlock the. airstrikes and bombing campaign over syria. libya is a little the opposition would like a libyan style coalition with nato in order to force the regime out of power in damascus so they clearly benefit from any reports of a chemical attack in syria. over the course of these civil war the syrian opposition has repeatedly accused the regime of mass atrocities and chemical attacks many such claims coincided with major political events and diplomatic efforts and in most cases the number of victims proved to be exaggerated now here

are just a few examples for you in july twenty twelve as the un discussed a possible intervention in syria the rebels announced a civilian massacre interim say carried out by the government that later proved to be full spy a u.n. observer mission to the town in august just days before a un security council meeting the massacre once more assad was blamed but it was later found that the rebels were most likely the perpetrators in december as russia the u.s. and the u.n. met to discuss a peace plan the west accuse the sat of chemical weapons for imminent use that also was not used later in december as u.n. peace envoy lakhdar brahimi met with the senate in this mess because the rebels alleged another civilian massacre after an airstrike on a bakery after an initial media frenzy it was later. reported that all the people were opposition fighters killed in that battle in april this year the rebels reportedly provided the u.s. and britain with proof that assad had used chemical weapons now that was seized

upon by the west to funnel arms to the opposition while a u.n. independent investigation found it was most likely the rebels behind the chemical attack details of all those stories can be easily found on our website r.t. dot com it's online all the time and also very right now trickling toy. the threat level of the crippled fukushima nuclear power plant is about to be raised serious as the operator says contaminated water seeping from one of the tanks but they can't even track where it's going. and students be prepared and examine drone hunting to become a new challenge for iranian peoples as the country's military hopes to put a new security improving subject on the school curriculum that story and others right now at r.t. . the

british newspaper that broke america's mass surveillance and was forced to destroy files provided by edward snowden has explained why it gave in to government pressure the guardian editor said authorities threatened legal action to stop the paper from reporting the n.s.a. leaks altogether and chose to destroy documents which had been copied anyway. has this report. you've had your fun now it's time to return in the documents said the unnamed government official to the newspaper editor it could be the stuff of movies oh it isn't we were faced effectively with an ultimatum from the british government that if we didn't hand back the material or destroy it they would move to law in recent months the guardian newspaper has come to be known as the paper that's been exposing secret material from

a trove of information passed on to work by former contractor of the national security agency edward snowden but in recent days the editor of the newspapers also publicized what had gone on a behind closed doors here how security officials had ended up in the basement of their offices overseeing the destruction of hard drives of computers which contained the very information the paper's been exposing a bizarre turn of events salaries richards says that came all the way up from the prime minister's office once it was obvious that they would be going to law. i would rather destroy the copy than hand it back to them or allow the courts to freeze our reporting and i was happy to destroy it because it was not going to inhibit our reporting we would simply do a problem erica not from london the twenty first century possibility in a highly digital and connected world the revelation by rusbridger came just a day after the detention of david miranda partner of the guardian journalist in glenn greenwald the journalist who had broken the story of snowden's leaks and the

same materials randall was detained under the new case terrorism act and was held in question for nine hours at heathrow airport it caused an outcry among politicians and journalists and even david anderson the independent reviewer of terrorism laws who demanded an explanation prompting the u.k. home office to go on the offensive the government and the police have a duty to protect the public and our national security those who oppose this sort of action need to think about what's their condoning defame. want to protect the public to tell the public what it is they're protecting them from a generalized statement about terrorism in general doesn't really do the trick you've got to be able to say well the information he's got would endangered the public for the following reasons you've got to have reasons for no such reasons have been advanced and the rand is new tension as well as the destruction of computers and the guardian's basement have one of britain's most respected newspapers in the spotlight the story teller has become this story this is

a very damaging moment actually for britain's reputation for free speech being laid bare the way that the british state is very prepared to use terrorism legislation to use accusations of terrorism in order to shut down what looks to be journalistic practice good healthy investigative journalism but some of pointed to be noticeably lackluster response from the country's other newspapers following his revelations especially considering that press freedom appears to be at stake the business of reporting securely and having confidential sources is becoming difficult in these documents there is the stated ambition to scoop up everything and store it all to master the internet this is the language that's being used internally does or cilia r.t.e. london one of the associate suggested that the guardian should follow we can leaks example in protecting its documents and sources

a few days ago the website posted so-called insurance data which can be decrypted if anything happens to julian assange or edward snowden when we spoke to we could expect a person kristinn hrafnsson who said the recent intimidation of journalists is an integral part of the war on whistleblowers. you have been a warning about this for years let me remind you that three years ago when wiki leaks was under massive attack even under dress threats and the journalist in the mainstream media did not come to our defense or even work directly against us we said you should to think twice because you are next and that's exactly what has happened in the escalation in the war on journalists and we see the phone records of a.p. journalists in the states being seized we see an attempt to brand in the us journalists who were working with blowers us coconspirators who could be prosecuted and now we see this recent develop in the u.k. this is part of an escalation against the freedom of the press and we weren't about

this a years ago. what a spot washington insisting it's snooping targets threats from abroad newly unveiled data suggest the u.s. government can monitor about three quarters of american internet traffic in his exclusive interview with r.t. ecuador's president rafael correa who gave asylum to julian assange told us that the west should focus on curbing spying on its citizens instead of persecuting the whistleblowers. it didn't even prevent it that what is happening in europe is simply terrible we're talking about irresponsible behavior on the part of various governments such as that of the united states surveillance cannot be tolerated instead of protecting their people who are being spied upon wholesale they did not yes space to prison evil maraniss it's scandalous fortunately the ensuing reaction from latin america was both strong and just we did not want it to happen but we reacted accordingly instead of defending the rights of their own people instead of

rejecting surveillance they prosecute those suspected of helping snowden on something must change in the world. one of the russian far east biggest cities is braced for mass evacuations with floods expected to break record levels the deluge in the region caused by heavy rains earlier this month left more than one hundred towns and villages submerged tens of thousands of people were forced to flee from their homes in search of shelter or his crew has been following the emergency operation which is now advancing to the east according to forecasts the flood has not reached its peak and regional capital and most of its infrastructure could be left on the water on these poor scott has the latest. in the region are cautiously optimistic that the worst has passed and the water levels are beginning to recede however that is not the case particularly in the city of how about oscar which is under threat of becoming the administrative center of russia's far east and also the second largest city behind got it all stop water levels that have

already broken records are continuing to rise now russia's emergency services are heading east and we're going to join them. now from the skies the damage caused by the floods just all to see one point five million hectares of land submerged under water affecting around one hundred fifty communities of attention is now shifting east up until now it's being made legal communities affected by the floods but there's a real concern to the city of is about to be so blood work is on the continuing around the clock twenty four hours a day to fortify the city must love levels continue to rise with the peak expected in the next twenty four hours now the deputy to the minister of defense has been explaining exactly why focus of attention is now shifting east. would levels are finally going down especially in the northern parts of the region right

now where mainly concerned with evacuating people and a cleanup operation it's a very important stage we have a lot of work to do as the flood has dealt a lot of damage we also need to provide locals with food and drinking water and we have all the equipment required for this. cold go below the plate is also heading towards the city and is going to be deployed to the temporary accommodation centers that have been set up around the region to give drinking water and shelter to those who have been displaced but with the water is not such a normalize until mid september it could be a few more cold planes and all they needed over the next few weeks. further upstream along the river in various parts of china severe flooding in a typhoon has claimed over two hundred lives over one hundred still missing more than eight hundred thousand people in the worst hit areas have been evacuated to safety more downpours are expected within the next twenty four hours and a growing number of rescue troops are being deployed to the flood hit of the seas.

i just honestly curity forces have arrested ten people after seizing one hundred tons of chemicals along with detonating equipment used to make explosives police raided a warehouse after earlier stopping two men driving a truck carrying fifteen tons of substances he thought he said the materials match material used in bombs that killed more than one hundred twenty people in two attacks earlier this year. in colombia scuffles between police and protesters have left at least eight security officers and several protesters injured russia's erupted as thousands of students farm workers and truckers took to the streets of the capital bogota to demand better working conditions higher wages and free education around he was a part of a nationwide protest staged by various unions and the largest anti government demonstrations there in decades. so that brings up they for the moment i'll be back with a news team with more from just me tom explore the fate of small scale farming gonna

be left to stall for now that is coming away very shortly. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so for life you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture. this is the media leave us so we leave the media by the scene motions secure the other your party there's a good. wishes that no one is asking with the guests that you deserve answers from it's all.