make money. it's one of the. protesters clashed with police in capital following the arrest of the wiki leaks founder and london president accuses the whistleblower of turning the ecuadorian embassy. seven years into a. silence faces possible extradition to the u.s. where he could be tried on allegations of conspiring with. freedom of speech activists say the charges are an attack on journalism. french made weapons may have been used against civilians in yemen according to.

french intelligence. and environmentalist tend to disrupt london rail lines after hundreds arrested for attacking the headquarters of. the climate change protests have polarized opinion in the u.k. . if your house was on fire and you were asleep i would kick your door in a car and trying to claim. it's a kid. it's absolutely the truth you are justified harassment you're justified you're justified. it's nine o'clock here in moscow you're watching all to international line. with me to welcome to the program. first to ecuador as capital where protesters have clashed with police following the arrest of wiki leaks founder julian assange in

london last week. the protesters claim president merino sold out to the united states is currently in washington where he's accused the whistleblower of hosting and coordinating hackers at the ecuadorian embassy in london he suspended his citizenship last week and terminated his a sign of that led to the arrest of the strain in the national. she was convicted by a british court of breaching twelve he also faces possible extradition to the us off to being challenge there with conspiring to a government computer but civil rights groups say some of the charges are based on actions that any journalist might take. as iraq is full of press. what message does it send to the world that's the concern shared by

the american civil liberties union the very body set up to defend civil freedoms in the united states the indictment is troubling nonetheless it characterizes as part of a criminal conspiracy journalistic t.v.'s that are not just lawful but essential to press freedom now much of the indictment focuses on the hacking and conspiring with chelsea manning however it's this bit that has everyone talking. he was part of the conspiracy that assigns a man into commercials to conceal men and as the source of the disclosure of classified records to weaken leaks including by removing news and names from the disclosed information and the lead in chat logs between man and the songe so trying to protect the identities of anonymous linkers and whistleblowers is now considered to be illegal well if that's the case american mainstream media should be in huge trouble intelligence sources tell and b.c. news the source tells n.b.c. news law enforcement and democratic sources telling c.n.n.

that in a five sources two sources with links to that counter intelligence community according to anonymous washington post source take this article from the washington post. the washington post has obtained transcripts of two conversations president trump had with foreign leaders one with mexican president enrique pena nieto i don't know that with australian prime minister malcolm turnbull the transcripts were prepared by the white house but have not been released the post is publishing reproductions rather than original documents in order to protect sources so time to bring in the department of justice it's a criminal conspiracy to cover up the leaker right or take this one this one turned out to not actually be true it looks like somebody in the government is actually spreading disinformation who could that be well c.n.n. is protecting its source we have a not anonymous sources we protect that for real reasons so the information that is

important to the public through can get out and sends donald trump has taken office hollywood has decided to celebrate the who wrote press the challenge the nixon administration back during the vietnam war. do you have the papers. at the time says seven thousand pages the killing of the white house has been lying about the vietnam war for thirty years. i'm talking about exposing years of government secrets is that legal what is it you think we do here for a living so if you follow the logic of the indictment tom hanks character is not a heroic journalist at all in fact he's a criminal and that points to another big question a number of voices have spoken up and said that it's ok to persecute and punish julian assange because quote he is not a real journalist but here's the thing the first amendment protects everyone whether you're labeled as a real journalist or not this is how the courts have explained it in the past as the supreme court has accurately warned

a first amendment distinction between the institutional press on the speakers is unworkable the ninth circuit really believe that the world has changed and that everybody should be entitled to personal interactions so i do that of course julian assange to. protect in fact that he's hiding that need he's protecting his source that's what journalists do he's a publisher. leaks is an organization that publishes truthful classified information that's in the public interest and under that definition he's definitely a journalist so at this point the u.s. department of justice is telling us that julian assange may have done a bad thing by trying to hack into top secret government files well nobody disputes that but the bigger issue may be what he actually was able to reveal wiki leaks made public a lot of information that angered powerful people and it seems that now they want him to pay up and r.t. new york. on today is going underground on artane former pink floyd front and roger

waters head south to the u.k. for not opposing means to extradite assange. what they're trying to do trump and the rest of them and to raise them is they're trying to frighten would be truly innocent is who may provide this incredibly important service for the rest of us since a search in the future they're trying to scare them off so they won't do it somebody like julian as sanch willy nilly will be a progressive thinker so that's why he chose to do the job he chose to do they are killing a sandwich do you see him when he came out of the embassy he's been living he hasn't seen hardly seen daylight for six years having committed no crime he may very well end up dead that is why the british people he calls them

as he was taken by those special branch offices into that van and driven away he called upon the people of great britain to resist i heard him i watched on the t.v. resist them and they should there should be a general strike in england to prevent him being extradited. french made weapons may have been used to in a society led coalition's incursion into yemen that is according to leak said to be from french intelligence they were made public by investigative website disclose which also says the weapons may have been used against civilians and other war crimes it demonstrates that hundreds of thousands of civilians live under the threat of these arms and provides information that allows us to demonstrate that some of these weapons may have been used to commit war crimes the french government

is today where of the risk of this in light of the revelations that amnesty international has called on france to suspend arm sales to saudi arabia president micron's government has staunchly defended the sale and downplayed their value in the conflict challenge to penske picks up the story. france has long been criticized for supplying weapons to saudi arabia human rights charity said time and time again told the government that those weapons are being used to bomb schools hospitals and other civilian targets exacerbating the crisis in yemen a war that's left thousands dead and pushed millions to the brink of starvation the u.n. has even called what's happening in yemen the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

but france has always hit back saying the weapons that it sells to saudi arabia only used defensively to defer attacks by the b.c.s. i'm not aware that french weapons have been used directly in yemen except that now appears to be contradicted by a classified note by the french military intelligence service uncovered following an investigation by a media outlet called disclose it was feels french weapons sold to saudi arabia and the united arab emirates are being used in the war in yemen but one pressed again in light of this new evidence the government's once again offered denials to our knowledge the french weapons available to the members of the coalition are mostly

in a defensive position outside yemeni territory or on call issued rights of way but not on the front line and we are not aware of any civilian casualties resulting from their use in the yemeni theater france is not among the. arms suppliers of countries in gauged in yemen but that's hard to swallow given that this classified note was apparently provided to the french government in october twenty eighth jean it showed forty eight seas our artillery guns were being used along the saudi yemen border that tanks sold to u.a.e. are in action as to fight it jets.

france's military agency note actually goes even further two friendships are serving in the blockade of yemeni ports directly leading to food and medical shortages that means that women and children can't access the food that they need nor medicines if they've been attacked now last year president mccone dismissed pressure to halt arms sales to riyadh after it was implicated in the murder of journalist jamal khashoggi. it's pure demagoguery to say stop selling weapons but they have nothing to do with mr hersh to not confuse these things but it is interesting to hear before knowing the facts say we will not sell more weapons which is already so more than france due to joint ventures they have arms sales to

saudi all big business for france between two thousand and eight and two thousand and seventeen it was the second biggest purchaser of french elam's with deals totaling more than eleven billion euros meanwhile maclin has talked about the ongoing crisis. yemen his country even hosted a humanitarian court for us to discuss the issue but for many so far it's been all talk and little action as pockets continue to be lined all why the people of yemen face one of the world's most desperate plight. so what do you r.t. harris. a french m.p. we spoke to went as far as to say paris is complicit in the civilian deaths and as violated international law by supporting the saudi led bombing campaign. continues to supply weapons to the saudi led coalition. the coalition uses them

as it wishes. and we cannot be sure how these weapons are used but on the other hand we can be sure of one through thirty percent of coalition attacks a direct to the great civilian targets so since we supply weapons that are being used in coalition strikes we help them to look at these strikes against civilian targets in other words we are violating the rules of international law and want on . a senior south african politician has been branded a racist for urging black voters not to waste their ballots on white candidates but the ruling a.n.c. party secretary general. denies claims of racism. don't ever vote for. a white person will never change the lives of black people they have oppressed us our main hope is the black vote the democratic alliance represents the white

interest the elite and the privileged. no his shoelace comments have angered party veterans who describe his remarks as inappropriate the government has been at pains to fight discrimination by launching a national action plan to combat rising racism white people currently make up just nine percent of south africa's population but only more than seventy percent of private farmland seen an increasing number of calls from the black community to redistribute the country's wealth. we got reaction from a former anti-apartheid activist who also the president of the black first land first party. by people are the beneficiaries of racism all of them were that there were liberal what i do even communists in south africa are white people benefited ecology to benefit thirty five thousand white families own eighty percent of the land they will not shed his lead with us they still maintain it up at that hold on the economy so why would we not have a blacks only looking as they should be fighting for black liberation why would any

black person vote what to man in that position who has the ability at his fingertips the ability to hope try and mend what has happened that's not trying to do a dead just destroying even all destroying a third and that is the saddest thing because that is not the opinion of the majority in this country i was arrested during apartheid for having brought up two black children living in my home at a time when it wasn't allowed and i think if one feels strongly enough about one's country one can overcome everything you can to isolate it into watch and black you cannot give. the us has announced it has lifted a ban on north use being taken against foreign companies in cuba as a decision that could have a major impact on the e.u. as cuba's biggest trading partner at a time when transatlantic tensions have been rising our europe correspondent breaks

down a story. we're talking about cuba's tourism industry the tobacco industry as well as distilleries on the island all of benefited from large scale foreign investment and all could be subject of lawsuits the european union issued a letter from their top foreign policy person federica mockery and leading you commissioner on trade that's a letter to mike pompei o the u.s. secretary of state saying you follow through with this you courts will be looking at where they can punish u.s. businesses the e.u. will be obliged to use all means at its disposal including corporation with other international partners to protect its interests this could trigger solved if you don't cycle of claims that will impair the business climate without bringing justice to holders of claims or impacting the situation cuba in any positive way

now the particular piece of legislation dates back to one nine hundred ninety six every president since bill clinton signed it into being has suspended one particular part of it to avoid a flurry of lawsuits from those who claim rights to property that was seized during the cuban revolution in one nine hundred fifty nine and it's aftermath brussels is not happy about this especially the. extraterritorial application of the u.s. embargo is illegal it's contrary to international law i also personally consider it immoral we believe that this will harm us all that it will be self-defeating obviously this will create even more confusion more deterrence more confusion for foreign investments so why not just extend it no void all of these problems the reason for that is this has absolutely nothing to do with trade this threat of a tsunami of lawsuits against cuba is really intended to put pressure on her to walk away from nicolas maduro in venezuela in the u.s.

secretary of state in fact being quite transpire. that is the reason that they're playing this pressure what the political and diplomatic noose tightening around but . we will begin to do the same thing the cubans of us understand too that there will be costs associated with their continued support of nicholas berg we are seeing is donald trump living up to threats that he made that he wasn't afraid of a trade war and he will use trade as a stake when in order to beat those that aren't doing what he would like to see he would like them to do a trade war though a transatlantic trade war that benefits nobody in the long run it will be something that both sides you would hope would be looking to avoid they had from a latin america expert and spanish history professor who told us washington's move could backfire it's mark's not really were courting international law and the ones who are in there in the first instance in ninety six. when government decided to

interviews its this way. they were it had to really go after. mark was not going to be to be a part of the european union actually threaten to take him to power girl due to you know our. organization with the big power of the. law of the united states it was and it was a war the question of course is why now i. think it's fine that could be part of the problems while the united states because certainly it will lose that. if they take it to a lawsuit in the international court. environmental group extinction rebellion has attempted to disrupt london's rail into blinds after more than three hundred activists arrested over a series of protests that cause traffic chaos in the british capital.

thousands have taken part in coordinated sit down protests and key signs since monday demanding action over climate change some vented their anger at the london headquarters of all giant shells washing windows and spraying graffiti on the walls is what a number of the protesters have to say. my grandchildren know what everybody's grown children to be able to grow up to safely we are demanding that the government tell the truth. and they. don't know what they're doing is criminal all the governments across the world are a part of this and they are letting us die planet die all you care system is die and we all have to stop this movement and corporation corporations here the demonstrations are part of a global campaign organized as we say by british climate extinction rebellion which

was formed last year the movement demands governments reduce carbon emissions to zero by twenty twenty five and that progress should be monitored by a public group to achieve its goals extinction rebellion promotes mass civil disobedience and stage rallies in more than thirty countries today let's take a look at monday's demonstration in berlin. the. beautiful. you have no need to look to see that we have demonstrated long enough we have the right and must now use the means of civil disobedience it's time to rebel. the issue of climate change is place to activist and teacher tim jones and jay walker a political commentator new york observer columnist in opposing corners. what these people believe that just because they think they're rights that anything that they

do is morally justified that is an extremely dangerous i think stream on democratic positions of. making a point by make by not harming anybody at all no life is harmed or threatened anything we do and we sometimes we do commit criminal damage and we do that to draw attention because nobody is listening to the terrifying severity of the of the evidence the relevance of what we're talking about the idea that people do not believe in manmade global warming in this country is nonsense we've got ultra low emissions i just been launched in london that's a fact diesel calls we've got a lot in phil tax which means that you have to recycle everything on less you want to pay a hundred dollars a toll and this is classic denial what's that got to what none of those things are anything to do with climate change ok or the or the collapse of. biodiversity in the world they've got nothing to do it so you're just distracting from what is a terrifying prospect and climate change is going to get worse and worse and worse

all of these scientists that have given predictions of the world's going to end in five ten fifteen years all of those deadlines have passed and so they say well that's just want to show you that it works that way because i for the most of the aipcs predictions going back if you look back at what they said what happened they were massive underestimate especially if you look at things like the decline of arctic ice they massively underestimate what has happened i'm going to bet you if you're dead as a result of climate change by sixty five. i will pay fuel for you don't give me it's not if you're still alive when you claim your pension when you'll still if you'll still live long enough to claim your pension then you've got to give me the in top bad shit if you also come to that that you're going to be dead by retirement age will you take that bet your own. now france or remains in shell compters iconic not to town cathedral in paris was gutted by a devastating fire this week after a fifteen hour battle to preserve the blaze this was the scene i think gothic world heritage site don't footage obtained by video agencies and shows where the fire

tore through its eight hundred fifty year old roof and eventually poured down its famous spine and investigation is still looking into the course as experts say the damage. many precious. the saved from the historic building which was undergoing restoration work at the time many world leaders and companies have expressed their sadness and willingness to help in the rebuilding process.

i'll be back in around thirty minutes with more updates but do stay with us now by going underground which is up next here on on to the international.

if. you're watching the season finale of going underground with me afshin rattansi just hours after european parliamentarians awarded julian a songe its most prestigious prize for journalists whistleblowers and defenders of the right to information we will ask the un special rapporteur on torture about the british capture and imprisonment of the wiki leaks founder but first straight to new york to speak to legendary pink floyd front man roger waters about whether the actions of tereza made all trump in london merino against just symptomatic of rogue states. roger thanks for coming on the show let's just start with what went through your mind when you saw the pictures of assad being dragged out of the ecuadorian embassy in london by british police we had been warned for several days because wiki leaks had got wind of the fact that they were going to actually do this but to see them physically carrying him out. special under no special branch as pows and

putting him in that van and driving him away was absolutely chilling to think that the u.k. has become such a willing accomplice and satellites of the american empire that it would do such a thing in contravention of all lords moral ethical and actual legal restrictions is absolutely stunningly appalling and makes me ashamed to be an englishman i know you have campaigned against environmental destruction in ecuador under the lenin merino administration what do you think is behind the decision to let u.k. police in to the embassy to capture him jump ill just said on this show that it would be a warning from history they bribe him with the promise of a four point seven billion i.m.f. loan i may say that they culminate does not end with getting merino to

give up julian assange. also they have plans to let chevron start drilling for oil in ecuador as most important national park which is a travesty beyond all imagination but let's stick to judea and the lower in the united states. after the patcher attacks and one zero two two one zero two one the amendments to it citizens barely have rights anymore everything is at the whim of the commander in chief and the commander in chief is anything is allowed now there is no law there is no recourse to the little something i've written about in lots of my songs over the years because it's when the law goes. that we find ourselves pitched into. wars and this team at the moment bolton abramson trump

himself and pence and all the rest of them are desperately trying to pitch the world the planet that we live on into the wall sorry i'm drifting of julian who we should all be focusing on because he is who the whole world should be focusing on him now because if we let the u.k. get away with allowing him to be extradited to the united states and we allow the united states government at their whim to torture him and to detain him possibly for the rest of his life we will have allowed them several steps further down the road to absolute tyranny and probably the destruction of the planet that's my view it's hugely in.