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in london as there are threats tour arrest mr. astonished -- to arrest mr. astsange. hello and welcome to gmt. i'm george alagiah. pakistan both the military under tax. they stormed the air force base near islamabad. the duke of edinburgh is being treated for a bladder infection, the third time he's been in the hospital in less than a year. it's midday in london, 7:00 in the morning in washington, 6:00 in the morning in quito, ecuador, where an announcement is expected on whether to grant political asylum to wikileaks founder julian assange. he is in the country posing london embassy to avoid extradition to sweden to face sexual assault allegations. he says the case is politically

motivated. even before the decision is made public, it has led to a diplomatic row between britain and del prado. -- between britain and ecuador. >> it is nearly two months since julian assange enter this building in london which houses the embassy of ecuador. he asked for asylum. been trying to avoid extradition to sweden where he's wanted for questioning in connection with sex crimes. >> move away. >> a number of protesters gathered outside this morning. some were removed by the police for causing an obstruction. the police have not yet gone into the embassy. but britain appears to have found a legal basis to enter in the form of the diplomatic and consular premises act of 1987. this has never been i

invoked before. british foreign office spokesman said the u.k. has a legal obligation to extradite him to face questioning over allegations of sexual offenses and we remain determined to fulfill this obligation, he says. but julian assange fears sweden may pass them on to the united states because of the publication of classified american documents by his organization wikileaks. in ecuador there's been an angry response to the latest developments. >> today we received a threat by the united kingdom, a clear end written threat to the vacant former embassy in london if ecuador refuses to hand over julian assange. we want to make it absolutely clear we are not the british colony and that the times of the colonies are over. >> for now, the diplomatic scandal continues. in london, the police had been

poised to arrest julian assange of the amenities steps foot outside the embassy. ecuador's decision on his bid for political asylum is thought to be imminent. bbc news. >> we ask for your comments on this story. here are some of your thoughts. this is from ethiopia, the u.k. should respect international laws and regulations. and david says innocent men generally don't run and hide. julian assange deserves a fair trial and i hope that he gets one soon. another says this is an affront and national integrity, ashamed to be british. and from kenya, i don't believe a storming the embassy would set a good precedents. they should consider the ramifications of such actions. you can continue to have your say and all others on gmt today.

get in touch on twitter. i'm also posting updates on facebook. please join our facebook page. let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world. a russian passenger jet is making an emergency landing in iceland following a bomb threat. passengers have been evacuated at the airport and police are carrying out checks on the plane. jet was on a flight from new york to moscow when an anonymous caller first said there was a bomb on board. a military court in the u.s. has temporarily suspended the trial of an army major accused of the murder of 13 people in 2009 while the appeals court considers whether a judge can force him to shave his beard. lawyers for major nidal hassan said the beard is an expression of his muslim faith, but the prosecution argues it makes it hard for witnesses to identify him.

the latest tests of an unmanned hypersonic aircraft designed to travel six times the speed of sound has ended in failure. the experimental aircraft was supposed to client at maks 6 5 minutes after being launched, a b-52 bomber at 20,000 meters. u.s. air force said a technical problem prevented the main engine to ignite and the aircraft fell into the pacific. its area, while the president is battling rebels in damascus and aleppo, he has given up control in parts of the kurdish north east. kurdish leaders now control about 50% of the territory there and are mourning their will fight the regime if it tries to retake power. they want autonomy within a democratic syria, they say. a combined total of 30 million, they are the world's largest stateless people. they make up over 10% of the

population in syria, which is 2 million people. they are a large majority in turkey, making up about 18% of the population. that's about 13 million people. the kurdish population in iraq is between 15 and 20% of the country and members at around 5 million people. in tehran, 10% of the population are kurdish, which is just over 7 million people. -- in iran. in northern iraq is our correspondents. i know that you have been across the border. the regime has lost 50% of the kurdish areas, is that credible? >> george, we managed to spend about five days undercover in the northeast of syria traveling around in the kurdish area. we were able to move relatively freely.

the chains in a landscape is visible from the border itself. there are no longer any syrian checkpoints or syrian patrols on the syrian side. it is the kurds controlling who comes and goes. we visited two major cities and a large town,. we were able to drive to a lot of villages. we're on the main roads and back roads. from the places we were able to visit, it is very clear in some of these areas the kurds are not just controlling the civilian administration but they are controlling the movement and running on checkpoints. they are flying their flags on symbolic buildings. including the former basque party headquarters. >> there's always been a risk the syrian conflict would spill over into lebanon. this would open up a new dimension. >> [no audio]

george, you are asking about the regional implications. are enormous. what is taking place in this quiet corner of syria could have implications not just for syria but for the middle east. the fear in neighboring states, which have their own kurdish minorities, is of contagion. turkey has its own large kurdish minority. any moves towards autonomy here could be reflected there. there's already a semiautonomous kurdish region across the border in iraq. when you speak to political leaders, they don't talk about independence, but they talk about autonomy. the younger generation on the street, they come out and say politicians are perhaps too careful to say that what they want is an independent homeland

for the kurdish people for all four countries. that's a frightening idea for neighboring countries. we are a long way away from that. change is tentative. the regime has not gone completely. there are still security forces from the kurds in position. the difference at the moment seems to be in the areas under kurdish control, the syrians are not interfering and they are allowing them to run their own affairs. whether or not this will be allowed to continue is not clear. it seems to me that the withdrawal by bashar al-assad's forces was probably tactical and he needed his security forces elsewhere to fight in aleppo and damascus. perhaps if the situation changes there, the regime might try to reassert its grips here, but the kurds are ready to fight if that takes place. >> thank you.

taliban has claimed responsibility for an attack on one of pakistani pose the biggest air bases, which killed a soldier and damaged a military aircraft. an official has denied a nuclear weapon -- has denied there is a nuclear weapon at kamra air base. special forces killed nine of the attackers in an intense gunbattle. let's get the latest from our reporter, the bbc's tulip mazumdar in islamabad. this is an audacious attack. it's likely to raise yet again those questions about whether the pakistani government can actually secure the country properly. >> yes, it was a very coordinated, very organized attack which took place around 2:30 this morning local time. nine militants were able to get into the air base. they were able to fight commandos over several hours. eight of them were killed by the commandos. they were wearing suicide

jackets, most of them. one of them blew themselves up. it raises questions. is is a nuclear-armed nation. the authorities insist there were no nuclear weapons at this air base. it does raise questions about what about other military installations? there are sensitive weapons. if they cannot control their security around these places, then what hope is there for other a coma more sensitive areas? that is something many people will be asking, certainly america and the west, who have concerns over what's happening in afghanistan and there's india, who will be asking can you honestly say you can control your own security? pakistan says, yes, we can. >> we must remember this is not the first attack on a military facility. >> it is not. last year there was an attack at

a naval base in karachi. at the time it was reported that there were nuclear weapons, but the pakistanis deny that categorically. 10 soldiers were killed during that attack. that was only a year ago. a year before that there was an army property penetrated. the question is are the nuclear weapons in pakistan say? pakistan insists they are. yet this will raise more questions about the legitimacy of that claim. >> kara dioguardi saying they have rounded up all those involved in this latest attack -- are the authorities setting they have rounded up all those involved in this latest attack? >> bay say all nine of the attackers have been killed. the pakistani military also say that nine have been killed.

that accounts for all of them. they were still searching the area and local villages to find out if there were still anymore on the run. both sides have now said all the militants have been accounted for. it does look like this has come to an end for now. but plenty more questions will be asked in the aftermath. >> thank you very much. staying in pakistan, 20 shiite muslims have been pulled from a bus and shot dead in the northwest of the country. it was traveling when it was ambushed around 160 kilometers north of islamabad. it is the second such incident in six months it. still ahead, the duke of edinburgh and has spent the night in hospital receiving treatment for a bladder infection. we get an update on prince philip's condition. in the u.k., three high court judges will rule today whether a man who's been left almost completely paralyzed by strokes

should be allowed medical help to die. tony, a father of two, says his life has become undignified and intolerable. he wants the assurance that any doctor who ends his life will not be prosecuted. now this report. >> tony had an active lifestyle and a good job overseas before the devastating stroke seven years ago left him paralyzed from the neck down. now he has to use a special computer to communicate. around 40,000 people followed his remarks on twitter. in court documents, tony described how he looks at his life. he sums it up as dull, miserable, demeaning, undignified, and intolerable. he says he does not want to die a lingering death. tony can only take his own life if he starts himself to death. so he is asking the courts to sanction help from doctors. the judges will also rule in the case of another paralyzed man

today. this goes further than previous challenges to the law in england and wales on assisted suicide and murder. the ministry of justice says it is a matter which should be left to parliament. it's a debate which provokes strong emotions. whatever the outcome of today's ruling, if further hearing is likely at the supreme court. bbc news reporting. >> seven people charged in connection with the phone hacking scandal of the news of the world have been bailed out by west minster magistrates including the former editor of the newspaper and the person who went on to become the chief of media. they face charges of conspiring to unlawfully intercept voice- mail messages for 600 people. some of their intended targets included hollywood sta , and jue law, as well as politicians and crime victims.

this is the bbc. britain has told ecuador it will not allow julian assange safe passage out of the country if he is granted asylum. pakistani security forces are searching for militants after gunmen attacked a thier force base near islamabad. news catch up on business with aaron. we knew that barclays bank had paid a fine for manipulation of interest rates. seven other banks. >> absolutely. libor, we cannot stress how important this is. this is an interest rates that the bank's assets amongst themselves at the end of every day. it is the rate that banks been used to london or money between

each other. it is also the interest rate that is used on thousands of different financial products. it is an interest rate to that basically deals with trillions of dollars each and every single day. last month barclays bank admitted to the allegations, that it was manipulating, it was fixing interest rate between the years of 2007 and 2010. for that it cost of a fine of $430 million. at the same time we also knew that u.s. and u.k. regulators were probing 14 other banks. the thinking is you don't have people sitting at the same table to do it. seven of the world's biggest banks like rts, citigroup, deutsche bank, j.p. morgan, and ubs, huge banks. they have been summoned and subpoenaed. they will head to the u.s. and will take thousands of documents with them.

they will give lots of testimony. considering that the barclays bank has already admitted fault, will the other banks do so? the other banks will likely admit to it. and take it. one of the interesting points is this is one of the u.s. regulators investigating something that happens in london. as we saw from the standard chartered case, there are questions about the number of regulators in the u.s. combat are investigating different things, some of them the same things. five regulators. then you have london investigating this. the question is, who is the regulator takes precedence? can any regulator have a go at anything about anything? does it allow american regulators to take action in the u.s. for something that happened in london? this poses all sorts of

questions. >> the number of regulators is being raised with all the banking scandals like hsbc. barclays bank has to deal with 500 different regulators around the world as a. >-- as a global bank. facebook, fears of an even bigger selloff possible today. >> it's possible. the facebook share price since it went public three months ago has really been under pressure. it could come under pressure today. let me explain it. thousands of companies and individuals who work or invested in facebook before it went public, there were given shares. under laws and market regulations, those people voting shares before it goes public are not allowed to sell those shares

until at least 90 days after the company goes public. the thinking is you don't want to flood the market with too many shares because that would bring down the share price. three months ago, if you bought a facebook share, you would've paid $38. now it's worth $20. >> that is nearly half. >> 46% loss in value. the concern is 1.9 billion shares that all these people and companies are holding that have not been sold. if they start selling those shares, that will certainly bring the share price down. solid growthk's numbers, what's going on with the share price, why has it lost so much in value? >> it is simple. it is a shining new object. we have had this forever on the internet. something comes along and abetted gets excited and euphoric about it. if you look at a multiple on the facebook ipo, it was too high.

it should've been around 10 instead of 25. it's a natural adjustment to the stock price we have seen. the question is will it go down further zeror go up? i feel it has bottomed out. there maybe a little? looks around at the moment, but it seems to have stabilized enough. people should now focus on the bigger future and bigger opportunities around facebook. >> markets will open in the u.s. in a couple hours. we will wait and see. >> ikea news. >> they have not announced a name, but they want a chain of ikea hotels. they are thinking of starting with about 100 of them in different places around the world. they're not using own furniture in it. i will look into it for you and

have that for another day. >> thank you. the duke of edinburgh remains in hospital in the u.k. after a bladder infection. prince philip, age 91, was taken from the royal estate in balmoral in scotland yesterday. our correspondent joins us from the aberdeen royal infirmary. buckingham is pretty sparse with its statements, but bring us up- to-date as to where you think we are with this. >> prince philip was admitted to the hospital behind me a little over 20 hours ago. he was taken by road ambulance from the real-estate at balmoral, which is 50 miles away, accompanied by royal protection officers. buckingham palace describe this admission as a precautionary measure after a recurrence of the bladder problem that the experienced during his wife's

diamond jubilee celebrations in june. he will be closely observed while in hospital. it is thought he's being treated with intravenous antibiotics. this is his third visit or admission to hospital in the past nine months or so. the was treated for a blocked coronary artery at christmas. and then he was admitted in june and during the diamond jubilee celebration. now he's back in hospital. he's expected to stay here for the next two days. the hospital in aberdeen is the largest one in the northeast of scotland. it is used to treating oil patients. it has treated the wife of the prince of wales, camilla. she was treated for broken leg. they have also treated the queen's mother in the past. we went to see if the duke of

edinburgh has annual visitors. that is, as the day progresses. >> you mentioned the diamond jubilee celebrations, but it's been a heck of a year for prince philip. he's 91 and there have been lots of other public engagements. >> yes, he has had an extremely busy year. he has an incredible amount of energy. there were the diamond jubilee celebrations. and he was alongside the queen for the opening ceremonies of the olympics. and he was there to watch his granddaughter zara phillips compete in the equestrian event and go on to win a medal. members of the royal family spent much of the summer at their state, a way to get away from the hustle and bustle.

they spent several months year during the summers. he's been going back and forth to london and to take part in other public events. >> thank you. a reminder of our top story. there have been scuffles and arrest outside ecuadoran embassy in london with a diplomatic argument over julian assange. he's wanted on sexual assault charges in sweden but is fighting to avoid extradition and is seeking asylum from the government of ecuador. government of ecuador.