would seem the most direct way to be a flight from moscow to havana and cuba tomorrow afternoon. in the meantime, it looks like he is prepared to wait out that time in the terminal itself. >> what about that car with the ecuador flag? are you hearing anything about the car or who may have been inside? >> reporter: the flags tell us it belonged to the ambassador himself, ecuador's ambassador to russia based at the embassy in moscow, which is a sign this is being handled at a fairly high level within ecuador's government. the interesting thing is that that car was at the airport before the flight arrived. certainly, there has been some contact with the government of ecuador. they knew he was coming. they knew he was going to do this. when really his departure from hong kong came as something of a surprise to much of the world. we didn't learn about it until he was already in the air inbound for the russia capital. >> does the u.s. have any leverage with russia to try to cut a possible deal to hand over snowden? >> reporter: at least two countries, the very complex relationship, do hav

travel from russia to cuba. cuba is a country the united states does not have any formal diplomatic relation with and a country that's been under an economic embargo from the united states for more than half a century in addition to being on the united states list of state sponsors of terrorism. a few days ago edward snowden said he might be interested in heading to iceland to seek asylum, a q&a session on "the guardian" newspaper, his interview interview there. he said the only reason he went to hong kong in the first place to avoid suspicion since nsa employees are monitored closely. he said the local framework allowed him to work there without being immediately detained which we saw to be true. the hong kong government in the last few hours had come forward to say they let edward snowden leave hong kong on a technicality, u.s. did not provide documents. they let him go. he's in the air on his way to russia. we don't have any further reaction at this point from agencies in the united states but we will keep following up. back to you in new york. >> peter doocy breaking that news.

in one nine hundred fifty nine cuba earlier this month the state department made a declaration reinforcing that cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism for the thirtieth consecutive year despite admitting that there is no indication that the cuban government provided weapons or training to terrorist groups and perhaps there's no better story that exemplifies these tense relations and terrorism parker see is that of the cuban five let me give you a quick recap recap during the last half century cuba has been victim to a reign of attacks from terrorist groups many of them based in the u.s. and supported by the u.s. government so naturally looking to prevent future terrorism on cuban soil fidel castro decided to send five men to be amien in one thousand nine hundred to infiltrate and gain knowledge. from these groups their names are on. fernando gonzales we're going to go is all this. is and ramon and i've been you know their case is now infamously known as the cuban five because these men were arrested charged with committing espionage and sentenced to life in prison over the case w

its socialist revolution in one nine hundred fifty nine cuba earlier this month the state department made a declaration reinforcing that cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism for the thirtieth consecutive year despite admitting that there is no indication that the cuban government provided weapons or training to terrorist groups and perhaps there's no better story that exemplifies these tense relations and terrorism parker see is that of the cuban five let me give you a quick recap recap during the last half century cuba has been victim to a reign of attacks from terrorist groups many of them based in the u.s. and supported by the u.s. government so naturally looking to prevent future terrorism on cuban soil fidel castro decided to send five men to be amien in one thousand nine hundred to infiltrate and gain knowledge. from these groups their names are on. fernando gonzales rene gonzales. is and ramon and i've been you know their case is now infamously known as the cuban five because these men were arrested charged with committing espionage and sentenced to life in prison o

cuba reportedly booked on spending the night at a moscow airport. footage from our correspondent on the seat snowden is meant to be sitting in if you will into u.s. airspace where america might have a chance to intercept the aeroflot jet. says snowden is safe but keep his exact whereabouts secret we can extend however confirm ecuador has given him refugee travel papers. washington appears desperate to corner its former intelligence analyst criticizing every country he passes through and demanding is immediate the footage. international news in comment live from our studio center here in moscow this is the twenty four hours a day so the world's media have turned into a plane spotters tracking one transatlantic flight that was supposed to be carrying the n.s.a. whistleblower edward snowden away to safety from the hands of the usa who wanted him extradited well the fact is it appears that he wasn't on the plane nobody saw him boarding the plane bound for cuba from moscow airport where he was reported to have spent the night when that plane departed packed with journalists expecting to

moscow, he may have caught a flight to cuba or he may catch the next one. what do we know so far, tom? >> what we know is there is a lot of uncertainty. we know that somewhere out there edward snowden is on the move or at least has been on the move. over the weekend he was definitely in hong kong where he met with some of his advisers there. they talked about possible plans. and he definitely left hong kong to go to moscow over here. how do we know that this happened? we know that this happened because we had witnesses who told us they saw him on the plane, and the russians confirmed that he was on this this is really the last point at which anyone has proof of where he was in terms of anyone we know. this is more than 24 hours ago. the russians notably have not said he arrived in russia. that doesn't mean he wasn't on the plane. it would mean simply that he's still at the airport, sort of in a no man's land. think about tom hanks in the movie "the terminal." he's not officially arrived but he could still be there. now, this question of whether or not he's moved on to some other

he's already checked in on a flight to cuba and from there further on to venezuela. as the hunt for snowden crosses continents n.s.a. leaks piling up with new allegations that even barack obama was monitored by the n.s.a. was running for senate. and r.t. looks at the resemblance between the place of snowden and julian assange gen washington struggle to prevent a torrent of secrets from being revealed. seven pm in moscow i'm mad good to have you with us here on r t we're updating you on our breaking news this hour n.s.a. whistleblower edward snowden wanted in the u.s. for espionage in moscow after getting off a plane from hong kong has been told diplomats from ecuador met him at the airport but it's still unclear where the whistleblower is headed next he's reportedly already checked in for an onward flight to cuba it suggested a van will be another transit point on his way to another country much speculation as to what vat country is his final destination some sources suggesting go to ecuador some to venezuela for more on this we go live to share metro airport paul scott standing by

i'm in question n.s.a. whistleblower edward snowden apparently missing from a cuba bound plane thought to be is take it out of russia toward eventual safe harbor. is refuge it may be granted by ecuador which is mulling over the thirty year old request for asylum all orchestrated by whistleblower groups leaks. will chase him to the ends of the earth just as washington on the set the white house warning the western hemisphere against helping the runaway days after leveling the full weight of the espionage act against snowden. three pm in moscow. good to have you with us here on r t our top story cuba bound flight from moscow which was thought to be edward snowden snowden the ticket out of russia has taken off with passengers saying there is no sign of the whistleblower aboard he's reportedly to have arrived in the russian capital sunday having fled hong kong with washington in pursuit let's cross now to our t's paul scott who's been at the airport where the plane took off paul give us the latest. yes. snowden might be the name who deanie because reports came in. around five o'clo

be awaiting a flight out of moscow to cuba. has now begun he arrived in the russian capital on sunday having fled from hong kong with washington in a hot pursuit let's not cross over to. the airport indeed at the airport up for hello good to see you it seems now minutes away perhaps we're waiting for the big takeoff what can you tell us. that is what we understand rory sources close to r.t. have confirmed to us that edward snowden has checked in on the flight that he's bound for havana in cuba leaving at around five paula. to moscow times about an hour's time now there is another flight twenty past four which leaves this very airports and also goes to have but at the moment all indication that edward snowden is on board will soon be on board the plane heading to cuba leaving here in around an hour's time now he is not we understand. he was traveling with a legal representative from wiki leaks by the name of not entirely sure whether she's going to be completing the journey with but we do understand that at least two seats in the books. appears not to be. thought that he's trave

awaiting a flight out of moscow which is thought to be destined for cuba and it's leaving in just a few hours here in the russian capital on sunday having fled hong kong with washington in hot pursuit. reports from. as far as we understand edward snowden does remain here moscow sheremetyevo airport in the terminal building behind me as you say here just after five o'clock on a sunday afternoon on a commercial flight inbound from hong kong he was greeted by the ecuadorian ambassador and three hours after landing the confirmation came that he had sought political asylum in the south american country now or we still believe is mulling over whether or not to grant asylum to edward snowden he is expected to just remain in transit here in moscow as you say before flying to in cuba a little bit later on this afternoon but to really put this story and. see what's happened over the last twenty four forty eight hours or so i really over the course of the weekend because it was on friday that the charges against edward snowden were made public for the very first time now the complaint was file

honest man now snowden had a ticket for a flight heading to cuba on aero fiat flight one hundred fifty he was scheduled to sit in seat seventeen a but it was in fact empty i think we actually might have an image of that empty seat now that c. was empty however our t. correspondent you are pissed going off was on that flight here's how he describes the scene onboard. so far of mr snowden has not been seen i personally haven't seen him point but definitely something out of the ordinary is happening just judging by the security yourself and well of course the amount of media is really astonishing clearly i think it's it doesn't feel for journalists who are also on this flight now for a talk about some of the international implications of a person jumping from country to country like that well the more interesting realities here are the fact that the united states of america is acting like well on the one hand like a great big bully. warning all these countries don't give any incentive or you don't let him come to your country and they have acting like a sort of poking like a two yea

board a plane for cuba and in eventual safe haven. his refuge may be granted by ecuador which says it's mulling over the thirty year old's request for asylum orchestrated by the whistleblower group and wiki leaks. into the ends of the earth just as washington on the sent the white house warning the western hemisphere against helping the runaway days after leveling the full weight of the espionage act against snowden. two pm in moscow i'm mad as a good to have you with us here on r t our top story this hour n.s.a. contractor turned whistleblower edward snowden is thought to be boarding a flight from moscow to cuba as we speak he arrived in the russian capital sunday having fled hong kong with washington in hot pursuit let's cross now to our team. who is on the flight i'm on which edward snowden is expected to depart so your i understand that you are on the plane now tell us what's going on. exactly i just got on the plane just mordred and i can tell you that this is definitely. not your ordinary boarding security has been very very much in place to you including police at some point. the

been sort of like wrote the states, close to it, such as cuba which were no longer think much of. libya was once a dictatorship. and there have been other states such as ones that are on the path or venezuela the fourth year in chavez. the main the path is somewhat familiar, and the definition as well. >> superpowers use the rogue states or how rogue states use super power. he. >> well, i think what happened is when they're rogue states first burst on the international scene after the collapse of the soviet union, there were some what put loose and fancy free. it did not really depend too much on another major state such as the soviet union. it was gone. rogue states and the path used by great powers, particularly the soviet union, the use the major powers for protection. currently we can see that north korea is very dependent on china . while not as dependence, and still relies on russia to run some diplomatic interference for it in the united nations. and in the case of the iraqis there were very much dependent on soviet arms. the states of used and have been using great powers

of these in russia going to cuba and whether you have that information and. how do you have it . for us i cannot give you information about that. you will see we're in contact with the russian government city but the specific information but the situation precisely to ation. of why they were snowed in is that we cannot give it to you right now because we don't have it. i didn't go ahead please it wasn't. my. that's you please provide any details. you please provide any details about if mr snowden were to travel to a bigger house to be with that work would you have it a travel document from ecuador will there be a private plane and cetera and also can you in my second question is based on. whether you are concerned about if they request is granted in ecuador are you concerned about the impact on us i could have relations impact on ecuador the kind of. kind of. getting you didn't know them but you don't look like they're going to that this is going to have that it will not be accurate and a good thing to finally quit or even give you a little know they've been a good place to live in a

snowden says he leaked information about the nsa is in moscow expected to board a plane for cuba, then south america. he asked ecuador for asylum. the obama administration issued objections for letting him stay there. we look at all options available to expel him back to the u.s. to face the crime for which he is charged. we are in moscow. >> reporter: at the airport, the government was playing a role in the aid of snowden. the flag was the give away. this is the ambassador's car parked outside. this official somehow got lost inside the terminal. >> i'm not taking any comments. >> are you here in relation to snowden at all? >> reporter: the world learned of his departure when he was already in the air. a big group of russian and international journalists went to meet him. snowden stayed inside the terminal. the government of ecuador confirmed he asked for asylum. he's protecting another man, wikileaks founder, julian asang. he's been living there for a year. wikileaks said snowden asked find an organization to help protect him. he is bound by a democratic nation and is being escorted b

supposed to be cuba, maybe? edward snowden was initially reported to be going from hong kong to cuba via moscow according to all the reporting this weekend. it was reported he would be flying through moscow's airport on his way to cuba and that, of course, led to a giant media circus at the moscow airport. a throng of reporters waiting around the airport in moscow trying to catch a glimpse of mr. snowden as he presumably got off his flight from hong kong and then boarded his flight to havana, presumably without trying to go through passport control so he wouldn't be crossing an international border into russia, so russia wouldn't face any legal concerns about whether or not they were supposed to arrest him, too. but despite all this at moscow airport, everybody watching out for this guy, and nothing. and it's not like he was magically able to get on to that flight to cuba unannounced. this is seat 17a, moscow to havana, which was supposed to be edward snowden's seat. that was supposed to be edward snowden's flight from moscow to cuba. as you can see, no mr. snowden in seat 17a. it appear

about the countries, you said, with iceland we have relations. nato agreements. cuba and venezuela, if that's where he's headed, or somewhere else in south america, they will protect him. and will they do that because he's valuable to them from an intelligence standpoint? or because they can thumb their nose at us that they have someone they knew the u.s. wants to get back? >> jamie, i always say all of the above. at very least just having someone we want makes them feel good. but also this guy does have intel. he does have intelligence. they will have him. i'd say for all of the above. it's all the more reason, by the way, we should make it clear that anyone, certainly any american who cooperates and is facilitating him escaping, to get into another country, should be indicted for aiding and abetting and a fugitive from justice. this is no longer a game. >> on the left side of your screen we're watching the passengers from this flight get off this plane. everyone there is looking for edward snowden to see if he actually disembarks from the plane. you'll see a flurry of activity. every

so there's that and then there's cuba but here which has been mentioned as a possible layover destination for snowden on his trip to asylum maybe an economic embargo of. more than fifty years in repeated attempts to assassinate their head of state might influence cuba's decision to look the other way if snowden winds up there and finally there's ecuador. that is the reported destination for snowden in a country that has already granted political asylum to wiki leaks founder julian assange watch now listen to what ecuador's foreign minister ricardo patino said today about how the u.s. might react to his country granting snowden asylum when. it's necessary to note that the united states as a sovereign government has received various extradition requests on the half of the ecuadorian government for individuals particularly bankers in ecuador that have been charged in our country and according to their laws have made decisions in many cases not extraditing those who have committed crimes against millions of ecuadorians but senior was referring to the as a us brothers who are convi

flight bound for cuba he was reportedly booked on after spending a night at a moscow airport. this is footage from our correspondent of the seat snowden is meant to be sitting and soon the flight will end to u.s. airspace where america might have a chance to intercept. and says snowden is safe but keep his exact whereabouts secret leaks did however confirm ecuador has given him refugee travel papers. washington criticizes every country snowden passes through while demanding his immediate deportation a white house spokesman insists the whistleblower is still in russia. international news and common live from a studio center here in moscow this is so a man is on the run but just where is he it seems that the world's media have turned into a bunch of plane spotters as they track a transatlantic flight heading from moscow to cuba now just last night it was supposed that edward snowden the n.s.a. whistleblower wanted by the u.s. for espionage charges was a boarding a plane to cuba but the fact is when many journalists from around the world got on that plane earlier today they noticed that

way of cuba, possibly. there is also speculation he might head to venezuela. the u.s. said today it is asking all of those countries not to led snowden in. and a course is telling us that the u.s. has revoked snowden's passport. there are also reports snowden could spend the night in moscow before he goes anywhere. to phil black, live for us now at the moscow airport. what is happening there, if anythi anything? >> reporter: well, fredericka, we know the flight edward snowden was aboard flew in five hours ago we haven't seen him since. one witness on the aircraft, one person got onto the tarmac, into a car and his baggage was put into that car. they assumed it was snowden and seems pretty likely. he has not emerged from the north american nal so we believe he is in there waiting to connect with a flight to his next destination. as you say, it has been affirmed he is applying for asylum. here in ecuador, we have seen a number of diplomatic vehicles from ecuador's ambassador. we have not seen the ambassador but his car has been parked here the better part of the day. we assume he is w

snowden. once again, word does not appear at least for the moment in cuba. >> if he was going to cuba, i assume he would need some sort of visa, which he would have to apply through cuba, unless there was some sort of special dispensation made. we have no idea if he's going to attempt to go to cuba or not. how certain are we that the cubans would allow him to connect to another flight there, do we know? >> havana is a possibility because the government probably wouldn't bend to u.s. pressure and send him back. in fact, over the years they have been aligned with the black panthers. cuba continues to harbor people that we know about. you come to cuba -- an ally of fidel castro. it's not an ideal picture. he could pass through cuba. while i'm pointing out, edward snowden has been portrayed as something -- the cubans are happy to keep talking. >> i should point out, i believe phillip agee a former cia officer, he ended up in cuba. we got a panel tonight of people who can speak to all the angles that this story presents. diplomacy security, john miller joins us. he's a top official of

to fly on to cuba from. monday afternoon that would also be a transit eventually and his journey his final destination his target destination of course being ecuador where he is seeking political asylum now we all believe he is not traveling alone there is a legal representative from wiki leaks we're led to believe traveling with edward snowden on his journey wiki leaks say that they've helped edward snowden throughout the process they helped him have a safe. exit from hong kong they've organized his papers and they are indeed the ones who were negotiating the deal for political asylum in ecuador he's kept everyone guessing the world's press were here there were hundreds of photographers and cameramen and hoping to grab a glimpse of the world's most famous the miners but he hasn't been. in transit and also rather interesting the ecuadorian ambassador. to the we were expecting we were hoping that he would make some kind of official statement on this because if only official confirmation that we do have. from the foreign minister but neither edward snowden nor the ecuadorian on. ce

cuba or have safe passage through to another country. but julian assange had recently given snowden advice come to a latin america country, it will be friendedly to your efforts to stay out of the grips of american shorts out of their custody. so perhaps he is following that track and trying to find a country by venezuela, ecuador, cuba, that would give him a warm welcome. cuba's official media has painted him of something of a hero. and an official said it seemed like snowden was too good to be true, they cooperate believe he was giving away this kind of information and for free. not only to the world, but to many intelligence services. so just a question now if you could ban authoricuban authoritd out for themselves. >> thanks so much. watch the could is over there.u for themselves. >> thanks so much. watch the could is over there.a themselves. >> thanks so much. watch the could is over there. john king will be leading our coverage of this story in the next hour. when we return -- sorry. here we are, john king, you're here. >> a couple interesting points. if you talk to intelligen

with china. russia and cuba, major players as well. just before 7:00 p.m. eastern time, a jumbo jet arrived from havana in moscow. edward snowden was expected to be in seat 17-a. edward black saw no sign of him. at this moment, the question that people around the globe have been asking all day, and most of the weekend still applies. where in the world is the man who leaked the existence of two big american intelligence gathering operations. that and some terribly inconvenient questions as well. who if anyone dropped the ball. was the u.s. played by the chinese? and is it being played by the russians right now? there's a lot of ground to cover tonight in a saga that could end in a u.s. courtroom or in edward snowden's political asylum. in someplace like ecuador. any way you put it, this is half written. here's how it began. edward snowden acted quickly after he was charged with espionage friday night. the u.s. revoked his passport. asked td the hong kong government to return him. he still managed to clear customs and board a flight. >> the decision to allow him to leave has a negativ

bound for cuba that he was reportedly booked in on after spending a night at a moscow airport. this footage from our correspondent of the airplane seat of where snowden was meant to be sitting a few hours flight will enter u.s. airspace where the u.s. could have a chance to intercept the air afloat jet. washington trying to corner snowed in criticizing countries that he passes through and demanding his immediate deportation. six pm in moscow i'm good to have you with us here on our t.v. entire day today we've been tracking the movements or trying to track the movements of edward snowden he was supposed to be leaving moscow sheremetyevo airport bound on a flight for havana cuba but of course it appears like he's given everybody the slip because according to our correspondent who's on the plane he's not there but here is the likely route that he would take leaving moscow on that era flow jet bound for have any cuba it flies over the top of europe then across the atlantic then goes down the east coast of the united states where potentially it could enter u.s. airspace in the new englan

started we were here this morning this all waiting for him to board that plane bound for cuba which he checked into yesterday on sunday when he arrived but oh no reports that inside of that airline you got he paints a different picture. there's so much media on the screen but for the last three minutes i'm sure that the plane expecting which told him to show up there will be increased security. for the police when we move the passengers sort of away from the teacher to leave it up to continue west point even important issues themselves understand. that we're not sure whether or not it was entering the plane or not. right to say the whereabouts of edward snowden inside of their plane away no way to be found in fact my colleague you got to be sort of also tweeted and said that the seeds that he was meant to be sitting on. and to the seat of the representative who's traveling with him we're all empty that was a scene that all the journalists up on that played a way to see by the way you know the plot thickens what did it all begin really let's take you back to sunday wake up. call anno

kong a confrontation with china. russia and cuba, major players as well. a jumbo jet arrived from havana in moscow. edward snowden was expected to be in seat 17-a. edward black saw no sign of him. at this moment, the question that people around the globe have been asking all day, and most of the weekend still applies. where in the world is the man who leaked the existence of two big american intelligence gathering operations. that and some terribly inconvenient questions as well. who if anyone dropped the ball. was the u.s. played by the chinese? and is it being played by the russians right now? there's a lot of ground to cover tonight in a saga that could end in a u.s. courtroom or in edward snow den's political asylum. anyway you cut it, this drama is half written. here's how it began. edward snowden acted quickly after he was charged with espionage friday night. the u.s. revoked his passport. he still managed to clear customs and board a flight. >> the decision to allow him to leave has a negative impact on the u.s. >> he spent the night in a russian airport. he never passed th

. snowden apparently missed a flight to cuba. but a minister from ecuador confirms snowden has applied for asylum there. big question is, why ecuador? one possible reason is this. this is the country giving asylum to this man, another famous, famous leaker, wikileaks founder julian assange. assange confirmed wikileaks has given financial help to snowden. this is all via this conference call this morning. assange explained why snowden has good reason to seek political asylum. here he was. >> every person has the right to seek and receive political asylum. those rights are enshrined in the united nations agreements. of which the united states is a party. and no self-respecting country would submit to such interference. >> but secretary of state john kerry says snowden's leaks regarding nsa surveillance of personal information has now endangered americans. >> what i see is an individual who threatened this country and put americans at risk through the acts that he took. people may die as a consequence of what this man did. it is possible the united states will be attacked because

flight to cuba. it's not clear if he did or if he is on that plane. he began his global odyssey in hong kong. >> the u.s., of course, wants to extradite him. they want him to face espionage charges. he's trying to get asylum in equador and other places. the request is being considered on a human rights bases and we just learned from wikileakss that he's applied for asylum in iceland. assange has been living in london for a year or so avoiding sexual assault allegations he faces in sweden. he talked about snowden and the u.s. efforts to go after him. >> the charging of edward snowden is not matter of justice. it is an attempt to intimidate any country that might be considering standing up for his rights to tell us all the truth. >> it blamed that snowden is on a flight to cuba. cuba another country that may be helping out snowden. he's expected to show up there today if he's on the plane. our own crew didn't see him. who knows. >> we're not exactly sure. he was supposed to travel through u.s. air space to get there. julian assange says he knows where snowden is but he's not telling.

flight bound for cuba he was reportedly booked on after spending a night at a moscow airport. this is footage from our correspondent of the seat snowden is meant to be sitting in soon the flight will enter u.s. airspace where america might have a chance to intercept. the leaks founder julian assange confirmed ecuador has given snowden refugee travel papers keep his exact whereabouts secret. but house insists the whistleblower is still in russia washington's criticize every country he's passed through while demanding his immediate deportation. international using common life from a studio center here in moscow this is so a man on the run just where is he it seems that the world's media have turned into plane spotters as they track a transatlantic flight from moscow to cuba which is supposed to be carrying the n.s.a. whistleblower edward snowden who is wanted by the u.s. on many charges including espionage and that plane departed moscow this morning packed full of journalists who noticed that the seat where snowden should be sitting in is empty that plane has still departed and it's hea

missing the fly in another plane from russia to cuba has left without the one on the run whistleblower edward snowden who's still lingering in a moscow airport. while snowden's revelations of the u.k.'s huge phone and online tapping hasn't pulled the government off boosting the spying budget the spy tough in the us territory. an egyptian military is bracing itself for mass rallies with the opposition preparing to take to the streets to van its anger at president morsi who's about to mark his first year in the top job. for pm in moscow you're watching r.t.m. or you josh welcome to the program now one of america's most wanted man at work snowden remains somewhere in the transit zone of moscow's sheremetyevo airport but the hide and seek game of trying to find the man who leaked u.s. national security secrets has yielded no results we've got he's losing often of outside the airport to tell us more either lucy so what do we know about snowden's whereabouts of the moment. well as you've mentioned so far the only information that he still presumably remains trapped or stuck in

flight on monday morning for cuba. last month, the former contractor for the national security agency released sensitive details of the u.s. government spy details before fleeing the country. on may 20, he left to seek refuge and could hong kong. once there, he revealed himself reports of of surveillance programs. >> i certainly have the authority to wiretap anyone from you to your accountant, to a federal judge, to the president. i think the public is owed an explanation behind the people who make these disclosures who are behind the democratic model. >> barack obama vigorously defended the programs. dick cheney called edward snowden a traitor. the u.s. government saw his rest and two a ghost charged him with espionage. but hong kong said the documents did not comply with legal requirements. in a statement, it said as the hong kong government has yet to have sufficient information to process the request, the provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict mr. snowden from leaving hong kong. and it did not grade he immediately took a flight from hong kong to moscow.

suggesting he's already checked in on a flight to cuba and from there possibly to venezuela. another whistleblower russell t.'s confirms the n.s.a. is storing data and claims top officials were targeted including barack obama when he was running for the u.s. senate. party looks at the resemblance between the plates of snowden and julian as sanjian washington struggle to prevent a torrent of secrets from being revealed. six pm in moscow i am at present good to have you with us here on our t.v. updating you on our breaking news story n.s.a. whistleblower edward snowden want to be in the u.s. for espionage is in moscow after getting off a plane from hong kong r.t. has been told that diplomats from ecuador are at the airport to greet him whistleblowers allegedly checked in for an onward flight to cuba suggesting have and will be just another transit point on his way to another country not sure where at this point speculation as to the whistleblowers final destination some sources suggesting he'll go on to venezuela well for all of this and more let's cross now to our tease paul scott he'

. whistleblower edward snowden off the radar with no sign of him aboard a flight bound for cuba he was reportedly booked done after spending a night at a moscow airport. this footage from our correspondent over the airplane see where snowden was meant to be sitting in a few hours the flight will enter u.s. airspace where the u.s. might have a chance to intercept the air flow jet. washington desperate to porn or snowden criticizing countries that he passes through demanding his immediate deportation. five pm in moscow i'm at a good to have you with us here on our t.v. as we continue our coverage of the search for edward snowden no one seems to know where he is right now he was supposed to board an era float jet from moscow bound for have any cuba but according to our correspondent he never showed up for the flight and he is not on the plane but let's take a look at where he could be headed work he on that flight and a likely route for him to take starting in moscow and then going across over the top of europe over the atlantic ocean and then going toward the east coast of the united sta

why did he not board that plane to cuba and why is he staying in that transit zone instead of interest into russia for the latest on the ground i was told to earlier by r t correspondent to say she is outside of the moscow airport and ship brought us the very latest. i may get oh well you know there's a story has been taking the surrey many twists and turns keeping us all guessing as to where indeed is and edward snowden but as we heard earlier on today from president putin that there indeed he is still holed up somewhere in that transit is zone in a short amount of airport now of course he has also reiterated the fact that does not and did not come out of the airport into russian soil so they did not know that he was even coming there was it just as a surprise as everybody else now because we know that the hong kong released a statement on sunday saying that snowden was aboard a plaited to moscow heading towards a third country they did not mention which country it was but which he lives in the background was also saying that he will be mad to buy someone from a diplomatic re

. he got to russia because originally he was supposed to fly to havana cuba presumably on the way to ecuador that's how he was able to get to russia on a transfer flight he doesn't actually have a visit visa in order to russia and he ran into a few problems number one is that the united states has cancelled his passport so because he missed that original flight to cuba he has to book another one how do you do that without a passport good question the second problem force is there's now issues with ecuador in order to apply for asylum here portly needs to be an ecuadorian soil and actually we did hear from the secretary of political affairs abedi told about this issue at a press conference earlier thursday and here's what she had to say the kodori and government has not authorized and is sort of safe passage document allowing mr snowden to come to a country we also have not considered snowden's asylum request because he is not an ecuadorian territory as the law requires us. so what does that mean he can't get to ecuador because right now he doesn't have documents to fly there and he a

meet him after he landed reportedly checked in to fly to cuba with sources confirming ecuador is his ultimate destination. and before you even left hong kong snowden's passport was reportedly revoked by the u.s. just told him deported human rights activists want washington. to get him. for snowden crossing continents. with new allegations that even barack obama was monitored while he was running for the senate. international news and comment live from our studio center here in moscow this is r.t. with you twenty four hours a day. and it's a whistleblower edward snowden who is wanted by the u.s. has formally applied for political asylum in ecuador and that's according to the country's foreign minister is currently in a moscow airport waiting to board his next flight tomorrow afternoon when it's across now to paul scott who is at the airport tell us what has happened there at the airport since snowden touched down from hong kong. pretty much a case at the moment of the calm of the storm edward snowden arrived here at moscow . fifty. six hours ago was greeted by officials from the were.

snowden habÍa reservado en este vuelo que lo llevarÍa de moscÚ a la habana cuba, viajÓ vacÍa. >> saltÓ del anonimato a la fama luego que filtrÓ a medios de prensa informaciÓn sobre programas de espionaje cibernÉtico por parte del gobierno norteamericano en estados unidos y otros paÍses huyÓ de estados unidos a hong kong y se escondiÓ para evadir la justicia estadounidense. >> se revelÓ que el fin de semana habÍa viajado a moscÚ y hoy saldrÍa a cuba pero la isla caribeÑa serÍa una escala para llegar a ecuador paÍs al que solicitÓ asilo polÍtico en cuba dicen ver con buenos ojos que le presten ayuda a snowden. >> es la Única vÍa que tenia para no ser capturado por servicios de estados unidos. >> estados unidos no eso que dicen que hay libertad de expresiÓn no es realmente verdadero. >> estados unidos advirtiÓ a naciones latinoamericanas para que no le den refugio al ex empleado de la cia porque les traerÍa consecuencias diplomÁtica dijo el que esta trabajando con otros paÍses para asegurar que la ley se cumpla. >> sabemos que estamos siguiendo todos los canales lega

flight bound for cuba he was reportedly booking booked in and after spending the night at a moscow airport. this footage from our correspondent on the airplane seat snowden was meant to be occupying a few hours the flight wonder u.s. airspace where the u.s. will have a chance to intercept the aeroflot jet. washington trying to corner snowden criticizing every country he passes through calling for his immediate deportation. four pm in moscow i'm at present good to have you with us here on r t our top story the world's media have turned into plane spotters tracking one transatlantic flight as it moves across leaving russian airspace the one that whistleblower edward snowden was supposed to be on let's track his journey the plane left moscow a couple of hours ago artesia is aboard that flight but no sign of edward snowden on the plane now it is due to travel across the atlantic and then it's due to enter u.s. airspace right around here in the northeast of the u.s. around the new york area where it is possible that it could be intercepted possible by u.s. jets now we're not sure about