with thirty thousand people dying every year in russia from heroin addiction president dmitri medvedev calls for timor to be drug trafficking and terror as he meets with his central asian counterparts. russian engineers fuel up the first nuclear power plant in the middle east iran's share reactor is expected to start producing electricity within a month. the thai government says it will make the final call on whether to extradite alleged russian arms trader victor boot a bangkok court had said that he was and he will be sent to the u.s. to face charges of terrorism and illegal weapons deal. and

this week the world football governing body visited russia to assess its potential to host the twenty eighteen or twenty twenty two world cup russia has pledged visa free travel and purpose built arenas if it wins the big. seven o'clock in moscow thanks for joining us here on our team as we wrap up the week's news our top story drug trafficking and terrorism drug trafficking terrorism and poverty in central asia where the focus of a summit this week in russia's resort city of sochi president medvedev hosted the leaders of afghanistan pakistan and. outlining a set of actions designed to combat common threats artesia catarina groucho of a has the details totally straight yes. which was just.

and they weren't just talking weather terrorism poverty and one other burning topic took a front seat as russia hosted its three central asian neighbors in sochi. we focused on the drug threat because it's a common problem we should face up to it together not individually know that afghanistan no russia can solve the problem in their own problem and it was no coincidence president medvedev singled out these two countries afghanistan is the world's largest opium producer russia the world's largest consumer what costs one country thirty thousand human lives a year is a profitable business for the other opium makes fifty two percent of the of going to g.d.p. now and in the hurry market i think of going to stand at record as not a far larger two percent of the whole market so we whole economy is based on drugs there is even a term that afghanistan is a drug based economy afghan heroin kills more russians in six months than the whole

ten year long soviet military complain kill soldiers that's why russia is keen to take the lead in fighting the threat every third person who dies of opium abuse is in russia and the politics feels another worldwide evil terrorism and this is what also really touches russia's raw nerve. russia may not be directly involved in the war in afghanistan but it is sensitive to the instability of the conflict is causing in the region and many believe the two main security threats drug trafficking and islamic radicalism will not be defeated while needles afghan war rages on their current region is a very important you know as americans and european allies have failed in solving the problem i think russia now can contribute very much and the russian president has taken a very prudent approach it seems he tries to solve the. in complex he tried to talk

directly to the leaders of all those contras involved so russia seeks political solutions. very reassured his neighbors alongside the police who will welcome financial support russia's already written over the last portion of afghanistan's stance the final chunk of twelve billion dollars and more how to come in the form of helicopters and other military hardware securing poorest borders seems from the outside a mission impossible but by bringing in the pool neighbors of this troubled region together russia is keen to show it is a new mood to give up the fight weeks in the crash of the r t from sochi. on saturday the middle east saw its first nuclear power plant switched on in iran the southern city of bush air the reactor built by russia has started operating under the strict control of the un atomic watchdog archies oksana boyko reports on the watch that happen despite international concerns or tehran's nuclear ambitions.

more than thirty years in the making with a price tag of over two billion dollars by all accounts the pushchair nuclear power plant is an expensive undertaking and one for which iran has spared no expense the chaplet have always been more than just an education are ready to sell it for money it's a symbol of the country's social progress and proof but it's more in touch by critics the embodiment of the slavic republics an ideological backwardness and a vivid example of a building which a diplomatic bargaining chip for years the station has finally come closer to fulfilling its practical purpose but the first batch of nuclear fuel just loaded into the reactor the station is expected to start producing electricity by the end of this year but iran's top nuclear officials says it's already time for celebration we are grateful to the people of russia to the government of pressure to our great friends in russia were. instrumental in making ghosts

witnessing today. had not been the assistance of the russians certainly would not have been witnessing such a great thing with temperatures well over forty degrees centigrade the plant is a vivid example of why iran needs to produce more of chasity even with air conditioning running at full tilt the heat is still too much to bear for years russia's top nuclear fishel sergei kerry younker has been working up a sweat to defend moscow's cooperation with iran it when you go it's a unique venture because it's very difficult to build new equipment into the equipment that was there from the start the bushehr power plants is an international project over ten countries supplied the equipment european countries as well as asia pacific countries while some countries remain concerned about iran's use of russian nuclear few people of pushchair also have reasons to be fearful valeri in their lima. i have been working at this station for three years

only the sas initially she was apprehensive about bringing their children to iran for medical reasons but knows she and her husband have other concerns. and we just saw reports online claiming israel is planning to bomb it's scary when they do local training here there is shooting in airplanes a flying you never know if it's real or not maybe they're preparing for something. to many here is a real threat to bomb the station evoke painful memories of the 1980's when saddam hussein's old tillery berridge the causing substantial damage to the station itself yet iranian officials i know confident history won't repeat itself we're going to use it because we know this is a game soon to. be you need a new piece that we should. be so on the. off the. it's psychological. we do not take it seriously although we are and.

we are vigilant but this does not mean we're seeing the suv use russia's role in supplying fuel and technology to iran man fettle some but it could also prevent further confrontation between the two neighbors adding yet another dimension to the if brace enrichment for peaceful purposes are to see bush era iran still to come in the program eyewitness account r.t. goes to if you had to go to meet a victim of the high street terror attack that wounded thirty plus. i started to look at the american history and politics and realize that my whole life i had been lied to. some u.s. nationals are choosing to renounce their citizenship after finding the privilege might not be worth the price. but first the government of thailand says it will

make the final call on whether the suspected russian arms dealer viktor boot will be extradited to the united states on friday a thai appeals court order that he be handed over to washington face charges of terrorism and the links to armed conflicts in latin america hostile strongly condemned the ruling saying it's politically motivated who was arrested in bangkok two and a half years ago in a sting operation by u.s. law enforcement he's been behind bars ever since parties catarina has more. how the woods lord of war there are over five hundred fifty million firearms in the world wide circulation that's one firearm for every twelve people on the planet. the only question is. how do we are in the other eleven and his allegedly a life prototype russian businessman victor boot nicknamed the merchant of death denied all accusations of arms selling and laughed off parallels well i don't know very sort of nicolas cage when the to play this sort of law for this very soon and

i feel. it's a bad move on his statement never changed even when he came from behind bars in the infamous bangkok helton but that did not stop the thai appeals court from ordering his extradition to the united states despite the fact that the country's criminal court earlier refused to do just that the ruling has outraged not only his family but his native country as well so that it was started at a time i appeal court has made this political decision but according to the information we have this ruling was made under very strong outside pressure and this is upsetting as for the interests of this russian citizen we've been assisting him for all these months we've been in touch with his lawyers in this family and will continue to do our best to get him returned to his homeland and now the question everyone is asking is what does victor boot know to make the americans want him this badly victor board is a walking intelligence treasure trove has a phenomenal phenomenal photographic memory and because what knows too much he is

more dangerous than we kill eggs for the u s smuggling role in weapons in not only in africa and latin america but all over the world but not many people are willing to give booth the type of credit given to him by the u.s. he's possibly a merchant of some death but he certainly isn't the man the u.s. made you would call them merchant of death. around quite a large airline operation and mainly in africa and i would think that ninety five percent of his flights were ordinary commercial goods i know you flew televisions you from washing powder all sorts of things so we're only talking about five percent of the cargoes possibly being. even just not itself illegal in a long and drawn out extradition hearing it took over two years the united states changed added and modify their charges against mr boot to include violating international treaty laws as well as arms trafficking his family believes at some

point it became a process for the process instead of a process for justice. with this decision if you will has demonstrated that the work of the criminal court has no value at all of evidence gathering the questioning of eye witness sees all this work they need to lower courts related to big extradition to the u.s. has been through in a way the courts of appeal is controlled by the tiny government directly and so on huge pressure from the us that's trial may be over but his tribulations are far from it he faces years in prison and have to finds in all possible scenarios the only one bankable is a hollywood one the sequel to hollywood florida boy is already rumored to be in the making but the boot may have to wait a lot longer than ordinary moviegoers to see the really. cast readers are about to moscow was suspected organizer of the deadly moscow metro bombings has been killed

by russian security forces during a shoot out in dagestan in russia south four other alleged militants were also killed a large number of documents revealing the militants funding sources and their terror attack plans have also been found at the site. is believed to be the leader of the militant group in dagestan for more than two years has been both national and international wanted list security officials believe that god has for. wrong ties with the suicide bomber or shut up of who is one of the two female attackers that blew themselves up on moscow's metro in march forty people were killed more than one hundred wounded by the twin blasts. this we saw another terror attack in iraq another terror attack in russia's volatile and north caucasus region on tuesday thirty people were wounded when a massive car bomb exploded outside a cafe in the city of quetta go risk the search continues for those responsible parties are. went to meet some of the victims need to

make fuel even mix in cocktails he says the barman it one of the particles kathy's on the street the locals call broadway as a favor to colleague he agreed to swap shifts and it just off to four in the afternoon last tuesday he and his student want to change actually meant this is just like a course away in a war the new boy frankly i didn't want to go to work that day so i was glad when it rained heavy rain i thought it would be cooler outside unless people in the cafe . say that if the weather didn't change in the next hour we could all go home ten minutes later i was picking him from under the rubble of the cafe. it all happened quickly as if something really big moving at high speed foul from the sky a car stuffed with explosives parked near the cafe blew up leaving many people injured and a huge hole where mika's cafe wants to be able. to i was on the phone

that's when my left ear is ok i started shouting because my is part i didn't have any thoughts until i got up and saw the current pieces then i turned back and saw no one where there should be people so as if on autopilot i went to help them out that's it i had to return to the scene later to shut off the gas to prevent another explosion has just left hospital and returned to the scene he's reluctant to be alone and wants someone close to him while we talk this area still sealed by police has become a meeting point for the survivors see i've got bruises here in there and you're right i say ok i was sitting with my back to the chair i can get one dreadful moment of my mind there was a guy he lost one eye in the blast and they gave him a cloth be covered his face and then he wanted to look at the cloth and couldn't and panicked with these stories are stored in their memories for good lucky to be

alive to friends a retelling afrin detail of the day. i saw me car three to four minutes after the explosion he was alive but i saw him from behind and i didn't know how badly he was injured i went to the hospital and understood that the bruises are worse than what he said no mika is trying to mend his life and understand who was behind the explosion but like many others in pianta gorski he can't find any excuse for targeting the innocent there rain a day or a chance to road these were the small things that after the explosion gave a new meaning to the people of calculus and as like i mean what his friends thank god for keeping him alive his biggest wish now is to leave they say to so he can labor for life thanks to what he thinks was divine intervention at family which over our. hundreds of americans are surrendering their citizenship every year while

for many it's a financial consideration for others it's in protest at the nation's foreign policy artie's laura asks one former patriot why he said goodbye can o'keefe grew up an american in a nation that he believed was the greatest in the world a bastion of freedom and democracy in order to protect those ideals he joined the marine corps and went to fight for his country in the gulf war and that's when the american dream became a nightmare i was punished for speaking out about something that my superiors were doing and my life became extremely difficult upon my return with a different perspective i started to look at american history and politics and realized that my whole life i had been lied to and i believed in those ideals you know i believed in that and when i found out that these ideals were really the way america was presenting itself in the world it became clear to me at some point that i would renounce citizenship and renounce if he did keith applied to the state

department to stop being american claim political asylum in holland and burned his u.s. passport o'keefe knows that no so everyone will agree with what he's done some maintain he could have exerted more pressure from inside the system but however they choose to do it middle east commentator alan hart says americans must do something i have a love hate relationship with america on one level americans are the most uninformed misinformed dumbest people on the face of god's earth that's the bad news. deep down they're also the most idealistic so i say and americans didn't mind me saying if they were properly informed about the causes and effects of things in the middle east. they could become engaged to make their democracy would it hasn't always been this way at the end of the second world war the us was

leading the world both economically and morally but according to carol turner from the stop the war coalition it steadily if not good will because it's failing to give its ethical lead now attorneys it's increasingly forced back to using its military power to impose its will can o'keefe is committed to changing that sense since giving up his u.s. citizenship has made it his mission to oppose u.s. military action wherever he can he was on board one of the gaza bound aid ships raided by israeli commandos in may and following that he was branded a terrorist by israel ken o'keefe now an irish citizen giving up his country wasn't an easy decision and he insists it wasn't one borne out of hatred you know i realize that a certain point that citizenship was a social contract and i didn't agree to the charms of the contract obligations you have rights and you have obligations among the obligations is paying taxes those

taxes are being used to commit mass murder i don't agree to that a lot of people misinterpret renounce your citizenship or hate america and that's absolutely not the case at all i have a deep love for the american people and i wish that the ideal of america became a reality until that dream becomes a reality o'keefe and others like him will be staying away from the land of the free and the home of the brave you are at it. just ahead our teams close up team travels to a secluded spot. right now on a four hour journey by. both were not ill and that's the excessively during the summer months on this i remember visiting a village populated by the more people the more meeting those relatives the explore the lives of the more people their traditions their culture past. but first just four years to go till russia host the winter olympics and it could be just eight years until

a stages another major sporting event football's world cup fever inspectors are assessing the country's readiness to hold the tournament another twenty eighteen or twenty twenty two parties are better reports that prospect is already inspiring russia's young football stars of tomorrow to train harder today. these boys football is their life they train every single day just twelve years old and if the world cup does come to russia in twenty eighteen the hopes and expectations of a nation resting on their shoulders pressure that would make others of their age crumble but for the boys at spartak moscow is youth academy discipline and desire and more important it's not the fear of failure that drives them is the fear of missing the chance to play in a world cup on home turf their mission will receive more strategy and if they really want russia to host the twenty mile cap it's my life's purpose if we keep working hard we have

a good chance of making the team but the training is no walk in the park before they can even touch the ball they must endure a punishing nonstop fitness routine for the first hour the coaches know the boys have talent but it's their hunger that's the key this man is no stranger to that he knows what it takes to play in a world cup. or fit with a defender for the u.s.s.r. in the one nine hundred seventy championships drugs approach it was real but i was gripped by a burning desire to see the world but how could i do that in those days so i told myself that i would be a football player but i pledged that never in my life would i smoke a cigarette or drink a gram of wine or beer you know he never had the chance to play in a world cup at home but he knows it's something not to be missed and visiting with playing in front of your own fans hearing the whole country support behind you is something you can't beat richard as a footballer you want nothing else i never got the chance but if these boys do very little change their lives was who pulls

a matter of national pride in russia this is how the country reacted when the team reached the semifinals of the two thousand and eight european championship the. hope this support will swing fief is vote this. the most important thing is that is a national sport which is loved in every city in village in this country with. the sound support here is unconditional they just want me to. speed will help me to see it that with the ball in the world cup of home would give to you to. put those. three civil talented young lawyers to defend the honor of. the emblems of pressure on their chest you will notice that on the only thing these boys dream. on cuban it's. moscow. turning out of some other stories making headlines across the globe thirty three miners have been found alive deep

inside a chilean mine after seventeen days trapped underground rescuers sent a probe almost seven hundred meters into the collapsed shaft with which came back with a handwritten note saying quote all thirty three of us are alive and well but emergency services say it could take up to four months to freedom the men managed to survive in an emergency shelter food and oxygen will now be lowered down to them. egypt's top prosecutor blames poor security for the theft of a van gogh painting from the cairo museum on saturday none of the alarms and only seven out of forty three cameras was operational when the canvas was taken he was cut the poppy flower from its frame before making a clean getaway with the with the work value got fifty million dollars the country's culture minister caused confusion when he mistakenly said the painting had been recovered. police in brazil are searching for a gunman responsible for saturday's attack at a hotel the armed men held more than thirty people hostage at the intercontinental

in rio one person was killed four police officers wounded during the siege police believe the gunmen have drug dealing connections ten people have been arrested but dozens of the attackers managed to escape. when we wind up our week in review with our russia close up series this week our team has been to the region of our highway asking northwest russia and the coast of the white sand lies the land of the power people for generations communities of sailors fishermen and carpenters of all thrive from the area's natural resources artie's tests are still want to explore they were one of the first conquerors of the northern waters fisherman. not so many fish and so season now soundman is a northern fish it comes to revisit responding ship builders sea captains the

boomers have a bond with the sea unbroken for centuries yes my grandfather used to build one mast and two mast boats he was one of the best ship builders out there everyone in my family is connected to the sea they were the sail is all captains. work of is a native of but to keep got island one that he calls the homeland of captains so we travelled to put it a four hour boat journey to an island only accessible during the summer months today it's inhabited by about four hundred to morris descendants of the very first settlers here we discovered that the so-called traditional two more way of life is certainly not just something out of a history book. constructing wooden boats using old techniques a lot of novel this is a call about supposed to kind of boat it's very stable on the sea it rises and falls smoothly with the waves. making their own fish nets.

raiding the ropes used for making those fish nets or catching their own fish but i've been fishing for a long time now this year i caught a big fish this big and living in uniquely morehouse's the houses in this village are very well preserved dating back a few hundred years now this house in particular is three hundred years old and a unique feature of these old houses is this fireplace here they cook and they bake but it also has another use on top of it is a bed which they use during winter so they can have a warm bed during the harsh conditions for the poor more adapting to whatever mother nature throws at them has become second nature this bridge for example is down every winter and rebuilt every spring. this recipients is also what has kept their culture alive throughout the centuries. and susie asked a cliche airing

a heritage they're proud to call their own. for you i've been singing my who life my mother still sings we collect old retorts and songs and revive them this dress nuance to my grandmother when i put on this dress i feel very good and have this desire to sing old songs a desire she hopes to pass along to her young grandson. artie hungus region. i'll be back with a recap of the week's news in just a couple of minutes stay with us on r.t. .

news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. trying to corporations are on the day. wealthy british style. sometimes very surprised this morning. daryn.