the biggest and best ever about russia's promise for the twenty eight hundred football world cup as it gets official endorsement to host the planet's largest sporting event. i'll have all the latest from st petersburg where the feet of president sepp blatter has put pen to paper on the document confirming russia is the host of the twenty eighteen wilco finals illit back at the week's top stories poland will stage a reconstruction a la staples presidential plane crash that claimed claiming the russian lead report some questions on. russia pledges of support to rebuild war torn afghanistan as president karzai visits moscow. protests in oslo as norwegians lend their support to a russian born immigrant about to be deported despite being brought up in the country and voted

a model citizen because. it's four am in moscow i mattress or bring you today's top stories and a look back at the week's news here on r t russia is promising to stage a tournament like no other when it hosts the world cup in twenty eighteen earlier the fee for president officially handed over the biggest sporting event on the planet to the country sports minister peter all of our reports from st petersburg where the ceremony happened. it's all official now they signed today a specially a three headed contract between the russian football union and the russian government well essentially that means is that if they say that they will guarantee that the world cup will be held in russia in twenty eighteen the russian government say that they will provide the russian football union with all of the required help that they need to be able to put it on and the russian football union say that they

will put it on no this comes after we heard just a couple of months ago that they would be given the chance to host the tournament in twenty eighty as you say the first time she's ever hosted it the first time it will ever be hosted in eastern europe now before the signing ceremony said blatter the fever president met with prime minister vladimir putin and believe me putin during that meeting talk to journalists and said they'll be able to put on a fantastic told him and. we would like to use the experience we've already gained in preparing for the store to winter olympics in twenty fourteen we've been working closely together with the international olympic committee on this and we've build up a very constructive business relationship with them i would like to ask you to point to specialists from fee for to come and work here together with us to be present from the very first day of our common interest rise you can take part in the entire process of preparing for the twenty. plus of the fifa president talks and often an awful lot about the world game is football and he's really trying to make it part

of his legacy to take the world cup finals as far flung corners of the world as he possibly can here the first time will be in eastern europe and after that the world cup goes to the middle east for the first time with guitar taking the on are there now mr blatter was talking about the russian said he was speaking with prime minister vladimir putin as well as the the heads of the russian football union and he seems to be fully confident that russia can put on a show. i'm very pleased that the russian government is playing a direct rule in oregon. the world cup i can assure you that we will work together very closely on this joint venture will provide support but the lion's share of responsibility rests on russia i'm certain that the world cup will be held at the highest possible level and will turn into a truly magnificent event initially when he is seven years it sounds like quite a long time but then you look at the work that needs to be done the russian delegation when they put across their bid to for the first two to host this

tournament they really focus quite a lot on the potential that could come from having the tournament here in russia now a lot of the stadiums haven't actually been built there will be used in the in the tournament in seven years time a massive undertaking there of course what he does have some great footballing stadiums already luzhniki in moscow hosted the champions league final a couple years back did a great job there they'll be getting a major facelift but they'll be stadiums built brand new stadiums built in cities around the country but it's not just the stadiums who are looking at is a world cup being held in the biggest country in the world and fans have to be able to get around to make sure that they can travel efficiently and safely and quickly to the different areas where the tournament is being held you know the big had in place a massive proposal to build a high speed train link between the cities where the games will be held also airports will be refitted out motorways relate you expecting

a massive influx of people from all over the world coming here and they're going to have to make sure that they can have in place a transport system that they can get around and hotels so that they have a good time when they come here and at the football is what everybody is talking about come two thousand. turning now to the week's other top stories poland plans to carry out a reconstruction of the plane crash that killed president kaczynski and his delegation in russia last april warsaw insists the russian led probe into the tragedy that blames pilot error leaves some unanswered questions but artie's caterina's are reports that calls for a new investigation may have some political motivations. polish prime minister donald tusk attempting to calm an increasingly angry parliament this week. the polish government wants the truth to be complete then we realize this will be inconvenient for many there's a complex number of causes for the crash it's convenient for some to blame the pilots that were under pressure for others it will be convenient to blame the

russians but it won't be the whole truth the organization that seeks the truth mustn't be influenced by forces in poland that want it to be convenient for them. but opposition leaders don't seem to be heeding the call intent and avoiding full responsibility for april's plane crash there flooding the polish media with conspiracy theories and enraged accusations. that in light of what we know today about the crew of the plane there wasn't necessarily a new pressure they were radically misled and not warrant and this was a cause of the accident in relations to cause the fault is on the russian side. but is this grief talking or shrewd political ambition or the parliamentary election not far off it suggested that claiming the interstate aviation committee's report was biased and incomplete is a surefire way to win voters but even those who accept the findings have issues with the way that they were presented the poem has been very critical of the report

commissioned for instance for not publishing including in its report in the stands a transcript of conversations off air controllers with the plane the commission has now published that transcript on its website as if post-fact recognizing the address the sooner for the polish people it's a painful subject especially as it brings back some uncomfortable memories about the flights of high level officials. in august two thousand and eight a presidential air crew with threatened with the sack after refusing to land citing bad weather conditions there's also a question of insufficient training raised after crash also in two thousand and eight which killed a number of polish military personnel that's why some feel that accepting full responsibility for this millions tragedy would be almost like admitting it could have been prevented and you up for good or it is hard for posed to handle a difficult truth and this is

a difficult truth we have calls looking for some things in this ripples which help us to shift some responsibility away from us and the situation the pressures clear the drive to keep politics from interfering with improving relations between moscow and warsaw while amounting domestic agenda makes that a tough task regardless of who is to blame the sheer magnitude of this crash and the human tragedy of it are undeniable that's why officials both and russia and poland have called for the memories of those who lost lives and to be respected for the polish opposition however the promise of potential political leverage could turn out to be a lot more tempting. kashrut as are the r.t.e. moscow as poland prepares for its investigation into the crash aviation security expert chris yates says further digging won't change the facts. the evidence is the evidence it is hard evidence it is factual. and we simply can't change

that with yet another investigation into the events you know we're talking about as a very clear instructions from a traffic controller that to the pilots of the new conditions for the landing the weather conditions was such that the ports was below what operating in the pilots on board the aircraft should have taken. but quite clearly some form of pressure was brought to bear so the psychological pressure will suchlike to schools the pilots to take what amounts to a rush decision to attempt to make a landing field on the. british aviation expert crissy ates giving us his insight will stay with us here in our coming up playing the transatlantic blame game a u.s. force that's a date for the alleged russian arms dealer viktor group but his lawyers cry foul saying the government's breaking the law will tell you more.

snapshots from throwing more money into the economic bailout fund we hear what that means for struggling eurozone countries. so israel has rolled out the military raid on a gaza aid flotilla last may was legal nightmarish activists died when israeli commandos raided a ship sparking strong international condemnation the panel looking into it was made up of four israelis in two foreign observers turkey's prime minister has criticized the inquiry saying it has you know value or credibility sorry about she from the legal center that protects the freedom of movement of palestinians tells r.t. the main concern is that the report fails to criticize the blockade that she says is stifling life in gaza. no commission of inquiry in the world can justify deliberately restricting the passage of people and goods in order to paralyze the economy and prevent normal life from taking place in gaza and i'm sorry to say that's exactly what the israeli policy did we think that the lesson from the flotilla incident should be that israel has

a right to prevent weapons from entering gaza but it doesn't have a right to do what it's still doing which is to prevent surely civilian goods from coming in and out in order to punish the population you have to remember israel controls gaza's borders and that control creates obligations when you control a civilian population you're responsible for their rights and the law of occupation says that even under circumstances of security risks you have to allow people to lead normal lives so students need to be able to travel from gaza to the west bank in order to study families need to be able to travel back and forth in order to be to be reunited with each other and merchants in gaza have a right to sell their goods outside of gaza israel can certainly inspect the goods and make sure there's no security threat but that's all it can do and i'm sorry to say that that's not the case right now and the commission made a disturbing finding when it said that those civilian restrictions could be legal under international law that's what we disagree with russia is promising to support afghanistan after coalition forces withdraw from the troubled region in three years

president medvedev supplied came of talks with ahmed karzai and moscow leaders also promised to clamp down on the floor of afghan drugs from which russia suffers the most ortiz and he's an hour has more on the high level meeting on the first official visit of an afghan leader to moscow in two decades russia promises to lend a hand after western forces leave the war torn country. russia would like to see afghanistan as an independent and prosperous state with an effective government that's able to provide the development of afghanistan for decades to come. u.s. led coalition forces have been in the country since two thousand and one and are planning to withdraw combat forces in three years leaving afghanistan on its own russia has been watching u.s. operations very closely from a far more providing necessary transit routes for supplies and plan to continue support once the pullout is complete there is both the ability of russia and the

the need for russian afghanistan to engage with. not only in the manner of russia helping afghanistan rebuild itself and re re develop its institutional capacity but also by way of trade investment by interaction between or businesses which is very strong but you countries signed a trade in business cooperation deal over the past few years russian afghan trade turnover has increased more than four fold and is now half a billion u.s. dollars president carter's i mentioned that his country's developing economic relationship with the united states but the relationship with russia is developing a little larger scale again we should come back to a history more than one hundred forty enterprises were built by the soviet union driven karzai agreed to prioritize the fight against narcotics since russia bears the brunt of afghanistan's vast drugs production industry russia hope that

international forces could crush extremism in afghanistan and russian officials hope that maybe they could be able to stop the influx of drugs common interest but now a sea of americans. let's. say it clearly has failed in fighting extremism in afghanistan so now of course russian officials have to deal the problem talking directly to the leaders with the two main threats coming out of afghanistan drugs and. terrorism no one feels that hit closer to home more than russia was pledging to help develop support for the war torn country without ever having a russian soldier stepped foot on afghan soil and he's now a r t moscow. president karzai gave r.t. an exclusive interview during his visit to moscow i will bring you his thoughts on couples mounting problems and russia's role in helping solve them in fifteen minutes here on r t. the case of

a russian born asylum seeker in norway has brought the plight of illegal immigrants in the country to the steps of parliament in oslo civil rights groups have turned out to show their support for maria who is awaiting deportation despite being brought up and educated in norway or she's a lawyer and it has more. the clock is ticking for many as her supporters gather in central oslo for what may be the last time to protest her deportation from the country she's learnt to call home as things stand i merely could be sent to russia within days leaving behind her friends the land she grew up in but this is no longer just about maria with her book illegal norwegian and her activism she's managed to draw attention to the plight of all people struggling to stay in norway those without papers have no access to work education or health care and can't even get married before money i mean leave very few talks about it but they are now i receive their rooms have the possibility to have to have the same rights now i

think. this movement in support of her specific case. can develop into a movement supporting all the people in her situation it's a cause that unites different groups from organizations that campaigned specifically for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers to renowned human rights groups like amnesty everyone here has a story to tell and this family and their friends are no exception we are here today with a mother and two children who has a legal say in their way but their father he was not that certain. when he. came to seek asylum so we're here to protest that their split in family has to get through the a one more immigrant there demanding better rights and they see emily as their poster girl born muddiness salam of a north a settler her family fled when she was twelve they were denied asylum in norway but

stayed anyway over the years emily learned to speak fluent norwegian demosthenes degree and a job offer but the government insists she's illegal and must go her lawyer says that could happen within days it doesn't really very up. at the moment. there is still. the immigration authorities might rethink the case but whatever happens to. be made these people immobilized in found to protect all those without papers in no way which could be as many as twenty thousand out of a total population of only five million i mean he has succeeded in highlighting the plight of asylum seekers in norway they were previously seen as a group with little to offer and no resources to protect themselves but amélie has a huge number of friends and the ninety thousand members of her facebook page a testament to the level of support she enjoys doubleday the influence they enjoy looks limited with deportation almost

a certainty. oh it's late. i always find more on this on everything we cover a click away at our t. dot com here's what's online right now. and check this out possibly the coolest exhibit in the world where the temperature is never above minus four centigrade plus. if you stay or should you go over a lot of your lead and still manages to provoke controversy with the bass raging over what to do with his body. lawyers say they're ready to challenge the u.s. government decision to prosecute the alleged russian arms dealer in september if found guilty but faces a minimum twenty five years in prison his defense is also arguing the legal grounds of his extradition from thailand to be u.s. in november are he has more from new york. that's one firearm for every twelve people. are required. and only on the other eleven.

that's hollywood's take on forty four year old russian cargo dealing businessman victor boot but in real life is he really the merchant of death or the lord of war or simply a victim of propaganda u.s. prosecutors are not thinking twice about which label to pick the so-called merchant of death is now a federal inmate the american media months ahead of trial also have their mind made up this is the lord of war. merchant of death right and you've got him in your hands right he's in custody it's a great feeling with presumption of innocence out the window all these nicknames exist for one man. who has not committed any criminal activity and has not been found guilty neither in the us nor in any other country in america however he faces four charges. one conspiring to kill united states nationals two conspiring to kill united states officers and employees three conspiring to use an acquire

anti-aircraft missiles and for conspiring to provide material support to the for the united states has been eager to lay hands on for almost a decade there is no osama bin ladin no al qaida no problems in afghanistan no problems in iraq there is only victor boot the evil man upon the request of u.s. officials victor boot was arrested in thailand in two thousand and eight after two years of fighting for freedom in a thai court and found not guilty twice who was snatched up by american officials and taken to the u.s. with sirens and an airplane in the middle of the night building all the hype of a hollywood blockbuster but curiously boots case technically remains in thailand he was placed according to russian lawyers his case to this moment remains in a thai court meaning there was no official decision of an extradition meanwhile dubbed an international arms trafficker by america because your boot is in solitary confinement in

a manhattan prison his wife who was held at the airport for almost three hours upon her arrival to the big apple got the first glimpse of viktor at friday's technical hearings i don't think he's in the best state i'm worried about his health both physical and mental the family believes the case against it was fabricated and calls what happened to him by kidnapping the full sky i can accept the possibility that victor boot might have some information that might be of. interests to someone but why is it that other countries don't just think to themselves that there is someone who has some interesting information and why don't those governments just drag those people on to their territory defense team set to file motions questioning how and why the man was brought to the us as well as whether or not recordings used against a picture were obtained in accordance with the thai law make sure boots stands confident that he's the victim of a propaganda war launched in america and maintains his innocence the defense team

now has forty five days to present for motions to judge him awfulness of the extradition of a tribute to the united states is one of the key elements among them a trial date for now has been set for september twelfth if found guilty by the u.s. federal court victor boot could face up to a life sentence behind bars and parties. more of aleisha is from wiki leaks this week criticized the opposition groups in russia for its incompetence and whistleblower published diplomatic cables in which the us ambassador to moscow brands the anti kremlin movement says unsustainable and immature files also show that opposition groups look beyond russia regularly seeking washington's help secret cables are just american embassy staff in moscow have grown tired of frequent frequent pleas for cash and political aid investigative journalist webster tarpley says the leader of one anti-government movement has already made a bad name for himself. what we see in these papers is the russia director of the national security council michael mcfaul who is interested in grooming boris

nemtsov as a candidate to stop putin from becoming president again in two thousand and twelve which but powell obviously thinks this is what's going to happen and it seems to me the gaggle of people that they have working for them are are not going to be adequate to the task just a word about him soft this of course was one of the young wolves of the chernomyrdin yeltsin era and if you look at what he did every conceivable disaster in the in the book of economics the need visited hyperinflation a bubble a crash moment clip tour of privatization the coming of the oligarchs all of this is the handiwork of softened who now thinks that he should make a comeback and really fall in themself maybe the only people who believe this is possible. and he hopes of getting more immediate cash in the kitty for the eurozone bailout fund fell flat this week even though portugal and spain are teetering

financially and e.u. finance ministers meeting saw six of the wealthiest nations including germany and france are reluctant to boost the four hundred forty billion euros they have already committed british nigel farage says pumping up the fund will only keep struggling you members in an economic stranglehold. i think what they're doing here is they're reinforcing failure at the end of the day countries like greece and portugal and ireland and possibly. should never have joined the euro in the first place trapped inside the economic prison the whole set of policies that. i think the more we build up. the more in effect. this really is a tragedy because these people. that. we have mass demonstrations we have had people actually killed on the streets. if they hold the eurozone together. those countries are going to get worse and what it really needs

is a frank assessment which is there is an argument. with germany and holland and a few countries about possibly france as well but there is an optimal. can work together but for the north and south of europe to be stuck inside a monetary union is never ever going to work all we are doing here we're reinforcing failure what you've got here behind this whole european project when we talk about the union itself or whether we talk about the car and say we have a political class this that's the great battle that is going on in europe it's the battle between the political leaders and public opinion which increasingly is. now in the public opinion is going to win because you can't build a state and that's. without having the consent of the people and that has never been asked for and it's never been. commentary from british euro m.p. nigel faraj take

a look now at some of the main news today in ireland the green party leader has quit the coalition government and called for the march general election to be brought forward john gormley says his party's patients had run out after weeks of political turmoil in the country but promised to support next week's finance bill from opposition benches the latest resignation comes a day after prime minister brian cowen stepped down as leader of his party i mean pressure due to the country's economic crisis. at least ten people have been killed in a series of bombings across baghdad more than thirty others were injured by car bombs appear to be part of a cold war native attack that targeted police and shia pilgrims your busy roads in the city officials say the attacks were designed to show that iraq is unable to provide security ahead of an arab league summit in march last week more than one hundred fifty people were killed in a wave of explosions across the country. police in tunisia have arrested two allies of ousted president ben ali and amid renewed protests against the interim

government demonstrators are demanding that the prime minister resign immediately mohamed ghannouchi has already vowed to quit after fresh elections are held the transitional government promised to hold a vote within six months but still hasn't set a firm date the political chaos follows a month long uprising that deposed the country's leader seventy eight people were killed during the unrest. coming up shortly our exclusive interview with afghan president hamid karzai i'll be back with the headlines first though after a short break.

the close up team has been to the arms creature to the land developed by cossacks in ancient times. now wattie goes to the center of russian defense production. with christianity and shamanism existed side by side for centuries. people in remote villages a cut off from the basics we take for granted the complete good republic russia close up on r.t. .

russia would be soon which brightened if you knew about some move from finest impressions. these crews don't totty don't come.