biggest and best ever that's russia's promise for the twenty eight hundred football world cup as it gets an official endorsement to host the planet's largest sporting event. i'll have all the latest from st petersburg where the president sepp blatter has put pen to paper on the document confirming russia is the host of the twenty eighteen wilco finals. looking back at the week's top stories poland will stage a reconstruction a lot of staples presidential plane crash claiming the russian lead will board leave some questions unanswered. russia pledges its support to rebuild afghanistan as president karzai visits moscow. lawyers for alleged russian arms dealer make their brood set to challenge the u.s. government attempt to prosecute the man dubbed by western media the merchant of death.

five 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 promises to stage a tournament like no other when it hosts the world cup in twenty eighteen earlier the president officially handed over the biggest sporting event on the planet to the country sports minister or he's peter oliver 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 the first 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 belive 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 stodgy winter olympics and 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 up. to the fee for 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 of 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. i can assure you that we will work together very closely on this joint venture who 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 two 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 russia 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 now the 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 to 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 it's what everybody is talking about come two thousand. trying out of 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 a rush hour last april warsaw insists the russian led probe into the tragedy which claims pilot error leave some unanswered questions but as artie's hairiness are reports calls for a new investigation may have political motivations. polish prime minister donald tusk attempting to calm and increasingly angry parliament this week. the polish government wants the truth to be complete then we realize this would 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 on 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 crash they were radically misled and not warned 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 with a 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 polling has been very critical of the report

i'll be interested commission for instance for not publishing including in its in its report in the stands a transcript of conversations off air controllers with the plane the commission has now post that transcript on its website as if post-fact recognizing the address 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 for it is hard for players to handle a difficult truth and this is a difficult truth we have calls 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 a mounting domestic agenda makes that a tough task regardless of who is to blame the share magnitude of this crash and the human tragedy of it are undeniable that's why officials both in 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 cashman as our r.t. moscow. stay with us plenty more headed your way still ahead the story of a fine citizen being forced out supporters rally for a foreign woman who's lived in norway since childhood but now faces deportation after her asylum request got rejected. as though israel has ruled

that the military raid on a gaza aid flotilla last may was legal nine turkish activists died when israeli commandos raided a ship sparking strong international condemnation 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 no value or credibility sorry about you from the legal side or that protects the freedom of movement of palestinians tells r t the main concern is that the report fails to criticize the blockade she believes the 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 are 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 two civilian restrictions could be legal under international law that's what we disagree with. russia's promising to support afghanistan after coalition forces withdraw from the troubled region in three years president medvedev has pledged came with came during talks with ahmed karzai and moscow leaders also promised to clamp down on the floor of afghan drugs from which russia suffers the most or he's a nice in our way has the details 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 over 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. russia helping afghanistan rebuild itself and re re develop its institutional

capacity but also by off 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 it's now half a billion u.s. dollars president carter 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 coming in for russia

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 with the problem talking directly to the leaders of the two main threats coming out of afghanistan drugs and. arisen no one feels that hit closer to home more than ross 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 we'll bring you his thoughts on pub walls mounting problems in russia's role and possibly helping solve them in a little more than an hour here on our. president medvedev has reaffirmed russia's commitment to an independent palestinian state with the capital in east jerusalem this comes after talks with palestinian president mahmoud abbas in the west bank on tuesday abbas that made better for russia's humanitarian financial and security

aide to the palestinians middle east peace also came up when the russian president later met with king abdullah of jordan that event as a middle east tour was initially supposed to include israel but a walkout of the foreign ministry of air that was hansel hora palestinian minister not believes that russia can play a big part in establishing regional peace. but they tried to convince netanyahu to stop through their occupation through building new since women the gaza blockade to stop the measures they're taking in jerusalem the americans failed to do this they admitted and now put more pressure on us trying to bring us back to the negotiating table and if you know who uses the current government as an excuse say he cannot make a decision under this government russia recognize the independent palestinian state in one hundred eighty eight with the nine hundred sixty seven borders and with its capital in jerusalem and never denied that decision in other words many things show that russia is serious about its intentions it keeps reminding the world about the

decisions that have been made before but in no forgotten. commentary from former palestinian foreign minister nabil shaath. viktor boots 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 also argues the legal grounds of his extradition from thailand to the u.s. in november are he's honest has more. i want to fire every twelve people. i require. 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. the merchant of death right and you've got him in your hands right he's in custody it's a great feeling of presumption of innocence out the window all these nicknames exist for one man. has not committed any criminal activity and has not been found guilty neither in the u.s. 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 boot 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 it was based according to boots tie and russian lawyers his case to this moment remains in. court meaning there was no official decision of an extradition meanwhile dubbed an international arms trafficker by america picture 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 booth was fabricated and calls what happened to him kidnapping yeah. i can accept the possibility that

victor boot might have some information that might be of interest 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 onto their territory moods defense team is set to file motions questioning how and why the man was brought to the u.s. as well as whether or not the recordings used against picture were obtained in accordance with the thai law make sure boots stands confident that he is 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. r.t. new york. has plenty more online for you a click away at our. here's

a look right now. take a look at possibly the coolest things of a few in the world where the temperature is never of the lightest four degrees centigrade was. a crock of ukrainians it was little more than a pinch you after swallowing a female visitors mobile phone creature became depressed off the top and that really refused to return any call. or find out more on this. the other stories that are. in the. case of a russian born asylum seeker in norway has brought the plight of illegal immigrants in the country to the steps of the parliament in oslo civil rights groups have turned out to show their support for maria i believe who is awaiting deportation despite being brought up in educated in norway or he's a lawyer and it explains. the clock is ticking for maria and any 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 talked about it but they are now irish of their own 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 little say in their way but their father he was no that's up to. when he. came to seek asylum so we're here to protest that their split in family has to get through a one more immigrant they're 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 and to most his 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 leave very up. mistake at the moment. there's still a chance that the immigration authorities might rethink the case but whatever happens to mark has been made these people are mobilized in value 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 media 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 new 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 her deportation almost a certainty. oh it's late. world powers couldn't master disappointment of the outcome over the latest talks over iran's controversial nuclear program and though she says in istanbul failed to reach any agreement or even set a deadline for future discussions he used foreign policy chief says iran isn't cooperated enough and will remain under strict u.n. sanctions but iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad says he expects positive results from further talks to iran and says it will not freeze its uranium enrichment

program saying every country has a right to peaceful nuclear power here national community still concerned that iran is trying to develop an atomic bomb which the country denies russia's deputy foreign minister sergei rudd says that even though a deal wasn't reach a negotiated were not entirely in vain. i wouldn't agree that these talks for you i think it was an important opportunity that was used by both parties to move. forward i would say i'm encouraged by the outcome but to put it that i'm squarely disappointed would be in the words statement my hope is that after the stumble round. the ring in part the will consider. in a very serious manner these eight years and specific proposals that have been put forward as a russia says as i believe many in the world. equally

. share this view there is no other way there is no alternative to the negotiations and then gauge minute effort everything else is you know. deadlock we need to continuously further negotiations effort and this is what russia intends to do in the period after eastern. commentary from russia's deputy foreign minister sergey lavrov more of elations from wiki leaks this week criticized opposition groups in russia for their incompetence in whistleblower published diplomatic cables in which the us ambassador to moscow brands the anti kremlin movements as unsustainable and immature the files also show that the opposition looks beyond russia often seeking washington's help the secret cables suggest us embassy staff in moscow have grown tired of frequent pleas for cash and political aide john loughlin from the paris based institute of democracy

in cooperation says anti-government pleas will fall on deaf ears in obama's america . the opposition does not have a great deal of support in the country in russia and that's why they spend their time going cap in hand to foreign supporters in this case the americans are no one in denouncing the americans propensity for financing both political groups and non-governmental organizations which in fact pursue a political agenda so i salute lee think that that is wrong and i think that that has happened a lot over the last twenty years throughout the former warsaw pact countries but these particular documents show frustration on the part of these groups with the new obama foreign policy the reset because these groups are going to the americans and saying that they don't feel that the denunciation is active enough so they are the ones asking for more and the americans in these documents at least being

slightly reserved and slightly reactive and saying that in fact they are already doing as much as they can. take a look now at some other stories making headlines across the globe but in ireland the party leader with the coalition government and called for the march general election to move forward john gormley says his party's patients had to run out after weeks of political turmoil in the country but promised to support next week's finance bill from opposition benches latest resignation comes a day after prime minister brian cowen stepped down as leader of his party amid pressure due to the country's economic crisis. at least ten people have been killed in a series of bombings across iraq's capital baghdad more than thirty others were injured by car bombs appeared to be part of a coordinated attack targeting police and shia pilgrims near busy roads in the city officials say the attacks were designed to show 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. and police in tunisia have arrested two

allies of ousted president ben ali and amid a renewed protests against the interim government demonstrators are demanding that the prime minister resign immediately mohamed ghannouchi has already valid to quit after fresh elections are held the transitional government promised to hold a vote within six months but still hasn't set a date the political chaos follows month long uprising that deposed the country's leader seventy eight people died in the rest. you're back with an update after a short break stay with us as we wrap up the week's news here r.t. .

or. comes. to the environment coming up. this is street still keeps its secrets but now it's time to reveal the hidden from the soviet files house on the embankment and on t.v.

. the close up team has been to the arms from egypt 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 from the basics take for granted. leave the public russia close up. more news today. these are the images they are seeing from the streets of canada.