starts on t.v. . the biggest and best ever that's russia's promise for the twenty eighteen a football world cup as it gets the official endorsement to hold 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 will cope finals. a look back at the week's top stories poland will stage reconstruction of last april spade all presidential plane crash claiming the russian lead report leaves some questions unanswered. russia pledges that support rebuild afghanistan as president karzai visits moscow. and 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. six am in moscow i'm mad as a good to have you with us as we take a look at the week's top stories and today's top stories here on r t russia is promising to stage a tournament like no other way to host the world cup in twenty eighteen earlier the future president officially handed over the biggest sporting event on the planet to the country sports minister or he's peter all over reports from st petersburg where the ceremony happens. it's all official no they signed today a three headed contract between the russian football union and the russian government while the senshi that means is if they say that they will guarantee that the world cup will be held in russia in twenty eight seeing the russian government say that they will. 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 now this comes after we heard just a couple of months ago that they would be given the chance to host the tournament in twenty eight say the first time bush has 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. during that meeting talk to journalists and said they'll be able to put on a fantastic told him. we would like to use the experience we've already gained in preparing for the starchy 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 specialists from fefe to come and work here together with us to be present from the very first day of our common enterprise and take part in the entire process of

preparing for the twenty cup set blots 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 of there now mr blatter was talking about the russian said he was speaking with prime minister vladimir putin as well as 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 organizing the world cup i can assure you that we will work together very closely on this joint venture fifo 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. seven years it sounds like quite

a long time but then you look at the work that needs to be the russian delegation when they put across the two for you for 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 which 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 new stadiums built in cities around the country but it's not just the stadiums who are looking at is the 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 so the beads 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 must've 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 on 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 and eighty. now poland is planning to carry out a reconstruction of the plane crash that killed president kaczynski and his delegation to russia last april or signed since the russian led probe into the tragedy that blames pilot error we have some unanswered questions but artie's karina's are reports calls for a new investigation may have 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 now me 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 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 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 commissioned for instance for not publishing including this report in the stands or 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 similar to 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 my tragedy would be almost like admitting it could have

been prevented and you up for good or for me it is hard for post to handle a difficult truth and this is a difficult truth we have calls things in these rules which help us to shoot 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 share 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 a smile 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 here on r t coming up playing the transatlantic blame game a u.s. court sets a date for the trial of the alleged russian arms trader victor boot but his lawyers are crying foul saying the government's breaking the law we'll tell you more plus

if. you are doing anything about it. now learning mandarin go. to be the resident finds out if it's business as usual for americans as china continues to rise against a week in the u.s. economy. but first israel has ruled that the military raid on a gaza aid flotilla last may was legal nine turkish activists died when israeli commandos raided the ship sparking strong international condemnation the panel was looking into it made up of four israelis in two foreign observers turkey's prime minister has already criticized the inquiry saying it has no value or credibility sorry about she from the legal side or that protects the freedom of movement of palestinians told r.t. the main concern is that the report fails to criticize the blockade that she says a stifling life in gaza. new 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 outlook ations 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. side 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 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 has pledged came at talks with ahmed karzai and moscow leaders also promise to clamp down on the flow of afghan drugs from which russia suffers the most as artie's and he said now reports 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 in the manner of russia helping afghanistan rebuild itself and re re develop its institutions capacity but also by the off trade by way of 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 as i mentioned 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 frush like nawa see if the americans and their european allies 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 organise them with the two main threats coming out of afghanistan drugs and. arisen no one feels that it closer to home more than it 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 trip to russia we'll bring you his thoughts on

couples mounting problems at moscow's role in helping solve them in just fifteen minutes here on r.t. . the case of a russian border 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 he'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 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 legal say in their way but their father he was not accepted. when he. came to seek asylum so we are 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 in 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 clean up. the mystique at the moment. they're still in. the immigration authorities might rethink the case but whatever happens to mark has been made these people are mobilized 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 merely has succeeded in highlighting the plight of asylum seekers in norway they were previously seen as a great with little to offer 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 the influence they enjoy looks limited it's with her deportation almost a certainty. oh it's late. and you can always find more on our website r t v dot com plenty on line for you right now including this take a look at possibly the coolest exhibition in the world where the temperature never rises above minus four some degree plus. should he stay or should he go widen your lead and still manages to provoke controversy with debate raging over what to do with his body. there 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 behind bars his defenses are also arguing the legal grounds of his extradition from thailand to the u.s. in november are dishonest has more. i want

a 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. the 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 boots 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 boots tie and russian lawyers his case to this moment remains

a. court would you mean there was no official decision of an extradition meanwhile dubbed an international arms trafficker by america picture booth 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 because 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 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 recordings used against a picture were obtained in accordance with the thai law picture but 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 and if they see a circular your. former british prime minister tony blair face the country as a war iraq war in korea for the second time to explain his decisions leading up to the invasion it was to clarify his previous answers after witnesses question parts of his testimony the hearings are designed to establish exactly how and why britain was dragged into the u.s. led conflict expressed regret for the loss of life what it is that he ignored his top lawyers advice that the war may be illegal. gathered outside calling for blair to stand trial for war crimes that they hate. british politician jeremy corbyn

whose party was in power at the time of the invasion so the investigation would be more credible at an international court. if a european politician former head of government in the case of tony blair was actually brought before the. international court in the hague and investigated the rest of the world would have far more respect for the international process because the moment the most prominent people who have come before it have been. attempts at arresting the president of sudan the current trial that's going on with charles taylor from liberia and the past process on milosevic and the situation in yugoslavia but the perpetrators of this war. cool in the united states and in europe and i think it would do it all for the standing

of this because there is a bit of a feeding go round you go to big guys in small countries you go to big guys and big countries take a look now at some other stories making headlines across the globe in ireland the green party leader has quit the coalition government and called for the march and general election to be brought forward john says his party's patience had run out after weeks of political turmoil in the country but promised to support next week next week's finance bill from the opposition benches the latest resignation comes a day after prime minister brian cowen stepped down as leader of his party and pressure due to the country's economic crisis. these people have been killed in a series of bombings across the rocky capital baghdad more than thirty others were injured five car bombs appear to be part of a coordinated attack that targeted police and shia pilgrims near busy roads in the city officials say the attacks were designed to show that iraq is unable to provide security have 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 amid a renewed protest against the interim government demonstrators are demanding that the prime minister resign immediately mamadou she has already quit after fresh elections are held the transitional government promised to hold a vote within six months but it still hasn't been set the political chaos follows a month long uprising that the pose the country's leader seventy eight people were killed during the arrest of chinese president has wrapped up a four day visit to the united states on a friday hu jintao talked with president obama followed up the meeting be trade between the bank of china american investors there's a lot at stake for both the economic powerhouses even though they don't see eye to eye on many matters it also comes as china. influence shows rapid growth online talk show host laurie harshness has been gauging thoughts in new york americans

should be wary of the rising. as the us debt and time as assets both continue to grow china could potentially surpass the u.s. g.d.p. within a decade is it time to start taking mandarin lessons this week let's talk about bad their technology has come we can balance beyond us and that's a big part of qana mean does that worry you. yes yes it does you know you doing anything about it no i'm not now learning mandarin and no matter what i mean i guess i should know i believe that discipline in direction are the things that we need now the but the bipartisanship as much as i'm a staunch or more republican to democrat now they need to work together and get a common goal and move forward much like you do at home with budgeting your bills and doing everything else is what we need to do in the government as well do you think that socialism or capitalism promotes that kind of discipline more. i believe

capitalism if not looking for a handout promotes that war when donald trump runs for president i heard him last night he's going to charge china for everything that comes in here twenty five percent surcharge and we're going to pay our debt off with that surcharge so we need a whole new kind of businessman we don't need a politician what made america great at the time it happened was what the times call for maybe china's doing more of what the times call for right now. but also maybe it's maybe it's their time maybe it's their turn and is that ok with you yeah do you think china kind of deserves to surpass us because they have a harder work ethic if you does if it's a sense of deserve i think we just america needs to kick in but. you know we should be ok maybe china's going to give us a good kick in the but i mean that's what they need. in the white house is to understand that that's really what it's all about you know kind of rally the troops and say let's get with the program right now and everybody can take

a step forward we're not stupid people here. are just lazy times are you word now i'm not worried even if they even if they did take over and they were a huge power i still don't see what the reason to be worried about exactly i mean do you have nuclear powers all over the place and it's not like nobody's going to anybody's going to talk to anybody. i would worry about whether or not you're ready to sign up for mandarin lessons the bottom line is china is indisputably a force to keep an eye on in the future. stay with us i'll be back soon with the headlines and after that our exclusive interview with afghan president hamid karzai.

closer to his being to the region 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. complete republic russia close up

on ati. culture is that so much excitement and which of course he's right on it and so here is a american exceptionalism goes to the very foundation of almost american see the country's history and place in the world is there any truth. wealthy british style . market why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy with max cause or for a no holds barred the global financial headlines two kinds a report.