the biggest and best ever that's russia's promise for the twenty eight hundred football world cup as it gets official endorsement to host the planet's largest sporting event. of all ages from st petersburg where the president sepp blatter has put pen to paper on the document confirming russia is the host of the twenty eighty wilko finals. look back at the week's top stories poland will stage a reconstruction of last staples fatal presidential plane crash claiming the russian lead report leaves some questions unanswered. russia pledges to rebuild war torn afghanistan as president karzai visits moscow. lawyers of alleged russian arms trafficker viktor boot set to challenge the u.s. government attempt to prosecute the man dubbed by western media the merchant of

death. seven am in the russian capital i'm at treasure 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 what it hosts the world cup in twenty eighteen earlier the fifo president officially handed over the biggest sporting event on the planet to the country sports minister peter all reports from st petersburg where the ceremony happened. it's all official now they signed today 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 jewing 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 rice you can take part in the entire process of preparing for the twenty. plus

a 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 any stimulus 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 this 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 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 by 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 him 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 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. turning to the week's other top stories poland is planning to carry out a reconstruction of the plane crash that claimed the life of president kaczynski and his delegation in russia last april warsaw assess the russian led probe into the tragedy pilot error leave some unanswered questions but our teams caterina's our reports calls for a new investigation maybe politically motivated. polish prime minister donald tusk attempting to calm an increasingly angry parliament this week. the polish government wants the truth to be complete and we realized 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 on the interstate commission for instance for not publishing including its in its report in the stands a transcript of conversations off air controllers with the plane the commission has now post that this 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 that it is hard for post to handle a difficult truth and this is a difficult truth we have calls things in these 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 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 a slight chance 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 moscow. stay with us here on r.t. still ahead the story of a fire in citizen being forced out supporters rally for a russian born woman who's lived in norway since childhood but now faces deportation after her asylum request gets rejected. and wallet

snapshot from throwing more money into the economic bailout fund we hear what that means for struggling eurozone countries. first though israel ruled the military raid on a. gaza aid flotilla last may was legal activities died when israeli commandos raided a ship sparking strong international condemnation the panel looking into a raid is was made up of four israelis and two foreign observers turkey's prime minister has already criticized the inquiry saying it has little value or credibility sorry if you from the legal side out of text the freedom of movement of palestinians tells r.t. that made concern 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 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 and talks with ahmed karzai and moscow leaders also promise to clamp down on the flow of drugs from which russia suffers the most or he's a nice and now has the details of the high level meeting. and 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 while providing necessary transit routes for supplies and plan to continue

support once the pullout is complete there is both the ability to russia and the the need for russia in 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 all 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 got as i mentioned his country's developing economic relationship with the united states but that the relationship with russia is developing at a larger scale again we should come back to 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 fast drugs production industry russia hoped that international forces could crush extremism in afghanistan and russian officials hope that maybe they could. to stop the influx of drugs common in russia for 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 with the problem of talking directly to the leaders of the denniston 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. victor 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 bood faces a minimum twenty five years behind bars his defense is also arguing the legal grounds i was extradition from thailand to us in november are he's out of stock has more. water for every twelve people. you require. 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 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 far 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 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 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 picture 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 of 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 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 to file motions questioning how and why the man was brought to the us as well as whether or not recordings used against picture were obtained in accordance with the thai law your boot 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 party. member you can always find more on all the stories we're covering pos blogs and video on our team as well so i live right now . take a look at possibly the coolest exhibit in the world where the temperature never

rises above four degrees plus. a crocodile at a ukrainians who has bitten off a little more than they could chew after swallowing a female visitors mobile phone the creature became depressed and lost its appetite and perhaps worst of all refuse to return any calls at all this and more. a case of a russian born asylum seeker in norway has brought the plight of illegal immigrants in the country to the steps of the also a parliament so the rights groups have turned out to show their support for maria who is awaiting deportation despite being brought up and educated in norway artie's laura and it explains. 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 stay 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 the a one more immigrant there 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. at the moment. there is still. the immigration authorities might rethink the case but whatever happens to mark has been made these people are mobilized invalid 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 maybe i merely has succeeded in

highlighting the plight of asylum seekers in norway they were previously seen as a group with little to offer and to 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 her deportation almost a certainty. oh it's late. and 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 finance ministers meeting saw six of the wealthiest nations including germany and france 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 struggle. i think what they're doing here is they're reinforcing failure at the end of the day

countries like greece and portugal and possibly. should never have joined the euro in the first place trapped inside of economic prison with a 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 you know. we have mass demonstrations we have had people actually killed on the streets. together. in 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 in the few countries. as well that there is an optimal. 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 we are reinforcing

failure what you've got here behind this whole european project when we talk about the union or when we talk about the current say we have a political class who want 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. that's now in the public opinion is going to win because. that's what we're doing. without having the consent of the people and that has never been asked for and it's never been given. commentary from british hero nigel let's 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 general election to move forward john says his party's patience had a 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 amid

pressure due to the country's economic crisis three. of these ten people were killed in a series of bombings across iraq capital baghdad more than thirty others were injured five car bombs appear to be part of a coordinated attack targeting police and shia pilgrims in 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 iraq. turning to tunisia where police arrested two allies about stood president ben ali made a renewed protest against the interim government demonstrators are demanding that 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 a month long uprising that deposed of the country's leader seventy eight people were killed in the unrest. european union about boycotted the inaugural ceremony of

the country's incumbent president alexander lukashenko the e.u. member nations left the state for neighboring lithuania in protest over december election the president arrived at the ceremony in the capital minsk hand in hand with his young son all twenty seven member states refused to send representatives in response to claims that the december election was rigged the result sparked a violent reaction that saw opposition leaders activists and journalist attacks by police e.u. has proposed sanctions including a ban on beezus enter freeze on bank accounts belonging to senior government officials some experts believe by a violently suppressing the opposition rally you show had wiped out any hopes for democracy with. the implication of president has already suffered a serious blow i think that president lukashenko has made a big political mistake precisely on december nineteenth when. it. after the presidential elections he started the threat down on a position he lost his temper i think he shouldn't have done this thing because by

doing this he has undermined the credibility of his more just attempts to show that there is. any movement towards democracy let us be frank the. last election campaign was more democratic compared to other ones but by these actions during several days he completely destroyed what he was creating for yourself so he's actually quite large if he doesn't throw a position just just to do act independently or partly independent that they would be no no way just for to integrate into world community and. this is also the question of political so while for him high how he's going to so while totally isolated. i'll be back with our lives after a short break after that heated debate on artie's crosstalk stay with us.

culture is that so much as i can which of course you write on it comes up here it is american exceptionalism goes to the very foundation of almost american see the country's history and place in the world is there any truth. to

the close of tina's being 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. where people in remote villages a cut off from the basics we take for granted the complete good republic russia close up on r.t. . would be soon which brightened if you knew about. soon from phones to impressions. from stock totty dot com hungry for the full story we've got it first hand

the biggest issues get a human voice face to face with the news makers. they faced it this is not a provocation but a warning that. the baby fortunate that machete first step is already assured us of a critic trish crossin they have no idea about the hardships the group face. one it is this is it is all of them too nice and for any army the life of the usaf is the most precious thing in the world. is of self-sacrifice and heroism with those who understand it fully but you have to live a. real life stories from world war two. victories nineteen forty five dot dot com.