britain's media goes into overdrive speculating on kremlin involvement in the suspected poisoning of a former russian double agent in the u.k. . the pentagon holds ground operations against syria after its key ally change its focus to battle another u.s. partner in the region turkey. and israeli soldier is filmed throwing a stun grenade at a couple carrying a baby trying to escape a military operation. is three o'clock here in moscow and you're watching r.t.

international live from our studio with me in a day or two to welcome to the program to the case where two people are in a critical condition after being exposed to an unknown substance one of them is believed to be a former russian colonel who spied for britain the larger victims. is retired from the russian military intelligence service in two thousand and six he passed the identities of russian secret agents in europe to the k. and was subsequently court was sentenced to thirteen years in prison but in twenty ten he was released as part of a high profile spy swap with the u.s. and flown to britain. you recall back to two thousand and six that was when a man. was poisoned and bought a slow horrible death. was poisoned it would have really do questions about kremlin involvement given that russian alexander litvinenko was murdered in two thousand and six using really want to polonium immediately people's minds go back to

alexander litvinenko polonium two ten and everything similarities will be drawn with that case which an inquest found led directly to the kremlin it is remarkable that with so few fact the mystery of what's made sergei script how ill has captured the hearts and minds of journalists in the u.k. the newspapers here are splashing it the news shows are all leading on it last night and this morning you can see why it's a big story it's got all the hallmarks of a spy novel script was a double agent convicted in russia for selling secrets to the u.k. he was swapped in that two thousand and ten spy swap for among others and that chapman that so-called pham fertile the russian spy who was on mosque in the u.s. and of course the media here is already comparing it to the case of alexander litvinenko who was also a former russian spy who was poisoned with polonium litvinenko allegedly

drank radioactive tea in a sushi restaurant in piccadilly the narrative here now is that script powell may have been poisoned in a pizza place in seoul's very limiting case we don't maria has done the round of interviews saying that it's so important that this is taken seriously from the offset and the newspapers have gone wild with speculation we're getting reports in newspapers that it's thought that putin never forgave script pile for what he did that allegedly had gone to the police in recent weeks and months saying the. he feared for his life because his wife and son had both died recently and there are already outraged commentators banging their fists on the tables saying that the u.k. cannot be allowed to become the kremlin's killing fields amongst all this there are some voices caution one former ambassador to moscow

a british ambassador to moscow was saying this morning that this narrative of the kremlin murdering script file needs to be taken with a pinch of salt because putin has got an election in two weeks time this isn't the best time to be rocking the boat for the kremlin there are also reports in the media that this could have all been caused by something called sentinel which is reportedly fifty to one hundred times stronger than morphine and has a similar influence on the body but of course all this is speculation right now just like pretty much everything else in this story apart from the fact that a former double agent was found on well on a bench and souls very. for my five offer and gave us have you thought the case. this might just be some sort of drug instant there have been numerous stories over

the last couple of years in the u.k. for the spread of synthetic kind of annoyed called spice which seems to create the same sort of symptoms that were reported in this case people who. hated because they've been involved in a spy swap for example their lives are forever changed there's a long history of people in that situation self medicating with substances this happened they were taken to hospital they were identified their names were fed into the system and as soon as there their names are fed into the system there's some alert around the fact that this guy had indeed been involved in the spy swap in twenty ten suddenly became much more much more newsworthy i think this is where this story is built from. the u.s. military has halted its ground operations against islamic state in eastern syria in a statement the pentagon said kurdish forces it backs in the area a shifting their focus from fighting terrorists to countering a turkish offensive some fighters operating within your studio have decided to

leave operations in the middle euphrates river valley to fight else we're possibly an african they're not fighting isis anymore and they're basically meant that the not taken territory brought from isis is quickly as they had been in the past. syrian democratic forces mentioned in the pentagon thank meant predominantly kurdish militia they've been a key ally of the u.s. in the fight against isis in syria and have enjoyed washington support they have now joined the find in africa the city which is located in northern syria has been one of the main flashpoints of tension in the country. a ground offensive against kurdish forces in january turkey considers militias base that as terrorists and says it started the campaign to protect its border samir khan reports but according to u.s. officials u.s. backed a ground operations against islamic revenants in eastern syria have been put on hold now that's because kurds who had spearheaded combat against extremists have

shifted to a separate fight with turkish forces in a free for the kurdish region of free and in northern syria has become a new geo political pivot point in the conflict turkey launched an offensive in a frame in january to expel syrian kurdish forces which it sees as a terrorist group and as an extension of a kurdish insurgency at home while the parties in the region are trying to figure out what to do exactly the violence in the region continues. for weeks now defense secretary jim matheson other u.s. officials have called turkey's operation a distraction from the anti isis campaign you know you've got the. distraction of what's going on with africa right now it distracts from international effort to ensure the lasting defeat of isis what is going on in

a free and is taking away from the fight against isis it is a distraction as secretary mabus had called it is certainly not helpful however it seems that for kurdish forces the fighting in a frame is more than just a distraction kurds have been. washington's key allies in the fight against iceland one of the most effective forces combat ing extremists in the region the pentagon has already admitted that the potential costs of their destruction from the isis site is severe now we just have to wait and see how this will affect the battle against isis in syria and whether or not this will extend u.s. operations in the country. danielle mcadams economic director at the wrong pull into two things relations between the u.s. and the kurds are unlikely to normalize well it's three months of the old saying it's better to be the enemy than the ally of the united states because if you're the enemy they may try to value but if you're the ally they certainly will sell you and that certainly seems like what they're doing with the kurds perhaps the kurds are understanding that they will be sold out they were sold out at rocca as well

and they will be sold out in the eastern part of syria where the u.s. is operating and they're coming to the aid of their allies dizzee us hope that the syrian government gets further drawn in to the fight with the kurds against the turks then the u.s. can swing back around and help its turkish ally in fighting the syrian government and the kurds as well maybe that's the move that would mean the big question mark is what will russia do in a situation like that talk about a disaster. we've reached the one hundred day countdown mark before football showpiece twenty men world cup twenty eighteen kicks off here in russia a total of sixty four matches will take place at twelve i thought rebound or brand new stadiums across eleven thirty.

celebrate three events will take place across russia this tuesday to mark the final countdown that has been reporting for us from our special studio here in moscow where the world cup will open this summer it's a pretty chilly snow covered day here today in moscow but of course the world cup will take place in the heights of moscow's warm summer it seems so long ago now that russia was bid to host the first world cup but as time has moved closer to the event it's really flown by and today marks the first martyr one hundred days till the start of football's biggest festivals preparations have been well underway twelve stadiums across eleven cities from design in the east so you kaliningrad in the western fifo officials have been keeping a close eye on those preparations on those developments so far so good from them it's been a thumbs up this very important for fee for and for the local organizing committee to make clear to everyone every fan around the world that the walk up is going to

be an inclusive event an open event and welcoming even for everyone who respective of their background or region nationality gender sexual orientation or skin color it is an event which is for everyone and this is the year the commitment that we have made in the local authorities in the local organizing committee that are behind this as well together with us people have complete trust in the security preparations and the security concept people looked. by russian authorities the local organizing committee and we had also a great opportunity to test all these security arrangements and the concepts during the confederations cup last year and everything went well we will promote what point of view now organizers have put fun the sense of off preparations those tens of thousands of fans coming to russia from all across the world will be able to get a special fine idea alongside that tickets now that means they can come into the

country visa free as what does get free travel on special transport between the host cities and in the host cities as well also of course giving them peace of mind about safety and security now of course the fines have been the main priority but it's the sports teams themselves who are taking center stage many of the world's greatest stars coming to russia and it's fair to say those teams have had requests which have been let's say a little bit more unusual. will

come. will come once in a while to prepare the nigerian nearest doctor will enjoy him so that the boys can recall to him once in a while. i'll be able to give you. room to comfort you. very much full steam ahead here in russia as the countdown begins and what better place to watch all the action than with a star studded lineup of pundits and commentators bring you the latest updates. we'll have special coverage of the tournament with some of football's biggest names to guide you through it all here on our team on board manchester united's formica peter schmeichel liverpool and england striker stan collymore and one of the most

decorated coaches of the modern game chose a very new. for a world cup twenty eight team coverage we've signed one of the greatest goalkeepers of all but there was one more question by the way was going to be our coach. guys i know you are nervous he's a huge star and the huge amount of pressure you have to go to the center of the beach but probably would you. agree. you are the rock at the back nobody gets past you we need you to get down there we have to go. alone. and i'm really happy for joy and for the. russian. special what was also appreciated me to just read the review the r.t. team's latest edition of the go.

the great dane peter schmeichel meanwhile has been traveling across russia to taken final preparations he gave me his impressions. even though i play the world cup myself this is going to be much more exciting for me because obviously it's going to be very basic with work being very close to the actual tournament having done a lot of work on the tournament running into the world cup and then once it starts you know all the emotions of having my country there and my son playing there so really special for me. i think i wish football stadiums for like this when i play i think you're saying it's brilliant assembly and you get an idea about how the atmosphere will be and that their role in iran the same kind of theme but they're all very different as well variant of it one one looks like a u.f.o. than another one i said the stadium in sochi looked like

a cake. i've been to all the eleven cities yet we will finish or that within the next three weeks. but what i've experienced of everything has run smoothly and everything is really well organized so my my my advice is to to relax a little bit about the things that we see every day in the western media and then enjoy it and we'll have coverage throughout the day from some of the world cups how cities as they mark one hundred days until russia takes on side a arabia in the opening match and still to come this hour as germany's a national anthem is caught up in a sexist we asked people in berlin what they think about removing one it's like fatherland. jamie diamond no matter how much you try to talk down because the matter how much he tried to. get his buddies in washington.

it mean the fact is he's lost he has lost the battle of big oil he's got it now come crawling back to the market and say you know what the whole banking industry has been fundamentally change we need to adapt. it's been almost fifty years since we've had human beings on the surface of another planetary body and i hope that we could actually put together an international lunar exploration initiative much like we have the international space station consortium together the countries of the world cooperating with the private sector could afford to get back into real space exploration and i think that would that would create a lot of excitement. welcome

back to the program and israeli officer has been caught on video throwing a stun grenade just a couple of running with an infant. in the video released by an israeli human rights group we can see a palestinian couple running with a baby and israeli soldier then throws what appears to be a stun grenade in that direction it goes off right behind the family which was seemingly trying to flee the area. the i.d.f. responded by saying dozens of protesters were throwing rocks at troops in the area and the officers did not spot the couple but carrying a child the statement went on to say that if the baby had been noticed they would have acted accordingly the rights group which released the video say violence by israelis against palestinians is what comes under occupation and little is done to

prevent it the reality of the occupation the israeli occupation over the palestinians in this incident as well as in many many others in recent weeks we've seen in the skeleton of violence by israeli citizens. towards palestinians in civilians who are not citizens despite these many many incidents. public awareness is more importantly the military is failing to provide provide. the security required we're seeing that many many of the violence of military personnel. go without any trials without any investigations or with food distributions and many of them closed down due to lack of the police failure to investigate as they should this is the case and this is the reality that we're in. north and south korea have agreed to hold

a breakthrough talks next month and establish a hotline in an effort to ease tensions on the korean peninsula follows a two day meeting between representatives of the countries but it seems that everyone is on board with having ties with pyongyang kelly in how the story. the winter olympic games have seen an unprecedented thaw in relations between north and south korea and now that the games are over the two countries have not given up on their road to better relations you won't hear any celebrating in the u.s. though take donald trump's tough talk as far as the risk of dealing with a madman is concerned that's his problem not mine while warhawk neo cons talk about a military solution all the damage that would come from the war would be worth shit in terms of long term stability and national security to be fair u.s. leaders did pause there rehearsal for all out war during the olympic games but almost as soon as the closing ceremonies were over the tanks and planes were out

once again and they were rehearsing for mass death new york times reports that a classified u.s. military exercise examined the number of u.s. troops that would be involved in a potential conflict on the korean peninsula according to their estimate roughly ten thousand u.s. soldiers would be wounded in just the first few days of the new korean war the brutality of this war will be beyond the experience of any living soldier in the north and south korea may be tentatively moving forward but the reluctant united states will only sit down with conditions trump says that a meeting can only be arranged via beijing if the north will give up their nuclear weapons that according to pyongyang is a ridiculous and preposterous demand we've waited so long for this to come up there's no leadership in south korea that is recognizing that this has gone on for far too long and this leadership under president moon who is a progressive lawyer he knows what dialogue can do and has seen how it can get

interrupted by one side or another wanting to engage in this ongoing type of tug of war of the united states has not necessarily had an interest for peace in korea really. it doesn't seem like the leadership wants to create a real atmosphere for peace that brings us back to the beginning full circle to the vitriolic war of words which is not exactly been helpful in previous years caleb mop and artsy new york. ny jamey's national anthem could be in line for agenda friendly make over and letter written by the country's equality commission for the birds fatherland and brotherly to be removed correspondent peta of the reports. it's one of the most recognizable national anthems in the world.

but there are plans afoot to make changes to the woods of the lead in an attempt to make it more gender inclusive now this is being put forward by the country's equal opportunities the plan put forward by kristin rose morning would see the phrase full of a land swap for homeland on the line of brotherly with tottenham and changed to courageously with haas and hand it wouldn't be the first time that the german anthem which has been used since one thousand nine hundred twenty two it caused trouble after willed war to the first verse in its opening lines. but alice soul germany germany above all else caused problems then as well the words themselves were written back in the nineteenth century about german unification however the nazis made them their own.

after reunification in one thousand nine hundred one germany adopted the us as its national anthem the first isn't to be sung but people still to forget like a earlier this year at a fed cup tennis much in the united states which on good play is found alike. and back in two thousand and nine british musician pete daugherty and could the wrath of a german audience after he sang the first. during a life performance. perhaps

the time is right to update the anthem we spoke to some people on the streets of berlin that's what they thought i had jewish vices i don't know i'm undecided i belong to the generation that grew up with this i think is good as it is. he thinks is the old i think it's fine the way it is. i don't agree with this i think it's nonsense why should we do this just to make one group happy without the words isn't an option either the texas half of the song without it it would only be half of what it is just me i honestly don't care. because why not i think it's ok the word fatherland has some negative connotations and he somewhat right wing as far as i'm concerned it feels like a negative sort of patriotism it would be better if it was more neutral peter all

of a see. that song is run up and i'll be back at the top of the hour with paula so do stay with us. done some is not so is not i can quite place is not a good country and. children yes it is the minister. of family as well. as you can just look at that as a disco that is. the study of the courage. of the.

less sure of the tragedy of christmas. just a little the embrace from a fellow muslim of oneself to be a little. mostly helpless fossil. play almost anything for that number for any place the dot is that kind our battery john fell on my stand on my shoulder as tight no one can i do not the last color we're survivors from trapped matter how not it came. from a shallow. truth fucking on the canal he was almost. to fuckin on a. sinister timisoara now fargo sharkey it was asleep i don't want to go to the snooze in the my car boys there's a miserable lot of the street. southeast you know mubarak out there you know the answer is. this field is who is going to.

hi it's max kaiser this is the kaiser report i've got a warm fuzzy feeling of this talk about gun reform we're all going to just join hands and saying up with people and i'm looking forward to that oh boy stacy well i think you're talking about trump donald trump taking on the n.r.a. in a remarkable way that we haven't seen certainly in the modern era where he said that basically both the republicans and the democrats were afraid to do any legislation on gun control because they were owned by the n.r.a. essentially which is remarkable that i think they gave him something like thirty million dollars in two thousand and sixteen but bellick this whole attitude to our congress like. you know you're a doer just scared to death of the n.r.a. you losers you punks not meet. the mafioso in

a muffler to capital nobody scares me away now the men are a thirty million dollars nothing. well we're going to talk about some other sort of moments of chutzpah that have since come on ravelled because a lot of donald trump's chutzpah unravels quickly he says one thing and then he does another well jamie diamond also says one thing in dozen other. chorus you know this notion mcgehee. here's a headline from the past week and that is j.p. morgan chase admits cryptocurrency is a risk to its business for the first time despite j.p. morgan chase c.e.o. jamie diamond having called big queen a fraud a big bank and is now taking cryptocurrency very seriously and knowledge in the block chain based technology as a veritable threat to its future yeah i must really hate to have to say this there

the way it works is that if a company like j.p. morgan or there's another bank that made a similar comment at their big bank and when they find a material risk to their business to their balance sheet they must under law disclose this to shareholders and so jamie diamond the matter how much he tried to talk down because no matter how much he tried to get his buddies in washington to outlaw bad guy and mean the fact is he's lost he has lost the battle of big call and he's got it now come crawling back to the market and say you know what the whole banking industry has been fundamentally change we need to adapt or we are j.p. morgan or be left as i said many years now if they didn't adapt they would be relegated to a third tier bank jamie diamond doesn't want to give away that free spigot of money he gets every day from nickel and dime in people to death so of course he's going to a dead.