britain's news media goes into overdrive speculating on kremlin involvement in the suspected voice of a former russian double agents in the u.k. . u.s. holds ground operations in eastern syria after its kurdish militia head to the north of the country to repel an incursion by washington's they to are light turkey . days to kick off our top world cup team guides you through some of the host cities making the final preparations for russia twenty eight eighteen. it's four o'clock here in moscow and you're watching r.t. international live from our studio with me in india today welcome to the program to

people remain critically in hospital in the u.k. after being exposed to an unknown substance they are a former russian colonel who'd been convicted of spying for britain and his daughter so used to serve in the russian military intelligence service in two thousand and six he passed the identities of russian secret agents in europe to the u.k. he was subsequently caught and 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. comparisons are already being drawn with former russian spy alexander litvinenko who died in london twelve years ago after being poisoned with a radioactive substance his death was later blamed on moscow. you recall back to two thousand and six that was when a man named. alexander. was poisoned indict a slow horrible death. was poisoned it would have relieved you questions about

kremlin involvement given the russian descent to alexander litvinenko who was murdered in two thousand and six using radio 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 femme 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 power 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 that. he feared for his life because his wife and son had both died recently and they're 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 urging caution one former ambassador to moscow a british ambassador to moscow was saying this morning that this narrative of the kremlin murdering script trial needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. the russian embassy in the u.k. has contacted the british foreign office for clarification over the incident in the city of solsbury purportedly involving the surrogate's cripple and his daughter police there says several officers needed medical help after having worked at the scene where the two were found in support of the sources in the u.k. emergency services at first suspected the pair may have been exposed to a powerful prescription painkiller a synthetic drug called fentanyl it's fifty to one hundred times stronger than morphine and has a similar effect on the body overdoses from the drug caused at least sixty deaths in the u.k.

in twenty seventeen. but to discuss this further we're joined by broadcaster and former british m.p. george galloway george thanks for coming into the program now the british foreign secretary has just confirmed the identity of the two people taken ill here's what he told m.p.'s in the commons a few minutes ago sixty six. thirty three year old daughter. was found unconscious outside the shopping center on sunday afternoon and while it would be wrong to prejudge the investigation i can reassure the house that should evidence emerged that implies state responsibility then the majesty's government will respond appropriately and robustly. ok you know there's the same with boris what reaction to expect now from westminster and the government. well it would be a serious matter if russian intelligence or any foreign intelligence was going

around attempting to mud our people on british soil and that would be true whether i was the foreign secretary as it is if boris johnson is the new foreign secretary so there was nothing in what he just says that was unusual and clearly were in an atmosphere of heightened russell for b.-a i don't think that's putting it too highly the mark mafia television affair the constant propaganda against russia in britain and in the united states is bound to be fair to our ground for conspiracy theorists that doesn't mean there wasn't a conspiracy but there certainly no evidence yet that there was a conspiracy still less that the russian state was involved i always ask myself in these circumstances would russia be stupid enough to

carry out such an act two weeks before the russian presidential election and exactly one hundred days before the world cup in russia after all russia if it wanted to could have killed this man at any time indeed he only got thirteen years in a russian prison for being a british traitor saw there wouldn't seem to be any real motive for russia to attempt to kill this man and his daughter and certainly not this time when it is gotten teed to overshadow suddenly british coverage of president putin's reelection bid and even the world cup in one hundred days from now by the by the softer news in the way people saying. shouldn't be going to the world cup and saucer and it will dominate it will certainly

overshadow politically speaking these two pretty alarming marquee events for russia saw most of would putin be stupid enough to do this at this time and i'm afraid i have to conclude not likely geologist fear i'm sure you've been following the british media this morning as i have and they have a lot some of the coverage has been looking at the form a suresh a spy element and there's been interviews by litvinenko that wife as well and how do you expect their coverage to pan out now. it will move up into fifth gear over the next day or so until we know exactly what happened to these two people and then it will if the circumstances are right and who knows if they will be. the fifth gear of until russian propaganda will will will take off

it's not beyond the realms of possibility that somebody committed a crime against these two people obviously but there are many people who could have freelance agents could have people trying to make problems for russia could have another our intelligence service could have there a number of possibilities i just say and i'm a not being a naive here i know that russian intelligence is a scape a bow of mothering people as any other intelligence service is capable of murdering people they certainly would have no moral qualms about doing so but these common sense of of not doing such a thing at such a time in broad daylight outside a shopping center in salzburg when this man could have been killed by russia any time far more convenient times or less inconvenient times i think is

a powerful narrative that simply isn't being heard in the mainstream british media today came from one position to challenge can i thank so much for your opinion fanhouse and r.t. sputnik thanks again. north korea has performed a political one hundred eighty saying there is no reason to further pursue nuclear weapons if it gets a security guarantee the country even promises to halt nuclear tests during proposed talks with the us this latest development came after a visit to north korea by a delegation from the south the head of the group says he was told pyongyang says there would be no need for a nuclear program if there is no threat of invasion referring to the u.s. military presence in south korea as a result the two korean nations will hold their first joint political summit in decades in april and yet even with an hour by cautious prospect of peace on the horizon not everyone is happy with more on that is. 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 for the first time in more than a decade south korean envoys are meeting with kim jong un 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 their 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 pianka yang 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. will be the biggest sporting event of the year and russia twenty eighteen cakes off in one hundred days they'll be sixty four matches in eleven cities played in twelve brand new or revamped stadiums. celebrate trayvon this will take place across russia this tuesday to mark the final countdown final hole consist been reporting for us 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 height of moscow's warm summer it seems so long ago now that russia was bid to host the fifth world cup but as time has moved closer to the event it's really flown by and today marks the first mark 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 to 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 is very important for fee for and for the local organizing committee to make clear to everyone and 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 origin 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 at by russian authorities to the local organizing committee and we had also a great opportunity to test all the security arrangements and the concepts during the confederations cup last year and everything went there we will promote what point of view now organizers have put found comfort the center of preparations those tens of thousands of fans coming to russia from all across the world will be able to get a special fan idea alongside their tickets now that means they can come into the country visa free as well as get free travel on special transport between the host

cities and in the host cities as well also of course giving them piece of my. and 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 with our chairs who will come once in a while to prepare deny deny me the stuff you will enjoy so that the boys can recall. once in a while i'll be able to give you our best room to comfort you. very much full steam ahead here in russia as the countdown begins on what better place to watch all the action than all the tea with a star studded lineup of pundits and commentators bring you the latest updates and throughout the day here on international we're taking you around some of the world cup host cities as the one hundred day count on gets going to that opening match for russia twenty eighteen. plenty more this hour to germany's national anthem is caught up in a sexism rials so we've been asking people in berlin about removing what it's like

fatherland. join me every thursday on the alec simon show and i'll be speaking to guest in the world of politics school this list i'm showbusiness i'll see you then. church secret indeed priests accused of sexually abusing children can get away with it literally. because they do graphic solution so what the bishop needs to do then he finds out the priest is a perpetrator is simply moves him to a different spot where the previous standard was not. highest ranks of the catholic church conceal the accused priests from the police and justice so something that

has not been asked the. lawyer added to. its path. welcome back to the program the u.s. military says it's been forced to pause its ground operations against the remaining pockets of islamic state fighters in eastern syria the kurdish forces washington supports in syria have been shifting their attention to repelling a turkish offensive in the north. some fighters operating within the us have decided to leave operations in the middle euphrates river valley to fight elsewhere possibly an african they're not fighting isis anymore and that basically meant that they're not taking territory back from isis is quickly as they had been in the past the syrian democratic forces mentioned in the pentagon's statement are

predominantly composed of kurdish militia fighters they've played a crucial role in combating eisen in syria and happiness even support from washington many a thought to have joined the fighting in africa in where a new front has opened up in the conflict turkey launched an offensive against the kurdish militia there back in january ankara considers them to be terrorist groups and says it wants to dislodge them from the border area so we're a car reports. 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 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 isis campaign you know you've got the. distraction of what's going on 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 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. demi's national anthem could be in line full agenda a friendly. letter written by the country's equality commission off for the let's fall for land unbrotherly to be even me. with all his our europe correspondent peter all of us 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 the land swap for homeland on the line of brotherly with hearts in hand changed to courageously with hossa 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 world war two 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. the in. the end after reunification in one thousand nine hundred one germany adopted the third verse as its national anthem the first verse isn't to be sung but

people still to forget like earlier this year at a fed cup tennis much in the united states which on good play is in funds a like an. angel us. was. and back in two thousand and nine british musician pete daugherty and kidd the rough. of a german audience after he sung the first verse during a life performance. was. was perhaps the time is right to update the anthem we spoke to some people on the streets of berlin that's what they saw. 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 all of us is i think it's fine the way it is. i didn't use one 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 because i honestly don't care. because if y. not i think it's ok the word fatherland has some negative connotations and he's 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. nice round up and i'll be back on the top of the hour with more so to stay with us.

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 and 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. the new global economic war is unfolding in the realm of education the right to education being supplanted by the right to access educational loan high education is becoming just another product that can be bought and sold but it's not just about education anymore it's also about running a business where you could. finally could

if you. want is the place of students in this business model before college i was born. i'm running stream more education for the new global economic war.

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