that's right. the british media speculates on the kremlin involvement in the suspected poisoning of a former russian double agent in the u.k. and despite the lack of hard facts the government is threatening retaliation. if those suspicions prove to be this government will take whatever measures we deem necessary to protect the lives of the people in this country all drug use and. u.s. halts ground operations in eastern syria after its kurdish allies head to the north of the country to repeal an incursion by turkey. and ninety nine days to kick off our t's. guides you through some of the host cities preparing for russia

two thousand and eighteen. broadcasting live direct from our studios in moscow this is our two international thomas glad to have you with us. already sixty six year old man and his daughter are in a critical condition in the u.k. after being exposed to an unidentified substance the man is a former russian colonel previously convicted of spying for britain sergei screen paul served in russian military intelligence in two thousand and six he passed the identities of russian secret agents in europe to the british government he was later caught and sentenced to thirteen years in prison but in two thousand and ten he was released as part of a spy swap with the u.s. and flown to britain. the russian embassy in the u.k.

has contacted the british foreign office requesting more information about the incident involving sergei screwball and his daughter the embassy also expressed concern about the misleading reports surrounding the incident and what it called the demonization of russia are just only boco has more on the reaction from the british government. well just goes to show how these stories can snowball now the foreign secretary boris johnson has had to answer an urgent question in the house of commons about the government's dances on surrogate power and boris johnson did say that it's not clear what happened and this is still an active investigation however if it's linked back to russia the kremlin is going to have to pay the sixty six year old man. i do thirty three year old daughter. were found unconscious and tried to move teams 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 well it is remarkable how this story has developed over the past few hours the media took the few facts that we had on this story from the police and it's now splashed everywhere security experts speculating on every angle of how surrogate script how his daughter may have come to be sick on that park bench in seoul's very there's not much new wants to the analysis it's got to be said despite this being an active investigation we've already got politicians waving their faced saying that russia can't turn the u.k. into its own personal killing fields and on the other hand it's not surprising that this story is causing the for rory that it is it's got all the hallmarks of a spy thriller script hall was a double agent convicted in russia for selling secrets to britain swapped in two

thousand and ten in that very famous spy swap for among others on the chapman that so-called femme fertile from russia who was on mosque in the us and it's all been conflated here with the case of alexander litvinenko the other former. russian spy who was poisoned by drinking radioactive tea back in two thousand and six of course script file is being speculated may have been poisoned by eating some pizza in a pizza place and souls very living in caves widow maria has been giving interviews talking about how russians in exile here in the u.k. need to be better protected that they might not feel safe air and suggestions also in the papers a big headlines about putin never having forgiven script for what he did and that. may have feared for his life in recent weeks after the death of his wife and his

son take a listen to how the media is covering this sounds familiar russia under suspicion of planning and executing an attack two thousand miles away which similarities will be drawn with that case which an inquest found led directly to the kremlin the broader question here is dealing with some sort of the. plot. was poisoned it will move really do questions about kremlin involvement given that russian defector alexander litvinenko was murdered in two thousand and six using really want to polonium well amongst all this there are still a few voices caution among them the former british ambassador to moscow also some commentators hesitantly adding that perhaps the kremlin wouldn't be so keen to murder someone who they themselves said given away many years ago and all this on the eve of a big presidential election. british police chiefs have also confirmed that quote

due to the unusual circumstances the counterterrorism network will be leading the investigation authorities say several officers needed medical help after having worked at the scene where the two were found and sources in the u.k. mergence the services and first suspected the pair may have been exposed to a powerful prescription painkiller a synthetic a drug called fentanyl it is a 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 two thousand and seventeen commentators we spoke to do not believe that russia 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 obviously the shadows of the resonance in so many people's minds are going to be from the alexander litvinenko case because that dominated the british had lines for so long and it seems at least superficially that there are parallels here at least in the the russian intelligence angle. u.s. back to kurdish forces in syria have announced today are sending seven hundred troops to the country's north to repel a turkish military offensive the forces had been assisting the u.s. coalition in the fight against isis and now the pentagon says it has been forced to hold those operations because of the kurds departure. some fighters operating within the us have decided to leave operations in the middle east river valley to fight elsewhere possibly aren they're not fighting isis anymore and they're

basically meant that they're not taking territory back from isis is quickly as they had been in the past the kurds america's most reliable allies in syria have ups and left go on to make war with america's fellow anti isis coalition member and nato partner turkey not the friendliest coalition in the world but that's besides the point you know you've got the. distraction of what's going on up front right now it distracts from international effort to ensure the lasting defeat of isis what is going on in a free is taking away from the fight against isis it is a distraction as secretary mabus had called it is certainly not helpful problem is while america's anti isis coalition butchers and cannibalizes itself the war against the jihad ists has stopped the kurds all left to do their own thing and the guys still there in theirs or incapable it seems of beating the little isis on

cleef left there so washington is building an entire new army one key element of the strategy to defeat isis is to train equip sustain and enable elements of the vetted syrian opposition these forces are projected to total approximately sixty to sixty five thousand. sixty five thousand these spared army would be bigger than the canadian or straightly and militaries and don't forget there are already three warring armies in syria the pentagon is planning on equipping and providing this puppet force with everything but there are underwear tens of thousands of new rifles machine guns mortars millions of rounds of ammunition thousand vehicles don't forget this seemingly going to pay their salaries two to four hundred dollars a month it's all in the new counterterrorism fund request it says clearly once isis

is the straw it this new army will stabilize and patrol the territory it holds near enough a third of syria which measures well with washington's plans to stay in syria indefinitely keep the country split up and prevent assad from winning but there are questions like where is the us going to find thirty thousand more moderate rebels when it couldn't find ten can you tell us what the total number of trained fighters remains it's a small number. the ones that are in the fight. we're talking for four five the last time the u.s. trained equipped and sent forth a rebel army they all promptly gave up their guns and joined al qaida they spent hundreds of millions on that by the way it was really embarrassing any way you look

at it this means more war it says so in black and white the u.s. will only train and equip vetted syrian opposition and hope that this time they don't all turn out to be islam mr radicals. political analyst nicholas davies told us the u.s. has a long history of supporting extremists in the region. the people they have supported all along have been extremists until they. until they form this relationship with the. white and. this was the u.s. goal all along militarized the conflict to pour in foreign fighters and weapons across the turkish border and that this is this was the u.s. policy a covert policy it's not a publicly announced policy but that that was the policy for you know the late from twenty eleven onwards. and international aid convoy has left of the

syrian rebel enclave of eastern good after delivering much needed food and medicine around four hundred thousand people are currently trapped in the district outside damascus which has been under siege by the syrian armed forces since may two thousand and thirteen forty six trucks entered the area on monday carrying enough food for twenty seven thousand people the syrian arab red crescent which is one of the groups involved in the aid delivery hailed the operation as a success. the area where we are moved to the trucks there were no attacks however we heard gunfire in the distance. the operation was a success all of the eight trucks returned to the checkpoint and thirteen civilians were evacuated from the area including five children according to reports from international organizations militants held up the humanitarian convoy for two hours the militants use civilians as human shields and are refusing. and the terms are

offered to them. the football world cup will be the biggest sporting event of the year and russia two thousand and eighteen kids off in ninety nine days there will be sixty four matches in eleven cities played in twelve new or revamped stadiums. well as the world cup countdown clock reached nearly one hundred day mark on tuesday events were held across russia with an official ceremony here in moscow. russian football officials world cup volunteers and fans all got together to mark the milestone with more on the tournament and the buildup here is daniel hark. 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 won the bid to host the fee for 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 khazan in the east to kaliningrad in the west and 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 walkup is going to be an inclusive event an open event a welcoming event for everyone 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 look by. russian authorities the local organizing committee and we had also a great opportunity to test all these security arrangements on 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 send 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 is 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 news about the will enjoy so that the boys recalled to him once in a while and b a. we're going to come for 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 all the latest updates . and it's not just the players and fans getting into the world cup spirit these dolphins in russia's southern it was sort of sochi have been while going audiences with their football skills or flipper skills if you will and having a kickabout with visitors at the city's aquatics. they are to international we will be bringing you all the spectacle of russia two

thousand and eighteen with some of football's biggest names on board are former manchester united goalkeeper peter schmeichel and liverpool england striker stan collymore and one of the most decorated coaches of the modern game just. twenty eight team coverage we've signed one of the greatest. but there was one more question by the way who's going to be our coach. you guys i know you on the us he's a huge star and the huge amount of pressure you have to the center of the. great. you are the rock at the back nobody gets past you we need you to. go. alone. and i'm really happy to join. russia.

this special one was also appreciated me just like the radio. latest edition of the bigger. more news after the break stay with us. jamie diamond no matter how much he tried to talk down because the matter how much he tried to. get his buddies in washington to lobby. me and 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 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 real a lot of excitement. i welcome actress's r.t. international and north korea is willing to freeze its nuclear program if the u.s. engages in talks advance according to south korean officials returning from a meeting with kim jong un in pyongyang and has more on the surprise utero. it's been yet another breakthrough in the possible warming of relations between north and south korea we now hear an announcement that the democratic people's republic

of korea would be willing to give up its nuclear arsenal if their security were protected if furthermore they have promised that they will never attack south korea and there is now plans in the works for a summit between north and south korea to the north korea has clearly expressed its willingness to launch the denuclearization of the korean peninsula in the tweed tunnel don't trump talks about the possibility of peace on the korean peninsula now this is quite a different tone than he has taken in the past donald trump's tweet has itself a mixed message he talks about possible peace but then he also talks about the fact that the usa would be willing to go either way now we've also heard from rex tillerson hugh used some rather extreme words to describe north korea calling them an extreme threat north korea threatens the entire global community through its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile programs and political activities including

its arms exports to africa so as there is a thaw in relations and the two governments on the korean peninsula seem to be moving closer toward each other and many are wondering what will be the next move as the united states remains a question there's a huge military presence by the united states in south korea and all eyes are on the negotiations that are taking place the world is anticipating and hopeful about the possibility of peace but what role the usa will play in antagonizing or intensifying the conflict remains in question. we're now joined by gregory who's a board member of the korea policy institute thanks for being with us here on r.t. international. so we've gone from threats of all out war to north korea apparently offering to freeze its nuclear activity how much of a breakthrough actually is this. of course it's really early and at this point in time i don't have a lot of information about the details of the dialogue between the south and north

korean delegations but what we've heard so far very promising indeed but everything hinges on the attitude of the united states so a few days ago that case you know the north korean news agency issued a statement saying that it's always been in favor of resolving issues through dialogue and peaceful negotiations but. it's also its belief that the negotiation to be on the basis of equal footing that's the key they're trying to express let's take an attitude of demanding that north korea denuclearize as a precondition going to grow and send its approach through this concept of north koreans as if it just needs to deliver an ultimatum and north korea needs to forward north korea's attitude of no this should be on the basis of mutual respect and the normal give and take a negotiation and so everything depends on what attitude the chinese station actually takes when it comes time for the two sides going to grow. we bring up the

u.s. attitude and in the past some have thought that that north korea demands would make them a legitimize the nuclear state if you will but u.s. officials have expressed skepticism over a new north korea's offer saying that they've offered to do nuclearized before and it came to nothing is there any reason to think that this will be different this time. each time that agreement was reached in the past between the united states and north korea on denuclearization it was the united states that first invited lated the agreement for instance on the agreement in two thousand and five within days of the signing of the agreement which obligated the united states for its part to start to normalize relations with north korea instead the bush administration. imposed sanctions on bank or delta asia which is one of the main banks that north korea used to conduct foreign trade and the treasury department sent officials throughout the world pressuring foreign

banks to cut off relations with financial relations with north korea so took the opposite approach and killed the agreement the same thing with the other agreements . it wasn't north korea that first violated the agreement with the united states that's been the pattern but that's not the story that you hear in the mass media so kim jong un told the south korean delegation that he wants to write a new history of national reunification is reunification between the two koreas possible and how real of the prospect of that. i think first record if there have to be a normalization of relations with the united states because otherwise united states would do everything to throw a wrench into the works. there has been agreements that thought that north and south korea signed the path in two thousand and five and two thousand and six and two thousand and two thousand and seven. marking out to. reunification as an

ultimate goal that would be on the basis of confederation between north and south korea. i think it's a long range goal. and it's feasible but the get out pretty good relations the united states so that it doesn't get in the way all right very interesting to hear your thoughts gregory eleven board member of the korea policy institute thanks for being with us here on our key international. or at a russian military cargo plane has crashed while landing at a syrian air base killing all thirty nine people on board and jacqueline volga has details. well the latest information that we're getting from the russian defense ministry is that there were in fact thirty three passengers along with six crew members aboard the plane they were all military personnel and they all perished in the crash now the incident took place as the aircraft attempted to land at the russian operated he made me an air base on syria's western coast and crushed about five hundred meters from the runway now the airplane itself isn't until nov and twenty six

a military transport aircraft that was designed in the soviet union the defense ministry has also confirmed that the plane was not fired upon and while they are looking into all other possible reasons behind the crash initial report suggests that a technical malfunction is to blame here. and if it doesn't for me i'll be back in about thirty three minutes with a look at your news stay with us. for

a world cup twenty eight team coverage we've signed one of the greatest goalkeepers of all just but there was one more question by the way it's going to be our coach. guys i know you are there was is a huge star among us and the huge amount of pressure come out you have to go to the center of the probably with you and you go over great britain if you are the rock at the back nobody gets past you we need you to get the ball going let's go. alone. and i'm really happy to join to. meet the special one. needs to just read the review. the latest edition as we go. look. hard selling you on the idea that dropping bombs brings police to the chicken hawks

forcing you to fight the battle of things going. to do socks for the tell you that will be gossip and tabloid lifestyles of the most important day. off the bad guys and tell me you are not cool enough to buy their product. all the hawks that we along with are on walking. hello and welcome to cross talk where all things considered i'm peter lavelle both the united states and russia have announced their nuclear weapons posture both countries are entering a new age of war the age of hypersonic weapons we were told russia's hypersonic

weapons can render u.s. led missile defense systems useless can washington allow this to stand and are we now in a new arms race. across talking hypersonic wars i'm joined by my guest george samuel in new york he is a fellow at the global policy institute of london and author of the book bombs for peace in lake jackson we have daniel mcadams he's the executive director of the ron paul institute for peace and prosperity and in london we have married a chef skee she is a columnist for the independent and the guardian all right cross talk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want and i always appreciate mary let me go to you first here are the reactions to president putin's address to the joint some bully. parliament last week was like a thunderbolt for a lot of people and of course it was roundly condemned.