world cup festivities kick off in moscow with the russian capital offering a cultural showcase for fans from across the world on the eve of international football's biggest tournament. for the world cup manchester united manager. picks out to. be fighting for glory. be. the news the french ambassador and demands an apology after.

the italian decision to turn away a migrant rescue boat. are broadcasting live. this is our t.v. international i'm sean thomas certainly glad to have you with us now the two thousand eight hundred fifty four world cup gets underway in just a matter of hours following the opening ceremony hosts russia kick off the term in against saudi arabia and our own top flight squad is primed and ready to bring you the highlights over the next month.

i didn't get anything and what i mean. by the world cup you are beautiful studio here right in the heart of moscow let me use my coach of the championship of the next month peter schmeichel the great they have very very safe pair of pants and a fantastic sense of what to say you say kearns in the studio as well as a few dusty for them and i just want to say there are two things i think you'll get the benefit from by changing into aussie during this challenging warm we're going to bring you the expert punditry inside people inside the game play is now i just take the sale of jersey marine young people who will know the things that you could never possibly have experienced the other thing is happening just listen carefully apart from the clinking of being classes you can hear i think if you visit a list and some. in the background it's a wonderful saying wherever you're watching us from in the world i just want to get

deep breath and just so hard up because that's what it's about it's it's a world cup and it's here and russia risen bracing it and i hope and i believe the fans are really bracing it and it's something to enjoy doing things for the humpy i think so and it's so nice that it's finally here we've been talking in preparing myself i've travelled around to all the eleven host cities i've seen all the stadiums have been very excited about that but we're away will you know our studio here with a view over the curb and the red square there where the big sort of opening the official opening for that's a big concert that's a very. russian president of the future press. will be there i'm going to. accept or not i believe you do stuff you will go. for it honestly. tomorrow we have to face again and it's just exactly what we've waited for this is much about this isn't it as well as just watching the football and bracing the host country in the

culture it is our meeting and we hear a lot of the. talk or the running into any every little cup. now we hear it's all about football i think they were literally looking forward to that and we could see thousand of football fans have already dealt with ian rush if you saw them before you can hear them are they taking in the whole scene is before this opening game that we have tomorrow between russia and saudi arabia just have a look at this. thing i.

know a lot of about bill but i got put on my boat and. frankly i'm not sure if i should be making any noise right now to look at what is going on behind the night one to well it's one of classical music and oprah and the other people football have come together to become one an unusual makes from the first glimpse but that's only the first glimpse of course nicholas and behind me placid domingo is a massive real madrid front for example and the people watching him there the best proof that football and classical music go together very. very well this is not the only event that must was told to football fans there's a light show going on on the walls of the bolshoi theater and in the other part of most away fans santa was opened it features a massive plasma screen so fast can gather together and cheer for their favorite

team and of course own away here we could see a lot of groups basically moscow city center is bustling with all the fans of the old people who have come to moscow to watch the main football events of the planets i don't see too many spanish fans down there oh no but that's because the spanish fans today might be a little bit upset have some free time trying to know because their countries football association sorry this morning to sack the coach and that is two days before that huge game against portugal and i got it we're all here because we had to dismiss the manager of the national team if they have provided no information to the royal spanish football federation we learnt it only five minutes before the press conference because it has to be a message to all employees of the rule spanish football federation that this is no way to act with chairman of the president of the spanish football so if you got really angry. it's all slighted yes the song is only put in

a job his name is rubio yes it's only put in the job for one month and he simply turned up this morning and said oh because he felt that the conscious being disloyal but he hadn't informed the football association and also a month ago on may the seventy's he got elected on the promise to make the football federation of spain stronger so he's played with his muscles today but i think he's learned the. spanish team and he had always been a coach for the rock up he's landed them in with the payment given the multiple but you really want to have you know two days before you start the world cup i think if you're always being honest and if you haven't been set next to his ball. in the press conference he probably said i slightly sold myself when i heard this news but he was much more diplomatic than he is a big question he's been trained director for all of that everyone respects in spain. in a play at the highest level since one everything there is to see to win maybe

a baby apart but he's been you know he's someone that the players will listen to but he's a different voice he's not the voice that they've been preparing with and this is where the tricky part comes in so the coach he's been looking at everything the player for so. he knows exactly what he wants to do against portugal he's got his eleven names he knows he's prepared for that game and now someone else with different eyes is going to look at that game and maybe pick one or two other players with might. upset the rhythm yet whatever anybody says. this is not how they would want to enter the competition is coming here they are the second favorites to win this welcome after the result was the most exposed most pundits across the world they have the necessary favorites they could still do it but it's going to be it's going to be terrific political and i think the chances have been

anything to do it this time the really good i think with a cherry on top now if you will see some magical pictures well funny first match of the tournament kicks off with russia taking on saudi arabia and while some are at this time i think you have one more good one let's see what george zimmerman you have to say about the opening match today in. russia saudi arabia huge pressure for russia of. the world cup at home. and the world is watching them and this is the big chance to qualify is to be the saudi arabia that in spite of some talents is a knife team is as. i'm from a different reality and russia has to win it. now maybe four legs are better than two when it comes to making predictions kelly

the oracle cat now i remember very well from the confederations cup spots on retired out of fuel when they came to the east last year and the count was open for the russian flag over the food bowl for they certainly much patriotic at good to see results of the cold save the most easily get out. and to prove that it's not. true and it's german steel. to do so mexico. and what will be interesting to see is these pictures come out as the cat the sailor is more merino what are you going to say if the seal beats marine all of it signing him up for most. of the world cup favorites sweeping right across russia and people are already thinking about the future lots of countries want to be in this position now and fee for members of voting for the host of the twenty twenty six competition . was. kind enough.

to be the first time this tournament has been paying the cost three countries thirty four nations when they favor a true but are occupied since. the north american bit off is almost a ready made world cup experience with stadia already built or under construction twenty twenty six competition with forty eight teams sixteen more than the current format competing in eight hundred matches. earlier we were joined here by water to gregorian he's a football consultant and former fifty first communications director worked alongside. lassen he told us why he thinks the north american bit swayed more voters. more awkward to fifth time their bidding for the for the world cup so i mean the play the motional for the presentation of the bit today they were saying.

people oh it's to africa because africa gave a lot back even if it's true but maybe there was very smart people some of the people thought that this is too aggressive if he forced criticize in the past also in brazil that they're doing stadiums and then they have the so-called why the elephants you know i mean the u.s. they already already to do to host the world cup so they're all of the freedoms. at the end of us but what about the distances that. wasn't needed the teams were certainly the fans they have to travel faster and offer up in a distance from canada to mexico what you know the. income. of the world cup twenty twenty two so just ahead of the twenty six world cup there were i think at this this maximum promise so they will host the world cup basically and one city and i think after that the fans might be ready to travel for the numbers of it all of

this but i think. they will use the world cup experience also the three countries i think it's not it's not a negative factor right well let's just get a bit of reaction because after the announcement representatives from the three consume speaking about they held a news conference and they were asked about their impressions of russia. we spend a lot of time going through the different compounds of come for the races and all around. the center of most school and they so. thousands of people going to the plaza and i saw something that. i was really excited all. we're mixed all we're walking the streets old we're kind of a great family having fun americans to purchased i think one hundred ninety thousand tickets. hundred and ninety thousand get it get a lot of that that's

a huge number of tickets for anyone who says that we don't have passion for football you're going to see a lot of americans around here over the next month huge crowds i've seen how the funding atmosphere so far i think it's fantastic we're just looking here at the red square. so people really waiting and they say it's a fantastic experience. said it many people working here for the force it's easy to say what really in both the record joined up because this is once a life. where everybody see people already know the message from all the show. so. hopefully. i'll stick with this shift to make it easier for fans to get access to the championships they introduced fan id everyone is essential and does have its perks they come with an insured visa free travel and free rides between the host cities so you can just imagine how many fans are heading to russia

and some of them have started to come in rather unconventional style. our first time to be in the world cup since twenty two years ago i have the first match. with over the way the first match but the other think it has finished .

we will it drives russian any of the car but it wouldn't be the same the joke is to try to rush a little out of. the russian car. no matter how far the team goes we will follow it in the car and so the longer the team stays the longer we drive and we were up for that we were excited. because if i'm seventy years old going to track series eighty to use other transport it would be too easy i'd learn nothing to our country car.

the odor but we saw overnight radio very intensive on the roof of the building troy visit killing me taking photos to this is so just. traveling in style and hubert veggies just fill that well they raised closer to home he's now successfully arrived in moscow along with his canine companion and he was even met by a police patrol they didn't give him a ticket on when they were very friendly met him on the outskirts of the city and accompanied him police escort to his final destination but started his journey back in may and covered more than two thousand kilometers to get to russia. well president trump has repeated his call for russia to be invited back into the g

seven saying that member states already spent too much of their time talking about moscow you know we spent probably twenty five percent of our time talking about russia and he said to myself would it be better if they were here now i'm not for russia i'm for the united states as an example. let me put who was sitting next to me instead of one of the others and we were having dinner the other night in canada . i think and probably have a good relationship with him or i'd be able to talk to him better than if you call somebody on the telephone and you know we spent probably twenty five percent of our time talking about russia and i said to myself would it be better if they were here now i'm not for russia i'm for the united states as an example. let me put who was sitting next to me instead of one of the others and we were having dinner the other night in canada donald trump already made this call last week at the g.

seven summit happened and he called for russia to be reinstated to the group he said they should be able to rejoin the body when he said that it sparked quite a conversation as for the presence of russia in the g. eight we will see for sure italy was traditionally a supporter of the russian presence in the g eight. if there will be any conversations about russia's future in relation to this particular group they have to change their ways they have to change the route that they're taking and the sort of activity that involved did the reason russia was expelled from the body that this took place during the situation regarding crimea there was a referendum in crimea ninety seven percent of the people in crimea voted to leave ukraine and join with russia and it was in response to that that the g eight dropped russia became the g seven but now we have this proposal from trump trump is steadfastly calling for russia to be readmitted into the group and for the g.

seven to once again become the g. eight. so cross the line to former u.s. diplomat jim john tries to get some perspective on this jim thanks for being with us here on our two international thank you so trump says russia should rejoin the group of seven making it once again do you agree with him what's your assessment. well of course russia should be in the g.h. this is a forum for dialogue it's not so much a formal body but it way for the world's top leaders of the top economies to talk to each other i think mr trump is starting to feel his stride a little bit he had his summit with kim he slapped around everybody at the g. seven except for mr conti from italy who is his new best friend just watching theresa may melt down is worth the price of admission right there i talking now about eight summit with with mr putin to that austria has volunteered to host and that angler merkel has actually endorsed i think he feels that he sort of breaking

free of some of the shackles of all this russia collusion nonsense and if it makes people's head explode for him to suggest things like that i think it makes him all the happier especially when he could take a slap at barack obama in the process so responding to trump's remarks kremlin spokesman dmitri pascoe office said russia is focusing on other global forums do you think that moscow really cares whether it's back in the g seven the g eight or not. i don't know i think maybe they're there they're showing their dignity here by saying that we've got better things to do we're not going to be bad we're not going to beg to be allowed back in but i think if there were a decision made by the g. seven to invite russia back in make a g eight again i think it would be the prudent thing for moscow to say yes so the g. seven and canada and italy which some might say are not really leading the world powers and it excludes countries such as china and russia so does the organization in its

current form have any real authority given its current makeup. no not as an organization of course is supposed to be the leading world economies and of course without raising only means of the united states european economies and japan well of course italy is a major world economy it's the third largest economy in the eurozone so i don't think it's a completely let's say incoherent body there but i think that's one of the reasons that some of these countries are hesitant to let russia back in because they say well is russia really democracy well certainly china is not but russia is and the russians should be back in the g. eight so taking this just a little bit further trump had a highly publicized feud with the prime minister of canada after the recent g. seven summit do you think his remarks about russia are directly related to that. i don't know i think they're somewhat related in the sense that he wanted to show his you know some people said he had a bad seven meeting was

a bad summit i don't think was bad at all he he went there a connection for example with his announcement of tariffs to say to our trading partners no more free lunch that we're not going to continue to practice free trade while you practice merck and elizabeth i think he wanted to bloody their noses of it and i think of that mr trudeau just happens to be a convenient patsy for that so thanks for being with us it's kind of it i'm very interested to see how this all plays out with you know former allies on the fritz and a former enemies now currently allies you're always the one to talk to to make sure that we can wrap our heads around it thanks jim doctress. thank you so much. all right in other world news making headlines italy has some of the french ambassador after president micron criticized italy's decision to turn away a migrant rescue boat or controlled burns more earlier this week a humanitarian vessel was denied the right to dock at

a port on italy's island of sicily the rescue ship was carrying over six hundred migrants including many unaccompanied minors and pregnant women if they had been rescued off the coast of libya but are now currently on route to the port of lengthier after spanish authorities said that they could dock there well the french president has been scathing in his attack of italy in regards to this situation describing the country's actions as being cynical and irresponsible italy is furious at that criticism by france and is demanding an apology. the french ambassador has been summoned by a foreign minister who on behalf of the italian people will ask for an explanation for the insults directed not only against the government but also against the nation which is among the first in the world in terms of generosity solidarity and hospitality if the french or the humility to apologize the story will be closed and we will work in the interests of everyone. present is so took told the cabinet

meeting that under maritime law it's dictated that in cases of distress those with the closest coastline have a responsibility to respond and in his view that was sicily but it has since emerged that leaders on the french island of corsica actually offered the vessel to dock there before they were criticized harshly by the central government in paris so some including italy is suggesting that there's some double standards when it comes to migrants and france they've also now asked france to take on nine thousand migrants from their own country. on the basis of the agreed. a migraine reallocation from two thousand and fifteen friends committed itself to work in one thousand eight hundred sixty migrants and instead in three years they took six hundred forty so i ask president mccrone to move from just words to action and to morrow morning welcome the one thousand migrants france promised to work him as a sign of concrete generosity and not just words. while

a meeting on friday between the french and italian leaders did look to be in jeopardy is this war of words has been escalating but we understand that it will possibly still go ahead meanwhile a meeting between the italian finance minister who's due to come to paris to meet the french finance minister was initially cancelled but that is said now to be back on these are tense times though between these e.u. neighbors and this is not a spot that is likely to blow over very easily. by the united nations has condemned israel's deadly crackdown on protests along the gaza border heroes aleutian was passed by the general assembly in new york with one hundred twenty votes in favor and against it accuses israel of excessive use of force against palestinians and calls for an international effort to protect civilians however the text does not include a u.s. amendment blaming hamas for inciting violence representative israel and the u.s.

strongly rejected the document calling it one sided by supporting the view through the lucian you all call looting without their rift organisation both supporting the for the lucian you are empowering. the nature of this resolution clearly demonstrates that politics is driving the day it is totally one sided it makes not one mention of hamas who routinely initiate violence in gaza. according to palestinian officials one hundred twenty nine civilians have been killed in border clashes during the past week alone israel says its forces are acting purely in self-defense. was.

investigative journalist rick starling thinks the vote at the u.n. is a positive step towards calming the situation on the gaza border the claim to trying to blame hamas is just a distraction it's a form of deception which they want to try to mislead the people from seeing what's pretty clear you've got unarmed protesters who are in gaza they're you know hundreds of yards from the so-called fence and they're being shot by snipers. with with live ammunition and this is what's going on there is a clear recognition that it's wrong and that there's no future in continuing this kind of oprah given that in the long run there's got to be a real change in in the situation there and so this resolution at the u.n. general assembly today is a small step but it's a positive step in the right direction. and that does it for me this hour be back

in thirty one minutes. after visiting the ten host cities i'm finally here in moscow and this is why it begins and ends i'm in this new stadium it's completely rebuilt for the world cup and i'll be seven matches played in india so more than a million people will be watching football in here and that includes of course the opening match between russia and saudi arabia and the final vote in moscow two venues.

i'm at the second moscow venue. this is spotted moscow stadium and for each of the five games that are being played here more than forty five thousand people will be watching on from the stands going to see illegal messi when he takes argentina here to play the minus that that beats and the pick surprised from the euros two years ago iceland i mean the capital an obviously a lot of stuff is going on here what exactly peter schmeichel and i'm going to take some of that stuff out. in the middle of a skull and you can just sense the world cup is just around the corner holding games tomorrow and asked so many people in the streets and you can hear the accents they're not russian only. from everywhere in the world and sends you into is a place that the world cup is finally begin.