stories that shape this week the death of another russian toddler in an adoptive u.s. family leads to allegations he could have been killed stoking anger in russia. fresh rallies clashes and hunger strikes in the west bank the death of a palestinian in an israeli jail further fuels a week long protests against the plight of palestinian prisoners. and italians choose their parliament on one of the most unpredictable votes in the country's history which could see a comeback by showmen berlusconi for a breakthrough by a former comedian. good evening you're watching r t with me lucy catherine over to our compilation of the

top stories from the week and today. well it's been revealed to that this week about another russian child died after being adopted by an american family if the twentieth such death since the mid one nine hundred ninety s. the news that three year old maxim cruz mean was found bruised and dead at the home of a texan a couple caused outrage here in russia the boy's adoptive mother claims it was an accident but there are suspicions that maxim could have been abused and killed or to his honesty takes up the story twenty russian children in the last seventeen years died in their adoptive american families most recently here in texas mark simkin meehan known to locals as max shadow just what i heard on the news was just the kid had some scratches. that's all i know three year old mark sam and his younger brother keel lived in this house with their adoptive parents in a rather secluded neighborhood it was from here that on the afternoon of january twenty first the boy was taken away by an ambulance never to come back his legs had

an internal organs were allegedly severely bruised. it could mean could if this is confirmed as a result of the investigation that maxime's death was a result of certain violent actions but specific circumstances of his death have yet to be announced i can't get into that because it would be speculative. for the results to come back russian officials had no knowledge of the incident until almost a month after the boy's death it wasn't a little bit later that we started getting some suspicions of what was going on and that all developed from talking to the parents the people that live there it just took a little more time moscow says this is far from the first time it has been left in the dark about an adopted child stuff. even unfortunately it's usually months after russian child has died in the u.s. that the american side informs us about it and one case it was five years after a boy died. a probe is now being conducted in texas and russia has an ongoing

investigation of its own. if as a result of the investigation it is determined that maksim was killed by his mother for example underscoring if this is the conclusion of the investigation naturally those responsible for the death of the russian boy will have to suffer the most severe punishment meanwhile at the u.s. state department we obviously take very seriously the welfare of children particularly children who've been adopted from other countries according to moscow little cooperation was shown until it was demanded. with almost two dozen deaths caused by abuse and even manslaughter russia in a move often criticized recently imposed a ban on american adoption of its kids on. i've always believed that russia should stop these adoptions and i hope that they maintain this ban and don't yield to pressure autopsy an investigation results are expected to take weeks if not months to be announced no arrests have yet been made the dead boy's younger brother's

destiny is yet to be determined for now he continues living in the adoptive family where his brother died while the investigation is slow paced and the alleged information on the little boy's life and death extremely scarce one of the questions that demand an answer is why should it take a rigid push from abroad for the us to pay attention to yet another tragic destiny of a hopeless child to whom it promised a better life on its soil and this is a party after county texas. males who gave in from the pound pup legacy a group that monitors children placed with the new families says the case highlights shortcomings of any u.s. adoptive system the united states has a very complex adoption system where the state department has federal responsibilities which it comes properly executed because adoption itself is performed at the state level in america the federal government has no control over

who actually happens. you need to have a proper system in place that checks. adoptive parents much better before the adoption which has posts option monitoring all that is not really in place there is screening but it's not properly done post adoption monitoring is impossible. especially in america it is impossible because a right to privacy. the treatment of russian orphans by their adoptive u.s. families and the subsequent russian adoption ban against the u.s. have sparked fierce debate on r.t. dot com you will find more stories from all sides and you can also leave your own comments awaiting it on the issue yourself. tensions are escalating in the west bank over the death of a palestinian in an israeli jail has triggered a fresh wave of violence thousands of palestinian prisoners are already refusing

food in a show of solidarity with the dead man while dozens of protesting palestinian youths have been tear gassed by israeli soldiers now the israeli side says the prisoner died of a heart attack palestinians this is that he was tortured during interrogation further it angered the palestinians already been the rally for a week against the conditions in israeli prisons and in support of the hunger strikers for the protest repeatedly ended in fierce clashes with israeli soldiers who used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. the prisoner issue wasn't the only one causing divisions this week more clashes erupted when jewish settlers attacked palestinian demonstrators in the north of the west bank shooting two people and artie's falsely reports there could be no end to his comfort taishan as long as israel continues building on land considered to be owned by the palestinians. it's rugged unremarkable landscape largely empty but full of meaning this is one of the west bank's most sensitive pieces of real estate

for fourteen years plans to build here have existed but were kept on hold but all of that changed last november less than twenty four hours after the u.n. general assembly recognize palestine is a nonmember observer state television fast track to construction plans here prompting the palestinian government to call it a slap in the face of the entire world. this plan to build here is not legal according to international which states that when one country occupies another change facts on the ground israel is doing exactly that so we'll also look at people who are of the land to benefit. known as the one this controversial patch of earth exists between east jerusalem where palestinians aspire to establish the capital of a future palestinian state and the huge israeli settlement of mali on. it is the last remaining corridor between the large palestinian cities in the west bank and if plans go ahead and the israelis extend the syria it would cut into

a big chunk of the west bank effectively driving a wedge into the middle of any potential palestinian state critics have warned that filling the space with jewish homes amounts to a doomsday scenario effectively striking a fatal heart attack to the two state solution but for now the plan is to build a garbage dump in this valley with the waste that comes from to resell it and then in about twenty to thirty years when it's full to build a park on top of us here you can see that palestinians fear it's part of a long term strategy to extend the one and to build new israeli settlements it's not surprising this is not the first time that such a plan is submitted it is a part of ongoing policy that has been growing for years now in at the end to grab palestinian lands but first the israelis need to get rid of the people who live here among them around three arab jerusalem neighborhoods and one hundred fifty bedouins for whom this has been home for nearly half

a century tel aviv complains the bedwyn camps were set up eagerly without permits and stand in the way of urban planning but critics say this is just an excuse for a land grab it makes me furious this dump site is going to harm the environment and it's going to harm the health of the people and they make it harder and harder to find a solution for the situation demolition orders have already been issued threatening to destroy the last remnants of bedwyn life in these hills and while israeli officials say the construction anyone if it happens at all is many years away it cuts to the heart of the israeli palestinian conflict which fundamentally is about the land and the fate of the people who live on it policy r t in the west bank. well as they are reporting there she's also keeping us up to date on her twitter feed now if you want to follow her you can head online and follow her by going to a policy or underscore r.t. to get the latest.

europe is holding its breath on sunday as austerity head italians choose their next parliament from a former comedian to disgrace to ex prime minister silvio berlusconi there's certainly no lack of choice on the ballot but as our teams are going to lose go reports the outcome could well throw debt ridden eat you into even more uncertainty . this italian parliamentary election offers plentiful options for the country's voters at first glance but dig deeper and you'll realize the choice isn't all it seems but the talons are confused and there is still

a part of them who has no style geo for the good old times of mr berlusconi. you know they thought they could all become millionaires and this was the big news and it wasn't the streets of rome aligned with posters from various political parties and candidates all smiles and bright colors offering the best future possible for italian voters. i have. been since i. was a candidate like. i. was i was. thirteen i. was given. the program lo is not the leader but the face of a movement whose plan is simple to do away with the politics that italy has been used to for the past couple of decades and bring about a new type of rule the number saved on my part i don't feel protected by the state

i want to state that is visible there is no more state in this country just a group or sea of laws that has replaced democracy there isn't anything left among the crowds disillusioned with israelis politics is done the analysis is done he started small by successfully challenging politicians in his small hometown in the south like many talents he does not trust the current political system if it was possible to live your life yet here you will think that was ok i gave you that right he let you off the wall over there but it is time for a change at least one hundred thousand people showed up to support close movement in the center of rome the biggest political gathering in half a century people say popular because it speaks clearly and they say it's one of the main thing to say so they have to go or home. oh. yes they're finished this right because they're the political class as lost in the in

the influence on the part of the population especially young people the crisis which we have a political class absolutely unable to cope with the situation and the situation is a desperate one the longest recession in twenty years more than one third of the country's youth are without a job corruption that feeds organized crime and manages to siphon off as much as sixty billion euro a year by some estimates and declaring wealth divide between various italian regions basically italy's huge a parliament will have a mouthful to chew to avoid choking on the problems which have accumulated over the years perhaps doing away with the old men in suits no matter how respectable they may appear in favor of a foul mouth but seemingly honest comedian may be just the thing to put an end to italy's political drama in rome it in a ghost. and there was

a little special a welcome for the scandal plagued silvio berlusconi at the polling station one but he probably wouldn't mind knowing his history three topless activists protesting his candidacy you can watch the full video and get more details on our website r t v dot com. oh ok. egypt's president struggles to appease protesters with promises while his law enforcement tactics calls for more anger just ahead of what we report on the alarming allegations of abuse and tortured used by local police while the government hands out weapons to the lowest ranking officers. plus america's new top diplomats john kerry sets off on a marathon foreign tour his first as a secretary of state we're going to speak with a foreign policy expert john humphrys to talk about what can be expected say with

us coming up after the break. you know sometimes you see this story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else here's some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm trying hard to be the big. issue. going to take three. three.

three. three. three. three bars. for your media. free media r t v dot com. you're watching r t i'm lucy catherine of well syrian rebels have received a new batch of heavy weaponry from outside sponsors across the jordanian border in order to fight president assad that's according to arab and rebel officials this comes as fledgling efforts to promote peace talks in the syrian conflict appear to have stalled now the main opposition group syria's national coalition announced that it is pulling out of the upcoming international talks aimed at helping to end the bloodshed the group will skip the scheduled meetings in russia and the u.s. over what it sees as

a lack of international condemnation of the asada government it is also boycotting the gathering of the friends of syria alliance which consists of the rebels foreign backers who have syrian problem for massive us all more of a cops as the western powers could be losing their influence over the opposition and that the rebels aren't interested in negotiations. and they do not want to have any dialogue with the syrian government because all their strategy based in a sense on the syrian government falling and them coming as a substitute they do not have a lot of also to the on the ground the also the east for the rebel east rather than the political elite that are called the national council would receive the national commission so all they are interested in is for the government to form the normal that the western society the list and countries have invested a lot in them both in money and time and so on in organizing them and they think that they could probably make a stand here with regards to what they see east policy this is

a bit funny because now if the choose to get out of this sort of international friends of syria meeting then the western community is really would have no leverage what so live in the syrian crisis. well to regain some leverage elsewhere america's newly installed secretary of state john kerry has embarked on his first foreign trip on the job on the list is checking the boxes with key allies in europe as well as delving into the turbulent middle east that are his only in a park i reports america's new secretary of state john kerry is on his first official overseas trip visiting nine countries in western europe and the middle east over the course of ten days hillary clinton's replacement will reportedly consult with allies on topics including iran the up peoples in the arab spring countries and syria's civil war secretary kerry is also scheduled to meet with members of syria's opposition according to the state department the top u.s. diplomat thinks of this as quote listening tour meanwhile in his first speaking

engagement as u.s. secretary of state mr kerry ran into some geography problems when referring to democratic reforms in the non existant country of cures ixtapa they fight corruption in nigeria they support the rule of law. they support democratic institutions and george kyrgyzstan is the country kerry should have said but unfortunately his speech was written with the mistake reporting from new york. r.t. . all right american foreign policy expert john reese is with me to discuss kyrgyzstan kazakhstan mispronunciation and geography mistakes aside sir it's quite interesting to know that john kerry will be visiting the top european allies first on his trip we have london britain france germany italy what is behind this focus on the traditional european allies in your view. well i think it's always been very

important for the americans to keep the nato alliance together but they always want to keep it together on their own terms it's always been the case for instance that the senior commanding officer in nato is from the american armed forces and what the americans constantly want to do is to shift the burden of military intervention on to the european powers but to keep political control over the process and i think that we've seen that a number of times recently especially since the american focus is now beginning to shift towards the pacific to deal with the rising threat of china we are going to the europeans now have to take on a greater share of burden in respect to policing the arab world and north africa well you've mentioned the so-called pivot to asia and but notably asian countries are actually off the visit list what should we read into that if anything. nothing very much on this particular tour i think i think they will be no doubt receiving

the attentions of the new secretary of state all too soon what we're seeing here is a preparation. for american foreign policy in what he's still the most unstable or poor part of the world the decisive area of the world still jewish and economically in terms of the middle east and as i say an attempt to convince the nato allies that they should pay more but have no more influence so more of a let's kind of enter allies tour as opposed to a listening tour as it's been billed in your view you know i don't think the american empire does too much listening really it does a lot of instruction and it still has the military weight to do that although they encouraged for instance the european powers france and britain to take the lead in the libyan intervention that was inconceivable without the american go ahead i'm with i merican support and we recently saw that the americans were complaining that their european allies were literally running out to bullets towards the end of the

libyan conflict and had they not been resupplied by the americans they no doubt would have done so i think you can see almost a marked cause a move but u.s. u.k. european relations are not incident well speaking of another conflict where the u.s. may be sort of hedging its bets syria of course on this listening tour john kerry is reportedly and may be meeting with some representatives of the syrian opposition who have of course pulled out of recent international talks there's been some criticism out there that western states are perhaps losing their grip on the syrian rebels what do you think mr kerry's message to the opposition will be. well i think american foreign policy is in a bit of a stalemate with regard to syria first of all in a stalemate because they would like to intervene directly they would like to achieve regime change with the assad regime as they did with gadhafi in in libya but the chinese and russian veto at the u.n. has prevented them from going that far therefore responded by

a covert intervention through their lives in the in the middle east through turkey through the gulf states and so forth and so on that's less than the pro western elements in the syrian opposition want they're constantly disappointed in the americans ability to make a decisive play and therefore make a decisive difference with the battle with the regime on the other hand the americans are constantly disappointed with the opposition because the opposition doesn't have a considerable debt to support in syria itself the actual fighting is on the ground is being conducted by some forces that are sympathetic to the to the americans and we should note here the free syrian army bombardment of hezbollah positions in in lebanon recently but that's not the only picture there are leftists there are kurds

there are islamists who the americans really don't like being at the forefront of the fighting so american foreign policy is in a considerable state of impasse under considerable limbo with regard to having a decisive leverage on the syrian situation all right well and very briefly of course israel is not on this list america's traditional ally of course so we do know that john kerry will be accompanying president obama there in march but do you believe that the fact that it's off the list in this round of visits could perhaps signal some sort of increase in tensions between the two traditional allies. well we know that there is tension over iran and that is the largest problem looming over the whole politics of the area in many ways the the conflict in syria is a conflict between the west and its allies as a iranian ally in the assad regime. so the israeli argument there is the u.s. the israeli argument is about calming it is by the extent of intervention it's not

a by. the end of the years the israelis think that the iranians of you have an enemy and so deadly and so to the u.s. i think this conflict will be result and it will eventually be a result i think in terms of some. literary intervention against the iranian regime and that will smooth over any of the link between israel and the u.s. all right well american foreign policy expert jonathan rees weighing in there thank you so much sir for your time. there's further turmoil in egypt where the government just struggling to contain street violence president mohamed morsi has brought forward parliamentary elections to april twenty second as the opposition leader is calling for a boycott of the vote protest have been going on for weeks now with the opposition accusing the president of hijacking the revolution and backtracking on reform promises start he is beltran reports the unrest has often been accompanied by claims of widespread police abuse and torture in his hometown of time to the bill

i'll give the point south twelve local you have renamed to street after his son mohammed a twenty eight year old activist allegedly tortured to death by security forces two weeks ago after protesting on tyreese square. when the first time i went to see mohammed in hospital i didn't recognize him seriously this reason was covered with . a fractured when i asked the dog they told me this is mohamed odeh i know that one would be although muhammad's injuries points to torture his mother says the official forensic report maintains he died after a car crash if you had to be a but that's what vehicle breaks teeth is there a car that stamps on a person with a shoe shattering the glasses and pushing them into his eyes what can only injures a person's head but not their legs yeah. right now egypt is witnessing unprecedented levels of police violence against protesters rights groups reporting

with at least ten x. a judicial killings by security forces since president mohamed morsi to power the worst divide it's often a chis in places like this infamous security directorate behind me which can be viewed through mohammed's kokanee however the most worrying trend activists say is the targeting of children in an impoverished district of alexandria explains how her thirteen year old son up to rahman was detained for over two. so being a bystander at a demonstration. the police use violence against children my son has caused some opposers all over his body a hundred young children because kids can't run away from them. and they've always told us if anyone cries to contact their family or friends they would beat us despite the scenes like these the interior minister denies security forces use violence.