u.s. secretary of state's visit to cairo opens a floodgate of criticism from opposition leaders who say the u.s. is too heavily involved in egypt's internal issues. a boost for the syrian opposition rebels are preparing to receive millions of dollars in aid plus direct support for armed groups fighting the author of regime after rounds of bickering with their foreign backers. private bradley manning please guilty to handing military data to wiki leaks saying he had to show the public the true cost of war but u.s. authorities will pursue the more serious charges of aiding the enemy possibly landing him behind bars for life. also the catholic world becomes leaderless with the pope standing down for the first time in six hundred years leaving the church is reputation spiraling amid child abuse and corruption accusations. and the sequester kicks in taking

a chainsaw to america's economy with eighty five billion dollars and potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs to be caught thanks to republican and democrat politics. welcome to the weekly this sunday here in our new sonali with a look at the week's top stories plus the latest news from around the world good to have you with us we begin though with america's top diplomat john kerry he's faced a wall of criticism in public protest during his visit to egypt some of the country's opposition leaders accuse washington of interfering in the country's domestic politics that sentiment is being echoed by their supporters on the streets as our correspondent bill true now reports there was no i don't get from the people here in egypt what we saw with protesters. the foreign ministry of people actually

burning pictures of john kerry saying that he was supporting the muslim brotherhood and u.s. interests here in egypt on a formal political level opposition leaders including hamdeen sabbahi mohamed el baradei failed to attend the meeting on saturday yesterday six of the eleven opposition figures refused to attend the sabbahi himself who of course is part of the national salvation front the leading opposition coalition here he said that he wouldn't open dialogue with john kerry the u.s. continues to pursue their interests here and to interfere at a domestic level. for his part apparently did to meet with john kerry we're not sure what was actually discussed. they talked to him on the phone to those clearly a feeling of anger towards the u.s. secretary of state who was calling for political consensus which many people interpret as a backing the muslim brotherhood policies here has historically been

a lot of anger towards the u.s. since the revolution people saw america as supporting host in the form of the dictators switching their leases to the muslim brotherhood and of course pushing forward this very unpopular four point eight billion dollar i.m.f. loan which will see subsidy cuts and tax hikes affecting the poorest of society and we will have a john kerry meeting with mohamed morsi the president here today we expect by the protests is yet to be seen. as william and all geo political analyst and author of lions and oil wars told r.t. that washington support for egypt's islamic rulers may not be as strong as the opposition claims. i think there's a double faced r.c. in washington the backing of the muslim brotherhood goes back to the cia's role in egypt back of the one hundred fifty s. when he saw the muslim brotherhood as a potentially useful tool to put in their bag of organizations that they manipulate

around the world i think some people around president obama have the delusion that they could control what's basically a political islamic fascist movement so it's not a year a movement for democracy and is actually the imagination at this point morsi is in a life and death struggle because the popular support his love there for this this who and washington is beginning to get a little bit wobbly of its support for morsi for that reason they're beginning to rethink i think that's one of the reasons for the change between hillary clinton and john kerry to bring in a new cast of people and see what what kind of options there are in egypt to support. syria's apparently never ending civil standoff became the key issue of us to promise in this week after bargaining and mixmaster serious key opposition group managed to get more concessions from washington and its pro-rebel allies the u.s. has agreed to provide direct non-lethal support to opposition fighters battling the

us and army on the ground it has also promised an additional sixty million dollars to help them secure the territories they've already seized but washington's been reluctant to send arms to the rebels citing fears they could fall into islamist hat stuck to venus i will you by mid east scholar at columbia university says the conflict will not end as long as rebels have the support needed to fight on. this is just called free of politic we know this from sentry's ago international politics is the way. things happen it's not about the people so and if they really wanted to help the syrian people they should have. sought a political settlement from the beginning and now we're entering almost a third year of the conflict she then continued to fuel this conflict by bringing weapons and money to certain part of the opposition if really really interested in finding a solution and stopping the bloodshed the first thing to do is just stop funding

and stop reviewing weapons to the armed groups and dead weight it would be obliged to sit at the table if this is not this isn't made by the international players i don't see how it's going to stop when i have a comedian a communist turned democrat and a sex scandal survivor gotten comment well they're just some of the leaders tasked with attempting to form a coalition with a proud post elections italian split on austerity corruption and government that's coming up sorely. this week u.s. private bradley manning pleaded guilty to handing over secret military data to the whistle blowing web site wiki leaks prosecutors say they will push forward with the more serious charges of aiding the enemy and call over one hundred forty witnesses to prove their point now a guilty verdict could mean a life sentence artie's were important i watched the latest developments. guilty

but not sorry more than one thousand days after his arrest u.s. army private bradley manning admitted to being the source behind the largest leak of classified information in u.s. history private first class bradley manning has pleaded guilty to ten of the twenty charges against him private bradley manning minutes he gave thousands of secret document to the wiki leaks website manning gave his first detailed explanation of why he did it manning said he uploaded troops of u.s. secrets to the weekly leaks website because quote americans have a right to know the true cost of war he is the purest form with he had the very sophisticated now a fifth of why he had to do it as a duty to spread americans to expose what their government was doing in the name which within the home and around the world so all credit to him he's. the former intelligence analyst said he attempted to contact traditional media outlets like the washington post the new york times and politico but failed to get through to them later deciding to pass the documents on to wiki leaks manning said he engaged

in a prolonged internet conversation with the wiki leaks member called cox who he assumes was julian a songe i think it's very clear that the risks of street government secrecy are much graver and have already done much more serious damage to the united states and god knows other countries and the risks brought by whistleblowers and leaks like this one manning pleaded not guilty to aiding the enemy the most serious charge which washington is determined to prove the u.s. government is reportedly planning to call a key witness to testify that osama bin laden actively sought to access material manning passed along to wiki leaks some reports suggest the unknown individual could reportedly be one of the navy seals involved in the about about raid that killed bin laden the fear here i think is that you would be sensationalizing the proceedings and it would it would make it nearly impossible for manning to have. a fair trial in

a just because we now be talking about terrorism terrorism and terrorism will get away from the fact that he is charged with the offense of releasing the information and they don't have to show that terrorists received it this will continue the obama administration has ushered in this era of pursuing whistleblowers and making certain that they are prosecuted and they go after them zealously in a manner that they do not go after other individuals that's been the thing i think is the most particularly striking is you can have private contractors who engage in weapons smuggling right like the blackwater executives or you can have bankers that engage in financial fraud and they are pursued as jealously as whistle blowers following his arrest in may two thousand and ten manning was kept in solitary confinement at a military jail in kuwait then at a marine prison in quantico virginia for the first ten months of his detention the former army analyst spent twenty three hours a day in

a six by eight foot windowless cell and was forced to sleep naked without bed sheets treatment that hundreds of legal scholars including president barack obama's former harvard professor claims was cruel and inhumane punishment that may have undermined manning's psychological stability i think he was treated very horrendously and they were very they were very much trying to break him and subject him to horrors and to make it clear to intimidate people around the world who would do the kind of heroic things that bradley manning did to try and it through them from doing that man himself said he believed the move would only embarrass but not damage the u.s. and eventually kick start a public debate the result the u.s. was shamed in front page headlines around the world a nervous superpower launched a witch hunt against whistleblowers and wiki leaks became a household name the cost for young private they spend between twenty years and a lifetime behind bars for an important i.r.t.

new york. but weeks since elections in italy and its senate remain in limbo with partners across the political spectrum so far refusing any talks of coalitions and one party led by an economic crisis a comedian now finds itself in the role of king maker have a green arrow is anti austerity and to corruption rhetoric millions of it's have rallied millions of italian securing him a quarter of the vote but he was still behind the democrats in a coalition led by disgraced former prime minister silvio berlusconi the president's now calling on all sides to work together to try and form a stable government or else face a new a lack sense and there's growing concern about the financial ramifications of the deadlock. your real crisis the elephant in the room the nobody was talking about so far this year is back and it's back big time because ultimately fifty seven percent

of the tell you just don't like the idea of a sturdy but they don't really want to do the sorts of things that the european union will supposed to paula that's causing us a huge problem because ultimately you've got incredible new parties like betty greeley or certified storm movement you've got an incredible we have support that came back from mr berlusconi a former prime minister and so billy missions and of course knowing it plays in the worst possible political limbo there's no clear ike right winger there's no clear government it's going to weeks on end and if it really is not going to be able to reliable member of the euro zone then there probably is not going to be a euro zone but ultimately should investors lose money because of bad investment decisions as well as an investor advisor i'd say that's what we call capitalism that's what's happened it shouldn't just be a kid of the poor people innocent people are forced to suffer incredible austerity apropos of billing i'd investors and bankers. israel could soon get the unique

benefit of being america's official major strategic ally that measure is to be just about a nine year old pro israeli gathering in washington but the leaders of both countries are absent we've got analysis right after a short break. there are twelve cities in the united states in which half of the people with hiv aids lives within a year of. over sixty two percent of those species i diagnosed with this is a problem that frankly is substantially preventable it was like the big elephant in the room and nobody wanted to talk about they were really good public health campaigns that people were really focused on this problem certainly should be about a lot less h i think a lot less human suffering. it's technology innovation all the developments around russia we've got the future

covered. here with r t live from moscow to the catholic church to witness history this week as benedict the sixteenth officially resigned something a pope hasn't done for six hundred years and as the church remains leaderless internal divisions and a marge reputation mean many are losing faith eroding the church's foundation archies arena reports. it's not just about selecting

a new bishop of rome some say but the very future of the catholic church the catholic church is undergoing a very important tries this it is a crisis at two levels this is a government crisis and it is a crisis of the believers there was a lack of leadership which culminated in the great scandals of but the leeks far from the splendor of the sistine chapel a closer look at the recent events in the vatican to highlight disillusionment and frustration with the church once all about the i distanced myself from the church when i became an adult when i started talking about what had been taught specially after all the scandals broke out in the catholic church i realize that it doesn't represent my spirituality benedict the sixteenth may have been the first pope with a twitter account but many argue this measure alone was not strong enough in appealing to the masses now this is the age of transparency the age of the people the churches should be properly. they'd be. considered sacred she was.

the great assets everybody now you see today will be to be. the problem of the media they're really working on leases he went to change many things about the church for people of gabrielli of this inability to face up to and much less to punish those who may be responsible for tainting the image of the church is the deciding factor in abandoning catholicism. there's another scandal with a girl who disappeared in the vatican twenty years ago and they say the man found her remains the italian police are leading the investigation here but instead of helping them the vatican is obstructing the investigation it's likely they knew about this and stayed silent and on top of all those cases of pedophilia with this is just disgusting the list of controversial events involving catholic priests or vatican officials reads like a tabloid reports of sex abuse put a feely accusing. allegedly corruption and possible ties with the mafia while the

media especially in italy has been having a field day with the scandals the vatican either stayed silent or rebuffed all accusations but those things may be looking rather grim for the seat of st peter's at a first glance there is still a chance the catholic church can make a comeback. with the church would. be strong we've come to reform but in spite of that reality recent revelations have left me wondering if the holy see has been blind the world is rapidly changing and is that the catholic church has failed to keep pace sure it has seen a fair number of ups and downs as well as scandal in two thousand year long history but there is opinion that perhaps taking an unpleasant development sweeping it under the carpet and sealing it with the people ring for secrecy is a tradition better left in the past in rome. r.t.

. the us is looking to squeeze tehran with yet more sanctions but as the streets tighten there's a boom in other porters as the agricultural sector picks up the pace that's coming up later this hour. sequester cuts have kicked in in the united states with the government now eighty five billion dollars from its budget following political deadlock even as the first steps are made the blame game is raging with democrats and republicans desperate to offload responsibility and economist richard cole says the american people should prepare for the worst. republicans and democrats alike are committed to an austerity policy as we do in see it in europe their only disagreement is exactly who gets cut whose axes get raisins and i'm very pessimistic as are most observers

in washington that we are about to do what britain italy greece have done with the same dire consequences looming in our future if you cut government spending as we're about to do if you raise taxes on average people which we did on january first with the rise in the payroll tax those are a double whammy two hits on our economy they depress the economy they lose people jobs they make people cut back in their spending with less jobs and less spending government tax revenues go down and that you races whatever benefit you might have imagined would comment on the government's budget the irony is the economy gets worse and the government budget gets worse until they wake up and realize that this is an inappropriate way to go at a time of economic crisis. israel could become the first ever nation to enjoy the official status of america's major strategic ally this among other things could

mean the u.s. would be obliged to support any potential israeli offensive against iran the proposed legislation is to be discussed at the annual american israeli public affairs committee gathering about to kick off in washington that's despite the significance of the despite the significance i should say of such a move neither of the leaders of the two countries are attending to a political analyst patrick hansen says this could be assigned the israeli lobby is that we influence we know the u.s. and some noises coming out of washington there is quite a little contingent within the united states that is looking to perhaps get into to diplomatic negotiations with iran and not be talking abrasively as they have in previous years and israel has entered the fray the israeli lobby is really putting pressure on those politicians in america to take a more israeli line which is a more hardcore like that has to do with perhaps a flame war with or around the big change that we're looking at is

a shift there is a shift away from this kind of like allegiance to israel that is on capitol hill in washington d.c. who are splits appearing because americans are realizing that it's not in their best interest it's not in american interest to follow israel's agenda so therefore aipac is not it's not beneficial for aipac to be running the government or want to print in any more as they have for the past thirty years. this friendship believed. to be a part of congress this sunday all. nuclear talks held this week between iran and six world powers including the us ended without breakthrough and this american introduces a new bill to tighten the economic screws on the country tehran insists it has the right to ensure its energy independence whistleblower gwen is talking tells our to

the risks of a nuclear iran is being blown out of proportion the iranian civilization has been around for five thousand years certainly longer than most questions it was ations or any western civilizations and they're not suicidal. they know that were they nuclear weapons they would be obliterated washington his thing push being pushed by israel for a long time to effect regime change in iran and the nuclear program as an excuse to put pressure on iran to try to cause regime change but i'm not saying that a nuclear armed iran would be a good thing but a nuclear armed any country is not a good thing but the rationale behind pressure on iran and my opinion comes directly from israeli desire for regime change in iran and why the

united states government to make that happen. the u.k.'s unemployment benefits are meant to support those desperately searching for work but for some the financial advantage of remaining unemployed outweighs getting a new job that means they choose to stay dependent on the system are just probably has more i couldn't really believe my luck to be honest. it was just a dream i thought this is amazing you know british government is helping me out you know i needed somewhere to live and i don't have a job not the words you expect to hear from someone who's fallen on hard times housing benefits allowed stephanie to rent a flat in this sport a block in london's glitzy mayfair by myself i could always barely afford a studio in central london when i was working and. looking for a job central in the spacious flat it just makes you really lazy it's a sprawling and complicated system but one that allows

a family of four to claim up to thirty five thousand pounds a year from housing to child care and unemployment benefits i've known people. and they've been able to afford new cars to be able to afford to go abroad on holiday i've never actually been abroad on holiday before in my life so how can they afford a good holiday when they're on benefits. and i forgot to do that. that's what makes me angry. is the growth and growth before well first liked to do things for. there's no doubt but for a certain segment of society we basically have communities imbedded in wealth for generations of people who have not worked the welfare state was all the idea of a man who might well be turning in his grave william beverages an idea of the five

giant evils of society squalor ignorance want idleness and disease some of the very qualities that critics say the system encourages beverage was absolutely unfair to welfare should only provide you with subsistence levels of support and it should only do so for a short period of top seventy years down the line and welfare spending is the biggest item of government expenditure milking it is so widespread it's become a source of satire you know to exaggerate the ever we're told here we've been on this bloody disability allowance i told her he worked at docklands. do you think you can get me on is just ability allowance he's got a bone to see which corbo. westminster now wants to make it clear that benefit on to a career path and coming through the doors of your local job center a year in and year out filling in a few forms and claiming your money is no longer an option but for people that have

been through the experience of claiming unemployment benefit they see it's all too easy to get money no one's really checking whether or not you're genuinely looking for work. artsy. there are the weekly here in our city this hour in a few minutes we look at why half of all entirely in factions in the united states affect only thirteen percent of the population stay with us. there's an old urban legend that says that the u.s. army stopped using circular targets for rifle practice because the soldiers would be hesitant to shoot people on the battlefield the logic is that if you practice

shooting something that looks like an enemy soldier you'll be desensitized to a killing real enemy soldiers so again the logic is to practice shooting at what you want to kill so you won't hesitate and speaking of not hesitating the law enforcement targets incorporated has created a special line of paper targets for police called new more hesitation so it's on these targets well maybe mexican drug cartel members or l.a. street gangs nope children and pregnant women yeah law enforcement targets in coffers a product to desensitize police from hesitating to blow away women carrying the unborn and innocent children and it's even sicker than that i bet law enforcement agencies are probably buying these things up by the thousands but that's just my opinion.