i. as daily violence in iraq brings the body count to record levels r.t. investigates another legacy of the us invasion rainy and contamination that wrecking the lives of those born after the war. gyptian army clashes with muslim brotherhood supporters as rival rallies rage throughout the country it's left over eighty dead one of the sinai peninsula the military launches a crackdown on supposed extremists. the diplomatic wrangling over edward snowden takes a new turn as washington rules out the death penalty for the man who exposed it spying secrets he's still stuck in transit limbo at a moscow airport. the syrian national coalition talks peace with the u.n. and bargains for weapons with the u.s. despite fears the hardware will be snatched by terror groups swarming the country.

if you just joined us for a good evening this is the weekly with me. round over the top stories of the last seven days here on r.t. from moscow and first another week of carnage in iraq has seen the number of people killed in the last seven days rise to two hundred twelve in july alone a staggering eight hundred people lost their lives in the country that's become a breeding ground for terrorists since the u.s. led invasion a decade ago the war not only left iraq plagued with daily violence but it's also left a disturbing legacy of contamination which has led to birth defects. you see caffein off investigate. one hundred sixty kilometers south of baghdad the sacred shiite city is known for its holy shrines and is surrounded by one of

the largest cemeteries in the world some of the heaviest fighting of the iraq war took place amid these graves its legacy still haunts the residents it was born with severe birth defects he's only eight months old but the doctors don't expect him to live past his first birthday. i felt these or you were not hurt the news i ran out to his office and then to have taxi. but for his mother layla there's no escaping the reality. her son has a nervous system disorder and his muscles are slowly wasting away. it's a recurring nightmare for leila and her husband three of their children were also born with congenital deformity is none of them survived and while they don't have proof they believe the radioactive ammunition used by american forces during the war is to blame the rule isn't over yet the americans are gone but we're fearful

suffering from the consequences of spiraling numbers of birth defects and high miscarriage rates have also been reported in fallujah and basra where american and british forces used heavy munitions at the start of the war but our visit to knowledge off revealed that the phenomenon may be far more widespread in iraq than previously known dr sundin's and as one of the few scientists who's been documenting cancer and birth defects here and she says as in the midst of a growing health catastrophe. after the start of the iraq war rates of cancer leukemia and birth defects rose dramatically in a job we believe is because of the legal rep and review rainy i'm at hospitals here cancer is more common than the flu was depleted uranium or do you cut through armor like a hot knife through butter more than four hundred tons of it as. estimated to have been used in the two iraq wars the vast majority by u.s. forces the pentagon did not respond to our request for comment but the military

generally denies any link between exposure and cancer or birth defects it also says weapons are only used to penetrate enemy tanks but a new report funded by the norwegian government. was used against civilian targets in populated areas in the scribes one incident in najaf where a bradley armored fighting vehicle for three hundred five d.-u. rounds in a single engagement. the heavy fighting may be over but in nearly every street we visited in this neighborhood multiple cases of cancer and children with deformities no one knows what's making people here sick the families want answers and they want help. is old enough for school but has to be cared for as if he's a toddler he can't walk he can't speak he can't even go to the bathroom on his own use of brother is healthy but the family has two other children one severely deformed the other with a hole in her spine like many of the couples in this city they're simply too afraid

to have another baby and they're left feeling totally abandoned no one cares about what's happening to the other families in this area even our own government doesn't do anything to help what can we do this is our fate it's a fate that many and suffer in silence. help with their lives in the decades since. all across the country their memories are honored in cemeteries like this one the dead may be the most visible reminder of the human cost of the war but if the living victims of that war talk. still paying the price. also iraq security suffered a massive blow from terrorists on monday as al-qaeda freed some five hundred of its members in a coordinated raid on to the country's major prisons guards and swat teams at the abu ghraib and tired she penitentiaries failed to prevent the massive jailbreak which led to winter polisher going international terrorist saying most of those who

escaped are senior members and pose a global threat to france consulted more in row thinks it's evidence that the iraqi government is powerless. the iraqi government is the ruling only. be allowed to be in your report indeed it began with the leading especially in dispute at the moment that are the past. in the islamic element that the country is insecure that government hasn't been spending it boil on on it with. the americans and the really bizarre legacy in the country's long. ahead israelis could get their say on whether to move towards peace with the palestinians later we reported on how promising that you know its government wants any potential decision to go to a referendum and it's hurry in parliament to get it going to also the people of mali turned out in large numbers to elect

a president but there are fears logistical problems could undermine the votes credibility we'll report on matters well. in the northern city of port side at least one person has been killed and around thirty injured in overnight clashes between supporters and opponents of the ousted president mohamed morsi that follows a brutal clashes in cairo that left over seventy dead muslim brotherhood supporters claim another sixty indeed are on life support after being deliberately targeted by troops artie's bell troops got the latest from cairo. i went back to the city in. the violence it ended and spoke to many of the eyewitnesses and also the medics running these very makeshift field hospitals inside the city and speaking to eyewitnesses they told me that about a few hundred of then i decided to extend their sittin down the main road toward six foot to the bridge which is the main thoroughfare at about one o'clock we took in the morning at this point so security forces attempted to disperse them using

take ass off to this they say they reported cartouche which is a pellets and also an off the bat they then were fired on with live ammunition which went on until nine o'clock in the morning leaving dozens dead speaking to the medics they said by about four five o'clock in the morning they started to get the bodies in with live ammunition and wings mostly to the chest neck and head they say implying this was the shoot to kill now this is the security forces but they're part denying this the protesters say they were not on top of the ministry of interior said saturday evening that the protesters were armed and shot back at them including injuring several of the soldiers they maintain they did not fire on any protest is only used tear gas when it was in fact the protesters themselves because the most of the violence so we really don't have any confirmation of how this exactly start states however looking at the wounds of the people on the sheer number of dead it does imply that live ammunition was used as

a muslim brotherhood have said they will stay put in their citizens and they will keep protesting to fight for justice and also you for the reinstatement of mohamed morsy the military for their part maintaining that they will clear these sit ins the minister of interior released a statement to south today saying that it is working together with the minutes to devise a plan to leave the city and using legal means they say however this is being slammed by rights groups who say it's not possible to legally nearest attend the have been phase that will be for the violence because we've seen such a heavy handed response from the military and the police force towards those protesting so it's very divided egypt extremely tense with expected violence on the horizon. well true reporting there first will occur from to the u.s. to suspend its embassies work in cairo meanwhile the egyptian army says it's killed ten extremists and arrested twenty others in the sun a peninsula that has deployed heavy weaponry and aviation to the area to crack down on terrorist forces it follows

a spike in attacks on soldiers and police in the wake of president morsi overthrow all highways leading to from sinai have been blocked now to prevent extremists excuse scraping with but an estimated five hundred militants in the area heavily armed they say and ready to use civilians as human shields it speculated to sever the muslim brotherhood supporters that decided to take up arms and fight the military political sociologist dr side says the army operation is part of a drive to weaken support for the islamist movement. in the last three years there were many complaints by the egyptian army companies that not succeeded very well for many reasons one of them is that when president morsi who came to power he released many of the. sinai and despite that they are ideologically different from the muslim brotherhood. the popular uprising that led to who was not welcomed by the sinai militants who made every bell you are now the egyptian army hope that you would be able to eradicate them once and for all this

may take time because the sinai is a huge area it's not that easy but at least it would give the activity for a long time not only again as it is in the interest of the whole world that they support the egyptian military campaign against terrorism in north sinai. syria's armed opposition has once again urged the u.s. to start sending weapons to its fighters the syrian national coalition made this the main focus of its meeting with u.s. secretary of state john kerry on thursday the next day then the delegation switched to a non-lethal agenda rather than informal session with the u.n. security council where it agreed to take part in the next to leave a peace conference but as artie's paul scott explains the diplomatic efforts won't have much bearing on the rebel movement as a whole. while the opposition are united in their desire to overthrow president bashar al assad that seems to be where their similarity ends the syrian national coalition is the umbrella group recognized internationally as the legitimate

representative of the syrian people but they don't represent all factions opposed to a saddle one group operating out of their control for example is the al qaeda linked to al nusra front the coalition say they've hijacked the revolution or they've been classed by many in the west as a terrorist organization elsewhere a separate syrian group to be eighty two al qaida helped facilitate a jailbreak in iraq bring high ranking al qaeda operatives infiltrated by foreign fighters are mysteries agenda seem separate from the heart of the coalition and it's even later in fighting one f.s.a. commander was killed by a rival group and the f.s.a. feel they could soon be fighting on two fronts but when we use the phrase opposition exactly who are we talking about well the coalition alone is made up of at least eleven different groups including the muslim brotherhood who have recently called on the us and the e.u. to send arms in the battle with assad while only offering loose guarantees they

won't fall into extremist hands there's also the coalition of secular and democratic syrians the syrian democratic people's party supreme council of the syrian revolution and so it goes on the disparate nature of the syrian opposition combined with the presence of islamic extremists means any nation looking to support the rebels are walking a continual tight rope with very few guarantees that any military support won't backfire and actually encourage the one thing that trying to fight elsewhere. where all the day's news the week's big stories coming up with me kevin zero in after this quick break. i've seen the perception of the cross many times it doesn't matter if there's snow a heat wave or hail stones people keep on going but i don't expect anything just one i told myself i keep on going as long as my heart told me to that's all i want

to at the moment many feel i can send so mind she's see i'm carrying these sayings on my shoulder. do you want me to put a bandage here you know that's fine a lot of people were so exhausted they could barely walk their feet hurt and some of them stated we will bring you back to it three two wanted to keep going i don't know what tomorrow will bring.

the israeli cabinet approved the release of hundred four palestinian prisoners the issue would bring a case sticking point in the way of resuming peace talks israeli politicians have also given the go ahead to a bill which if passed will put any outcome of those negotiations to a referendum more on this now from artie's paulus leah. well the israeli parliament adjourns this week for their summer recess and what this means is that there will be no legislation able to be passed in this country for at least a few months the israeli cabinet has approved this bill that requires any future peace deal with the palestinians to be to put to a referendum now the prime minister's office issued a statement in which it said and i'm quoting that it is important that on such historic decisions every citizen should vote directly this is not a question about supporting a palestinian state but what it is the question about is supporting land swaps which would affect a few but here is jerusalem we're talking about talks of land within the green line

that we're not talking about the west bank and the settlement blocks there but it is at the same time worth noting that this fall was pushed by a predominantly rightwing government was pushed by the right wing members of the time yahoos government meaning that they might be counting on the israeli public to not give its nod to giving land towards a future palestinian state and it might be a way for them of putting another hurdle in the path to a palestinian state i think it's fair to say that most israelis do support negotiations with the palestinians this coming tuesday it is expected that since two thousand and ten there will now be a resumption of direct negotiations between the israelis and palestinians in washington but when you talk about a palestinian independent state the latest opinion polls do suggest that the majority of israelis do support the two state solution but only if israel does not have to give major land swaps and of course that is the contentious issue now the government is seeking urgent approval of this referendum though it is asking

parliament to foster track its passage we do expect that this coming wednesday it will be brought to the knesset for a first reading. it was in the west bank's pretty full has crashed about activists who were protesting against the resumption of peace talks with israel three people were injured as officers used rubber buttons to disperse angry crowds the go sation supreme rejected by hamas officials in gaza who say only israel stands to benefit. while america's most wanted whistleblower sits in the moscow airport it seems that he's become something of a bargaining chip between russia and the united states washington promises to neither execute nor torture edward snowden the man who exposed its worldwide surveillance tactics should it be handed to the u.s. moscow those says there are actually no legal grounds for his expulsion right now lindsey france picks up the ongoing story. the world's media and u.s. law enforcement may not be chasing edward snowden from country to country at this

point but there is plenty of chasing going on at the airport and there's no sign of it slowing down as the weeks passed the kremlin has stuck to its guns on allowing snowden to stay as long as he does not harm the united states by disclosing any more information tension mounted wednesday when reports emerge that snowden's russian advisor anatoly. was en route to share the metro airports terminal with documents allowing snowden's temporary release from the transit zone while his asylum bed is considered but he showed up toting a brown paper bag filled with nothing more than new clothes and a few copies of russian classics translated to english along with the rather dismal news for snowden the paperwork was delayed. and which is in waiting mode now we can all imagine how he feels being unaware of what's ahead of him and whether he'll get a yes or no answer from the russian authorities and procedures can take up to three

months anyway he's very grateful to russia which didn't abandon him and to the people who were trying to help him needless to say snowden was nowhere in sight for the media's hungry lenses meanwhile the game of diplomatic ping pong gets better and better while russia allows snowden's remain in the transit zone the white house demands he's returned without delay the kremlin returns the volley by pointing out the absence of an extradition treaty with washington u.s. ambassador to russia then takes to twitter claiming they're not asking for extradition just to return russia points out the absence of an international law requiring a return secretary of state john kerry calls snowden a traitor to his country russia states part of the reason for sheltering snowden is worried that he could face capital punishment it's then that u.s. attorney general eric holder pens a letter to russia's justice ministry no torture no execution russia points the fact that snowden has been stripped of his passport he can't travel to which. holder scrambles to offer a temporary pass for for direct travel to the secure embrace of american law

enforcement the kremlin is unmoved while the white house asks for clarification on snowden status i think edward snowden has really been in many ways a hero and he has sacrificed his entire future i think as an american how much it's clear he loves this country he will never again see the golden gate bridge or the blue ridge mountains or the grand canyon all the things that we americans take for granted other irons in the fire congress accelerated a bill applying sanctions to any country offering asylum to edward snowden and some hawkish senators are calling for everything from a change of venue for september's g twenty summit in st petersburg to a boycott by the u.s. olympic team of the twenty fourteen winter games in sochi outside the states there are plenty of people lining up to make sure snowden is not thrown to the washington wolves anytime soon it's important that people from whatever government can say i think my government has been doing wrong and has been breaching people's human

rights and i need to apply for asylum in order to be able to speak out about it is while all sides battle it out back and forth back and forth where is their querrey he's quietly hanging out in duty free or possibly thumbing through his new copy of dostoyevsky's crime and punishment back at sheremetyevo airport in moscow lindsey france r t. but snowden would face esplanades charges the second he steps back on u.s. soil if he does despite american insurances that he won't be executed or taught should the history of his previous sessions suggest that he's right to be wary of going. by relentlessly going after whistleblowers here we picked some of the most notable ones the us government is sending a message this is what's going to happen to you if you speak out even if you think you're doing it for the public good even if the public things you did the right thing in edward snowden's case fifty five percent of americans consider him a whistleblower not a traitor and yet it even as many americans are thinking to snowden for greater

awareness about the government's blatant snooping on millions of absolutely innocent people snowden still had to flee the country so was not to share the fate of his fellow whistleblowers had he state he would have been in jail facing life in prison or maybe even the death penalty the example of bradley manning is right there the twenty five year old u.s. army private bradley manning has been in custody for three years now and is facing more than one hundred fifty years in jail many leaked documents and videos that exposed war crimes committed by the u.s. the military judge has recently ruled that mending still has to face the most serious charge the charge of aiding the enemy despite many claims that he's sole intent was to make the public more aware of the cost of war the human cost and other whistleblower former cia analyst john kerry also thought he was doing the right thing when he spoke about the cia's torture practices and became the first government official who confirmed waterboarding at one time to get out who was the

head of the cia's counterterrorism operations in pakistan father of five kids out who is now in jail serving his two and a half years sentence former n.s.a. employees william binney and thomas drake were very close to jail time after they separately blew the whistle on the government's massive surveillance program which they saw as ineffective an illegal needless to say their careers were destroyed edward snowden's revelations have only confirmed would be drake had been saying for years but possibly unlike binney and drake snowden has also made public indisputable proof of the existence of the programs i had the chance to interview three of these men john kiriakou william binney and thomas drake they talked to me about what it's like being targeted by the u.s. government take a listen if you're in itself is control. and what people will do when they're fearful is they were they will begin to censor themselves so much of what's happening now particular my case it sent it extraordinarily chilling message that

anybody i was a senior executive the government had a very high position and say it sends it extraordinarily chilling message that if you speak out if you speak up we're going to hammer you and we're going to hammer you hard because look what we did to mr drake the court is supposed to protect the constitution all these all these people in government take an oath to defend the constitution and they're not living up to their oath of office i never believed i would be going to prison under a president obama never. that's been i think my biggest disappointment the classified documents then daniel ellsberg leaked four decades ago revealed that the us government had lied about the vietnam war and those revelations contributed to the erosion of public support for the war daniel ellsberg was the first whistleblower who was charged under the espionage act the government went after him with all he had wiretapped him without a court warrant broke into his therapist's office trying to find something to

discredit him with the judge dismissed all charges against ellsberg due to the gross government misconduct and illegal evidence gathering today daniel ellsberg stands in support of all these whistleblowers arguing had he been charged today he would have most probably gone to jail in washington i'm going to shake up. folks exe and i finished it molly's presidential election where large numbers turned out to cast their ballots major organizational problems being reported in the north with many people unable to find the right polling stations and many of the half a million people forced from their homes by violence and long running instability were unable to vote a story joe horn says molly was simply not prepared for the election. the country is not ready at all for example to take the electoral role for example the list of voters it's unclear why does the fact that there are so many refugees and internally displaced persons put it this way if i were in northern mali i would be hesitant to go to

a polling station it was not so long ago that these militant so-called islamicist were actually ruling that part of the country we recall the devastation they wreak the havoc they reach in terms of beating women in the streets in terms of destroying valuable manuscripts stretching back centuries that basically reveal the intellectual firepower that didn't exist in that part about africa it seems to me that is election in many ways is going to be an uncertain in to an uncertain enterprise company stories a brief tonight in cambodia street protests a protest against alleged ballot fraud in the country's general election the preliminary vote count shows a result of victory for the ruling party meeting five more years in power for the prime minister who send however the people's party has acknowledged significant gains by the opposition parliament bahrain's parliament's approved about an all protests in the capital the justice minister had called for tougher measures against escalating anti-government anger on saturday blasted the country in just

three policemen in what was described as a series of anti-government attacks bahrain has been witnessing arab spring protests for more than two years now with the ruling family accused of violent crackdowns and human rights abuses again she had muslims. coming up delves into the world of russian orthodox believers on a grueling journey following an ancient i call the next program. boy oh boy there are a lot of conspiracy theories out there for a mysterious extra planet strip killian creatures living among us but there also may conspiracy theories that are very plausible and some that are well actually true one that i've heard for a long time is that they are specifically trying to fool the police with dimwits to

abuse the american people which is silly right right according to a.b.c. news a discrimination lawsuit revealed that robert jordan was denied the chance to become a new london police officer because he was too smart his entrance exam score was a thirty three which is an i.q. of one hundred twenty five and it was just too high to allow him to defend the public good that police department only accepts candidates who have scores from twenty to twenty seven the logic is that people who are too smart get bored as policeman and they're more likely to quit after years of costly training. yeah this is proof of a conspiracy theory well the lowest score of the accept is still around an average i.q. so that doesn't mean they're specifically trying to fill the place with sub par people but it does seem really weird to fear people with high i.q.'s entering the police force this case to have a confirms nor denies the conspiracy theory but is definitely food for thought and does a kind of not make sense to discriminate against anyone ever for having

a high i.q. i don't know but that's just my opinion. i just stood up and went. i didn't expect anything i just want i told myself that i would keep going as long as my heart told me to follow the people and that was always wanted at that moment which. is but though i felt something i want to tell my future children about i still don't know what it was maybe i'll understand it later i just was sitting and crying yesterday.