israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu summoned the editors of all the major israeli news outlets to an emergency meeting and in that meeting he asked them not to publish the story saying and i'm quoting that it would be embarrassing to a certain government agency not at first the editors did listen and all references to the original australian report were removed from israeli news websites but later it was brought back not only to the websites but also to all the radio and t.v. stations here and certainly sincerely also this morning it has been the headline news everyone though is referencing it as a report from australia what we understand is that israeli parliament terence did oss the justice minister to confirm whether or not this report was true they also demanded to know if they were other prisoners who were being held in secret in israeli jails the justice minister's comments were and i'm quoting that there is no doubt that if this information is accurate this is something that needs to be checked state since it is in grave news office in israel the green light to report on

of the israeli government now you mentioned of the power of this is israeli lobby the senate has chastised table for his views on iran and his perceived anti israel stance if he gets the job is he going to be able or will he even be willing to push for any real policy change. well that remains to be seen. i don't really know what the outcome of him being in the office would be and. traditionally israel has been able to control the united states foreign policy in the middle east. and whether or not the offense that the israeli prime minister gave to president obama will change that or whether the president obama himself has enough power to change that remains to be seen but so far you go hasn't been confirmed. right now you know republican senators say that they want more answers from hagel but how much is this about information and how much of this is about embarrassing the president and none of it is about information it's about showing their subservience to israel they have to show that if they don't they get cut off from campaign funds and the israel lobby is very powerful and has treme

and as the saying goes you should know your enemy both but both i should say israeli and palestinian press restrictions are making journalists work and lives increasingly difficult. to. live from moscow you're watching archie with me and he's now a straight to our top story this hour pope benedict the sixteenth set to retire later on thursday becoming the first pope to abdicate in six centuries live pictures here of him saying goodbye to cardinals at the van again at the vatican i should say he's stated today that he wants to exit public life and remain hidden until the world and he's leaving his successor to be named next month to redeem the church's reputation following the string of child abuse and corruption scandals are caesar in to go lucia has more from rome. when we came here we spoke to quite a few vatican experts all of whom you know honestly agree that there is some major changes which should be implemented in the church they have older indicated that the pope is eighty five years old. he is a rather old man there's no getting around it as well as a lot of the cardinals in

and kept in the dark israeli and palestinian journalists find it increasingly difficult to do their job because of a media blackout imposed by both sides. live from our studios in moscow you're watching r t with me and he said now it's seven pm here in the russian capital and russia and france say they've still got work to do in bridging some key foreign divisions syria and mali were among the main issues in talks during french leader francoise last first visit to moscow john thomas listen to what the leaders had to say sean thanks for joining us take us through it i understand they have agreed to disagree on some of the most difficult issues. well certainly and he said that is indeed exactly the way to put it specifically where it comes to syria francoise alond saying that they've come a long way they had some really serious discussions putin saying they had some intense discussions even an argument if you will on the topic but they share the same common goals and they both agree that syria should not be stabilized even further and they should be fighting terrorism of course francois h

israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu summoned the editors of all the major israeli news outlets to an emergency meeting and in that meeting he asked them not to publish the story saying and i'm quoting that it would be embarrassing to a certain government agency not at first the editors did listen and all references to the original australian report were removed from israeli news websites but later it was for back not only to the web sites but also to all the radio and t.v. stations here and certainly sincerely also this morning it has been the headline news everyone though is referencing it as a report from australia not what we understand is that israeli parliament terence did oss the justice minister to confirm whether or not this report was true they also demanded to know if they were other prisoners who were being held in secret in israeli jails the justice minister's comments were and i'm quoting that there is no doubt that if this information is accurate this is something that needs to be checked state since it is gave news operates in israel the green light to report on

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

the hunger strikes in the west by the death of israeli jails further fuels week long protests against the plight of palestinian prisoners. and italian parliament in one of the most unpredictable votes in the country's history with. or a breakthrough by a former comedian. must thank you for joining us today on. the weekly with the top stories of the week for you. it's been revealed this week that another russian child died off to being adopted by an american family the twentieth death since the mid ninety's the news the three year old. was found dead at the home of a texas couple has caused. the boy's adoptive mother claims it was an accident but there are suspicions maxime could have been abused and killed. points. twenty russian children in the last seventeen years died in their adoptive american families most recently here in texas mark seemed was me and known to locals as max shadow just what i heard on the news. just that kid had some scratches. that's all i know three year old mark and his younger brother keel lived in this house with their adoptive parents in a rather secluded n

> he thought his world was changing. >> and all of my customer is israeli people, israeli companies. i reach-- . >> warner: times were good with 150 employee os making and selling furniture. then came the second palestinian intifadah or uprising, that brought suicide bombings and terror to israel. >> after the intifadah all things gone, closed, everything. >> warner: thousands of shoppers from israel used to drive up this road to take advantage of bargains in the palestinian shops just ahead. but after the violence of the early 2000s, the popular shopping district has become a virtual ghost town. hundreds of miles of concrete and concertina wire now separate israel and the wes banks. with sharp restrictions on travel between them. shop signs in hebrew have been papered over. many have closed. maree went from 100 wholesale israeli customers to ten. >> we used to go over there shopping on saturdays. and that's how i met mahmoud. >> israeli merchant essi achavan sells his furniture from his store in tel aviv. >> besides the business we talk to each other every day. we ask about each oth

more and more criticism coming along with israeli settlement policies, and i think israelis feel the heat. you might even interpret this action we have just seen in syria and the rhetoric in israel about the perceived iranian threat as a means to really distract from this business in the west bank of building one settlement after the other. >> switching back to syria -- how can the you take on a more active role in mediating this dispute -- how can the e you take on a more active role? >> the european union has miserably failed to bring the sides together, and what we need is a dialogue with all parties involved, including the syrian government. the war has changed to a certain extent. government forces are regaining control of large parts of syria, and even the leader of the opposition is now ready to negotiate with the syrian leader for the first time, so the europeans need to take this into the cap account. they need to strike a balance between russian and american interests. -- the europeans need to take this into account. >> there's already talk of a peacekeeping mission in mali

and kept in the dark israeli and palestinian journalists find it increasingly difficult to do their job because of a media blackout imposed by both sides. live from our studios in central moscow you're watching archie with me and he said now it's four pm here in the russian capital. well syria is expected to be a key focus for talks in moscow between president putin and french leader francoise longed the near two year conflict and iran remain their biggest foreign policy divisions are two shawn thomas is following along maiden visit to the russian capital. it's certainly going to be an interesting day. alond has come to moscow for the first time to discuss trade relations and also to improve relations between the two countries as there are some tensions between the two but the main points of interest for russia are what's happening in iran in syria and in mali let's break that down for you first of all about the syria issue back when these two met in the summer not here in moscow but there they did have clashes about the topic of syria a lot saying at that time that bashar al assad need

it does come from the israeli defense minister it would be rogue and he has said that it is proof that when israel says something it means that he did stop short of actually affirming israel's involvement now u.s. officials have said that the strike targeted an arms convoy that was carrying anti aircraft weapons from syria to lebanon according to the israeli defense minister ehud barak he said that we do not think and i'm quoting that syria should be allowed to bring advanced weapons systems into lebanon and it is important to make the point that his comments does not constitute acknowledgment of israel's involvement in the strike but it certainly does suggest the possibility that it took place and it was responsible for it but also said that the syrian president bashar assad's fall is imminent and that it would serve as a major blow to his villa and iran need to look at this israeli strategy and it's a strategy that israel has employed in the past and that is namely a strategy of silence it is strategic it doesn't give any kind of confirmation or any kind of denial what israel has don

> he thought his world was changing. >> and all of my customer is israeli people israeli companies. i reach-- . >> warner: times were good with 150 employee os making and selling furniture. then came the second palestinian intifadah or uprising, that brought suicide bombings and terror to israel. >> after the intifadah all things gone closed everything. >> warner: thousands of shoppers from israel used to drive up this road to take advantage of bargains in the palestinian shops just ahead. but after the violence of the early 2000s the popular shopping district has become a virtual ghost town. hundreds of miles of concrete and concertina wire now separate israel and the wes banks. with sharp restrictions on travel between them. shop signs in hebrew have been papered over. many have closed. maree went from 100 wholesale israeli customers to ten. >> we used to go over there shopping on saturdays. and that's how i met mahmoud. >> israeli merchant essi achavan sells his furniture from his store in tel aviv. >> besides the business we talk to each other every day. we ask about each other'

it does come from the israeli defense minister it would be broke and he has said that it is proof that when israel says something it means that he did stop short of actually a third israel's involvement now u.s. officials have said that the strike targeted an arms convoy that was carrying anti aircraft weapons from syria to lebanon according to the israeli defense minister ehud barak he said that we do not think and i'm quoting that syria should be allowed to bring advanced weapons systems into labor it is important to make the point that his comments does not constitute acknowledgement of israel's involvement in the strike but it certainly does suggest the possibility that it took place and it was responsible for it but also said that the syrian president bashar assad's fall is imminent and that it would serve as a major blow to his beloved and iran need to look at this israeli strategy and it's a strategy that israel has employed in the past and that is namely a strategy of silence it is strategic it doesn't give any kind of confirmation or any kind of denial of what israel has done

the russians have condemned the israelis when rightly so the israelis are protecting themselves from getting in the hands of enemies? >> and now being condemned by the arab league headquartered of all places cairo. this is country that knows it is surrounded by enemies. add ver adversaries of israel as well as united states. they are deeply concerned. i think their concerns are justifiable. the hope is this administration which has not been friendly will be back backed up by the american people who do want to stand with israel. >> sean: if i was israel i would not be counting on president obama. what is the reaction of the israelis? i know you spent time with officials and were in a lot of meetings. we're giving the 9/11 truther, muslim brotherhood president of egypt, the guy that called the israelis descendants of apes and pigs, giving him 20 f-16s and 200 tanks. i can't believe it. i can only imagine what the reaction in israel is? >> officially they are not going to criticize it. they don't want to raise the ire of the 40s till obama administration. they will not speak on the reco

and israeli interests conflict i think it is very much in america's interests it's not a favor to iran it is in america's interests to come to terms with the islamic republic to accept safeguarded enrichment of uranium as the basis for a deal on the nuclear issue israel's ability to impose its hegemony in southern lebanon is not an american interest it may be an israeli preference it's not an american interests i think american interests would be much better served by a kind of rational. political settlement to the palestinian issue that palestinians and other middle easterners will see as would. there is no way that open ended israeli occupation of palestinian lands will ever be seen that way and i think that's you know very much against american interests and i think in a similar vein it's but i would take us to some living to a point laid out i know but i would take it a limit and more broadly it's very difficult for the way that israel is structured politically for it to accept and buy into and support what i think would be an american interest which is that all of the states in th

jails israeli forces dispersed dozens of palestinians who blocked a road in one city some staging aprotest there a un office and another demonstrators one the e.u. to take action for better treatment of prisoners and their release public anger flared up over uncertainty over their fate and claims in a critical condition had been wrongfully detained. well despite brewing anger in the west bank and u.n. calls to stop settlement expansion there israel is showing their intention of freezing its plans made last year the israeli government pledged thousands more homes in the long disputed area and there is even one vital corridor between the large palestinian areas middle east correspondent wallace there reports on how the construction could prove fatal for any potential palestinian state it's rugged and remarkable 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 ass

the israeli air force says iron dome destroyed 85% of the rockets headed towards israeli towns and cities there's no way to independently confirm that figure, but the fact that iron dome could shoot down a short-range rocket travelling between 500 and 1,000 miles per hour is remarkable in itself. it's like a bullet shooting down another bullet, which is why, when iron dome was just a concept on a drawing board several years ago, many israeli strategists didn't think it could be done. >> barak: it sounded extremely dramatic, to make two bodies meet together when both of their... their relative velocities are immense. >> simon: we understand that it... again, even the israeli air force was against it? >> barak: yeah. there were many, many corners of resistance, because people didn't see it as natural. >> simon: to see how iron dome works, we paid a visit to one of israel's five operational batteries. each battery has its own radar, command-and-control center, and launchers that fire the intercepting missiles. the equipment's worth about $50 million. it's sitting in a potato field, manned by

and as the saying goes you should know your enemy but both israeli and palestinian press restrictions are making journalists work and lives increasingly difficult. live from our studios in moscow you're watching r.t. with me and he said now it's good to have you with us two pm here in the russian capital eleven am in rome where pope benedict the sixteenth is set to retire later on thursday becoming the first pope to abdicate in six centuries and we say he wants to exit public life and remain head into the world he leaves his successor to be named next month to redeem the church's reputation following a string of child abuse and corruption scandals let's now get the latest from our chief arena who joins us live from the vatican to rina tell arena tell us how is the pope spending his final day. well it's so you could argue that people may very well be counting hours and until he flies out of here on a helicopter took us to build for a papal summer residence on the outskirts of rome about a forty five minute car right about a twenty minute helicopter ride but the reason why you could be

one is palestinian, the other israeli. they reunited after the deaths of their daughters. >> all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. details are slowly emerging on the allegations against u.s. special operations forces that prompted afghan president karzai to order the removal from wardak province. afghan officials said they have received complaints for the past three months that u.s. forces have arrested nine people who have since disappeared. one afghan villagers said her son was taken away and later found dead. >> my son was taken in his body was dropped under a bridge in the river. one of his fingers was cut off. he was beaten very badly. his body was stolen from torture and his throat was slit. why is the government not listening to our voices? why are they not stopping americans from doing such things? while i wanted to stand to talk with the americans, they pulled me back and hit me in the chest with the but of a gun. i still feel pain he

fresh rallies clashes and hunger strikes in the west bank the death of a palestinian in an israeli jail for their fuels week long protests against the plight of palestinian prisoners. and italian shoes their apparent moment in one of the most unpredictable votes in the country's history of which could see a comeback by schoeman for school need for a breakthrough by a former comedian. good to see you with us this evening i'm lucy catherine on when you're watching the weekly here on our t.v. it's our week out of the week's top stories as well as today's news well it's been a real to reveal that another russian child died after being adopted by an american family this is the twentieth such death since to mid one nine hundred ninety s. the news that three year old maxim koosman was found. dead at the home of a texan couple caused outrage here and russia the boy's adoptive mother mother claims that it was an accident but there are some suspicions that maxim could have been abused and murdered are going to take up the story twenty russian children in the last seventeen years died in their ado

he says israeli soldiers broke the cameras one after another. the israeli director helped to make that simple story into a powerful documentary. he says the film and the publicity surrounding the oscars means the palestinian cause will now be center stage round the world. >> i think people will be shocked by the story. for them it's a new thing to know. it's more about the daily life of the palestinians here and the israel control. >> one rival to that documentary, "the gatekeepers," a remarkable historical document of a film built around interviews with every living former director of israel's internal security agency. it's an inside track on the history of modern israel. people were often frustrated. >> i asked if we could be described to them. i haven't seen them at the negotiating table for years. >> and i think it shows that the world, the international community or the oscar writers are much more interested in these conflicts than what goes on here. i think it's sad, and i think it should change. >> every film travels a long road. few sure

fresh rallies clashes and hunger strikes in the west bank and the death of a palestinian in an israeli jail further fuels a week long protest against the plight of palestinian prisoners. and italian shoes their parliament in one of the most unpredictable votes in the country's history could see a comeback by show man berlusconi or a breakthrough by a former comedian. glad to have you with us this evening i'm lucy calvin over there watching our t.v. it's our special weekly show where we top off the week's top stories well it's been revealed that on our show another russian child has died after being adopted by an american family it's the twentieth such death since the mid one nine hundred ninety s. the news that three year old maxim cruz men was found bruised and dead at the home of a texan couple caused outrage here in russia the boy's adoptive mother there are suspicions that moxon could have been abused and killed parties and 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 means kn

the death of a palestinian prisoner in an israeli jail a threatens to fuel further anger across the west bank or week long protests against conditions in israeli because all of these have already led to violent clashes. britain loses its cherished top credit rating for the first time in decades with a downgrade branded a catastrophic government failure. and it shifted in britain's fashion world as more and more designers bucked the trend of using flawless models opting instead for the ordinary imperfections of everyday people. world news and analysis live from our moscow headquarters i'm going to seek out an oven you're watching our t.v. well thousands of pro-gun activists across the u.s. are taking part in a day over assistance against president obama's tighter gun laws agenda calling his plans unconstitutional as our team is going to feature can report it's not just words they're ready to use to protect their right to bear arms. part of america now favor some form of gun control especially in the wake of tragic mass shootings. while the other is getting ready to fight against any signi

and as the saying goes you should know your enemy but both israeli and palestinian press restrictions on making journalists work an increasingly difficult. world news and much more twenty four seven your with. pope benedict the sixteenth is set to retire later on thursday becoming the first pope to add to gate in six centuries saying he wants to exit public life and remain to the world he leaves his successor to be named next month to redeem the church's reputation for on a string of child abuse and corruption scandals. reports that. he has received a rather walled warm standoff from the people as on thursday people have poured out onto this streets by the vatican and on to st peter's square when the pope did his last drive by in the pope mobile of course a lot of people came to see that thousands upon thousands and then of course it's also it was also the day when the cardinals have arrived in rome in order to prepare for this election of the new pope and that is going to happen actually rather soon because unlike in previous times cardinals do not have to wait for certain period of

fresh rallies clashes on the hunger strikes in the west bank death of a palestinian in an israeli jail further fuels week long protests against the plight of palestinian prisoners. and italians choose their parliament and one of the most unpredictable votes in the country's history which could see a comeback by show. or breakthrough by a former comedian. with us stories that made headlines this week you're watching the weekly or not with me will receive shy. it's been a field of this week is that another russian child died after being adopted by an american family the twentieth such death since the mid ninety's the news that three year old maxime cruz man was found a bruised and dead at the home of a texas couple coast outrage in russia but the boy's adoptive mother claims it was an accident but there are suspicions maxime could have been abused and killed taking up the story for us he's a nice to see a child. twenty russian children in the last seventeen years died in their adoptive american families most recently here in texas much she was mean known to locals as max shadow just what

fresh rallies clashes and hunger strikes in the west bank the death of a palestinian israeli jail further fueling week long protests against the plight of palestinian prisoners. at italians head to the polls to choose their parliament and one of the most unpredictable votes in the country's history that could see the return of silvio berlusconi or a breakthrough by a former comedian. seven am in moscow treasure bring you today's top stories and a look back at the week that was here on our t.v. we begin in the u.s. where police are investigating the death of another russian child in an adopted family u.s. family the twentieth such death since the mid ninety's news that three year old maxime cruz means a bruised body was found near is texas home caused outrage in russia the boy's adoptive mother claims it was an accident but there are some suspicions maxime could have been used and even killed or he's honest i see it you're going to has more. twenty russian children in the last seventeen years died in their adoptive american families most recently here in texas mark simkin meehan known to l

a week of angry demonstrations in the west bank culminates in fresh clashes with israeli security forces after our march in support of hunger striking palestinian prisoners is met with tear gas and stun grenades. britain loses its cherished top rate credit rating for the first time in decades with a downgrade branded a catastrophic government failure. and a shift in britain's fashion world as more and more designers bucked the trend of using flawless models opting instead for the ordinary imperfections of everyday people. good evening news and analysis live from our moscow headquarters i'm lucy caffein of and you're watching our. well thousands of pro-gun activists in the u.s. are ready to take part in the day of resistance in an act of defiance against president obama's tighter gun laws agenda they're calling his plans unconstitutional and arties going to education reports it's not just words that they're ready to use to protect their right to bear arms. part of america now favors some form of gun control especially in the wake of tragic mass shootings. while the other is getting ready