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

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

> 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

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

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

fresh rallies clashes on hunger strikes in the west bank the death of a palestinian and israeli jails further fuels week long protests against the plight of palestinian prisoners. and italians choose the 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. from moscow this is arts and the weekly with me rory sushi we're highlighting the week's top stories right now. it's been revealed this week 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 koosman was found bruised and dead at the home of a texas couple coast here in russia and the boy's adoptive mother claims it was just an accident but there are suspicions maxime could have been abused and killed he's an associate talking to house the story. 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 i heard 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

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 gaza or 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. a much better served by kind of rational. political settlement of the palestinian issue that palestinians and other middle easterners will see as legitimate 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 i think in a similar vein it's what i would take us to some living to a point laid out i know but i would take it a limited 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 in american interests which is that all of the sta

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

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

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

> 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'

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

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

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

fresh rallies clashes and hunger strikes in the west bank the death of a palestinian in an israeli jail for other fuels week long protests against the plight of palestinian prisoners. and italians choose their parliament in one of the most unpredictable votes in the country's history which could see a comeback by showmen berlusconi or a breakthrough by a former comedian. thanks for tuning in on lucy cough and when you're watching the weekly here on our t.v. it's our recap of the week's top stories as well as today's news well it's been revealed that another russian child 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 man was found bruised and killed partly dead at the home of a texan couple caused outrage here in russia the boy's adoptive mother claims that it was an accident but there are some suspicions that maxim could have been abused and murdered artie's an associate takes up the story twenty russian children in the last seventeen years died in their adoptive american fami

we take care of each other. >> while israeli citizens, they are muslims of arab ancestry.ut they're not just any ordinary family. >> translator: the arabs are organized around known crime families, gangs. someone who belongs to one of the families will be more dominant. he's influential. he gets a lot of respect from other prisoners. while this is a very dominant prisoner he belongs to a very dominant family. >> when we walked into their cell, they greeted us, offered refreshments, which we are not allowed to accept. but for me it was like being at the sopranos' house. it was just a very festive environment. it was a very social environment. but then you know that these people are capable of murder. >> this prisoner freely admits to the murder that brought him to rimonim. >> translator: it was an assassination. my cousin was murdered. in our family it is a custom if blood is spilled it needs to be spilled on the other side also. so the guy was killed. i am a bedouin. my grandfather is also a bedouin. the customs are very strict. you have to respect all customs, even if it

as the saying goes you should know your enemy but both israeli and palestinian press restrictions are making journalists work and it's increasingly difficult. around the world and around the clock this is. tough talks are expected in moscow later on thursday as president vladimir putin hosts french leader francois hollande divisions over syria and iran in the key points of foreign policy discord. thomas is covering all the ones made a visit to the russian capital. certainly an interesting day today as talks between francois hollande and bloody miller putin commence lots of items on the table for discussion including international trade relations and improving relations between the two countries but the main focus for russia are the international issues specifically syria iran and even mali now while this is president alliance first visit to moscow it's not the first time the two leaders have met they did clash this past summer specifically over the topic of syria holanda saying are assad must go to prison saying that that is not a precondition for success to happen in syria and that i

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

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

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

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

fresh rallies clashes and hunger strikes in the west bank the death of a palestinian israeli jail further fuels week long protests against the plight of palestinian prisoners. italians 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. in moscow. giving you today's top stories in a look back at the week's news here on our t.v. we start off in the u.s. where police are investigating the death of another russian child who'd been adopted by an american family the twentieth such death since the mid ninety's news that three year old maxime cruz means a bruised body was found near his home in texas college outrage in russia boy's adoptive mother claims it was an accident but there are suspicions that maksim could have been abused and even killed or he's honest r.c. church in your reports 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 i heard

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

what we understand from syria from syrian sources is that the israelis hit a research center not far from the capital city of damascus and that at least two on site workers were killed there are also reports that the strike hit a convoy of weapons that was making its way from syria to lebanon and now washington reportedly was warned by israel of its intention to strike inside syria this kind of comment coming from a high ranking american official who has spoken on condition that he not be named it is important to mention that a couple of months ago iran's revolutionary guard did say that assad had friends in the region who had not yet entered the fray the quote was that these friends were poised to strike out in case there was an intervention in syria earlier this month israel deployed its i am going to fence in the south system to its border with syria and that this of a growing concern that they could be some kind of use of chemical weapons as i mentioned earlier we have no comment yet from the tail of a little stiffly no comment from washington moscow has said if indeed these repo

syria is threatening to retaliate for an israeli air strike on its territory while its ally iran says they'll be repercussions over the attack. it's three pm in moscow six am in washington you're watching r t with me and he said now a former cia officer turned whistle blower sentenced to two and a half years behind bars is waiting to start his jail time john kerry kiriakou i should say was the first official to publicly confirm the agency's use of waterboarding and condemn it as torture and he was convicted for revealing a covert officer's identity to a journalist although in one of his final interviews before being locked away he tells r t his crime was simply speaking out against the government. first of all my case was not about leaking my case was about torture when i blew the whistle on torture in december of two thousand and seven the justice to department here in the united states began investigating me and never stopped investigating me until they were able to patch together. charge and force me into taking a plea agreement and i'll add another thing to when i took the plea in

connecting trying working with the israeli media the result is that the only reports of even gaza that are those hamas sanctions are not particularly promising in one of the recent human rights watch report that accuses a muscle harassing assaulting an arbitrarily detaining journalists israel too has come under fire for deliberately targeting reporters and media houses affiliated to him us between us last one gaza israel felt twenty places in the two thousand and thirteen it will place freedom index due to the actions of its army in the palestinian territories these two journalists of with sami because he speaks of mice he engages his radio audiences. because he spends so much time in palestinian areas with few israelis days to trade the media blackout does little to shed light on the fate and future of ordinary gazans it also pits rate stereotypes on both sides of the border that have done nothing but breed mistrust and hatred policy on t.v. television. news out of so far this are with me kevin though and i'm back in just over half an hour we've got some great programs lined up for yo

also a week of violence in the west bank thousands clash with israeli settlers and police calling for the e.u. to stand up for the rights of palestinian prisoners from hunger strike. a popular comedians candle prone berlusconi and a former communist the choice for italians boating and a journey of election of course to the prius hybrid and should've called the data rock tier of. syrian opposition fighters rebel over peace talks boycotting that own leaders efforts to end the civil war and refusing to meet even their staunchest ally. the latest news and the week's top stories you're watching the weekly here on our c with me hello and welcome to the program. as they dance about three year old boy in the u.s. has caused a storm of outrage and dissent inside russia it was revealed this week that the russian died whilst in the care of an american foster family the boy's adoptive mother claims it was just an accident but moskos suspects their toddler might have been killed from. twenty russian children in the last seventeen years died in their adoptive american families most recently here in

the death of a palestinian prisoner in an israeli jail threatens to fuel further anger across the west bank for a week long protest against conditions in israeli prisons have already led to violent clashes with police. britain loses its cherished top credit rating for the first time in decades with a downgrade of 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 income tax and everyday people. saying. oh. good evening we've got world news and analysis live from our moscow headquarters i'm going to see cough and of and you're watching our t.v. well thousands of programmed out of us across the u.s. are taking part in the day over existence they say that president obama's plans to tighten gun laws are unconstitutional and that our team is going to come reports it's not just words they're ready to use to protect the 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 getti

to punish the israelis it doesn't necessarily mean that they have to be involved directly they could. support countries or bodies that could make life for israelis more difficult serious blows to the reputation of the german catholic church have resulted in more and more worshippers turning their backs on it child abuse and sexual harassment cases committed by priests that don't even get to court are seen as the main reason for dramatically shrinking congregations you may find some of the details in peter over his report disturbing. the abuse of trust the destruction of faith the theft of innocence. in one nine hundred seventy nine i was invited to his house he locked the doors and forced me to drink what i now know was alcohol. he asked me what i thought of his penis which was a wrecked then the priest made me perform oral sex on him. the catholic church in germany is facing a crisis attendances dropped significantly over the past few years according to the central committee of german catholics one hundred eighty thousand parishioners stopped going to mass in twenty ten alone many c