and the rebel held on clay monitors say more than two hundred fifty people have been killed in the damascus suburbs since sunday. also in syria a new escalation looms in the country's north that's as pro syrian government forces enter the town of offering to help the kurds defend against a turkish offensive turkey's president russia time out of one suspect says they pay a heavy price. for the new push for gun control after the florida school shooting the u.s. president says he supports a battle devices that turn seventy automatic weapons into machine guns but will that satisfy demands for meaningful change. oh i'm terry martin thanks for joining us there is mounting international concern about the latest assault on eastern ghouta by syrian government forces the rebel held area has been under heavy bombardment and independent monitors now say more than two hundred fifty people have been killed there since sunday. is a group of suburbs on the outskirts of the capital damascus duma is the main town in the enclave which is completely surrounded by pro assad forces the siege which has lasted. mo

syria independent monitors say that more than two hundred and fifty people have been killed in the damascus suburb of eastern since sunday it's under bombardment by syrian government forces. also coming up germany's armed forces are just not good enough a parliamentary report says that there are too few troops and that they lack the quickmatch that they need to put up a fight. and the giant flooded cavern in mexico that is proving a treasure trove for scientists and archaeologists it contains remains and artifacts going back ten thousand years. i'm sorry kelly welcome to the program we begin in syria in the rebel held damascus in the rebel held suburb of damascus known as eastern gupta it's been under bombardment by syrian government forces and independent monitors now say that more than two hundred fifty people have been killed there since sunday the u.n. is warning that eastern ghouta could become a second aleppo. in the bombed out caucus of eastern goods these are the lucky ones terrified shaking up the stair walking. first responders ushered them to safety as an air raid siren underline

what does damascus get out of cooperating with the. well my guess is damascus is goal is to recapture reconquer territory in syria to gain control again over large parts of syria and if they indeed struck a deal with the kurds which also includes a political agreement which the current so far deny they say this deal has only pragmatic goals it doesn't include any political agreement but if it did for example some kind of a federal system which includes the kurds but under damascus as control it means to moscow's would regain territory and would be the major power to control large parts of syria again. well with turkey a bogged down in syria ankara is seeking to improve military ties with its allies including germany for the past a few days a brought a dizzying turnaround in relations having released a german turkish journalist that is huge oh it was held in istanbul for a year without charge it looks to stop as though turkey is angling for a quid pro quo critics of ankara's offensive against syria's kurds fear it may involve a previous

joining us live from damascus. thank you. explain now why because the british foreign office is invited to russia's ambassador to discuss the humanitarian situation in the syrian enclave of eastern ghouta occupied as was said by rebel and terrorist groups just outside the capital damascus leads to say we can now speak to the russian ambassador himself alexander joins me on the line good evening to you mr ambassador i would like to know first of all what were you asked to discuss with your british counterparts today. well basically the key question was the fulfillment of the real solution of the u.n. security council twenty four one we. of course you know will be disappointed with the statements of the secretary johnson when he spoke yesterday at the parliament and he blamed russia for humanitarian situation and we said this is directly straight straightforward to minister duncan but. the key question was of course the the situation on the ground because it's the whole of course there was allusion is adopted and we subscribed

threaten damascus itself every day every week some training to damascus why not take advantage for this time and to let a big offensive i guess to solve a little right to to push away the letters around from them and let's move the discussion forward now because with all of this happening across syria the united nations has said it's investigating reports of another chemical weapons attack in rebel held areas seen. the u.s. has accused the syrian government of continuing to use these types of weapons bombs suspected of containing careen were reportedly dropped in duma in eastern town photos say and this was followed by another attack later in the town of said i can be neatly province activists video appears to show people being treated for suffocation and if our smell was reported the syrian government denies it was behind these attacks joshua landis donald trump last year when there was another chemical weapons attack in syria launch as strikes there was a targeted strike in response to two that as strike at the to the chemical weapons attack use at the time and many have seen as a key

this is live from syria at war with turkey and all but one day damascus has struck a deal with kurdish rebels to help propel turkey's offensive in syria's african region syrian state media says pro-government troops could be on the frontline within hours also on the program. female driven movies take center stage at the international film festival takes a look at the italian adoption drama exploring a young girl search for identity. of the procedure bunch of posted. the race for europe we'll bring you the highlights. and. welcome to the program so is offensive against the kurds in northern syria looks likely to escalate after a previously unthinkable deal between the syrian government and kurds in syria's afferent region to damascus has agreed to send pro-government of fighters to the rebel held area in order to help repel turkish troops syrian forces will fight alongside the syrian democratic forces. roll call two hundred fighters from the syrian democratic forces or s.d.f. present for inspection at their barracks the exact location here in northern syria cannot be revealed it's the s

diplomats traveled to damascus to meet the syrian president. assad made an astonishing gesture of goodwill he offered to start talks on a peace deal with syria's archenemy israel the us responded by appointing a new ambassador to damascus the post had been vacant for five years. i must not seem to be winning on all diplomatic fronts. he had now restored relations with russia iran and the west. in early twenty's antigovernment protests started spreading across north africa and the middle east the demonstrations soon forced the resignations of tunisia's president. and egypt and president hosni mubarak god i've had the odd. aside met the new u.s. ambassador to discuss the situation he was very nice i asked president assad are you worried that the winds of change will come here. and he said he was not worried he said the syrian people strongly supported him strongly supported discover it was the just two weeks later there was a large demonstration in damascus in a market called l three on the it happened very spontaneously very suddenly wasn't plan

we've had roughly four people killed with fifty one people being injured by attacks launched against damascus from eastern guta so at this point the resolution was passed calling for a thirty day cease fire now after the unanimous vote we then heard from various countries we heard from nikki haley of the united states and she said she doesn't believe the syrian government will actually comply with the cease fire. it is critical that the assad regime and its allies comply with our demand to stop the assault on eastern guta and immediately allow food and medicine to reach everyone who need to all of us on this council must do our part to press the assad regime as hard as we can to comply we are deeply skeptical that the regime will comply but we supported this resolution because we must demand nothing less. now we also heard from the representative of the russian federation now he had dressed the security council and he emphasized that the fight against terrorism is not affected by this resolution that internationally delegated terrorist groups groups like al nasra i says that the fight against

want this autonomous kurdish region forming along their border there but what is the strategy behind damascus sending these militia into the area. well i think that's the mask is concerned by this turkish military operation there have been initial hopes from their part that this would be a very small scale operation clearing out the border zone in syria and then possibly creating a border zone there and that would be the end of it but the message from monk or is that this operation is getting increasingly expanding operation with a message to after they claim that they've taken over this syrian enclave of our friend they will expand it to parts of northern syria so there is a law in damascus but this operation could be far greater than what they expected and also there is awareness that they feel that when turkey does militarily intervene in its neighbors affairs it very seldom leaves certainly not in the short term so this is fear that turkey would have a long term presence in syria which would be a further destabilizing factor and a possible threat to the syrian regime so i think that they

near damascus. and then forget you can always get news just. google play or. if you. push notifications for any breaking news. video you think we might be interested. you can always get all the latest stories. blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. blah blah blah. the but. the but the the. the the. the the the the the i'm. the be. the be. the the to. the the the. the the the the blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. blah blah blah blah blah blah. blah. the issue come up the ultimately the i'm the law. he's gone from backyard. to mold champion the amazing career of shareholder watching. is the only thing you haven't accomplished. but tell the englishman. who seem to be the bolling air force to be the way or. the always on the move the odds the future. dr h. kong w. . and while. venture of. the trip by airplane seventeen thousand kilometers in six weeks to. get a. touch. through starting february twenty seventh. we like to think it's cheaper to burn the fossil fuels that is to get the energy of the way it is the real cost of

what is the strategy behind damascus sending the militia into the area? dorian: i think damascus is concerned by the turkish military operation. there had been initial hopes from their part this would be a small-scale operation clearing up the border zone in syria and possibly creating a border zone there and that would be the end of it. the message is this operation is increasingly expanding, with the message that they have taken over the syrian and enclave -- enclave of afrin. there is an alarm in damascus that the operation could be greater than they expected. there is an awareness they feel when turkey does military leak -- does militarily intervene, there is fear that turkey would have a long-term presence in syria, which would be a further peace stabilizing factor and a threat to the syrian regime. they do want to stop the operation and push it back, if possible. sarah: the turkish president, we mentioned hitting the airwaves, saying that pro-government convoy has turned back after turkish shelling. has the file been closed? was easily saving face?

diplomats traveled to damascus to meet the syrian president. assad made an astonishing gesture of goodwill he offered to start talks on a peace deal with syria's archenemy israel the us responded by appointing a new ambassador to damascus the post had been vacant for five years. i. seemed to be winning on all diplomatic fronts. he had now restored relations with russia iran and the west. in early twenty antigovernment protests started spreading across north africa and the middle east the demonstrations soon forced the resignations of tunisia's president. and egypt and president hosni mubarak god. assad met the new u.s. ambassador to discuss the situation he was very nice i asked the president are you worried that the winds of change will come here. and he said he was not worried he said the syrian people strongly supported him strongly supported his government was the just two weeks later there was a large demonstration in damascus in a market called l three on the it happened very spontaneously very suddenly it wasn't planned and it was immedi

russia for several days has been saying that damascus and even the russian embassy in damascus are coming under shelling from groups within eastern gooda groups russia or terrorists alec you mentioned the united nations now the ceasefire is intended to take place from at nine am to two pm every day a local time and the u.n. resolution was for all of syria for thirty days so is this undermining the united nations. it's definitely much more limited then what a lot of people hope for this is as you mentioned nine am to two pm every day a humanitarian cause that's the phrase that russia is using as it's not quite sane ceasefire it's kind of humanitarian pause and it says this will only be for civilians to leave only certain that said russia's defense minister has asked has suggested this humanitarian corridor has also be opened in our town which is near the border with iraq and also route our route one which is near the border with jordan so suggesting that a similar approach could be used in other areas although that has not been officially announced yet latimer let's come to you now because

defense ministry says militants in syria's eastern district are shelling the capital damascus in violation of a un backed cease fire the western media though says it's the assad government that has broken the truce. monday worldwide news headlines live from moscow thanks for joining us it is r.t. international. the winter olympics in south korea have wrapped up with norway coming out on top of the medals table the olympic athletes from russia. team came thirteenth being scandal having prevented many russians from competing but that did not stop the team from beating some expectations and. now takes a closer look at russia's achievements in. well seventy medals chang is only minus twelve if you compare it to twenty nine team russian medals unsought cheat this is not amman blowing results but it still deserves a huge round of applause given that most russia stars weren't even invited here by the international olympic committee so basically it was mostly a team of olympic newbies but i'll tell you what did blow the mind of russian fans here n.p.n. chang it is the first gold medal by their men

it's turning right damascus itself every day every week some training to damascus why not take advantage for this time and to let a big offensive i guess to solve a little right to to push away the letters around from the let's move the discussion forward now because with all of this happening across syria the united nations has said it's investigating reports of another chemical weapons attack in rebel held areas seen. the u.s. has accused the syrian government of continuing to use these types of weapons bombs suspected of containing careen where reportedly dropped in duma in eastern town thursday and this was followed by another attack later in the town of said i can be neatly province activists video appears to show people being treated for suffocation and if our smell was reported the syrian government denies it was behind these attacks joshua landis donald trump last year when there was another chemical weapons attack in syria launch as strikes there was a targeted strike in response to two that as strike at to the chemical weapons attack use at the time and many have seen as a key

diplomats traveled to damascus to meet the syrian president. assad made an astonishing gesture of goodwill he offered to start talks on a peace deal with syria's archenemy israel the us responded by appointing a new ambassador to damascus the post had been vacant for five years. i was not seemed to be winning on all diplomatic fronts. he had now restored relations with russia iran and the west. in early twenty's antigovernment protests started spreading across north africa and the middle east the demonstrations soon forced the resignations of tunisia's president. and egypt and president hosni mubarak. was. at. assad met the new u.s. ambassador to discuss the situation and he was very nice i asked the president are you worried that the winds of change will come here. and he said he was not worried he said the syrian people strongly supported him strongly supported his coverage was the just two weeks later there was a large demonstration in damascus in a market called l three on the it happened very spontaneously very suddenly it wasn't planned a

diplomats traveled to damascus to meet the syrian president. assad made an astonishing gesture of goodwill he offered to start talks on a peace deal with syria's parched enemy israel the us responded by appointing a new ambassador to damascus the post had been vacant for five years. i've just not seemed to be winning on all diplomatic fronts. he had now resort relations with russia iran and the west. in early twenty antigovernment protests started spreading across north africa and the middle east the demonstrations soon forced the resignations of tunisia's president. and egypt and president hosni mubarak i i i. i. i. met the new u.s. ambassador to discuss the situation he was very nice i asked the president are you worried that the winds of change will come here. and he said he was not worried he said the syrian people strongly supported him strongly supported his government was the just two weeks later there was a large demonstration in damascus in a market called althea. it happened very spontaneously very suddenly it wasn't planned and it wa

diplomats traveled to damascus to meet the syrian president. assad made an astonishing gesture of goodwill he offered to start talks on a peace deal with syria's archenemy israel the us responded by appointing a new ambassador to damascus the post had been vacant for five years. i. seem to be winning on all diplomatic fronts. he has now restored relations with russia iran and the west. in early twenty's antigovernment protests started spreading across north africa and the middle east the demonstrations soon forced the resignations of tunisia's president. and egypt and president hosni mubarak. was. assad met the new u.s. ambassador to discuss the situation he was very nice i asked the president are you worried that the winds of change will come here. and he said he was not worried he said the syrian people strongly supported him strongly supported his government was the just two weeks later there was a large demonstration in damascus in a market called l. three on the it happened very spontaneously very suddenly it wasn't planned and it was imme

and in the south of damascus because we had been hit before by israeli airstrikes. earlier this year and back then israel said that it was believed to be and a gathering of iranian advisors and the command building of the syrian army's first armored division. i joining me now to discuss that further is a mayor or and defense and government and lester thanks for joining us here on our team today what is our tel aviv's position on the incident. well it's a play in three acts what you heard from damascus the second and third act but it all started with an iranian drone a remotely piloted vehicle which entered israel proper we don't know yet where they are for surveillance or attack and it was shot down by an israeli armed apache helicopter now following that particular incident the israeli air force has retaliated against the launcher of this particular drone. hitting the. command and control vehicle and perhaps the launcher itself and during this attack one of the israeli f. sixteen s was idea of heat by syrian ground defenses or the pilots got the impression that the

then it it definitely encourages that but if damascus is set to defend that could strike a big problem for turkey and turkey is use this power play for the last month attacking what is essentially undefended kurds because the united states used them for a political purpose of fighting isis and other different radical groups and have now essentially betrayed them the left. and they're essentially now it under the will of turkey who can strike them at will and the forces damascus wants to send is probably an attempt to deescalate the situation and further prevent turkey from encroaching into northern syria if you look at the forces turkey is using to attack the kurds these are made up of former f.s.a. regiments of current so-called moderate islamist groups who are now fighting for the turks who have previously defending eleven month ago so there is a lot of geopolitics and power plays from regional countries magnified in the events we're seeing today in of rain yeah i mean you talk about the power play. we have to look at the situation and the u.s. has been very vocal about its oppositio

eastern ghouta is the last rebel stronghold near damascus. it has been under siege since 2013, so now five years. in the last two years, the the last two weeks some of the syrian regime and its allies have launched a massive offensive to take it back, and it will continue in the next few days. chloe, both syria and russia are defending the shelling, saying they are responding to an attack from eastern ghouta itself. chloe: although the scale of the violence is different, the humanitarian conditions are very difficult to compare. it i is important to highlight that there are two sides to the conflict. the russian news agencncy repord earlier that several buildings in damascus, including hotels and the russian center for reconciliation, came under a militarieslling by of eastern ghouta and that several civilians were killed as a result of this attack. you must remember that easternrn ghouta is located about 15 damascus, away from and rebel groups inside ghouta are able to regularly fire rockets at the capital. since sunday, the syrian state new

i think there's very little appetite on both damascus for part to have a full scale conflict i think they are aware of the major consequences of such a confrontation but i think the risk here is of both sides are relying heavily on militias that have a long history of blood feuds for out the syrian civil war the risk is that these militias will start to fight and both sides will be then worn into supporting their evil side and that brings to calm the risk of both the massacres and the forces facing off i think behind the scenes we're now we've seen intense efforts by moscow moscow is supporting both the massacres but also. in its efforts to bring an end to the syrian civil war if you will not even the risk of a confrontation between these two sides and this would derail its efforts to bring an end to the syrian civil war and give it an exit strategy behind the scenes saying. and damascus have to speak to one of them to resolve this at the moment neither side is in any mood to do this. that was dorian jones reporting for us from istanbul well elsewhere in syria the rebel held suburbs

diplomats traveled to damascus to meet the syrian president. assad made an astonishing gesture of goodwill he offered to start talks on a peace deal with syria's archenemy israel the us responded by appointing a new ambassador to damascus the post had been vacant for five years. i. seem to be winning on all diplomatic fronts. he had now we stored relations with russia iran and the west. in early twenty antigovernment protests started spreading across north africa and the middle east the demonstrations soon forced the resignations of tunisia's president and egyptian president hosni mubarak. assad met the new u.s. ambassador to discuss the situation he was very nice i asked president assad are you worried that the winds of change will come here. and he said he was not worried he said the syrian people strongly supported him strongly supported his government was the just two weeks later there was a large demonstration in damascus in a market called l three on the it happened very spontaneously very suddenly it wasn't planned and it was immediately

again until later today this as deadly syrian government is trying to pound the rebel held area near damascus also coming up. u.s. president donald trump announces a high seas crack down on shipping companies linked to north korea billing these sanctions as the heaviest ever will get the latest from seoul. and judging is now underway at the berlin film festival we'll take a look at the films in the running for the golden and silver bear award. edith q money welcome to the program we begin in syria where the government is escalating attacks on the opposition held suburbs of damascus known as eastern ghouta for the sixth day running intense shelling has killed almost five hundred people including many children now the u.n. security council has been unable to agree on a cease fire resolution in syria and has delayed a vote until later today the temporary ceasefire would allow much needed humanitarian aid to reach trapped civilians but serious key ally russia is blocking that resolution it says it wants guarantees that rebel fighters in east and go to will respect a halt to the fighting now will

their talking to us from damascus she's with the u.n. world food program. now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world today at least five thousand people have been cut off by landslides and hundreds of tourists are stranded after a powerful storm battered new zealand's sol final and the storm was the tail end of cycling which tore through several pacific nations last week the u.s. state department says north korea canceled a planned meeting with vice president mike pence at the last minute he was supposed to hold talks with government representatives during the olympic games in south korea go on chang reportedly scrapped the idea after parents denounced the north's human rights abuses. and brazil senate has approved a decree that authorizes the army to take command of police forces in the state of rio de janeiro the measure comes in a bid to curb violence driven by drug gangs brazil's president michel thomas said they have virtually taken over urban rio. let's check on what's happening at the berlin film festival now yesterday saw a s

i think there's very little appetite on both damascus for part to have a full scale conflict i think they are aware of the major consequences and risks of such a confrontation but i think the risk lies here is of both sides are relying heavily on militias that have a long history of blood feuds for all the syrian civil war the risk is that these militias will start to fight and both sides will be then worn into supporting their evil side and that brings to calm the risk of both the massacres and forces facing off i think behind the scenes we know we've seen intense efforts by moscow moscow is supporting both the massacres but also. in its efforts to bring an end to the syrian civil war it will not even the risk of a confrontation between these two sides that this would derail its efforts to bring an end to the syrian civil war and give it an exit strategy behind the scenes moscow is saying. and damascus have to speak to one of them to resolve this of the moment neither side appears in any mood to do this all right daryn jones reporting and istanbul thank you. where in syria the rebel

right damascus itself every day every week some training to damascus why not take advantage for this time and to let a big offensive i guess to solve a little right to to push away the lexer drawn from the map and let's move the discussion forward now because with all of this happening across syria the united nations has said it's investigating reports of another chemical weapons attack in rebel held areas seen. the u.s. has accused the syrian government of continuing to use these types of weapons bombs suspected of containing careen were reportedly dropped in duma in eastern town photos say and this was followed by another attack later in the town of said i can be neatly province activists video appears to show people being treated for suffocation and if our smell was reported the syrian government denies it was behind these attacks joshua landis donald trump last year when there was another chemical weapons attack in syria launch as strikes there was a targeted strike in response to two that as strike at the to the chemical weapons attack use at the time and many have seen as a key

the capital damascus in violation of. the western media those says it's the government that has broken the truth. monday worldwide news headlines. this is international and a very warm welcome. the winter olympics in south korea wrapped up with norway coming out on top of the medals table the olympic athletes from russia or team came thirteenth at the doping scandal having prevented many russians from competing but that didn't stop the team from beating expectations. takes a closer look at russia's achievements in. well seventy medals chang is only minus twelve if you compare it to twenty nine team russian medals and saatchi this is not a mon blowing result but it still deserves a huge round of applause given that most russia stars weren't even invited here by the international olympic committee so basically it was mostly a team of olympic newbies but i'll tell you what did blow the mind of russian fans here in p.n. chang it is the first gold medal by their men's ice hockey team in twenty six years the final was really to

well there are around four hundred thousand trapped in the damascus suburbs. and ambulances waited. crossing point. to go in and evacuate people moscow and the mosque this have accused rebels of shelling the corridor to prevent people leaving rebels than i'd say that people will not leave because they fear that. the people of syria face a direct humanitarian crisis u.n. security council resolution two four zero one has established a framework for all parties to agree upon conditions to elevate the plight of civilians throughout the country russia together with the syrian government have already announced the establishment of humanitarian corridors in east now it is the turn of the militants and their sponsors to act the militants entrenched there continue the shelling of damascus blocking a delivery is and the evacuation of those wishing to leave well this was contradicted by the russian president vladimir putin he says russia managed to get quite a big group of civilians out of some a binge of itis following the story of that. sources on the ground have not confirmed this large num

diplomats traveled to damascus to meet the syrian president. assad made an astonishing gesture of goodwill he offered to start talks on a peace deal with syria's parched enemy israel the us responded by appointing a new ambassador to damascus the post had been vacant for five years. last night it seemed to be winning on all diplomatic fronts. he had now restored relations with russia iran and the west. in early twenty's antigovernment protests started spreading across north africa and the middle east the demonstrations soon forced the resignations of tunisia's president. and egypt and president hosni mubarak to the top. assad met the new u.s. ambassador to discuss the situation he was very nice i asked the president are you worried that the winds of change will come here. and he said he was not worried he said the syrian people strongly supported him strongly supported his cover it was the just two weeks later there was a large demonstration in damascus in a market called l three on the it happened very spontaneously very suddenly it wasn't pla

now this is a suburb of damascus located to the east of damascus and at this point it's an enclave of rebels and terrorist forces now there's been increasing hostilities in eastern guta as the syrian government is fighting to retake the city from terrorist russia was responding to some of the very heated words and accusations we heard from other countries in the chamber in the lead up to his remarks systematic targeting of civilians in disregard for human life the last twenty two years old with a wife who is five months pregnant a louse as we are waiting our turn to die attacks against health care and hospitals constitute will crimes the regime wants to keep bombing and gassing these four hundred thousand people and the assad regime is counting on russia to make sure the security council is unable to stop their suffering now in his remarks to the fifteen member body in the bed he was very clear that situations in eastern guta are rather dire however the situation is much more complex than it's being made out to be that essentially civilians are being used as human shields by the terro

intensifies in the rebel held enclave monitor say more than two hundred fifty people have been killed in the damascus suburbs since sunday also coming up a new push for gun control after the florida school shootings the u.s. president says he supports a ban on devices that turn in semiautomatic weapons into machine guns but will that satisfy demands for meaningful change. also coming up promoting a movie at the berlin film festival means a lot of early morning press calls but it looks like actor joaquin phoenix didn't get that memo he and director got some sound fielding questions about their new film a contender for the festival's top prize and bring you all the details. i'm sumi so let's go on to thank you for joining us we start with mounting international concern about the syrian government's ongoing bombardment of eastern ghouta new air strikes today have killed at least ten people and independent monitors say that more than two hundred fifty people have been killed in the rebel held area since sunday night eastern go to is a group of suburbs on the outskirts of the capital damascus and duma is

eastern ghouta you know the area well you've served as a correspondent yourself in damascus and the syrian regime says there are thousands of opposition fighters in eastern go to some of them affiliated to al qaida and to islamic state what can you tell us about well there has been. i don't think the. as many islamic states if there are those that are but is themselves a fourth of the state and exported from eastern with all their might be and probably is five thirty but you have to make a distinction between those who are often heated with al qaida and syria which is a very seedy and phenomenon and it's different than the nationalists you had just as. this is a more local forces with different ideological bends including sometimes which actually is a minority of little but the government obviously perceives them as a fundamental existential threat. and they see the i think one puppet saddam let's call it it is she the syrian prime minister for example we just saw in the figurehead has no idea what his what forces are doing and has no control of them so it's a regime not a governmen

in the coming hours it is widely expected that pro damascus government forces will enter the northern syrian a region of afrin we're hearing that according to syrian state t.v. now there they'll provide assistance to syrian kurds who for the better part of a month have been trying to repel a turkish military offensive this latest development follows a deal that was allegedly sealed on sunday between damascus and the syrian kurds now the turkish foreign minister has responded saying that anger has no problem with pro-government forces entering afrin but only so long as those forces are there to eliminate kodesh groups that are turkey considers terrorist groups if that's not their goal then certainly does have a problem. if regime forces enter the city to eliminate the way the terrorists then we don't have a problem with that however if we go there to defend the way p.g. enough and stop our soldiers now that's part of the region has been embroiled in but her violence for at least a month ever since and it's a military operation called olive branch against could see it with guards as ter

the syrian government and russian airstrikes unleashed devastation on the rubble help the area near damascus also coming up. u.s. airline delta joins a growing list of companies to cut ties with the n.r.a. following last week's deadly school shooting in florida the firms are scrapping benefits for the gun lobby as anti gun movement gains traction on social media. and we are live at the ceremony for the sixteenth berlin international film festival we are just ninety minutes away from finding out who's won the festival's top prize the golden bat. and i have a quote boston welcome to the program we begin in syria where the government is escalating attacks on eastern ghouta the opposition held suburb of damascus intense shelling for seven days has killed five hundred civilians including many children the u.n. security council is scheduled to meet to try to agree on a cease fire resolution after several failed attempts syria's key ally russia has so far blocks the resolution moscow says it wants guarantees rebel fighters in eastern guta will halt the fighting. the bombs have been raining down on

a suburb of the syrian capital damascus. scores of people have been killed according to the london based syrian observatory for human rights and hundreds have been injured the attackers or syrian government forces the suburb which is held by rebel forces has been under siege for more than forty years the united nations say the syrian government must stop targeting civilians there. completely deplore the the systematic use of violence against the united the civilian populations and the hospitals and schools. and law and all parties you know the u.n. is calling on all parties to deescalate the violence in syria meanwhile turkey is pressing its offensive against kurdish forces in syria in government held aleppo syrian kurds demonstrated against the offensive and in support of the mainly kurdish militia fighters and now it looks like syrian troops are joining them. on the syrian people. and we have one will. turkish president. may try to suppress that will he wants to prevent syrian kurds from establishing a stronghold in the re

killed there since sunday now eastern down to is a group of suburbs on the outskirts of the capital damascus now duma is the main town of this enclave and at the moment is completely surrounded by pro assad forces the sieges lasted more than four weeks four years it's thought to have trapped up to four hundred thousand residents. still in the. carcass of a stone gets these are the lucky ones terrified shaking the stairwell. first responders assure them to safety as an air raid siren underlines the arjan seen as the escape yet. the government's four year long aerial siege of the rebel held in place has intensified in recent days. with hundreds killed and injured and to national observer see it marks a new epoch of violence. we are witnessing some of the worst fighting of the entire conflict and the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure including medical facilities. wors received reports of attacks on five hospitals in eastern go into and it's working to verify these reports and the casualties. syrian opposition leader begged for an international response saying the atrocities amou

resolution government bombs have continued to fall on the rather long play for in fact the damascus has been bombing east for already more than a week targeting al nusra terrorists is something of that allowed under the new u.n. resolution however according to the russian defense ministry it was militants in eastern guta who violated the truce moscow says damascus was shelled several times after the ceasefire came into effect residents say they never actually believe the militants would abide by the truce in the first place. this truce is similar to the others and we will see it being violated this is the same old story and we are the ones who end up being harmed but don't you see the children old people women and students who should we feel sorry for for these rebellious. we are tired of shelling every day totally took forty four here let me i am against the truth because it only benefits the rebels i hope that it will be over soon and that no gunmen remain there the resolution calls for a thirty day cease fire across syria and this it's hoped to allow allow time for injured civilians

east ghouta suburb of damascus the last to islamist stronghold in the area it's from here that rebels blindly shelled damascus killing and killing and killing civilians for years now the syrian army launches a counter-terror operate sion and buying international outrage. by the escalation of strikes me as a living hell hell on earth unbearable suffering indiscriminate shelling of residential areas intentional and systematic targeting of civilians the human disaster and nothe dead children and nothing wrecked families the thing in syria is you can argue anyone is a terrorist given how much blood almost everyone has on their hands take the rebels and islam is to control east ghouta they put women in cages and the horse them on to roofs to protect themselves from air strikes a literal human shield they shot the demonstrators beheaded prisoners scots off people's heads on camera now they're allegedly forbidding people from leaving the war zone as rebels also did in aleppo the freedom fighters or terrorists is. the last stronghold. or the syrian capital the surgeons or be. continuous attac

the survivors are being treated in a makeshift hospital near damascus activists say this is the work of indiscriminate cluster and phosphorous bombs fired by the syrian regime children to bear witness to the carnage. in another missile landed but it was a small one thank god it was bigger the whole neighborhood would have been wiped out. amid the bombing world powers have hesitated for days on how to find common ground to stop the bloodshed. on saturday the un security council voted unanimously to approve a resolution demanding a thirty day cease fire to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians in eastern guta the body overcame initial resistance from russia to adopt the resolution today russia has belatedly decided to join the international consensus and accept the need to call for a ceasefire but only after trying every possible way to avoid it so there isn't why we discussed at least so low why the process was there are so. extensive. it was or was that we want to make sure that that is meaningful as i said before because by decrees of the security council you can look you could

east ghouta suburb of damascus the last the islamist stronghold in the area it's from here that rebels blindly shelled damascus killing and killing and killing civilians for years now the syrian army launches a counter-terror alteration and buying international outrage. by the escalation of strikes me a living hell hell on earth unbearable suffering it must remain and shelling of residential areas is intentional and systematic targeting of civilians the human disaster is enough dead children and nothing wrecked families the thing in syria is you can argue anyone is a terrorist given how much blood almost everyone has on their hands take the rebels and islam is to control east ghouta they put women in cages and the horse that them on to roofs to protect themselves from air strikes a literal human shield they shot the demonstrators beheaded prisoners scots off people's heads on camera now they're allegedly forbidding people from leaving the war zone as rebels also did in aleppo the freedom fighters or terrorists is. the last stronghold that the terrorists. or the syrian capital the surge

a cease fire is delayed again this as the syrian regime continues to pound the rebel held area near damascus big strike hundreds have been killed and thousands injured also coming up. u.s. president donald trump announces the high seas crackdown on shipping companies linked to north korea sanctions as the heaviest ever will go live to seoul. and desperate parents demand to know where all go to we'll take you to the town of duck in northeastern nigeria in shock after dozens of schoolgirls go missing feared abducted by militants. plus the berlin film festival will award its top prizes at the gala ceremony later today the judging is now underway and will take a look at the films in the running for the gold and silver awards the. money welcome to the program let's begin in syria where the government is escalating attacks on the opposition held suburbs of damascus known as east and for the sixth day running intense shelling has killed almost five hundred people including many children. al the u.n. security council has been unable to agree on a cease fire resolution in syria and has delayed a vote

having blocked the resolution for days the vote came as warplanes pounded the rebel held areas near damascus world powers are still to agree to the terms of the deal also coming up. a growing number of u.s. companies bound to pressure from anti gun activists and cut ties with the national rifle association we take a look at the social media movement driving the change of attitude towards the gun lobby after last week's deadly school shooting. and we are live at the sixtieth really an international film festival we'll tell you scoops this year's top prizes . plus we'll take a look at all of saturdays when there's legal action there were fireworks on and off the pitch as local rivals braman and hamburg went head to head with both teams aiming to pick up the recall two crucial points rather in the battle to beat the drop of. a maverick or boston welcome to the program the u.n. security council has voted to approve a resolution demanding a thirty day humanitarian cease fire in syria russia agreed to back the deal at the last minute on the condition that there be no specification of when the truc

having blocks the resolution for days of the vote came as warplanes pounded the rebel held area near damascus broad powers are still to agree to the terms of the deal also coming up. a growing number of u.s. companies bound to pressure from anti-gun activists and cut ties with the national rifle association we take a look at the social media movement driving the change of attitude towards the gun lobby after last week's deadly school shooting. and we are live at the sixtieth brilliant international film festival we'll tell you schemes this year top prizes. and welcome to the program the u.n. security council has voted to approve a resolution demanding a thirty day humanitarian cease fire in syria russia agreed to back the deal at the last minute on the condition that there be no specification of when the truce would start the cease fire is aimed at allowing desperately needed aid to reach civilians in eastern guta more than five hundred people have been killed in the rebel held area near damascus in the past week alone. the bombs have been raining down on eastern ghouta for an entire week. as

eastern due to you know the area well you've served as a correspondent yourself in damascus now the syrian regime says there are thousands of opposition fighters in eastern go to some of them affiliated to al qaida and to islamic state what can you tell us about that well first that has been. i don't think that as many islamic state if there are those that are but is themselves a fourth of the stomach state and exported from eastern with all their might be and probably is but you have to be can. i think sion between those are often heated with the seat which is a very seedy and phenomenon and is different than the nationalist you had just as you and. this is these are more local forces with different ideological bends including sometimes of which actually is a minority of little but the government obviously perceives them as a fundamental existential threat. and they see the i think one purpose of that let's call it it is jean the seat in prime minister for example we disown the figurehead has no idea what is what is as us forces are doing and has no control of them so is it easy no

of who it is that controls east ghouta all but the same job ists when these limits blindly shelled damascus every day and slaughter more and more civilians well that's war when the syrian army responds suddenly it's an atrocity remarkable isn't it how the rules change entirely depending on who's calling the shots. u.s. state department spokesperson has a new it also commented on the situation in syria and lambasted russia over it she had some harsh words for r.t. as well. b. shout to the russian government to implore them to stop enabling the syrian regime to do what is stealing to its own people is russia listening i'm not sure that they are but i would encourage each of you to ask russia take these questions to vladimir take these questions to r.t. to sputnik asking them those very questions what are they doing to stop the devastation the deaths and the murders that are taking place in syria i think what she tried to say is that any kind of civilian deaths that take place in the course of the syrian government offensive are the responsible of the russian government because the russians ar

the survivors are being treated in a makeshift hospital near damascus activists say this is the work of indiscriminate cluster and phosphorous bombs fired by the syrian regime children to bear witness to the carnage. in another missile landed but it was a small one thank god it was bigger the whole neighborhood would have been wiped out. amid the bombing world powers have hesitated for days on how to find common ground to stop the bloodshed. on saturday the un security council voted unanimously to approve a resolution demanding a thirty day cease fire to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians in eastern guta the body overcame initial resistance from russia to adopt the resolution today russia has belatedly decided to join the international consensus and accept the need to call for a ceasefire but only after trying every possible way to avoid it their reason why we discussed the prisoners so long why the process was. so. extensive and they got to say was that we walked at the bank sure that it is meaningful as i said before because by decrees of the security council you can look yo

the survivors are being treated in a makeshift hospital near damascus activists say this is the work of indiscriminate cluster and phosphorous bombs fired by the syrian regime children to bear witness to the carnage. in another missile landed but it was a small one thank god it was bigger the whole neighborhood would have been wiped out. amid the bombing world powers have hesitated for days on how to find common ground to stop the bloodshed. on saturday the un security council voted unanimously to approve a resolution demanding a thirty days cease fire to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians in eastern guta the body overcame initial resistance from russia to adopt the resolution today russia has belatedly decided to join the international consensus and accept the need to call for a ceasefire but only after trying every possible way to avoid it with their reason why we discussed it is so low why the process was. so. extensive and they got to move so it was that we wanted to wake sure that it is meaningful as i said before because by decrees of the security council you could look

and this is the let's say the poor of working more working class or damascus border with good roots that has been the forefront of the initiative peaceful protest movements against the rules of the family. for the resistance right as residents have been describing it as an all out attack what is the assad regime trying to do here just force them to surrender yes i mean it's using increasingly this is been raising the ante of the firepower the. order on indiscriminate bodman to force the population to that end to to drive better but it's the look we had incurred. in so much civilian casualties that we have to evacuate and ride the infamous you know green buses which is very little incentive another would you had the population transferred and now you have seen their population transferred is basically ethnic cleansing so let's talk about the civilians why don't they surrender why are they still there well lots of them had fled but lots of them have because their homes are and they've learned the experience of other areas in syria or even the experience of the palestinians from the pa

the survivors are being treated in a makeshift hospital near damascus activists say this is the work of indiscriminate cluster and phosphorous bombs fired by the syrian regime children to bear witness to the carnage. in another missile landed but it was a small one thank god it was bigger the whole neighborhood would have been wiped out. amid the bombing world powers have hesitated for days on how to find common ground to stop the bloodshed. on saturday the un security council voted unanimously to approve a resolution demanding a thirty days cease fire to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians in eastern guta the body overcame initial resistance from russia to adopt the resolution today russia has belatedly decided to join the international consensus and accept the need to call for a cease fire but only after trying every possible way to avoid it there isn't why we discussed at the resolution so low why the process was. so. extensive. was that we wanted to wake sure that it is meaningful as i said before because by decrees of the security council you can book you could not stall i