clearly the iranians, assad, and russia don't want that to happen. don't the president to happen at all. where i think i see the beginning of the strategy here, and i don't think that i necessarily have a lot of hope in it succeeding, but there's a strategic thought here which is that our presence -- we're not fighting the iran begaians dire but our presence there is putting pressure on them. especially combined with our economic policy. our economic warfare, i guess you can say, against the iranians. it's imposing costs on them. somebody has to pay for all the iranian dominated or iranian led forces on the ground in syria. also, there's pressure, i think the administration calculates it puts pressure on the russians and russians would like to wrap this up and get out. where i think the strategy is leading here, it's a russia-based strategy. the idea is to put pressure on the russians and to bring pressure to come to some kind of agreement in syria. i think everyone is aware, though, we got five different militaries in syria. i mean, other than the s

assad is not, that it what assad. it's the russians. russians is part of the social part of the problem at this point. could we work with them? action we have. we are willing to work with anybody who is willing to create a transition in syria. from what i understand the opposition actually maybe going into moscow person to talk about idlib and the continuation. not to make the russians keep saying that's the tip or deal in idlib. that was happening out in the north that something could completely erupt and change the strategies, calculations on the ground. there is an attempt to talk with him and see how we can keep this holding. >> mike, you are itching to comment on on the. >> i just wanted and a few more -- i want to flag something. i do we in worst-case scenarios so not saying this is missing which would happen but there's a kind of a contradiction in the american approach recuses from the 30,000-foot level and it has to do with our attitude towards iran and russia on the one hit and our attitude towards the turks. it is a priority

is also worried about and the sacrament of assad's rebel five is far far had on the horizon but the u.s. still has to fit in the game with a kurdish that forces well washington try to use its allies in the fight against assad i mean do you think you could come to that. i think we have made the strategic decision that assad is the legitimate ruler of syria and is going to be there for the time being i think we made that decision i think that if we have it then we're dumb that would be a very smart decision to have made and i think we have made it now how that plays out as the united states tries to at least maintain a vestige of influence in syria is anybody's guess but as i pointed out i think the biggest impediment to that being worked out in the benefit of the syrian people who i might point out are sick and tired of this war i mean i'm getting reports from damascus and elsewhere from people who are what you might call the cognitive cynthy the intelligentsia the people who are behind assad the people who support syria returning to some sort of peace and stability and they're sick

and we are not prepared to abandon our partners to the assad regime. so we are not seeking to create a -- an independent country. we want to use the hard-won military victories of the syrian democratic forces as leverage towards a diplomatic end state. we cannot promise what that will look like, but our presence will help these communities have a better shot at securing political negotiations. >> general benedict, is there anything you would like to add to that from the military perspective from the troops on the ground in terms of what they're trying to achieve? >> yes, thank you. i was just in raqqa, and i think it was about a month ago or so and there was no question in my mind that that green beret battalian commander understood what it was providing stabilization in that area. also, the forces, of course, who are defeating isis have a very clear operational mission that they understand what the intent is. i think the last point that mr. cameron made is particularly important and the military mission is pretty clear. there was no -- at least from m

while president assad denies all responsibility... we have never used our chemical arsenal in our history. ..our investigation shows they'vebeen used time and time again. translation: i felt my throat burning. i was choking. i couldn't breathe. a crucial part of a war—winning strategy. translation: two chemical attacks in a small area. what's left? it's all over. the syrian civil war is drawing to a close. idlib province is the opposition‘s last remaining stronghold. huzaifa is preparing for a possible government attack. translation: we made the shelter in 2012 when the regime began bombing. my family dug it by hand. it took us a month. we need it more than ever with the increased threat, so we've cleaned it up. the final battle for idlib is looming. there's a truce for the moment, but huzaifa — who works for the opposition‘s police — is afraid it won't last. the tunnel is a shelter from conventional bombs, but not from a chemical attack. translation: here are two paper cups. we pierce one to allow air through. i put cloth b

well i don't know that we've been conducting airstrikes on assad's forces as such as they are regular forces when they have but how i say if we have i think yeah well i think it's been accidental the confliction between russian airpower u.s. airpower syrian air power has been quite good the cooperation between russia syria and the united states has been quite good at the tactical level and that's why we haven't seen more of these arab bombings or a shoot down of a russian plane or a u.s. plane or syrian plane the recent shoot down of the israeli planes i think blood near putin has explained quite well for my military. attitude they do israeli planes were hiding behind the russian plane and they got shot down as a result by syrian batteries show i says was cleared out of its main strongholds relatively quickly wants to fence and start it but now the coalition is pounding a small pocket near darr as zorra for months and months with little progress can you tell me is a military man why has the coalition success been stalled at this point. i think what we're seeing more so than anywhere i

so, i don't think president assad should think he's got away with it. the arc ofjustice being long is quite right. one day there will be justice, we will do our best to try and bring that about and hasten it. our research and eyewitness testimony show beyond reasonable doubt that president assad has fought a chemical war against his own people. one that the west has failed to prevent. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: six weeks after an airstrike in yemen left dozens dead, including many children, a new focus on finding out how it happened. we have a special report from the scene. even if the bus had been full of fighters, the risk to innocent life must surely have been clear, and there are questions about whether or not this was a war crime. all smiles as saudi's crown prince meets the us secretary of state, despite the international pressure over the disappearance of journalist jamal khashoggi. eu leaders call for concrete proposals from the uk to break the i

the fact that russia and iran vigorously support the assad regime greatly complicates our efforts. in recent weeks the administration suggests that military forces will remain in syria. furthermore, while assad, russia and turkey contemplate military activity in and around idlib around the last week, press reports have discussed how the u.s. might respond if chemical weapons are used again. today we will hear more about these topics. we will consider the administration's strategic objectives in syria and the relevant authorities and resources required to achieve them. we will hear about efforts to achieve a political resolution and the status of u.s. counterterrorism efforts. we will also consider the humanitarian crisis in the region and the re-establishment of governance in areas liberated from isis. in a moment i'll turn to ranking member molten for comments and introduce today's witnesses, but i want to remind members that this hearing is unclassified and when we conclude, we will recess briefly and move upstairs to room 2216. our witnesses will join us there and we will reconv

i think we have made the strategic decision that assad is the legitimate ruler of syria and is going to be there for the time being i think we made that decision i think that if we have it then we're dumb that would be a very smart decision to have made and i think we have made it now how that plays out as the united states tries to at least maintain a vestige of influence in syria is anybody's guess but as i pointed out i think the biggest impediment to that being worked out in the benefit of the syrian people who i might point out are sick and tired of this war i mean i'm getting reports from damascus and elsewhere from people who are what you might call the cognitive cynthy the intelligentsia the people who are behind assad the people who support syria returning to some sort of peace and stability and they're sick and tired of this war they want over they want it over last week so that's what we need to shoot for we need to shoot for empowering these people and in a sense empowering the syrian regime so that it can reestablish control over the state and we need to get the other el

is also worried about and the sacrament of assad's rebel five is far far had on the horizon but the u.s. still has to sit in the game with a kurdish that force its well washington try to use its allies in the fight against assad i mean do you think you could come to that. i think we have made the strategic decision that assad is the legitimate ruler of syria and is going to be there for the time being i think we made that decision i think that if we have it then we're dumb that would be a very smart decision to have made and i think we have made it now how that plays out as the united states tries to at least maintain a vestige of influence in syria is anybody's guess but as i pointed out i think the biggest impediment to that being worked out in the benefit of the syrian people who i might point out are sick and tired of this war i mean i'm getting reports from damascus and elsewhere from people who are what you might call the cognitive cynthy the intelligentsia the people who are behind assad the people who support syria returning to some sort of peace and stability and they're si

well i don't know that we've been conducting airstrikes on assad's forces as such as they are regular forces when they have i say if we have i think yeah well i think it's been accidental the de confliction between russian airpower u.s. air power syrian air power has been quite good the cooperation between russia syria and the united states has been quite good at the tactical level and that's why we haven't seen more of these arab bombings or a shoot down of a russian plane or a u.s. plane or syrian plane the recent shoot down of the israeli planes i think blood near putin has explained quite well for my military. attitude they do israeli planes were hiding behind the russian plane and they got shot down as a result by syrian batteries show i says was cleared out of its main strongholds relatively quickly once defensive started but now the coalition is pounding a small pocket near darr as zorra for months and months with little progress can you tell me is a military man why has the coalition success been stalled at this point. i think what we're seeing more so than anywhere is those w

the last part of syria under the control of president bashar al assad many of his opponents have fled here but it is only a question of time until his troops from his lies retake the region. in northern syria. turkey and europe fear that a majority of the three million people living here will try to flee initiating another refugee crisis preventing this will be the main goal of the political summit in istanbul. the syrian conflict is dominated by foreign powers mainly russia iran and turkey they have different interests at stake and support different sides in the conflict with weapons logistics and personnel russian president vladimir putin is president assad's closest ally russia has been taking an active part in the war since two thousand and fifteen putin wants to strengthen russia's military presence in the region syria is its sole access point to the mediterranean sea president hassan rouhani of iran is the other major assad supporter from day one to iran has supported damascus with advisors weapons and troops syria in return provides iran with a crucial route to the hezbollah mi

well i don't know that we've been conducting airstrikes on assad's forces as such as they are regular forces when they have if we have i think yeah well i think it's been accidental the confliction between russian airpower u.s. airpower syrian air power has been quite good the cooperation between russia syria and the united states has been quite good at the tactical level and that's why we haven't seen more of these arab bombings or a shoot down of a russian plane or a u.s. plane or syrian plane the recent shoot down of the israeli planes i think blood near putin has explained quite well for my military. attitude they do israeli planes were hiding behind the russian plane and they got shot down as a result by syrian batteries show i says was cleared out of its main strongholds relatively quickly once defensive started but now the coalition is pounding a small pocket near darr as zorra for months and months with little progress can you tell me is a military man why has to coalition success been stalled at this point. i think what we're seeing more so than anywhere is those who have bee

it is the last part of syria not under the control of president bashar al assad many of his opponents have fled here but it is only a question of time until his troops and his allies retake the region in northern syria. turkey and europe see that a majority of the three million people living here will try to flee initiating another refugee crisis preventing this will be the main goal of the political summit in istanbul. the syrian conflict is dominated by foreign powers mainly russia iran and turkey they have different interests at stake and support different sides in the conflict with weapons logistics and personnel russian president vladimir putin is president assad's closest ally russia has been taking an active part in the war since two thousand and fifteen putin wants to strengthen russia's military presence in the region syria is its sole access point to the mediterranean sea. president hassan rouhani of iran is the other major assad supporter from day one to iran has supported damascus with advisors weapons and troops syria in return provides iran with a crucial route to the he

yes turkish president rich one would like to topple assad supported various radical rebel groups from the start and since january turkey has had troops of its own in syria one of at of on his goals is to limit kurdish influence in the region. during recent visit to berlin german chancellor angela merkel agreed to this weekend summit russia iran and turkey have used the syrian conflict to reestablish their positions as regional powers in the middle east. but reconstruction will require western money perhaps giving leaders like merkel additional clouts. from all we're now joined by our correspondent who is in istanbul so you know what's the main focus for this summit. well it is one of the most important issues here is the situation in libya syria has lost a major rebel held outpost so missed out on and mr putin a most probably going to brief chancellor merkel and french president about the current situation there the status of the deal they brokered last month a demilitarized zone between rebel forces on the one side and pro-government forces on the other supposed to word a large scale

foreign policy establishment didn't being democracy would replace assad military intelligence documents said the opposition in syria does not yet have the numbers organization or capabilities overall to overwhelm the regime force the more probable threat the regime will be facing will come from within in the form of an attempt by high ranking military and business elite of the regime to mount a cool against assad intelligence was hoping for many who you know nothing too fancy according to the wiki leaks documents if president bashar al assad was overthrown he would not be replaced by an opposition led syrian democracy but rather the same hour wipe out the strong link structure would continue the u.s. was hoping instead for regime preservation. the state department must be so confused. if i'm not working for regime change. i wonder if they have nothing to do this while the regime was left intact the rebel groups who we now know that you was thought would fail at regime change could be mobilized to counter iranian encroachment according to experts on the ground the us greatly exaggerated

of the british government this is a matter to be resolved between songe and great britain assad has relations with a country have solid since the current government took office last year the founder of wiki leaks is now suing ecuador for allegedly violating its human rights that's after the embassy imposed house rules for the whistleblower as a condition for partial access to the internet a former ecuadorian president rafael correa has called his country's handling of the case shameful. we gave us a long. piece he said obligation of the it why don't over meant to protect us you have to remember that no. science has. citizenship so it's not just this a look now. as. these rules are really a shame you don't then try to him relate as ours and they are you make so. little my point because they are. these rules are really against human rights and they're trying to isolate it as such and to push him to abandon our embassy. assad has been holed up inside the embassy in london since twenty eight twelve when he was granted political asylum in the u.k. it wants him for violating his parole te

it is the last part of syria not under the control of president bashar al assad many of his opponents have fled here but it is only a question of time until his troops and his allies retake the region in northern syria. turkey and europe fear that a majority of the three million people living here will try to flee initiating another refugee crisis preventing this will be the main goal of the political summit in istanbul. the syrian conflict is dominated by foreign powers mainly russia iran and turkey they have different interests at stake and support different sides in the conflict with weapons logistics and personnel russian president vladimir putin is president assad's closest ally russia has been taking an active part in the war since two thousand and fifteen putin wants to strengthen russia's military presence in the region syria is its sole access point to the mediterranean sea president hassan rouhani of iran is the other major assad supporter from day one to iran has supported damascus with advisors weapons and troops syria in return provides iran with a crucial route to the he

isis in syria and iraq we would have had to face it in iran or they all supported assad way before i suppose we can pretend iranian support assad began with isis no no we we have good relations with that but the reason i mean countries have good relations and saudi arabia had even better relations with the last from two thousand and three to two thousand and eleven so it's not the question of who supported who it's a question of who came to fight extremists ok now that the now that the fight against extremism is in its final stages it doesn't mean that extremism is gone now we need to do a number of things first we need to do it with the issue at hand and that is it we have done our best i went to ankara i went to damascus i we had a summit in tehran all within the space of less than a week and then the summit in sochi between turkey and russia to avoid bloodshed in it now we have achieved that we have a plan to have. a political not a political but a nonmilitary solution in that we are faced with a major problem and that is foreign fighters what to do with a large number of foreign

it is the last part of syria under the control of president bashar al assad many of his opponents have fled here but it is only a question of time until his troops from his lies reached. the region in northern syria. turkey and europe fear that a majority of the three million people living here will try to flee initiating another refugee crisis preventing this will be the main goal of the political summit in istanbul. the syrian conflict is dominated by foreign powers mainly russia iran and turkey they have different interests at stake and support different sides in the conflict with weapons logistics and personnel russian president vladimir putin is president assad's closest ally russia has been taking an active part in the war since two thousand and fifteen putin wants to strengthen russia's military presence in the region syria is its sole access point to the mediterranean sea. president hassan rouhani of iran is the other major assad supporter from day one to iran has supported damascus with advisors weapons and troops syria in return provides iran with a crucial route to the hezbo

it is the last part of syria not under the control of president bashar al assad many of his opponents have fled here but it is only a question of time until his troops and his allies retake the region in northern syria. turkey and europe fear that a majority of the three million people living here will try to flee initiating another refugee crisis preventing this will be the main goal of the political summit in istanbul. the syrian conflict is dominated by foreign powers mainly russia iran and turkey they have different interests at stake and support different sides in the conflict with weapons logistics and personnel russian president vladimir putin is president assad's closest ally russia has been taking an active part in the war since two thousand and fifteen putin wants to strengthen russia's military presence in the region syria is its sole access point to the mediterranean sea. president hassan rouhani of iran is the other major assad supporter from day one to iran has supported damascus with advices weapons and troops syria in return provides iran with a crucial route to the he

foreign policy establishment didn't being democracy would replace assad military intelligence document said the opposition in syria does not yet have the numbers organization or capabilities overall to overwhelm the regime force the more probable threat the regime will be facing will come from within in the form of an attempt by high ranking military and business elite of the regime to mount a coup against assad intelligence was hoping for many who you know nothing too fancy according to the wiki leaks documents if president bashar al assad was overthrown he would not be replaced by an opposition led syrian democracy but rather the same our wipe out this ruling structure would continue the u.s. was hoping instead for regime preservation. the state department must be so confused. if i'm not working for regime change. i wonder if they have nothing to do this while the regime was left intact the rebel groups who we now know that you was thought would fail at regime change could be mobilized to counter iranian encroachment according to experts on the ground the us greatly exaggerated iran'

it is the last part of syria not under the control of president bashar al assad many of his opponents have fled here but it is only a question of time until his troops and his allies retake the region in northern syria. turkey and europe clear that a majority of the three million people living here will try to flee initiating another refugee crisis preventing this will be the main goal of the political summit in istanbul. the syrian conflict is dominated by foreign powers mainly russia iran and turkey they have different interests at stake and support different sides in the conflict with weapons logistics and personnel russian president vladimir putin is president assad's closest ally russia has been taking an active part in the war since two thousand and fifteen putin wants to strengthen russia's military presence in the region syria is its sole access point to the mediterranean sea. president hassan rouhani of iran is the other major assad supporter from day one to iran has supported damascus with advisors weapons and troops syria in return provides iran with a crucial route to the

it was brokered by russia, which supports president assad, and by turkey, to the north. but president assad has not ruled out future military action, in his bid to restore complete control over his country. 0ur middle east editorjeremy bowen reports from the front line in idlib, a place fewjournalists have been able to get to. in this war most syrian christians have chosen silence or the regime. at st george's church, the local commander is proud that his mostly christian town has had a bishop since the fourth century. and he is proud that in the fight to end the rebellion in idlib, christians from the town are in the front line. the guns are silent for now because turkey and russia want to set up a demilitarised zone to separate the regime and its enemies. 0n the other side, are islamist fighting groups. the christian commander says they are all dangerous fanatics, taking orders from western intelligence services, including britain. he says thejihadist extremists have a choice, give up their ideology or be killed. no deals? translation: no, they are terrorists. when the

it appears these attacks have been crucial to president assad's victory in the conflict. a warning that this report contains distressing images. another airstrike. this attack told the world that not all of syria's chemical weapons had been destroyed. abdel witnessed it. translation: i heard the planes, i woke up, the first form was at 6:30 a.m. he left the house with his wife and twins, unaware of what was about to unfold. this is where i left them. i ran to help people over there. it was a chemical attack. sarin is 26 times more deadly than cyanide. abdel‘s neighbours were dying in the streets. more than 80 were killed and nearly 300 wounded. abdel was taken to hospital after losing consciousness. when i woke up, people asked me, we are rather twins and your wife? minutes later, they brought them to me, dead. president assad brought them to me, dead. president assa d ha d brought them to me, dead. president assad had denied responsibility but international evidence gathered approved the chemical used belonged to the government. the bbc looked at 164 reports of chemica

to thousands today there are just two hundred residents most of them loyal supporters of president assad no one here really believes in a political solution with the islamists they believe military force is the only language the islamists understand even if it means death and suffering. and any might be ted you can't trust them they're liars i don't want a political solution i hope the army takes control of the whole province such that she can have some peace of their own are. these men are ready for action at all times they are part of the christian militia on the front line and southern is live they are under assad's control and their mission is to defend christians against islamist fighters the islamists are supposed to withdraw by monday along with their heavy weapons at least that was part of turkey and russia's deal to created to militarized zone here but the christian militias leader says the islamists are actually reinforcing their defenses rather than withdrawing. you of. the holding the ceasefire that was agreed to by the islamist militants are digging trenches and building bun

foreign policy establishment didn't being democracy would replace assad military intelligence document said the opposition in syria does not yet have the numbers organization or capabilities overall to overwhelm the regime force the more probable threat the regime will be facing will come from within in the form of an attempt by high ranking military and business elite of the regime to mount a cool against assad intelligence was hoping for many who you know nothing too fancy according to the wiki leaks documents if president bashar al assad was overthrown he would not be replaced by an opposition led syrian democracy but rather the same our wipe out this ruling structure would continue the u.s. was hoping instead for regime preservation. the state department must be so confused. if i'm not working for regime change. i wonder if they have most things after this while the regime was left intact the rebel groups who we now know that you was thought would fail at regime change could be mobilized to counter iranian encroachment according to experts on the ground the us greatly exaggerated i

regime and they can kind of control how assad will be playing ball in this process as well when it comes to it live when it comes to the constitution so perhaps we'll see russia throwing their weight around in future negotiations there emily showing in moscow and you heard in istanbul thank you both officials in the u.s. city of pittsburgh say there are multiple fatalities following a shooting at a synagogue and least four people were killed and six injured when the gunman opened fire inside the house of worship police say at least three responding officers were among those wounded and the suspect is in police custody. the scene of the crime a synagogue in the neighborhood of screw hill pittsburgh. shortly after the shooting many questions remain what is clear is that several people injured including police officers who were quick to move in and surround the tree of life synagogue. so at this time. the suspect in the shooting is in custody we have multiple casualties inside the synagogue we have three officers who have been shot at this and we have no more information because we are stil

now things are quiet on the frontline the ceasefire has bought some time but not trust and president assad supporters don't want to see his victories against the islamists stop at it land even if it means risking heavy casualties. another tough night for german football the national team slumped to defeat in the nation's league losing three nil to rivals the netherlands the defeat heaps further pressure on germany coach him live who was already under scrutiny after a disastrous world cup. virgil van dyke capitalized on poor defending to give the netherlands a first tough late leroy's sunday was thrown on in the second half but the young winger was unable to change germany's fortunes dragging his shot wide. to light goes from memphis to pie enjoy genius i know them then sealed a deserved three nil victory for the dutch germany have now scored only four times in their last six games leaving coach yohimbe live under increasing pressure this coming yes you should people can certainly be critical especially in the closing stages in the last ten minutes the players must take responsibility and n

from the support for bashar al assad to a nuclear deal that's on the brink of failure iran is at the center of a whole host of middle east and global controversies in this outfront special at the united nations i'll challenge iran's foreign minister just odd zarif on his country's policy in syria and its approach to donald trump. foreign minister thanks for joining me on up front good to be with you last week u.s. president donald trump tweeted that he had no plans to meet iranian president hassan rouhani at the u.n. but he would quote someday in the future i'm sure he's an absolutely lovely man but you actually don't want your president to meet with trump do you why not well we're not actually that eager to meet with him because the united states is not a reliable negotiating partner. they were always saying that we want a treaty with iran now they just withdrew from the only treaty that we have with the united states because in the international court of justice ruled against them that tells you that whatever you negotiate with this president and with this administration they're no

now things are quiet on the frontline the ceasefire has bought some time but not trust and president assad supporters don't want to see us victories against the islamists stop at it live even if it means risking heavy casualties. let's now look at some of the other stories making news around the world russian opposition leader alexei navai has been released from jail in moscow he spent some fifty days behind bars on two back to back sentences for staging illegal protests have all new supporters say the kremlin is trying to sideline him. a powerful storm has struck the coast of portugal injuring almost thirty people and uprooting more than a thousand trees tropical storm leslie packed winds of over one hundred kilometers per hour when it reached the country late saturday local media say hundreds of thousands of homes suffered power cuts. two of the most prominent trauma catholic leaders of the twentieth century have been made saints by pope francis he canonized pope paul the six and the murdered salvadoran archbishop romero in a ceremony at the vatican he also conferred sainthood on five ot

now things are quiet on the front line the cease fire has but some time but not trust and president assad supporters don't want to see his victories against the islamists stop at it land even if it means risking heavy casualties. another tough night for german football the national team slumped to defeat in the nation's league losing three nil to rivals the netherlands the defeat heaps further pressure on germany coach york and live was already under scrutiny after a disastrous world cup but virgil van dyke capitalized on port offending to give the netherlands a first half late leroy's sunday was thrown on in the second half but the young winger was unable to change germany's fortunes dragging a shock wide to light goes from memphis to pile in georgina vine oldham then sealed a deserved three nil victory for the dutch germany have now scored only four times in their last six games leaving coach joachim earth under increasing pressure. coming yes usually people can certainly be critical especially in the closing stages in the last ten minutes the players must take responsibility and not ru

assad has been holed up inside the embassy in london since twenty twelve when he was granted political asylum the u.k. wants him for violating his parole terms but the whistleblower fears london will simply extradite him to the u.s. if indeed he steps outside of the embassy american lawmakers meantime have doubled down on efforts to have him extradited over espionage charges in a letter to ecuador's current leader len moran though they demanded a sanch be handed over to u.s. authorities risking a possible diplomatic fallout otherwise. we are very concerned we join a sanchez continued presence at your embassy in london and he's receipt of it could during citizenship last year it is clear the mr assad remains a dangerous criminal and a threat to global security and he should be brought to justice. we feel that it's very difficult for the united states to advance our bilateral relationship until mr assad is handed over to the proper earth or east they go to me has to protect us according to our constitution. or to mccauley because of the behavior of the. absoluteness of met some method to

now things are quiet on the frontline the ceasefire has bought some time but not trust and president assad supporters don't want to see his victories against the islamists stop at it live even if it means risking heavy casualties. novak djokovic continued his masterful run of tennis as he beat creation born a chore ish to win the shanghai masters using a clever mix of groundstrokes the thirty one year old serb breezed past his opponents six three six four it's djokovic his fourth title in shanghai another tough night for german football the national team slumped to defeat in the nation's league losing three nil to rivals the netherlands the defeat heaps further pressure on germany coach york in lieu of who was already under scrutiny after a disastrous world cup. virgil van dyke capitalized on port offending to give the netherlands a first half late leroy's sunday was thrown on in the second half but the young winger was unable to change germany's fortunes dragging a shot wide. to light goes from memphis to pa enjoyed genius by node and then sealed a deserved three nil victory for the dutch

from its support for bashar al assad to a nuclear deal that's on the brink of failure iran is at the center of a whole host of middle east and global controversies in this outfront special at the united nations i'll challenge iran's foreign minister just odd zarif on his country's policy in syria and its approach to donald trump. foreign minister thanks for joining me on up front good to be with you last week u.s. president donald trump tweeted that he had no plans to meet iranian president hassan rouhani at the u.n. but he would quote someday in the future i'm sure he's an absolutely lovely man but you actually don't want your president to meet with trump do you why not well we're not actually that eager to meet with him because the united states is not a reliable negotiating partner. they were always saying that we want a treaty with iran now they just withdrew from the only treaty that we have with the united states because in the international court of justice ruled against them that tells you that whatever you negotiate with this president and with this administration they're no

investigation reveals more than 100 chemical weapon attacks in syria — most carried out by president assad's forces. as the eu says a no—deal on brexit is more likely than ever before,theresa may insists she's still confident a deal can be reached, even though the irish border isn't yet resolved. and 13 days after a saudi journalist disappeared, investigators are finally allowed inside the saudi consulate in istanbul. we will hear from bbc turkish service. this is what donald trump has said. i don't want to get into his mind but that sounded to me like maybe he is going to blame rogue killers, who knows? if you have comments or questions on the stories we are covering, the hashtag is on the screen now. we begin with a new investigation by bbc panorama and bbc arabic that, for the first time, establishes the extent to which bashar al assad's government has used chemical weapons in syria. the war there is seven years old and has claimed more than 350,000 lives. before i play nawal al—maghafi's report — i should warn you it contains distressing images. another air strike hits khan sheikho

had already given up on the overthrow of assad in syria that musta been a un security council meeting for ambassador nikki haley we welcome the opportunity to discuss the prospects for a diplomatic solution in syria. and money. diag the us foreign policy establishment didn't being democracy would replace assad military intelligence documents said the opposition in syria does not yet have the numbers organization or capabilities overall to overwhelm the regime force the more probable threat the regime will be facing will come from within in the form of an attempt by high ranking military and business elite of the regime to mount a coup against assad intelligence was hoping for many who you know nothing too fancy according to the wiki leaks documents if president bashar al assad was overthrown. the way to the united states is dangerous for most of the illegal immigrants. crossing the most. simple someone. but if many of them look for refuge in the so-called sentry sides the drifter used to share information about undocumented migrants with federal authorities are the best person to ask

because bashar assad and his iranian backers they can't really do that or why because it is actually hosting something like sixty seventy thousand. fighters from the opposition. and the syrian regime and the iranians they cannot actually mobilize as much as thirty times because if you are if you are attacking yeah you have to provide at least three times as many soldiers as the defenders saw. the without russian support without question aerial support their chances actually of success are very minimal. of course the russians the also have other than having their military. leverage on bashar assad they have all saw but texted him from the international community and terms of diplomacy they have been protecting him in the security council for now seven eight years nor single. security council resolution has been passed actually that condemned the syrian government for all it did over the past years so their actions they have huge leverage on and that is that this is why we wouldn't expect them to do anything that the russians actually the with a little by and large those demilitarized

to thousands today there are just two hundred residents most of them loyal supporters of president assad no one here really believes in a political solution with the islamists they believe military force is the only language the islamists understand even if it means death and suffering. and any might be ted you can't trust them they're liars i don't want a political solution i hope the army takes control of the whole province such that we can have some peace of their own are. these men are ready for action at all times they are part of the christian militia on the front line in southern it live they are under assad's control and their mission is to defend christians against islamist fighters. the islamists are supposed to withdraw by monday along with their heavy weapons at least that was part of turkey and russia's deal to created to militarized zone here but the christian militias leader says the islamists are actually reinforcing their defenses rather than withdrawing. we will. be holding the cease fire that was agreed to the islamist militants are digging trenches and building bunker

isis in syria and iraq we would have had to face it in iran or they all supported assad way before i suppose we can pretend iranian support for us and began with isis no no we we have good relations with that but the. reason i mean countries have good relations and saudi arabia had even better relations with the last from two thousand and three to two thousand and eleven so it's not the question of who supported who it's a question of who came to fight extremists ok now that the now that the fight against extremism is in its final stages it doesn't mean that extremism is gone now we need to do a number of things first we need to do it with the issue at hand and that is it we have done our best i went to ankara i went to damascus i we had a summit in tehran all within the space of less than a week and then the summit in sochi between turkey and russia to avoid bloodshed in it now we have achieved that we have a plan to have. a political not a political but a nonmilitary solution in that we are faced with a major problem and that is foreign fighters what to do with a large number of fo

it is the last part of syria not under the control of president bashar al assad many of his opponents have fled here but it is only a question of time until his troops and his allies retake the region in northern syria. turkey and europe fear that a majority of the three million people living here will try to flee initiating another refugee crisis preventing this will be the main goal of the political summit in istanbul. the syrian conflict is dominated by foreign powers mainly russia iran and turkey they have different interests at stake and support different sides in the conflict with weapons logistics and personnel russian president vladimir putin is president assad's closest ally russia has been taking an active part in the war since two thousand and fifteen putin wants to strengthen russia's military presence in the region syria is its sole access point to the mediterranean sea. president hassan rouhani of iran is the other major assad supporter from day one to iran has supported damascus with advisors weapons and troops syria in return provides iran with a crucial route to the h

to thousands today there are just two hundred residents most of them loyal supporters of president assad no one here really believes in a political solution with the islamists they believe military force is the only language the is the misunderstand even if it means death and suffering. and any might be ted you can't trust them they're liars i don't want a political solution i hope the army takes control of the whole province such that we can have some peace the whole. these men are ready for action at all times they are part of the christian militia on the front line in southern it live they are under assad's control and their mission is to defend christians against islamist fighters the islamists are supposed to withdraw by monday along with their heavy weapons at least that was part of turkey and russia's deal to create a de-militarized zone here but the christian militias leader says the islamists are actually reinforcing their defenses rather than withdrawing. holding the ceasefire that was agreed to by the islamist militants are digging trenches and building bunkers war we wouldn't

is still in power yet know that that's not going to happen you know assad won this war and of course this is a fig leaf brought by europe and of course united states behind it and turkey saying that we're going to you know somehow get the opposition to power in damascus that's not going to happen assad fought this war so brutally in order to stop that in order to prevent the opposition from coming to power in damascus and russia sided with him i don't think that these peace negotiations are going to end up winning a war that the military is couldn't do on the ground but there are many issues as each side still set what's going to happen to all those rebel fighters up there in italy are they going to be destroyed or arrested or are they going to own a country a little enclave protected by turkey and europe and and this is you know that's what's really on the ground here because syria and russia are threatening to move ahead if they cannot move ahead and take it live province and to continue bombing it if there isn't forward movement they've all said this is a temporary arrangement we

as nawal al—maghafi reports, it appears these attacks have been crucial to president assad's victory in the conflict. a warning that her report contains distressing images. another airstrike. this attack told the world that not all of syria's chemical weapons had been destroyed. abdul hamed yousseff witnessed it. translation: i heard the planes, i woke up, the first form was at 6:30am. abdul left the house with his wife and twins, unaware of what was about to unfold. translation: this is where i left them. i ran to help people over there. it was a chemical attack. sarin is 26 times more deadly than cyanide. abdul‘s neighbours were dying in the streets. more than 80 were killed and nearly 300 wounded. abdul was taken to hospital after losing consciousness. translation: when i woke up, people asked me, we are rather twins and your wife? minutes later, they brought them to me, dead. president assad had denied responsibility, but international evidence gathered approved the chemical used belonged to the government. the bbc looked at 164 reports of chemical attacks. we wanted to find th

rather bashar al assad did not win the syrian civil war and his own effort he did through through the military intervention of a number of countries and isis was defeated also and so the involvement of turkey and russia both of whom militarily intervened in syria has helped create an accord that hopefully will help mitigate the downsides of an assault on it live province where it goes from here what kind of status it has going forward it remains unclear and more broadly the war in syria it has been going on for so long now and we tend to start looking at it into smaller battles we looked at aleppo for a long time we've been looking at for a long time it was all about those rebel areas being taken back on where is the court in court war headed and basically bashar al assad just back in control and we're back where we were before the war. the answer's no the charlotte does not have enough troops to retake his territory roughly a little over half of syrian territories outside of his control as of now the regime has by some estimates only about twenty to twenty five thousand deployable fo

it is the last part of syria not under the control of president bashar al assad many of his opponents have fled here but it is only a question of time until his troops and his allies retake the region in northern syria. turkey and europe fear that a majority of the three million people living here will try to flee initiating another refugee crisis preventing this will be the main goal of the political summit in istanbul. the syrian conflict is dominated by foreign powers mainly russia iran and turkey they have different interests at stake and support different sides in the conflict with weapons logistics and personnel russian president vladimir putin is president assad's closest ally russia has been taking an active part in the war since two thousand and fifteen putin wants to strengthen russia's military presence in the region syria is its sole access point to the mediterranean sea. president hassan rouhani of iran is the other major assad supporter from day one to iran has supported damascus with advisors weapons and troops syria in return provides iran with a crucial route to the h

man that both he and his guests are banned from using unauthorized equipment in the embassy and that assad must keep his bathroom clean and take care of his cat even went so far as to threaten to confiscate the cat and take it to an animal shelter if not properly cared for if assad's bale's to comply with these new rules the memo goes on to state but that could lead to the term a nation of the diplomatic asylum granted by the ecuadorian state this would put a songe out of the embassy and at the mercy of the british government which is still seeking his arrest for skipping bail on a now dropped allegation of rape by swedish authorities not to mention the possible deportation of a songe to the united states for releasing half a million secret files on the wars in afghanistan and iraq joining us now to discuss these latest twists and turns in the fate of julio songes long time and supporter and racial justice activist randy credico thank you randy for coming on always a pleasure hey it's great and you know max blumenthal's a tough act to follow you don't know that max and credico on the same

diag the us foreign policy establishment didn't think democracy would replace assad military intelligence document said the opposition in syria does not yet have the numbers organization or capabilities overall to overwhelm the regime force the more probable threat the regime will be facing will come from within in the form of an attempt by high ranking military and business leaders of the regime to mount a coup against assad all right. thank you thank you you thank . the way to the united states is dangerous for most of the illegal immigrants. crossing their fingers just a little sympathy i want to take on most of enter and i wanted us to sum this up but if many of them look for refuge in the so-called sentry sides the drifter used to share information about undocumented migrants with federal authorities the best person to ask than call mom. was needed more no i didn't have my son i get them in a lot of class and i want that. they had a lot of the options to stay in the country with donald trump in the white house over forty gravels. still fifty one fifty who could be about to do. a fift