closer with the russian president putin, as we all have been seeing, just on aprilfour last putin, as we all have been seeing, just on april four last week. the russian president and the iranian president wherein acra for a summit. —— were in ankara. so president wherein acra for a summit. —— were in ankara. 50 compared to president wherein acra for a summit. —— were in ankara. so compared to a year ago, last year president erdogan was calling on president trump to hit harder. just don't leave this short, but hit harder. this year president erdogan, just this morning, was asking president trump to be cautionary and wait. clearly the relation between trump and the last year made a big change in angara, but it is still... for anyone who has been watching the

events in syria over the past two yea rs, events in syria over the past two years, this will be confusing. because president y and has been the most strongly vocal possibly of all people, saying that president assad is be removed and be taken out of office. —— president erdogan. can he be friends with iran and russia at the same time? turkey... the priority has been change within the last year. now mr erdogan‘s priority is to dislodge syrian kurds in the north of syria. and turkey took over manbi, and now they want to go to manbij, and turkey also wants to get rid of the syrian kurdish fighters

which turkey recognises as a terrorist organisation, as an extension of pkk. turkey recognises syrian kurds as a terrorist organisation whereas the us and its coalition partners have been fighting with syrian kurds against isis fighters for the last 3.5 yea rs. isis fighters for the last 3.5 years. so within the last year mr erdogan started to work with russians, iranians, to fight against syrian kurds, and the assad problem for and kara became a secondary problem. —— ankara. for and kara became a secondary problem. -- ankara. thank you very much. there has been a small demonstration taking place outside the white house. protesting against the air strikes on syria. the small group held up banners and chanted "stop bombing syria." some of them explained why they had chosen to voice their opposition. first of all, chemical

weapons need to be stopped, we cannot be using them. i am against the syrian regime. i do believe in diplomacy. i do believe that we first need to confirm, absolutely confirm, that chemical weapons were indeed used and donald trump, that american presidents, has been vilifying refugees from syria, innocent people looking for a home, he says not here in america, yet he will bomb syria, creating more refugees while still vilifying the innocent people and the death and destruction that he is responsible for creating. my opinions on war are nil. the iraq war was a mistake, we have met 14 years now and i want this to go, for what this campaign does is kidding installations and we are risking a war with russia, they have very threatened at groups on the ground, we have 2000 in syria right now, so we are risking a lot.

i spoke to michael carpenter, former secretary defence —— served as former policy adviser to joe secretary defence —— served as former policy adviser tojoe biden. he is now a seniorfellow former policy adviser tojoe biden. he is now a senior fellow with the atla ntic he is now a senior fellow with the atlantic council and i asked her about the russian response to the strikes. this is a sticky and tricky situation, but so far even if one ta kes situation, but so far even if one takes the reports from the... they we re takes the reports from the... they were that to be taken with a grain of salt because there is a large element of propaganda, but even if we assume that voting us incoming whistles were taken down and as the general said in the briefing, a path —— proximally 120 missiles were fired, —— proximally120 missiles were fired, that is a low proportion, that means the us was able to get through both syrian and russian air defences. the sophisticated surface—to—air missiles defences that were there on the ground. that signifies to me that the russians are probably unwilling to take on

the us with their aircraft and sophisticated air defence systems, and that means it is less likely to be escalation in the future. if there... you think resident assad ca res “— there... you think resident assad cares —— de ute inc president assad ca res cares —— de ute inc president assad cares that his military assets have been targeted in this way? certainly edict —— certainly he cares because his assets are being degraded. whether this prevents further use of chemical weapons, if there is any self defence motive here is the principal that chemical weapons are weapons of mass destruction and should never be used on the battlefield under any circumstances thatis battlefield under any circumstances that is a strong us, uk and french interests. we will have to see. but i's tactical successes in driving the opposition out of eastern ghouta, exceeded the losses from tonight's attacks, he may not be

deterred, he may proceed in the future. that remains to be seen. i wa nt to future. that remains to be seen. i want to bring your statement here from the russian politician, currently the us ambassador, the russian ambassador to the united states, he is saying in a statement that russia says" such actions will not be left without consequences. " this is from the reuters news agency. that is significant is that the kind of thing that would have worried you when you are in the white house? it is very non-specific full top to me it sounds like bluster. you have a russian ambassador to lebanon saying that if the us fired missiles at the syrian regime, that russia would not only target those missiles, but also the aircraft and ships that it hit, that

was a very strong response, aircraft and ships that it hit, that was a very strong response, either it was intended to serve as bluster or was unauthorised by moscow. tonight, i don't know that they will be consequences for the us military. russia may look to asymmetric tactics to impose some sort of restrictions on us business in russia, as they are currently contemplating. but those will have more of an impact on russia's economy then on the us economy. let's bring you up—to—date with what has been happening. it has been a fast moving few hours. the us, britain and france have fired cruise missiles at suspected chemical weapons sites in syria. the us military said the three locations we re military said the three locations were targeted, one near damascus and two near the series of homs. us defence secretaryjim mattis said all were involved in the production

of chemical weapons. the us ambassador to russia says that the strikes will not be without consequences. this was a joint action between the us, france and the uk, and british prime minister isa the uk, and british prime minister is a issued this statement. this evening i have authorised the british armed forces to conduct co—ordinated and targeted strikes, to degrade the syrian regime's chemical weapons capability and to detertheiruse. we are acting together with our american and french allies. in douma, last saturday, a chemical weapons attack killed up to 75 people, including young children, in circumstances of pure horror. the fact of this attack should surprise no—one. the syrian regime has a history of using chemical weapons against its own people, in the most cruel and abhorrent way. regime is resgonsible

¥i§b §hi§ 5425; givixgift... . cw”. this persistent pattern of behaviour must be stopped — notjust to protect innocent people in syria from the horrific deaths and casualties caused by chemical weapons, but also because we cannot allow the erosion of the international norm that prevents the use of these weapons. we have sought to use every possible diplomatic channel to achieve this. but our efforts have been repeatedly thwarted. even this week, the russians vetoed a resolution at the un security council which would have established an independent investigation into the douma attack. so there is no practical alternative to the use of force to degrade and deter the use of chemical weapons by the syrian regime.

this is not about intervening in a civil war. it is not about regime change. it is about a limited and targeted strike that does not further escalate tensions in this region and that does everything possible to prevent civilian casualties. and while this action is specifically about deterring the syrian regime, it will also send a clear signal to anyone else who believes they can use chemical weapons with impunity. at this time, my thoughts are with our brave british servicemen and women and our french and american partners, who are carrying out their duty with the greatest professionalism. the speed with which we are acting is essential in cooperating

with our partners to alleviate further humanitarian suffering and to maintain the vital security of our operations. this is the first time as prime minister that i have had to take the decision to commit our armed forces in combat, and it is not a decision i have taken lightly. i have done so because ijudge this action to be in britain's national interest. we cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalised, within syria, on the streets of the uk, or anywhere else in ourworld. we would have preferred an alternative path. but on this occasion, there is none. history teaches us that the international community must defend the global rules and standards that keep us all safe. that is what our country has always done, and what we will continue to do.

that is the prime minister of the united kingdom, theresa may. earlier i spoke to the co—author of the daily newsletter "politico playbook, andi daily newsletter "politico playbook, and i asked him about donald trump's decision to launch the strikes in syria. he has support from most americans, they see the images of innocent civilians dying in syria, from this massive civil war, from chemical weapons, and they say america should do something. president obama had that redline syria crossed and there were no military consequences. so this is a rare issue in washington where trump seems to have the support of most americans who think that it is a goodidea americans who think that it is a good idea to punish a rogue regime

that violates these international norms. but in the same vein, president trump was the candidate who was talking about pulling out of middle eastern wars and not getting involved in the middle east, and within the space of 12— 18 months as president, he has carried out to airstrikes in syria. and he talked about how he wants to leave syria even as recently as two weeks ago. and so he has these shifts in judgement which can feel like american policy is... you have one day at the white house saying that no more interventions abroad, but then he is announcing these military strikes. i would say that he is not sending us ground troops in, and a lot of middle eastern leaders who wa nt assa d lot of middle eastern leaders who want assad to go, they feel like this is not enough. they are sick of

the world basically waiting on the sidelines and not actually helping rebels achieve their goal of removing assad stop this is one that comes at a time of great transition for the white house foreign policy team. you have a new national security adviserjohn bolton who i don't believe has been confirmed, how are they making these crucial decisions when everything is in such flux? you have a lot of the top deputies on the national security council who are leaving becausejohn bolton want his own team in. you are going to see more clashes going forward between bolton and mike pompeo and trump, because bolton and pompeo and trump, because bolton and pompeo are hawkish in their views on foreign policy, trump is more resista nt to foreign policy, trump is more resistant to nation and sending in troops to fight the battles

overseas. and so they did not have a ton of input into this policy because we have been waiting for this to happen, for the aside regime to use chemical weapons and you want to use chemical weapons and you want to lay down a marker, butjohn bolton, it may surprise people that he would tried to restrain himself from launching a million wars, as many people were worried about. this has been a fairly significant week for president trump. we have these airstrikes, but also the potential per shall legal issues as well cropping up. —— personal. there are plenty of conspiracy theories about the whole wagging the dog thing.|j don't think president trump is that conniving in that he would have staged a chemical warfare strike

last week ends, knowing thatjim koni's book was coming out. ——james comey‘s book. he is definitely getting a lot of pressure on the home front, though. a friend of mine the new york times said that this is the new york times said that this is the weekend trumps seems to be the most under pressure since the access hollywood tape came out during the height of the campaign. —— trump. so there are a lot of things hurting him, and he might fire his attorney deputy general next week. —— deputy attorney—general. deputy general next week. —— deputy attorney-general. in terms of how the president is perceived, whenever a president authorises military action, their ratings do well because they are seen as being strong. yeah, but i don't expect him to get a lot of approval points. he

is kilo —— pretty low, around 42%, which should be much higher because the economy is doing so well. i don't think there are a lot of americans who are anti—trump now who see the missile strikes tonight and think, well, i like president trump now. people are very hard and in their positions, either supporting their positions, either supporting the president or opposing him. —— hardened. just under four hours ago president trump made the announcement that the military action in syria had started when he addressed the nation from the white house. my fellow americans, a short time ago i ordered the united states armed forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of syrian dictator bashar al—assad. a combined operation with the armed forces of france and the united kingdom, is now under way. we thank them both. tonight, i want to speak with you about why we have taken this action. one year ago, assad launched

a savage chemical weapons attack against his own innocent people. the united states responded with 58 missile strikes that destroyed 20% of the syrian air force. last saturday, the assad regime again deployed chemical weapons to slaughter innocent civilians, this time in the town of douma near the syrian capital of damascus. this massacre was a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use by that very terrible regime. the evil and the despicable attack left mothers and fathers, infants and children thrashing in pain and gasping for air. these are not the actions of a man, they are crimes of a monster instead. following the horrors of world war i, a century ago, civilised nations joined together to ban chemical warfare. chemical weapons are uniquely dangerous, not only because they inflict gruesome suffering, but because even small amounts can unleash widespread devastation. the purpose of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent

against the production, spread and use of chemical weapons. establishing this deterrent is a vital national security interest of the united states. the combined american british and french response to these atrocities will integrate all instruments of our national power — military,

economic and diplomatic. we are prepared to sustain this response until the syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents. i also have a message tonight for the two governments most responsible for supporting, equipping and financing the criminal assad regime. to iran and to russia, i ask what kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women and children? the nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep. no nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states, brutal tyrants and

murderous dictators. in 2013, president putin and his government promised the world that they would guarantee the elimination of syria's chemical weapons. assad's recent attack and today's response are the direct result of russia's failure to keep that promise. russia must decide if it will continue down this dark path or if it willjoin with civilised nations as a force for stability and peace. hopefully someday, we will get along with russia, and maybe even iran, but maybe not. i will say this. the united states has a lot to offer. with the greatest and most powerful economy in the history of the world — in syria, the united states,

with but a small force being used to eliminate what is left of isis, is doing what is necessary to protect the american people. over the last year nearly 100% of the territory once controlled by the so—called isis caliphate in syria and iraq has been liberated and eliminated. the united states has also rebuilt ourfriendships across the middle east. we have asked our partners to take greater responsibility for securing their home region, including contributing large amounts of money for the resources, equipment and all of the anti—isis effort. increased engagement from ourfriends including saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, egypt and qatar and others, can ensure that iran does not profit from the eradication of isis. america does not seek

an indefinite presence in syria. under no circumstances. as other nations step up their contributions, we look forward to the day when we can bring our warriors home. and great warriors they are. looking around our very troubled world, americans have no illusions. we cannot purge the world of evil, or act everywhere there is tyranny. no amount of american blood or treasure can produce lasting peace and security in the middle east. it is a troubled place. we will try to make it better, but it is a troubled place. the united states will be a partner and a friend, but the fate of the region lies in the hands of its own people. in the last century we looked straight into the darkest places of the human soul, we saw the anguish that can be unleashed, and the evil that can take hold. by the end of world war i, more than1 million people had been killed or injured by chemical weapons. we never want to see that

ghastly spectre return. so today the nations of britain, france and the united states of america have marshalled their righteous power against barbarism and brutality. tonight i ask all americans to say a prayer for our noble warriors and our allies as they carry out their missions. we pray that god will bring comfort to those suffering in syria. we pray that god will guide the whole region toward a future of dignity and of peace. and we pray that god will continue to watch over and bless the united states of america. thank you and goodnight. that was president trump. let's

bring you up to date. the us, the uk and france have fired cruise missiles at suspected chemical weapons sites in syria. the us military said three locations were targeted. one near damascus, and two near the city of homs. the us defence secretary said all were involved in the research, development and production of chemical weapons. the russian ambassador to washington has warned the strikes will not be without consequences, and syrian state media is also reporting that three civilians have in injured in homs. you can get in touch with me and the rest of the team on twitter. you can also follow the bbc news team. goodbye, and thank you for watching. well, we've got some big changes

on the way on the weather front. in the short term it's still cloudy and you might need the brolly across the course of the weekend. let's summarise the weekend. warming up, particularly in the south, plenty of bright weather around this weekend, at times we will need our umbrellas. after the weekend, that is when we see the really big change. just a quick outlook now for the next few days. a kink in the jet stream here diving south and then back north again on this side of the atlantic means all that warm air in the southern climes here, from spain and portugal and france, will be pushed in our direction and we will start to see those temperatures climbing, probably peaking in the middle of the week as they reach around 2a degrees across the southern half of the uk, into the low 20s further north. but that's next week. in the short term, saturday morning for

many of us will start fairly cloudy. brighter weather developing later on. here are the early hours of saturday, then. quite a lot of cloud across the uk. mist and fog patches around as well. it's dry. temperatures around six degrees in edinburgh. seven degrees also on the south coast. whether you're in the north or south it will not make an awful lot of difference. as we go through saturday morning lots of that cloud will be breaking up. lots of bright if not sunny weather will develop. there is a chance of one or two showers drifting out of france and affecting south—eastern areas, but you're unlikely to catch them. temperatures comfortably getting up to about 18 degrees in the south—east. a big difference on the north sea coast. it has been cold and cloudy over the last few days. those temperatures will be rising. how about the grand national? temperatures getting to about 1k at aintree,

with partly cloudy skies. as we head into the second half of the weekend, that's when the change comes in. low pressure will briefly upset the weather across western areas of the uk. stronger winds here. a little bit of rain. certainly cloud at the very least. that's that rain on sunday morning affecting south—western parts of england, into wales. a few showers further east and in central parts of the country as well. probably the best of the weather in the north and the north—east of scotland. relatively warm winds coming in, maybe a bit of a dip from saturday, but not an awful lot. 15—16 celsius. as we head into next week, those temperatures keep climbing. 20 degrees in edinburgh, and in london, quite possibly 2a celsius. have a great weekend. hello, this is breakfast with naga munchetty and jon kay. britain, the us and france have bombed multiple government targets against president assad in syria. three alleged chemical sites were targeted in an overnight operation, the biggest show of force against the man

donald trump described as a monster. a short time ago i ordered the united states armed forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of syrian dictator bashar al—assad. four british tornado jets were used in the operation. theresa may said there was no practicable alternative to the use of force. we cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalised,