our top story: the us vice president says donald trump has asked the turkish leader for an immediate ceasefire in syria. mr trump has faced criticism over his decision to withdraw us troops from syria, opening the way for turkey to attack the kurds, who were america's main allies in the fight against is militants. more than 100,000 people have been taking part in rescue operations injapan dealing with the aftermath of typhoon hagibis, the worst storm to hit the country in decades. and this story is getting lots of attention on bbc.com. k—pop fans are grieving the loss of one of their biggest stars, sulli, found dead in her home, just 25 years old. she was regarded as a powerful feminist voice and had more than 5 million followers on instagram. that's all, stay with bbc world news.

now on bbc news, it's hardtalk, with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. donald trump doesn't seem to do regret, but maybe even he will come to rue his abrupt decision to pull us troops out of northern syria. his move prompted a turkish military invasion of territory held by syria's kurds. the kurds are now looking to president assad for military help. the region, once a playground for so—called islamic state, has been plunged back into chaos. my guest is alan semo, representative of the syrian kurdish democratic union party in london. what are his people's options now?

alan semo, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. a pleasure to be here. you represent the democratic union party of syrian kurds. should you and your people have seen donald trump's dramatic decision to withdraw us forces from your region coming? no, we haven't seen it. but should you have seen it coming? because donald trump, if one looks at the record, as long ago as last december, declared that the us had won its war with islamic state, and therefore, he said, were going to

withdraw our forces from northern syria. so in that sense you had some warning that this might happen. that's correct, but not in that extent that we leave suddenly and without any replacement of the forces. there are people in your region talking of betrayal. is that a word you are using? it's more than that, and beyond the betrayal. these people have honoured their promises, and defeated the common, the global threat to — the global threat to their society, the western society, mostly the kurds. and now they have been abandoned on their own to face their — to face the brutal face of turkish aggression invading on 5

million civilians on northern and eastern syria. what are you hearing as you try to make contact with your family and friends in northern syria about what they are facing today? u nfortu nately, about what they are facing today? unfortunately, the shelling and bombardment have been now continuously for five days, night and day, 2a hours, about 200,000 people have been displaced already, according to un reports. there are — all the towns on the border with turkey, people have been displaced. many facilities of hospitals, schools, have been bombarded, and people have to seek somewhere else east of syria to get away, escaped from this bombardment. much of your family is from near to the town of

kobane, which is close to the turkish border, was once held by so—called islamic state fighters, but then of course was taken by the syrian democratic force militia. how are yourfamily syrian democratic force militia. how are your family today? have they fled, or are they still in their home? no, they stay home, and most of the people, they stay at home, but they are very, very concerned, and they are following the development. there is some infiltration of the turkish military and their proxies, which are mercenaries who have been allied with turkey. but there are still people there, and the defence, people there, and the defence, people defending themselves, for security. what do you say to them when you talk to them on the telephone, and i guess they discuss with you whether it is wise, safe, to stay at home, or whether they should flee? what do you believe they should do? they are trying to defend themselves. they said we have

seen the wars of isis, and turkey is attacking civilians, and we have to be very, very careful. we have no option safer than this, our home. we are going to stay and we are going to defend ourselves. so they will fight, will they? members of your family are going to fight? my family, all the society, all the people in northern syria, even civilians now, they are preparing for themselves. students, all teachers, all parts of the communities, members of the community, because they have realised, as you mentioned before now, they have no other option, where are we going to go? you tell me that your family and everybody in kobane and other syrian kurdish towns will fight, but the truth is it isa towns will fight, but the truth is it is a military mismatch, isn't it? imean, the it is a military mismatch, isn't it? i mean, the firepower, whether it be by air, artillery, tanks, all of the firepower is on the side of turkey.

you have very little to respond with. no, we have the will. in this we have proven before, 2014, 2015. we have been defeated. we have a history of victory. we have defeated the most brutal isis. which no military forces stood against them. with respect, mr semo, you represent a party and perhaps it is easier to discuss these things from a party in london, than from a place like kobane. 0f london, than from a place like kobane. of course your forces fought and we know they put a very tough battle against islamic state fighters. but islamic state forces do not have an air force, they do not have tanks, they do not have all the military equipment the turkish army and its air force have. you cannot expect your forces on the ground to be able to put up meaningful resistance against turkey. but we are not going to give

it up easily. we are going to defend on the ground. and i totally agree with you that the airspace is most dangerous for northern and eastern forces now, the military forces. i'm not a military man, but this is the fa ct, not a military man, but this is the fact, as you mentioned it. the airspace, and now, therefore, the north—eastern syrian people now are seeking to have airspace blocked for turkey. we have been calling for a no—fly zone, and now, when america decided yesterday they will withdraw all their forces, decided yesterday they will withdraw all theirforces, and decided yesterday they will withdraw all their forces, and the decided yesterday they will withdraw all theirforces, and the russians and the regime called and agreed to come to the border, military only, and this is an agreement to prevent the turkish airspace to breach the syrian airspace. well, we will get to what the assad government and

what the russians want to do and will do ina what the russians want to do and will do in a moment, but let's go through this piece by piece. for one more moment, let's stick on what you're military forces in the so—called ypg are doing on the ground. they are your sort of militia, syrian kurdish militia. in response to the turks occupying syrian kurdish towns and villages, they are, that is your forces, have been firing shells into turkish towns just across the border in turkey, indeed, killing a number of civilians. do you think that is the right response? it is - you have to defend yourself. the civilians who have been killed in akcakale, you think that is legitimate? it is

defence. you declared the war. turkish government has declared the warand turkish government has declared the war and wage turkish government has declared the warand wage war turkish government has declared the war and wage war against these forces, and these forces have a legitimate right to defend themselves. everybody has a legitimate right to defend themselves. but we're not talking about attacking the turkish military forces who are attacking towns. what about lobbing cells across the into turkey? what about these 200 people who have been killed, civilians, even the political party leaders? the syrian future party leaders, the co—chair, she has been, yes, assassinated. and she was brutally murdered. yes, what about her? she has no defence to herself. where will she go, run away? that raises a question, because she wasn't actually affiliated to the ypg or syrian defence forces. she was an independent politician. do you think that there are now militias at work

in northern syria who are specifically targeting kurdish politicians? there are, mostly they are politicians? there are, mostly they a re proxy politicians? there are, mostly they are proxy forces which are backed by turkey. do you have proof that this isa turkey. do you have proof that this is a specific, targeted policy? yes, this is a video saying they are not turkish soldiers, they are syrian, and they are backed by turkey, and in the video they are saying in arabic and another language that they are linked. that is one of the jihadist islamist groups. so let us talk about the jihadist the islamist, who of course had a very strong presence in northern syria for some time, and then your kurdish forces took them on and beat them in a series of confrontations. is it your belief that the turkish move into northern syria is going to see

a revival of the jihadist groups in northern syria? this is a fact. this isa northern syria? this is a fact. this is a fact, and this is the proof of that. as assad mentioned it, a group in northern syria have been fighting back. so yes. are you in the kurdish syrian movement in a sense using the threat of a revival of so—called islamic state as leveraged to try to change the mind of washington or other western powers, not to abandon you? i wish-i wish we could use it, but we are not able. and this is not oui’ but we are not able. and this is not our view. we are not using it as leveraged. we have been calling for the international community, including all european countries, to ta ke including all european countries, to take responsibility, to take their citizens, to have prosecutions. we

wa nt citizens, to have prosecutions. we want justice. as citizens, to have prosecutions. we wantjustice. as you mentioned, if we do that, the iraqi government would have killed all of them, isis fighters. we have them. you have, andi fighters. we have them. you have, and i believe there are 4000. 4500 iraqis. we did not, because we didn't want to force them. we treated them humanely. all we wanted, we want to justice for them. well, let's talk the numbers. it seems there are almost 12,000 is fighters. 4000, it seems, are foreign fighters. they have come to the region to fight with islamic state. there have been suggestions that they have already been escaped. we know that one camp for displaced is related people, mostly women and children, one of the camps near ain issa, was hit and as a result there

was chaos and we believe 700 foreign nationals escaped. not necessarily fighters, it seems they were family members. but is your message to the outside world today that thousands of islamic state fighters will be freed, one way or another, if this war continues? if you are not going to support, to make them secure. you see, that does sound like a threat. no, it is not. i am keeping them. i have kept them for six months now. i have kept them for six months now. i have fed them. i understand that. no, i understand, you have fed them, you have kept them, you have kept them detained. but if you are serious about giving them detained, why don't you right now, before the turks arrive in some of those camps, move them to safer areas, so that they cannot escape? as father, it's 45 miles from the border, where you going to move them? we wish, we ask the

international community, please find a space we can move them. to a safe space as you said, this is not... mr trump has a secure area which expecting is in the right,. you mentioned this to individuals the so—called beatles, their british prisoners in somerset, they are believed to committed crimes, in the middle of the crisis, the rest of the business as you said, we have believing they are in a rock and there were at least 50 other prisoners on an american list of high—value ias suspects. and according to a report in the us ——us times, when the americans approach the kurdish syrian force, to get

access to these other prisoners, high—value business that akers was denied and they remain in your custody. barley not prepared to give them up the americans? we have given them up the americans? we have given them to the americans. but because of the bombardments, no you cannot move them. this is not we allow them to escape, this is not true. we tried and betrayed now as well. yesterday's statement, that isis fighters in prison will be secured and kept safe. but the turkey bombardment, turkey bombardment and they make it and escape. it's not us, it is to his aim now to rescue them. but you, the curtis aryans, are hourand them. but you, the curtis aryans, are hour and the price for your decision to link yourselves so closely —— kurdish assyrians. to the

pkk. the reason the turks have moving tuners in syria is because it said they have to act against a terrorist group which is your group which is a close intimate relationship with the pkk. your one and the same thing. this is a project of turkey. it's actually true. it's not true and it's not reality. in 2016, the 0k rg, the kurdish region in northern iraq try to do independence. and the president is a close ally to turkey. and as a close ——is a close ally to the west as you know. why turkey is attacking him and preventing him? he is not the pkk. he is against the pkk. he is a close ally and his

working with turkey and relying on tu rkey‘s working with turkey and relying on turkey's economic so that means turkey's economic so that means turkey is not genuine. it doesn't necessarily mean that it means that turkey and iraq may be different. the spectra of this point, clearly, we kurds pid and all the kurdish political movement, in syria, we are a syrian, we have our own relationship, we have a relationship with ok dp, the regional government, we have the same kurdish relationships and we consider all of the other cool —— per political parties and other parts of the right, a run, turkey is kurdish movements. here are some faxes of the facts are that the y pg that is

the facts are that the y pg that is the military wing of your own party, the military wing of your own party, the y pg group inside katie syria has in the past unfurled banners and posters during its operations, showing the imprisoned founder of the pkk, here is anotherfocus of the pkk, here is anotherfocus of the director of national intelligence in the united states backin intelligence in the united states back in 2018 said of yacht y pg, he said the y pg is a syrian militia wing of the kurdistan workers party, thatis wing of the kurdistan workers party, that is the pkk. the z regards y pg is terrorist organisation so does the uk and the offence. this is a reality. it's a reality that you a lwa ys reality. it's a reality that you always and i but it's the reason that the turkish military is on your territory. these aren't reasonable reasons. these are not facts. so if i'm supporting... imagine occurred living in the rhine as he is

occurred. does that mean he is one of them? if one looks at the evidence there is clear evidence of a command structure, the organisation of their y pg is intimately connected to the pkk. this is not true. the us made it clear that et cetera. yes, uk medical it clear as such. you set is not true, let's move on to other aspects of the y pg. is it true that ipg uses child soldiers? no, they have been declared, the syrian democratic forces... have been declared, the syrian democratic forces. .. so why have the united nations, human rights watch and human rights organisation said that the y pg uses, recruits and sometimes kidnaps children to serve a new military forces? it was in individual cases and since 200015

they have signed the agreement — 2015. to recruit underage, but it was some individuals but on the front line. there was some young, under 18, or front line. there was some young, under18, or16, 17 is. and front line. there was some young, under 18, or 16, 17 is. and then they stopped it. since the agreement of the geneva convention. so you acknowledge that as of august 2018 the latest human rights report, there has been recruiting of children including girls using some in despite pledges to stop. children including girls using some in despite pledges to stopm children including girls using some in despite pledges to stop. it was individuals, individual cases and it stop. we have to finish in a moment, let's finish with what is going to happen now because as a result of the invasion of your territory, you have reached out to the present, you asked a syrian army to take positions on the border. indeed to

reta ke towns positions on the border. indeed to retake towns that were held by you but using two of the syrian army to move an hour. do you really believe that the president and his forces are going to be allowable protectors of the syrian coast? it is their duty. this is a fact. this is not only kurds and syrians that have to defend the border of syria. but... the point is, for the last six, seven yea rs, the point is, for the last six, seven years, the kurds in northern syria have run their own affairs. still running affairs. but you are inviting the regime of the military takeover, you will no longer be running... it is the end. this is not true agreement. compromise was that the russian on friday, they

come, the russian of the vision, the moment is that syrian military forces in order to defend the airspace, the russian and the syrian military will move to only towns. this is a military agreement and has no regards to the autonomous administration. the administration is just administration. the administration isjust going to administration. the administration is just going to come to the border. they will not even enter the cities and towns. seve now describe how you feel the americans have utterly betrayed you. i know you are telling me that you really trust president to give you the agreement. it's nothing with trust or not trust. it's a fact. this is the duty does make your resume is mine. we have to protect our borders. if you're not able to protect the border that we have to look somewhere else to

project a border. so you think the syrian army that under the command of the president is now going to fight the turkish army? this is supposed to. to really believe it's going to have an? hopefully will happen, one? that me and by reading a quote. yelp militia armed forces in north, and of this era, he said for us kurds that there's going to be painful compromise of the government and with the russian. we don't trust their promises, to be undesired and adjust but if we have issues with compromise and a genocide of our people, we will surely choose life for our people. is that what it's come to? that's right. this is the correct position. and therefore send the people, yes, we don't trust but this is the duty. i'm calling for you to do your duty andi i'm calling for you to do your duty and i will do my duty, i honour my duty but i wanted you to share with

me your duty as well. do you think is available in people ‘s estate? me your duty as well. do you think is available in people 's estate?m is, very serious. and the international community has all to do something to prevent this genocide. we have to and there but i thank you very much. here's the good years, the weather on tuesday is looking pretty decent across on tuesday is looking pretty decent a cross m ost on tuesday is looking pretty decent across most of the uk, it should be across most of the uk, it should be a dry day at least for most of us, and there be some sunshine around,

too. we'll be in between those systems. so all that rain we just had will be clearing away out into north sea in fact by dawn we could be in between the systems, there's a gap between the weather fronts, that is going to be in right across the uk- is going to be in right across the uk — rain during the course of tuesday but those of a different heading away and that discrepancy mother. as i look at the focus of the early hours of the money, some rain around in the north—east of the country, newcastle, perhaps supporters of scotland, edinburgh may be as well, a few spots of rain but the vast majority of the country i think but the vast majority of the country ithinka but the vast majority of the country i think a dry into the night was of still wet, multiples of the buddha will be raining. bit of mr fogg best thing for example, in south—west of the country, bright day, for most of us the country, bright day, for most of us install on tuesday, no complete a drug, it is a possibility of a fish i was there in south—western parts

of them, possibly worse too, but you'll notice that the vast majority of the country enjoying that bright weather. some cards around, 17 in london, 14 expected in the north of the country. on she sent out into the country. on she sent out into the early hours of wednesday were expecting another weather fronts and move expecting another weather fronts and m ove a cross expecting another weather fronts and move across the uk, that means wednesday morning it is looking wet across decent areas so any of it from london to lincolnshire and eastern buses scotland there was an (around, but by the time we get to this afternoon the wind —— weather is much better the sons are so mid week in the afternoon there will be sunshine, 16 in london and cooler in glasgow around 12 degrees. 0n thursday that we start to see a change. this area of the pressure is expected to roll and of the atlantic, quite a large area of the pressure, it's also quite slow—moving so that means lots of the pressure, it's also quite slow—moving so that ms watson starts moving in, it was roll and roll to the rest of the week and due to the

weekend as office so others are expecting increasing wins and heavy frequent showers across western parts of the uk but on thursday still across some central and eastern areas the weather should be mostly bright. by the time negative friday at the weekend that the pressures we re friday at the weekend that the pressures were pa rt friday at the weekend that the pressures were part of the uk, strong winds in the west and south, frequent showers but sunshine too. goodbye.

welcome to newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: syrian government forces move towards the border with turkey — risking another dangerous confrontation. japan deploys more than 100,000 rescuers following the worst storm to hit the country in decades. i'm lewis vaughanjones in london. also in the programme. sirens blare huge protests and violent clashes in spain after the supreme court jails nine separatists over catalonia's failed bid for independence. and fans mourn the loss of one of k—pop's biggest stars —