this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories: a leading charity warns that cutting british aid to syria could mean that hundreds of thousands of children won't be able to go to school. it will mean fewer kids in school, it will mean less medical services, and it is the wrong thing to do. russia is withdrawing its ambassador to washington because the us has accused it of trying to influence last year's us election. tanzania's president, john magufuli, dies at the age of 61. the vice president said he'd succumbed to complications related to a heart condition. the suspect in the atlanta spa shootings is charged wtih eight counts of murder. investigators are trying to determine if race was a factor.

the charity save the children has warned that planned reductions in british aid to syria could lead to hundreds of thousands of children losing their access to education. since the start of the conflict a decade ago, thousands of schools have been destroyed in what the un says is a deliberate ploy by president bashar al assad and his allies to terrorise communities — a charge the regime denies. the foreign office says no final decisions have been made, but it is warning there are tough decisions ahead because of the pandemic. our middle east correspondent quentin somerville reports. to be a parent in syria is to carry the world on your shoulders. forabu, his burden is constant vigilance. for years he's watched the sun

set and rise from this hilltop, waiting for the next attack. he's a flight spotter, a one—man early warning system, protecting the village below where his wife and five children live. at the end of another long shift, he calls home. he knows firsthand the fear and the fury the warplanes bring. the screams in this

playground are of terror. these are schooldays in syria, an entire generation brutalised and traumatised, as bombs fall by the school gates. how do you break the opposition�*s will? target their children, their teachers, their schools. there have been thousands of attacks on schools since the war began. they are relentless in opposition areas and come mostly from regime and russian bombs. taken as a whole, it is a systematic terror campaign against children. in october 2016, a parachute bomb dropped steadily onto this school in haas. 36 were killed in a series of strikes that day.

21 of them were kids. five years later, with their parents�* permission, they told us what happened.

the world has turned its back on these children. it's tired of the syrian conflict. the un does what it can, applying a sticking plaster to a haemorrhaging wound. countries are now looking away from syria. britain, for example, is contemplating a 67% cut in its aid to syria. what would that mean for the un? what would that mean for people on the ground in syria? well, we can only give aid to those 7.5 million people we reach every month if we get the money to do so. the un doesn't have a magic... 350,000 fewer kids in school if britain pulls the plug on that money? it will mean feeding fewer people, it will mean fewer kids in school, it will mean less medical services and it is the wrong thing to do, to balance the books on the backs of these starving and suffering people. 10 years of international failure has left syria a landscape in ruin. this was a normal school day just last week. beeping.

until the aircraft early warning alarm sounds. carefully, the children pack up and evacuate the school. they know the drill only too well. for syria, this is not history, this is now. quentin sommerville, bbc news. russia may be hit with new american sanctions from the united states, now us intelligence agencies have reported that russia's president vladimir putin probably authorised attempts to influence last year's us election in favour of donald trump. president biden has said mr putin will pay a price. he also told the american network abc he thinks the russian leader is "a killer". we had a long talk, he and i. i know him relatively well. and the conversation started off, i said, "i know you, and you know me." "if i establish this occurred, then be prepared." you said you know he doesn't have a soul?

i did say that to him, yes. and his response was, "we understand one another." russia has withdrawn its ambassador from washington for consultations about future ties with the us. the intelligence report found moscow spread "misleading or unsubsta ntiated" allegations aboutjoe biden during the presidential campaign, with the aim of undermining the broader election process. the report also accuses iran of trying to weaken support for donald trump, and it alleges russian intelligence pushed anti—biden narratives to media outlets and to senior officials and allies of mr trump. michael carpenter is the former directorfor michael carpenter is the former director for russia at the national security council. well, i think by withdrawing its ambassador, the kremlin is signalling that this is a serious situation in our bilateral relationship. but, frankly, the biden administration had telegraphed its intentions all along, it had said that where there were areas for cooperation, it would seek those areas of cooperation, as it did

by extending the �*new start�* treaty for five years, and the campaign said very clearly that if it found that russia interfered in the conduct of the 2020 election, that there would be consequences. and that is what president biden reiterated today. so i can't believe the kremlin would be surprised by today's news. so, serious, but in terms of international politics and diplomacy, manageable? well, look, i think the era of turning the other way when russia interferes in our democratic institutions as the previous administration in the united states did, denying, in fact, as president trump did, that there was any interference at all, despite the conclusions of his intelligence community, you know, that era is passed. it is simply not sustainable for russia to interfere in say, the brexit referendum, in the french presidential election, in the us 2016 election, now again in the 2020 election, and suffer

no consequences. there have to be consequences for this type of behaviour if it is to end. and so i think the biden administration has signalled very clearly there will be consequences. and what kind of consequences? what kind of shoes are about to drop, do you think? well, you know, i don't have a crystal ball but, you know, i suspect there are a range of options that the administration will consider, they'll probably choose various different types of responses. and don't forget, with that review pending of the very comprehensive hack, the solarwinds hack that russia perpetrated in the united states, there's also a review alleged bounties that the russians offered for american lives in afghanistan. and so there will be a mix of responses to each of these events. i suspect there will be sanctions of the economic variety, there'll be asset freezes and travel bans on individuals, most likely. but then i think you may also see some more sort of out—of—the—box type of thinking, the already the commerce department has indicated that it will tighten the export of sensitive technologies, and i think

you'll see reinvigorated diplomacy with allies, to get them to take action, too. i'm personally of the opinion if united states convinced germany to stop the nord stream 2 pipeline, that would send perhaps the biggest signal of all to the kremlin that its behaviour is simply not tolerable. just briefly if you don't mind — although it's something that has struck people most forcefully, i supect, how much does it matter, how significant is it, that the us president has called the russian leader a "killer"? well, look, he didn't volunteer this information at the top of a press briefing, he was asked point—blank was a killer and he answered in the affirmative. again, i think we're seeing a president that is going to speak truth and call it like it is. you know, the previous president was asked a similar question and equivocated and said various things

about how the united states is responsible for all kinds of things. well, this president answered very directly. michael carpenter, thank you very much. thank you. the president of tanzania, john magufuli, has died at the age of sixty one. the vice—president said mr magufuli who was being treated in hospital in dar es salaam, had succumbed to complications related to a heart condition. the bbc�*s salim kikeke reports. whenjohn magufuli rose to power in 2015, he seemed to be the leader tanzania needed and wanted, efficient and incorru ptible. his fast action was to purge thousands of so—called ghost workers, officials that were considered corrupt were fired publicly, sometimes on live television. his style was applauded by many inside and outside the country. the international community even hoped his influence would radiate in the region and help neighbouring countries with governance issues.

but the honeymoon period was short—lived and magufuli instantly attracted criticism when live broadcasts of parliamentary debate were banned in 2016. the opposition saw the changes he implemented as a threat to freedom of expression, and his government grew increasingly intolerant of any criticism. translation: the truth | is i have never suppressed democracy. since elected as president, i've actually been promoting it. democracy must have limits. what we are doing it in accordance with our constitution and tradition. but it was his handling of the covid—19 pandemic that became the most controversial, advising tanzanians to dedicate themselves to prayer to defeat the virus. and without offering any scientific proof himself, he also warned tanzanians to beware of the vaccine. this directly challenged the who's efforts to build vaccine trust in the country.

translation: there are some tanzanians who recently - travelled abroad in search of coronavirus vaccines. these people brought the virus into our country when they returned. let us stand firm. this vaccine is not good at all. after the death of zanzibar�*s first vice president, in the number of deaths, john magufuli finally seems to accept the importance of face covering and social distancing. in october 2020, he won a second term in office, controversially so. the opposition cried foul as he won with a landslide 84% of the vote. despite the promising start to his presidency, mr magufuli leaves behind a tanzania very different from the one he took over in 2015. some would say

a very divided one. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: another tokyo olympics official resigns over comments about women — do the games have a problem? today we have closed the book on apartheid, and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision, all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself is on the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. this was an international

trophy and we understand now the search for it has become an international search. above all, this was a triumph of the christian democrats i of the west, after- reunification as quickly as possible, and that's. what the voters wanted. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: a leading charity says many thousands of children in syria could lose access to education if britain cuts its foreign aid. tanzania's president, john magufuli, has died at the age of 61. police in atlanta have said the lone gunman responsible for the fatal shooting of eight people, including six women of asian descent,

may have had an issue with sexual addiction and had "lashed out" at "targets of opportunity". the attacks took place at three massage parlours in the northern suburbs of the city. the cherokee county sheriff told a news conference that the suspect may have previously been a customer of establishments similar to the ones he attacked. he has now been charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. we were able to interview him with the police department and the fbi. he made indicators that he has some issues, potentially sexual addiction and may have frequented some of these places in the past. as the chief indicated, it's early on, we have things to talk about. officials say it's still too early to say if the attack was racially motivated. there has, though, been a sharp rise in the number of attacks against asian—americans during this pandemic. earlier i spoke to author

giboom park about all of this. she wrote the book not your yellow fantasy, on police to classify the attack as a hate crime. i think it's just extremely heartbreaking that we see the direct results of fetishization, of misogyny and white supremacy all combining into this one case that not only dehumanises these women but also completely takes away from the centralisation of their stories, and focuses on this white man and what he wants, what his goals are, and his treatment of these women as objects to eliminate to help benefit his sexual temptations and to escape, for his religious benefits. there's all sorts of extraordinary statements around this case already, including a suggestion from police that the suspect was just having a bad day and this is how it played out. more generally, there has been a rise, as we've been reporting, in attacks against asian—americans. some people have connected that to president trump's remarks, his persistent labelling of the pandemic as the china virus.

right, and i think that has been a trend on why there have been so many increases in asian—american hate crimes. i believe stop api hate has recorded over 3800 already, and that doesn't include ones that have not been reported yet. and so by politicians and higher authorities tying in the coronavirus into xenophobic sentiments and asian american and asians of the diaspora skin colour, we arrive at this very unfortunate result on increased hate crime, xenophobia and these constant dehumanising efforts across the world. just briefly, if you don't mind, we are at least seeing quite a response in support of the kind of point of view you're putting, from politicians, from celebrities, including from the vice president. you have been looking at this for a long time. do you have a sense that people are finally listening? i believe we have seen

an increase in support that has definitely shifted from the trump administration. we do not see any more rhetoric such as the "kung flu", which had so many consequences, so i do believe and i have hope and optimism that we are riding onto a new wave of solidarity and support and hope, but i can't help but to feel pessimistic about whether or not this will actually solve the issues and the constant amount of hate crimes that are happening, or if it's simplyjust a trend that will die out immediately after a few shares on social media, or after a few conversations between closed circles and so i think we all have to be extremely careful and intentional in trying to mitigate this crisis and to educate ourselves on the current topic. giboom park there. let's get some of the day's other news: north korea has called attempts by the new us administration to make contact

with pyongyang as a �*cheap trick�* to buy time. the comments coincide with a visit to south korea by the us secretary of state anthony blinken and the defense chief, lloyd austin. at a news conference, they stressed their commitment to addressing the regional threat posed by pyongyang. in the netherlands, prime minister mark rutte�*s party has won the most seats in elections dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, putting him on course to lead his fourth coalition, according to exit polls. the pro eu d66 looks set to gain seats, with geert wilder�*s anti islam party on course to lose ground in parliament. mr rutte thanked voters for their support. masked protestors have raided a jail in the haitian capital, port—au—prince and freed four policemen. the jail break comes amid days of street protests by people angry about the government�*s handling of a surge in gang—led kidnappings and murders. the president declared a month—long state of emergency in part of the city. the creative head of the tokyo olympics has resigned, after making a derogatory comment about a female japanese entertainer. hiroshi sasaki, who was in charge of

the opening and closing ceremonies, has admitted making remarks about the entertainer, naomi watanabe. last month, the formerjapanese prime minister yoshiro mori, stepped down from his role as president of the tokyo 2020 organising committee after saying women talk too much. minky worden, the director of global initiatives at human rights watch says it�*s a systemic issue. this is the second senior olympic official injapan who has made incredibly demeaning and insulting remarks about women, including, as you said, former prime minister mori, who was the head of the olympics, saying that female colleagues talked too long at meetings and, of course, hiroshi sasaki who has compared one of the top female entertainers injapan to a farm animal. these are not mistakes, these are verbal expressions

of national policy and the national policy is actually systemic discriminating and harassment against women and girls, and this has all been eliminated in the olympic flame. illuminated in the olympic flame. japan does have a bit of a history of excluding women from positions they are qualified for. at least now this is being exposed in the olympic spotlight? ithink, you know, if it were a corporation, the remarks that have been made by the head of the olympics and the creative director would is that to be creating a toxic workplace environment but because it is the olympics and the olympic motto is that gender equality is paramount — higher, faster, stronger including for women and girls — but the reality is that women and girls injapan have to struggle mightily to access basic human rights, they face constant

discrimination, constant harassment. and human rights watch did a report lastjuly, documenting harassment and abuse. we interviewed 800 athletes across 50 sports. many of them were women. and they said essentially there is no—one to call in the olympic system to complaint to about the harassment they experience, and that is not surprising given the position of the leadership. in an age so heavily defined by body image — i mean, even outsidejapan,m even outside sport — how damaging would you say this is for women? well, it is incredibly damaging. sport is held up as a way for women to get scholarship, to access economic opportunities. it is held up as a career. and for these comments to be made in the context of the olympics is really beyond the pale, but i think it is also

something we have to use as a teachable moment and there are incredibly courageous and innovative women�*s rights activists injapan, who are prepared to take these moments and to seize them to access the rights that they have been denied for so long. minky worden, from human rights watch. two less serious things for a moment. from a young age, we�*ve all been warned of the dangers of kidding around, but not these goats in south america apparently — who found themselves up a roof without a ladder. that�*s when the local fire brigade stepped in. mark lobel tells the tale. goats grazing. nothing unusual, right? except these ones are tucking in on a roof in the small village of barichara, in northern columbia, known for its cobbled streets and colonial architecture. and now, this. translation: we have never seen such cases here before. _ we�*ve rescued snakes, porcupines, possums, other kinds of wild

animals here, but we have never rescued goats from a roof before. goats on a roof may sound more like a direct video action thriller, but the rescue scenes are not pretty. some were carried away after their initial performance. bleating. for others, the sight of rescuers butting in seemed to have got their goat, as they milked the crowd and made their own way down. in the end, rescuers reported the frightened animals were all returned to the wild without any injuries. passing tourists capturing this unforgettable scene for us all to see. with the mystery of how they got to be fiddling around on the roof in the first place as yet unsolved. mark lobel, bbc news.

fill in your own goatjoke here if you find one mark has not already use. thank you for watching. hello there. there�*s going to be very little change with the weather for the end of the week and into the weekend and indeed into next week. high pressure will hold on to bring pretty benign weather. thursday looks generally cloudy, i think, for much of the country, and we�*ll have some patchy rain across more eastern parts of england. high—pressure sits to the west of the uk, bringing northerly winds to most areas, north or north—easterly winds, that is. a lot of cloud around generally. limited spells of brightness. early showers will clear from the south—east, but more rain will arrive across eastern england, east anglia and the south—east through the afternoon. probably the best of the sunshine will be through the central belt of scotland, where we could see 15 celsius. some sunshine for south wales, south—west england, highs of 1a celsius. but elsewhere, 10—11 celsius, and cooler along north sea

coast of england, where we have that area of rain and onshore breeze. it will stay damp through thursday night. elsewhere, generally dry. a few spots of drizzle here and there but because of the cloud cover, it won�*t to be too cold anywhere. lows of 4 to around 7 or 8 celsius. so into friday, similar story — high pressure dominating the scene. but we will start to tap into some colder air across the near continent in the south—east, so here, with that cooler air, it will actually be drier air, so we should see the clouds breaking up to allow some sunshine here. but elsewhere, another rather cloudy day. some spots of light rain or drizzle, particularly into northern england through the midlands, up towards the south—west. and it will feel cooler as well across the south—east, despite the sunshine. that onshore north—easterly breeze will peck temperatures back to around 7 or 8 celsius. you will have to head further west to see slightly higher values. again, a bit of brightness through the central belt, 13 degrees, i think 10—11 celsius will be the high for most areas, which is around the seasonal average.

as we move out of friday into the weekend, we still have high pressure with us, but we will see this weather front move into the north of the uk. that could bring some stronger winds across shetland later on on saturday, and outbreaks of rain. we could see some rain pushing into the north and west of scotland later on, but elsewhere, it�*s generally, again, a dry day with some spots of drizzle. quite a bit of cloud around, limited sunshine, and those temperatures around the seasonal average, 11—12 celsius will be the high. it�*s a similar story on sunday. in fact, as we head on into next week, we dominate the weather scene with high pressure, generally light winds, quite a lot of cloud around, and temperatures around the seasonal average.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the charity save the children has warned that planned reductions in british aid to syria could lead to hundreds of thousands of children losing their access to education. since the start of the conflict a decade ago, thousands of schools have been destroyed — in what the un says is a deliberate ploy by the syrian regime to terrorise communities. russia is recalling its ambassador to washington for consultations, as it tries to prevent what it called the �*irreversible degradation�* of ties with the united states. the move follows a us intelligence report that accused russia of trying to influence last year�*s presidential election. the president of tanzania, john magufuli, has died at the age of 61. the vice—president said mr magufuli was being treated in hospital and had succumbed to complications related to a heart condition. there had been speculation he was suffering from covid—19.