this is. from berlin syrian forces extend their control over eastern huta that's after they again ignore you when efforts to stop the bloodshed and pound the region with airstrikes although there are conflicting reports on the ground at least half of the rebel on seems to have fallen divorces loyalty. also coming up an attempted murder with a deadly nerve agent british police reveal more details about an attack on sunday that swept an ex spying and his daughter fighting for their law and sending

a signal against far right. the german judge gives a lengthy prison sentences to members of a neo nazi group behind a string of attacks targeting refugee. plus one of the last decisions by the german government before it gets an overhaul the country extends in six overseas military and training missions in countries including afghanistan south sudan and mom. it's good to have you with us tonight there are conflicting reports over who is in control of how much of eastern huta in syria but what is certain the rebel held on klav is falling to the forces of syrian president bashar al assad a u.k. based monitoring group says regime forces have. seized around half of the region

the syrian army and its allies claim to be in control of the entire area and what has not changed civilians caught in the firing line and united nations efforts to stop the fighting not working we begin tonight with this report. a childhood from hell. the syrian civil defense workers must dig children out from the rubble after yet another bombing raid taking them to safety if anywhere in east ghouta is safe. the united nations high commissioner for human rights says it's urgent to reverse course and refer the syrian regime to the international criminal court. this month it is east which is in the words of the sector general hell on earth. next month or the month after it will be someone else will people face an apocalypse an apocalypse intended planned and

executed by individuals within the government apparently with the full backing of some of the foreign supporters. pro-government militias reinforced syria's regular troops. and the government itself is backed by iran. and especially russia which says it is coordinating with the regime to offer aid. and to help get people out. to evacuate thirteen civilians including five children and we also plan to evacuate about one thousand sick and wounded people but the rebels did not give us the chance old people women and children are being held as hostages and used as human shields this now. but many observers blame russia for blocking un resolutions or for helping the syrian regime violate them hell on earth has no end in sight. and to find out more

about how civilians in eastern huta are coping we spoke with panos says he's the u.n. regional humanitarian coordinator for syria he's based in amman jordan. hundreds of people are hiding in basements and really into the very little food with the constant fear not knowing if they're going to live another day that needs to change now if the roots are off and if they can go in if medical supplies can go in and if interrupted will come out also people should decide what they want to do of course people love their homes and if possible if it's safe they would like to stay where they are but it's really continuous is that it is as we have seen of course they would rather be in a safer place when they're at the moment the security council what is important is to apply its own resolutions there is allusions really have no meaning if they're just a piece of paper we have to see action in these areas we need to see a suspension facilities and it's not just the but is a group that is above multiple locations two point nine million syrians today live

in the hard to reach of the siege areas these are areas where we are systematically do not have full access to to go in to talk to people to bring them assistance and to really ensure with the support a normal life so the security council to be effective it's a resolution is have to be a flight and that was panos mom says there speaking with us earlier from amman jordan of the u.n. agency yar has also its criticism of the authorities in myanmar over their actions against the rootin joe muslim minority in northern brook khan's state even going so far as to use the phrase acts of genocide now this echoes strong language used earlier by a high ranking representative of the united nations human rights office when he and his team visited cox's bazaar just across the border in bangladesh touring where hinge refugee camps there he spoke of ethnic cleansing and recalling statements.

nobody wants to reward the ethnic cleansing on the side who have driven them out but at the same time one can't afford to go back into what could well be threatened that what is going on at the moment not only are they still killing are they still rapes on a large scale not only are they driving people out with force and threats but also there is this it seems always systematic attempt to destroy the future livelihoods that was. speaking earlier tonight british counterterrorism police say it was a nerve agent that was used to we're tracking former russian double agent and his daughter last weekend police believe sergei scribble and his daughter you were deliberately targeted in a case now being treated as attempted murder there has been speculation that russia could be behind the attack that as investigators attempt to piece together what really happened on a bench in

a quiet british town last sunday. people lived a quiet life in the english cathedral town of salisbury this c.c.t.v. footage was captured d.s.d. for the former russian spy and he still say yulia collapse in the a shopping center. british police now see she was deliberately poisoned so having established the nerve agent is the cause of the symptoms leading us to treat this is attempted murder i can also confirm that we believe the two people originally who became a well were told to it specifically. scruple worked as a connell in his military intelligence service. in two thousand and four he was arrested for selling russian secrets to british intelligence six years later the double agent arrived in britain as part of a spy swap. russia has strongly denied any involvement in scruples poisoning just

to be honest it's difficult to evaluate this story as anything other than provocative media allegations intended to further exacerbate relations between our countries solution but london has threatened a robust response if the trail of the poison leads back to moscow no details about the nerve agents have been released but experts say this kind of substance is difficult to produce and not available to the general public some areas of salisbury a still cordoned off the first police officer on the scene is now in serious condition in hospital. masses our correspondent in london she has been following the story force. well the police did not confirm exactly what. they suspect is the code cause of the poisoning they did however say that they are investigating the murder and that they do also think that.

there were targets it deliberately now of course it is crucial to know which it was because to me to know what it was would also mean that they could know more about where it was potentially fabricated where it where it comes from also another really important question this is the things in the u.k. they do say that there is not a wide risk to the public however of course for british people it would be. wrecking especially for people who live in the area that police officer says who was fast at the scene was taken into hospital and is now in critical condition so very much it's an ongoing investigation that the movement and for the public there are still many open questions there was bigger bounce there reporting from london here are some of the other stories now that are making headlines around the world voters in sierra leone cast their ballots today do you think the country's next president some clashes reported between supporters of the two front runners

although the day was mostly peaceful the election might have to go to a runoff as it's unlikely any candidate will score enough votes to win outright in the first round a senior religious official and his bodyguard have been killed by a suicide bomber in the afghan city of jalalabad. here hard conny was the head of the ministry of honshu and religious affairs in the province the so-called islamic state has claimed responsibility the news agency but it has not offered any evidence in. these region of condy have defied the state of emergency and launched new attacks on muslim targets hundreds of police have been deployed to stem the violence and authorities have blocked social media in some areas officials say at least one hundred fifty homes shops and visuals have been set on fire. this winter has been the arctic sea warmest ever with sea ice levels at a record low scientists say the unusually warm temperatures there are part of

a global warming driven sidewall that has likely played a role in the icy winter storms that have recently hit europe and the united states . for the high court in the eastern german state of saxony has handed down terrorism convictions to eight far right extremists the so-called fry toa group which is named after the small town in saxony where the operated carried out arson attacks against refugee shelters and political opponents the hefty jail sentences they were given today some say are a sign that germany is taking far right crime hate crimes more seriously a closely watched session at the court and dressed and the judge's sentences were almost exactly what the state prosecutor had called for. defeat the stuff tonight as well and it's going to please. the eight defendants have been sentenced to four

to ten years in prison for being members of a terrorist organization for attempted murder or accomplice to attempted murder for using explosives for grievous bodily harm or attempted grievous bodily harm and for property damage and in one case a four year juvenile prison sentence has been handed down. the so-called titan group committed five bombing attacks their targets included the car of a local left party politician and two refugee shelters it's only by chance that no one was killed the state prosecutor said the verdict was fitting. if you hop on your clock we brought charges of membership in and leadership a terrorist organization for the court saw these attacks as cases of attempted murder as did we so we feel validated local prosecutors in saxony wanted this case to be handled by the local juvenile court but the federal prosecutor's intervention confirmed the investigation as a terrorist lated case it sets

a precedent that xenophobic crimes will be severely punished. when germany is extending six overseas military missions including its longstanding deployment in afghanistan they won this fair contingent there will be bolstered by an extra three hundred twenty three twenty troops taking the total number to thirteen hundred germany is also involved in mali where they're training local troops to face islamised insurgents. it takes enormous patients for these mali and soldiers to comb the grounds for anti-personnel mines. this is a training exercise later the molly will be on their own about a thousand german military troops are in the west african state to help malise military boost national security. over we've made progress over the past year both security conditions and the

domestic political situation in mali have worsened. there's been no far reaching reforms in the security sector this will be a decisive year for mali. that's why the outgoing german cabinet has decided to strengthen the presence of german troops in mali by a hundred bringing the number to eleven hundred the ministers approved the extension of six military operations including in iraq that's where the german army is involved in the fight against the so-called islamic state in the north of the country german troops are training kurdish peshmerga fighters. in the future german soldiers are slated to support armed forces in all of iraq the german government sees this as a reorientation of the mission. the thoughts with it even comes. the grass that's been made in the fight against i.a.s. has led to a gradual shift away from combat to the education and training of regular security

forces after. reinforcements are also intended for afghanistan although berlin had initially decided to withdraw its troops the advance of the taliban and the worsening security situation in the country has forced to rethink in the past year alone violence has claimed the lives of ten thousand afghan. dortmund. the biggest favor. all the best gold we've got all the action. is the home of judgment but sheer experience every man. to sleep every weekend here. for sitting. at home.