♪ >> this is news live from berlin. tonight, it is the united states apparently the world in intervention in the syrian conflict? >> i will tell you because already happens that my attitude toward syria and president assad has changed very much. >> at united nations, the u.s. ambassador makes it clear who think she -- who she thinks was to blame but russia denies any involvement. the status quo on syria is about to change. and a shakeup in the closest

circle around the u.s. president. trump has removed his chief strategist, steve bannon, from the national security council. we ask what that means inside and outside the u.s. lawmakers in the parliament adopted resolution on brexit negotiations that london probably won't like. ♪ >> it is good to have you with us. tonight, in syria, the dead are still being counted after a suspected chemical weapons attack yesterday. at least 72 people were killed. many of them children. now, donald trump hinting that he may intervene. -- called on syria's allies to condemn the attack. we begin now with a report from

your the attack site. >> this is the physical aftermath of the suspected chemical weapons attack. what isn't disputed is that syria and government warplanes carried out airstrikes on this town. plumes of dark smoke mixed with a white cloud, a telltale sign of a chemical attack. witnesses say a medical facility was among the buildings turned to rubble in the strikes. they said it was like nothing they had seen before. >> we went out to save people and give first aid. there were five of us and we fell to the ground. once we got to the other street, we lost consciousness. 10 minutes after the attack, the dust began to rise. it wasn't black, it was a yellow-white. >> while survivors of the attack

recover in hospitals in syria and turkey, world powers are fighting over who was responsible. the political aftermath is playing out at the un security council in new york. russia, syria's most powerful ally, blames a chemical leak. but this field is rejected by the united states and other world powers. the u.s. seemingly threatening to take on president assad alone. >> when the united nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of the states, that we are compelled to take our own action. for the sake of the victims, i hope the rest of the council is finally willing to do the same. the world needs to see the use of chemical weapons and the fact that they will not be tolerated.

>> streets are now deserted except for those cleaning up the mess. whatever action the security council decides to take, it is too late for this town. >> where does this lead us tonight? joining us in the studio is a syria analyst. it is good to have you on the show. what we're seeing right now -- this attack, is it going to be a game changer in the status quo? president assad in syria? >> initially, it seems unlikely. you have to put this attack in context. the gassing of his own population by president assad, it has been done periodicaly

and you have the outrage without any action on the ground. this attack happened at the same time that the european union convenient in brussels to discuss aid and reconstruction in syria. so he sent a message that he expects to have a stake as well. >> do you think that is what is going on? >> yes. nothing in politics is a coincidence. >> but it doesn't make sense. you are blowing up your own people? making the situation worse while europeans are meeting to give you money to rebuild? >> no, it shows contempt for europe and the west. to his own constituency, it shows he is strong and brutal. it shows his contempt for the west.

there are far more i have geological's allies of whatever is left of humanity in syria. >> what about the security council? we understand a resolution has been put forth to the council but there will not even be invoked -- there will not even be a vote on that? >> no. with china following suit, they will veto. the u.s. secretary general saying they're very worried -- >> who want to play something that the u.s. president said earlier today about the situation with syria. listen. >> i will tell you that the attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me. a big impact. that was a horrible, horrible thing. and i have been watching it and seeing it and it doesn't get any worse than that.

and i have the flexibility -- it is very possible -- i was how you, it is already happened that my attitude toward syria and president assad has changed very much. >> did the u.s. president just tell us that he is ready to go into syria? >> not necessarily. this is part of the episode of the incoherent and contradictory statements from the trump administration about syria. >> what about nikki haley today in the security council? she said, if you don't act, you compel others to go it alone. >> again, look at this in the context within the trump administration. it is not a straightforward --

it isn't straightforward coherence. >> and she also is not the president. there are cores -- there are calls for a foreign investigation of what happened. is that likely to happen? >> the u.n. has an investigation where president assad has used chemical weapons and again, nothing happened. it isn't an issue of who did this. but the fragmentation and the weakness in europe to do anything about that. >> when you look at what is happening in how the world is reacting -- all right. thank you. with the german institute for international and security affairs. thank you. we appreciate your insight. the gassing of civilians came as an international conference as rebuilding syria was underway in brussels.

wednesday's meeting began with delegates hold a moment of silence for the victims of the alleged chemical weapons attack. they pledged 6 billion u.s. dollars for syria for this year alone. in a surprise reshuffling, u.s. president has removed his senior strategist, steve bannon, from his national security council which advises the president. he was head of the breitbart news and was elevated to the council's pretzels committee at the beginning of trumps presidency. it did draw criticism. we do want to go now to our correspondent in washington. she is on the story for us. talk about a shakeup in the white house.

what do we know about why donald trump to remove stephen bannon? >> there is very little limitation -- there is very little information that the white house is giving us right now which may be an indicator and of itself. there's a lot you can read into how this is being reported. either step down or step away or resign -- he was taken off, kicked off. these are the words that people are used to describe stephen bannon leaving the national security council. the way the trump white house is spinning this is that he was only put on the security council in the first place to oversee the work of michael flynn. if you remember back and remember who he was, the former national security advisor who was fired by having alleged ties to russia that he lied to mike pence about.

so just now, stephen bannon is being removed. which raises the question of why. >> why the time delay? that is a good question. president trump has downgraded stephen bannon which means he still keeps his national security clearance. is he still a force to be reckoned with? is he have the year of the president? >> they are being careful to describe this as a devotion. we know that he is very much a part of trumps inner circle. one of his closest advisers. so the question is still open, however, after this reshuffling, why, what other role he could possibly have, and are there more allegations that will come forward that they are trying to preempt? >> thank you very much.

here in germany, the cabinet has approved a draft to a law that would impose big fines on social media companies to faye fail to delete hate speech from their websites. fines could go as high as 50 million euros. a majority in the parliament and the government looks likely to get this passed. >> insults, hate speech, fake news. the internet is full of these things but the sources are hard to uncover. but facebook and twitter have agreed to remove this content but germany's minister wants to force them to take more responsibility. >> at the moment, our problem is with unlawful content being not removed. twitter removes 1% of illegal posts and with facebook, far less than 50%. youtube shows that it does work. they delete 90% of illegal content. the freedom of expression finds

limits against the law. >> companies failing to delete illegally -- delete repeatedly reported posts are subject to laws. it is confiscated but he still wants to go ahead with this controversial plan. right now, we have the problem that too much illegal contact is spread by the internet and there is a mentality that the internet is where laws don't apply. we cannot accept this. >> the courts have the final say on companies such as in the case of a syrian refugee who selfie with the german chancellor led to him being accused of terrorism. facebook may have deleted the defamatory post but a german court rules that the company itself should not have to seek out such content. too much content may be deleted -- effectively leading to unnecessary censorship.

>> nasa spacecraft is set for the finale of its mission. the end of a long exploration of saturn and its surroundings. they have been gathering information about saturn and its moons. the spacecraft will start a series of dives through the gap the tween the giant planet and its rings. it will self-destruct by crashing into saturn in september. you're watching the news live from berlin. still ahead. trumpcare's to talk trade with his chinese counterpart. who called in on finland on his way to the united states. trumps claimed the chinese practices are killing u.s. jobs. we look ahead.

lawmakers of the european parliament have adopted a resolution on negotiations in brexit and london will not like it but it is a legally binding anyway. we will tell you about that in just a moment. and we will be here at the latest business news. we'll be back in 60 seconds.

♪ >> welcome back. we are alive from berlin. our top stories. trump has hinted that he may be compared to intervene in syria after a gas attack as the united nations -- the u.s. ambassador made it clear who she thought was to blame but russia and the syrian government has denied any involvement. eu lawmakers in strasburg addressed -- phased associations. that means there would need to be progress on the brexit talks

before discussions about any future trade arrangement with britain can begin. the european parliament is the first of the eu institutions to lay out its official stance on brexit. even though the agreement is not legally binding. it could give a glimpse into how future talks will go. talks are expected to begin in late may. we caught up with a member of the european parliament. as he came out of that vote. >> negotiations have not even started and we just witnessed a major diplomatic dispute over the status of gibraltar. was this an example of the tone we would hear in the months to come. >> the negotiations haven't started yet. i think it is important with these negotiations, that they are conducted in a calm and responsible way. there is no need to be nasty.

there is no need to have a spirit of revenge. as was pointed out today correctly. and i think the most important thing is that we have to get brexit on in an orderly manner. >> the contentious issue is how much they will have to pay to leave. 60 billion euros is being discussed now. is that about right? >> nobody can name figures in this precise moment. it has committed at a member of the european union. but as always, in life, when it comes to a divorce, at the end, it is about the children and money. >> your father is british. you have a german and british citizenship. today, they will support a

brexit deal. how difficult is it for you to discuss a tough stance against britain today? >> i am a politician coming from germany. i do think this is an awful, historic mistake. but we have to face reality and the united kingdom will leave the european union. i still feel heartbroken about this. but this is what's going to happen. and i think what is important to know is, let's get it done in an orderly manner. and whatever happens after brexit, they will remain a neighbor of the european union. and an important nato ally. that is why, let's get the withdrawal done and then let's get this going as soon as possible. >> thank you for the interview. >> all right. here now with business news. a very special meeting. >> special indeed.

president trump and his chinese counterpart are getting together for their first ever summit on thursday. the two leaders will meet at trump's private estate in florida for two days of talks aimed at finding common ground. trade will be higher up on the agenda. it is a thorny issue with presidential campaigns that chinese -- that he refused to impose tariffs on chinese products. china has called on washington to create better conditions for chinese investment in the united states. corrects for more on this, let's go to our wall street correspondent in new york. donald trump blames china for taking advantage of the u.s. -- is that justified? >> well, especially if you look at trade, it is understandable that the u.s. of ministration see some challenges.

if you look at the trade deficit that the u.s. runs, a good 70% of the overall trade deficit is usually imports from china. a massive figure. if you look at the world trade organization, they treat china as a developing country. and there are other possibilities when it comes to china and industrialized nations. so in that respect, it is understandable that donald trump and his of ministration is not really happy with how trade is done between the two largest nations. two largest economies. >> tell us, how important is this meeting for wall street? >> well, it is pretty important. because trade is one of the

great challenges to the u.s. economy and the overall stock market as well. we see the latest comments from donald trump talking about how it will be difficult talks. and he also talked about how u.s. companies may be looking for alternatives. meaning they should not do as much business with china as they have done in the past. that it will change in the near future. but it is pretty tough talk and that is why wall street will play -- will pay close attention and will watch closely to what is going on in florida when the two leaders meet. >> we will be watching as well. thank you. >> the cost of coal in steelmaking in china has shot up nearly 9% on expectations of shrinking supplies. a mining company declared a so-called -- after supply lines for the australian coal were his

by cyclone debbie. the storm struck the company's northeast coast last week and damaged the nail repercussions coal from northern queensland to the coast. it could mean about 5% of the seaborne coal supply could disappear from the market. potentially doubling prices. israel's transport minister has come up with a plan to connect the countries railway network for surrounding arab countries. it is seen as a way of boosting regional economies, including palestine. but the idea could prove to be quite the political hot potato. >> a man with a vision. israel's transport minister wants to link his countries railway network across borders. through jordan and saudi arabia. and it appears it is full steam ahead. >> i have started working.

i have received a green light. i have heard he moved the israeli part of the plan forwards. >> whether other countries are on board remains to be seen. under the israeli plan, goods were traveled. to jordan and the south arabian gulf port. israel wants to normalize relations with saudi arabia and gulf states. which view iran as a rival. he also touts his plan as a means of transforming west bank into a modern territory by giving palestinians great ability to export goods. this points to -- limiting trade prospects. >> that is your business for the hour. back to you. >> responding to the defeat on

tuesday with a three-to win. the second-place still trails. and the result had more impact. just a spot about the drop zone. -- won in a key regulation clash. you can see the goals in our show which first tears just after 2300 utc. to gulf, the first major of the year, the u.s. masters starts on thursday. it is the most prestigious tournament in the world. one winner in a guster, it will feel poignant. -- recently revealed that his mother has lung cancer. >> every year, the masters is special. with his mom sick, this year

have extra meaning. >> my favorite week of the year. it always is. to be able to do it will be great. >> for different reasons, over a macklemore to don the winners jacket as well. he just about grabbed it in 2011 but suffered a masters meltdown. >> this tournament requires the utmost concentration. you really have focus on your job at the end of the day. >> the world number one is the favorite of the favorite. dustin johnson is familiar with wilting under pressure at majors. after years of coming close, he won the u.s. open last year. >> everybody makes mistakes. that for me, i just felt like i was always learning from it and

try not to do it again. >> he likes his chances of topping the leaderboard but he knows, as all pros know, anyone in the field can win. at the masters, it always comes down to the back nine on sunday. >> after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. we will have an in-depth look at the victims of yesterday's gas attack in syria. stick around for that. ♪

>> euro max highlights. >> after an action-packed week, this is what our top stories look like. daring duo. two artistic cyclists take to the streets of the german capital. scintillating sounds. nathan lee combines beat-boxing with the flute. and mean machines. aggressive designs at the geneva motor show. one way to get through the dreary winter months in northern europe is to plan your next vacation. france, spain, and italy have always been top holiday destinations for europeans, thanks to their great food, milder climates, and the beaches. but now, increasing security