chills are worried about airborne chemicals an explosion of a fertilizer plant in texas left fifteen people dead and hundreds injured in mid april. at least sixteen people have been killed in clashes between has of the law and of the syrian rebel forces in lebanon not far from the border with syria one member of hezbollah and at least fifteen rebels died in the violence has a blog has also been involved in the blockade of the syrian town of qusayr a key logistical and supply route for weapons being smuggled into the country. at least six people have been killed and five others kidnapped in separate attacks in western iraq on bar province armed men shot three truck drivers and set their vehicles on fire close to the syrian border a civilian and a police officer were kidnapped from the site where the truck drivers were attacked while gunmen abducted two more officers and a civilian north of the town in fallujah another attack occurred where armed men killed a cousin of the provincial chief and wounded his wife more than

a thousand people most of them civilians were killed in iraq last month according to the united nations. least three people died have died over the last couple of days at and at least eight more were missing on sunday as heavy rain across much of europe has led to flooding poland and bulgaria have experienced high water levels homes have also been evacuated across southern germany the czech republic austria and switzerland as rivers reach dangerously high levels there the czech capital prague is on high alert as authorities fear a repeat of the. floods of august two thousand and two. then coming up by two takes and up close look at war twenty iraq through the window of a taxi that's after a short break stay with us. mission

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on the road to bass for this morning the u.s. army is beginning to withdraw from iraq. in december twentieth after nine years of occupation the last american troops are finally leaving the country. remember the guard got a no but if i may i did it members of the iraqis anger towards the departing invaders who once dreamed of being liberators their departure resembles abandonment and escape despite the optimistic speeches. a. cease. being a little. april

twenty twelve and i'm back in iraq and so on the border with turkey. i have an appointment this morning with khaled and his taxi. family the united states said they would make

a democracy out of iraq in the heart of the arab world. but iraq i see today is a country on the brink of chaos torn between three groups kurds sunnis and shias. it is a country divided a stranger to peace that i'm about to cross a taxi ride to the heart of iraqi history. from the hole in the north of travel down through l b let some ammonia. tikrit volusia baghdad babylon. and i'll file a road map of the iraqi tragedy. serve obviously i'm delighted the americans have finally left iraq as much as we're rocky's a very happy not to see it or hear anymore enough was enough the americans occupied us so we hate them like they lean here in iraq they killed in creating the

conditions for chaos they're responsible for the whole tragedy of them and of course we were living in peace and they came to destroy our country and also but all of us of. my journey begins on the mountains of iraqi kurdistan. an army of two hundred thousand soldiers called peshmerga watch over this rather particular region of the country. was. my first stop is an l.b.o. the capital of iraqi kurdistan is the only region of iraq today that is seeing peace and an economic boom the miracle of being made possible by the discovery of oil. on kurdish territory. for a long time dominated by baghdad and saddam hussein kurdistan dreams of achieving autonomy. the first

customer the first passenger on our trip is a member of the new kurdish parliament. in iraq we can say that oil has always been a curse. but today in kurdistan that's changing the. foreign oil companies are coming here to work with. the revenues of finally being used for reconstruction what negative it's a huge difference for us as in saddam's times we never benefited from the oil money or. that he had any of this that. he went so it's quite simple we could spend for we're iraqis and i think they're very rapidly as soon as we have been. it's for building a country ninety nine percent of people will vote for independence with the. no one

to one with the people want their own country a country called could stand looking at him as that they want their own passport but that's not kurdish one well i suppose you could stand. a land of shepherd's kurdistan is discovering well through its oil a nightmare for baghdad which had long controlled with the resources and riches. without drive a holiday we had east towards the mountains along the border with a round. driving through abandoned villages i feel like i'm visiting cemeteries. passenger ahmed is a survivor today he's on

a pilgrimage paying tribute to the dead. nine hundred eighty eight during the alan that follow a military campaign waged by saddam against the kurds my village was completely destroyed. and that some of the inhabitants were deportees to southern iraq and locked up in the terrible new grow i saw none present count. but on. many women children and men women last weekend and thrown into mass graves. the kurds have always dreamed of independence saddam hussein decided to eliminate the problem once and for all. his cousin to go down in history as chemical ali was in charge of the repression. on march sixteenth one thousand nine hundred eight his helicopters dropped bombs

loaded with toxic gas over kurdish villages. one hundred thousand civilians were killed and three thousand villages were raised the kurds rebellion was crossed. here in the villages the peshmerga who didn't built up supply. anyone opposed to saddam could seek refuge here. so the regime began by attacking the villages for saddam burning gassing and destroying the villages meant controlling kurdistan. lunch is like a homage to the victims on the menu adama stuffed vegetables prepared by a mad wife. a sunny like saddam hussein my driver. he didn't know or didn't want to know the terrible truth. look i'll show you the house where i was born yeah here on this hill where we're sitting is like

a memorial to the village as it was before the tragedy it was here that the villagers came together every evening to talk to play backgammon and listen to the radio. i leave a comment to mourn and commemorate his loved ones. we continue towards the east and kirkuk the former capital of kurdistan today on iraqi territory. so what if that god be praised i'm not scared when the region was under american control i was afraid about it but as soon as the iraqi police and army took over things got much better if the americans didn't know the region they were afraid and trigger happy that they didn't hesitate to fire at anyone who approached them like the passenger foreigner anyone. on this road has seen a lot of drama how many times did the american shoot down iraqis here for no reason gotta go. through the windscreen the first iraqi checkpoint appears it's time to

lower the camera and film on discreetly. that. the soldiers here are regularly targeted by armed groups and are also quick to shoot a journal about the attacks and kidnappings are frequent in the area. and there is no checking our identity an itinerary takes too long hours. but at last we can hit the road again a road that is more than dangerous. to be honest no one took this road before the al qaeda basically all the terrorists control the region and everyone is afraid of venturing out on this road today we feel a bit safer at getting there but it. the constant road blocks me now two hundred kilometer journey takes eight hours. night

has fallen when i reach her coke and the sky is lit up by flast tanks the city floats on a vast sea of oil. for centuries pilgrims came here to gather around the eternal flames. the kurds would dearly love to reclaim the city the former capital of baghdad. he is unwilling to lose such a profitable treasure. one term to a majority of kids today is a mix of turkmen arabs kurds and christians a veritable ethnic powder keg. so i went to. this morning's plant is a round could but they're not going to kurdistan's independence he would pay with his own blood.

has to become part of curse standing and that leaves its vital we're bonded by blood to go to them but them they can kill us and shoot at us but he won't change anything we are linked to kurdistan lesmond city i mean we cannot live outside of kurdistan it would be like dying. my brother we invite you to a restaurant. my i cannot let you go without inviting me i am a kurd and hospitality is a custom with us. you can continue your journey after the mail and i swear before god when i come to the restaurant with me you are welcome when you get away of course. for khaled it's time to pray. and for us to eat. as we enter the village a few peace men appear as an escort. i would say to watch as they say to protect us . and so i pay for everyone's meal as

a kind of friendly tax. was. it said that kirkuk could be one of the world's richest cities it is certainly one of the most dangerous. discreet an ordinary heroin. saima who is a kurd investor are opposed and fortune in the opening of a private school a generous act which has attracted m.p.'s attention. don't let. this man i'm terrified so little if i did the day after not that was broadcast to promote the school but to physio and so i got a telephone call i would you know bold enough to join he said oh yes there's a lot of hobby hello about any hello you are you know a nothing of hobbies it is someone bought it. and then introduced himself as a member of a terrorist organisation and demanded money for that and my colleagues were

terrorized through. the night so as the school for a month and then i said we have to open it again we can't just give him. we have to work still life has to go and. neither the terrorists nor anyone else can stop me from working a bit still only god is the master of my destiny. wealthy british style. has no time to write. anything but the. markets why not scandals.

find out what's really happening to the global economy in the kinds of reports on our. modern day exist christian communities in the greater middle east a bit on the decline for the past century particularly over the last decade what accounts for this arab nationalism the advent of the arab spring or the logical outcome of western meddling and outside intervention. you said i'll teach you cheap china rocketing to a billion views from the wills era defining disasters to events that continue to change our lives join me kevin zero in for more on how you've helped make the first global news channel to reach the billion.

when we reach must to the second biggest city in iraq it has been locked down by the army. the previous night two bombs went off in the suit. i have to negotiate with the military chiefs for three hours before they let me in. across what appears to be a dead city and yet today mosul is in party mode. minus my name is ahmed on about i'm a little student today is a festival of university day that's why we can see all the troops they're here to protect us. the situation is very difficult the country is undergoing a wave of anonymous. attacks and assassination my dream is quite simple i just want to live in an iraq that's safe and pete it's a magnificent country mustn't forget that it was once respectfully known as

mesopotamia the land between two rivers i dream of peace. but peace seems impossible. the americans have gone but now kurds shias and sunnis battle for control of the city even the mosques are under military protection the internet in killing goes on in the name of allah. a leave muscle with no regrets. this road fraught with danger can also hold certain surprises and. stops to help a friend even in iraq one can run out of petrol. it's hilarious we have the world's second biggest oil reserves and we're short of petrol and gas. were reduced to filling up on the black market at exorbitant prices. common sense would suggest that petrol was available in quantity and free perhaps not free but not too expensive anyway and what. john.

as soon as we arrived on the outskirts of tikrit saddam hussein's former stronghold where arrested by the police i have the feeling we were expected. after a few hours of questioning were put under house arrest in a hotel and forbidden from going out. and the situation eases the following afternoon when we're granted two hours of freedom but we're still under close surveillance. the next. a man who joins us in the taxi is in mourning his name's feel he's a journalist and he lost his best friends just two days ago. but this god will save iraq a little. sorry. he

had to do it they want to make iraq a wretched country located at the north be. but lower they assassinate the best among us the terrorist who kills a journalist like my colleague at the news channel who kills a religious man an academic or teacher certainly doesn't do it for religious reasons it's obvious he does it mostly for money because our religion does not tolerate all these crimes the only motive for these crimes is money and they're ordered from outside to kill our best people that any of us. in the city center the mosque still bears the name of the man who built it was saddam hussein. idealist come to pay a final homage to his murdered friend i am on april second twenty twelve kemi runs a holiday inn a journalist for a local t.v.

station was killed instantly when his car exploded i and my. i am a relaxing evening along the banks of the tigris overseen by the palace of the local hero saddam. saddam was always surrounded by members of his own tribe and many here miss the man who built a sunni state much to their advantage. they can injure or kill the americans didn't come here to look for weapons of mass destruction nor to hunt down saddam hussein they came to rob us and to kill us asian iraq it was a unified country but at the moment when they arrived at the americans that triggered divisions by creating ethnic conflicts just you know this very well. they destroyed everything and then they left. but in reality they're still here they make people think they've gone but they're still present their aim is to create discord in iraq that all muslims are the soul but.

as we leave tikrit we come to a village the heart of saddam hussein's kingdom where he was finally caught. on december fourteenth two thousand and three saddam was captured at dawn in his hideout in a farmyard a miserable rattle two meters underground. disheveled and distraught he surrendered to the american forces. in his possession were two kalashnikovs and seven hundred fifty thousand dollars. right. now there are those taxis

a gas guzzler and we need more petrol. but it was here. we seek out the black market a parallel business which fills the coffers of a few politicians civil servants and terrorist groups to. the oil money benefits everyone apart from the iraqi people. not. enough of. the temperature hits more than forty degrees on the machines a cool down with a hose. for the man it's time to wash and pray before sitting down for a meal. that surprised by my presence but soon open up. for the sony customers the whole affair was an american manipulation. mover the

greek word kuwait plays a key role in the arab world and. the americans used the country to trap saddam by them fearing i mean. how did before they set the boat up and he took it and it was a prearranged ambush. it's time to leave and head for lucia khaled doesn't like stopping for too long. kidnappings are frequent here and for the criminal gangs everyone has a price probably including me. the killing in the kidnappings may be motivated by political or religious convictions but increasingly simply for profit. i've lost count of the checkpoints along the way but the controls this morning seem interminable. i don't know who this v for victory sign is aimed

at as we finally enter the ravaged city of fallujah. and the lurd go joe was the scene of one of the most violent american offensives. from a g.i. summerlee killed youngsters and whole families here jani. kalisch recover. all of those blew up cars and caused a lot of fatalities. is the most ravaged city in iraq of the annoying. oh yes that's the america it's a legit. the heat is unbearable and motor is overheating the local grocer helps us to cool it. he's a man driven by anger he experienced the battle of fallujah at first hand and how

hard it was what i would have the democracy now is quite simply about killing and stealing our wealth. from the effects of the white phosphorous bombs and now our children are gone disfigured. that they're not one with us they are so beloved all the god living with us go and see the hospitals and you'll see mothers throwing away their babies deform the by all the chemical weapons that saddam though ali and i could do if there is justice in the world bush will have to answer for his war crimes and crimes against humanity he claimed iraq had weapons of mass destruction but where were they these weapons. before let me although i do know that there was a killer using white phosphorous bomb while i'm on one side and not even the mosque was safe from his barbarity when i look at the ruined minaret well now that's bush's democracy the job holy of them about the other bullshit.

on november seventh two thousand for a deluge of fire rained down on the city of two hundred mosques. to die it was a last stronghold for the al qaeda he didn't. twelve thousand marines three hundred tanks and a hundred or so helicopters were launched against. the biggest urban battle in iraq was underway. the american victory was total the casualty figures speak for themselves one hundred american soldiers were killed and on the iraqi side it's estimated there were between four and five thousand victims most of them civilians. the battle left a city in ruins where death continue to take its toll. in their offensive it's

thought the u.s. troops used white phosphorus bombs and depleted uranium weapons banned by all international conventions. so our new passenger is not administrator at the general hospital. since the battle of fallujah ended has kept records of the children born with congenital malformation. for him there's no doubt the americans were responsible for this tragedy. for me the administrator's office becomes an empty chamber of horrors. that i

looked at the war is far from over in fact it's still going on for the stigmata rivera and their evolving in two thousand and five we noted a spectacular increase in genetic malformations a new born babies how large the. voters only show a tiny part of the reality just for the month of january we recorded forty three cases.

shots and tear gas are fired in east down bowl as clashes erupt for a third day in a string of anti-government protests marked by what demonstrators claim is excessive brutality on the part of police. here pm central bank in a frankfort is surrounded by barbed wire and riot police we report from the scene where several thousand have been demanding an end to austerity. played prominent sunni cleric calls for a plan islamic jihad against the president assad branding him an infidel worse than jews and christians that just days after syrian rebels are reportedly caught smuggling sarin gas a chemical weapon banned by the u.n. . thousands of the u.s. supporters of the u.s. military whistleblower private bradley.