u.s. defense secretary admits his country has no concrete evidence there was a chemical attack in the syrian city of duma but nonetheless be prepared to strike preemptively to quote offend american troops there. are links to cabinet meeting the u.k. meantime trees are made doesn't shed much light on london's course of action on syria the british prime minister did stress the need to coordinate with powers for germany the german chancellor gives a firm no to military strikes against a mask. good chance. even to a chicken inside unusual from my. community of us not to take the other news coming morning the u.k. foreign secretary said no doubt it was russia behind the script poisoning after you and watched all confirmed the substance used in the attack despite the

investigation is not confirming russia as the source said with. saudi arabia's crown prince mohammed wins over the french president in his whirlwind tour of europe with the president asking critics of the saudi air to people the chance. here in moscow hard for me kevin zero in frankfurt training to out international first than this the u.s. defense secretary james mattis said america has the right to preemptively strike the syrian government in order to defend its troops it comes after he admitted there is no clear evidence that chemical weapons were used in the city of doomer on saturday an alleged attack that triggered calls for intervention against assad's forces. i believe there was a chemical attack and we're looking for the actual evidence the o.p.c. w this your going to station for the chemical weapons convention and we're trying

to get those inspectors in if we get them and if the regime will let them in we will not know who did it they can only say that they found evidence or did not secretary of defense james mattis is saying essentially that the usa does not have any evidence about the chemical attack in duma they can't confirm necessarily that it took place he personally believes it took place but they cannot confirm it and furthermore when inspectors and experts are on the scene they may be able to confirm that it happened but they won't be able to attribute blame they won't be able to say who did it now that's quite an emission given that there's been so much assigning of blame in the media over the last few days and also the o.p.c. w. inspectors are now on their way to syria they will begin their work in syria on saturday getting the bottom of what exactly happened so without any evidence how is it that the u.s. leaders have been going about assigning blame for the attack and talking about a military strike well madison explained the procedure let's take

a listen there have been a number of these attacks in many cases you know we don't have troops were not engaged on in the ground on the ground there so i cannot tell you that we had evidence even though we certainly had a lot of media and social media indicators that either chlorine or sharon were used so u.s. leaders are getting on social media twitter facebook and seeing pictures and that is the basis for threatening a country with military strike very very interesting now that congressional committee i wanted to know under what specific legal authority james madison would carry out the attack if ordered to do so and this is how you explain the justification for attack protection of our forces i don't think we have to wait until they're under chemical attack when the weapons are used in the same fear. we're operating in at this point donald trump has not yet taken a decision but he is considering all options with his generals and advisers but

we're looking very very seriously very closely at the whole situation. we'll see what happens folks to see what happens if stupid. the world puts us in the position of making this is donald trump's tweet earlier about possible strikes against the syrian government the president says military action could come from washington very soon or not very soon at all meantime friday scene another un security council meeting on the use of chemical weapons it was called by the bolivian ambassador to the u.n. who caught up with journalists afterwards. maybe i would send him a link of the u.n. charter for him to read it. and let everybody know i don't have any idea. the believing ambassador to the u.s. the rentier there together with the russian envoy vassily not ben's here i spoke to mr laurenti on our program as well he told me the u.s. threatens to undermine the very principles on which the united nations is based.

the problem is that the united states believes it's us it would be as it is of any any law they believe that they have their own rules and it is not the case the threat to use force you not to action the goals against the united nations charter and also we are concerned about the possibility of this coalition that this could go out of control and we might end up with why there a conflict that done the one that's already been suffer in syria it will not be an attack against syria but also an attack against the whole united nations system the claims of a chemical attack on a syrian city of duma were made by the self-styled civil defense group known as the white helmets russian experts have been to that area themselves they say they found no evidence that the toxic substance was used as

a correspondent mentioned the first group of inspectors from the international chemical weapons watchdog are due to arrive very soon they will start work on saturday syria's representative to the u.n. security council said his country will do everything possible to aid the investigation the syrian government is ready. to grant a visa. for the second plane we are ready to it's called due to whether they want wherever they want anytime there. are lines to this story an emergency cabinet meeting in london called by the british prime minister wrapped up late thursday trees in may and her advisers have been contemplating possible military strikes against the syrian government. as more of the meeting and its outcome well there was a lot of anticipation as we waited for the results of that cabinet meeting we were expecting and made a decision to be made at the possibility of military action. but

actually what we've ended up is quite a vague statement so after some key points here she's condemned the act calling it shocking and barbaric and that the use of chemicals weapons should not go unchallenged the cabinet agreed that they should take action to alleviate through monetary and distress and that they should continue to work with their allies the u.s. and france so no mention of military action at all but that was the big debate obviously was whether to resume needed alimentary approval and it would have proved unpopular because a lot of people from our own party and other parties have spoken out about the fact that she shouldn't be able to do that including ten clark he said that there should

be parliamentary approval also the leader of the labor party jeremy corbyn he explains why that should be the case russia america the european union neighboring countries iran saudi arabia they've got to be in there ensuring there is a real strong on the political play such that the script hopes the people who see the truth. more clearly more will not save life will just take us to school in the war and we've also heard from france emmanuel micron he said that he has the proof that is needed to confirm that it was indeed the assad regime responsible for that chemical attack let's have a quick listen to what he had to say we have proof that last week chemical weapons were used at the very least chlorine by the regime of bashar assad and we've heard from germany. chancellor angela merkel has said that she definitely won't go ahead with military action mrs merkel in which way would you support

a possible missile strike in syria and would even to. go to iran militants not too much detail even so a quick recap as to the outcome of that cabinet meeting in the u.k. there was no mention of military action she condemned the chemical attack in doom in syria she said that there was a need to take action but did not specify what that action should be and they agreed that they should continue to work with their allies the u.s. and france sees a military option isn't being backed by the british public according to a national poll just out it suggest forty three percent are opposed to military action thirty four percent are undecided nearly twenty two would back striking syria we want the streets of london to ask a few people direct to. think military strikes in syria will help solve anything no

i think to be only i think the usa and the u.k. i've a secret agenda basically. i just think the game's up the whole world knows that it's like the agenda of the zionist agenda to go into syria because it fits into their motive to get rid of the old break itself and if it's looking for excuses i don't know somehow mess in the mind of one of this area and she said to her any kind of next week essentially what would you actually achieve by really disagree with military action against syria anything happening in this syria there's already enough fighting going on there as it is and there's a real danger of war escalating way beyond what we expect the scenario and the way to target them to send any sort of thing you know. push up you know the basic military intervention that outsetting i think we have that and five to choose where these countries have these problems have these civil wars and we try and go in and

fix it but we had our civil war when the americans had their civil war nobody went and bombed us and we got this side we have now they need to go through this on their own. stay with us or can come up international chemical watchdog says it's confirmed the nerve agent used to poison former russian spy surrogate script published daughter the full story all details coming up just ninety seconds away.

i played for many clubs over the years so i know the game and so i got. the ball isn't only about what happens on the pitch for the final school it's about the passion from the fans it's the age of the super money. and spending to the twenty million. it's an experience like nothing else because i want to share what i think what i know about the beautiful game a great chance for. peace. i get the international chemical weapons watchdog has bought britain's findings regarding the type of nerve agent used against her again yulia script the u.k. foreign office in turn the seized report claiming at least no doubt then that the

russian state was behind the attack given the purity of the substance that's despite the fact that the organization itself is not in a position to apportion blame on the boy to report. well it said that its team can confirm the findings of the u.k. relating to the identity of the toxic chemical that was used in souls the summary doesn't actually name the specific nerve agent used but the u.k. government lab porton down had identified it as know of a child very soon off to this script files were taken ill five weeks ago novacek originally developed in the soviet union by soviet scientists in the late eighty's so the summary that we've got confirms the u.k. labs identification it also says that its conclusion is based on the work of four independent laboratories around the world they all came to the same results and they also know that the nerve agent was of high purity and what we've got to see is

just this executive summary there is a deep are supplied reports where it's said that the nerve agent is a and that's been sent to all the countries that are party to the chemical weapons convention russia is of course a member already confirmed that it's received its coffee of it what the summary doesn't mention is where the came from and by the way the head of that ukraine the forestry cools down has also said that he can't confirm where the nerve agent came from the u.k. has already called for a u.n. security council meeting following the o.p.c. w. report and we've also had a line from the foreign secretary here boris johnson he's already said that there can be no doubt that russia was behind the attack although there's nothing to that effect in this piece e.w. summary at least in fact the information that we have isn't particularly new nor is

it sensational it's simply independent verification of the facts that we already had about the specific. weapon used but where it came from is still very much the source of debate throughout the scandal over the square pile attack the british government hasn't revealed many details about why it's come to this conclusion that the blame should be laid at moscow's door certainly we haven't seen anything to confirm that in this document today and as a guest if explains fear of the questions surrounding the case have been on said there was no trial no discussion no evidence no proof there was only judgement and punishment is highly likely that russia was responsible be to hold russia culpable culpable culpable for the attempted murder the pundits needed even less

the name nuvi chalk sounds russian means russia did it but establish that it is not a chaka matter is by definition of the translation of the name which means newcomer part of a program in the soviet union in the late seventy's and eighty's the points made there are a lot of questions to ask of this whole mess but over the last few weeks we've interviewed dozens of chemists experts and military specialists and hear their biggest gripes. the new rich nerve agents a new she quit they haven't been so in decades here they are exerts from the books and studies and valuable to the public neither the formula you know the chemicals any more russian then itself for years now researchers have published studies and theses on the nuvi chocks which there are dozens and dozens

of many developed in different countries there's just one good book in twenty zero seven the us or the published of people numerous chemical compounds we were interested because of the toxicity the author invited them under the system there are more than sixty compounds here and they've all been indexed that means someone somewhere synthesize them and shared the information since then these formulas or some of them have appeared in various publications constantly you simply cannot say they are secret. there's more to it if you suspect a potential adverse arena has made a new discovery you have to do the same in order to study the new substance and make antidotes it's true to say that russia is not the only country being able to sympathize a few grams of no beach up in the late ninety's all intelligence services in the

west worked on of each other because there were these rumors about a new military chemical agent produced in russia so so i'm not surprised that in france in a new king in the united states you have this kind of information that could explain this speed in which the product was identified that's the purpose and that's the job of this kind of laboratories and there's a whole lot of nerve agents to go around with more being discovered undeclared nerve agents. and. and it's a country and there are many discovers the properties of a new chemical structure it's the exit to our chemical weapons but eventually they must immediately according to the convention vegeta it with the obviously w. but no country does so despite having created many such chemicals. and it really isn't as difficult as it may sound if it's really an overtrick we're

dealing with it's not a real problem to synthesize that kind of nerve agent or the necessary components are easily available on the open market the synthesis does not require sophisticated procedures any specialist in organic chemistry would be able to make it though every expert we talked to said that you need serious expertise and substantial funding to make cure nerve agent. and of course you can't make this in any basement the chemicals are highly toxic and the lab has to be well equipped with ventilation detoxification equipment and the chemists themselves have to be educated not every lead can synthesize this but there are twenty or so labs that counter. the argument that there is no alternative explanation because only russia has made new rich ox sales. britain's decision to

classify almost every aspect of what happened and the investigation is called the rumen mill running but there are tidbits that have leaked out tidbits that have the scientists scratching their heads is supposed to be very toxic highly toxic five to eight times more toxic than the x. which is already a very very toxic so a small amount should have killed mr creep out for sure but again it's very difficult to assess and evaluate this kind of question before knowing exactly how the product was delivered the interesting thing with nova chalks is that there are so many of them and they come in so many different forms they can come in a powered as solid as a crystal and even as a liquid but just to give you some reference if this was a variety of the nuvi chalks. a single drop is enough to kill

ten people ten people within minutes if this was in the haled even more units one of putting it we can hail the symptoms appear and follows in minutes if it gets on the skin symptoms and can take from minutes to hours. at first one might think that the script could only have survived because the dude's had to be very small but the reported symptoms don't match they simply missing a little but it's when witnesses found them they said cyril gaze cripple was rocking back and forth waving his hands it seemed more like the effects of narcotics if it was a small dose as they claim then first would come meiosis then the rest of the symptoms convulsions uncontrolled urination but we didn't see that in photos or hear of it in reports there are many questions.

said arabia's crown prince muhammad has wrapped up a three day visit to paris and it seems he's made quite an impression on the french president monroe micron's now asking critics of the saudi air to give him a chance shot to do bensky explained. the saudis a crown prince's been on a global charm offensive of the west for the past three days here in france it seems like it's being or hugs and handshakes for mohammed bin salman he's even joked about having asked special bond with the french president.

that's despite the fact that bin selman is the leader of an absolute monarchy considered to be one of the world's most oppressive regimes yet on his visit to france saudi arabia's new tourist reputation for human rights offenses seem to have been swept under the carpet. or your legitimate questions from civil society and from journalists about human rights and various sensitive issues concerning your country we have the choice to stick to our traditional positions and we can decide that the first acts of modernization of the society will be cosmetic as the prince was winded and dined to protest his struggle to draw attention to the saudi offensive in yemen who have been calling on france to stop the use of these weapons and so all of this weapons and equipment. since two thousand and fifteen almost six thousand yemenis have perished in the war between the saudi led coalition and hoofy rebels more than nine thousand have been injured three million have fled

their homes all not condit to address that is promised a conference on yemen's humanitarian suffering and even then he took the time to reassure the saudi prince. or yemen france has taken a clear. position since the beginning of the conflict in this war it is obvious that we won't tolerate any ballistic activities that threaten saudi arabia and its citizens and matt corn made sure his guest didn't leave without some lucrative deals between french and saudi companies with some eighteen billion dollars the pair also discussed a strategic partnership with france and plans to create an opera france say in saudi arabia and that's the same situation we saw with other stops on bin solomons big wooing the west tour in the us he finalized an arms deal with twelve and

a half billion dollars in the u.k. humanitarian aid deal with one hundred and forty million dollars was branded britain's national disgrace by critics next on the agenda in spain where the prince is set to work his diplomatic first field of magic once again this time he's expected to beef up a surge in arabia's military might by boeing warships and despite protests calls for prince sultan to be given the cold shoulder it looks like those deep pockets are set to keep governments in the west on friendly terms with saudi arabia so. r.t. paris. that's the news right up so far this morning thanks so much for watching as ever check out on a social media pages for the latest in syria and always so much more too for you at r.t. dot com for now it's cover now in saying good night. there

is strong pressure by the security company that's by the pentagon and by the media on don't donald trump to do something about secret probably at some stage he might get into this pressure but i don't think that it is his intention what i consider more likely down another u.s. military attack on syria is that united states policy build the need to wreck any effort by the russians to turks and during ins to find a political solution. to

take you had to take matters into its own words to provide its own security and securing the border is. a very vivid image of a coach. who are the french to be there. has to be there who are the british doing . so what we've got to do is identify the threats that we have it's crazy confrontation let it be an arms race in this on off and spearing dramatic development only really i'm going to resist i don't see how that strategy will be successful very critical time to sit down and talk.

welcome to the alex salmond show in the spring see if the programs. we've been looking at the changing politics of the celtic nations of these islands ireland scotland and in this week's program wheels today alex is in conversation with someone whose political career stretches back almost half a century logically arrived in the house of commons as a young m.p. and fairbairn one nine hundred seventy four now he sits in the house of lords is played commies only peter of the realm in between is leader of play to the party of wills he took the party to its best ever election result in the first assembly elections of one thousand nine hundred eighteen and to within a whisker of ending labor supremacy of politics in this interview he explains why i played unlike the s.n.p.

have never managed to build on that success but i guess it breaks it may be about to change the political landscape of wales but first your tweets messages and emails and in the nation to ensure a couple of weeks ago with lembit or pick and peter tatchell son campbell says to heartfelt interviews last night we sometimes forget what our politicians do after losing their seat it's not always back to an edited family business absolutely so suzanne when finlayson says in relation to last week's show great interview with alex neil what an interesting life he's had i wish the show was an hour long of a bit about mind caroline says fascinating reflective and candid discussion i hope more people take time to watch it as kind of you curling and finally arthur said fascinating walk through of devolution history great interview and a big yes to the model for an independent scotland or facts are that i'm now over to alex and data directly. sudden i joined by dr wigley barton wiggle that should

say duff and welcome to the alex salmond show thanks very much indeed alex. entry into politics in the early one nine hundred seventy s. i mean you had a successful business career joining play company and standing for parliament wasn't exactly a career move well when i stood the first time for parliament in one hundred seventy i didn't get elected and when i went back i was working with mars then of course accountant the the head of mars gave me a choice he said i could have a good career with mars i could quite possibly have a good political career but i couldn't have both so i joined hoover to give financial control hoovering murther and when i was elected in one hundred seventy four i had a drop of fifty percent in place salary eleven leaned up the votes and cannot and then i arrived in the house of commons as the one of two of the fust calmly m.p.'s elected the general election then joined and told by the legend together for evidence so those three if you hold house parliament a hung parliament through the seven.