so being challenged by isis and other groups you have this loose coalition of. terrorists or you could say. revolutionaries if you will depending on what side of the fence you're on could you help explain what exactly is happening in syria so that people can wrap their minds around this in a in a way that we can understand. seven years of war and thirty seconds out ok well to start with it people look just at the thumbnail call it a silly syrian civil war and it really is the not that you have many people who have gone there are americans people i know that have gone there and they say look most of the people that are fighting against the government they're not even serious eighty to ninety percent of them are not syrians they're from someplace else they're from all over the sunni world they're armed and funded by the by the saudis the qataris the turks and so forth and they're simply there to overthrow the government of syria this has nothing to do really with a division among the syrian people they want to make it a sectarian war it's not

a sectarian war from the syrian side maybe it is from the saudi side and wanting to put in a one hobbyist government but most of the people most of the soldiers in the syrian army are sunni and most of the generals the cabinet minister the first lady these are all sunni is they're trying to defend their country against this external aggression that is the root of what's going on in syria on the one hand you have the russians the iranians and hezbollah who are supporting the government and the other hand you have outside powers backed up by the united states that are trying to get a regime change that at best if you want to call it that would put one of these terrorist groups like like isis or al qaida in control of the country or would lead to some kind of partition or perhaps continuing chaos like we've seen in libya since two thousand and eleven so if you ask what are the objection to the objectives of the country so that are trying to overthrow the syrian government and so chaos so destruction i think it has to do with their regional ambitions and

largely the israeli and saudi vendetta against iran all right that's why we have you on you have the ability to sum it up in a way that is concise as possible even though it's a mess there jim johnson as thanks for being with us former u.s. it in matt thanks for being with us on our team. all right so we are going to get some other news in while this story develops and we wrap our minds around the situation we're going to start again in the u.k. with developments where you'll screw paul has appeared in the media for the first time since she was poisoned along with her father the former russian double agent surrogate screwball they were found unconscious on a park bench in the english city of salzburg on the fourth of march more details from our london correspondent an associate. now in this particular media appearance she does give a statement to reuters news agency of an undisclosed location in london so her whereabouts are being kept under wraps and she appears to make

a quite brief statement in russian which then she provides in written form in both russian and english to reuters and in the statement among other things she says that she is going to eventually be returning to her homeland of russia but not quite yet as reasonable a bit as a child to come to terms with the devastating changes thrust upon me both physically and emotionally i take one day at a time and want to help care for my dad to his full recovery in the longer term i hope to return home to my country well you ask a problem portly had also said that her recovery had been slow and extremely painful and that she for now will not be turning to the services of the russian embassy again as a reminder this has been something that russian authorities had offered over and over again to the script palls any kind of cooperation or being able to get access to them which according to russia they should have been able to do given the

conventions that exist on matters on this issue but there's not much else that she did say she only made that very brief statement and then did not answer any questions on camera this is definitely quite a development since this became the first media appearance that yulia script hall has made ever since that point. thing took place on march fourth when this whole saga unraveled created creating a massive route between the u.k. and russia and of course this was the first time we're seeing a video of. her father sergei script is also currently out of the hospital so now the next step we should be expecting is some kind of statements or information or perience that he could possibly be making next and russia's foreign ministry has looked to reassure yulia saying it has repeatedly attempted to get in touch with her father and her we want u.s. cripple to know there wasn't a day that the russian foreign ministry the russian abas in london didn't try to contact her the main goal was to ensure she's not being kept against her will that

it wasn't another person posing as her to get firsthand information about her condition and her father's. let's go back to our breaking news this hour syria's sana news agency is reporting that the u.s. led coalition has bombed two syrian government positions in the eastern province of there is or the strikes are said to have taken place in near an energy facility close to the iraqi border where the u.s. alliance has been supporting ground forces against islamic state. all right switching gears completely now north korea is gearing up to close its nuclear test site in the country's remote north east to there have been six nuclear bomb tests there since two thousand and six where which were carried out inside a mountain it is the world's last officially active nuclear test site. north korea has described how the site will be dismantled saying that there will be

a controlled explosion to collapse all tunnels that will result in all of the entrance points being blocked as well after that the above ground facilities will be destroyed some changes have already been observed by experts on satellite images taken in april and earlier this month buildings have been demolished together with a railway line. is among a group of international journalists who set out on an arduous journey to see the nuclear facilities shut down. the train journey will take the journalists eleven hours in total and as mentioned

they've been given strict instructions not to open the blinds following the crews will have to spend several hours on a bus and then an hour trekking to the final location before boarding the train sent us this report documenting his journey from china to north korea's one song. we're in the beijing international airport and as you can see behind me we're being greeted like celebrities you have those who go to north korea we've been here for the past couple of days and all journalists spots of this press tour have been amassed in the chinese capital because that's where we got our visas that's what we where we got our tickets and now we will be proceeding to check in to our flights that those are the windows that we're waiting for the personnel and so i'll be signing off and meeting you hopefully greeting you from north korea itself next time so this is the choreo flights we will be taking to get inside north korea

thing is we aren't even exactly sure as to where exactly we're headed because according to a media to a document we're going to the southern port city of one sound but according to our boarding passes we're headed to the north korean capital pyongyang so i guess the north the option but to find out on board the plane. the skies it seems to do you know we're going to pyongyang or to once on. one ok thank you. so there are roughly twenty john that's here on this plane and so as we're going to one son i just want to keep up with glimpse of what's going on on board would be given out press releases like this one for example to be only on time it's mostly about politics but also features pieces like recipes for this right send money or in the case also we've been given and this is very very carl's colorful coby a magazine which features everything from the latest one as to what's been going on

like in the life of him to the supreme leader of north korea and also pirates beaches panoramas old young and the like to pieces like the ones for example and how the political will be beat. so you walk out of any airport what's the first thing you expect to see it's a bustling crowd of people pushing and shoving it's a taxi drivers offering often overpriced services well check this out nothing of this sort here it's just an empty parking lot and three buses that will take us through the city. solution you're going to want to room. we're safe. but.

this is a. very very. slow start but it's. right in the meantime follow you on twitter where he is posting details and photos from the reclusive country whenever possible and find out what kind of food you might expect in north korea and have a look around local hotels to see what they are like. once again let's go back to our breaking news this hour syria's assad a news agency is reporting that the u.s. led coalition has bombed two syrian government positions in the eastern province of dairies or local journalist mohammed ali from press t.v. has more. syrian army source issued a statement just about thirty minutes ago could get sacked and described as in a question by the u.s.

led coalition attacking some syrian army positions between. and me me areas there what is important to know to according to the syrian army statement is doubt is such an aggression as the syrian army describe it comes out of there were. also known as isis terrorists gathering nearby definitely this is not the first time that the u.s. led coalition attacks syrian army positions previously this happened here and also where u.s. troops are positioned this also happened when the u.s. started the no instance in september two thousand and sixteen and out at that time looked at the killing of tens of syrian army soldiers and also led to the. control over it three strategic areas at the time we. got today and there was a sort of. america's ambassador to israel has come in for criticism after he was seen posing with a rather controversial gift david freeman was presented with

a photograph of one of the most sacred places in jerusalem but the image had been altered to show the jewish third temple on the site where the islamic dome of the rock is currently situated the third temple is a biblical reference to a new place of worship to replace an ancient one which was destroyed u.s. embassy has asked for an apology saying that the envoy was unaware he was being given a doctored picture the region is still reeling from deadly protests against the relocation of the embassy to jerusalem here is our middle east correspondent paula slayer. photograph immediately sparked fierce criticism from the muslim world saberi cut who is the secretary general of the palestine liberation organization the p.l.o. says that friedman expressed to quote rude and hypocritical behavior you then have a tb who is an arab israeli law maker and comes from the israeli arab dominated political alliance called the joint let's and he has responded to the photographs by saying that this madman wants to bring peace

a good thing you didn't put the embassy there at the same time we're hearing that the american ambassador has apologized freidman was not the word thrust in front of him when the. he was deeply disappointed that anyone would take advantage of his visit to create controversy the u.s. policy is absolutely clear we support the status quo on the her arm al-sharif temple mount now i hear which is the organization from which the man who gave the president came from has expressed its own concerns about the incident it says that the man who presented the picture actually acted on his own behalf but the problem is that the american ambassador already has a record of controversy even before this event he is a supporter of israeli settlements in palestinian territory and in the past he's also called on the u.s. state department to stop calling the west bank israeli occupied territory and this incident comes at a very unfortunate time it follows the inauguration of the new u.s.

embassy in jerusalem from its original base in tel aviv and as you well know that sparked a barrage of both international and regional criticism this might provoke further tensions it builds the rhetoric against the u.s. policies it would pressure governments to go in face of that and against the interests of the united states and at the same time there would be protests which are already being organized for quite some time right now in the passing territories over the two months we lost one hundred thirteen people thirteen thousand injuries. already so this would only add fuel to the fire. meanwhile the united states ambassador to the u.n. nikki haley has also been on the receiving end of some sharp criticism she wandered to the university of houston to make a speech and the following. i'm here today following a very busy few weeks in american foreign policy and. i would.

you continue to sign off on the genocide of a native people you were taught. was. ill i would. you were it we were it was. it was. i so if you're just joining us our newsroom is closely following a breaking news situation out of syria the sun on news agency there is reporting that the u.s. coalition has bombed to syrian government positions in the eastern province of daire as or you can see on the map where it's located here now these strikes are said to have taken place near an energy facility close to the iraqi border where the u.s. alliance has been supporting ground forces against islamic state we spoke to dave

lindorff founding editor of the online news site this can't be happening this is just in line with what the u.s. has been doing for some time we know the u.s. has been supporting arming elements of. rebels against assad and that that's what they're really up to in syria so it wouldn't be surprising if they saw syrian forces offering some threat to elements that the u.s. is supporting that they would. you know continue the policy of attacking syrians are and i'll be back in about four minutes with a full look at your news and of course our newsroom is staying across this situation in syria will keep you updated throughout our international. in july twenty seventh team hunted up a freelance journalist working with autrey militant shelling in syria. to only his

second finest quality has established a hollow dosage of memorial of the they will recognize more reporters who often risk their lives for the sake of the truth and through the use you can submit to your published works in a video form britain format until june the twelfth go to a little dot on t.v. dot com. tell us a little. high. on the. by then got a session on. by then is a shift the long. haul ass to an audience i don't.

want. to ask so. much so. that you know so it was if you have the multiple injuries among current enough to soak them to yourself you hope the look of the shows your your mars on the phone to the book on if you can book a political system before this is for you but i don't know there's a book in a moral sense of what a month. off allowed me. something that was. on long enough something not. a little huddles look ma stuff that's not what i feel now maybe. i think for that.

for a world cup twenty eight team coverage we've signed one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time but there was one more question and by the way it's going to be our coach. guys i know you are nervous he's a huge star among us and the huge amount of pressure cameramen you have to go to the center of the beach but how would you and you'll see all the great game the grid if you are the rock at the back nobody gets past you we need you to get down going left go. alone. and i'm really happy for joined out for the thousand in the in the world cup in russia meet the special one come on top of. me to just say the rino p.r.t. teams latest edition make up is bigger than you better just look.

bad. breaking news this hour on r t international the u.s. led coalition has reportedly bomb. two syrian government positions in the eastern province of. the woman poisoned in the u.k. alongside her double agent father gives her first media interview since the attack

she says her life has been turned upside down and that she wants to return to russia. political newcomer just. as italy's new prime minister breaking an almost three month long impasse it clears the way for two populist euro skeptic parties to form the country's next. broadcasting live from our studios in moscow this is r.t. international glad to have you with us we start with breaking news this hour from syria's. news agency they are reporting that the u.s. led coalition has bombed two syrian government positions in the eastern province or local journalist and press t.v. correspondent mohammed ali has more. syrian army sources issued a statement just about thirty minutes ago. and described it as going to question by

the u.s. coalition attacking some syrian army positions between. and me me in what is important to know to according to the syrian army. is such an aggression as the syrian army describe it comes. there were. also known as isis terrorists gathering nearby definitely this is not the first time that the u.s. led coalition attack syrian army positions previously this happened here and also where u.s. troops are also have been good to us today now in september two thousand and sixteen and out at that time to the killing of thousands of syrian army soldiers and also led to the. control over of three strategic areas at that time. there was. a senior correspondent. joins us now for more information you have extensive experience in syria what do we know so far well this

is this strike is reported to have target the vicinity of t two t two is a prominent pumping station energy installation in the middle of the syrian desert these these since the nation it is nowhere near the united states forces rebels or . syrian democratic forces which are u.s. partners on the ground so self-defense if indeed this was a strike by u.s. forces as you know little little grounds for self defense so far away from the front lines we've been there it is incredibly remote it is just away from from everything nevertheless the important thing is is the correspondent for us said this will happened just as the syrian army has launched a big offensive huge offensive against the remaining. isis pockets in the area it's a big pocket there are suspected to be hundreds and hundreds of isis fighters there

the skirmishes now they've launched this attack and one o'clock in the morning there's an air strike there are a few well there's a lot of fuzzy details but there are a few inconsistency here the reports we're hearing is that the united states was behind the strike the u.s. led coalition rather nevertheless the pentagon has come out and said on twitter in writing that they cannot substantiate information that there had been a u.s. led air strike the wording here is very important because usually what happens when they want to keep quiet or when they don't have enough information is they say we don't have enough information we can't comment on this in this case they don't have they said that they don't have information to substantiate the attack which you know speaking from experience could well mean that the united states said coalition had nothing to do with this attack the other important thing to note is that in the vicinity of this area there are. forces there are there is hizbollah

there is the syrian military syrian militias as well and many of these has bullet proof me and forces have been targeted by israel previously not too far from the t two station there have been israeli air strikes so you know it isn't a stretch of the imagination to assume that perhaps this wasn't the u.s. led coalition if indeed there was. perhaps this was israel striking at the heated enemy iran or perhaps there were less as i say at this point most of this is speculation because we simply don't have enough details but from from what we're hearing again this happened between al become and the t two station which is again fifty fifty so kilometers away from anyone outside from isis so again. expecting more details but given given that there's been a pattern

a tradition of israeli strikes lately in the vicinity south of syria again it wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination to assume that could potentially have been israel you bring up a good point that in the past the united states has actually even forecast sometimes when they're about ready to make a strike kind of like this so that no russian assets are in the way as well exactly the united states has a base hundred fifty two hundred odd just off the top of my head kilometers. west of the t two pumping station the border crossing jointly held by both the united states and syrian rebels who whom they've trained who they still support and there have been strikes there by the united states against syrian military units when they've come as the united states has to close but again that is that is quite a ways away and it's difficult to imagine the. syrian military units in the midst

of an offensive against isis so far away from any assets that the united states their partners might have in the ground all right we know it's a confusing situation and we appreciate your unique insight you've been there on the ground and you can help us kind of wrap our minds around. we know that as it develops you'll help us stay across and thanks for being with us our senior correspondent. let's now go live to brian the director of the antiwar answer coalition. thanks for being with us here on r.t. international. so the pentagon has not confirmed the attack as of yet and we were just discussing that with our correspondent here in the studio what does that suggest to you. i don't think it suggests much right now of course we don't know if the united states in fact did this they have done it in the past they are i give the eastern and northeastern part of syria east of the euphrates they are trying to

create the area that was formerly under the control of isis is a defacto american sphere of influence so it could well be u.s. warplanes this struck syrian arab army targets or other military or organizational units associated with hezbollah or others it's also possible that it was israeli warplanes it's not really possible to know but let's let's also remember that the united states and the israeli military the israeli defense forces are coordinating closely of course the israeli military is the largest recipient of u.s. military a more than any other god government or any other military in the world and we know the trumpet ministration is as thick as thieves with the netanyahu government so is it the us is it israel is the israelis with the green light from the us we don't know yet but overall and in the big picture united states is occupying syria

illegally not at the invitation of this syrian government it is it is a rogue player inside of syria and as a consequence when we look at these kind of military actions and and their way start to normalize them and say well could it seem well maybe it is well the fact of the matter is the united states government and especially the israeli government have no right to be there have no right to have military forces engage in syrian or other forces this is an international violation of law a violation of international laws so we don't know the details but we do know that us and the israelis are cooperating deeply inside of syria. and a part of an aggression against against syria let's let's take a trip down the rabbit hole if you will we do know that the united states and israel a coordinated very well together but what would israel's motivation be i mean they

have carried out strikes in the past against syria but this is way away from their border it's way way from anything that. would really be a threat to them why would they carry out these strikes well there are some reports that they were also hitting has media unit again we without knowing that i would say in general the united states government with john bolton is a national security adviser my son pay him the new secretary of state and of course donald trump and he just canceled the joint comprehensive plan of action are gearing up for a regional confrontation with other players in the area who they think have been prevailing that would include iran that would include the syrian government because it's their my. head pull out which is getting stronger in lebanon and really i think the united states pentagon the trumpet ministration and the israeli government have.