now to all the news now, serious president bashar assad has visited the united arab emirates. it's his 1st trip to an arab country since the war began in 2000 than 11. the us state department called the visit profoundly disappointing. it's urging all nations in the region to resist normalizing relations with syria. rosen and jordan has moved from washington d. c. the u. s. government is condemning the united arab emirates for welcoming the syrian liter, bashar alongside to both obs, dubey and dubai. on friday, the u. s. has long tried to isolate boshra law son in his government because of their handling of the civil war, which has been raging in that country since 2011, tens of thousands of people have been killed. more than 3000000 people have been driven out of their homeland and at least 150000 people have been disappeared during the conflict is started as part of the arab spring. now there are some countries including the ui and saudi arabia, which have been trying to re welcome bosher, all asada and syria, back into the fold of middle eastern countries. one of the leaders

s. criticizes the united arab emirates for hosting a series president bashar al assad. ah, let's begin with the latest developments from ukraine. it stay $24.00 of the invasion and russian forces continuing their attacks across the country. let's had 1st to marry pole in the southeast, where despite russia's heavy bombardment, another convoy of civilian buses and cars has managed to leave the besieged c team . the port city has been left in ruins, though with moscow, reportedly wanting to use it as the link between crimea and the dumbass region mc alive is another city on the front line, a large scale air strike has blasted, an army barracks, their killing dozens, rescue efforts are underway after the attack reduced the building to rabble and russia says it's been destroying ukrainian military vehicles with high precision weapons. it says it's used hypersonic missiles in the west of ukraine for the 1st time, although that's not been confirmed. let's head to khaki now where aside bag is standing by our side. it looks like some serious destruction behind you. explain what

we examined the global power games of president bashar assad. we believe assad simply carrying out iranian orders. what keeps you awake at night when the reason that could effect any human thought, master of chaos on all jazeera bitcoin block chain and crypto guarantees, disruptive technology join with me and introducing a bill to outlaw crypto currency all the way to a fair, a financial system it declines open source software. we can trade out or money without banks or governments. award winning filmmaker. thorsten hoffman looks at all sides of the complex crypto. well, crypto bit going look, changed in the internet on al jazeera or a ah, ah, early morning air raid sirens in keys aus before. yes, now the russian humanitarian speech on day 14 of the war against the crane and more devastation off the latest selling of ukraine's 2nd largest city. ah, and i owe money. this is out there. a lie from coming up to 1000000.

this week officials hosted syrian president bashar assad and his 1st visit to the country since 2011. and that's, i would say the us hasn't tried to use the current tension to the board even noting that the vitamin ministration sent a new batch of weapons to saudi arabia after denying them last year for pottery viet continue increases dominance as it moves away from the us, they are showing that they can live without america, but can the current american economy live without them? in washington? rachel, blevins archie. tomorrow the races up they, she can check our website, r t dot com. but we're back in the top of the hours more. see them ah, in the united states a news and tax on other countries economic sanctions are, are often just the beginning. another thing you like to do is place some military pressure on the country that you're talking about here. and there has to be an effort to demonize that country and the leader of that country. we have a responsibility for the whole war and we need to make rules for the rest. because without out there we can do a oh i oh yes, matthew need

so they've taken coordinates and action of solidarity with ukraine. serious president bashar assad has visited the u e. it's his 1st visit to an arab state since the syria war began in 2011. those were headlines that he's continues here on al jazeera off to talk to al jazeera next. ah, many aspects of afghan culture had been systematically destroyed or forgotten. the afghan films archive has been largely preserved through all of these years. when so much else was burned, looted, or blown up, a small group of people risk their lives to save the national archive. they managed to preserve the films and these records of all of the other afghanistan's that existed saving decades of history. they believe these films had something to give to the present moment. in the $960.00 afghan cinema was born, filmmakers were on aware of the dangers to come. ah, david wetlands are a 1300000 heck to a natural reserve, northeastern argentina in the local. what a new language even means bright water. and here, there is plenty of in awe. but in recent years, life life in the area has suffered because of rap

russian forces have been carrying out attacks on syrian towns and cities in support of president bashar assad since 2015. now one syrian artist is using his work to send the message of solidarity. as is asked, my wants to tell the world how syrians have suffered. he wants to shake them up with his paintings, done on rubble in needless the last stronghold of the insurgents. it lip has repeatedly been the scene of russian air strikes. now more than anything else, as these wants to send a message of solidarity to the ukrainians in faraway europe, i know we have terrible memories of russian attacks. the destruction of us will. that's why we sympathize with the ukrainians luasa. we fear the worse for their civilian population and infrastructure i santa o. shakima, the abusive, a corona, russian fighter jets and helicopters, have been attacking town ones and villages since september 2015. officially, they're fighting islamist terrorists, but in reality, they are hitting civilians. military expert, yours fun blood em says putin has been treating syria as an experimental laboratory in his art of the

been half the opposition, say civilian infrastructure was directly targeted by syrian president bashar assad and his russian allies to bring rebel held areas under his control, mahmud a lot, man has seen the suffering this bombing campaign has brought. many of his colleagues have died in the program. when we hear about a bombing and go to the affected areas and then we risk our lives in one mcdonough but it's worth it now. i'm club. i am not going forth. every minute counts when they spring into action, the team leader must always have an eye on the sky on. i mean i often the russian fighter jet strike twice and the rescue as i hit left norman mozilla. laura experience shows that there is a gap of 4 to 5 minutes between the 1st and 2nd strikes alone. that is the time we have to inspect the area, find injured people and pull them out of the rubble here. my father and shadow about fatherhood. the white helmets are shocked by the image is coming from europe and fear for the worse for ukraine. they feel a bond with ukrainians and an obligation winter law. what isaac together is that the machiner

has been years trying to overthrow that threat this week. officials hosted syrian president bashar assad and his 1st visit to the country since 2011. and that's, i would say the us hasn't tried to use the current tension or the rewards even noting that the bi ministrations that a new batch of weapons. it's aw, you're ravia, after denying them last year for pottery b, i continue increases dominance as it moves away from the us. they are showing that they can live without america, but can the current american economy live without them? in washington, rachel bobbin archie moscow say it says it's a shame that the international chess federation has suspended russian. grandma so sick, a cardiac came from competing in their events. also his support were most goes operation in ukraine. the 6 months suspension was announced off the cardiac consent, an open letter to president putin voicing his support for russia's actions. but the international chess federation claims that such rhetoric is damaging for the reputation of the sport nicknamed the minister of defense county. i can became the youngest

this week officials host is syrian president bashar assad and his 1st visit to the country since 2011. and that's how they say the us hasn't tried to use the current tension through their boards, even noting that the vitamin ministration sent a new batch of weapons to saudi arabia after denying them last year. for pottery viet continue to increase the dominant as it moves away from the us. they are showing that they can live without america, but can the current american economy live without them? in washington, rachel blood than archie, retired general and military analysts. mohammed a bus believes our states will look for new oil alliances with countries like russia and china. i'm hoping that receive are going to change. i'm going to look for the new changes, or you change the word, the uprising of russia, russia, russia, and china. i think they never said from the other came from us today for russia and china on this on said i'm really sure you know by on the wedding of whistleblower and wiki leaks found a julian sanchez finally been held in the case belmont prison a year after it w

government writ large until the war is over until a political peace has been negotiated until bashar assad is out of power. now, china has reported its 1st cove at 19 deaths in more than a year. the 2 fatalities are from the northern gillian province, where authorities are battling to contain a surgeon infections. the nationwide death toll is now risen to more than $4600.00 chinas facing its worst outbreak. since the pandemic emerged that 2 years ago. tens of millions of people are under strict stay at home orders. ah, and let's take you through the headlines here and al jazeera. now russian forces are reportedly entered. mario paul, the southern port city has been devastated by weeks of russian. bon bon and thousands of still track there. ukraine's army chief says his troops have managed to block russia attempt to encircle and lay siege to the capital. give a barrage of missiles managed to hit an aircraft repair facility, now livid in the west. on friday. russian president vladimir putin as appeared before, large crowds gathered to mark the 8th anniversary of the crimea takeover. he prais

e 's engagement with the once widely shown, bashar assad is not new, and it has been happening, despite opposition from long time ally, the united states, the bite and administration was swift in condemning the visit, saying it is profoundly disappointed and troubled by an attempt to legitimize a leader responsible for atrocities, but many believe this was not just about bringing damascus back to the arab fold. by hosting i said the u a. e wanted to make a statement to the west. look, you guys have left us as in the middle east in a vacuum by jo partial withdrawal. and the partnership that we have with the united state is no longer functioning. you're not delivering on the security on the security guarantees that you're giving particular as we are looking towards the g p a to point of being negotiated with iran. and the mirage is saying we're taking over responsibility. we want to share the burden. we're taking the burden, but we're doing it our way brushes invasion of ukraine has exposed brit between washington and its allies in the middle east. the u. a. e and saudi arabia, the gulf n

has spent years trying to overthrow that threat this week. officials hosted syrian president bashar assad and his 1st visit to the country since 2011. and that's, i would say the us hasn't tried to use the current tension through the rewards even noting that the vitamin ministration sent a new batch of weapons to saudi arabia after denying them last year for pottery viet continue increases dominance as it moves away from the us, they are showing that they can live without america, but can the current american economy live without them? in washington, rachel bluff and archie, political analyst on our caf. say that major oil exporting countries are increasingly encouraged to ditch the dollar of affairs of falling on the heavy handed american sanctions. if 2 very important countries on earth economic world stage like saudi arabia and china decide to move away, at least partially from adopting the united states dollars dollar than others could and probably would do the same. this could encourage others to do the same. it may reflect a certain type of frustration with the united states overall

government writ large until the war is over until the political peace has been negotiated until bashar assad is out of power. now, china has reported its 1st cove 19 deaths in more than a year. the 2 fatalities off from the northern julian province where authorities of battling to contain a surgeon infections. nationwide death toll is now risen to molten 4600 chinas facing its worst outbreak. since the pandemic emerged that 2 years ago. tens of millions of people are on the strict stay at home orders. ah, ah, let's take you through the headlights here now. the 0 now russian forces are reportedly entered. mario paul, the southern port city has been devastated by weeks of russian bomb bomb and thousands to still track their ukraine's army chief says his troops have managed to block russia attempt to encircle and lay siege to the capital. give a barrage of missiles managed to hit an aircraft repair facility nailed of it in the west on friday. russian.

government writ large until the war is over, until the political peace has been negotiated until bashar assad is out of power. nearly a 1000000 people in east timor have voted to choose the next president. recent opinion polls suggest form of president and nobel peace prize. laureate jose ramos horta is in the lead. he's facing 15 other candidates, including the incumbent, francisco quoterush, who seeking a 2nd term early results are expected later on saturday. and china has reported its 1st covert 19 deaths in more than a year. the 2 fatalities are in the northern gillian province, where authorities are battling to contain the surgeon infections. the nation by death toll is now risen to more than 4600 china is facing its worst outbreak since the pandemic emerged there 2 years ago. tens of millions of people are under strict stay at home orders. ecuador is president, has announced an end to corona virus restrictions on public and private gatherings . caramel as so said 85 percent of the population above 5 years old has been vaccinated. the government says new infections and covert 19 related

government writ large until the war is over, until the political peace has been negotiated until bashar assad is out of power. ah, it is good to have you with the solo adrian sitting in here. and so how the headlines on al jazeera russian forces were advancing and maria, poland, southeastern ukraine. lexie pools has been surrounded for weeks and was into.

our help turned the tide in president bashar assad favor russian force has relied heavily on intense bombing and indiscriminate air attacks against residential areas. in 1999 russian forces invaders chechnya for the 2nd time in 5 years, then they shifted towards greater use of artillery and messiah strikes against major cities. and they also cut off supply lines between cities. the capital of grossey was leveled in the fighting 20 years earlier. the then soviet union invaded neighboring afghanistan in an attempt to reinforce a new pro soviet regime in cavil. the soviets counted on a short term military operation, but never sent enough soldiers to deal with stiff resistance by afghans and thousands of foreign fighters. a dog. let me come to you and ask you about, ah, you know, the scale of russia's military involvement in, in ukraine compared to a, 1st of all the entire capacity of russian forces. and compared to these recent conflicts without syria or even going as far back as the afghanistan war. how has russia fed? what, what is different this time around for? so this warren, ukrai

this week officials host is syrian president bashar assad and his 1st visit to the country since 2011. and that's how the se, the u. s. hasn't tried to use the current tension through their boards even noting that the vitamin ministration sent a new batch of weapons to saudi arabia after denying them last year. all thought area continues increases dominance, as it moves away from the us. they are showing that they can live without america, but can the current american economy live without them in washington? rachel blevins are g. let's return now to our top story. they saw the being president puting saying rushes gas exposed to europe should not be paid for in roubles. well, let's cost life to an expert. now get a better handle on what this all means. we should vote a banking and development economists. thank you very much for joining us on the program. i never should. what are the consequences of moscow being paid for gas in rubles? it's an interesting choice. it's one thing for moscow to say we will pay our foreign debt in roubles. but actually for moscow to say, oh, you can pay our

this week officials host is syrian president bashar assad and his 1st visit to the country since 2011. and that's how they say the us hasn't tried to use the current tension through their boards, even noting that the vitamin ministration sent a new batch of weapons to saudi arabia after denying them last year. for pottery viet continue to increase the dominant as it moves away from the us. they are showing that they can live without america. but can the current american economy live without them? in washington, rachel bluff and archie and awake of a vast ramp up of western military support to ukraine on the manufacturer is a both think that there pocketing fantastic profits, german weapons joint wine metal, his bronze, it will pick up in the quote 2 digit 1000000 euro for servicing ukraine's air force helicopters, meanwhile, us that weapons make his shares have already sold 14 percent since the stars up the conflicts on the us fiscal 2023 budget is set to shovel more than $800000000000.00 more to the arms industry. caleb more can picks up the story in war, almost every one loses la, f

the united states says it's profoundly disappointed following a visit by syrian president bashar assad. to the united arab emirates, reports syrian forces could be deployed in ukraine to support the russian invasion . u. s. is also accusing its close ally the way of legitimizing the syria. anita pose, have closed in east timor, where citizens of asia's youngest democracy have been voting for the next president with 16 candidates and running as hope. the country's most competitive election in history will end a political deadlock. first 3 russian cosmonaut survived. the international space station is the 1st space crude launch since rushes invasion of ukraine greeted by their new colleagues on board, including us astronaut. but concerns have been raised about the long term viability of the international project. in the current political climate out, the world is next to the story of a man is dramatic rise and fall as a trading and imperial power. i'll be back with more news straight after that bye for now. ah, 2. ah . ah. the state of vermont sets at the mouth of arabian gulf at the eas

where we've seen this before, russia played a big hand backing bashar assad. this is why the west is extremely concerned. russia has asked for a u.n. security council meeting talking about what they believe is evidence that there are biological weapons facilities supported they say by the united states in the territory of ukraine. that's something that both the ukraine and the u.s. deny. they say, no, the opposite is happening. that's what they're worried about. the fear that putin could deploy chemical weapons is real. >> what are nato allies saying? >> they're very concerned about it. this is an escalation where russia was talking about u.k. facilities. we spent much of last week being concerned about the rachetting up of tensions surrounding whether or not russia believes nato might get involved by helping give arms to ukrainian soldiers, planes to ukraine. we saw all of that talk of poland putting its mig planes ukrainian pilots can fly at the disposal of ukraine. the united states decided not to do that. they didn't want to, if you like, poke the russian

we examine the global power games of president bashar assad. we believe assad simply carrying out iranian orders. what keeps you awake at night? many, a reason that could effect any human thought, master of chaos on al jazeera stories and life. and inspiration, a series of short documentary from around the world that celebrate the human spirit against the odds. al jazeera, select gang. the latest news as it breaks. authorities tell us that brutal violets like this one in be hon during capital, or just the tip of the iceberg in a far more complex security situation. we detailed coverage, this coastal vintage in why is one of the worst areas here in the province of ball from around the world. things seem very normally in the city. people are still going to work or to school the restaurant. blue heather m, tim vanelle, a. doha, with the top stories on al jazeera, the un refugee agency says more than a 1000000 people have fed ukraine since russia's invasion began a week ago. it is the fastest exodus of people this century. most have headed west int

and the us, criticizes united arab emirates, the hosting series president bashar al assad. i'm joanna roscoe, with the sports russian tennis play. i'm very rude left calls for politics to be kept out of sports. but russian olympians appear at a pro war rally alongside president vladimir putin wearing the nationalist zed symbol. it's been 24 days in russia invaded ukraine and nearly 6 and a half 1000000 people of thought have been displaced by the fighting. let's take a look at the territory in red that russia and its separatist allies control crane's army chief says russian troops have failed to besieged the capital cave. a barrage of missiles, heat and air craft repair facility mean living in the west on friday in the south ukrainian troops are said to have stopped a russian advance to mc alive. it's the last stand against russian forces ne, odessa, and ukraine says he was temporarily denied access to the say of as of because of russian military activity at the port city of mary palm. stephanie deka is in west in ukraine and begins al, coverage from above. mary paul, looks

also been involved in the syrian conflict since 2015, very much helping the syrian president, bashar al assadomana karadsheh has that story. and a warning, you may find some of the images in her report disturbing. >> reporter: russia's vicious war in ukraine has shocked the world, but no one should be surprised. for years, russia's ruthlessness played out so openly for all to see in syria, where countless civilians paid the price for putin propping up his ally, bashar al assad. syria is where russia boasted about testing more than 300 types of weapons. it's also where it tested the world's limits, and there seemed to be none. its war has no rules. no one is spared, and no place is safe. russia's bombed hospitals, markets and schools. the u.n. called them war crimes, but no one has faced justice. russia denies it's committed these crimes, but its cruel attacks know no bounds. even those rushing to rescue the injured have been targeted by the infamous double-tap strikes. >> i last two of my team. in one seconds, we were trying to respond to save others. >> reporter: this man survived one of rus

the kremlin backs the syrian regime of bashar al assad and the scenes appeared shortly after putin told his security council that foreign fighters should be invited to join in. >> translator: so if you see people who want voluntarily without payment to come and help people living in donbas, well we need to meet their efforts and help them to reach the combat zone. >> reporter: these are folks from syria, said president zelenskyy of ukraine. from the country destroyed in the same way the occupiers are destroying us, he said. later, in a kremlin meeting with his belarusian ally, president putin struck a different, upbeat tone. saying he had been informed of certain positive shifts in recent negotiations with ukraine. though it remains unclear what those positive shifts could be. but they don't seem to be diverting russia from its invasion course. new satellite images suggest a massive russian military column north of the capital kyiv has now dispersed with some elements repositioned into forests and countryside around the capital. and these are the latest images from the besieged ukrainia

we examined the global power games of president bashar al assad. we believe assad simply carrying out iranian orders. what keeps you awake at night? many a reason that could effect any human eyesight master of chaos on all jazeera ah . ready this is al jazeera ah, your waterman is our life from headquarters and ohio getting abigail coming up in the next 60 minutes. ukrainians began leaving the city of sumi after an agreement is made with russia to open a humanitarian corridor. choose to sit with we're in ukraine, 2nd largest city, where people say they have know where to go after rushes bombing campaign.

bashar assad as promised 40,000 syrian fighters. there's a new draft in russia on the 1st of april. expect those poor kids will be given 30 days or 45 days training and shoved into the battle in ukraine without knowing what they're fighting for, and without any reason for it. russia has lots of obsolete equipment, stored up. this is a time when the ukrainians have to be on the offensive as much as they can. they want to rip up the equipment, take the soldiers and send as much back to russia as they can. this is an opportunity for kyiv. they have to take it. they cannot sit in defensive positions. they have to the javelins, stingers, mobile strike teams and rip those russian columns apart. >> the u.s. defense secretary, as you heard, is there any workaround for the -- >> you say no-fly zone, all the legal experts in the pentagon come out of their cracks and start telling you what you have to do and so forth. the art of this is to put our forces in position and make mr. putin take the provocative step. this is ukrainian airspace. it does not belong to russia, it's not owned by russia,

there is no repercussions for bashar al-assad with the help of russian forces. do you think that that impunity communicated in someway to putin that he could get away with this and that might be the problem, that he needs to be personally sanctioned for what is happening? >> well, as you know, he has been personally sanctioned as has the russian economy and so many sources of wealth and income for the oligarchs that surrounded and enabled and embedded putin. you know, our focus is on keeping this unprecedented coalition together. not with standing the gas attacks and attacks on aleppo, there was a lot more division than now. you could not have mobilized the kind of u.n. journal assembly rebuke that ambassador thomas green field mobilized along with the ukrainian colleagues just a week ago. so this unity, this squeeze on the russian economy is in position of cost. the strategic failure as russia secures a tactical success and may reap terror but vladimir putin isn't able to achieve his objective in ukraine. >> will he ultimately go the way in theory try for the w

of course, the previous times we've talked about leaders like this are saddam hussein, right, bashar assadcouldn't imagine syria going on with him as the leader. well, he's still a leader. the down side that a cornered putin, if he is failing on the battlefield and believes, whether it's true or not, that the united states is trying to stoke opposition to him at home, is much more likely to reach for extreme measures. and right now we're hearing from the intelligence community quite publicly that those extreme measures are chemical and biological, and we're hearing from the defense intelligence agency that they believe he'll threaten the use of nuclear weapons. i don't think he's actually going to use nuclear weapons, unless nato is actually in ukraine. but those -- that's the down side. >> let's listen to the secretary of state on that point about possible russian use of chemical weapons. to hear this publicly is so startling. >> we believe that moscow may be setting the stage to use a chemical weapon and then falsely blame ukraine to justify escalating its attacks on the ukrainian people

we examine the global power games of president bashar al assad. we believe assad simply carrying out iranian orders won't keep you awake at night. when you reason that could effect any human assert master of chaos on all jazeera ah, he's going to be choppy, buys, okay, so then my members can leave that to teams and then whoever wants experience and then within just as well. and when we observe, we observe all kind of as well, but we really felt was because we were on the goals in area and the good. yeah. when we have a cy thing, we have to record out what we actually see them doing say whether that swimming or diving there somewhere in that general vicinity dolphins die they sure smiled. come on dolphin. they belong to a large board that may morning are for the last 11 years. and now that he was able to undo the big picture of adorable things with them identify which individuals they are. and when we last saw them. since i was very young, i always loved the science of biology in nature. i must be 7 near the volt and they don't allow that 5. i beli

russia's involvement in syria's war helped turn the conflict in president bashar al-assad's favor. when you look at the invasion of ukraine and compared to grozny, for example, what has hindered this russian operation? whether they lack of preparedness or a lack of equipment or more row being low among russian troops? guest: in war, it's always a complicated picture and it is a bit of all of that. but in the strategic military mistake, in chechnya, it was a concentrated offensive. from the north, the east and west. russian groups were converging and uniting forces. in ukraine, they are moving in different directions. they are not converging with each other. it is as if they are trying to corral cattle or something. they didn't apparently believe ukraine would resist at all and it's hard to comprehend how such an operation was produced, but now we are stuck with it and the russian pr machine is working very good inside russia for the time being, but it will begin to falter because the fact russia's advance is trying to stop this is obvious. we ran out of reserves because we can't se

he gave bashar assad the green light in 2013 to use it on his own people in syria and then in the last couple of years attempted assassinations of alexei navalny and a former kgb and uk double agent, so it is certainly possible, and it's feasible, and it fits putin's pattern. >> now, general, we heard president biden warning of a severe price if russia uses chemical weapons. the white house not giving specifics, but what could a u.s. response actually look like? >> well, i think first off they were smart to not reveal what sort of options they have prepared, but i think we should expect to see even more severe sanctions, diplomatic sanctions, we'll see absolute the strongest condemnation in the united nations security council and in the united nations, and we'll see a complete display of the facts as soon as we can get them in the information space to lay responsibility at the feet of the person who is responsible, vladimir putin. >> i want to ask you about something else, the satellite images that show a large russian convoy, the tanks and equipment outside kyiv disperse and then repo

forces joined the syrian war, carrying out air strikes of the request of the countries president bashar assad. let's bring it in a cock. alba can include say, who is the former head of georgia national security council office? he joins us now from georgia. capital r tbilisi. good to have you with us, sir. we heard from president putin little earlier, and he says that russia's military advance in ukraine is going to plan. what do you think his final aim is? thank you very much for having me. first of all, well, i think his final amy's, the regime change generally there are 2 dimensions off the, our goals from the kremlin. the one is political and the other one is the military . political is exactly the regime change to talk who all president zalinski, government, and military. he's actually to co occupy as much territory as possible. and to appoint the proxy regime. we just go not read the racks. actually ukraine sporting policy and make the country totally dependent on moscow at is that plan, as he says, going according to plan i don't see. and then actually this plan is going well. hm . i, i

few years later, in 2015, russia entered the fray to help prop up syria's embattled dictator, bashar al-assad. russia's involvement in the conflict took things from bad to worse. russian president vladimir putin use the same strategy we are seeing now, indiscriminate bombing. civilians and residential homes were routinely targeted by russian and syrian forces, especially in the once thriving city of aleppo which was, essentially, as you see there, destroyed. reduced to rubble. russia allegedly used the same kind of a legal cluster bombs they are now using to target civilians in ukraine. and russian forces also deliberately hard target hospitals as part of the bombing campaign. according to a thorough new york times investigation. at one point, destroying four of them in just 1:12 of the span. this reign of terror forced millions of syrians to flee the country. more than 6.6 million so far, many of whom fled to europe. and it created the worst refugee crisis we have seen in years, and caused ripple effects throughout the entire world. at the same time, the conflict in syria exacerbated by russ

e 's engagement with the once widely shun, bashar assad is not new, and it has been happening, despite opposition from long time ally, the united states, the bite and administration, was swift in condemning the visit, saying it is profoundly disappointed and troubled by an attempt to legitimize a leader responsible for atrocities, but many believe this was not just about bringing damascus back to the arab fold by hosting a said the u a. e wanted to make a statement to the west. look, you guys have left us as in the mid leaves in a vacuum by your partial withdrawal. and the partnership that we have with united state is no longer functioning. you're not delivering on the security on the security guarantees that you're giving particular as we're looking towards the g, p. u, a 2 point oh, being negotiated with iran and the mirage. the thing we're taking over responsibility, we want to share the burden. we're taking the burden, but we're doing it. our way brushes invasion of ukraine has exposed bits between washington and its allies in the middle east, the u. a. e and saudi arabia, the gulf

we examine the global power games of president bashar al assad. we believe assad simply carrying out iranian orders. what keeps you awake at night? many a reason that could effect any human eyesight master of chaos on all jazeera. gotcha, one of the fastest growing nations in the world news ronnie, casa needed to oakland and development school to attract international shipping companies to become a p middle east and trade and money, skillfully mapped out $3.00 key areas of development who filling up from it. so connecting the world, connecting the future while need cato castillo's gateway to whoa trade. ah . efforts to evacuate. people from the besieged, ukrainian city of maria pole, fell off to reports of chevy along the escape corridor. ah, nicholas, this is abs 0 life and her also coming up, united nation say 2000000 people have now fled to 15 ukraine. most of them women, children, and the elderly. the us rejects an offer from poland to dna toll its soviet era make 29 fighter jets and.

government writ large until the war is over until the political peace has been negotiated until bashar assad is out of power. presidential candidates in the philippines have held the 1st televised debate divine to succeed. rodriguez do tell say as he is sick, he comes to an end. campaigning began last month across the country ahead of maze. presidential election from manila, jimmy le alan doug and tells us about the top issues and leading candidates the economy president the, the re good that they're just policies and public health. are just some of the issues discussed in this national debate organized by the commission on the elections. now there are 10 presidential candidates in a multi party set up here in the philippines. 9 showed up and that includes the leader of the opposition, vice president lennier. brad of world renown boxing champion manufacture, and manila major is scored with everyone here is talking about the refusal of bone bone marked as junior. the son of the late dictates or former presidents for dinner mark was senior. so i stand debates and grant interviews, and that is

we examined the global power games of president bashar al assad. we believe assad the simply carrying out iranian orders. what keeps you awake at night? many a reason that could effect any human eyesight master of chaos on al jazeera. ah ah. c a russian as tried to destroy the maternity hospital in the besieged, ukrainian city of mario paul of its provoked lobel outrage. ah, i don't have one on him. i'll santa maria, continuing coverage on al jazeera of the ukraine war, where both sides are accusing each other of threatening, fragile humanitarian corridors, which been set up to get civilians to safety.

soon, russia threw its weight behind the distinctly unmilitary figure of president bashar al—assad, andsia's tactics, especially against civilian targets, have been carried over from syria to ukraine. the situation in syria now is a real picture of kind of fragmentation and also real entrenchment of different players in different parts of the country, so for the most part, while there is still violence and there is still conflict, you don't see that play out across the entire country as you might have done several years ago at the height of the conflict. at the moment, the government controls quite significant territory. also interesting that it controls the major cities like damascus and aleppo, even if it doesn't have, for example, a total hold on the wider province of aleppo. and other parts of the country are then ruled by completely other players. so, in the north—west, there's rebel groups backed by turkey. there's also jihadist groups. in the north and the east, there's kurdish—led groups. and all these different players actually control different parts of the country and all hap

soon, russia threw its weight behind the distinctly unmilitary figure of president bashar al—assad, ands, especially against civilian targets, have been carried over from syria to ukraine. the situation in syria now is a real picture of kind of fragmentation and also real entrenchment of different players in different parts of the country, so for the most part, while there is still violence and there is still conflict, you don't see that play out across the entire country as you might have done several years ago at the height of the conflict. at the moment, the government controls quite significant territory. also interesting that it controls the major cities like damascus and aleppo, even if it doesn't have, for example, a total hold on the wider province of aleppo. and other parts of the country are then ruled by completely other players. so, in the north—west, there's rebel groups backed by turkey. there's also jihadist groups. in the north and the east, there's kurdish—led groups. and all these different players actually control different parts of the country and all happen to be ve

bashar assad quietly and then not so quietly with russian help flattened their cities, flattened theirseen before. these are all from the -- from the songbook of the russian military. we saw that happen in grozny. we saw that happen inside russia, which chechnya effectively is. so if these folks are willing to do that to their own people, i don't see a reason to be optimistic they will treat the ukrainians any better. >> what do you both think we should make of this reporting on russia turning to china for assistance? general mccaffrey, you first. >> well, it's a sign of putin's desperation. indeed, humiliation. i can't imagine the chinese would even dream of putting one soldier on the ground in ukraine. that's never going to happen. and the russians haven't lost enough equipment to need replacement p-80 tanks or other systems. so i don't know what he's up to. notice he's also recruiting in syria for foreign fighters, practiced in urban warfare, sounds like nonsense also. you've got 60% of his ground combat power inside ukraine, half the air force. he's in over his head already. his lo