jeremy bowen, bbc news, aleppo.bal politics of the past in northern ireland after its power—sharing executive collapsed, triggering new elections to the assembly in march. it's all over a controversial energy scheme which could cost the taxpayer £500,000,000, but it's caused a deep riff between the two main partners in the executive, sinn fein and the unionist dup. gavin hewitt reports from stormont on what it means for the northern ireland peace process. the 10 years, power has been shared in northern ireland. it was one of the foundation stones of peace. today, that power—sharing government collapsed. i propose that a draft order in council be brought forward shortly to set an election date of thursday, 2nd march. no—one should underestimate the challenge faced to the political institutions here in northern ireland and what is at stake. the trigger for the breakdown was a row over a controversial green energy scheme drawn up by unionist minister, arlene foster. but the bitter arguments over the scheme exposed grow

jeremy bowen, bbc news, aleppo.h our middle east correspondent, jeremy bowen. thousands of british holiday—makers are being flown home from the gambia after a state of emergency was declared. the foreign office is advising people to avoid all but essential travel to the country because of a risk of unrest. president yayha jammeh is refusing to accept the result of last month's presidential elections in which he was defeated. his elected successor adama barrow is due to be inaugurated tomorrow. senegal has said its military forces will enforce the handover, if necessary. our correspondent umaru fofana reports from the gambian capital banjul. leaving in droves. not as they came, not as they had anticipated. thousands of european tourists, mostly from the uk, being flown back home on special flights. some had been here for only a couple of days, which explains their reaction. asking us to leave is unnecessary. i think, at the moment. but i understand that we need to do it. to me, it feels stupid because this will all b

jeremy bowen, bbc news, aleppo. katty: people are returning to their homes in east aleppo, but it is hard to believe they will be able to get over with a have seen or lost soon. let's go to gambia where a state of emergency has been declared. president yahya jammeh is refusing to accept the results of an election where he was defeated. , issuccessor, adama barrow set to be inaugurated tomorrow. our correspondent reports from the gambian capital. >> is not good news. we are evacuating everyone back home. reporter: leading intro's, not as they anticipated, thousands of european tourists are being flown back home on special flights. some have been here for only a couple of days, which explains their reaction. moment it is the unnecessary, but i understand. >> to me it is stupid. this will be over in 24 to 48 hours. reporter: they're not the only ones leaving. thousands of gambians are streaming out. likeyear it looks intervention is imminent. troops are massing on the border , a nigerian air force is on the worship isn

jeremy bowen, bbc news, aleppo. troops are massing on the border of the gambia, ready to force the president to accept electrical —— electoral defeat and step down. peter penar is a researcher at michigan state university with an interest in post—election disputes in west africa. it does not look good, does it, that a president who took power in a coup and has ruled for 22 years is refusing to accept the democratic result of an election. how do you think this is going to play out? that is a good question. right now the situation is very tense between ya hya the situation is very tense between yahya jammeh on the one hand, and the international community on the other. yahya jammeh has been given several opportunities as a sort of exit strategy in this period of time, including exile in a number of western countries —— west african countries, such as nigeria. today i also have the idea of exile in morocco floated. all of these options have been turned down by ya hya options have been turned down by yahya jammeh. the p

jeremy bowen, bbc news, aleppo. in florida when she was only eight hours old has defended her alleged kidnapper. lexis manigo, who'd been named kamiyah mobley at birth, was tracked down after a tip—off. she says the woman she believed was her mother raised her "with good morals, respect and love". she raised me with good morals, respect. she made a big impact on my life. i could go to her about anything. i could tell there was love. it hurt me more that she was in handcuffs. like some animal. i don't... in handcuffs. like some animal. i don't. .. that's not in handcuffs. like some animal. i don't... that's not her. i've never seen her in cuffs, never. so that moment there was so surreal for me. i understand what she did was wrong, but i don't feel like... just look at my life itself, you know? understand it was one mistake, but it wasn't all bad. everything that came out of it was not bad. i'm fine. i'm managing. i have another family. that is more love. for the people that have missing kids, this gives them hope, s

jeremy bowen, bbc news, aleppo.idemic strikes. they named the diseases they‘re targeting. what was will be the next global epidemic, a virus we already know about, ora new one? the ebola outbreak in west africa exposed how utterly unprepared the world is for new epidemics. more than 11,000 people died, partly because there were no vaccines to protect them. the research charity the wellcome trust is part of a new coalition urging people to look at a new epidemic being even more deadly, especially if it is airborne. we are lucky that the world has reacted so well. but this could happen again. this puts the world in a very vulnerable place. scientists have identified three obscure viruses they want to fast track vaccines for. nipah virus, spread to humans from from fruit bats. it can cause swelling of the brain and is mainly common in bangladesh. lassa fever is common in west africa. the last is middle east respiratory syndrome. it‘s believed to be spread by camels. it‘s killed more than 650 people, mostly here in saud

the battle for aleppo lasted four years. 200,000 civilians were trapped in the heat of the fight. attacks on civilians by any side in the war are crimes if it can be proved they were deliberate. zakaria mohammed juma lost his leg in east aleppo three months ago. at a clinic run by the international committee of the red cross, he is being measured for a prosthesis. rehabilitation is painful. when you can't walk, supporting a family is even harder. it will take years and billions to rebuild. the east side of aleppo and much of the old city in ruins. with a photo of his clothes shop, salah stood in front of where it used to be. i've seen this much damage elsewhere in syria, but never in such a wide area. abu mahmoud is one of the first to return to his neighbourhood. if only they'd take away the rubble, he said, all the neighbours would come back. this corpse was still lying on the road a month after the battle. more are certain to be buried in collapsed buildings. abu mohammed, collecting firewood, showed where a mortar fragme

our middle east editor is in aleppo.it is syria‘s biggest city. it‘s the key to the north of the country and both sides were prepared to destroy it to possess it. the cost has been very high, in blood and in the ruin of a city that can trace its history back 50 centuries. now this is the great mosque in aleppo. it dates back to the 700s and as you can see, it‘s been used as a military position. there‘s heavy damage here. it‘s a un world heritage site. but now it‘s covered in sandbag, bullet holes. can you see from the number of bullet holes how much fighting went on here. over in that corner stood the famous minarette that looked out over this mosque. it was built in 1090. it was destroyed in april of 2013. at the time, there were a lot of reports saying it was done by regime shelling. the people here, who are representatives of the syrian government, who are with us, say it was done by the rebels, who blew it up deliberately. now this is one of the sides of the mosque. it was used as an entrance and an exit. there‘s a l

rubio: there is so much information about what happened in aleppo. what happened there is clearly documented, there is so much information out there. it should not be hard to say that vladimir putin's military conducted war crimes in america. acceptable for the military to target civilians, which has happened with the russian military. i find it discouraging, your inability to say that. it is globally accepted. in my last minute and a half i want to move quickly to an additional question. i want to enter two things into the record. the first is a partial list of dissidents of the vladimir putin who were suspiciously murdered or died under highly suspicious circumstances. the second is a letter to this by another who was mysteriously poisoned, another opponent of the putin: regime -- putin regime. do you believe that vladimir putin and his cronies are responsible for ordering the murder of countless dissidents, opponents, and journalists? mr. tillerson: i do not have sufficient information for that claim. sen. rubio: are you aware that those who oppos

around 750 seriously injured people were evacuated from eastern aleppo.e was reunited with doctors he trained. they stayed in the city while fell >>. really good war surgeons. very experienced. they can cope with a lot of things. we saved hundreds of thousands of lives. i think that was all we could ask for to be honest with you. reporter: most of eastern aleppo's doctors are here where they will be much needed. the civilians that fled have horrible injuries. >> those patients were suffering from cold as well. it is like getting frostbite on your amputated leg so we had to go higher and higher. reporter: the battle for aleppo might be over, but syria's medical needs are still in norman's. the most gravely ill have been sent to turkey -- needs are still enormous. the most gravely ill have been sent to turkey. maram is one of them. laura: riff fake injuries -- the horrific injuries of those who fled aleppo. the middleogy in east and north korea ended up on the same list. the top risks for 2017. dore have bengal arrested people who have carried out sexual as

the agony of east aleppo didn't end with its defeat by president assad.h—old maram, ended up in this hospital in idlib. her right arm is her only unbroken limb. a bomb hit herfamily as they were evacuating from the city. let's remove the dead bone. britain's david nott lead the surgery inside syria. they'll have to be the ones that go, definitely. maram is in danger of losing her leg, or her life. a piece of shrapnel has broken her hip. as you can see, the fragment on the x—ray, i think we have found the fragment in the groin. it's a bit of shell, a bit of fragmentation from a military armament, a piece of metal. part of her left leg is missing, and the team treated that, too. this is a piece of fragment from a shell from an air strike. now back safely in london, dr nott talked me through the surgery. my heart actually bled for this little girl. it bled because she wanted me to help her, she couldn't move her arms because they were fractured. she couldn't move her legs because they were fractured. she had a big piece of iron on her other leg and she could

in aleppo, mr. putin has directed his military to conduct a devastating campaign and targeted schools, markets. not just assisted civilians. his military targeted schools and markets resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians. this is not the first time mr. putin is involved in campaigns of this kind. back when he was appointed prime minister before he was elected, i'm sure you're aware of that period of time, there was a series of bombings. they blamed it on the chechens. mr. putin said personally would he punish them. he ordered the air force to bomb, hitting hospitals, main outdoor market packed with shoppers. 137 people died immediately. these used bombs that ignite and are in the air for people that breath it. when it was all said and done an estimated 300,000 civilians killed and the city completely destroyed. by the way, there is credible body of reporting open source and other that this was all those bombings were part of a black flag operation on part of the fsb. if you want to know

east aleppo was absolutely pulverised. jeremy bowen with the latest from aleppo.yesterday we were looking at this sort of satellite picture. there are variations on the scene. i wa nt to there are variations on the scene. i want to fly you towards the thick clouds and old weather fronts, if you have spent the morning underneath it like in bridlington, stafford and a number of other places, pretty miserable. pieces of rain and drizzle. turning towards east anglia and the south—east, recent clouds, that becomes what cloud? the weather watchers are talking the talk for as admirably. if you are beginning to get a bit envious of that south—eastern quarter with all the sunshine if you have not seen any so far today and are not likely to see any, it comes ata are not likely to see any, it comes at a price. three degrees, some even lower than that, with the mild breezes over the eastern side of scotland, 13 degrees. as soon as the sun is done, the temperatures will fall away again in the south—eastern quarter. with the breeze and more cloud across northern and western par

the battle for aleppo was the most divisive of the war so far.is the key to the north of the country. and both sides were prepared to destroy it to possess it. the cost has been very high, in blood and dimmable and other city that can trace its history back 50 centuries. this is the great mosque in aleppo, the admired mosque, which dates back to the 700s. admired mosque, which dates back to the 7005. it admired mosque, which dates back to the 700s. it has been used as a military position and there's heavy damage. it is a un heritage site, now it is covered in sandbags, bullet holes. you can see how much fighting went on here. over in that corner stood the famous miller —— tower we re corner stood the famous miller —— tower were that was destroyed in april of 2013. at the time there we re april of 2013. at the time there were lots of reports saying it was done by a regime shelling by people who are representatives to the syrian government say it was done by the rebels who blew it up. this is one of the sides of the mosque. you can see it was used

we have a team of more than 100 un staff working in aleppo right now.k into, but most importantly, over a million people are now getting safe drinking water. we have 12 mobile clinics and seven other units inside east aleppo to provide primary health care. we have propositioned 300,000 treatment supplies in eastern aleppo. 1,400 children who needed special attention have been relocated to hospitals in western aleppo. 10,000 children have been vaccinated. over 250,000 people have received emergency assistance for winterisation. it is very cold out here. there is no heating. there is no electricity. we are giving 40,000 fresh baked bread every day. 40,000 meals are distributed twice a day to the people there. so there is a lot of work that is going on, but still this is the just the immediate and urgent response that we have to provide. important work of reconstruction, debris removal, buildings that have collapsed need to be structurally and sound and need to be taken care of and that's where the long—term investment has to come in. it was one of the blo

the great mask of aleppo was once considered one of the architectural masterpieces. now it resembles a little more than a pile of ruins. struggling to come to terms with how different the holding site looks. >> we used to visit the tomb of our master. it was clean, there were fountains and walls. today we were astonished when we came here. may god help us. all the landmarks of the mosque have changed. >> the mosque has been a -- has been a victim of fighting in the city. walls shredded by shrapnel. and the iconic symbol of the mosque shattered as the main holy site and aleppo -- clerics are already making plans to rebuild. some of the damage could be irreversible. be -- coulds could occur within a short time. >> rebuilding them will take some time. take two or three years but the mosque can be ready within the year. end beautifuloric sight, the mosque bears testimony to the unrelenting conflict in syria, a war going on from us six years. >> dozens of former soldiers have gone on trial, accused of taking part in july's failed coup. face lengthy jail terms is guilty. m

tillerson, the attack in aleppo is in the public domain. pictures and video of there. >> ooi'd want to be fully informed -- >> there's so much information out there about what happened in aleppo. it's clearly documented. there's so much information out there. it should not be hard to say that vladimir putin's military has conducted war crimes in aleppo because it's never acceptable for a management ili specifically target civilians. n and i find it discouraging your ability to cite that. in my last minute and a half i want to move really quickly to an additional question. i want to enter two things into the record. >> without objection. >> the first is a partial list of political disdents and critics of vladimir putin who were suspiciously murdered or died under suspicion circumstances. the second is a letter addressed to this committee by vladimir marza who himself was mysteriously poisoned and is an opponent of the putin regime. i'd like to enter that into the record. >> without objection. >> do you believe that vladimir putin and his cro

>> about aleppo? and what is aleppo? >> you're kidding. >> no. >> aleppo is in syria.sis -- >> okay. got it. got it. >> still tough to watch. >> it's hard to catch. >> i was sittingext to him. it was the beginning of the end. nice cameo there by mike barnicle. and then there's the time he couldn't think of a foreign leader. >> one foreign leader you respect, look up to. >> mine was shimon peres. >> i'm talking about living. canada, mexico, asia, south america, name a foreign leader you respect. >> i guess i'm having an aleppo moment. >> anybody in the world that you like. anybody. pick any leader. >> chris says, i'm giving you the whole world. >> and bill weld trying to jump in to save him. it did not work. >> and for the true fecta, to the interview when hi straight sung out his tongue at nbc's casey hunt. [ mumbling ] >> and not say anything, and -- [ laughter ] >> we have that in slow mo. >> you're very gary johnson today. >> i think hi earned his position at number one. >>> we arrived at the top of our "sunday today's" drumroll. the 108 years of suffering in chicag

of course she knew where aleppo is. does anybody think donald knows where aleppo is? candidatet time, trump, if they had said, do you know about aleppo? would he have gone, the nexus of crisis?an refugee no. what about aleppo? i will hang rosie o'donnell from a tree. that would have been the response. if anybody who runs it -- as a libertarian, aleppo is a city in syria. i am pleased to see, the neocons are starting to go on the dissent. you know what neocons are? elaborate, these guys, but the basic idea is, they want to go nationbuilding by bombing the nations they want to build. which many of us would argue is counterintuitive. the flipside of the coin is, you have the democrats, who are the most stall wart though severus ociferous severus -- v opponents of war until given a chance to vote for war. be invadedntries can when up for a vote. you are probably wondering, how did i developed this well-educated, nuanced position on foreign policy? i will tell you. i have a masters degree in international and european politics. did you get that, c-span? it is impressive, b

in aleppo, mr. krugman has directed his military to conduct a devastating campaign targeting his militaryets -- has targeted schools and markets and other civilian infrastructure. it has resulted in the death of thousands of civilians. this is not the first time mr. putin was involved in campaigns of this time. back when he was just appointed prime minister, before he was elected -- i'm sure you are aware of that time -- there was a series of bombings, and they blamed it on the chechens. esther putin personally said he would punish them, so he ordered the air force to bomb the capital of grozny. they hit hospitals, the main outdoor market filled with shoppers. 137 people died instantly. they used explosive bombs that ignite, and they burned the air breathed in by people hiding in basements. they used cluster munitions. he used battlefield weapons against civilians. ann all was said and done, estimated 300,000 civilians were killed and the citizen -- and the city was completely destroyed. the incredi

of course she knew where aleppo is. does anybody think donald trump knows where aleppo is? like if during that time, if they had asked, "candidate trump, do you know about aleppo?" would he have gone, "the nexus of the syrian refugee crisis?" no. "what about aleppo?" "i will hang rosie o'donnell from a tree." that would have been the response. it would have moved on. so if anybody who runs as a libertarian, aleppo is a city in syria. and we can go from that. i am pleased to see, the neocons are starting to go on the dissent. you know what neocons are? they are going to elaborate, these guys. but the basic idea is, they want to go nationbuilding by bombing the nations they want to build. which many of us would argue is counterintuitive. the flipside of the coin is, you have the democrats, who are the most stalwart, vociferous opponents of war, until given a opportunity to vote for war. iraq, afghanistan, westeros. all of these countries can be invaded when up for a vote. you are probably wondering, how did i develope this well-educated, nuanced position on foreign policy? i

knew wheree she aleppo is. but does anybody think donald trump knows where of aleppo is? like during that time if they said, what about aleppo he would have gone, you mean the sick -- you mean the nexus of the syrian refugee crisis? no. what about aleppo? i will hang rosie o'donnell from a tree. that would have been the response. runs for president and is a libertarian, be it no -- be it known aleppo is a city in syria. we can go from that. it seems like the neocons are on the dissent. for those who don't know, the basic idea is, they want to go nationbuilding by bombing the nations they want to build, which many of us would argue is counterintuitive. the flipside is that democrats are the most stalwart opponents of war there ever were, until given the opportunity to vote for war. iraq, afghanistan, world war ii, world war i, narnia, west rose. write about -- westeros, they want to go to war with all of them. right about now you're probably wondering, how did i develop this very educated well nuanced position on foreign-policy? i will tell you, i have a masters degree in

so, of course, she knew where aleppo is. does anybody think donald trump knows where aleppo is? like if during that time they said candidate trump, what about alep aleppo, he would have gone you mean the nexus of the syrian refuge crisis? no. what about aleppo. i will hang rosy o'donnell from a tree. that would have been the response. all leleppo is a city in syria. we can go from that. i'm pleased to see the neo cons are starting to go on the descent. you guys know what neo cons are? the basic idea i understand it, they will elaborate, these guys, the basic idea they want to go nation building by bombing the nations they want to build. whether many of us would argue is counter-intuitive. the flip side of the coin, you have the democrats the most stalwart vociferous spnts of war there ever were until given an opportunity to vote for war. iraq, afghanistan, world war i, world war ii, vietnam, narnia, westworld, all of these count countries can be invaded when up for a vote. around about now you're probably wondering how did i develop this very well educated nuance position on for

aleppo has fallen to the assad regime and a ceasefire deal brokered by russia and turkey is just aboutolding. moscow's dominant role in the diplomatic endgame is now undisputed with ankara playing a pivotal role as well. my guest is bassma kodmani of the negotiating team of the syrian opposition. is it time for the moderate rebels to accept their de facto defeat? bassma kodmani in paris, welcome to hardtalk. hello, stephen, thank you. it's a pleasure to have you on the programme. let me start with a question that comes directly from the new year. do you see 2017 bringing with it better prospects for an end to the conflict in syria then we have seen at any time in the previous, almost, six years? i do, carefully optimistic, but i do. i do hope and we are working towards making 2017 the end of the disaster of the tragedy and the beginning of a political transition. that is what we are hoping for and the coming weeks will tell us whether we are moving in that direction but there is certainly a turning point and certainly something to build on at the moment with the new players that have a

. >> well, let me describe the situation in aleppo. perhaps that will help you reach that conclusion. in aleppo, mr. putin has directed his military to conduct a devastating campaign. he's targeted schools, markets, not just assisted syrians to do it, his military has targeted schools, markets, other civilian infrastructure. it's resulted in the death of thousands of civilians. this is not the first time mr. putin is involved in campaigns of this kind. back when he was prime minister, before he was elected, i'm sure you're aware, during that period of time there was a series of bombings and they blamed it on the chechens and mr. putin personally said he would punish them. he ordered the air force. they used scud missiles, 137 people died instantly. they used air explosive bombs, the bombs that ignite and burn the air breathed in by people who are hiding in basements. they used cluster munitions. he used battlefield weapons against civilians. when it was all said and done, an estimated 300,000 civilians were killed and the city destroy

in aleppo, mr. putin has directed his military to conduct a devastating campaign, he's targeted schools, markets, not just assisted syrians, has targeted schools, markets, other civilian infrastructure that resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians. this is not the first time mr. putin is involved in campaigns of this kind. back when he was just appointed prime minister before he was elected, i'm sure you are aware of that period of time, there was a series of bombings and they blamed it on the chechens and mr. putin personally said he would punish them so he ordered the air force to bomb the chechen capital. they used scud missiles to hit hospitals, the city's main outdoor market, packed with shoppers, 137 people died instantly. they used fuel air explosive bombs, the bombs that ignite and burn the air breathed in by people who are hiding in basements. they used cluster munitions. he used battlefield weapons against civilians. when it was all said and done, an estimated 300,000 civilians wer

jeremy bowen, bbc news, aleppo.d states. it marks the end of barack obama's eight years in the oval office. this week our correspondentjon kay is travelling along highway a5 — gauging the country's mood. today, he's in chicago, illinois, where barack obama began his political career, and where people have been reflecting on the legacy he leaves behind. right through the middle of donald trump's america. to get a sense of the country he is taking over. but our next stop is not trump territory. chicago. i could do with some breakfast. this is barack obama's favourite diner. he lived round the corner before he was president and he still comes back. what does he eat. he likes the brea kfast. he is humble, he is strong. taihitia is an obama fan. as a nurse, she likes the changes he made to health care, giving poorer people better access. she worries donald trump will overturn the reforms, hitting the most vulnerable. they will not have access to doctors, they will have to come through emergency services. many of them wil

how can one be fulfilled when you are a contemporary of the massacre of aleppo?ould one not feel shame, shame, not to have been able to express the indignity of what was happening in aleppo? so not fulfillment. i did not do enough. i would not have enough the rest of my life to do all that -- charlie: i argued that to do this obviously you felt deeply about it, and now you have put it together, and as you said, given people a weapon to use in the fight against anti-semitism. bernard-henri: in terms of the fight, in terms of self pride also. for me, it is important that the jews of today feel proud of their values. i defend affirmative -- charlie: and proud of their faith. bernard-henri: proud of their faith. proud of their commitment, and proud of their values. charlie: and their culture. bernard-henri: yes. : the genius of judaism,levy bernard-henri levy. thank you for joining us. ♪ yvonne: asia pacific markets are seeing extending the global rally, and the dow topped 20,000 for the first time. president trump pushes forward for his plans with the mexican wall.

i think we got a raw deal on the aleppo thing. find that hillary clinton knows where aleppo is because she planned to bomb it. of course you knew where it is. does anyone think donald trump knows where aleppo is? known think he would have ? aleppo, i will hang rosie o'donnell from a tree, that would have been the response, it would have moved on. if anyone runs for president as a libertarian, that it be known that aleppo is a city in syrian. the neocons are starting to go on the dissent. do you know what that is? is they want to go nationbuilding by bombing the nations they want to build. many of us would argue is counterintuitive. the flipside is you have the democrats who are the most stalwart opponents of war there ever were until given an opportunity to vote for war. ii,, afghanistan, world war west euros -- westeros. are wondering how did i develop this very well educated, new once position on foreign-policy? i have a masters degree in international and european politics. did you get that, c-span? it is impressive because i a

it with marco rubio if russian president vladimir putin committed war crimes and the bombings in aleppod syria. he also brought up china and the philippines with the human rights violations. if rubio were to defect, republicans have a slim majority in the committee, that could spoil tillerson's chances of the top diplomat. we will hear from dr. ben carson appearing before the hud secretary job as well as mike pompeo for the cia. and general mattis governor david paterson appearing in the senate armed services committee to see if he can become the first secretary of defense. one vote majority in the foreign relations committee. it would be the difference. ryan browne, thank you. >>> donald trump warning companies that move jobs to mexico. >> what is happening is the word is out when you want to move your plant to mexico or some other place and you want to fire all of your workers from michigan and ohio and all these places that i won for good reason, it will not happen that way anymore. you will pay a very large border tax. >> very large border tax. it could be part of tax reform. you kn

in aleppo, mr. putin has directed his military to conduct a devastating campaign.targeted schools, not just markets, not just assisted syrians in doing it, his military has targeted schools, markets and other civilian infrastructure. it has resulted in the death of thousand of civilians. this is not the first time mr. putin is involved in cam pines of this kind. back when he was just appointed prime minister before he was elected, and i'm sure you're aware of that period of time, there was a series of bombings. and they blamed it on the checkens. and mr. putin personally said he would punish them. so he ordered the air force to bomb the checken capital of grozny. they hit hospitals, outdoor markets. they used thermobaric and explosive and burned the air breathed in by people hiding in basements. they used cluster munitions. he used battlefield weapons against civilians. when it was all said and done an estimated 300,000 civilians were killed and the city was completely destroyed. by the way, there is credible body of reporting, open source and other that this was a

aleppo has fallen to the assad regime and a ceasefire deal brokered by russia and turkey is just aboutnt role in the diplomatic endgame is now undisputed with ankara playing a pivotal role as well. my guest is bassma kodmani of the negotiating team of the syrian opposition. is it time for the moderate rebels to accept their de facto defeat? bassma kodmani in paris, welcome to hardtalk. hello, stephen, thank you. it's a pleasure to have you on the programme. let me start with a question that comes directly from the new year. do you see 2017 bringing with it better prospects for an end to the conflict in syria then we have seen at any time in the previous, almost, six years? i do, carefully optimistic, but i do. i do hope and we are working towards making 2017 the end of the disaster of the tragedy and the beginning of a political transition. that is what we are hoping for and the coming weeks will tell us whether we are moving in that direction, but there is certainly a turning point and certainly something to build on at the moment with the new players that have asserted themselves, an

at first it was really mostly people from aleppo. syrians from aleppo, with an iraqi in charge.n in came canadians, i met some moroccan and german people, i met some canadians, i met an australian guy. these were converts, were they? i didn't ask them how they came to islam. when you say they were germans and so on, were they germans who were of arab origin, for instance? yes, he was a moroccan guy. he probably wasn't a convert, but a born—again, you could say. these were people that had recently discovered an enthusiasm for islam, it doesn't mean they are converts. you say cia, cia, because i have to say you speak fluent arabic and they thought one of the reasons why your arabic were so good was you had been trained by the cia? yeah. thejudge, when i first escaped they brought me to islamic court. the islamic courtjudge began asking me questions about my education in islam. i told them i had been in yemen. what were you doing in yemen, where did you study in yemen, he asked me? in order to fight the jihad, can anybody fight the jihad? isaid no, you need to special education in