. >> in syria, bashar al-assad's government says it's ready to talk to the opposition to try and end the almost four year long civil war. now this is in response to russia's proposal for dialogue after two rounds of peace talks failed earlier this year. the syrian government says it is open to preliminary consultations in moscow. russia is planning to host the talks between the assad government and the opposition in late january but not sure who is going to take part. kimberly halkett is reporting. >> syrian government and its opposition will have peace talks but i can tell you this will be looked at with some skepticism in washington considering it's counter to u.s. policy. president obama has long maintained that president bashar al-assad the syrian president must go, he must step aside for the sake of the syrian people, that is his exact statement yet we see this discussion of peace talks. so there is this concern and this view in washington that as long as bashar al-assad remains in power that syria remains divided. there are also concerns about the objectivity of the russia to h

battlefield. >> bashar al-assad should step down, otherwise this is not going to be solved. use it is not [ inaudible ] to have bashar al-assad on power, and having our -- our forces to fight against islamic state. >> reporter: it didn't only isil and the coalition they have joined that is concerning gcc states. there's concerns with egypt, iran, and the growing conflict in yemen and iran. so the theme for this summit is set to be reconciliation and l solidarity. but aside from the political and security dangers, there's also a major economic problem. plummeting oil prices looming in the background. andrew simmons, al jazeera, doha. >>> jamal has the latest from the summit. >> reporter: leaders of the gulf countries meeting here in doha will be hoping that they will be demonstrated they have put their differences behind them by the end of this summit. they hope to do that essentially in a number of ways, one of those proposed is through agreeing this -- increased cooperation on military fronts. we're hearing that that could potentially mean a joint military task force or a si

policy has been for some time when president obama said that bashar al-assad must step aside for the sake of the syrian people, that he, in fact, must go. that has been a consistent refrain when speaking to u.s. officials. this is back to sanctions. peace talks do not achieve that goal. there is really a view here in washington that is as long bashar al-assad remains in power, the country in syria remains divided. for that reason there really is going to be a lot of skepticism about russia hosting any sort of peace discussion. >> and there have been numerous tapers to get both sides to agree to some sort of peace team in the past. >> what is important to note is the relationship with russia with the syrian government that has been taking place, historically strong trading partner. very strong in terms of their tying, but we've seen this at the united nations as far back as 2011 when there was an attempt to condemn the actions of the syrian government. this was vetoed by russia. and again in may when referring syria to the international court. and then again attempts to sanction syria

intense bombing campaign and we're not attacking bashar al assad and we're asking these young people to fight and to die and bashar al assad, as you should know, is their major enemy and we're not doing anything to stop bashar al assad from bombing them and slaughtering them. this is the guy that has killed 200,000. this is the guy that's caused 300 million refugees. he still has people in his prisons in which he's treated with atrocities. these photos that were smuggled out. got no response from the president of the united states or frankly from you. should have been a causist vel lie. the rebels are being routed because they are being attacked not only by bashar al assad, but also extremist organizations called isis and others. and they are in the verge of collapse, at least in one part of the country. now you're telling me we have a strategy to defeat bashar al assad and we have a strategy to defeat isis in iraq and syria, even though we are treating them as two separate battles, at least as far as strategy is concerned. maybe you can respond to that and tell me what -- how you ju

russia's foreign ministry says that it hopes to host talks between bashar al-assad's government and syria's fractured opposition in late january. still unclear who will officially be taking part. syria's civil war has been going on since 2011. since then 200,000 people have been killed and half the population forced to flee their homes. meanwhile, government airstrikes continue in the northern syrian province of aleppo. airstrikes on friday killed three people. they target areas controlled by isil fighters and 36 people were killed in government airstrikes around the same area on thursday. in neighboring iraq the u.s.-led coalition against isil has carried out more airstrikes against the north. the latest happened near the town of hoajarawija. there are reports that isil still control many neighborhoods. >>> meanwhile, peshmerga forces say that they need more heavy weapons to continue the fight against isil. we have reports from the kurdish front line in northern iraq. >> as nightfalls on the kurdish countryside peshmerga fighters take up their positions. it's under the cloud cover of darkn

the syrian president bashar al assad is calling u.s.-led air strikes against isis in syria completely ineffective. bashar al assad telling the french magazine "paris match" that syrian forces fighting isis on the ground haven't seen any changes in the terror group's strength since coalition strikes began more than two months ago. let's bring in cnn's chief international correspondent christiane amanpour joining us from london. christiane, the secretary of state of the united states, john kerry, is meeting today in belgium with representatives from 60 countries, this anti-isis coalition. what is he saying about this ongoing battle? >> reporter: that's right. he's the first high-level meeting of this coalition. and they have obviously been discussing their progress report. now, as to bashar al assad, by most accounts, his forces wouldn't know because they're not actually fighting isis. that was the moderate fsa. and many say that bashar al assad has allowed isis to flourish and he's just been taking it out on the moderate forces while the

the speaker of iran's parliament visited bashar al-assad. it came two weeks after bashar al-assad visited the side. russia is hoping to relaunch peace talks. the italian coast guard. that dangerous journey is one of many undertaken by syrians. desperate to find safety. zeina khodr reports. >> reporter: this woman is preparing to start a new lie. she has a refugee from syria. she moved two years ago. her husband had a heart problem, and that puts the family in a vulierable category. eligible for resettlement in europe. living in lebanon has not been easy. it's a country overwhelmed by a burden of refugees, caught up in the conflict of next year. >> translation: there are no jobs. they are paying the price. they were targeted when attentions were supporters of opponents of the syria government. >> it is a feeling shared by many refugees that wait for hours at a u.n. office, just to apply for asylum. many tell you that they have spent savings and can't find jobs. it's not just economic hardships, the government has powerful allies here. >> it's

one that is largely in support of hezbollah, and of course they are fighting inside syria for bashar al-assad and the government. on the other which is led mostly by sunni groups, who are opposed to the bashar al-assad government. what you have inside lebanon is a coalition government taking in both sides of the war in syria. that is, of course, incredibly fragile and plays into the hostage situation. we have heard from the interior minister, openly criticizing the way the military handled the detention of some of the leaders of the rebel groups. it's a tense time to try to maintain some mediation effort to release the soldiers, but to keep a functioning government going here. >> and keep a lid on intentions in the region. thank you >>> humanitarian organizations are calling for countries to take in 180,000 syrian refugees. more than 30 organizations launched an appeal asking for economic support and aid packages. the refugees aids groups will ensure that the borders are kept open for syrians escaping the war. 9.2 million syrians fled, straining resources, and infrastructure. i mentioned iran

this is where the rebellion against bashar al-assad began. now in the fourth year of combat, the fighting is relentless. rebels say they hold much of the city. here they are trying to drive bashar al-assad's forces from the base. using a combination of fire and improvised artillery shells. >> the revolutionaries dominated the hole of the area. it is wrd to be the last strong hold of the regime. it is important because it overlooks the security square >>> that is the newer part of the city, containing government buildings and security bases. most have been turned into barracks. the government sieged the city, preventing food and other supplies getting to rebel areas. before the war 100,000 lived in deraa, not any more. now it is a battle ground. >>> the u.s. says afghanistan made progress including women's rights. there's an increasing number of girls enrolling in school. there are fears that efforts towards reconciliation and peace with the taliban could jeopardise gains made. >> reporter: this woman's husband was killed by a suicide bomber se

some commentators believe taking the fight for isil shu should ne at the expense of opposing bashar al-assads will not be solved. it's not acceptable to have bashar al-assad in power and having our forces to fight against islamic state. >> reporter: it isn't only isil and the coalition that they have joined that's concerning gcc states. there are worries about relations with egypt, iran and the ongoing conflict in libya and yemen. all part of its academy summit agenda. and so the theme for this summit is set t said to be reconciliat. aside from the political and security dangers, there is also a major economic problem. plummeting oil prices looming in the background. andrew simmons, al jazerra, doha. >>> meanwhile the u.s. defense second chuck hagel has arrived in baghdad for talks with a rack i official on his the fight against isil. peshmerge forces are carrying out their ground offensive against the group. kurdish fight verse been lighting up the battlefields to protect themselves from attacks. a report from the iraq-syria border. it's a tactic that was previously use ed by the u.s. army

that's why there was a key point, was that it was all about the strategy of bashar al assad. bashar al assad what a very clear strategy of producing refugees, bombarding sere yachb areas to empty the north of syria and then to be able marginalize is insurgents. most of them were led by people coming from bashar al assad's jails. the key thing, actually, at the point was to say, okay, we have to have enough reason or to give enough anti-aircraft weapon, to the insure ends. these people could have stayed in the northern part of syria, it means it was possible to rebuild an alternative interstate and would have been extremely difficult for marginal and radical groups that have no -- it would have been much more difficult for them to do something. and the dynamic would have been totally different. and the same question was asked in the summer, in september actually of 2013, when the -- the attack on the syrian population was very clear, we are not going to intervene, we are not arming the insure jepts. and again, i remember it's important point, the beginning of 2011, there was a

intense bombing campaign and we're not attacking bashar al assad and we're asking these young people to fight and to die and bashar al assad, as you should know, is their major enemy and we're not doing anything to stop bashar al assad from bombing them and slaughtering them. this is the guy that has killed 200,000. this is the guy that's caused 300 million refugees. he still has people in his prisons in which he's treated with atrocities. these photos that were smuggled out. got no response from the president of the united states or frankly from you. should have been a causist vel lie. the rebels are being routed because they are being attacked not only by bashar al assad, but also extremist organizations called isis and others. and they are in the verge of collapse, at least in one part of the country. now you're telling me we have a strategy to defeat bashar al assad and we have a strategy to defeat isis in iraq and syria, even though we are treating them as two separate battles, at least as far as strategy is concerned. maybe you can respond to that and tell me what -- how you ju

a sod has lost -- bashar al-assad has lost his legitimacy. he needs to be removed.e know the resolution is not quite happen. as in bosnia and other places, with a coalition of the willing idea worked. fly well inwill not congress or in any other place of the moment, especially not with the administration, but i'm afraid we will continue to see the bleeding of this country. we will continually see more refugees flow into neighboring countries like jordan, turkey, and others. until we see change here in the city, and that's probably not going to happen before two years. >> thank you. me turn it over to the audience. turn it over to the audience. i start to the extreme left. you need the microphone. >> thank you. on the lasttion point. if you take the initiatives that are now on the table, iran was not in geneva. meeting, hooton -- putin is over. ideapposition has put the that it could go to a moscow format if the reference is made to geneva one. they eluded the question. he refused to answer the question about geneva, when the man who you called asked him about the ge

that means bashar al-assad himself should go as a result of this process. so far we're not seeing any positive indications that this will happen any time soon. however, i think external stake holders in the conflict are close to recognizing that this is the only way forward, and i think rush is simply buying time by trying to derail this process with its new moscow proposal. >> meanwhile, intense fighting continues as the syrian government keeps up its airstrikes in the northern province of aleppo. the attacks killed 39 people in the last three days. they're targeting areas controlled by isil fighters in the city of al-bab. helicopters and planes dropped barrel bombs. >>> government forces bombarding the area of douma. air assaults have killed five people. >>> rebel held towns, it's reported that five died after jets bombed a residential area. >> in other news more than a dozen people have been killed in thailand and malaysia. thailand has declared eight of its southern provinces to be disaster zones. so far 13 people are confirmed dead. while in northern m

. >>> syrian president bashar al-assad has told a news magazine that we are running the ground battle against isil, and we have noticed to change. especially with turkey providing direct support. he also said that a captain does not think about death or life. he thinks about saving his ship. if he thinks about sinking, h he will not come out alive. >> you know t captain, my captain, of course, has found someone to talk to, and it's very natural after all the stylistic fashion magazine, maybe because his wife has connections to that magazine. >> they have a soft spot for france, that is for sure. he had something to say. and that is the following: turkey is to blame, and turkey needs stop supporting terrorism. two, and this is fascinating. he said the 1,000 airstrikes are not helpful. syria changed it's institutio constitution for the young bashar al-assad to become president, and he ran his country to the ground in order to stay president. >> he's hoping that people will forget that. he's saying that the strategy is not working. what position is he in at the moment to be making these

it is one thing that you're fairs are being overseen by bashar al-assad or nouri al-maliki, but it'snother to put up with daily life imposed by the islamic state which is separate severe and austere. >> absolutely. you see the same kind of growing frustration, the difference between a group that is far away and have ideals that you agree w and then living with them when you need your crash picked up. we saw the same situation with hamas in gaza. they had to take over, they had to moderate somewhat to meet the governance obligations of that territory, and you see tremendous dissatisfaction of them as an organization in control. >> praying five times a day may satisfy some personal aspirations but won't make stores open up and have bread when they do. >> that's right. and the dissatisfaction that the sunnies felt under the previous regime, it's not like the day-to-day life is going to get any better under isil. >> michael, the is there a plan yet, a coherent approach of what to do in syria and western iraq? >> no, this is one of the biggest challenges for the united states going in to

this as the bashar al-assad killed thousands, forcing millions to leave the homes. hit with criticisms that he was shying from action the president reacted angrily. >> why is it that everyone is eager to use military force, after we had gone through a decade of war at enormous costs. >> reporter: but the stunning advance of i.s.i.l. changed that. three years after keeping his promise to keep american troops out of iraq. president obama sent them back in. some 3,000 advisors. there to train and assist the iraqi army in a shambles as they try to turn back i.s.i.l. by the end of the summer the president changed his tune on military force. >> last night america's armed forces began strikes against the i.s.i.l. targets in syria. president obama saw his biggest political set back in november. when his party suffered an election white out. giving the g.o.p. control of congress for the last two years of the president say. the president and his family are on vacation in hawaii a rest before turning to washington and a new political realitiy. or joining me now is political st

there is a concern, and a view in washington that as long as bashar al-assad is in power, that syriaains divided. there's concerns about the objectivity of russia to host the talks. there has been a strong tie in terms of trading and support by the syrian president. we saw this as far back as 2011 when there was an effort by the community to condemn the actions of the government. it was vetoed by russia that's an effort to refer syria to the international court vetoed by russia, and in july attempts to sanction the syrian leadership vetoed by russia. there's a view in washington a lack of fairness and neutrality. and there being peace talks hosted by russia likely to be met with a lacklustre response in the united states. >> vice president of the building syria state party which opposes the regime. speaking by phone from the capital, he says only a political solution will end the conflict. >> this is the situation in all the land to do his bomb partment. this is not something that should stop us and it will not go to the solution. in the end it's the only path to stop the violence. a

the accused says he only went to syria to help its people bring down president bashar al-assad, but hefight, was quickly disillusioned and returned. at this mosque there is a feeling that more such cases will come to light in the coming months. there are so many people that the government is looking at taking away think travel documents of people who may want to join them. >> translator: this is a devaluing of contempt for the basic laws of the country, human rights, the freedom to be able to travel anywhere. freedom of thought. what i get out of this is they want to take out those considered radical and put a brand mark on their arm, so they could be recognized in society to say he could be dangerous. >> reporter: germany isn't the only european country with new laws for citizens wanting to go fight in iraq. british prime minister david cameron has even pledged news through try to prevent britains from going to the conflict zone and ban them from re-entering britain if they do make it there. >> reporter: the country is bound by a u.n. resolution to stop the flow of fighters, and keepi

russ russia's foreign minister said it hopes to host talks between bashar al-assad's government in late january. its unclear as to who will take part. >>> intention fighting continues as syrian government keeps up its airstrikes in aleppo. the attacks killed at least three people on friday. they targeted areas controlled by isil fighters in the city of albad. at least 36 people were killed in similar strikes around the same area on thursday. residents say helicopters and planes dropped barely bombs. government forces also bombarded the town of dumaa north of damascus. it killed at least five people and injured others. duma is a rebel stronghold but, also, has hundreds of thousands of civilians. >> that's according to u.n. estimates. syrian regime airstrikes also targeted rebel-held town in the darra countryside. it is reported five died in the town of ipsa after government jets bomb a residential area in the morning. let's get more now about this potential peace talks about to occur in motiving 0. in the director of the carnegie middle east center in beirut joins us live from london. th

in his country are not working, bashar al-assad says especially with turkey providings direct aid to these areas. if he thinks about sinking everyone will die. >>> al jazeera continues to demand the release of its three journalists that have been held in egypt for 341 days. peter greste, baher mohamed and mohamed fahmy are appealing against their convictions. >>> zimbabwe's president has accused the foreign minister of wanting him to step down. allowing himself to appoint his own deputies. the 9 90-year-old appeared to be frail at the congress held every five years. >> i expected to bow to my deputy to say, i won the election, you take over. that was wide expectation foolish. and idiotic. >> let's go to haru mutassa, could he choose his wife to succeed him one day? >> well, that could happen. when journalists asked this, he said why not? am i not a zimbabwe? , with a sermon like mogabe, some could be a faction within bringing down. >> but the vice president still has supporters. what is her next move likely to be? >> well, she could do two things. one she could lie low. she could apol

you know bashar al-assad, 1996 declaration of jihad, yes, it focused on iran, on the u.s., but it also focused on the middle east. there are many incubating that leads to extremism that leads to recruitment. in most of the muslim work that sufficient caits critical thinking. women's rights issues. you have economic corruption and political corruption that makes any system in the middle east, in most of the middle eastern countries cancerous. >> we worry about the western fighters that are going over there, canadian, brits. >> but about 60% of them they come from five countries. number one, tunisia, number two, saudi arabia, and then turkey, we need to put that number in perspective of the regional struggle that's happening around these areas, and the tension, cultural, religious, political tensions that's hatching between these countries. >> the western fighters that are going over, what's that, what drives them do you think? >> most of the people that are going to syria come from the indian subcontinent for example. if you look at the number 1 recruitment, you know, pool if you want t

even if we push back isis, so what, bashar al assad can fill the vacuum.hat can't be our strategy but that's what it's turned into. we need a ground partner. >> you write in your book about the process of decision making and the way in which in the obama administration it's all about very centralized. my sense is obama fultly views the middle east as kind of a hell hole that's going to suck america dry. he wants to contain it and cordon it off, give it to asia, do some of the bigger, more strategic things he wants to do. so he's never going to embrace a kind of very ambitious strategy there because he doesn't think it's worth it. >> it's easy to understand how barack obama wants to avoid another war like iraq. he was elected to get out of that. and to understand why he wants to avoid isis getting much stronger. but at a certain point you have to make a choice. ambivalence can't be your central operating principal of the military campaign. the syria war may be the most complicated in the last 100 years but the iraq/syria war which is what this really is is

shouldn't be at the expense of opposing syria's bashar al-assad on the battlefield. >> translator: basharhould step down because it's not god to have bashar al-assad in power and topping our forces to fight against islamic state. >> reporter: it's not only i.s.i.l. and the coalition they join that is concerning the gcc states,s there are worries of relations we egypt, iran and on going conflict in libya and yemen, all part of its packed summit agenda. so the theme for this summit is said to be reconciliation and solidarity but these are extremely difficult time for the gcc, aside from the political and security dangers, there is also a major economic problem, plummeting all prices, looming in the background, andrew simmons, al jazeera, doha. >>> and this is dubi and founder of gulf military analysis, if one supposes a joint military command is on the table, what overall purpose will it serve? >> well, it has a lot of purposes. i mean the gcc to start with was established to be a military union, military command during the iran/iraq war. now we are seeing, i spoke about this when i met the

russia, the principle backer of the syrian regime bashar al-assad and turkey president erdogan wants assad gun. they'll talk about syria, but they're so far apart on the issue, there is little they can agree upon "b" it, so they'll gloss over on that political difference and discuss trade. trade worth is--turkey gets all of its energy from russia, and russia's second largest export is turkey after germany. they want to increase it to $100 billion by 2020. expect agreements to be signed during today's meetings, and those agreements pushing towards achieving that ambitious goal of increasing their bilateral trade. >> still to come on the program, charging the barricades, the most violent confrontation so far between police and protesters in hong kong. >>> justice world aid say that scientists are concerned about drugs used by patience to keep disease at bay. there is more after the break. >> welcome back. two bombs have exploded in a market in nigeria. it comes after gunmen attacked an university earlier on monday. >>> the world food program said it has suspended a food voucher scheme

. >> you may be wondering what syrian president bashar al-assad thinks about what is taking place. he told the french magazine that there were no tangible signs that isis was weakened and said you cannot do that with airstrikes. >>> and the terror group has just posted a video of an american hostage and threatens an inevitable fate unless the u.s. responds to its demands within three days. the hostage is a photojournalist kidnapped in yemen just over a year ago. >> my name is look hammers, i carry american citizenship and have lived in america for most of my life. >> just an excerpt there. all this information is coming into cnn so far. so far no details on the demands made. as soon as we get more information we'll bring it back to you. >>> all right now to the other big story, a sense of calm at this moment is returning to the streets of new york after what was a night of sprawling protests. take a look, scores of people filled the streets after a grand jury decided not to indict a police officer in the chokehold death of an unarmed man. protesters packed into times square and mar

the primary one of those is has bulla -- hezbollah, active in helping president bashar al-assad in syria>> there have been about eight different raids like this over the past few years. give us a more details and why is the never any retaliation? >> it is difficult to read into that. some editorialists are certainly going over this factor. they are pointing to the delicate balance, if you will, which israel is probably counting on in this dangerous game being played out between three different actors. on the one hand, the israeli air force acting and coordination with the government, which is reportedly launching raids in syria. tacitly at knowledge in but not openly confirming it in order to not further provoke the enemy on the other hand. you have the syrian president, who is vocal about denouncing those israeli raids. but he is choosing not to respond militarily. on the other hand, you have has bulla -- hezbollah. the risk is that if one of these actors chooses not to be satisfied anymore with the implicit rules of this game, then you could have an escalation and the risk of the regio

russia and turkey have opposing positions on the issue with russia standing by syrian president bashar al assad has been consistently opposed to any deal which would allow president assad to remain in office, but they have a very big economic and trade relationship. >>> stay with us here on "bbc world news." much more to come. getting ready to mark the 200th anniversary of the battle of waterloo, there's a row brewing over who will play napoleon. given new hope. during the subaru "share the love" event, subaru owners feel it, too. because when you take home a new subaru, we donate 250 dollars to helping those in need. we'll have given 50 million dollars over seven years. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. >>> this is "bbc world news." i'm geeta guru-murthy with the latest top stories for you. the u.n. warns ebola could still spread around the world, but it refuses to say if targets for tackling ebola have been met yet. >>> and police clash with protesters in hong kong in some of the worst violence since pro-democracy demonstrations began. >>> the australian parliament has paid tribute to

olympic differences in the approach to syria, vladimir putin is the biggest backer of the regime of bashar al-assad. president erdogan wants assad gone. they have clearly disagreed strongly on that, but these two countries do need each other. turkey needs more russian gas, and it wants to get a better price for it. and russia needs more friends from europe as they impose those sanctions that put pressure on russia. russia wants to buy, for

this city is where the fighting against president bashar al assad began. the fighting is relentless. much of the old part of the city, here the rebels are trying to drive assets forces from a base. using a combination of ground fire and improvised artillery shells. >> the revolution has dominated except he this area. it is considered to be the last stronghold of the regime. it is important, because it overlooks the security square. >> that is the newer part of the city. it contains government buildings and security bases. they have been turned into barracks. the government has prevented food and other supplies from getting to rebel areas. before the war, nearly 100,000 people lived there, but not anymore. now it's an urban battleground. >> it's very difficult to get videos out of syria. some pictures of shot by cameraman like the one kidnapped and killed while working there last year. on the ground is airing a special program on the last days of his life filming syria rebel groups. the last time i spoke to him was on facebook messaging. >> we talked about

air strikes to target syrian military positions loyal to bashar al assad? >> if our military suggested that would advance the strategy as it relates to isis, i would certainly favor that, but to have almost no pressure of any kind, even diplomatic or other kinds of pressure against mr. assad, when our stated policy has been and what i believe to be the right policy which is that he must go, it doesn't seem to make sense. so i think that part of the policy needs some work. and that's why this review that the administration often has undertaken will continue to, as well as the role that congress has to play -- we've got to debate these issues. we've got to make sure that we're engaged with the administration in asking the tough questions and demanding answers. >> senator casey, thanks very much for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. >>> still to come, clashing over the president's immigration actions. the homeland security secretary jeh johnson gets grilled today by members of congress. we'll datalk to congressman pet king. ♪ go! go! wow! go power...oats! go! made

president bashar al-assad. you can see a photo that was taken during this interview in damascus. he is very critical in the interview of u.s.-led airstrikes on the islamic state group. he says there have not been any tangible results in the two months that the strikes have been going on. you cannot end terrorism with aerial strikes, he says. troops on the ground that no the land and can react are essential. another thing he says is that he is ready to reestablish ties with the french president, and he says that i am neither a personal enemy or rival of francois hollande. i think the islamic state group is his rival. their popularity is very much the same. another point that i picked out of this interview, he is asked whether he is afraid of ending up like saddam hussein or moammar gadhafi. he says the captain does not think about life or death but saving his ship, regardless of what happens. we will never allow her country to become a toy in western hands. >> sounds like an interesting read. on the front page, a familiar face in french politics. he is hell-bent on making a comeba

impression after discussions i had in sir that the support in raca, sir is not as strong and that bashar al-assad still has very strong support in raca, maybe with a trick because egg still paying salaries to his people in raca. so in raca, it is a more difficult situation for isis. in mosul it is not as easy. they have killed thousands of shias, the rest have been forced to leave. 130,000 people have been forced to flee and run away. the rest have been killed or forced to go away, too. we have only sunnis now in mosul, and they are discriminated, and have had a very, very hard time during the last 11 years. >> how many foreign fighters did you see alongside the iraqis and the syrians who were already there? we have a lot of reports in french about french nationals fighting with the group. did you see that first hand? >> many europeans. i saw many europeans in streets of mosul. i saw swedish guys, french people americans. i saw a guy from the caribbean. he just had passed his law exam, and he got a job as a judge or as a lawyer, but i think he was accepted as a judge, and he preferred to fight fo

this is where the fighting against bashar al-assad began. now in the fourth year the fight something relentless fighting is relentless. here the rebels are trying to drive assad's forces from the base using a combination of round fire and improvised artillery shells. >> the revolutionaries are among the shia area. it is considered to be the last stronghold of the regime. it is important because it overlooks the security square. >> that is the newer part of the city. it contains government buildings and security bases. most now have been turned into barracks. the government has seized the city for years, preventing food and other supplies getting to rebel areas. before the war nearly 100,000 people lived in deraa. not any more. now it is an urban battleground. >> a camero cam cameraman was caught. here is the series of the cameraman. >> the last time i spoke to him was on facebook messages. i said, if you go, i'll stop talking to you. >> when people are watching tv or are half watching tv, it doesn't occur to them how those images got there,

opec's decision could be seen as a geopolitical jab at two nations supporting syria's president, bashar al-assadudi arabia, along with other gulf nations like qatar, are supporters of syrian opposition in the country's civil war. and, remember, it's not just middle east wells creating a world market a wash in oil, north american shale is also feeding the glove. u.s. production is the highest in three decades as the world economy slows, demand falls, and downward price pressure continues. for now, the world's pain is your gain at the pump. ♪ ♪ >>> are you falling in love with cheap oil? over the next 12 months it could pump a thousand bucks in to your family budget. and give vladimir putin's russia a haircut. what could possibly go wrong? we'll take a look at the joys and threats of really cheap oil moving forward. joining me for that conversation professor of international finance and business at the george washington university. international oil consultant. and amy myers-jaffe, executive director of energy and sustainability at the university california davis. since you guessed below 70, you g

russia is the principle backer of the syrian regime of bashar al-assad. turkey wants him gone. moscow sports the creek cypriot government attempts to support gas reserves. turkey believes that turkish cypriots should be involved. russia and turkey are looking for now alliances in business and diplomacy. >> despite the many differences between the two countries, they need to maintain and improve their relationship. vladimir putin and recep tayyip erdogan under this. they criticized each other in the past. they spoke out and vladimir putin criticized recep tayyip erdogan. but energy needs keep them together. >> reporter: from the gas that cooks the kebabs to the gas that fuels its factories, 65% of the gas comes from russia. it is rising. with multibillion trade like that, political differences are easily glossed over >>> pro-russian political groups appear to have a strong lead or the pro-european parties in the elections in moldova. the countries boarded on one side by ukraine, facing its own internal struggle obvious closer ties to the e.u., or moscow. robin forest walker join

bashar al-assad made his comments in an interview to a french magazine.e said, quote, you can't end terrorism with aerial strikes. he went on to describe his position in syria as a captain trying to save his ship. >>> now, israel will hold early elections on march 17th next year. they voteded to dissolve itself after benjamin netenyahu sacked two key ministers and announced plans for a snap election two years ahead of schedule. >> reporter: by going to early elections, prime minister netenyahu hopes to end the crisis that he says he has been suffering from within his government with a lot of ministers giving him ultimatums and threats. what he is trying to achieve by holding early elections is a coalition government that is more in agreement with him and his policies, and does not present a lot of challenges to him, more often than he wants to. what we are expecting to see in the coming months after the election when a coalition government is formed is a move to a shift to the right-wing, the government could come more right-wing, we understand. religious

and syria's president bashar al-assad has told a french news magazine that air strikes against the islamic state of iraq and the levant in his country are not working. in a rare interview he says we are running the ground battles against i.s.i.l, and we have noticed no change. especially with turkey providing direct support to these regions. he also said he wasn't focusing on his future as president. he was quoted as saying, the captain doesn't think about death or life. he thinks about saving his ship. and if he thinks about sinking, everyone will die. russia's president vladimir putin says he will not allow the west to dismantle his country like yugoslavia. u.s. policy defending his country's actions in ukraine and crimea. >> for the president arriving at the grand kremlin palace, this was always going to be a difficult speech. the economy battered by sarchtions and the fall in the price of -- e-sanctions and the fall of the price of oil, the president was in a combative mood, accusing the west of wanting to see russia broken up, dismantled he said. >> the support of separatism in russia

russia's foreign ministry said it hopes to host talks between bashar al-assad's government in late january, but it's unclear who will officially be taking part. vice president of the building syria state party, which opposes the regime in damascus. speaking by phone with the syrian co capitol, he said that only a peaceful solution will calm the conflict. >> you have bombardment in some years, and you have groups attacking some areas. this is not something that should stop us from going to the political solution. this should encourage everybody to go to the solution because as the end the political solution is the only path to stop all this violence and all those killed, and of course, there solution on the part of the regime or the armed groups. we should bring to attention that there is grave danger of isis. isis is not any one of the syrians. it is a danger for the regime, the syrians, the opposition, and for the identity and history of all of syria. >> meanwhile, intense fighting continues as syrian government keeps up its airstrikes in the northern province of aleppo. the attacks kille

agreed that other groups could event the opposition in future talks, and this time ark, president bashar al-assad have to step down before negotiations begin. >> translator: we all know a transitional government can't happen overnight, but there needs to be a clear agreement between the regime and the opposition, with a clear timetable for a hand over of power. >> reporter: there is no guarantee that moscow's efforts will be able to stop the war, but there is a need for political reconciliation in syria. not just to stop the bloodshed, it will also help in the fight againstst islamic state of iraq and the levant. >>> for the first time since the fall of the berlin wall, the german party born out of the old communists has a state leader. he won the election as premier of one of the former east german states. tim friend reports. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: he was jubilant. victory in the second round of voting. but according to the german chancellor, carl marx, the father of communism is back in office. he is deeply aware of his parties communist anti-[ inaudible ] and memories of the hate

one supporting hezbollah, who are fighting in syria on behalf of bashar al-assad, and the other led by sunni politicians, who oppose the government in syria. essentially what you have is a government, a coalition in which there are both sides - both reflections of the sides in the war in syria. that is an indicators of how fragile politics is here in lebanon. events like this, attacks across the border, inside lebanese soil, and hostage crisis with the young soldiers puts more pressure on the fragile coalition. >> thank you very much, jane ferguson. humanitarian organizations are calling for countries to take in more than 180,000 syrian refugees. more than 30 organizations launched an appeal asking for economic help and aid packages for those that take in the refugees, saying that it ensures that countries keep their borders open for syrians trying to escape the law. more than 3.2 million syrians fled to turkey, lebanon, jordan and iraq, straining resources in those countries, and the infrastructure. >> now, iran has been assisting iraq, both politically and militarily in its fight aga

but the two remain at odds on the current syrian government under president bashar al assad. russian president vladimir putin met on monday with his turkish counterpart recep tayyip erdogan in ankara. they both say the islamic state cannot be allowed to expand. but, erdogan says they couldn't agree on how to solve the civil war in syria. and then he says assad needs to be ousted in order to end the conflict. putin says that syrian people have shown their support for assad in the last presidential election. russia is a close ally of syria. putin reportedly confirmed his commitment to assad's government on how to deal with the islamic state last wednesday when he met with syrian foreign minister in russia. >>> residents of northern japan are experiencing blowing snow and mid-winter-like cold weather. meteorologist sayaka mori joins us with the details. >> yes, gene, the first significant snowstorm of the season is affecting northern parts of japan. let's go straight to some video from yam that to and sapporo. midwinter-like cold air is blanketing much of the country, creating b

but clearly nobody believes that bashar al assad can govern that state and bring it to any sense of stability -- >> do you think the rebels remove him from power? who is going to remove assad from power? >> again, my d.o.d. colleagues could discuss the military situation but we do not see a situation in which the rebels are able to remove him from power? it will be have to be a negotiated diplomatic process. >> just regarding the syria train and equip program. it's undprnt that the d.o.d. was unable to provide a witness today. we had made the request. we go now to mr. meeks of new york. >> thank you, mr. chairman, for this important hearing and thank you, mr. ambassador for being here. as i'm sitting listening to your testimony and listening to the questions that are being asked, i understand that this is a complicated situation. it has been since we've been here. it's not easy. people have relationships in that region, some for decades, some for centuries against one another, different interests and we're trying to navigate all that. this is not a simple scenario. i can recall being at this

the proposal is basically bashar al assad would stay.there would be changes to his cabinet, including the prime minister that the opposition could, more or less, give approval to a new sunni prime minister with enhanced authorities. don't know what other people on the panel would think. my own experience with the syrian opposition is that they would be very nervous about accepting that assad stays with those four secret police agencies in place. a real deep state without some kind of international guarantee that the deep state isn't going to turn around and imprison whatever opposition or independent people enter the government as a result of the iranian negotiation process. so lot of distrust, and distrust on both sides, paul. not just on the side of the opposition. regime, not without reason, has distrust of the opposition. and then there is the wild card factor. this wild card factor is a bigger factor now in december 2014 than it was in january and february of 2014. or much less when the geneva communique was done in june 2012 which