we are from syria, the music makes me feel like i am in damascus.amily in syria. the orchestra are joined by artists from across the world. there were three guys crying in front of us at the first part, already. we were like, this is so big! but now, their thoughts are starting to turn to home. good morning. some contrasting weather conditions to close out our final few days of 2016. take, for example, yesterday. it was cold and foggy in the south—east pretty much all day for some of us. temperatures just a couple of degrees above freezing, and not much to be seen from the london eye. by contrast, into the south—west, it was a beautiful afternoon with plenty of sunshine, as seen by this weather watcher's photo in st ives. 12 degrees the high here, and it was mild in the north and west of scotland as well. but it is going to turn increasingly wet and windy. high pressure, though, into the south just hangs on, and so fog certainly going to be an issue. it is certainly worth bearing in mind if you are out and about on the roads early on, there could be

damascus says fighting will continue against the islamic state group. turkey a and russia sayay they l guarantee the cease-fire. putin announces s a reduction of russian forces in syria. beth in beirut. what is the cease-fire going to look like especially of those groups are not included? >> nobody thinks any kind of cecease-fire in the area is goig to be easy to implement. this d does seem unpnprecedenter the scale we are lookoking at. ththe army should be layining dn its weapapons at midnighght tont and the defense minister has said it will also include 62,000 opposition fighters from around the country. which is a really large number even if you take into account that there must be a lot of confusion over who is involved in it. a big signlly quite of how much influence russian president vladimir putin has been having over the countryry n the last year or so. it was thanks to russia thahat aleppo managed to end without further bloodshed. >> this announcement comes on the heels of another announcement by damascus that it has had military successes rece

troubles into damascus, one overturned at ridgeway. follow police direction in order to get why there. the commute out of manassas, crash occurred before business 234, squeezing by to the left and right eastbound. also a crash inside the beltway helping to direct you buy. allow for some extra time in the highways and watch your speed. the next 10 minutes we will update your ride on the west side. suzanne? suzanne: breaking news in indonesia. 97 people are dead following an earthquake. the 6.5 magnitude quake hit and the death toll could continue to climb as people are believed to be trapped the damaged buildings. one hospital damaged. 200 chop houses were also damaged or flattened. larry? larry: thank you for the update. a health alert in prince william county. drinking water possibly tainted because of a water main break. john gonzalez is live in gainesville with what you need to know. john, good morning. john: that's right, if you live gainesville, you will need bottled water for the next 48 hours, we are told. there is a boil water

damascus holds on for the 14-12 win. their ninth title in program history. >> the game was one of the ugliest games i have ever seen. it was full of mistakes on our part but there is a lot of end. >> it just shows how good the program is. we just breathed. it's just our tradition. as long as we have our traditions, it's going to get better and better every year. >> congratulations to those guys. let's switch to pro basketball. the wizards have been struggling affecting attendance and the scoreboard. not many people were able to see the problem. john wall coming off a 52 1st half was washing -- was awful for washington. down double digits to denver so bad that the crowd booed the home team. 2nd half, they turned around. bradley beal had himself a day. one of his four three-pointers leading to a team-high 26 points. wall was not able to duplicate yesterday's half-century magid -- half-century magic. peters. all turpin teams in this one -- derivatives in this one. later, the terps in transition. hooper had 16 maryland roles

this comes as moscow accuses rebels of firing two shells at its embassy in damascus.ssians have announced that there were two attacks on their embassy in central damascus. the embassy is a big embassy in al—mazraa, a street in damascus, and of course we've heard also from some residents that at least two rockets fell, one outside the embassy and one inside the embassy. so far we don't know who is to blame for this attack. of course, the russians have said that this is going to halt or affect any peace efforts. that's happening just in time, when russia and turkey are preparing for a nationwide ceasefire. the announcement came from the turkish side today, but hasn't been confirmed so far, from neither the russians nor the government. but there is lots happening behind the scenes, basically by the russians, in co—ordination with turkey and iran, to set a sort of road map to end the conflict in syria. they're talking about talks and meetings in kazakhstan, end of next month. they're inviting both the government and the opposition. so far it's not clear which part of the

this comes as moscow accuses rebels of firing two shells at its embassy in damascus.so, the russians have announced that there were two attacks on their embassy in central damascus. the embassy is a big embassy in musra street in damascus, and of course we have heard also from some residents that at least two rockets fell, one outside the embassy and one inside the embassy. so far we don't know who is to blame for this attack. of course, the russians have said that this is going to halt or effect any peace efforts. that is happening just at the time when russia and turkey are preparing for a nationwide ceasefire. the announcement came from the turkish side today, but hasn't been confirmed so far from either the russians or the government. but there is lots happening behind the scenes basically by the russians, in co—ordination with turkey and iran, to set a sort of roadmap to end the conflict in syria. they are talking about talks and meetings in cows expand, —— in kazakhstan at the end of next month, inviting both the government and the opposition. so far is not clea

clashes break out near damascus and there are reports of government airstrikes.ussia moves to expel 35 u.s. diplomats in a tit-for-tat move after washington lashes out at moscow for alleged electoral hacking. of turkey clears a draft constitutional amendments that would expand the president's powers. they were able to give him unchecked rule. the headlines. thank you for joining us in the newsroom. i am molly hall. first draft -- despite as come nationwide truce that went into effect hours ago at midnight. in the past hour we are hearing of reports from the syrian observatory for human rights that says government warplanes have carried out several airstrikes in, province. the cease-fire was brokered by russia and turkey and marks the first time in decades a major middle east initiative does not include the united states. a regional correspondent, beth mckernan, is monitoring the situation for us. beth: we have getting new reports of clashes between government forces and rebels in a valley near damascus. monitors reported that the government is -- has gunships to

this as moscow accuses rebels of firing 2 shells at its embassy in damascus. haveter: the russians announced there was an attack on its embassy in central damascus. it is a big embassy. have also heard from some residents that at least 2 rockets fell. one outside the embassy, one inside the embassy. we do not know who is to blame. the russians have said that this is going to affect any peace efforts. where russianing and turkey are preparing for a nationwide cease-fire. the announcement came from the turkish side today, but hasn't been confirmed from the russians or the government. i thought is happening behind the scenes. basicly -- a sickly -- as a roadmap to end th conflict in syria. they're talking about meetings and catholic stand and they are inviting both governments and the opposition. it is not clear which part of the opposition will take part in the talks if they happen. there are meetings taking place in ankara between russia and different rebel groups to discuss details of the cease-fire and the potential wider plan for syria. tim: in other news, t

damascus ninth title in i school history. histo congratulations everybody.la tonight it will be theti maryland 4a final princee >> damascus that team is apss beast. beas >> they proved it last night.ed >> we know it per isonally.nall congratulations.ras. well a dire warning from thefr surgeon general about teensgeneb andou e-cigarettes.igarettes. >> let's head outside right hea nod w as we head to break onea this friday morning.. mgm national harbor right therely.therel >> friyay! >> weather and traffic on the >> ?? >> hey, welcome back. let's get right to it. breezy and cold conditions set up for the day today. temperature will get above freezing to about 40 but it's b not going to feel it with the very brisk winds that tha developed overnight.ve check out your cold temperatures. i mean, it is cold out there this morning.lo winchester,that martinsburg, dulles 27 degrees.eg. that 31 is the coldest colst temperature so far this seasonsr here at reagan national,ationa freezing temps now annapolis,ols 32. leonardtown 30.ardtn 30

there have been clashes near damascus. it is one of the rebels last districts near the government health capital. according to the syrian observatory for human rights, government forces had carried out at least 16 airstrikes against opposition fighters on friday. russia and turkey are looking ahead to new peace talks and they said the u.s. and the u.n. are welcome to participate in the future. the next meeting is about a month away. as skirmishes continue in places, there are fears that syria could slip back into war once again. >> our correspondents in istanbul been giving us more on this. turkey is working so closely with russia in the syrian conflict. i asked him why they appear to be getting washington on board as well. >> i i think t that while moscoe not widely seen as the two most importrtant place inin the syria civil war, they do a knowledge that eveven with their influenc, they will neneed all the support they can get. in one particular area, the syrian opposition. it is extremely fragmented. it is s in many grgr

will damascus repeat as maryland three a champion's? sports is coming up. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? all the care your family needs. all connected for you. ?? ?? ?? ?? >> and now the toyota sports desk, brought to you by her local toyota dealers. erin: wizards put themselves in good position to win if they keep teams under 100 points. the defense responded tonight against the nuggets. the wizards off to a bad start, but then they go on a 20-3 run. bradley beal had a game-high 26. the nuggets would not go away, though. the big boy slim. nuggets up three. to annapolis, the maryland 3a championship game, the mask us and franklin. these swarming hornets. the big tight end takes care of it. damascus holds on to repeat as the state champs in a thriller, 14-12. high school hoops, roosevelt. dematha used their size. harvey's pastor carlton, slams it home. second half, harvey gets loose again. the stags hold off eleanor roosevelt. and thursday night football, the chiefs lead the raiders right now, 21-13. he gets a lot of compliments. he wears his army hat, walks around with his army shirt loo

i was in damascus in september 2013 as president assad and his people prepared to be bombed. regime officials i met feared the worst. one asked me nervously what it would be like to be bombed by the americans. western inaction left a vacuum, an opportunity for russia that it took. it's intervention in aleppo was decisive. even last year, rebels in aleppo were well supplied and were trying to encircle the regime-held side of the city. that has all changed. the rebel side collapsed, weekend by -- weakened by infighting but left jihadist groups dominant. , the rebels had weapons. pro-regime tv channels show what they said were captured stockpiles. the latest shows a shouldn't by bulgaria, unknown route to supplies for the saudis. the suffering of the people of aleppo is even more intense. rebels and the city have been defeated, and so have the countries backing them, including the u.s. and saudi arabia, and turkey. syria's war continues. jeremy bowen, bbc news. katty: the losers in the battle for aleppo are the men, women, and children. the winners are russia and iran. has annou

brent: in damascus with the u.n. h.c.r. cyria, -- syria, talking about what looks like a cease-fire in eastern aleppo. thank you for talking with us. iraqi special forces are fighting again with militants in the so-called islamic state in eastern mosul. the battle come 60's after the government said it had taken full control of the area. mosul is the last major bastion of i.s. control in iraq. most of the fighting has been in the east of the city. government forces have in making slow progress amongst fierce resistance and concerns among the safety of civilians living there. a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquake has struck your the solomon islands. authorities have issued a soon not meet warning limited to the islands -- a tsunami warning. the u.s. geological survey says the earthquake hit about 200 kilometers southeast of the capital of the solomon islands. the epicenter was relatively deep at 48 kilometers below the surface. deeper earthquakes usually cause less surface damage. now news and africa, in ghana, only about half

it includes an area near damascus which had been a sticking point in negotiations. turkey and russia, which have backed opposing sides, are to act as guarantors. the cease-fire announcement was made in moscow, from where our correspondent steve rosenberg reports. steve: for nearly six years, syria has been torn apart by civil war, a country reduced to ruins, a conflict that has left more than 400,000 people dead. there have been peace initiatives before, which brought no peace. but today russia announced a breakthrough. in the kremlin, russia's defense minister handed vladimir putin a list of syrian opposition groups which have signed up to a cease-fire with president assad. 60,000 rebels, he said, would stop fighting. this is how president putin summarized the deal. 3 documentsnputin: have been signed. the first document, between the syrian government and armed opposition, is about a cease-fire on the syrian arabic republic. the second document sets out the measures for monitoring the cease-fire. and the third is on peace talks ending the conflict. steve: the syria

i think russia and iran have greater influence over the government of damascus than any other foreign party, but i think for this to be successfully resolveded, it is also going to need the participation andnd consent of particulularly oththr regional parties, who can do enormous amount of d damage if they are not b brought intoto te negotiations. i ththink it is veryry important that turkeyy is participatiting because of turkey is on board,, that a ao significantntly reducs ththe capacity of other partieso act independently. but i do think it is important a recognize this is not just syrian conflict. this is also a conflict in syria involving all kinds of proxy conflicts between any number of parties. many,y, ifultimately, not mostst of them, who need toe part of any pololitical resolutn for that resolution to succeed and be sustainable. amy: it is interesting russia and iran are working together around syria, considering donald trump, well, has never addressed this by considering russia a u.s.'sand iran one of top enemies. that should presesent an interesting relationship when presi

they are generally drifting towards the east and southeast so those in germantown, up towards damascus, there's snow showers arriving shortly. and flurries in leesburg as well. this afternoon, we get a break with some sunshine coming in. and then it the turns colder towards your friday. we will check that out in a bit. >>> we have an accident, actually in a bad spot if you're trying to catch a flight from dulles airport. the westbound lanes on the dulles toll road right by fairfax county parkway, we have an accident within the last 10 minutes. no delays yet but keep that in mind if you are trying to catch a plane. and there's construction by dulles airport as 28, southbound lanes right by dulles toll road. three lanes are closed. >>> charges in the deadly tennessee wildfires. how did two teenagers start a wildfire that killed 14 people? that's the question investigators are requesting this morning. two teens are under arrest -- are requesting this morning. two teens are under. bars until a hearing in juvenile court. >>> and victims of that oakland warehouse fire had no way to escape ac

a video purports to show the aftermath of an air strike today in the suburbs of damascus.g and screaming through the smoke and the chaos. this is a country desperate for peace. and returned there is a senior fellow at the washington institute where he focuses on syria. he explain some of the confusion about who is and included in the agreement. at the moment the seven groups who were announced by moscow, one of them is a seller first group and one of the largest backed by turkey and the gulf states, there is a disagreement over whether it is included or not. until this time they have not signed it, they claim. this is normal, however in the syrian negotiation process as different parties pressure groups on the ground on the government to get to the table. they want to wait and see who will show up and went. what happens with the president of syria? can he be involved in the negotiations? his government certainly will be. this agreement is something closer than the process that the west has been sponsoring, something closer to the iranian li—point plan that starts with the

we have heard some statements coming out from damascus that there are meetings taking place.p a plant from moving forward with the political solution forward with the political solution for syria. they basically said there will be meetings taking place in kaza khsta n will be meetings taking place in kazakhstan later next month, before official negotiations will take place in geneva. that if all succeeds, and the syrian government is willing to sit down with the real opposition backed by the west that is based in istanbul, they themselves say they have not been contacted jet. they have not been reached out to buy the russians nor the government. we are waiting to see what kind of development will come. the opposition in syria, as we referred to it, is of course a diverse group. we are not talking about one homogenous opposition. in terms of looking at 2017 and whether they may be talks and any mass —— any prospect of success, that is one of the issues? definitely. if we're talking about the opposition based outside syria calling for a change in syria, calling for it the remov

this comes as moscow accuses rebels of firing two shells at its embassy in damascus.n following developments. we have heard from some residents that at least two rockets fell, one outside the embassy and one inside the embassy. so far, we do not know who is to blame for this attack fish to be the russians have said that this is going to will affect any peace efforts. that is happening just at a time when russia and turkey preferring for a ceasefire. the announcement came from the turkish side today, but has not been confirmed so far, neither by the russians nor by the government. but must not happening behind—the—scenes, by the russians, into ordination with turkey and iran, to set a sort of a road map to end the conflict in syria. they're talking about talks and meetings in kaza khsta n talking about talks and meetings in kazakhstan at the end of next month. they're inviting both government and the opposition. so far it is not clear which part of the opposition will take part in these talks, when and if they happen. but even this week there are meetings taking place

we're going live to damascus after this. oh, that's lovely... so graceful.kscrew spin, flawless... ...his signature move, the flying dutchman. poetry in motion. and there it is, the "baby bird". breathtaking. a sumo wrestler figure skating? surprising. what's not surprising? how much money heather saved by switching to geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. a generosity is its own form of power. you can handle being a mom for half an hour. i'm in all the way. is that understood? i don't know what she's up to, but it's not good. can't the world be my noodles and butter? get your mind out of the gutter. mornings are for coffee and contemplation. that was a really profound observation. you got a mean case of the detox blues. don't start a war you know you're going to lose. finally you can now find all of netflix in the same place as all your other entertainment. on xfinity x1. a. >>> after five years of brutal, horrendous warfare in syria, the u.s. secretary of state john kerry maintains diplomacy in his words is still alive. he made the

pastor edward awabdeh is the head of a church in damascus.n bbc breakfast this morning. merry christmas to you. tell us what's happening where you are. thank you very much, merry christmas to you and all of your audience. we are really celebrating christmas this year, despite off the pain that goes on, but we thank god that we are enjoying this great event. we trust injesus enjoying this great event. we trust in jesus christ to change enjoying this great event. we trust injesus christ to change things and change hearts and bring the light back to country. i'm going to have to apologise to you, the connection we have to you is not very good and we have to you is not very good and we are struggling to establish what you are saying very clearly. i assure you can hear me. i wish you glad tidings and safety today, for you and all of your congregation and wish you well in the church where you are in damascus. thank you. christmas is a time for family, but if you don't have one it can be difficult. the poet was fostered as a baby and then he spent f

fall under a possible ceasefire because rebel groups are adamant that they want the outskirts of damascusl struck between russia and syria, details of this ceasefire deal is still hazy. we're not very clear about what that deal involves and when it will come into force, if it will. yesterday the foreign minister of turkey had said that by this midnight it would ta ke force said that by this midnight it would take force but now it says within a few days until the new year the ceasefire will take place. he has said that all foreign fighters need to leave syria including hezbollah, which won't particularly sit well with iran, one of the backers of the syrian regime. if this ceasefire deal is struck then in the new year we will probably cpu stocks held in the kaz exit capital astana, which are still being planned between russian, turkish and iranian officials and syrian rebels. thanks very much. more now on our top story and actress debbie reynolds has died just a day after the death of her daughter carrie fisher. we will get onto what great stars they both work, but it is quite shocking, isn

you you know, some times you have a road to damascus moment. i had my road to damascus moment.o e other. it is only going to get worse. >> which puts glenn beck on roughly the same page as pope francis. his holiness compared media's on sex with scandal and ugly things to the sickness of. if you are finishing breakfast, look it up later. it is nasty. it can be profitable. margaret sullivan is media correspondent for "the washington post." >> there is now an industry out there, of people who are producing things that are untrue. and that are highly shareable. which is the magic word. it's engagement, all about engagement. if you can get things shared, you may actually be able to make money from it. >> how does it work? sort of a fraction of a penny for every hit that you get? >> yes, yes. buzzfeed reported this. great story. that there was a group of teenagers in macedonia who were doing nothing but coming up set up their own sites. they registered to attract advertising through facebook. nay put these stories out there. i mean, made up to be wrong. but sounded believable enough.

the area is in damascus, under bombardment for the last ten days, but we can say that air strikes intensified the ceasefire was announced. the announcement of stopping the bombardment commons, came, at the time when security council had adopted a resolution and the agreement was brokered by a and turkey. now we can bring you live pictures from the russian capital moscow, the latest city to welcome in 2017. let's take a moment to llok at these pictures and how russians are celebrating. but for european and north american cities are still waiting to mark the start of the new year. security has been increased. concrete barriers are blocking off central squares in paris, madrid and new york to prevent attacks like the recent ones in berlin and nice. in cities including london thousands of extra police are being deployed ahead of new year celebrations. helena lee reports. sydney, australia, one of the first cities to welcome in 2017. the harbour bridge the focus of their spectacular display. soon after, it was hong kong's turn and this was their party. in london, they're preparing for tonight's ce

it is a play on two things, the champs elysee in paris and cham, the word syrians refer to damascus byl hundred shops lining this street and you can find everything from bridal dresses to vegetable shops, barbershops and even quite a few mobile phone shops. technology here is being used in inventive ways to ease daily life here. the camp is a community of makers and one of the most innovative people we met is safwan harb. three years ago safwan fled the violence in syria with two family members. they all have disabilities and struggled to get around on the unpaved roads. he wanted to have more independence and designed an electric bike around spare parts he found. giving refugees access to technology and education is the focus of a group called refugee 0pen ware. one of its start—ups is focused on fabrication technology, including 3—d printing. assam was an ambulance driver in syria and lost his leg in a bomb explosion. as well as customising his own prosthetics, he helped a young yemeni boy, named zain, who lost part of his hand in a fire. they were able to include elements of zain‘s

erin: damascus. i like the underdog but you have to be realistic, too. alison: thanks. larry: appreciate it. vicious attack on camera and the victim is talking to abc7 about what happened. alison: hear what he has to say about it coming up at 6:00. larry: first, the man is on for a person who assaulted a woman at a popular park in georgetown. larry: breaking news out of georgia. the second police officer shot after responding to a domestic dispute has died. the man who shot them has been found in his home in georgia. first officer shot died of his injuries. that is breaking news now. an area popular with walker, runnerssh bicyclists and folks q mccray reports police are looking for a man who assaulted a woman in georgetown's water front park. q: word of sexual assaults happening around georgetown have people on high alert. >> i'm just going to hang out here in the broad daylight. >> it's kind of scary to think that you could be walking, going for a walk and be sexual assaulted. q: in the past we told you about the six cases reported to metropolitan police. in less than

damascus at 33 near the elementary school there. coming in at 34 and 35 in takoma park.his, by lunchtime we are running a 40 degrees thehtly higher for afternoon. your hour-by-hour forecast for the day, really back to average for late december temperatures here for this afternoon, but we are going to be going up with increasing temperatures for the weekend, especially on sunday. mid 40 possible fredericksburg agn, with sunshine throughout the area, clearing tonight with the wind starting to diminish a bit. and then the clear far as the headlines go, take a look, we have got some rain to start off. with the rain it is looking like it is going to be somewhat roads for going back to work in school but low impact throughout the weekend, showers coming in late on sunday after 7:00 or so. i really think that right now the game is looking drive. that sounds good. you want an easy commute this morning? i have been giving it to you all week. it has been light. maybe it hasn't had to do with a holiday week? very clear ride from dale city to the mixing bowl. gw parkway, the beltway

in nidor place, this camera on a rolling stretch of damascus road. east of rural communities d it tickets 395 drivers a week. number four, the northbound georgia avenue approaching the heart of olney. the fines it generated in 23015 could cover the police chief salary for three years. in at number five, a camera on northbound colesville road, a stone's throw from downtown silver spring. county speed cameras raked in 18 million last fiscal year alone. >> don't speed but we encourage you to join us tomorrow. abc7 and newschannel8 are working together to help the children in need. we have paired up with the marine corps to help out. drop off a new unwrapped toy for a child that would otherwise this season go without. if you can't make it out, no problem. amazon is working with us as well. you can have it sent to us. go to wjla.com/toys to find maureen: we want it to be perfect tomorrow. steve: for early december it's great. if you don't have a gift with you at the national harbor there are a ton of stores around there. this is the hourly forecast. tonig

cnn's fred pleitgen has more now from damascus. >> reporter: another day, more violence in aleppo.he youngest suffering the most. this video from the syrian civil defense showing rescuers saving a child after a suspected air strike. the fighting claiming at least 45 lives on wednesday alone according to monitoring groups. over 30,000 people, mostly children, have been displaced since government forces launched a large-scale offensive making sweeping gains in the east of aleppo, the u.n. says. in rome, efforts continue to try and broker some sort of truce and delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged areas. u.s. secretary of state john kerry meeting russia's foreign minister, sergei lavrov. >> hopefully if humanitarian situation could be dealt with in aleppo more effectively and if indeed we could create a framework for the passage of people out of aleppo so that aleppo itself might be able to be relieved from this agony, that could open up the space to perhaps be able to start some kind of conversation in geneva. >> reporter: even as its air force pounds rebel positions, russia

this amateur video purports to show the aftermath of an air strike today in the suburbs of damascus.ldren running, screaming, through the smoke and the chaos. when it begins, can the ceasefire end this war? you can understand why many syrians have low expectations. 0ur correspndent steve rosenberg is in moscow and laura bicker is in washington. steve, a point you made at the end of your report which is really to do with how hopeful people in russia are that this deal could stick, what are that this deal could stick, what are your thoughts on that? this is potentially a diplomatic coup for russia and for vladimir putin. just look at how things have turned around for the russian president. 0ver around for the russian president. over the last year he has been criticised constantly by the west over russia's military campaign in syria. moscow has been accused of indiscriminate bombing, even war crimes or complicity in war crimes. but today's sitting at his desk in the kremlin president putin could project himself as the deal—maker, the peacemaker in the middle east with american nowhere t

city hall because damascus city hall is burned down, if you don't have proper documentation, i don't think that means we compassionately have to let you in. i think that means you don't get in because you don't have the proper identification. you don't have the proper information. i don't think that that is, you know, a moral hazard. i think that it is the right thing to do. it is certainly is a product of war. a terrible thing. and that's why we go back to the original problem when the syria crisis was unfolding. that's when you have to try to solve these issues. we're now six years past where many refugees who have been living in tents are frustrated and you can't blame them for wanting a better life. but i think that the international community has to do a better job in the very beginning to solve these problems so that once you can solve the problems they go back to their original country. that's where they have family. that's where they know the language. that's where they want to go. >> so dr. gorka, i'm looking at numbers and we took in more somalia refugees than syrian refuge

for the latest on this fight, let's go to fred pleitgen in damascus. just a day ago, isis was reportedly making gains, now we're hearing from russian state media that they're pushing back. >> reporter: yeah, you know, george, it is the nature of the fighting out there in the desert region. it's very flat. what you see there is forces like isis and the syrian army making quick gains but being pushed back very quickly as well. it seems like what happened is there was a lot of fog and bad weather over that territory in palmyra which somewhat sidelined the russian and syrian air force toss conduct air strikes to hold isis up. isis used it for an almost blitz-like attack. right now, they're binding most of their troops in that battle for aleppo. isis made quick advances and apparently made it into the city limits of palmyra and very close to the ancient city there. apparently, it's cleared up. the russian air force resumed air strikes. they've conducted some 64 air strikes overnight pushing isis back. at this point in time, it's first of all, unclear how fa

and damascus in the south and the area to the north. keepll see if they agreeing on everything or if we start with some differences and approaches that will not always coincide. probably the russians full negotiate with the cease-fire. and the political process, why the iranians push for more operations. fade, the negotiations probably russia will continue its military act and will continue bombing areas like aleppo. there they can keep killings thousands of civilians without an international position. we will also have to see what happens in the united nations and some european capitals. experience ofe the few months we just witnessed, then russia may not have a resistance in europe to >> thank yous area very much for joining us here on the program. next we are going to cross to israel. president-elect him up trumps u.s. nominee to ambassador to israel. it is david freeman. he proposes a two state solution with palestinians be at we can -- who joins us from jerusalem. tell us more about who is a that freedom. -- david friedman. guest:

hours and we already have an air strike hitting this school in rebel-held areas outside of damasc damascusombing killed 40 people, many of them children. now, we can't -- as i mentioned, we can't confirm the veracity of this. it does speak to a wider humanitarian disaster. millions have been displaced across the country. northern syria is covered now by a layer of lethal frost. the need for this peace really is desperate as temperatures continue to plummet. as can you see in some of those pictures, people are fleeing bombing but they're also in the midst of snow and ice. it's a very dangerous situation. >> i know you spoke with an anti-government activist who just escaped aleppo. what did that person offer in terms of perspective of what it is really like in that bombed out city? >> well, that's right. you know, he's outside of the bombed out city now. he's in safety with his family and newborn daughter. for him and many activists, those who have been fighting the government from the beginning, they see the end of the aleppo battle, which ended with a cease-fire deal of its own involving r

and, you know, assad will control the four major cities of syria, aleppo, damascus and hahns. he says he wants it back in the days ahead. we can expect many more hours of fighting and an increasing death toll, sadly. chris, back to you. >> thank you, bill nealy in beirut. senator corker, if you had to give advice on an intimate basis with the current president, barack obama, or the incoming president, donald trump, what would you tell them to do to try to stop this horror? >> well, look, we've been giving advice for four or five years, chris, and, you know, this was said on the front end to be the chernobyl of conflicts, and it's turned out to be that. this is a blight on us, it's a blight on the west, it's a blight on humankind. at this point, i mean, the story as it relates to western syria is mostly written. and what's going to happen there is going to be determined by russia, who stepped in to a vacuum that we left about nine months to a year ago, and iran. and certainly assad. so this is a disaster. we've known that he was torturing his own people. you've seen the holocau

we are moving to syria now where regime forces have regained aleppo, calling it a victory for damascus. it's the first time aleppo has been in their hands in four years. it had been split between a stronghold in the west and the rebel held east. this comes after a monthlong offensive that saw tens of thousand people living in a state of siege. between 30000 and 40,000 civilians have been evacuated in recent days. forces are now in control of the country's urban centers. let's hear from an army spokesman. sacrifices andr those of our courageous armed the general leadership of the army and the armed forces announces the return of safety and security to aleppo after liberated from terrorism and terrorist. olivia: the city has become a symbol of bloodshed. this once busy city has been reduced to rubble. we have ththis report. v vlentcecene of one most battles of modernn times, aleppo has been completely disfigured by years of war. anyone walking on the street took their lives in their hands. the ruined buildings on either side were filled with snipers. there is no more fighting in the stre

. >> this has led observers to speculate on a cooling of relations between moscow and damascus.pite the deserted streets, thousands remained trapped inside aleppo. food and water is scarce. any hope of an eminent end to the fighting, dashed. brent: we are joined on the line tonight by elizabeth, the world health organization's representative in syria. she joins us from aleppo. good evening to you, elizabeth. thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us. can you tell us exactly what is the situation where you are. what are you seeing? elizabeth: [indiscernible] shooting from the roof. here is her i am. i can see smoke from several areas of aleppo. many injured. they don't have a place for the injured. there are 45 neighborhoods -- four or five neighborhoods. [indiscernible] elizabeth: they are trying to reach an agreement. unfortunately, we have not come to an agreement yet. there are high number coming out of the liberators area. it is raining and cold. brent: elizabeth, i have to ask you, have you been able to see anything to confirm what we have been hearing in term

who do we want in damascus, the capital of syria? , the presidentd of syria, or do we want the islamic state in damascus? this was the key difference with the u.s. the obama and have pursued a policy of overthrowing assad. killing with terrorists in syria, some of whom we have ,unded as mr. roth well knows because e they claimed t to be anti-assadad, meant in fact as e ,ursued the war against assad russia decided it'd had enough because itit believedd syriaia s vital to o s nationalal securit. it intervened inin the war hasas been turned around. thunited s states has been on the wrwrong side of history from the beginnnning of this.s. the united states has made its contribution since vietnam, at least, to the destruction of hospitals and civilian civilities, most recently in afghanistan. was it deliberate? i don't know. it was probably an accident. mr. roth's view, everything is certain and everything is deliberate. i am more problematic. look at what is happening in syria today. it is interesting. the russians and the syrian some mon