what he's got planned out plus aid convoys blocked again as the assault intensifies on eastern ghouta syrian government forces seize half of the rebel held territory around four hundred thousand people remain trapped in and around a line of fire.

people are fleeing the syrian on cave of eastern ghouta -- syrian enclave of east intern ghouta, and ere is no let up in the bombardment by russian and syrian forces that began weeks ago. >> they are carrying their children. they are old, they are frail, and their remaining worldly his actions. that they have left much behind. houses, farms, and in some cases loved ones, still trapped in the rubble. evidence of the five-year siege is in plain sight. according to observers, over 10,000 eastern ghouta residence fled the rebel-held enclave today. >> we tried to leave eastern ghouta because we weren't allowed because was controlled by terrorists. the rebels did not allow us to come to you. we have been negotiating with them for three days. we wanted to leave three months ago but they didn't allow us. they start this. -- they starved us. the exodus from eastern ghouta comes as the syrian war enters its seventh year. fighting here has intensified over the last month as the russian military and syrian regime troops pounded the town. according to russia's foreign minister, there is no indicat

stronghold now the capital damascus they advance comes after a much delayed a delivery to eastern ghouta syrian state t.v. also showing a group of rebel fighters and their families leaving the old clay so many others however are staying put saying they don't trust the government's promise of safe passage. syrian state t.v. showed these images of a small group of al nusra front fighters and their families boarding a bus in eastern guta. it said to be taken to areas controlled by the government and its promising them safe passage to rebel held live province even though the government views them as terrorists. despite the profound devastation in ghouta most opposition groups are rejecting the government's offer to evacuate. earlier and emergency aid convoy deliver desperately needed supplies to residents this should be enough to feed twelve thousand people for one month but almost four hundred thousand people have been living under government siege in eastern guta for five years the delivery was interrupted by renewed fighting. in the past month russian backed regime forces have intensified airstr

what he's got planned out plus aid convoys blocked again as the assault intensifies on eastern ghouta syrian government forces seize half of the rebel held territory around four hundred thousand people remain trapped in and around a line of fire. i'm sara kelly a very warm welcome to you we begin here in germany where one of the country's most popular politicians foreign ministers gabriele has announced he will not be included in chancellor. angela merkel's new coalition government that's after rumors of a bitter rout with the leader of his own social democratic party gabrielle's replacement is the foreign ministry at the foreign ministry is likely to be heikal muss the outgoing justice minister now this news made for a slightly uncomfortable appearance by gabrielle today at a scheduled press conference with his counterpart from bosnia and herzegovina. it was a routine appointment for a german foreign minister but. things are anything but routine right now managing the meeting with his bosnian counterparts a course or not out on thursday was his last official international engagement. was fo

ghouta. the fact this convoy is moving at all is a sign of resident assad's confidence. syrianad into eastern ghouta, that way will stop of course, with their russian allies. and if they win, and at the moment, that is the way it appears to be, resident assad will have scored a very significant it it, because for the first time since the war started, it will have secured his capital. the enclave has been controlled by islamist militias since 2012. some militias are negotiating and various talk a deal, but not yet. the un has called for a ceasefire but it has been ignored. syria's resident says the west is lying about the humanitarian crisis. the un secretary general calls eastern ghouta hell on earth. casualties go to a network of underground clinics. a doctor working in one of them didn't think the convoy would change anything. small convoy help us, can benefit us, including some food. it doesn't do enough. maybe for a few days. it isa do enough. maybe for a few days. it is a densely populated area where there is no escape from the grown—ups war. let's take a look at some of t

ghouta's undergroundn clinics haveworking at full stretch for weeks. more casualties were coming in, and for one doctor, it was almost nonstop. this was filmed for the bbc. the syrian government won't allow us into eastern ghouta. the doctor doesn't flinch anymore when shells come in. 't think the convoy would change anything. [indiscernible] jeremy: people live close together in eastern ghouta. there is nowhere to hide, and plenty of places to the grown-ups' war is bending and breaking another generation. jeremy bowen, bbc news, damascus. laura: the agony within syria. two antiestablishment political leaders sathey should govern italy after an inconclusive general election result yesterday. the eurosceptic five-star through the.movement forming a government is likely to take weeks of negotiations and coalition building. here is our europe editor adtya r. luigi di maio's populist party has turned italian politics on its he. now he cannot up on stag without getting crushed. the press are hung for him. before the election, l di maio and the five-star movement were dismissed by the italian establishment as naÏve populists. now he is the man and they are the party of t

in rebel-held eastern ghouta, syrian air strikes and shelling have pushed kids underground to study or try to survive. entire schools have been destroyed, along with hospitals in an estimated three-quarters of homes. activists claim nearly 150 children have been killed there in liz than two weeks. back on the government side, rose kahlah doesn't know much about the geopolitics behind all of this, only that it can be pretty frightening. what do you do when you get scared? >> i get in my room and i... shut the door because i think that bombs are going to-- to hit on us. >> reporter: she has grand dreams of going to boston to become a doctor, but for now, she'd settle with being able to study in peace. seth doane, cbs news, damascus. >> glor: evanch list billy graham was laid to rest today. among the 2,000 mourners in charlotte, north carolina were the president and first lady and vice president and mrs. pence. his grandson spoke of his parents' love for each other. >> the last few yiers of my mother's life, my mother was sick in in bed and she would lie in her bed on her side and my fath

side of the country, just outside damascus another big military operation, this time in eastern ghouta. syrianforces helped by russia are trying to retake the area from the opposition. calls for a ceasefire have been ignored. it is thought that 80 people were killed by russian airstrikes on friday. 14 of them were children. thousands of civilians have now made the journey out of town but seven years into this conflict and with no end in sight, the future for people here looks bleak. there's been a swift and angry response from the kremlin after the british foreign secretary said it was "overwhelmingly likely" that vladimir putin personally took the decision to use a nerve agent on a former russian spy in the uk. moscow said borisjohnson‘s comments were "shocking" and "unforgivable". 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale's report contains some flashing images. boris johnson brought the polish foreign minister to a battle of britain museum today, a memorial to a warfought in the air. every single plane that britain had, was up in the sky. and the foreign secretary used the opportunity to pu

citizen this is al jazeera live from london also coming up more and strikes which rebel held eastern ghouta syrian forces have now seized a quarter of the enclave and still no way is getting a. month of political uncertainty and in germany the social democrats vote to renew the coalition giving angela merkel a fourth term as chancellor. and instagram we meet the seventy five year old social media star from south korea. it's all hands are voting in national elections which could reshape the country's political scene no single party is expected to win the forty percent needed to form a majority government the anti establishment five star movement is expected to lead the votes but has already vowed not to go into coalition with any of its rivals well we'll be live in rome in just a moment but first a look at how voting is going so far with lawrence lee. as the time arrives for voters to make their minds up there was every sign there were as many people who simply couldn't decide as those with any sort of conviction the policy making much of the running is the and see politician party it's thirty one

back in eastern ghouta syrian t.v. says government forces now control fifty one percent of the area they're still considering you know money to the corridors for people and fighters who are ready to leave but they still continue to push for fuel control alan fischer al jazeera on the talk to the syrian border. turkey's president has criticized the nato alliance for not supporting his military operation in syria's african region taking the operation to clear the area of kurdish y p t fighters in january and preferences the terrorist group but its nato ally the us as backs the fighters to combat eisel. i'm calling on them now he nato where are you we are putting up a fight isn't turkey a nato country where are you invited nato member states to afghanistan immediately so how about in syria if the nato countries who are in syria really have the power they would openly clearly stand against us but they don't dare because they can see that turkey is standing tall but what we wanted was this you called us to afghanistan we ca

ghouta. the fact this convoy is moving at all is a sign of president assad's confidence. syrianghouta that way, of course, with their russian allies. and if they win, and at the moment that's the way it appears to be, president assad will have scored a significant victory, because, for the first time since the war started, he will have secured his capital. the enclave has been controlled by islamist militias since 2012. some militias are negotiating, and there's talk of a deal, but not yet. the syrian army says it is fighting terrorists in eastern gouta, who fired hundreds of mortars into damascus this year, killing many civilians. even so, damascus, a few miles away, has suffered much less destruction and death than eastern ghouta. but, as i found in a small basement flat, statistics don't matter when an attack has changed your family's life for ever. everyone in this family was wounded by a mortar ten days ago. they were out together, picking up the children from school when the mortar hit. this man lost three toes. his wife has a serious leg mood and —— leg wound. i asked the

russian forces continues at least thirteen people were killed in the latest attacks on eastern ghouta syrian forces are making advances nearly a month after stepping up their assault they've been cutting off sections of rebel held territory today thursday marks seven years since the syrian civil war began with peaceful protests against president bashar al assad whose family had ruled for more than forty years at the start of the uprising a group of children. graffiti on a wall in the southern city of daraa some sas name was one of the boys involved and this is his story. my name is some and i'm twenty one years old i was fourteen when the revolutions in the arab world started we used to follow the news on t.v. one day some friends and i wrote on a wall it's your turn doctor or security agencies threaten my father with the arrest of all members of our family if i wasn't handed over to the police within twenty four hours they also told him if he did hand me nothing would happen except to sign a pledge not to write words like that again instead myself and twenty of my friends spent three months

at least thirteen people have died in the latest attacks on eastern ghouta syrian forces are making major advances nearly a month after stepping up their assault on the besieged enclave in recent days they've sought to cut off sections of rebel held territory and civilians are caught up in fighting on another front in it libyan northwest syria rescuers work to free a woman from a collapsed building for twelve hours at least nine people were killed in the attack two others were rescued. further north turkish troops and free syrian army fighters surround the city of a free in the coming hours turkey's been fighting for two months to drive out kurdish forces from the border region it sees them as terrorists thousands of civilians are under siege in the kurdish held territory helen fisher reports i slowly they're closing in on our friend these free syrian army fighters are no taking up positions on the edge of the city the next move could come at any moment . where the special forces that belong to homs a brigade are preparing for an operation which you'll hear about in a few hours it's a big

it enters its eighth year government forces are now trying to push the opposition out eastern ghouta syrian red crescent aid convoys to to arrive in the rebel help part of eastern group in the coming hours the u.n. says fighting has subsided into my after a deal with the main rebel group there that allowed around one hundred fifty people who did medical treatment to go to the capital damascus at least three hundred civilians have left eastern go to in the past few days. south africa has dismissed an australian minister's comments that white farmers should get special visas as they face quote horrific circumstances home affairs minister peter dutton cited reports of land seizures and violence south africa's government says no one is in danger and the us house of representatives has overwhelmingly approved legislation aimed at preventing gun attacks in schools the bill which now goes to the senate provides at least fifty million dollars a year to fund training and coordination between schools and police but it does not affect gun ownership laws. those are the headlines i'm richelle carey keep

the syrian president has insisted that the current offensive in eastern ghouta must continue as thousandscivilians flee. he said also that western accusations over chemical weapons are an excuse to attack the syrian army. a monitor based in the uk says government forces have now taken a quarter of the ghouta enclave. our middle east editor reports from damascus. these people said their village was moving because the syrian army had arrived. one man cursed the russians and iranians, key allies of the regime. air strikes, he said, including banned cluster bombs had not stopped. translation: it has been four days, no fuel, no bread, no food, no water. where is the world? where are human rights? we are humans, not animals. 400,000 people live in eastern ghouta, an area of fields and small towns about the size of manchester. most of them are civilians who have not been able to escape the war. translation: when the planes shelled, i could not see anything in front of me. i did not wait for the ambulance, i started running. the air strikes have been followed by ground troops who are making rapid

ghouta. the fact t moving at all is a sign of president assad's confidence. syrian armed forces are going ahead into eastern ghouta that way, of course with the russian allies, and if they win -- at the moment, that is the way it appears to be -- president assad will have scored a very significant victory, because for the first time sce the war started, he will have secured his capital. the enclave has been controlled by islamist militias since 2012. some militias are negotiated, -- negotiating, and there ista of a deal, but not yet. the syrian army says it is fighting terroghsts in eastern ta, who fired hundreds of mortars into damascus this year, killing many civilians. even so, damascus a few miles away has suffered much less destruction and death eastern ghouta. but i found in a small basement flat, statistics don't matter when an attack has changed your family's life forever. everyone in this family was wounded by a mortar 10 days ago. they were out together picking up the children from school when the mortar hit. he lost three toes. a his wife haserious leg wo

civilians flee eastern ghouta, as syrian government forces advance on the rebel—held area.st under an hour in the italian general election. parties on all sides are hoping for at least a share of power. as hollywood prepares for the oscars, will the ceremony focus on the films or the new mood of protest? these are live pictures. harvey weinstein has changed the scope of award season on what people ask on red carpets and what they wear full he has changed how the whole industry is behaving. hello and welcome to world news today.

war crimes are being committed on syrian civilians in eastern ghouta, says the un.t calls for those responsible to be prosecuted. snow blizzards bring chaos across europe. at least 60 people have died in sub—zero temperatures. and britain's prime minister sets out her hopes for brexit. eu officials say her speech lacked details. hello and welcome to the programme. the international monetary fund has joined international condemnation of president trump's plan to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium. it says such a move will not only hurt other countries, but also those of the united states. stock markets have fallen since the announcement. our washington correspondent chris buckler reports. steel is essential to america's economy, but inside the us for many yea rs economy, but inside the us for many years it has been an industry in decline. donald trump blames cheap imports. however, his solution of new tariffs has sparked fears of a trade war. and led to increasingly heated language from many of america's trading partners, including china, canada, and me

the syrian army has liberated several parts of eastern ghouta. also thanks to syrian russian efforts a number of civilians have managed to flee after being trapped inside the battle zone i. that's after the russian reconciliation center for syria offered to militants and their families an opportunity to leave with safety guarantees in exchange for allowing to free passage of civilians principal conditions of that deal was the separation of this rebel group called legion from honor sure a terrorist would harm this group has long been affiliated however these negotiations reportedly resulted in fighting between the former new shura and our allies which has led to an open confrontation an exchange of fire on the streets of eastern ghouta pursing civilians to flee the crossfire nevertheless all in all there's been a decline in fighting as a syrian government and russian reconsiderations center continue negotiating with militants for their safe passage out of the battle zone. the rebel held area of eastern good has been besieged by government forces si

in syria as thousands of people stream out of the problem hall damascus suburbs of eastern ghouta this as syrian government forces intensify artillery bombardment of the area with the support of russian airstrikes also coming up. early voting gets underway in russia's presidential election with a win for president putin looking likely can he get the voters to turn out in the numbers that he wants. a magic white house and welcome to the program thousands of people are fleeing the rubble held the mask a suburb of eastern ghouta for the third day in a row backed by russian airstrikes syrian government forces have intensified artillery bombardment of the area russia's military says some three thousand people are leaving hourly the humanitarian corridor monitored by russian troops more than thirteen hundred civilians have been killed and thousands more wounded and weeks of relentless fighting. the tide of human misery leaving the rebel held eastern suburbs of the capital damascus reached flood proportions on saturday as russian bombers gave air support to syrian government forces on the ground russia

forces are pressing an all-out assasat on the besieged rebelel-held damass suburb of eastern ghouta. syrian ground forces advanced over the weekend, effectively cutting the terrrritory into the parts. human rights groups say the assault has killed more than 1100 people in the last month. the u.n. estimates some 400,000 civilians remain trapped in eastern ghouta and are in desperate need of food, water, and medicine. the syrian civil defense rescue group, known as the white helmets, accused syria's government of using chlorine gas and incendiary white phosphorus munitions. syria's government denies using chemical weapons. meanwhile, turkish troops have massed on the outskirts of the kurdish-held northern city of afrin and appear poised for an invasion. over the weekend, thousands of afrin's residents fled the city and stepped up airstrikes by turkish warplanes. the british government has approved the sale of 48 8 advand fighter jets to saudi arabia, despite protests by human rights groups who say the warplanes will add to war crimes committed by the saudi-led coalition in yemen. the u.s.- an

workers station that one government checkpoint close to eastern ghouta told us about the plight of the civilians there now. i'm here with the syrian army and i'm ready to help leaving eastern ghouta we have ambulances here with the words of the list here around the clock to provide first aid to people from eastern guta a medical labs also work twenty four hours have provided the girls equipped with all modern facilities medical workers also ready. there were some people who wanted to leave eastern ghouta but all of a sudden we only saw a gunman opening fire using mortars to intimidate civilians. it's a place is very close to damascus the syrian capital is bringing them up right there's eastern cuba coming up now. it's been occupied by various rebel islamist groups for years in fact it's been under siege this whole area since twenty thirteen here to the north a good feeling camp and that's where it's hoped the refugees will be going to that are fleeing the ones that do manage to get out not many at the moment those who say now efforts to provide safe passage for those desperate to escape being coordinated with the syrian red cresce

aid workers station of a government checkpoint close to eastern ghouta told us the plight of civilians there is bad. i'm here with the syrian army and i'm ready to help leaving eastern ghouta we have ambulances here what they were judy and let's talk about us they're here around the clock to provide first aid to people from eastern guta a medical labs also work twenty four hours have provided vehicles to quit with all modern facilities medical workers also ready but. there were some people who wanted to leave eastern ghouta but all of a sudden we only saw a gunman opening fire using mortars to intimidate civilians. check it out of them where we're talking about here in eastern goods is located just outside the syrian capital damascus it's from the allegedly the farms were going in injuring people in damascus it's been occupied by various rebel an islamist groups for years it's been under siege in fact since twenty thirteen here to the north of gotos a refugee camp that it's hoped fleeing civilians can be located to dean efforts to provide safe passage for those desperate to try to escape and get to some sort of safety being

what we have seen in the past couple of days is syrian government troops advancing rapidly into eastern ghouta suggesting that the syrian government controls a quarter of what is the last major rebel stronghold close to the capital. while some assistance has gone into eastern ghouta, the fighting is far from over. martin patience. our top story this lunchtime. the champion cyclist, sir bradley wiggins, and team sky deny allegations by mps that they used drugs to enhance performance, rather than for medical needs. and still to come, the raf fly in emergency supplies to communities in cumbria still cut off by the snow. thousands of homes across the uk are without water, because of burst pipes caused by last week's freezing temperatures. supplies have been affected in the south of england, wales, the midlands, yorkshire and scotland, with bottled water being handed out in some areas. several water companies are advising customers against all but essential use. emma simpson reports. it's the fallout from the big freeze. burst pipes. and there's lots of them. what is the damaged caused by him? burs

workers station to the government checkpoint close to eastern ghouta told us about the plight of the civilians there. i'm here with the syrian army and i'm ready to help leaving eastern ghouta we have ambulances here but there were g.-d. and listed here around the clock to provide first aid to people from eastern guta a medical labs also work twenty four hours have provided vehicles to quit with all modern facilities medical workers also ready. if there were some people who wanted to leave eastern good but all of a sudden we only saw a gunman opening fire using mortars to intimidate civilians check it out where he is to remind ourselves it's just outside the syrian capital damascus it's been occupied by various rebel ism is groups for a long time now it's been under siege since twenty thirty in here to the north coming up. here is a refugee camp it's fleeing civilians can go the feedin camp efforts to provide safe passage for those desperate to try to get some safety have been coordinated with the syrian red crescent buses and ambulances are on standby people inside the insurgent held on clay the being notified of the locati

workers stationed at one government checkpoint close to eastern ghouta told us too about the plight of the civilians there now i'm here with the syrian army and i'm ready to help leaving eastern ghouta we have ambulances here with the words of the list here around the clock to provide first aid to people from eastern guta a medical labs also work twenty four hours have provided vehicles equipped with all modern facilities medical workers also ready. there were some people who wanted to leave eastern good but all of a sudden we only saw a gunman opening fire using mortars to intimidate civilian. he said go to check it out of the map is located just outside the syrian capital damascus it's been occupied by various rebel elisabeth's groups for years now in fact the whole area's been under siege and about twenty thirty and you can see who holds what color the map bringing out a bit more to the north of ghouta is this refugee camp hope that fleeing civilians will be relocated up there to al will feed in but getting out of there is extremely difficult efforts to provide safe passage for these people desperate to escape being coordinated by

russia's military says only two children have managed to escape the besieged syrian district of eastern ghouta five days after russia set up a humanitarian corridor to help civilians leave. here are images of the moment syrian soldiers saved the two children they were clearly in shock and were comforted and provided aid after reaching government positions the russian the ministry of defense has stressed that militants in the enclave are preventing others from the scaping by opening fire on them the ministry also says insurgents there are using people as human shields of a un security council earlier adopted a resolution demanding a thirty day cease fire across syria without delay now russia sees the opening of its humanitarian corridor and its attempts to establish ceasefire windows as steps towards implementing that call damascus has also attempted to evacuate the wounded and tried sending forty six aid trucks to the area. but they were unable to get through as milton. opened fire along the man a turnaround of about eight workers stationed at a government checkpoint close to eastern good i to

story the russian military say's only two children have managed to escape the besieged syrian district of eastern ghouta on tuesday russia established a humanitarian corridor to help civilians find safe passage out of the region. a warning v's are the upset thing images of the moment syrian soldiers saved the two children they were clearly in shock and were comforted after reaching the government held position the children say they left with their parents but were separated from them after militants opened fire. on the side of. the. little hope. i didn't know i didn't. well i don't. have many. especially. now so you know and they got out of a you have a smile you when you. play a chilling testimony there well just on the geography of things eastern ghouta is the kid who just outside the syrian capital damascus it's been occupied by various rebel and islamist groups for years and has been under siege since twenty thirteen here just to the north of. just outside the monitoring car door is a u.n. refugee camp within it there is a special shelter for those fleeing eastern facilities there are being prepared

at least thirteen people have died in the latest attacks on the eastern ghouta syrian forces are making major advances in the a month after stepping up their assault on the besieged area in recent days they have sought to cut off sections of rebel held territory. and civilians are caught up in fighting on another front an adlib in northwest syria rescuers worked to free a woman from a collapsed building for twelve hours at least nine people were killed in the same attack two others were rescued. well further north turkish troops and free syrian army fighters are aiming to surround the city of a free in the coming hours turkey's been fighting for two months to drive out kurdish forces from the border region it sees them as terrorists thousands of civilians are under siege in the kurdish held territory as alan fish and i reports i slowly they're closing in on our friend these free syrian army fighters are no taking up positions on the edge of the city the next move could come at any moment . where the special forces that belong to our homes a brigade are preparing for an operation which w

can job a syrian kurd is a key link in moving money from germany to syria he insisted on meeting us in this park rather than in the cafes where he usually meets his customers since east ghouta has been cut off many syrians in germany have been using underground networks to support their proceeds relatives financially. the regime has told the streets of eastern ghouta points out everywhere. wants to give one hundred euros to his mother all siblings comes away with just fifty or seventy five because everyone manning the checkpoints once a share of the money. arab world media has tried to rally support for east ghouta. knows it's only a matter of time before the syrian army recaptures the city he hopes his family and the rest of the civilian population will survive the fighting and that there won't be massacres after the city falls to him the struggle for a free and democratic syria is all but dead now the only victory is survival. right after some business news now and donald trump's talk of tariffs is that drawing fire from his own party cat and sponsor me in the rather public confrontation house speaker paul ryan and other republican allies of president donald trump pleaded

syrian soldiers are taking us to what is now the front line in this fight for eastern ghouta. as soon as we arrived, we heard shelling. ahead at the checkpoint there were no signs of civilians, only more signs of conflict. syrian troops have just told us that they are fighting one of the main opposition groups that is just over there. [ gunfire ] retaking ghouta from the rebels would be a prize for syrian government forces who are battling to solidify control of the capital. video from inside ghouta today, taken during a pause in fighting, shows the ruined neighborhoods. and activists posted interviews with defiant residents. "this is a cease-fire," this man asked. "look at the chaos and destruction. and these humanitarian crossings they talk about? who says we're leaving? we're staying right here." back on the government side, people are waiting for ghouta to fall and worn down by the war raging just across the street. seth doane, cbs news, eastern ghouta. >>> it's been a brutal flu season, and here at the nih, the national institutes of health, they're working on a universal

as syrian government forces are reported to have seized control of a quarter of the rebel enclave of eastern ghoutaour correspondent reports from damascus. the government promises to overhaul planning rules and press ahead with two new towns in an effort to address the housing crisis. also this hour... more disruption could be on the way as communities begin the clear up after this week's freezing weather. further snow and ice is forecast, with warnings in place for scotland, northern ireland and the north of england. and coming up later tonight on the news channel... we'll have full coverage of italy's general election, with results and analysis live from rome. good evening and welcome to bbc news. sir roger bannister — the first man to run a mile in underfour minutes — has died at the age of 88. he made athletics history on a track in oxford in 1954 — when he was an amateur athlete. it was a moment that came to symbolise sporting achievement. after retiring from athletics, he became a distinguished doctor and neurologist. today fellow athletes paid tribute to a man who made "the impossible possib

syrian city of aleppo but as. explains they tend to overlook a number of inconvenient truths president arafat and his russian are like the accused of unleashing all out war against the people of ghouta russia and the syrian government are launching an offensive actually examining this hundreds of missiles and mortars on civilian homes and hospitals hospitals are targets in syria and the regime has been bombing them ruthlessly among all things eased goatees one of the last jihadi bastions just like aleppo it's been a long time dan of the nusra front and the likes and since then. have only been getting cozy of their militias any have a record of forcing civilians to sit tight amid the fighting and the worse it is for them the better the evidence indicates that non-state armed groups in eastern guta and the bit to kill or josh islam are also responsible for inflating the price of food and other basic necessities they're arbitrarily restricting the movement of civilians wishing to leave and abducting and arbitrarily detaining people. human shields is a tactic favored by all terrorists including those who were in aleppo. and just like any still oppose there are no western reporters in re

obviously if we move to syria, where there as it nothnother ma spike, humanitarian disaster in ghouta, the syrianegime tries to pound the place into submission. america does have, boots on the ground, it does have -- uniits that it is backing, local units it is backing. i know you were pretty much a critic of president obama's not meeting the red line, and not doing more there, how do you see that ending? >> well, again -- there are different dimensions and dynamics and histories there in syria, versus afghanistan. but there are some similarities. and one of those similarities its -- is our, our option going to continue to be -- the continueddedestruction of syria and the slaughter of the syrian people, and the exiles that are fleeing, putting pressure on all of those countries, and this is a region of the world that, that is in more trouble, and more turmoil than ever in the history of the middle east. you have dysfunctional governments. you have got nonfunctioning governments. so, how do you, how then do we, do we try to resolve this? well, 2,000 american troops in the north of syria, isn't goi

war crimes are being committed on syrian civilians in eastern ghouta says the un.ble to be prosecuted. theresa may has outlined her vision of britain's future relationship with the european union. the british prime minister warned that both sides would have to accept "hard facts" and that no—one would get everything they wanted. she said the uk would have to pay money into some eu agencies to maintain access to them. and she repeated her commitment that that the britain's would not be part of the eu's single market or customs union. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg has more. roll up, roll up. a hot ticket for a certain kind of audience. looking forward to the speech. ministers and diplomats arriving for a speech. can you unite the party, sir? that will affect us all. oh, and it matters to her survival, too. with controversy never far away. the first message — no more promises that after brexit, we can have it all, to trade just as we do now, or be completely free from the european courts. i want to be straight with people because the reality is that we all nee

war crimes are being committed on civilians in the syrian region of eastern ghouta, says the un.says there must be prosecutions. britain's prime minister says the uk and eu are now close to a deal on the brexit transition. and saying a final farewell to evangelist billy graham. politicians, family and the faithful gather in north carolina for the funeral of a man who preached to millions. the international monetary fund has joined international condemnation of president trump's plan to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium. it says such a move will not only hurt other countries, but also those of the united states. stock markets have fallen since the announcement. china's steel industry called the move ‘stupid'. the european commission said it would react if mr trump goes ahead. canada's prime minister described it as unacceptable — and warned of serious problems ahead. the integrated nature of our supply chains means that there would be significant disruption, in canada obviously, but also in the united states. we buy more steel from the united states than any other c

i'm here with the syrian army and i'm ready to help leaving eastern ghouta we have ambulances here with the word. they're here around the clock to provide first aid to be able from eastern medical labs also work twenty four hours have provided vehicles to quit with all modern facilities medical workers are also ready but. there were some people who wanted to leave eastern good but all of a sudden we only saw a gunman opening fire using mortars to intimidate civilians. isn't going to is located just outside of the syrian capital damascus it's been occupied by various rebel and islamist groups for years and under siege since twenty thirty and here to the north of kuta is a refugee camp that's it's hopefully civilians can be relocated to efforts to provide safe passage for those desperate to escape are being coordinated with the syrian red crescent buses and ambulances are on standby people inside the insurgent held on tape are being notified about the location of the card all by leaflets text alerts and loudspeakers first aid points have also been set up near its exit an attempt to help t

in eastern ghouta alone, more than 45,000 syrians have fled their homes in recent days.ci is responding to urgent humanitarian needs on the ground but we are today reiterating our call for the protection and safety as well as a full, unhindered continued humanitarian access to both the newly displaced and the hundreds of thousands of civilians still trapped by fierce fighting and in dire need of aid. reporter: for the injured who failed to escape, makeshift clinics like this one are a final source of hope in a daily struggle for survival. brent: here are some other stories now making headlines around the world. saudi arabia's crown prince has kicked off a high three-week tour of the united states. first stop, washington dc to be president donald trump. the american prison praise what he called a quote, great friendship with the saudi crown prince, who in turn help ties between washington and riyadh. harvey weinstein's former company has filed for bankruptcy months after the oscar-winning producer was accused of multiple sexual assaults. weinstein was fired as chairman la

whilst the international community is focusing on getting aid to eastern ghouta, the syrian governmentajor rebel stronghold close to the capital. the latest figures, more than 900 civilians have been killed in fighting since this major government offensive began. martin, thank you. our top story this lunchtime... almost 200 military personnel are deployed to salisbury — after the nerve agent attack on a former russian spy and his daughter. and still to come... rethinking stonehenge — historians say the neolithic structure may have been built as part of a community celebration. coming up in the sport, a little bit rusty but no problems for serena williams she wins on the wta tour for the first time in over a year and six months after giving birth to her first and six months after giving birth to herfirst child. the arduous task of building stonehenge may have been part of a ceremonial celebration — according to historians studying the ancient site. the stone circle in wiltshire was built over 4,000 years ago using stones from south wales — a fact that has long baffled experts, but engli

nearly four hundred thousand people are trapped in the besieged syrian enclave of eastern ghouta amid constant fighting between the syrian army and local militants who are trying to defend their last bastion near damascus. the house all sorts of needs inside today the priority remains medical help that we need to. reach with the people inside all to and food aid as well. above the others to build. that. started to secure. the number secure it would it have a number of law show. a second look at damascus and what they said about even any is. the scenes are seen as going up think. it's been a very bloody two months here the beginning of this year it is really hell on the ground for the children. to be as whole point in this in this situation they have nowhere to go. and my colleague there are two spoke to a syrian mother superior working at a refugee camp organize for those who are still trying to flee eastern ghouta. there is a will in the rebel side. to keep the civilian under their custody and may be to use them as a human shield go in go from a lot of out from a lot to the camp is v