jonathan beale reports from helmand province. jonathan: back to the dust and heat of helmand. this is where hundreds of british troops were killed, and which nearly fell to the taliban when they departed. four years ago, the british left for good, but the americans soon returned, albeit in smaller numbers.th now they are or own, controlling what was a sprawling british base. >> it was necessy for us to come back in a couple years ago. if that had not happened, i would imagine that helmand would o solidly under the contr the taliban right now. jonathan: at night, u.s. marines fire illumination rounds to deter any attack. as well as lethal long-range artillery rockets to target enemy sitions. by day, they receive training -- they oversee training of the afghan army. these soldiers nthd all the help can get. the unit has already suffered heavy losses. right now it is sitting at about 30%. jonathan: 30% of what it should >> yes, correct. jonathan: that is a worryisn't it? >> it is, but there is time and recruiting, constant advising, and the senior leadership will improve the situ

jonathan beale reports from afghanistan, he hisjourney in helmand province.itish troops were killed, and which nearly fell to the taliban when they departed. four years ago, the british left for good, but the americans soon returned, albeit in smaller numbers. now they are on their own, patrolling what was the sprawling british base of camp bastion. it was necessary for us to come back in here a couple of years ago. if that had not happened, i would imagine that helmand would be pretty solidly under the control of the taliban right now. at night, us marines fire illumination rounds to deter any attack, as well as lethal long—range artillery rockets to target enemy positions. by day, they oversee the training of the afghan army, and these soldiers need all the help they can get. their unit has already suffered heavy losses. by day, they oversee the training of the afghan army, and these soldiers need all the help they can get. their unit has already suffered heavy losses. the corps right now is sitting at about 30%. 30% of what it should be? yes, that's right.

back to the dust and heat of helmand. killed, and which nearly fell to the taliban when they departed. four years ago the british left for good, but the americans soon returned — albeit in smaller numbers. now they're on their own, patrolling what was the sprawling british base of camp bastian. it was necessary for us to come back in here a couple of years ago. if that had not happened, i would imagine that helmand would be pretty solidly under the control of the taliban right now. at night, us marines fire illumination rounds to deter any attack. as well as lethal long—range artillery rockets to target enemy positions. by day, they oversee the training of the afghan army, and these soldiers need all the help they can get. their unit has already suffered heavy losses. the corps right now is sitting at about 30%. 30% of what it should be? yes, that's right. that's a worry, isn't it? it is, but there's time, time in recruiting, constant advising and the senior leadership will improve the situation. we joined the afghan army

we joined the afghan army out on patrol on the main highway through helmand, this the road regularly but our escort seem more interested in their entertainment along the way. music plays. they still don't always look or sound like a professional army. the afghan army is now leading the fight. but they are well below strength, suffering high rates of attrition, whether through casualties or desertions, and they are still only just able to secure central helmand, where most of the population live. britain may have turned its back on helmand, but it does have a presence here in the capital, kabul. on the ground, british soldiers have been tasked with transporting international advisers safely round the city. it is this mission, dubbed armoured uber, that has been boosted by another 440 uk troops. it is still america that is doing the heavy lifting, but it is talking, not fighting, that will change the course of this war. nobody is talking about fighting their way to victory anymore. victory now is a political settlement, and that is more than ever on the cards. but there is still no pea

they are still only just able to secure central helmand. britain may have turned its back on helma, but it does have a presence in the capital, kabul. on the ground british soldiers , have been tasked with transporting international advisors safely around the city. it is this mission that is being boosted by another 440 u.k. troops. it is still america doing the heavy lifting, but it is talking, not pointing, that wilc change therse of this war. >> it does take time, and it is going to require sustained commitment, and as we move to 'raining and assisting capacity building, nobodys talking about fighting their way to victory anymore. victory is a political settlement. that is more than ever on the cards. jonathan: a recent thr-day cease-fire has brought a glimmer of hope. now followed uby preliminary talks between the u.s. and the taliban. but there is still no peace process. for these afghan soldiers, still no end in sight after 17 years of war. jonathan beale, bbc news, kabul. rajini: our education system runs on lies -- those are the wor

helmand and today bubble on which is actually connects. to itself and then to tusshar i've been there several times and. was there actually for some while so. you know the attack or the you know the target the choosing the targets for the taliban is something very important as they have looted a lot of ammunition in gaza and you know torched the government installations and they are done the same in far actually and they have gained lots of i mean nation and you know military vehicles such as humvees while they attacked us and they have been like using the military cause you know the military vehicles as there are suicide for the of suicide bombing missions so basically they have been securing the highways towards their strategic targets which paves the ground for them to have more success in their operations and they have been very cautious about the digital graffiti that how to connect people and how to talk to people and and actually it's. very very it's very obvious that they have also a cold war kind of talking to the people and in re

he was wounded when a revised explosive device detonated near him in the helmand province while he was. meanwhile, the tele- man has launched an all-out assault over the past four days in another province, ghazni. so far, more than 120 give 11 killed there. a diplomatic showdown between the u.s. and turkey over the detention of an american pastor, andrew bronson, shows no signs of letting up. even as turkey deals with the major currency crisis, they are blaming on the u.s. pressure. how does this affect long-standing relationship with a nato ally? rich edson reports from the state department. >> rising interest rates, slowing economy, growing anxiet anxiety. >> the country is in difficulty because we have millions, billions of dollars in debt. >> the turkish lira hit another blow against the u.s. dollar, following 45% over the year as investors worry about debt and an increasingly authoritarian government in turkey. turkey's currency decline hit other asian and european markets, and the trump administration is piling on. lastly, doubling the rate of tariffs on steel and aluminum import

continue to follow the lives of our nation's a group o marines came to north carolina from afghanistan's helmandnths since that emotional reunion. now as part of our series called coming home, we focus on the families of two marines. ethan krumnow and paul rivera. strength and sacrifices they have shown at home. jan, good morning. >> we hear this phrase all the time when honoring our nation's heroes. the families served, too. but what does that really mean for a family to serve and how do they cope when this huge hole opens up. a loved one comes home and so much changed, especially for those with young children. >> when majors ethan krumnow and paul rivera first saw their families, you could feel their relief. >> ready to watch "star wars," too? >> yeah. >> but after nine long months in afghanistan, krumnow and his wife christina faced some surprises. >> you have this idea in your book.ra in a l come home. s hand, sit by me, do everything with me. they aren't doing it on purpose but mom becomes like, yeah, you've been here, let's go back to dad. >> i'm the problem solver, he's the fun guy. >> pa

he was on patrol in helmand province.lled in combat this year to 5. >>> the firing of agent peter strzok, strzok's lawyer says the bureau broke a promise by letting him go. he was fired friday, two years after exchanging anti-trump messages with former fbi lawyer he was having an affair with. strzok participated in the russia investigation and the fbi probe of hillary clinton's e-mail server. president trump says the firing inveoverdue and the clint >>>sortse govern ricot declad a me ove the redak itheoust part of the state. a strong red tooide has lingere there since october. red tide is a naturally occurring toxic algae bloom. it's killed manatees, hundreds of turtles and countless fish. the governor has released $1.5 million for clean-up and to help area businesses. >>> and the "l.a. times" reports on a police investigation of a video showing someone just tapping a hippo at the l.a. zoo. the man hopped over a barrier, slapped a 4-year-old barrier. the hippo's name is rosie, before running away. bite him, rosie. detecti