here's our diplomatic correspondent james robbins. this is what provoked the strikes.ay's apparent gas attack on civilians in douma. to be punished. so what was achieved? your chemical weapons programme is. and from the submarine ussjohn warner. plus, in the air, two bi lancer bombers. staying out of syrian airspace to fire their storm shadow missiles. as well rafale and mirage strike aircraft flying from france. and that's politically important. the targets of all this firepower — syria's chemical weapons production. centre close to damascus. but also a chemical weapons storage site near homs. storm shadow missiles. the main french target for seven of their nine missiles. peace in syria ? america's wider military alliance. more and more. solution. on the ground. and the rebels' last holdout in eastern ghouta. which will surely dictate much of the terms of any eventual peace. james robbins, bbc news. they are believed this has achieved what they wanted. what they wanted. i suspect they feel they have achieved something. achieved something. will be saying in the long—te

our diplomatic correspondent james robbins reports.ma is firmly back under syrian government control. this is the ruined town where, it is alleged, president assad's forces used chemical weapons a week ago. rebel forces have now fled or been killed. russian troops are in douma, too, claiming they are a part of victory and insisting they found no evidence of any poison attacks, no victims, either. western powers suspect has been ample time to destroy evidence as the west finalises plans for possible punitive strikes. the united nations security council, the cockpit were opposing powers fight with words, today the secretary general warned that present military tensions between the west and russia could spiral out of control. the cold war is back with a vengeance but with a difference natarsha the mechanism and safeguards to manage the risks of escalation that existed in the past no longer seem to be present. the united states says it has not yet decided on military action, but their estimates point to president assad using chemical weapo

or diplomatic correspondent james robbins star coverage. james: douma's firmly back under syrian government control. this is the ruined town where it is alleg president assad's forces used chemical weapons a week ago. these are the pictures of childrennd babies in the desperate attempts to watch them. tonight the united states is safe for the first time it has proved that presidentad a's regime is responsible. the state department says it has a very high level of confidence in its assessment. >> we know for a fact it was a chemical weapon, we know there are only certain countries like syria that have delivery mechanisms. >> would you say today that the u.s. has proved this was the syrian regime? and we continue to look at the information, we continue to gather information and further assess it. but russia makes a very different accusation, that the alleged attack was faked by the syrian opposition working with british spies. >> in fact, we have irrefutable data that this wasnother staged event which involved special serves of one of the untr

james robbins, bbc news.itary strike. well, i think we have to look at the strategy of the three allies here. i think the strategy centred on something had to be done and it had to be something that got the attention of the regime but was not big enough to excite any other players in the region. i think that has been achieved to tell you the truth. it has also sent out a warning saying, look, we can penetrate your air defences, we have done it very easily indeed. if you misbehave again, you can expect a proportionate step up in the amount of violence we have visited on your country if you try and use chemical weapons again. what do you make of the significance being attached to whether it was russian military power that intercepted these missiles to the extent they were intercepted, or syrian? i do not believe any of these missiles were intercepted. i am afraid the truth is not a default position for either the russian government or indeed the syrian government. i have seen no video or ground evidence that an

james robbins, bbc news.an beale who's at raf akroteeri in cyprus, from where the british jets took off, on the challenge of this particular operation. but first, our our chief international correspondent lyse doucet gave me a sense of the mood in syria and whether there might be retaliation? from president assad's storch ‘s enemies, israel, turkey, there was full support for this military operation. for countries like lebanon and iran, there was harsh condemnation. iran's supreme leader described the airstrikes as a crime. behind this criticism, there is also quiet relief that so far these strikes have turned out to be far more limited than many had expected andindeed more limited than many had expected and indeed what countries like iran had prepared for. in the past week, living their own forces on the ground to safer locations but there could be another impact, too. what we are hearing from damascus today is even greater defiance from president assad, his supporters and allies. this alliance of syria, ira

james robbins, bbc news.on was that these military operations we re was that these military operations were precise, overwhelming and effective. what more do we know about the petition saying? we can joinjordan about the petition saying? we can join jordan peele at about the petition saying? we can joinjordan peele at the raf base in cyprus where the british jets took off. jonathan, had they been giving any more details today about their side of the operations overnight? yes, you know that this is the base in cyprus from where british aeroplanes have been carrying out strikes against so—called islamic state for the last three years so they are well practised. this operation though did have added dangers because syria has air defence systems. it is backed by russia's military also. what we have learnt tonight is as well as those four tornado jets that carried the storm shadow cruise missiles each carrying a pair of those missiles they were accompanied by four typhoon jets which they were accompanied by four ty

here's our diplomatic correspondent, james robbins., last saturday's apparent gas attack on civilians in douma. britain, france and the united states are convinced this was the latest in a long line of assad's chemical attacks and had to be punished. so what was achieved? the strikes sent a deliberate, precise, if limited, message to president assad — you are not the target, your chemical weapons programme is. the united states fired missiles from two warships and from the submarine ussjohn warner. plus, in the air, two b1 lancer bombers. the raf flew tornadoes from akrotiri in cyprus, staying out of syrian airspace to fire their storm shadow missiles. france launched missiles from its frigate languedoc, as well rafale and mirage strike aircraft flying from france. so the us was not acting alone, but with two close allies this time, and that's politically important. the targets of all this firepower, syria's chemical weapons production. the main target for 76 missiles was a research and development centre close to damascus. but also a

james robbins, bbc news. our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, in beirut. but first, our defence correspondent, jonathan beale, is at raf akrotori in cyprus, from where the british jets took off. how challenging was this particular operation? they've been flying bombing sorties against the group known as islamic state for the last three years but this mission did have added risks and dangers. not least because of the syrian regime's air defence systems and the fact it is backed by a powerful russian military. as well as those four tornado jets and round with cruise missiles that took off in the early hours of the morning, they were accompanied by four typhoon jets armed with air to air missiles. this was a precaution in case they were engaged. as it turned out those tornado jets with those storm shadow cruise missiles were well outside syrian airspace. those cruise missiles have a range of up to 300 miles. their target was a military base west of homs where it is believed the ingredients of the

james robbins, bbc news.'s director of diplomatic studies at soas, part of the university of london, which specialises he joins us live via webcam from canterbury in kent. thank you forjoining us. let's get straight to attend. where these military strikes in your opinion effective? have they done the job and givena effective? have they done the job and given a clear warning to syria as theresa may put it today? they have given it a clear warning. they clearly have been coordinated with the russians but i think we all have to be grateful for given the somewhat intemperate use in the white house from time to time. i think it is very hard to know precisely what was attacked but a year or precisely what was attacked but a year 01’ so precisely what was attacked but a year or so president trump attacked targets and here we are a year later. 0ne targets and here we are a year later. one point, from your correspondent in new york, there is still a very real risk of this crisis continuing to escalate and if people ar

our diplomatic correspondent james robbins has the latest.ouma is firmly back under syrian government control. this is the ruined town where it is alleged president assad's forces used chemical weapons a week ago. rebel forces have now fled or been killed. these are the pictures of children and babies overcome, and the desperate attempts to wash them. win over a factor was a chemical weapon, we know there are only certain countries likes of the —— syria that had deliberately mechanisms for the types of weapons. would you say the us has proof that this was the syrian regime? yes, and we continue to look at the information, we continue to gather information, we continue to gather information and further assess it. but russia makes a very different accusation, but the alleged attack was actually faked by the syrian opposition, working with british spies or specialforces. translation: in fact we have irrefutable data that this was another staged event which involved special services of one of the country is trying very hard to be at the forefront

here‘s our diplomatic correspondent, james robbins.cal attacks and had to be punished. so what was achieved? the strikes sent a deliberate, precise, if limited message to president assad, "you are not the target — your chemical weapons programme is." the united states fired missiles from two warships and from the submarine uss john warner, plus in the air, two b—1 lancer bombers. the raf flew tornadoes from akrotiri in cyprus, staying out of syrian airspace to fire their storm shadow missiles. and france launched missiles from its frigate, as well as strike aircraft flying from france. so, the us was not acting alone but with two close allies, this time, and that is politically important. the targets of all this firepower? syria‘s chemical weapons production. the main target for 76 missiles was a research and development centre close to damascus. but also, a chemical weapon storage site near homs, 22 weapons were aimed there, including the raf‘s eight storm shadow missiles. and target three, a nearby chemical weapons bunker, the main f

our diplomatic correspondent james robbins reports. is expected to give a statement soon and it is the view there, we will bring you live that there, we will bring you live that the sins of happens. douma is firmly back under syrian government control. this is the ruined town where it is alleged president assad's forces used chemical weapons a week ago. these are the pictures of children and babies overcome, and the desperate attempts to wash them. a short time ago i ordered the united states armed forces to launch position strikes on target associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of syrian dictator bashar al—assad. capabilities of syrian dictator bashar al-assad. a combined operation with the armed forces of france and the united kingdom, is now under way. we thank them both. tonight i want to speak with you about why we have taken this action. one year ago assad launched a savage chemical weapons attack against his own innocent people. the united states responded with 58 missile strikes that destroyed 20% of the syrian airf

our diplomatic correspondent james robbins has more. is firmly back under syrian government control. this is the ruined town where it is alleged president assad's forces used chemical weapons a week ago. rebel forces have now fled, or been killed. russian troops are in douma, too, claiming they're part of victory, insisting they found no evidence of any poison attack, no victims either. western powers suspect there has been ample time to destroy evidence. the west is finalising plans for possible punitive strikes. at the united nations security council, the cockpit where opposing powers fight with words, the secretary—general warned that military tensions between the west and russia could spiral out of control. the cold war is back with a vengeance but with a difference. the mechanisms and safeguards to manage the risks of escalation that existed in the past no longer seem to be present. the united states says it has not yet decided on military action, but their estimates point to president assad using chemical weapons in this war at le

james robbins, bbc news.ed to win the backing of the un security council for its condemnation of those missile strikes. our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, explains the kremlin‘s reaction. since moscow is president assad's biggest backer, the russians were never going to mince their words about a us—led strike on syria. that's why the words we have been hearing today in moscow have been so strong. we heard about vladimir putin talk about an act of aggression. unlawful, unacceptable, said sergei lavrov, the foreign minister. we heard a senior russian senator saying that america was acting like a school bully. so in this geopolitical school playground, there's lots of shouting and shadowboxing behind the bicycle sheds but crucially, it hasn't come to a fight between russia and america. neither want to go to war over syria and we know because the us ambassador in moscow said so today that before the strike, the two sides took measures to try to keep out of each other‘s way during the strike. of course, sy

our diplomatic correspondent, james robbins, has the latest.s firmly back under syrian government control. this is the ruined town where it is alleged president assad's forces used chemical weapons a week ago. rebel forces have now fled or been killed. these are the pictures of children and babies overcome, and the desperate attempts to wash them. western powers suspect there has been ample time to destroy evidence. the west is finalising plans for possible punitive strikes. at the united nations security council, the cockpit where opposing powers fight with words, today the secretary—general warned that present military tensions between the west and russia could spiral out of control. that we know there are certain countries, like syria, that have these weapons and delivery systems. do you have proof that this was the syrian regime? yes, and we look at the information and continue to gather information and further assess it. but russia makes a very different accusation, that the alleged attack was actually faked by the syrian operation, workin

james robbins reports. douma is firmly back under syrian government control.s forces used chemical weapons a week ago. rebel forces have now fled, or been killed. russian troops are in douma, too, claiming they're part of victory, insisting they found no evidence of any poison attack, no victims either. western powers suspect there has been ample time to destroy evidence. the west is finalising plans for possible punitive strikes. at the united nations security council, the cockpit where opposing foul —— powers fight with words, the secretary—general warned that military tensions between the west and russia could spiral out of control. the cold war is back with a vengeance control. the cold war is back with a vengeance but with a difference. the mechanisms and safeguards to manage the risks of escalation that existed in the past no longer seem to be present. the united states says it has not yet decided on military action, but their estimates point to president assad using chemical weapons in this war at least 50 times. all nations and all people will be harme

here is diplomatic correspondent, james robbins. asked on this question of succession and prince charles taking over, was there anybody who opposed that and she said it was unanimous. it was very important we heard that because there was speculation that someone might have dissented. normally this organisation reaches its decisions by unanimity. there were some lingering doubts — had everyone answered that very direct, rather extraordinary appeal from the queen that they choose her son as her successor as head of the commonwealth and they all stepped up to the plate. it was really important for both the crown, and the prime minister, theresa may, that this issue was put to bed, there was no lingering doubt. that is because, for instance, if they said we will not make a decision or we want to consider other options or we will wait until the moment arises after the queen's eventual death to establish what should happen next, that would have damaged britain's global standing. it would have raised doubts, particularly for those who are

james robbins, thank you.o —— how to protect the rule of international law around the world especially in light of the salisbury nerve agent attack last month. and the continuing conflict in syria. the commonwealth is a family of nations, it is not a power bloc in the sense it hasn't got any military might, like nato. it is not an economic powerhouse like the eu. let us discuss some of those issues about cyber security. this issue of cyber security, how important is it and what realistically can the commonwealth do? cyber security is at the centre of the discussions this week. cyber attacks don't respect borders. there needs to be cooperation between countries in terms of investigating those acts, working together to prevent them. we could also expect the head will not just look at the negatives we could also expect the head will notjust look at the negatives but the positives, thinking about digital inclusion, digital literacy. and the way cyberspace can contribute to socio— economic element of small member c

philip, who's 96, is being treated at the king edward 7th hospital in london. 0ur correspondent james robbins hearing the duke of edinburgh suffered some discomfort last week, and withdrew from a couple of things he wanted to attend. he did not attend the easter service for example. but it looks as if there has been time to plan this operation in response to whatever the diagnosis was and orthopaedic surgeons that the bbc has spoken to say it is perfectly routine even for a man of 96 97 and a couple of months. nothing to be alarmed about. a p pa re ntly months. nothing to be alarmed about. apparently it is a routine operation and could take just over an apparently it is a routine operation and could takejust over an hour. he might even be up and about on a walking frame the day after surgery it has been suggested. he may not be in hospitalfor more it has been suggested. he may not be in hospital for more than a couple of days after the operation tomorrow. as you say a routine operation, he has been out of use because of this problem over easter but he has already stepped back from royal dutie

james robbins is with me. what do we know?rd vi! hospital is the one where traditionally members of the royal family are treated. he effectively retired from public life just under a year ago, retired from public life just under a yearago, and retired from public life just under a year ago, and at the age of 96, everybody pretty much said, it is not surprising. everybody was amazed at the level of royal engagements he maintained, and now is the time for him to have a slightly quieter life. he has had brushes with surgery before. as anyone of his age probably would. it's not surprising that if he is suffering in this way, it is thought appropriate that he should have a hip replacement. but obviously with anaesthetic at that age, this is always a serious issue, and would be for somebody significantly younger than the prince. a man throughout his life, who has been very busy and physical, still enjoys his hobbies, including being out riding. huge frustration for him, and that's probably behind this decision is. i think we can pro