air power to help it maintain control of that chunk of northern syria. it can resettle back into syria more of the 3 million syrian refugees that turkey is hosting. turkey wants the u.s. to stop working with the syrian kurds. i don't think it's going to get the u.s.n that because sees them as a very valuable fighting force. turkey wants the u.s. to hand over the islamic cleric it up attempt lastco year. i don't think it's going to get its way on that either. a u.s. official said there was no evidence that he was directly involved. >> the united nations says the number of refugees who fled the syrian conflict have exceeded the 5 million mark. 4.8 5 million at the end of 2016. turkey continues to host the highest number of displaced syrians. they are followed closely by lebanon and jordan. thousands more are spread across iraq, egypt and north africa. our correspondent is in beirut. good afternoon. creepingof refugees over the 5 million mark. it's not a new problem. >> absolutely not. even last year the number of registered were 4.8 million. this doesn't e

turkey would like america to support that zone of northern syria that its forces have liberated withhe u.s. air , as u.s. air support could ensure security in that zone of northern syria so syrian refugees can return from turkey to that zone. so far, america has been unwilling to commit itself to such an operation. >> it is not just over syria. there are disagreements between the two. >> to other disagreements. one is turkey, one is america to extradite the islamic cleric who lived in the states and to turkey accuses of being responsible for the coup attempt last july. earlier this month, the chairman of the intelligence committee said he has seen no evidence that he was directly involved in the coup. chairman and british officials have made similar remarks. i doubt that america is going to extradite him. the second problem has emerged just this week. that is yesterday the deputy general manager of a turkish state owned bank was charged in a u.s. court for separating u.s. thinks it on iran over a long period. this subversion involved hundreds of millions of dollars. the ceo was arres

special operators in a very difficult position in northern syria already. you can see them refereeing between the turkish aligned forces and u.s. backed forces. i have real concerns about their ability to enable local forces to not just seize raqqa but then to hold raqqa. and what is unclear to me is what is the end game. how do we vent allly e fill trait u.s. forces out of a complicated situation in northern syria once we have defeated the islamic state. >> since the folks who are watching this, and they are wondering, okay, what are the risks that the trump administration is taking, how would you describe them? >> well, the risks in syria to the trump administration are minimal. it is the risks beyond syria posed by isil and other organizations like that. and so being with them in syria, as i said, is relatively easy. but it might actually make the deficits posed by the radical jihadist beyond syria's borders even more retractible. >> woodruff: in just a few words. >> i think what the united states will try to do after this, we figured out a way to squeez

men and women on the ground now in northern syria in this battle against isis.ew project going? check it out. lights. meeting configuration. blueprints. call hruska. we've gotta set up a meeting. sure. how do you spell that? abreu, albert, allen, anderson c, anderson r... you know what? i'll just tell him myself. door. andrade... see why 3,000 companies a month are switching to vonage. >>> all right. just into cnn, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is dismissing the idea that mexico will pay for president trump's proposed border wall. this is how he responded last hour when he was asked about this promise. >> there are some places along the border where that's probably not the best way to secure the border. but i think general kelly knows what he's doing. i think the president picked an outstanding person to be in charge of homeland security and i believe we will take his advice. >> reporter: do you believe mexico will pay for it? >> umm, no. >> interesting answer. >> mitch mcconnell will have to appropriate that money. >>> according to the department of ho

american flags flying on military vehicles in northern syria. in the battle against isis. we'll be right back. it's beautiful. was it a hard place to get to? (laughs) it wasn't too bad. with the chase mobile app, jimmy chin can master depositing his hard earned checks in a snap. easy to use chase technology for whatever you're trying to master. i'start at the new carfax.comar. show me minivans with no reported accidents. boom. love it. [struggles] show me the carfax. start your used car search at the all-new carfax.com. we asked people to write down the things they love to do most on these balloons. travel with my daughter. roller derby. ♪ now give up half of 'em. do i have to? this is a tough financial choice we could face when we retire. but, if we start saving even just 1% more of our annual income... we could keep doing all the things we love. prudential. bring your challenges. my belly pain i could build a small city with all the over-the-counter products i've used. enough! i've tried enough laxatives to cover the eastern seaboard. i've cli

marines are now on the ground in northern syria supporting a combination of rebel forces?> reporter: more u.s. troops arriving in northern syria, jake, and it's no mystery. more u.s. troops, more risk. the american flag flying, 100 army rangers in combat vehicles are in open ground in dangerous northern syria near a town called man bidge. why talk about it when president trump is worried about signalling military moves? the troops want everyone to know they are there. their job, be a buffer to keep kurdish, syrian, turkish, russian, and local forces from fighting each other. not visible, as many as 400 marines are also moving north of raka, the next major battle. raka is itself a declared capital. the top u.s. commander is ramping up the pressure for an attack against the 4,000 isis fighters who still may be inside the city. >> our intention, of course, is to prevent them from getting out. so, the first part of all of our operations is to isolate the areas where we are -- where attacks are taking place by our partners, enabling capabilities so we don't let anybody get out

officials say hundreds of marines deployed to northern syria in advance of a plan to help fighters ine city of raqqah. cnn's senior international correspondent ben wedeman monitoring operations from irbil, iraq. ben, good morning. >> reporter: the latest is the group of marines, the precise number not clear, deployed to the area around raqqah. they are artillery unit. they have m-77 howitzers. they will be part of the anticipated offensive to retake the city of raqqah. isis defacto capital. there are between 3,000 and 4,000 isis fighters. they are saying, the same officials, however, that isis leaders are gradually leaving the city in anticipation of this offensive. the american marines who just arrived there supplement several hundred rangers and special forces that are in another location in syria in the town of munbage, 85 miles northwest of raqqah. they are trying to separate turkish-backed syrian fighters from other fighters. it is a complicated situation out there. as far as raqqah, it is not clear, dave, when this offensive is going to take place. when it does, it could involve

this is the scene in northern syria after one of those strikes. >> reporter: syrians are describing it as a massacre according to a syrian monitoring group activists and rescue workers, scores were killed and wounded after air strikes destroyed a mosque full of worshippers on thursday evening in the town in northern syria. u.s. military officials have confirmed carrying out an air strike in the area killing several terrorists, but did not bomb a mosque. the target they say was a building where an al qaeda meeting was taking place but acknowledged the building was only 40 to 50 50 fefeet away fre mochk. a u.s. naral official says according to satellite imamiri, the mosque was still standing after the strikes. >> warplanes have violated the sangity tie sanctity of god which led to one of the most heinous mass kers. >> reporte massacres. >> reporter: they are looking into the allegations. in recent weeks the u.s. has ramped up air strikes, but they say most killed were syrian worshippers. al qaeda may use the incident to gain more support in the part of the country where they ever already

officials say that troops have been deployed in northern syria. >> joining us from california, he ismer u.s. military attache. thank you for joining us, there was a similar deployment in iraq, they provided artillery, i guess it's safe to assume that the assigned offensive on raqqah is now imminent. >> i'm not sure how imminent it is, there is still a lot of preparation that has to be done, but you're right, as it was last august when marines were brought in to bring that fire power, as they neared mosul. but john, i think we need to be very careful of drawing the parallel between these two deployments because when we deployed the marines into iraq they were supporting the iraqi army which had two years to regroup itself, a lot of armor had been provided by the united states. and it had reinstituted itself. we have a militia type of organization made up mostly of kurds, very effective. but to take a fortified city like raqqah will require a lot more fire power, i just wonder where it will come from. i don't think that marine artillery will be enough. we need to put additional troops

>> well, brianna, this happened in villages in northern syria.y thought they were fighting in areas where isis was. it turns out they had withdrawn and u.s. forces had moved in. when they saw what was happening and they knew that their own backed fighters were in these villages, they got in touch with the russians on a communications line that they used and got it all sorted out and those air kraftd then withdrew. it's perhaps a real signal of how complicated the battlefield is in northern syria, how many different players are there on the ground in the air and how tough a fight that may be coming as some of those fighters begin to move on raqqah, syria, trying to get that city back from isis and as they contemplate, new military measures to ramp up. brianna? >> barbara starr, thank you so much for that. >>> meantime president trump wants to change to a merritt-based immigration system. to focus on highly employable immigrants. take a listen. >> our current immigration system costs american taxpayers many billions of dollar as year. switching awa

so it's already a very touchy situation in northern syria with a variety of players.and they're opposing that. and the americans saying they're preparing to support the offensive to liberate raqqah, the de facto captain of the islamic state. >> just a nature mirightmare th. we'll see if there's any real response to invaders, thanks so much. >>> you've got a busy weekend ahead of you if you're watching college basketball. guess what, christina fitzpatrick, she's right there with you. >> that's right, christi, many have their eye on unc as a national championship contender but do not tell duke that. more coming up in "bleacher report." court's in use bros, wait your turn. what are you guys up to? people love progressive's name your price tool so much it's hard to get their attention. that's where moves like this come in... [ grunts ] we give people options based on their budget with our name your price tool. what does an incredibly awkward between the legs dribble do? what's the matter flo? scared you can't keep up? jaime! swing a wide paint, hollow scoop on three. [ sc

backpack but they did not find anything dangerous inside. >>> more us boots on the ground in northern syria. with the deployment of 400 marines, the new contingent existing local forces and escalating the fight against the islamic state. now we have the four-star general jack keane on the strategy. >> they put two months of effort into it. the chairman and the joint chief. i'm talking about the four-star chiefs and the chairman themselves working with their staff. they have got this, they put a tremendous effort into it. the president has been briefed on multiple options. he has been selecting what he wants to do he is going to be decisive and have a sense of urgency and he wants this to end. >> for more or less bringing nash, a fox news contributor. thank you for talking to us. already the trump administration is picking up where obama did not leave off. and that is boots on the ground. we talked about that through his entire administration. he did not want to going to syria with groups on the ground he fought isis three aspects. and the number of isis militants actually grew. and that so

so it's a bit of a mess on the ground in northern syria, with all of the forces involved.merican military officers met in syria recently for what was called a deconfliction meeting making sure that russian forces, american forces, turkish forces all operating in northern syria don't get into a shooting war. >> that's a difficult situation. ben wedeman, thank you for the update. we appreciate it. >>> well, she's gone from model to first lady. melania trump is beginning to embrace her role in the white house. for some, she's redefining what it means to be a modern first lady. ready, go. ahhhhhhhh! shake! shake! shake! shake! shake! done! you gotta shake it! i shake it! glad i had a v8. the original way to fuel your day. the market.redict but through good times and bad... ...at t. rowe price... ...we've helped our investors stay confident for over 75 years. call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. dale! oh, hey, rob. what's with the minivan? it's not mine. i don't -- dale, honey, is your tummy still hurting, or are you feeling better to ride in the fron

this is -- 100 army rangers also went to a different location in northern syria to help back up some orts to bring peace to that area. syria is a place where more u.s. troops are arriving and the war is growing. wolf. >> certainly is. there is new developments tonight in the wikileaks publication of cia spy tactics including details of how the agency allegedly hacks smart phones, smart tvs around the world. update on us. >> well, wolf, tonight the cia as i think you would expect, has no official comment confirming any of this. but they did issue a statement saying these kinds of leaks is something every american should be worried about. >> reporter: a federal criminal and intelligence investigation is being opened into wikileaks' publication of documents detailing alleged cia hacking information, several u.s. officials tell cnn. the new investigation is an acknowledgement that the documents appear to be largely authentic detailing how the agency hacks into common devices like phones, televisions and computers overseas. the trump administration won't confirm but has known about it for

marines just arrived in northern syria. boots on the ground to help in this fight.support u.s. backed fighters and local forces as they try to retake the city of raqqah. raqqah of course is the self declared capital of the self declared caliphate. >> ben wedeman, our senior international correspondent, joins us. give us a sense of how significant this move is. you now have not just a few but a significant number of u.s. marines on the ground in northern syria. >> reporter: poppy, it's important to keep in mind that the pentagon isn't saying how many marines are there. but we know what they're going to do. they're going in with 155-millimeter howitzers, long range artillery, a range of 20 miles. and they'll be participating in the offensive to drive isis out of raqqah. their role is important because i've been to that part of syria with the u.s.-backed forces in that area. they don't have much in the way of heavy firepower. so this artillery is going to make a huge difference in the fight. american officials are talking about this offensive beginning in a matter of w

of building a russian protectorate in eastern syria while helping the pkk establish a state in northern syriahile also essentially leaving assad the 35% of terrain he controls which he considers to be a victory in this war? he will never be completely in control of syria. the country is balkanized. what is america's in game and what are we doing to protect the bellwether constituency? that is not only sunni arabs but tribesmen who occupy eastern syria and western and central iraq. it pays to think of this not in terms of two nation-states. a sieve and has been for several decades. you will not see a cohesive, integrated state of syria come out of the ashes of what is left of isis. >> either isis is done and it means nothing were isis is not done. which would you pick? >> isis is not done. they have been planning for this. the dearly departed spokesman was the administrator of all of syria. in his last communicate in may it was year, he said -- implicit in his message, we are going to lose our state. what we have to do is return to the desert where we reconstitute ourselves and built up our fo

helmet said 42 people, mostly civilians, were killed in an air strike in a rebel-held village in northern syria. the raid was carried out in unidentified planes in a province in aleppo. u.s. central command says u.s. forces carried out a strike on al qaeda, but they didn't target or strike a mosque. they struck a meeting of al qaeda in a place called idlib. the centcom commander says the mosque was 30 or 40 feet away but was still standing after the air strike. witnesses said the mosque was hit when it was full of people praying there. mostly men at a very, very busy time. centcom says they're looking into the possibility of vi civilians injured or killed. they keep saying the mosque was not hit. frances? >> keeping an eye on a clarification there on what happened. nbc's ali arouzi. >>> still ahead, did chris christie's new jersey full a fast one on donald trump. >>> and hackers have the upper hand after billions are spent. we'll tell you why next. my advice for looking younger, longer? get your beauty sleep. and use aveeno® absolutely ageless® night cream with active naturals® blackberry compl

around 200 marines were deployed in northern syria. the increase shifts the united states away from working quietly behind the scenes in syria's conflict toward more overt displays of force in an attempt to shape the fight. the syrian president spoke out against the move calling them invaders. the president also called out president trump over u.s. efforts to fight i sis in syria saying -- isis in syria saying that he hasn't brought anything concrete to the table. >>> a system of tunnels found under an ancient mosque in iraq unveils priceless artifacts. archaeologists will preserve the arti facts found in mosul. when isis entered the city they destroyed the mosque but not before moving the items. they date back to 600 bc and include pottery and stone sculptures. >>> 17 inmates die each year from drug overdoses on average. it's a growing problem that one federal judge is trying to combat. the state agreed to waive a requirement that said licensed vocational nurses could only inject patients with a life- saving about dote when told to do

referring to the limited corporation as far as turkey's desire to stop the kurdish militia in northern syria agree to a buffer is on between turkey that could stop the landgrab by the militia, i do not think it goes beyond that. if it does, that means turkey is participating in the -- of sunnis. the target has been sunis in rebel areas and i am not sure turkey is that far cooperating with russia. sarah: and they back different sides in the conflict. guest: they did. i think erdogan has decided to drop the syrian sunis. he presented himself as a champion of them, during the revolt against the elite. then he decided his strategic interest is maybe to join russia as the more powerful figure, and a green with russia in stopping the kurdish expansion -- agreeing with russia and stop in the kurdish expansion. sarah: what about people who say this reconciliation is being driven by a common cause of defining europe and the u.s.? guest: that is marginal. i mean, erdogan has had catchphrases and saying germany is going back to nazism, that is music to the ears of. -- putin. but there are bigger econom

-backed forces in northern syria say they're a majoroperations near dam held by the i.s. state, amid reports over whether -- due to concerns over flooding. after syrian democratic forces captured a strategically important air base. their first major victory since u.s. troops -- >> there's no imminent danger to the dam unless the jihadists plan to destroy it. that was the message from the u.s.-backed syrian democratic forces which has released these aerial images of what it says is dam. this came after both the syrian government and the islamic state syria'st the group said largest dam was at risk of collapse, which could lead to flooding. last month, the u.n. warned the consequences of this could be catastrophic for the surrounding population. they said it sent in engineers to check the state of the dam and they found no damage or malfunction. >> we've used every means to protect the dam. and we continue to work on that. everything that's been said about the druption of the dam -- the dam is just propaganda. they used light weapons, so as damage to it. reporter: the euphr

troops and armored vehicles were on the move today in northern syria.y are helping syrian forces prepare an all-out assault on isis in the city of raqqa. coming up next, america's crumbling infrastructure. what will it take to fix our roads, bridges, and airports? >> morgan: the president is asking congress for $1 trillion to fix roads, bridges, and airports, underscoring the need for repairs, a new report from the american society of civil engineers gives the nation's infrastructure a "d-plus." kris van cleave breaks downtown grades. >> reporter: this is what unrelenting winter does to "d-plus" infrastructure. california has taken a steady pounding from mother nature, wrecking roads, compromising dams, and costing up to $1 billion in need ed repairs. >> it's revealed the really decades of disuse and undermaintenance that we've-- that we've put into this system. >> reporter: steve heminger ster runs the ba bay area's metropoln transportation condition. >> we're struggling with both aging pains and growing pains at the same time. and we're not doing a ve

marines just arrived in northern syria. they will support local forces preparing for an assault on the city of raqqa. that's isis' self-declared capital. >>> the white house is continuing its full-court press to sell the gop plan to repeal and replace obamacare. weijia jang reports the president and vice president are meeting with lawmakers and key constituents at the white house today. >> reporter: president trump has called key house committee chairman to the white house to thank them for clearing the gop healthcare plan through its first major hurdles. >> this is the time we're going to get it done. we're working together. we have some great results. we have tremendous spirit. and i think it's something that's just going to happen very shortly. >> reporter: but final passage is far from certain with some conservatives calling the current plan "obamacare light." >> i'll vote for the bill if it's a total repeal of obamacare where the replacement is the best healthcare system we had in the world in 2009. >> reporter: workin

gerhard: le farge operated a cement factory in northern syria until 2014.plied a third of the country's market. internal investigation showed it hired intermediate -- intermediaries -- a company statement called these measures unacceptable in hindsight. french prosecutors say they are investigating. eurozone inflation is finally doing what officials wanted to do. energy and food prices were surging in february and put the annual rate at 2%. that is in line with the european central banks target. the massive economic stimulus program appears to be finally paying off. that is all for me and the business team. back to brent from news from the art world. brent: the tate modern art gallery in london has a new exhibition dedicated to wolf on tillman. -- golfgang tillman. he says he takes pictures in order to see the world. take a look. reporter: london in the 1990's. the place that made artist wolfgang tillman the artist of a generation. raves, techno parties, so the apartments. he shot at all. young people were happily trading in the air of margaret thatcher for

-led raid on a school in northern syria. the group the syrian observatory for human rights says the strike was carried out near the town of raqqah by isis on monday night. it was being used to house displaced civilians. >>> some travelers are reconsidering their travel plans. the ban is designed to prevent incidents like this in somalia when a bomber detonated a laptop just after takeoff. it's believed al qaeda has developed the ability to hide explosives on batteries used in laptops and tablets. it has nine nonstop flights. the flights originate in ten airports. >> terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation and are aggressive in pursuing innovative methods to undertake their attacks. >> the u.s. government says about 50 flights a day are affected. >>> a former teacher in tennessee and the 15-year-old he allegedly kidnapped are still missing this morning. elizabeth thomas is believed to be with tad cummins. she was last seen march 13th. cummins was allowed to continue teaching despite a report from another stude

than a0 people have been killed and dozens of others injured in an air strike on a mosque in northern syria city of aleppo. the british—based syrian 0bservatory for human rights said the planes weren't identified, but the target is in a village held by anti—government rebels. this, say rescuers, was once a mosque. when it was hit. many were killed instantly, others lay wounded beneath the rubble. known as the white helmets. while they could not be sure who carried out the airstrikes, this man was convinced it must be the russian air force. the attack on al—jinah was not an isolated incident. syrian activists have reported a surge in airstrikes on thursday, targeting areas west of the city of aleppo in another village, sheikh hilal, the syrian 0bservatory for human rights said a russian as strike killed two people. there has been no comment from the russian government. syria's civil war has now lasted more than six years. around 400,000 people have there is supposed to be a ceasefire in force and another round of peace talks is due to start next week but on the ground the killing continues.

rex tillerson praised turkey's military efforts in northern syria against islamic state.ut he didn't really answer the journalists' question regarding pkk. the turkish foreign minister said turkey had been upset because of us support to the white pg. we should mention that turkey accepts them as a terrorist organisation and does not want them to be included in the raqqa operation. but the us has not called them a terrorist organisation. on them a terrorist organisation. on the contrary, they have sorted support against islamic state in syria. time for business. we begin with the north american free trade agreement, nafta. it has long been in donald trump's sites. the goal of the worst deal is contrary and ever signed. we were told they would be radical changes to how america trade with canada and with mexico. not for the first time low, the rhetoric isn't quite managing —— matching the policy. let's bring in samir husein live from new york. where has mr trump got to with dismantling nafta? so what we have is a draft sort of position, where the trump administration is rele

an international monitoring group says dozens of worshippers are dead after the air strike in northern syria and did not identify the country responsible but both the u.s.-led coalition and russian, syrian aircraft operate in that region. the pentagon says that it was neighboring buildings but did not damage the mosque. >>> a fire department paramedic and mother of five killed while on duty. a man jumped into her ambulance after she got out to help him. he started to drive away but arroyo grabbed onto the vehicle and was dragged. the suspect backed up the ambulance and it ran over her. that man is now in police custody. >>> it is the final full weekday of winter. spring is officially here, monday morning. it doesn't feel like it. for nearly half of the country. take a look at these morning low, teens in new england, below the freezing mark from new york, down to south carolina, 32 degrees in jacksonville, florida. and another winter storm is brewing. it'll move across the midwest today and then on saturday it hits the northeast where people are still digging out from the blizzard of this wee

i want to take you across the border now to northern syria. this is the tabqa dam. has been under control of the so—called islamic state since 2014. us—backed syrian forces are trying to take it back. but efforts have been paused because the dam could be about to collapse. this image was released by the is news agency which says it shows a burnt control room. the un warns that would mean catastrophic flooding. syrian forces say the dam is fine. we'll monitor the situation and bring you news. meanwhile, in the syrian city of homs the second phase of a major evacuation is getting under way. thousands of rebel fighters and their families are leaving the al—waer district as part of a deal backed by russia. here's lyse doucet. time and again this is how battles have ended over the course of the syrian war. a local deal. today it is the fighters from al—waer and their families who are being forced to leave. children carrying all their worldly goods that they can bring with them. infants in their arms. the elderly, the injured in wheelchairs. many of the fighters carrying

in northern syria, government forces, backed by russian and iranian allies, have recaptured the ancientondent lyse doucet has travelled to palmyra and its historic ruins and sent this report. palmyra. roman ruins, precious world heritage. is occupied this site twice in the past two years. their last target, the roman theatre — a stage for grisly executions, slitting throats, shooting soldiers and civilians here. is has lost this prize and ground beyond here to the syrian military, backed by its allies. the helicopter overhead is russian. palmyra matters, but the battles which lie ahead, including raqqa — the is's self—declared capital — matter more, and are far more difficult. and that's because confronting is in syria means confronting a fundamental question. are the west and countries in this region now willing to work with president assad and his russian and iranian allies to fight their common enemy? the world knows of is crimes now. in the basement of a deserted building we are shown what's called a makeshift courtroom. and the paper trail of its brutal rule. the arabic word for ex

marines arriving in northern syria at least 200 troops will provide artillery support to u.s.-backed syrian troops fighting isis. they're getting ready to go into the city of raqqa. "washington post" and cnn report the pentagon and marine corps are being tight lipped about the exact location of deployment out of safety concerns. >>> uc berkeley police are warning students about an armed robbery inside of a campus dorm yesterday. zie sky7 was over the scene yesterday as officers searched for the suspect. police sent out a tweet telling students to shelter in place as they searched. no word on what he got away with. >>> in san francisco, police are looking for two men they say robbed a woman and her 1-year-old daughter at gunpoint. it happened friday night. police released the surveillance video showing the suspects. they robbed the woman inside the parking garage of a complex in florida street in the mission district. police say they wanted her car. >> one of the suspects pointed a gun at them and the other suspect grabbed the baby from the vehicle, hanging on to the baby, and

manbij has become the focus of competing forces in northern syria — it was captured from i—s by us—ledpelled the north korean ambassador. kang chol is expected to leave within 48 hours, after criticising the investigation into the murder of the north korean leader's half—brother. relations between the two countries have deteriorated steadily in the last few weeks. tom sa ntorelli reports. the north korean embassy in kuala lumpur. in a little less than 48 hours it will need a new resident after this man pulled no punches in his criticism of the malaysian investigation into the brazen killing of the estranged half brother of kim jong—un. it has been seven days since the incident but there is no clear evidence on the cause of the death and at the moment we cannot trust the investigation by the malaysian police. the malaysian prime minister called the diplomat‘s words "undiplomatically rude". tensions between the two nations ramped up in the following days as malaysia recalled its ambassador from pyongyang and revoked a visa—free travel arrangement with north korea. but after the ambassado

in syria, the military battle to defeat is in their self—proclaimed capital of raqqa in northern syrias, recaptured the city of palmyra for the second time in the past year. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet travelled to palmyra to see what progress is being made in the fight against is. despite all the horror which happened here, palmyra still takes your breath away. the monumental ruins ofan your breath away. the monumental ruins of an ancient roman city, ruined again in our time. occupied not once, but twice by the forces of so—called islamic state. the first time in 2015, this roman theatre was largely left as it stood. but in their last occupation they smashed their last occupation they smashed the carved facade. the centrepiece of this theatre. revenge, the syrians say, the triumphant concert staged by the russian red army concert followed day by the syrian orchestras. and then this ancient stage became the modern stage of ideas to carry out their grisly executions. but there atrocities and abuses go far beyond this heritage and all that happened here in this thea

turkish military said troops and turkish backed rebels have killed more than 70 kurdish fighters in northern syriaturkey has threatened to attack the town of manbij that is held by a kurdish—led rebel alliance. the group is supported by the us, which sees it as the most effective force — against is when it comes to launching an attack on raqqa, the i—s de facto capital in syria. the is de facto capital in syria. well, it comes as the russian president, vladimir putin praised — the co—operation developing between russia and turkey over military operations in syria. it follows talks in moscow with turkish president erdogan. but as olga ivshina now reports — the to countries priorities differ when it comes to syria. moscow and ankara, considering the future of syria is very much different but it is also very much difference from the one that the united states have. it seems for putin and erdogan being two ambitious leaders, it is way easier to talk to each other rather than the triangle communities, turkey and moscow. they also have their own plans which seem to contradict those of the united states.

manbij has become the focus of competing forces in northern syria.s—led rebels last year. manbij was captured from is by us—led rebels last year. the german chancellor has spoken on the telephone to turkey's prime minister to try to calm a row between the two countries about next month's referendum on greater powers for president erdogan. ankara reacted angrily after rallies for turkish voters living in germany were cancelled by local authorities. a private team says it will continue the search for debris of the malaysian airlines flight mh three—seventy. the initiative is an effort for the relatives of the 239 people who died after the aircraft disappeared nearly three years ago. a multinational search for the plan ended earlier this year. the troubled centre—right candidate for the french presidency, francois fillon, has called on his supporters not to give up, in a campaign that he said was becoming an unusual battle. he's defied calls from some within his republican party to stand down, amid a scandal about payments he made to family members for

manbij has become the focus of competing forces in northern syria — it was captured from i—s by us—ledancellor and the turkish prime minister have spoken by phone, a day after a public row between the two countries over next month's referendum on greater powers for president erdogan. ankara reacted angrily after rallies for turkish voters living in germany were cancelled by local authorities. of the malaysian airlines flightm—h 370. the initiative is an effort to give answers to the relatives of the 239 people onboard the aircraft — which disappeared nearly three years ago. a multinational search for evidence from the plane ended earlier this year. the wife of the embattled french presidential candidate, francois fillon says that the work she had carried out for him was real and that she wants him to continue his campaign. in a newspaper interview, penelope fillon says she carried out "very varied tasks" as parliamentary assistant for her husband. francois fillon has called on his supporters not to give up, in a campaign that he said was becoming an unusual battle. he will try to stabi

manbij has become the focus of competing forces in northern syria.captured from is by us—led rebels last year. barack 0bama has issued a strong denial of allegations by president trump that the outgoing administration tapped phones at trump tower in new york during the election campaign. in a series of tweets, mr trump described the alleged surveillance as "terrible" and called his predecessor a "bad or sick guy," but he didn't offer any evidence to back up his claims. 0ur north america correspondent, nick bryant, reports. it was warm handshakes and friendly bonhomie on inauguration day as donald trump peacefully took power from barack 0bama, two men fiercely hostile in the election campaign, coming together in a show of presidential and personal civility. but early this morning donald trump launched the kind of public attack on a predecessor which in modern times is completely without precedent. "terrible," he wrote in a twitter tirade. a pro—trump rally outside his tower in new york, a skyscraper that donald trump claims was a crime scene. but he m

manbij has become the focus of competing forces in northern syria.m is by us—led rebels last year. the german chancellor and the turkish prime minister have spoken by phone a day after a public row between the two countries over next month's referendum on greater powers for president erdogan. ankara reacted angrily after rallies for turkish voters living in germany were cancelled by local authorities. the wife of francois fillon says the work she carried out for him was real and that she wants him to continue his campaign. in a newspaper interview, penelope fillion says she carried out various tasks for her husband. francois fillon has called for his supporters not to give up in a campaign he said was becoming an unusual battle. he tried to stabilise his campaign at a rally, as we report. under fire but defiant. francois fillon takes to the stage at a rally outside paris. mr fillon enjoyed the backing of faithful supporters. but within the republican party, that support appears to be fading. translation: my friends, this campaign is a straight fight.

in northern syria, government forces, backed by russian and iranian allies, have recaptured the ancientf international correspondent, lyse doucet, has travelled to palmyra and its historic ruins, and sent this report. palmyra. roman ruins, precious world heritage. is occupied this site twice in the past two years. their last target, the roman theatre — a stage for grisly executions, slitting throats, shooting soldiers and civilians here. is has lost this prize and ground beyond here to the syrian military, backed by its allies. the helicopter overhead is russian. palmyra matters, but the battles which lie ahead, including raqqa — the is‘s self—declared capital — matter more, and are far more difficult. and that's because confronting is in syria means confronting a fundamental question. are the west and countries in this region now willing to work with president assad and his russian and iranian allies to fight their common enemy? the world knows of is crimes now. in the basement of a deserted building we are shown what's called a makeshift courtroom. and the paper trail of its brutal ru

while they were heading towards a target in northern syria. the incident is under investigation.resent trump reconsidering a national security agreement. including the missile launch. more russian warplanes had been buzzing. this comes as is really prime minister is set to meet there. he hopes russia will help that. we are joining with that. what as always do you think he is up to? >> he is just during the pot. the more he gets to do. i think he is looking at two major things. one is the rancor of domestic u.s. politics right now which is weakening president trump's ability into he just may be looking at the fact that he keeps pushing. how do they play into that. he has not as you pointed out in your lead-in he is not backed off after it countries. they are putting ground troops in there. trying to match that. germany has as well. nato is on edge. his main goal i think is to restore imperial russia and to do that. he need to severely weaken nato. he needs to constantly push with the pressure. we been told with the previous ties. one would hope. it takes national will to act. and

administration, which involves sending hundreds of special forces backed up by troops and artillery into northern syriaup the pressure on islamic state, both in iraq as well as in syria, that the present balance of forces on the ground simply wouldn't work, but since then, president trump's team had been adding, and adding in a way which is very interesting. we are getting hints from the president trump's administration, he, with his great admiration of the us military is willing to give his commanders on the ground more leeway in taking some of the day—to—day decisions. that seems to involve the deployment of forces, moving the forces on the ground. there are restrictions on combat troops, but not on advisers, special forces, and we have seen in places like afghanistan, that distinction is very grey. so yes, a president which talked about america first is deciding that putting america first means being even a greater presence militarily, more boots on the ground as we say, in a lot of troubled places. thanks for that update. lyse doucet in homs, to the north of damascus. this is from a court in south

are on the ground ina given the fact that we are on the ground in a very confused situation in northern syriax tillerson and his acting deputy tom shannon are more than capable of acting effectively on something like this with or without the agreed pathetic situation of staffing in the state department. so i suppose it is less of a concern, this row that might blow over, more of concern is where president erdogan is taking the country and how u nsta ble is taking the country and how unstable it might become in the future. we are worried about that. roughly half the population want to see him sees these powers. this is not democratic. i thought, french fifth republic and the american constitution, we have had some experience of this, however, in the hands of someone who may not respect democracy as much as we might hear in america, that can be very problematic and people in washington are very worried about where president erdogan is taking the country, for sure. we are taking some time looking at populist leaders and their characters and policies. are you suggesting that people are looking at

the army rangers in northern syria are flying the stars and stripes. does this open up a new front and fight against isis or does it put a target on our backs? >> i think it's almost certainly a reflect of president trump's desire to move up the pace of the destruction of isis from the obama degrade and destroy over some indefinite period of time. it may be these deployments were planned previously. al-assad is laying down the markers saying their presence in syria is illegitimate. an invasion inpresumed to be an act of war. it leaves it open if they come under fire by syrian forces, hezbollah or russian aircraft or who knows what. but it's also a way of trying to get the united states to find a way to accommodate him so there is not an artificial clash and thus bolster his regime. i think it's complicated enough to bring isis down which i hope will happen sooner rather than later. the last thing we need to do to arrive at some kind of understanding that preserve assad in power and assad in lebanon. it's fine to eliminate isis the sooner the better. bu

then we saw in syria about four or 5, 3 weeks ago they targeted an al qaeda leader in northern syria.hat was the first known example of the cia's taking this authority since they got it from mr. trump. there has long been this turf war between the cia and pentagon over drone strikes. >> right. there's always been this bureaucratic squabbling over this issue. under pressure from human rights groups and others, obama had kind of settled on getting a hybrid solution where the cia and dod work together to mount a strike. it was basically the cia providing intelligence and analysis and at the last minute, allowing the dod to pull the trigger. but thus allowing that mission to be largely, publicly accountable and transparent. that was a place where mr. obama pushed to have that happen. this is the beginning of what could be a reversal of that policy under mr. trump, who clearly signaled he wants to accelerate the fight against islamic state and other groups. chemical how easy or complicated is it going to be to change the drone rules? >> i think it's relatively easy. guidance that president

in the new deployment, it comes as additional 100 army rangers have gone to manbij in northern syria.to a complicated battle field. manbij was captured by america's local allies. you see turkish troops and kurdish forces. some groups don't get along well. the u.s. is putting troops in to prevent clashes to undermine the critical and important upcoming offensive on raqqah. among the tension, the u.s. is stepping in and reassure and deterring role to assure the campaign against isis is allowed to proceed ahead. >> ryan browne, thank you. >>> today is a special day. not my birthday. not your birthday. it is a little bull on wall street that turns eight years old. >> what are you getting him? >> we hope for a long life for this bull. if it wants to be the longest bull market of all time, it has to run four more years. think of that. there could be more money ahead or it could be over. i'll show you the numbers next. an uited data plan is only as good as the network it's on. and verizon has been ranked number one for the 7th time in a row by rootmetrics. (man) hey, uh, what's rootmetrics?