monitors from the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons, mandated by the un, say theirresults confirm that sarin gas or a similar nerve agent was used in an attack in syria earlier this month. will be looking at the international newspapers later. now for the latest financial news with sally bundock and world business report. —— we will. red lines: the head of the european parliament meets theresa may with a list of ‘non—negotiables'. but will the uk'sjune election mean a softer approach to brexit? plus: rural revolution — why anti—europe candidates are finding fertile ground in the french countryside. welcome to world business report. i'm sally bundock. also coming up,japan sees its biggestjump in exports in two years. we will have the numbers soon. it has been moving the markets in asia. but first: we start here in london where in a few hours time the head of the european parliament is due in downing street to meet the british prime minister theresa may. antonio tajani's visit comes as the country prepares for an election which will be dominated by britain's exit from

douglas: the prohibition of chemical weapons, they already concluded that sarin gas or a cynical -- similar chemical agent had been used in this attack. everyone agreed that a chemical agent of some sort was used. even the syrian government has acknowledged there was a chemical agent involved. with the french foreign minister has confirmed is that it was sarin gas and came from the same stocks that were supposed to be destroyed under an agreement in october 2013 between washington and moscow that was supposed to see all of bush are all asides chemical stops -- bashar al-assad's chemical stocks abolished. there is all of the hallmarks, the fabrication bares all of the hallmarks of the way it is made in the syrian laboratories. it was a jet as had been reported by a number of observers that had delivered the chemical agent, dropped this chemical agent resulting in more than 80 people killed, hundreds more injured in one of the worst chemical attacks we have seen in the six years syrian civil war. genie: the regime has denied the use of chemical weapons and has committed to not using them. wha

of chemical weapons. what we saw just a few days prohibition of chemical weapons. on that either the government has begun to create and manufacture more chemical weapons, or maybe theyjust didn't declare all of them in the first place. other reports also recently of the use of chemical weapons in syria in addition to khan sheikhun and also the un and opcw in a report said that there were three cases in 201a—2015 where they had evidence that chemical weapons were used, even since the decommissioning process , eve n used, even since the decommissioning process, even since the declared stockpile. so this is a very, very different response from the united states on this occasion. we'll see what it leads to. we'll see exactly how much it may have affected and taken out some of the infrastructure that they accuse president assad of using when launching chemical attacks. on that point, it's one thing for us to say that russia was given a heads—up on the attack. russian facilities personnel were not targeted, but as you point out, russia was in charge of syria not having ch

we know the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons is on the ground there. ously they cannot keep up with the chemical weapons that are being used. is that what we're seeing? guest: what happened today is nothing new. the amount of victims is new. we have seen them regularly attacked with chlorine gas, which doesn't lead to as many victims. but we have had nerve gas attacks reported with 93 victims. we didn't talk about because we are busy with aleppo. last week we had another nerve gas attack. we had this fact-finding mission . weapons are supposed to be there. they reported on it and they confirmed the assad regime was using chemical weapons. they gave it to the united nations. great britain and france try to get you an resolution on this and we had the russian veto. this was just a month ago. we have everything there. the mechanisms are there. brent: but we can't enforce it because of russia or chinese veto. the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, it looks like a permanent cat and mouse game between them and the assad regime. he has been

the prohibition of chemical weapons is accusing syria of burying the truth with russia's help. >> assad flat out denied a chemical attack even took place in an interview, but filmed and edited by the syrian regime so this was not a free speech situation, want to be very clear here, he insists they were fake with child actors. we want to bring in cnn's paula newton. it is a hallmark to disseminate that video that had all kinds of caveats and i guess tricks from the regime. >> reporter: yeah, to suggest this and the governments saying it is just 100% lies from the syrian regime as it relates to the meeting underway now here christine, they are underway. they had some opening comments. we expect a press conference in the next two hours, this is iran, syrian and russia trying to show a somewhat united front but russia is not going to be happy with assad's comments on that. russia has said we don't know who perpetrated the attack and disagree strongly with the u.s. and said it could have been the rebels because they were the ones making the chemicals nearby, even the russians have said we wa

last year, the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons, the opcw, jointly with the un, didhe syrian government was responsible for at least three of those, while there was insufficient evidence in a number of other cases. that may or may not be relevant to the assessment that the syrian government was responsible for the latest sarin attack. well, a little earlier i spoke to faisal mekdad, syria's deputy foreign minister. i asked him what he thought had happened in idlib this week. what happened is that a fabricated incident of the use of chemical weapons in khan sheikhoun was made, and at the end of the game, the united states has come at the request of terrorist groups in syria and bombarded a very important airport from which our planes go and attack daesh and jabhat al—nusra in its fight against terrorism. what happened to ignite sarin gas in khan sheikhoun this week? i think the terrorist groups have hidden these materials, and we have reported this to the united nations security council, and to the organisation on the prevention of chemical weapons, some time ago, and

monitors from the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons, which is mandated by the un, say their test results confirm that sarin gas or a similar nerve agent was used in an attack in syria earlier this month. now it is time for our news review. the telegraph leads with a warning from uk prime minister theresa may that britain will be run by a coalition of chaos if voters opt for scotland first minister nicola sturgeon‘s plan to create a progressive alliance of snp, labour and liberal democrats the ft reports on demonstrations taking place in caracas. at least two people have been shot dead in venezuela during protests against the government of president nicolas maduro. also in the ft, brussels is urging businesses to move inside the european union as british companies are warned they will be shut out from multi—billion euro contracts. the gulf news says airline emirates is cutting the number of flights to the us after passengers became put off travelling due to the recent imposed ban on electronic devices and visa restrictions. in the gulf news, business section says st

agreement, they continued to use chemical weapons but not sarin or vx, they were using chlorine, and it's complicated they say because chlorine in and of itself is not a prohibited chemical, as used as a weapon is prohibited by the chemical weapons convention. we were pressing on that, too. it's of a different nature than sarin or vx but still the use of a chemical in war. >> my misgiving is when you use the word "complicated," that's complicated maybe from the standpoint of lawyers dealing with international legal niceties. it's not complicated from the standpoint of the people who are in the villages and towns underneath those chemical bombs being wiped out in full view of the world while an american president simply decides that he's going to stand by and do nothing about this because of the possibility that action entails consequences. >> there wassen inaction. there was action that you think was misguided or is the wrong judgment and that's a perfectly reasonable argument to make. the action was very clear. there was a diplomatic enforcement of getting the chemical weapons out. that's what we did, and we had significant success with that. >> but you didn't

it's what they didn't declare that the un couldn't find the organization for the prohibition of chemical weaponsm not sure that our intelligence knew about either. this is a very important question going forward. did the obama administration know of chemical weapon stockpiles that still existed in syria, they briefed the incoming trump administration on it. i would be very curious about that and also intelligence that withheld. neil: one thing it's very clear is we have apparently drawn the line to the use of chemical weapons, the line that president bush used and chemical weapon to justify going into iraq and so it is something that is a deal- breaker and as we look at the 100th anniversary of world war i and chemical weapons was a big issue then. where are we going on this and keep popping up as real threats to mankind? >> it should tell you something after 100-year history of these kinds of arms control agreements that the people you're most worried about are fully prepared to commit to give up nuclear weapons, give up biological and chemical agreements. winston churchill said the trouble wit

more recently, even today, a delegation of scientists sent by the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, and on the basis of the samples they have collected, they also confirm yet again that the use of sarin. indeed, it seems to be the starting of a consensus that sarin gas, sarin toxins have been used. however, the opcw needs another week, i would say, to confirm its initial findings. brent: let's talk more about the opcw. mr. assad said in the interview that there was no way he could launch a chemical weapons attack, because he says his forces gave up those weapons a long time ago. but that is not true, is it? the opcw has been on all kinds omissions in the last two years alone looking for chemical weapons in syria. >> it is absolutely true. back in 2015 immediately after the attacks, the opcw -- syria committed in terms of surveillance and monitoring chemical weapons, it was compelled to assemble a list of its chemical weapon arson rate, and was compelled to surrender all of its weaponry command from 2013 to 2016, approximately 100 tons of chemical weapons have been destroyed in that

2013,mind you that syria committed to stop using chemical weapons against its population and even ratified the international convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons. , syria is clearly violating this convention ratified by 192 states, meaning almost every state in the world. rings of saturn are one of the most recognizable and mysterious phenomenon in space. now, nasa is hoping to get some rare data on the sixth planet from the sun was sending its unmanned cassini probe into the gap between saturn and its rings. .he first of 22 dives then becomes a nailbiting wait. if cassini survives the trip, it should make contact with earth 24 hours later. after that crucial data is retrieved, cassini will make a death plunge into saturn's surface stop that is scheduled to happen on july 15. let's get some business news now. taking us back to washington, donald trump has unveiled his tax plan. any surprises there? reporter: earlier, we saw the press conference with gary cohen and steve mnuchin delivering the details. were two headlines for businesses. there will be a one time repatriation tax on overseas profits. the white house is calling it

of chemical weapons under all circumstances. if proven, this will be further evidence of the barbarism of the syrian regime. i would urge the organisation for the prohibitioninvestigate this incident as soon as possible. i am very clear that there can be no future for assad in a stable syria which is representative of all the syrian people, and i call on all of the parties involved to ensure that we have a transition away from a sad. we cannot allow the suffering to continue. meanwhile, the white house says there is not a fundamental option of regime change in syria. rajini vaidya nathan in washington brought us more of the white house response. white house press secretary sean spicer described the attack as heinous, reprehensible, and said it cannot be ignored. crucially, in the statement he gave to reporters, he also blamed what he described as the consequence of the past administration ‘s weakness and irresolution. a dig president obama, who of course set in red line when it came to chemical weapons in syria. and was then criticised for not taking divisive action against president assad. we are also seeing that there the syrian regime, assad, there is n

also making use of a: —— also making news to day: the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weaponssyria earlier this month confirm that the nerve agent, sarin, ora similar substance was used. —— today. dozens of people were killed in the attack on the rebel—held town of khan sheikhun. nigeria's spy chief has been suspended in connection with the discovery of more than $40 million in cash at a flat in lagos. the head of the national intelligence agency said the money was intended for use in covert security operations. candidates for the french presidency have held their last day of campaigning before the vote. one of the front—runners, the centrist emmanuel macron, was in the western city of nantes, while one of his chief rivals, marine le pen of the far right national front, spoke in marseille in the south. now, here's an example of why you should always keep a close eye on your guests, especially when they've got something to celebrate. this is president trump hosting the new england patriots american football team — and it's to congratulate them on their victory in the superbowl

that international investigators, experienced specialists from the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weaponse un resolution calling for an investigation? because the resolution, the draft resolution blamed the syrian government for that. if it had been only a call for investigation, we would have supported that, wholeheartedly. do you think russia... actually, we tabled an alternative draft, which unfortunately was not supported. not supported? you were isolated. is there a danger that russia has become almost dangerously isolated as a result of this issue? i do not accept the claim that russia was isolated, even in this particular case. as you know, the western draft resolution was not supported by five of the 15 members of the security council. abstained rather than vetoed. well, there is only the need for one permanent member to veto a resolution. and on the question of what happened with... whether there was a chemical attack, you call for an investigation by the opcw. they are going to carry out an investigation. will you accept whatever theirfinding is? of course. i wonder why they are

an organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons now says it has what it calls, quote, inconvoe vertable test results that show sarin gas, a deadly toxic agent was in fact used in the attack against innocent civilians. the syrian military denied using any chemical weapons while its ally russia blames a strike on the munitions dump. the u.s. sent some 59 tomahawk missiles into syria as a response to that deadly attack. >> and hundreds of thousands of venezuela ans are taking to the streets in what is being called, quote, the mother of all marches. they are protesting against the president as the country is in the middle of a severe economic crisis. the nation allege guard has used tear gas against demonstrators. at least two people died wednesday bringing the death toll to seven since the protests began three weeks ago. amidst that turmoil reuters reporting general motors says it is ceasing operations in that country after authorities illegally seized plants cause being the company irreparable damage. >> the families of two men at the center of separate murder cases against forme

the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons is investigating. >>> president trump's political guru steve bannon is no longer serving on the national security council. he announced that decision last night in a memo. his role on the council had been criticized by many who said it was inappropriate for a political adviser to play a role in security matters. >>> one key member of president trump's inner circle spoke exclusively to "cbs this morning." his daughter and new presidential adviser ivanka trump. cbs' gayle king asked her why she is not more vocal about certain issues like women's rights and climate change. >> i would say not to conflate lack of public denouncement with silence. i think there are multiple ways to have your voice heard. in some cases, it's through protest and it's through going on the nightly news and talking about or denouncing every issue in which you disagree with. other times, it is quietly and directly and candidly. so where i disagree with my father, he knows it. and i express myself with total candor. where i agree, i fully lean in and support the

an international group, the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons now says it has what it calls, quote, incontrovert nl test results that show sarin gas, a deadly toxic agent, was used in the attack against innocent civilians. the syrian military denied using chemical weapons while the ally russia blames and a strike on an alleged rebel munitions dump. the u.s. sent some 59 tomahawk missiles into syria as a response to that deadly attack. >> reaching speeds of over 33 miles per hour, a rocket carrying jack fisher on his first mission. they should be docking at the international space station within the next few hours. >>> hundreds of thousands of venezuelans are taking to the streets protesting against nicholas maduro. the national guard has used teargas against demonstrators who accuse security forces of excessive violence. at least two people died wednesday bringing the death toll to seven since the protest began three weeks ago. general motors says it's now ceasing operations there after authorities there illegally seized its manufacturing plant and other assets caus

in other news: monitors from the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons, which is mandated test results confirm that sarin gas, or a similar nerve agent, was used in an attack in syria this month. dozens were killed in the rebel—held town of khan sheikhun. ukraine has failed to get the united nations to impose emergency measures against russia. the un's top court said ukraine had failed to provide enough evidence that moscow was funding and arming separatist rebels in the east of the country. the court did issue an interim ruling against russia related to the crimean peninsula, which moscow annexed from ukraine in 2014. the dubai—based airline, emirates, is cutting flights to the us because of restrictions imposed since president trump took office. the airline says demand for travel to the us has slackened. it will cut services to five cities including boston and los angeles from next month. at least two people have been shot dead in venezuela in protests against the government of president nicolas maduro. a teenager died in the capital caracas and a woman was killed in san

monitors from the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons, which is mandated by the un,rin gas or a similar nerve agent was used in an attack in syria this month. dozens were killed in the rebel—held town of khan sheikhun. the state of arkansas has suffered more setbacks in its attempt to carry out eight executions in 11 days, before one of the drugs used in the lethal injection expires. a judge ruled in favour of one company that doesn't want its drug used. another court gave a condemned prisoner more time to prove his innocence using dna techniques. the dubai—based airline, emirates, is cutting flights to the us because of restrictions imposed since president trump took office. the airline says demand for travel to the us has slackened. it will cut services to five cities, including boston and los angeles from next month. serena williams's agent has confirmed social media reports that the tennis star is pregnant. serena williams posted a selfie on snapchat showing a small bump in the words 20 weeks. that is a big deal in itself, but it also suggests she was already pre

let's round—up some of the other main stories: monitors from the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weaponstheir test results confirm that sarin gas or a similar nerve agent was used in an attack in syria this month. dozens were killed in the rebel—held town of khan sheikhun. the united states' secretary of state has accused iran of "alarming ongoing provocations" aimed at destabilising the middle east. rex tillerson warned that leaving iran unchecked could increase threats around the world. earlier, president trump ordered a review of the iran nuclear deal. tehran has repeatedly denied that it was ever trying to develop nuclear weapons. the state of arkansas has suffered more setbacks in its attempt to carry out eight executions in 11 days, before one of the drugs used in the lethal injection expires. a judge ruled in favour of one company that doesn't want its drug used. another court gave a condemned prisoner more time to prove his innocence using dna techniques. one of the best—known television presenters in the united states, bill o'reilly, is leaving hisjob at fox news following a ser

after that, the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons destroyed president assad's declaredy can't be sure if he kept back secret supplies. he now insists all the events of the last ten days were the work of al-qaeda leader collaborating with the americans. our feeling is that it is the americans hand in glove with al-anda. the americans hand in glove with al-qaeda. president assad is keen to blame anyone but his own forces for last week's images of suffering children, even to the extent of claiming that none of this actually happen. our middle east editor, jeremy bowen, is here. you have interviewed president assad three times. the last time was two yea rs three times. the last time was two years ago. what do you make of this interview? i think he looks anxious, he looks under some sort of strain. when i interviewed him a couple of yea rs when i interviewed him a couple of years ago last, the military position they were in was really bad but he was much more relaxed. i thought now there was a difference in his demeanour, and i think there is good reason for that. barely a w

. >> i think in this particular case, the use of prohibited chemical weapons which violates a number of international norms and violates existing agreements, called for this type of a response. this is a kinetic military response. i would not in any way attempt to extrapolate this to a change in our policy relative to military activities in syria. there has been no change in that. i think it does demonstrate that president trump is willing to act when governments and actors crossed the line. they crossed the line in the most heinous of ways. i think it is clear and president trump made that statement to the world tonight. host: we will hear from michael, columbia, maryland, who is not sure about the attacks. caller: i actually do support the actual action. i am not sure about what the overwhelming response, or how it is going to play out in the long run, and that is my biggest concern. ,learly we do not like assad but toppling a dictator in the middle east does not always lead to a vibrant democracy. 3.0, andad to isis then what are we going to do? then will be stuck with another terr

autonomous body in the hague, the autonomous body in the hague, the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weaponsevidence to be presented. you say that will chime of the domestic audience in russia. it will chime but some people in the west who are still believing that they were misled over the claim of weapons of mass attraction being held by saddam hussein. is it possible to get absolute proof that syria was possible for the chemical attack? one thing vladimir putin is extremely adept at doing is to try to see the factions within the countries opposed to him and aggravating those, so you're absolutely right, one of the things that aggregates is that still quite painful dilemma that the west faced in 2002 and 2003. if you can re—engage that anti—war lobby that paints the us and uk as warmongering, then he will have what he has wanted from the russian perspective, to weaken the momentum in the west. they were holding that they would have momentum in trying to isolate vladimir putin. he had personal experience of what happened in ukraine. what can be done about president vladimir putin, f rex catt

experts from both the world health organisation and the 0pc w, the un organisation for the prohibition of chemical weaponsee bodies were examined and they we re three bodies were examined and they were found to be victims of a chemical agent. the health authority says it was the nerve agent, sarin. it is partly for that reason that it is said president assad is responsible. this man has been collecting samples we hope can be submitted to an international investigation. such samples seem unlikely to be regarded as reliable. the syrian government today flatly rely any responsibility. translation: our rely any responsibility. translation: 0ur army has never used chemical weapons and will not use any chemical weapons, not only for oui’ any chemical weapons, not only for our civilians, our people, but also the terrorists. not for the first time america and its allies do not believe a word of this. the crucial thing is what the united states will do in response. there is no doubt in oui’ do in response. there is no doubt in our mind that the syrian regime is responsible for this horrific attack. we think it is

chemical weapons, but not sarin. they used chlorine. it is complicated. chlorine in and of itself is not a prohibited weapon. is permitted by the chemical weapons convention. we were pressing on that too. it is of a different nature. than sarin or vx. bret: i guess my misgiving is when you use the word complicated. that is complicated may be from the standpoint of lawyers dealing with international legal niceties. it's not complicated from the standpoint of the people in villages and towns underneath chemical bombs being wiped out in full view of the world while an american president decides he's not going to do anything about this because of the possibility that action and health consequences. -- entails consequences. tony: there wasn't an action. there was action that you think was misguided, and that is a perfectly reasonable argument. the action was unclear. there was a diplomatic enforcement of getting chemical weapons out. that is what we did. we had significant success. we got the declared weapons out. we got 1300 tons out. we know that. we know syria would be a more horrific place today if they were

unbiased task force that looks at what happened there and they want the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weaponshas happened. they say that collecting samples from patients in turkey is not good enough so we will wait to see what the opcw and the americans say in response to that. the headlines on bbc news... a warning from washington after the us drops a massive bomb on an is base in afghanistan killing dozens of militants. schools in england face their worst funding cuts for 20 years — the warning from teaching unions as they meet for their annual conferences. labour says it would bring in a law preventing banks from closing high street branches. the conservatives say it would lead to extra debt. more on that last headline story because a future labour government says it would bring in a law preventing banks from closing their high—street branches. more than 1,000 local branches closed in the uk between 2016 and 2017. labour says lending to small businesses decreases in areas where banks close, but the conservatives said their support for small businesses, including start—up loans, had helped

the use of chemical weapons is absolutely prohibited in all circumstances and international humanitariano use of nerve agents, chlorine and mustard gas. tell us more about the evidence that you talk about, to back the allegations that chemical weapons are being used. syria has repeatedly denied it has them and uses them? there were some investigations carried out by the un, with organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons over the last several years. to verify the last several years. to verify the use of chemical weapons and in some cases to determine responsibility. we do not take part in such investigations due to our working methods. but, where we have first—hand information about the use of chemical weapons, we raise it with those parties for the conflict concerned, and sometimes we issue public statements like we did last month, about a chemical attack in mosul. tell us about that attack? this attack, some victims of a chemical attack were treated in a hospital where there were some of our medics. they were seen to be victims of a blister agent. in this particular incident,

the use of chemical weapons is absolutely prohibited in all circumstances under international humanitarianweapons. there have been confirmed reports of nerve agents, chlorine and mustard gas. some investigations have been carried out by the united nations, with the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons over the last several years, to verify the last several years, to verify the use of chemical weapons and also come in some cases, to determine responsibility. the icrc, we do not ta ke responsibility. the icrc, we do not take part in such investigations, because of our working methods. but where we have first hand information about the use of chemical weapons, we do raise it with those parties to the conflict concerned. sometimes we do issue public statements, like we did last month, about a chemical attack in mosul. in this particular incident, it seems to be a much more large—scale incident on if reports are correct. ican i canjust i can just point out that icrc is not present in a —— idlib, so we do not present in a —— idlib, so we do not have first—hand accounts of this, o

after that, the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons destroyed president assad's declaredugh they can't be certain if he kept back secret supplies. he now insists all the events of the past ten days were the work of al-qaeda collaborating with the americans. 0ur impression is that it is the west, mainly the united states, that is hand in glove with the terrorists. they fabricated the whole story in order to have a pretext for the attack. president assad is keen to blame anyone but his own forces for last week's images of suffering children, even to the extent of claiming that none of this actually happened. james robbins, bbc news. the pentagon has confirmed that, for the first time ever, it has used one of the world's largest non—nuclear munitions in an air strike in afghanistan. the gbu—as, which measures more than nine metres in length was dropped on an isis tunnel complex in nangarhar province, close to the pakistan border. white house press secretary sean spicer gave this update. at around 7pm local time in afghanistan that united states military used a gbu—43 three w

been openly flouted, that is the use of weapons of mass destruction against chemical, against the civilian population, the international community sought to prohibitonce and for all a century ago. we have a responsibility to protect the non proliferation of chemical weapons regime which on which there has been a consensus in this council, but which has been undermined. the risk that as we undermined. the risk that as we undermine that regime, we will undermine that regime, we will undermine all the other proliferation regimes that we have built patiently day by day over the past decades. the reappearance of these weapons in syria including in hands of daesh, without the international system and community being able to react would be a signal of sending a signal of impunity which is unacceptable and which is extremely dangerous. all the syrian chemical capacity must be dismantled to protect the syrian civilian pop lawings and beyond this to protect our collective security. madam president in the fog that surrounds us, there are some truths that we cannot simply overlook. the fundamental aspects of our values, of what unites us, speaking of values,

chemical attack on the city just outside of damascus. that left more than 1,000 people dead. now in the immediate aftermath of that attack, the organization for the prevention -- or the prohibition of chemical weapons and the united nations did conduct an investigation. they checked blood samples, urine samples, interviewed survivors of that attack. significantly, that investigation did not actually lay the blame on anybody. they -- their mandate was very narrow. the mandate was to find out what happened in terms of whether chemical weapons were used or not, and they verified that, indeed, a sarin gas was used in this instance but the report did not say who fired it. now it's been discovered afterwards that the missions used, which was a surface to surface misil to deliver the chemical weapons was a missile that is only, to the best of everyone's knowledge, a missile in the position or in the arsenal of the syrian government. so that flies in the face of what we heard from syrian president bashar al assad today. but as i said, his denial comes as no surprise. john, poppy? >> thank you very much, ben wedeman on the turkey/syria border. let's bring in the editor emeritus for the world journal. this i

international watchdog group, the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, which is investigatinghe incident, said results from four laboratories indicates the use of sarin gas or like substance. the head of the organization says the analytical results obtained are incontrovertible. assad said's political enemies are trying to frame his government. syrianme allie russells which cause the carnage. russian officials also question the legitimacy of the tests that reveal the use of chemical weapons. the russian military wants to know how those samples were collected and how the analysis can take place so quickly. meanwhile, france's foreign minister said his country is soon going to produce proof in a manner of days that syria was responsible for launching this chemical attacks. as a preventive measure, syria has now moved all of its operational aircraft to an air base in that country that is under rebel control. that move is in response to a u.s. air strike that destroyed about two dozen syrian jets. pentagon officials say that 59 tomahawk missiles were fired at serious shayrat air b

international experts cannot visit the site of a suspected chemical weapons attack in syria because of security precautions. he criticized the organization for the prohibition failing to go examine this site for the deadly attack in northern syria. he said claims the experts were warned by united nations against traveling there because it was not unsafe are not true. global news 24 hours a day, powered by more than 2600 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i am mark crumpton. this is bloomberg. oliver: we will have more on after coming up. and the mexican peso ballooning on the plans to scrap the trade agreement. this is bloomberg. ♪ ♪ scarlet: this is bloomberg markets. trump administration is said to be preparing a draft of an executive order to withdraw from nafta. the canadian dollar and the peso are falling after this discussion on terrorists from softwood lumber. we have josh when growth and another reporter -- but start with you. about was talking softwood lumber, now we are talking about the all-out pullout from nafta. doesn't seem like we will get into a long-term spent with our neighbors? reporter: something long-term, but we don't

order to have the international body like the opcw, the organization concerned with the prohibition of chemical weaponsin and find out what really happened. for the rest of the world it looks like another russian tactic to delay and to confuse in order to protect their syrian ally. jake in. >> and russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov said any effort to remove assad from power will not succeed. explain to us as quickly as you can, though i'm sure volumes can be written about this. why do the russians like assad? >> well, first of all, i'm not sure they like him personally. i mean, whenever you see putin and assad together it's always a bit of an uncomfortable atmosphere between them, but, you know, they seem as a guarantor of russian interests. russia has political, military and economic there is syria, and if there was anybody else in that position, someone who was more palatable to the united states or to the west then he could easily turn away from the kremlin and move more towards the western powers. you know, moscow is the ally of last resort, and from that perspective they have assad exactly wh

the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons is investigating.sa caen, kpix 5. >>> a power shift on the national security council. president trump's political guru steve bannon is out. mr. trump announced the decision in a memo. bannon's role on the council had been criticized by many who said it was inappropriate for a political adviser to play a role in security matters. the restructuring also restores a greater role for military and intelligence officials. >>> from a modeling shoot to a protest march, pepsi now yanking this ad that it says clearly missed the mark. >> and endangered bald eagles making a comeback in the bay area. where we spotted them nesting. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, depiction of protesters and police. sound from ad >>> pepsi pulled an ads starring model kendall jenner over what critics call a tone deaf depiction of protestors and police. it shows the supermodel in the middle of a fashion shoot when throngs of protestors pass by. the fashion model whips off her wig, wipes off her lipstick and joins the crowd. she grabs a pepsi and hands

joint press conference, the syrian government has written to the organization for the prohibition of chemical weaponsoffering access to the field that was hit by the american cruise missiles, but also calling quite legitimately for the rebels to give accesess to e site where the sarin gas was used, to see whether indeed it was caused by an airstrike or somebody on the ground who was doing a dirty trick to try to discredit the syrian government. amy: kareem shaheen was the first western reporter to visit the site, the chemical weapons attack. in a piece headlined "'the dead were wherever you looked': inside syrian town after gas attack," the guardian examined the warehouse and silos directly next to where the missile had landed. and shaheen says they "found nothing but an abandoned space covered in dust and half-destroyed silos reeking of leftover grain and animal manure." he went on to write -- "residents said the silos had been damaged in air raids six months ago, and had stood unused since then." your response? well, that is true. i mean, that report is accurate. at a crucial evidence is, where did

they say the autopsies were observed by an organization called the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons. they were the ones that disarmed syria back in 2013. turkey says the autopsy results clearly show that chemical weapons were used in this instance in syria. but here is where the plot thickens. cnn reached out to the world health organization and they said they can't verify the results of that autopsy because they weren't the ones conducting it. as far as syria speaking out and again sticking to that line that they did not launch a chemical weapon attack. they say it was an attack on some sort of weapons or ammunition depot and there were chemical weapons in that depot and the result of that blast is what caused the chemical weapons to be released in the air. appointed out something they warned the un about multiple times, something that has been suspected, and that is that isis is also widely believed to have access to chemical weapons as well as a group which has changed its names a couple of times but basically it still remains the al-qaeda affiliates. >> yeah. the delivery option

assad's interview was broadcast as inspectors with the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons said thursday samples taken from the site tested positive for the nerve agent sarin. elsewhere in syria, rebel groups and syria plus government - -- syria's government have begun swapping p prisoners with h sy's government in an excngnge that could see as many as 10,000 nbc news is reporting ththe trup administstration is prepared to launch a preemptive atattack on north korea if it proceeds towards a nuclear weapons test. nbc cited multiple senior u.s. intelligence officials, who say a pair of u.s. naval destroyers are positioned near north korea's nuclear test site and prepared to fire tomahawk cruise ssiles. the pepentagon declined to commt on the nbc report. north korea on thursday condemned the u.s. for bringing an aircraft carrier group and other nuclear-armed assets into the region, threatening an assault on south korea, japan, and u.s. bases. in beijing, chinese foreign minister wang yiyi urged the u.. and north korea to de-escalate. >> on the issue of the korean peninsula, it

the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons last year put together a report that cited threere was evidence of the syrian government using chemical weapons, using chlorine in the conflict. also the so—called islamic state using mustard gas, but not the groups operating in this pa rt not the groups operating in this part of syria. you will also remember back in 2013 a big conversation around chemical weapons that ended up with president assad's government agreeing to a deal brokered by the united states and russia to decommission and declares the piles of such weapons. —— declared stockpiles. that was said to have been completed at the beginning of last year, but what opposition forces will say is that some of those weapons were potentially not declared and may have been used here. later today the un security council will khamsin in a meeting to talk about what happened and discuss a response to it. -- happened and discuss a response to it. —— convene in a meeting. happened and discuss a response to it. -- convene in a meeting. thank you. prince harry has pledged to help rid t

of our relationship was clear following the u.s. strike in syria when israel immediately expressed the strong support to enforce the long-standing international prohibition against the use of chemical weapons. looking across the region we in the united states recognize that it represents a clear and present danger not only to syria and iraq to israel and other countries in this region to europe and ultimately to the u.s. homeland. the coalition campaign against isis in syria and iraq as you noted it is on track and we have accelerated and intensified that campaign to surround and isolate the enemy so we remove its physical caliphate. we also recognize the need to confront the destabilizing activities of iran. with the ballistic missiles to the merit time and cyber activities including lebanese habilis helping to keep them in power. the units it maintains absolute and unwavering commitment to the security into the qualitative military edge over iran or other threats. the foundation of our long-term commitment is a significant security assistance package we signed recently with israel. the most advanced u.s. technology. expansion. proliferation acss the region. it is our cooperation to defen

of collective security. for years, he has violated repeatedly and systematically his obligations with regards to international humanitarian law, the legal prohibition against chemical weapons in particular against civilian populations, and resolutions of the security council. it had become absolutely essential to react to deter him from this action. madam president, recourse to chemical weapons constitutes a war crime and possibly crime against humanity. this cannot go unpunished. syria can be no exception. this was already a position of france the day after the chemical attack and we have never deviated from this position. the international community can no longer be fooled by delaying tactics of the assad regime. in adopting resolution 2118, the security council clearly committed itself to sanction any failure on the part of syria to meet its obligations. this did not prevent the regime of bashar al-assad from pursuing since 2013 the repeated barbaric use of weapons of mass destruction, openly flouting the authority of this council and its international commitments. these violations have been irrefutably documented by a united nations mechanism created by the security co