richard galpin has the latest. are now under intense bombardment by government forces backed by their russian allies. this, the north—western province of idlib, the primary target. it's under the control of the jihadist group which has been linked to al-qaeda. but on the ground in the towns and villages under attack, desperate scenes as rescuers try to save the lives of civilians, including children, trapped in collapsed buildings. mustapha from the white helmets rescue team says rockets fired at this town killed seven people and left six others injured. almost a thousand people are reported to have been injured or killed since the offensive ramped up several weeks ago after a truce across the area started unravelling. at the united nations last night, a mood of despair amongst humanitarian aid officials. further military operations will overwhelm our ability to respond. as a result, in many areas of active hostilities, humanitarian operations have been suspended. the question today is what you will do to protect c

richard galpin reports. 26—year—old matt stokes is hiv positive. infect others. but this latest study, that taking anti—retroviral drugs prevents taking anti—retroviral drugs p reve nts a ny taking anti—retroviral drugs prevents any chance of transmitting the virus, is for him and his partner a game changer. for me, knowing with complete certainty that i can't pass hiv onto anyone with the undetectable level in my blood is hugely reassuring and a huge confidence boost, and also a huge confidence boost, and also a huge confidence boost, and also a huge confidence boost to partners, so it's really difficult to overstate the importance of this finding. the study involved almost 1000 gay male couples living in europe who are not using condoms, and in which one partner has been diagnosed with hiv and is taking anti—retroviral drugs. over a period of eight years the study found that hiv was not passed on amongst any of the couples because the drugs suppressed the virus to undetectable levels. essentially what we've shown is providing conclusive evidence,

richard galpin reports. 26—year—old matt stokes is hiv positive.this latest study that taking antiretroviral drugs prevents any chance of transmitting the virus is for him and his partner, a game changer. for me, knowing with complete certainty that i can't pass hiv on to anyone with the undetectable level in my blood, is hugely reassuring. a huge confidence boost and also a huge confidence boost to partners. it's really difficult to overstate the importance of this finding. the study involved almost 1000 gay male couples living in europe who are not using condoms and in which one partner has been diagnosed with hiv and is taking antiretroviral drugs. over a period of eight years, the study found that hiv was not passed on amongst any of the couples. because the drugs suppress the virus to undetectable levels. essentially what we've shown has provided conclusive evidence once and for all, that if you are hiv positive and you're on effective treatment, you are sexually non—infectious. your risk of transmitting the virus on to somebody else is zero.

richard galpin, bbc news.as involved in that ten year research programme. thank you forjoining us. the programme involved 18 european countries across a long period of time. this is a significant study, isn't it? yes, it was a very difficult study to do, it took a lot of effort by a lot of people. we had more than 80 clinics involved in identifying the couples involved, and then of course, the 2000 gay persons that contributed with very private information about the year sexual life, so that we could do the research and produce the results that we have today. —— about their sexual life stops now as said in the report, it also creates hope now... the stigma attached to hiv carriers can now end as well. we have to be careful about the messages we send out from studies like this. we certainly do. the premise for the study and the conclusion is based on the fact that you are hiv positive, you are diagnosed and you are on treatment and the treatment is working. in that situation, the conclusion holds. but, we have

the region is dominated byjihadi fighters who used to be linked to al-qaeda as richard galpin reports which has been linked to al-qaeda. but on the ground in the towns and villages under attack, desperate scenes as rescuers try to save the lives of civilians, including children trapped in collapsed buildings. mustapha from the white helmets rescue team says rockets fired at this town, killed seven people and left six others injured. almost a thousand people are reported to have been injured or killed since the offensive ramped up several weeks ago, after a truce across the area started unravelling. at the united nations last night, a mood of despair amongst humanitarian aid officials. further military operations will overwhelm all ability to respond. as a result, in many areas of active hostilities, humanitarian operations have been suspended. the question today is — what you will do to protect civilians in idlib? translation: but russia‘s deputy foreign minister said the offensive was targeting islamist extremists who he said were terrorising civilians and using them as human shields

the region is dominated byjihadi fighters who used to be linked to al-qaeda, as richard galpin reportsombardment by government forces, backed by their russian allies. this, the north—western province of idlib, the primary target. it‘s under the control of a jihadist group which has been linked to al-qaeda. but on the ground in the towns and villages under attack, desperate scenes as rescuers try to save the lives of civilians, including children trapped in collapsed buildings. mustapha from the white helmets rescue team says rockets fired at this town, killed seven people and left six others injured. almost a thousand people are reported to have been injured or killed since the offensive ramped up several weeks ago, after a truce across the area started unravelling. at the united nations last night, and mood of despair amongst humanitarian aid officials. further military operations will overwhelm all ability to respond. as a result, in many areas of active hostilities, humanitarian operations have been suspended. the question today is — what you will do to protect civilians in idlib? t