security council and this security council when it determines the source. of using chemical weapons and it will take into account all three so you can accuse cumulative load of information including theoretical and factual information available in the internet and mass media. but also he wants people. there's been a lot of divorce we can look at her child in the lebanon. communication good bye mr la grone i wouldn't speak of ifs that. when there is a situation that the west and other allies will not. this is the palmer to listen to the russian diplomats and say take this insane step what would be the position of russia in that case. and for two and a half years now we've been using this as the reason and common sense. but are those diplomatic actions enough to stop this insanity from the western side and for their different response thank you very well you know it just very difficult to understand the real motives by which our western colleagues are guided. witnesses. of the shooting having. had the destructive interventions in iraq then in libya. and havin

security council. a series of bomb attack attacksq have killed at least zero people and injured more than 100. >> i'm malcolm web, in the democratic republic of congo, where soldiers and their families are buries those killed. >> that's barn by phillips reporting for us. and now james is over at the united nations headquarters, james, and you heard what barnby was saying about the u.k. possibly going to the u.n. security council, what are you hearing from your end on that? >> well i think it is fair to say they kept this one very close to their chest. normally we get whispers of these things going on. trying to prepare these things there was no mention of this in all our calls in the last 24 hours. it is important development i think so is what we are about to see in geneva, where the special representative on syria. >> james, james -- >>ly just have to stop you, because we are crossing over to geneva, that's where the u.n. arab pane envoy is speaking. stand by and listen to this along with myself and

security council not in the u.s. congress in the house of commons on the white house whitehall i would definitely make the case anything outside of the united nations security council on that force is getting on very slippery ground and will lead down the road strong. and that violation of international law will the kind that we have seen in iraq well talking of which you served as u.n. humanitarian coordinator for iraq do you see similarities here in the build up to what happened then we're talking about the unknown if they had not existed evidence of w m d's do you see the same thing happening here all the parallels of the op. there's also a very build up. some weeks ago we were told the public was told there may be a weapons of mass fraction but then the news in syria said it turned out to be there were likely to be such weapons involved and now we have very clear very critical and clear statements by both chuck hagel the secretary of defense of the u.s. and marshall by john kerry who saying we have evidence. and

the united nations security council conditioning of some 15 members. e members, five are permanent, china, france, russia, the u.k. and u.s. they are the nations with the power to veto the council's resolutions. china and russia have used the powers in the past to block action against syria. russia remains syria's main ally. putin has said if there is a strike, it will have catastrophic consequences. >> peter, do the russians believe that a strike is inevitable and what is the situation on the ground? >> we had reaction from russiad deputy prime minister, who spoke out rather forcefully saying washington and london are behaving like a monkey with a hand grenade. as we know, though, the foreign minister in russia chose his words more carefully. he said it would be a violation of international law if these even limited targeted strikes took place. he said that the only victor in this is going to be al-qaeda and other extremist groups fighting in the continuing civil war. he said that if anyone thinks that by destroying the sirian military infrastructure y

approval will doesn't look like they're going to get that security council approval so i mean does the u.s. go it alone on this we have a u.s. representative said that we're past the point of no return here that seems to suggest. that an attack is imminent if anything absolutely i mean it seems as though the u.s. has made up its mind the u.s. and its european partners of france and britain they have a plan in place this might have just been a protocol to make an attempt to go through the legal norms because if they act outside of the united nations and act unilaterally it is a violation of international law i don't know if they want to acknowledge it or not but if they do strike militarily without approval from the security council it's a violation of the u.n. charter but it seems as though that is the path they are choosing to go with and i know you mentioned there's weapons inspectors in syria right now investigating this this alleged attack near damascus what's the timeframe there do they still have more work to do is it feasible that the united states and allies would begi

security council approval. reports now from the region on the latest developments. what we're hearing from both residents and opposition forces who say that assad's army has evacuated most of its personnel from military and security headquarters inside the capital city this is of course in preparation for any kind of possible western led military intervention at the same time we are receiving reports that army units in near the capital have started confiscating heavy truck trailers and these will be used to transport heavy weaponry from one location to another we are also receiving reports that assad's and naval forces have started docking alongside commercial ships in tears that are usually used for commercial traffic now here in lebanon itself the situation of course is extremely fluid and we're hearing from a hizbollah leader that the movement will not stand idle showed damascus come under fire from the waist we're receiving reports that as of yet are not confirmed that russia is carrying out a rotation of its naval forces in the mediterranean sea and increasingl

security council and diplomacy.wo tracks are going on, one the diplomatic track, the british parliament want to show every effort has been taken. they've come up with this draft resolution. they are going to present it to the permanent members of the security council, the five who have a veto, that is the u.s., u.k. and france on one side of the argument and russia and china on the other. they're going to try to persuade the russians and chinese to come onboard. that's very unlikely. if they do speaker suede them, it will go toward a full vote. the other track is military. from all the language out of washington, london and morris, they will go ahead without the u.n. security council if necessary within a matter of days. >> thank you so much. >> a deadly day in baghdad where at least 3 people have been killed. more than 80 others were injured in a series of car bombings across the capitol. today's attack extends the worst wave of violence in iraq in five years. more than 1,000 people were killed in the country in ju

security council meet to discuss the issue.t also follows a debate in the british parliament. >>> the nfl is agreeing to a proposed $765 million settlement with thousands of former players. the players claimed the league failed to warn them of the consequences of sustaining multiple head injuries. the money will fund medical exams, concussion-related compensation and a program for medical research. >>> a nationwide fast food protest is under way at this hour. workers in new york, chicago and detroit have walked off the job

we will never have the restoration of the security council instead of claiming what we think to be the case we can prove to the council with fact that it is the case, that the asad regime authorized this and then the possibility of concerted you know international action with the correct authority, the authority of the security council and international law would put us in a very different situation from the very worrying one where a strong group of countries might irrigate to themselves that they can enforce the law. >> tim let me have you respond to that. >> yes, we can clearly distinguish what we're hearing from certainly the administration in terms of they're looking at a moral application versus a legal one. and that is something that, yes, certainly complicates things and i don't think this is a situation where anyone needs to be rushing in there and making some statement or certainly some action just to purely justify that. >> i've got less than a minute. ambassador butler does this remind you of iraq? >> no, it's quite different. the last time iraq used chemical weapons was in

security council has been divided on syria. now one more try by the british to get military reaction. but away from the chamber down the corridor the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the council, the u.s. u.k. france, china and russia. there has been no comment. the western allies may have no option but to go ahead with military strikes without u.n. authorization but the special representatives was clear when asked about the legality of that. >> i do know that president obama and the american administration are not known to be trigger happy. what they will decide, i don't know. but certainly international law is very clear that security council has to be brought in. >> reporter: he's not the only u.n. official potentially causing problems for western military planners. u.n. weapons inspectors continue their work taking evidence and samples of the site of the chemical attacks, and no less a figure than the u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon i pleading r them to complete their mission. >> the time needs time to do its

security council as proof led to disastrous consequences will history repeat itself . moscow. well earlier i talked to broadcaster neil clark who is a long focused on covering the middle east and he told me that whatever the u.n. inspectors find it won't alter america's and britain's stance to see these weapons inspection teams going to this site and whatever they do the syrian government will be blamed the u.s. would have made that quite clear william hague britain's made that quite clear they believe the syrian government for this whatever the evidence or lack of evidence and there is no evidence that the syrian government ordered this massacre with chemical weapons yet they're still going to blame because they want war to go. before weapons traces or they may not and if they do that of course the us has said quite clearly the syrian government is the only party capable of using chemical weapons surveyed by the mind of if they don't then the syrian government will be accused of moving them so the syrian government be damned if they do and damned if they don't whatever the un

security council, have it passed, and then think about taking action.the path we followed with libya. now, this is a very -- i want to make this point, it is very important. it cannot be the case that that is the only way to have a legal basis for action and we should consider for a moment what the consequences would be if that were the case. you could have a situation in a country where its government was literally annihilating half the people in that country but because of one veto on the security council you would be hampered from taking any action. i can't think of any member in any party of this house who would sign up to that. that's why it's important we do have the doctrine of humanitarian intervention which is set out in the attorney general's excellent legal advice to this house. let me give way to my honorable friend. >> i'm very grateful to my right honorable friend and grateful for him to take the time to listen to the concerns of various residents about yet further british military intervention in the middle east. can i ask him why is it t

security council failed to reach a consensus failed to reach an agreement we have the u.s. the u.k. france russia and china the u.s. and france of course support the u.k. draft resolution russia and china are not certain that the syrian government has used chemical weapons and have warned about jumping to conclusions russia has publicly stated that the council should wait for the report of weapons inspectors the report from weapons inspectors that are in damascus right now before discussing any resolution on syria now the u.s. of course is claiming to have evidence that it promises to share in the coming days it's important to know that the u.n. secretary general ban ki moon has also said that the u.n. team needed to be given more time to establish the facts of the alleged chemical weapons attack and also at a press conference in geneva. the joint special envoy to syria lakhdar brahimi also said that any military strike in response to the use of chemical weapons in syria needed security council approval well doesn't look like they're going to get the security council approv

>> the five permanent members of the security council failed to reach an agreement. we have the u.s., the u.k., france, russia, and china. the u.s. and france support the u.k.'s draft resolution. russia and china are not certain this -- the syrian government has used chemical weapons, and warned about jumping to conclusions. russia publicly stated the council should wait for the report from weapons inspectors in damascus right now before discussing any resolution on syria. the u.s. is claiming to have evidence that it promises to share in the coming days. it is important to note that the u.n. secretary-general has also said the u.n. team needed to be given more time to establish the fact that the alleged chemical weapons attack. also at a press conference in geneva, the joint special envoy to syria also said that any military strike in response to the use of chemical weapons in syria needed security council approval. >> it does not look like they're going to get that security council approval, so does the u.s. go it alone on this? a u.s. representative said we are pa

we will have to report to the security council. the weapons inspectors are in the midst of their work and will be reporting in the coming days. for this house, it is surely a basic point. evidence should proceed decision, not decision precede evidence. -- evidence should precede decisions, not decisions precede evidence. the weapons inspectors cannot reach a judgment on the attribution of blame. that is beyond their mandate. some might state that makes their work essentially irrelevant. i disagree. if the u.n. weapons inspectors conclude that chemical weapons have been used, in the eyes of this country and the world, that concurs legitimacy on the findings beyond any list -- any country or intelligence agency. it is possible that what the weapons inspectors discovered could give the world wider confidence in identify the perpetrators of this horrific attack. there could be compelling evidence that the syrian -- the present assad regime is responsible for the attack. of course, as the prime minister said, there is always room for do

permission because we know that russia will will veto so we want to ask the security council instead we'll ask the nato high command the problem is the nato. that decision nato is a military institution you ask them and they're going to say sure we need military force but that's like the hammer in the nail if you're a hammer everything looks like a nail if you're in nato everything looks like it requires military intervention international law doesn't say you have to get permission from the security council unless you don't and then you can get permission from london or from nato or from somebody else you can't do that and we're also hearing that same rhetoric from former president jimmy carter i want to bring up a quote that he said today and then i'll go ahead and get your opinion on it he said quote a punitive military response without a u.n. security council mandate or brand support from nato and the arab league would be illegal under international law and unlikely to alter the course of the war it will only harden existing positions and postpone a sorely needed political

security council he said that mass hysteria surrounding the syrian crisis is aimed mainly at disrupting the peace process and that would include the new geneva two talks that were orchestrated by russia and the united states jointly and that this is just basically an attempt to derail that also using force in syria without any u.n. sanctions is a blatant violation of international law and that is something that just should not happen. so the use of force without the sanction of the u.n. security council is a severe violation of international moral and i'd like to highlight even if we leave aside the legal moral and ethical aspects of the direct consequences of an external intervention without the permission of the international community will the situation in the country and lavrov went on to say is what we're witnessing now is a massive fear mongering campaign something that we have seen before using it as an example ten years ago in iraq something that did not end well drawing the united states into a drawn out quagmire there one thing whatever i've said it is that it's an illusion to

security council as proof led to disastrous consequences will history repeat itself . r.t. moscow meanwhile the u.k. is already considering its response to the alleged chemical attack saying the time for diplomacy has run out are just correspondent sara firth has been gauging london's reaction bent in syria and joins us live now more welfare how serious is the u.k. about possible military action in syria. well foreign secretary william hague said this morning that the west could take military action against the assad regime without the backing or support of the united nations security council now he was speaking to b.b.c. radio four s today programme and he said that the united nations security council has not been united on syria and has not shouldered its responsibilities on syria and on the question of whether it was possible to act without complete unity on the united nations security council he replies oh dulcie yes it is now no firm decision has been taken on what the response will be or indeed when it will be but the timetable if you like for the next couple of days

security council.f mandate is the also mentioner going to take -- administration going to take action? is it going to act unilaterally? is it going to go under a nato mandate, try to do something at the u.n.? like i said, there's so many questions that need to be answered by this administration before they take military action. jon: we are looking at a possible map of targets in syria, air bases which presumably would be within range of cruise missiles, the united states could potentially take out much of the air force of bashar al assad. is that, is that worth doing, peter? i mean, if you take out his aircraft, maybe crater the runways to prevent them from being used by anything but helicopters, is that worth doing? >> well, the question, jon, is what's the objective? what's your end state? what are you trying to achieve here? you don't want this to be a feel-good exercise. you don't want this to be eye wash, you know, for the obama administration's failed policies over the last two and a half years t

security council, the u.s.aying yes, there's the chemical weapons inquiry, those investigators out there, but we know what they're going to find so don't need to wait for them. i think it's pretty clear they are likely to go it alone. the chemical weapons inspectors will be leaving syria early on saturday morning. that perhaps and that's what observers here believe accounted be the last hurdle the administration has to wait for before possibly launching its open strikes. one other point worth raising, when the as he can tea of state john kerry was making all of those claims, many of those facts are very hard for us, whether we are nearby in syria or some distance away here in the u.n. to challenge, because we don't have access to that tort of intelligence information. he said when the inspectors were there on the ground in syria, their access was restricted and controlled. that's an allegation we have not heard before. we know there was an incident when a sniper fired at the adjustment convoy, damaging one of t

security council's job to then look at that evidence and decide what action should be taken u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon also weighed in on the subject he said that the u.n. inspection into syria needs more time to do their job and in fact under the agreement with the syrian government they're supposed to be there for six more days at least and he talked about the idea of the united states having proof that the u.n. doesn't have and says if the u.s. has some proof pointing to assad's guilt then they need to make that proof of vailable to the united nations experts so that they can have a look and use that as part of the investigation as well schon in light of the latest developments does a diplomatic solution still look like a possibility to this crisis well it certainly has been a very busy week in the united states with the momentum shifting towards the idea of a military intervention obama has made at least eighty eight phone calls to world leaders about the subject of syria two of those have been to david cameron the prime minister of the u.k. . they he is. looked at ev

security council's sanction as stipulated by international law very clear and direct in his message he did say that evidence suggests that some chemical substance was used to killing hundreds in syria but that they did not on the ground examine any proof that shows that it was of the syrian government behind those chemical weapons attacks and of course one thing that has been reiterated time and again is that this team that is in syria from the u.n. there to determine if chemical weapons were used but not assign blame it certainly has been a very busy week in the united states with the meant momentum shifting towards the idea of a military intervention obama has made at least eighty eight phone calls to world leaders about the subject of syria two of those have been to david cameron the prime minister of the u.k. . they he has looked at evidence and he's looked at ways that the military can respond to chuck hagel who is the secretary of defense for the united states has said that the military is ready and the pentagon is that ready to react as soon as obama gives the order for some sor

>> the five permanent members of the united nations security council are meeting right now. this time, it was russia that said talks were necessary, and this is, i think, particularly interesting because moscow is serial's main supplier, and they have vetoed action. ban ki-moon expects to see -- to receive a support -- expects to receive a report on sunday. after that, he will make a recommendation. >> to some economic news, spain toss economic minister forecast the country will stop growing, -- start growing in the second half of the year, ending nine consecutive quarters of recession. >> he projected the country's economy would start to expand before the end of the year. the recover is mainly driven by exports. fannish consumers continue to hold onto their money rather than spend it. >> meanwhile, in germany, there are new signs the coverage -- the labor market is not prospering from the country's improved economic prospects. >> the federal statistics office says the jobless rate remains under the 3 million mark. analysts had predicted an overall improvement based on the e

the un security council held an the meeting. a warning this report contains disturbing and upsetting images. >> just before don something terrible has happened in a damascus suburb. all the signs of a massive chemical attack. they bring in victim after victim. they are cap for breath. some have convulsions. breath.are cast in for -- gasping for breath. in the hospital it is chaos in the rush to help survivors. tooe are other pictures shocking to show. outside more big m sunrise. arrives.s some are children. treated on the pavement. medics worked on children. baby to respond. this child, he says, what have they done to be shelled? what happened confirmed the failure of the united nations. emerged of thes apparent atrocity, britain's secretary was one of the first to call for an investigation. damascus was quick to deny it was responsible. a shocking escalation of the use of weapons in syria. we hope people responsible will one day be held accountable. i hope they blow have unrestricted access to the area and the united nations wi

s attempt to bring a new resolution to the security council. >> there is no consensus in the council on any draft resolution, whether it is british, french, or american. because members of the council do not believe the authenticity of the accusations provided by this delegation or that delegation. >> adding to the dueling accusations over chemical weapons use, he claimed opposition forces had gassed dozens of syrian troops over the past week. he called on u.n. weapons inspectors in the country to broaden their mission once again to investigate the new allegations. earlier, u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon said the inspection team needed at least a few more days to finish their work. >> it is essential to establish the facts. the united nations investigation team is now on the ground to do just that. just days after the attacks, they have collected viable samples and interviewed victims and witnesses. the team needs time to do its job. >> though security council action appears unlikely, the secretary said the 15-nation body needed to act. >> syria is the biggest challenge of war an

security council. and that what will happen there i mean some of the countries are saying that they did not need that mandate from the u.n. security council will they go how then will the military action without doubt well i mean international law is something that. you know people ideally i would have thought before launching a military attack would want to have and i'm sure that if we do go into military action without u.n. security council approval it will be a role that goes on for decades but ultimately international law itself is not going to stop the british and the french and perhaps the americans if they choose to do something. well i mean we're also hearing that the western powers from the reuters news agency have told the syrian opposition that they will strike within days but does that mean that the decision has a red. well i think the odds of that is yes that the british government made their minds up that's why you got the build up in cyprus today part of it's being recalled because i thi

security council approval it will be a real that goes on for decades but ultimately international law itself is not going to stop the british and the french and perhaps the americans if they choose to do something. or france is echoing britain's rhetoric with president alarm saying his country's ready to punish those who quote gassed innocents in syria paris has also pledged to increase military support for syria's opposition in the wake of the alleged chemical attack meanwhile the blame game surrounding the alleged chemical attack in syria is gathering pace syria's foreign minister insists that rebels and follow mercenaries fighting with them are behind the alleged atrocity once again refuting washington's assertion that it was the regime that chemical assault claims have already damaged efforts to find a peaceful solution with the u.s. perspective in a meeting with russia to discuss the revival of peace talks in geneva wanted to see caffein off couples that side of the story. russia and the u.s. have been scheduled to meet in the hague on wednesday night this is to discuss setting u

ask the security council. we will ask nato high command. the nato high command is not authorized to make that decision. nato is a military institution. you ask them and they say sure. that is like a hammer and the nail. if you're a hammer, everything look at nal. if you're nato, everything looks like it requires military intervention. international law does not say enough to get permission from the security council unless you do not and that you can get permission from london or nato or somebody else. you cannot do that. >> we're hearing that same rhetoric from former president jimmy carter. he said, "unitive military response without a mandate or broad support from nato and the arab league would be illegal under international law and unlikely to alter the course of the war. it would harden existing positions and postpone a sorely needed political process to put an end to the catastrophic violence. what do you make of that analysis rest of our >> it is a very important analysis. i agree except when he said he

security council meeting which is taking place. well there's been a variety of reaction but the reaction from certain parties is similar what we what we have seen in the past for example in a statement the white house strongly condemned any or all use of chemical weapons and said that those responsible for the use of chemical weapons in syria must be held accountable but at a white house press briefing us deputy press secretary john earnest said that it is no secret that the united states and the obama administration believes that bashar al assad must go and that is the ultimate goal for washington and washington to make sure that the syrian president steps down in addition to the u.s. america's western counterparts including britain and france have called for an investigation into this latest round of the allegations against the syrian government's alleged use of chemical weapons but we should remember that this news is emerging on the day that u.n. inspectors are arriving in damascus to examine suspected cases of chemical weapon

. >> britain wants the un security council to approve military action but says talks could take several days more. >> the united states marks 50 years since martin luther king's famous speech. >> the un's secretary-general is calling on the u.s. am a britain, and france to live weapons inspectors more time to do their work in syria. after discussions today, russia called the british initiative premature. >> the u.s. says it has intercepted communications that prove the assad government was behind a chemical attack. but the syrian ambassador to the united nations denies the charges and says the u.n. inspection will prove it was in fact rebels who launched gas attacks. >> meanwhile, people in damascus are stocking up on supplies out of fears that any u.s. attack would hit civilian areas. >> the u.n. inspectors have resumed their work in a damascus suburb, determining if chemical weapons were used in an attack last week. u.n. and arab league special envoy says their investigation had up 30 -- had already produced onekey piece of evidence. >> it does seem that some kind of substance was use

it is up to the security council only and exclusively to deal with the issue.t's not up to the united states or anybody else to address a member of the united nations on ba baseless allegations that are not yet clarified by the investigation team. >> reporter: [ speaking foreign ] >> [ speaking foreign ] >> you have been listening to syria's ambassador to the united nations discussing the situation concerning the lead up to a possible military strike against syria by the west and itse allies. he is saying syria did not delay the un inspectors. he says there were reports of a terrorist attack inside syria that were broadcast or reported by the media in turkey concerning sarin gas. he says that any military action taken against syria, which is being discussed be the united states and its western allies would be a violation of international law. the bottom line being 355 people are dead and close to 4,000 have been wounded in that attack, using chemical weapons as the international community tries to sort out who is right and who is wrong. for the latest we turn t

the call was echoed by western members of the un security council. however, the russian position -- i am quoting the foreign ministry -- that this attack in damascus oaks like an attempt to that thepretext security council side with opponents of the regime and undermine the chances of convening the geneva conference. so that, again, highlights the deadlock in the un security council, and it also shows you in the u.n. inspectors damascus are so hamstrung. there has been a lot of politics going into this whole visit. they have negotiated with the assad regime about access to some sites -- so part, -- so far, reportedly three -- but there are other sites where chemical weapons have reportedly been used that inspectors cannot go. and the inspectors cannot say who is responsible. they can only say that is not part of the agreement. >> former egyptian leader hosni mubarak could leave prison today. he has out state the maximum detention permitted for a corruption case, two years behind bars. what he still faces further legal trouble, and is due to appear in

security council even the un security council itself although it is not a democratic body by any means it has permanent seats people countries with permanent seats and rights of vetoes where you run doesn't even have a presence in the council but beyond that it doesn't have a mandate to go beyond international law at no point has there been any evidence even when iran halted nuclear enrichment for three over two years and implemented the additional protocol which goes far beyond what most countries in the world do no evidence had ever been found that iran's nuclear program as i said wait and wait a minute wait a minute and as we know in the week in week i think he is very he from the very start he was very much in the american camp ok tom go ahead jump in well let's let's just i want to make one slight correction to what. and that is that iran is quote implementing its additional protocol. in fact it never brought it into force and it's not acting under it it was provisionally applied for sometime very early on in his dad's us in two thousand and four it's been a consistent theme that

security council as proof led to disastrous consequences will history repeat itself . marty moscow. for many that's the worry you could for of circuitry william hague's refused to hold back on the possibility of military intervention so that washington fully count on britain support serve furth coverage of the story. well foreign secretary william hague said this morning that the west kid take military action against the assad regime without the backing support of the united nations security council now he was speaking to b.b.c. radio four s today programme and he said that the united nations security council has not been united on syria and has not shouldered its responsibilities on syria and on the question of whether it was possible to act without complete unity on the united nations security council he replies oh dulcie yes it is now no firm decision has been taken on what the response will be or indeed when it will be but the timetable if you like for the next couple of days is this prime minister david cameron has cut short his holiday and he'll be returning to london and then

all parties should avoid pre-judging the results and not push the security council to take action.yria's closest ally is send two navy ships to the mediterranean. president putin said the ships are needed to secure military presence. they've had a presence in the region for decades. >> reporter: it was the height of the cold war that the deal was struck. in 1980, the leader brezhnev led agreement with the then syrian president. it was strategy that immediately turned the soviet union and then later russia into a major player in the tinderbox of the middle east 04 year 40 years ago. what does russia get from the deal today? they have a naval base and russia's only military base outside of the former soviet union. lucrative arm sales. 10% of all russian arms going to syria, $1.5 billion a year. and lastly unparalleled access to syria's military apparatus. little surprise in the u.n. security council that russia has consistently voted down rug resolutions regarding sakeses against syria. but one voice was silent. >> i don't think that putin has something to say just now. to come up an

security council at which they will discuss the alleged latest atrocity in syria. they often talk about it, but there is not a lot that they can do. i think what you'll see this afternoon after the closed-door session is members of the council come out and give some sound bytes to the media. but that's about it. and the reason for that is that although they are the final arresarbitor of national law thy have no jurisdiction for syria. for that they have to turn to secretary general ban ki-moon, and his mission on the ground in syria right now. he has 20 inspectors working for him, and they'll look for chemical weapons in syria allegedly on three occions, not to pass judgment on who used them. it's a bet like investigating a murder but not saying who carried the murder out. for that to change for this incident to be investigated two country must write to the secretary general and question that this atrocity be investigated. two letters have arrived, one from france, one from britain. now it falls back on the secretary general. now a few hours ago the secretary gener

the security council is the organ which has the last word to say. there is really the veto power of the permanent members, and you can't get around it. that is a major difficulty. this veto power does exist and cannot be swept away. >> thank you very much for that analysis. turning to other news and clashes, clashes have broken out between police and thousands of pro-islamist demonstrators. kratz had taken to the streets to protest against the army's crackdown against the muslim brotherhood. >> in the hometown of mohamed morsi, tear gas was fired. across the country, three deaths and dozens of casualties reported. >> a suicide bomb in afghanistan has killed the district governor , one of his bodyguards. >>, and 10 civilians -- and 10 civilians. >> 20 people were also wounded in the blast. the taliban's involvement is suspected. troops have been deployed into bogotÁ after a second day of demonstrations turned violent. thousands of protesters marched in the capital thursday. >> it started as a strike by farmers to protest the government's trade polici

one will be skeptical about security council resolution on that but the the it is either security council or might or might might is right principle really important seesmic or interim. discuss so much the what ifs but we have and we have no proof so it's it's surprising to me that funny and most of the mainstream media can report and talk about this and discuss the situation in syria as if it's already been proven this is fact and there are basically a lot of the press is copying and pasting these statements that we're hearing from very high ranking officials in the west like i said we heard from william hague u.k. foreign secretary saying that they do believe this is a chemical attack by the us and regime u.s. vice president joe biden there is no doubt who is responsible for this heinous use of chemical weapons in syria chuck hagel u.s. defense secretary i think that intelligence will i think that intelligence will conclude that the government is syria was responsible are we going to see this evidence or are we going to see it after the fact. stands in the security council showe

s security council meeting on syria. james rosen has spent the day at the state department trying to get answers. another warning here, this report also contains disturbing video. >> reporter: as the syrian regime assaulted rebel positions in the damascus suburb not far from where an alleged chemical weapons attack killed up to 1800 people on wednesday, the obama administration with held judgment on whether or not the chemical weapons were used. they still reserve opinion on whether or not they can use them. and the u.s. has directed the intelligence community to nail down the facts. >> that means gathering information from witnesses on the ground. it means intelligence-gathering. it means open source reporting and examining that. and obviously, we've taken a close look at that. it means scientific gathering. >> reporter: but republican senator john mccain says he is confidence that the administration has used chemical weapons begin. critics speak out about whether or not he uses action against the weapons used in syria.

security council however countries like turkey britain and france are indicating that it could still be possible even without at the u.n. the french foreign minister lost by blue said so that in some circumstances it can be bypassed by international law as defined by the u.n. how exactly that will be interpreted we'll have to see as it gets clearer in the next few days and what we're bringing to you right now are reports from the various sources and outlets that of the parties and the parties involved but what's clear really is that there is a flurry of activity of that military action is seriously being considered right now against syria or i just thank so much for doing all this research and just our so you're reporting from london there was earlier i talked to nigel frosh who is the leader of the panel's party and. he told me that the british government made up its mind about interfering in syria long before the alleged chemical attack came about. it from the very start it's been the british government particular shape of william hague and indeed david cameron himself who througho

security council approval although unlike washington it's agreed that a u.n. investigators on the ground should present their findings first early on my colleague kevin i when was joined by a panel of experts to discuss this. this seems to be consensus around the world that the assad regime needs to pay for the alleged chemical weapon attack here but this is at the same time as the u.n. is still investigating are we going to see an attack before that year before the universe to go to actually reported for hard concrete facts back to. no i don't think that will happen i think there's a lot of pressure on president obama and certainly in the u.k. on prime minister cameron to show evidence you know before they take any action today the labor party says they're not going to support any intervention in terms of the u.k. unless the prime minister comes to the house of parliament with evidence can i just say i think the question actually should be asked of people at the moment in britain is it acceptable for america and its allies to be deciding which country is liab

radio four s today programme and he said that the united nations security council has not been united on syria and has not shouldered its responsibilities on syria and on the question of whether it was possible to act without complete unity on the united nations security council he replies oh dulcie yes it is now no firm decision has been taken on what the response will be or indeed when it will be but the timetable if you like for the next couple of days is this prime minister david cameron has cut short his holiday and he'll be returning to lungs and that's it and then on wednesday he's going to be chairing the national security council meeting and it's going to be there that you'll have all the key decision makers and after that meeting on wednesday you can expect that we'll have perhaps a clearer idea of exactly what the plans will be moving forward now we're still not talking about direct intervention here so no boots on the ground in syria what is being discussed they is a more limited form of military action in the form of it's thought pinpoint tomahawk missile strikes now by n