court tells a dutch government was to blame for the slaughter of bosnian men during the siege of srebrenica in 1995. >>> israeli air strikes on targets in gaza continue as hamas keeps up its rocket fire on israel. >>> bashar al assad is sworn in as the president of syria for another seven years. >>> and we have seen the best of germany at the world cup and now the worst. a cartel has been fined millions of dollars for fixing the price of sausages. >>> hello. a court in the hague has ruled that the dutch government was responsible for the slaughter of bosnian men during the siege of srebrenica in 1995. dutch soldiers were part of a u.n. peacekeeping mission there. the ruling applies to the deaths of more than 300 people who sought refuge with the peacekeepers. altogether, 7,000 men were killed by bosnian serbs in the worst massacre in europe since the second world war. anna holligan is in the hague. >> reporter: these mothers formed a small but determined group here inside the courtroom. they have been disappointed though, because though they have been fighting on behalf of thousands of surv

in srebrenica. the bosnian town which in 1995 suffered arguably the most grotesque massacre of civilians since world war ii. the court in the netherlands ruled that dutch troops operating as u.n. peacekeepers in the town during the conflict were partly to blame as 8,000 men and boys in srebrenica were killed by bosnian serb forces. this despite the town being designated a u.n. safe area. the case was brought by mothers of srebrenica, seeking compensation for the loss of their sons and husbands. the bbc's anna holligan was at the hearing in the hague. >> reporter: the mothers of srebrenica blame dutch peacekeepers for failing to prevent the genocide. thousands of muslims had fled to the u.n. base seeking protection from general ratko mladic and his bosnian serb forces. it was supposed to be a safe zone. the dutch battalion was on patrol at the time, but did not intervene. what followed was the worst massacre committed on european territory since the nazis. these women, the mothers of srebrenica, form

the case against the dutch state was brought to court by the association mothers of srebrenica. almost two decades on, the pain still raw for these relatives of the victims. they were at the hague on wednesday to hear the verdict. >> they recognize that they are responsible for what happened in 1995, but how to you explain to a mother the dutch are responsible for the death of one son who stood on one side defense and not for the sun and the other side? the dutch compound was so big that everyone should have been let in . for them, it is only a small victory. the group says they will appeal this latest judgment for the hundreds of family members not affected by the verdict, and that's not entitled to compensation. the war in bosnia claimed some 100,000 lives in total with the genocide at srebrenica often referred to as the worst atrocity on european soil since the second world war. >> time now for a check of the top is this new stories. we can begin with the airshow because of course, the two industry giants, the two big players are battling out, as always, or orders. >> that's

bosnian serb forces murdered thousands of azmi and muslim -- of bosnian muslim men and boys in the srebrenica massacre. >> now a court has ruled that they should have known that the people would be murdered when handing them over to bosnian serb forces. >> the mothers of srebrenica have been worrying -- waiting for almost two decades to get justice. some came in person to hear the ruling. a court spokesman announced only a partial victory for the mothers. the dutch state is liable for the deportation of 300 men from the compound. >> that was considered unlawful because, at the moment that the men were sent away, the dutch knew or should have known that the genocide was taking place. therefore, there was a serious risk those men would be killed. >> july, 1995 -- dutch peacekeepers were supposed to protect bosnian serbs. ratko mladic and his comrade surrendered without a fight. what ensued was europe's worst massacre since world war ii. 8000 men and boys were murdered. the court ruled that they are not liable for most of those victims. >> syria's president, bashar al-assad, is sworn in for anot

. >> the srebrenica massacre happened with the outside world looking on and today the dutch court ruledhat the outside world must share some of the blaum -- blame. >>> in other news, a court in egypt has sentenced seven men to life in prison and two thers for sexual assaults. there's been concern in egypt that the authorities aren't doing enough to tackle widespread sexual harassment. . hassan was declared the winner of the syrian election last month. the opposition dismiss the lection as a sham. you're watching "bbc world news america." still to come on tonight's program, a dark episode in ireland's history is reopened as a commission is due to look into homes where unmarried women were sent to give birth. >> china has the world's second-largest economy, behind the united states. data released today said it's better than expected in the second quarter. but just how exactly are these figures compiled and are they a good meave -- measure of a country's growth or economic strength? our correspondent now from singapore. >> we all want to know how the economy is doing so that we would know

recognized at the international court is genocide, the murder of 8000 men in boys in sure bernie to -- srebrenica. before that time, horrendous war crimes, karen this crimes against -- karen this crimes against -- horrendous war crimes horrendous against humanity. in other situations, like cambodia, where 2 million were killed, it may not have been a genocide. i don't think we should place these crimes on a hierarchy, the kind of crimes that have been committed in syria are every bit as serious as those have -- that have been committed elsewhere in situations where there was a recognized genocide. to have a genocide, you have to show a desire to kill all of the innis, at least the sunnis significant part. you have to have crossed that particular line. as focus on that issue, opposed to the mass killings of civilians on a political or other kind of basis. it is to get caught up in legalisms. fundamentally horrible atrocities require international underse, requires that, the responsibility to protect, that talks about genocide and war crimes against humanity in the same paragraph. amnesty is eviden

frankly, i did this during the tragedy in srebrenica.tion to the security council and showed it. the same thing when the cubans shot down the unarmed cuban-american planes. we have to provide the information so that putin's lies are not the ones dominating the propaganda. >> okay. so madam secretary, let's give every assumption in favor of what the united states thinks happened here. even if all of that is true, can you name me two things that the united states or the international community could do to russia that would change the disposition of vladimir putin in terms of how he's conducting himself here horin syria or in the other international situations where he seems to be a chalk in the wheel of progress? >> what has to keep happening is tightening the screws in terms of u.n. sanctions and resolutions. he does not want to be fully isolated, and that is what is happening. his economy is not in good shape in the first place, and we have to make clear, we also need to shame and blame publicly and perhaps begin some kind of a procedure

the men and boys were killed in the srebrenica massacre during the bosnian war. the court ruled dutch u.n. peacekeepers failed to protect the 100 victims when the town fell to the bosnian serb army. more than 7,000 were killed in that massacre. >>> sloan gibson makes his first trip to capitol hill as acting head of the scandal-ridden veteran affairs department. he'll testify at a senate hearing on improved wait times and accountability in the v.a. health care system since taking over when eric shinseki resigned in may. robert mcdonald, president's choice to permanently leave the agency, will have his confirmation hearing before the same senate committee next tuesday. >>> jon stewart tried, but he could not get hillary clinton to publicly and definitively declare that she was running for president on his show last night. hillary clinton did offer a tease of sorts while talking about working from home in her office. >> do you have a favorite shape for that home office? do you like that office? let's say would you like that office -- would you like to have corners o