china is holding military drills in the taiwan strait for the first time in two years state media say it's a warning against any push for independence taiwan's defense ministry is calling this quote cheap verbal intimidation. syria's ambassador to the u.n. says chemical weapons inspectors will enter doom on wednesday if it's safe enough he says a u.n. security team is at the site the o.p.c. double investigators will look into a suspected chemical attack on april the seventh but won't assign blame. the syrian war in its eighth year life for many refugees is only getting more difficult that's pushing some parents to marry off the door says as soon as they can. report some jordan's capital amman where child marriage is on the rise among syrian refugee girls. was almost fifteen and living in a syrian refugee camp when her parents told her she was engaged she fought with them for days before she agreed to marry she's now sixteen has a five month old daughter and another baby on the way she says she loves her husband but their lives are hard they work ten hours a day every day at a factory.

trade representative office in taiwan so all these factors are feeding into the deepening frustration and anger here in china and of course this military drill in the straits of taiwan comes just less than a week after china held a large scale a large scale military display in the south china sea involving its new aircraft carrier the leone ng that display was watched over by president xi jinping who warned that now was the time for china to strengthen its military especially its navy to michael cole is a senior nonresident fellow at the university of nottingham china policy institute he describes the drills as nothing out of the ordinary. well the timing is certainly interesting because presidents eye is early on on a state visit to a prick but the thing is these drills are again their routine they're normally held these are these are a tailor read or old are being held in the art of providence now the latest intelligence and a case that there are no no no increase in the number of soldiers were mobilized and there are no naval ships or aircraft involved either much of the rhetoric at us or on the exercise pointing out that it is a timeline or a warning a

china is holding military drills in the taiwan strait for the first time in two years state media say it's a warning against any push for independence taiwan's defense minister is calling it cheap verbal intimidation. syria's ambassador to the u.n. says chemical weapons inspectors will end to do more on wednesday if it's safe enough he says a u.n. security team is at the site the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons will look into an apparent chemical attack earlier this month but won't assign blame. saudi arabia says it is in talks with the us about sending forces into syria president trying to said he wants to end washington's involvement in the conflict and is encouraging arab nations to commit their troops and money instead let's go ahead reports from washington d.c. for weeks u.s. president donald trump has made it clear he's growing impatient over syria this will become another syria like very soon. he made the how a bit clearer when he announced limited u.s. strikes in syria last friday we have asked our partners to take greater responsibility for securing their

china's holding military drills in the taiwan strait for the first time in two years state media say it's a warning against any push for independence taiwan's defense ministry is calling a cheap verbal intimidation syria's ambassador to the u.n. says chemical weapons inspectors will enter duma on wednesday if it's safe enough he says a u.n. security team is at the site the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons will look into an apparent chemical attack earlier this month but won't assign blame the un refugee agency says it's alarmed by the horrific conditions faced by a newly arrived refugees in yemen the agency says refugees and asylum seekers face abuse physical and sexual violence some of them are being kidnapped for ransom while others have been forced back into the sea the u.n. special envoy in yemen has warned about the humanitarian crisis in the country. thousands of people are marching in armenia to protest the election of a former president as prime minister it's the sixth day of demonstrations began in the capital on friday have since spread to other cities de

a corruption allegations china's military has announced plans for life on naval drills in the taiwan strait next week the exercises come at a time of heightened tension of increased u.s. support for the island republic china regards taiwan as a breakaway province. now the democratic republic of congo will not attend its own donor conference in geneva on friday but the government says the u.n. has exaggeration of the number of people who need aid well the violence has subsided and fields is still barren and many people haven't received food aid lack of funding and escalating violence has displaced more than four million people within the d.l.c. since december seventy thousand people have fled fighting in the east to camps in neighboring uganda well malcolm webb has retraced the refugees journey he's traveled from uganda's capital kampala to the most of the refugees. he then headed to. the shore of lake albert in the d. . see this is where many refugees take boats to escape to uganda and finally his visit bernie and a camp for people who fled the fighting and malcolm is joining us live from t

appropriate responses i'm reiterating that maintaining peace stability and prosperity across the taiwan strait is the primary duty of our government it confident and determined to defend our national security and i can assure my people that. syria's ambassador to the u.n. says chemical weapons inspectors will enter duma on wednesday if it's safe enough he says a u.n. security team is at the site known as there is now for the prohibition of chemical weapons we'll look into an apparent chemical attack early this month but won't assign blame. the un refugee agency says it's alarmed by the horrific conditions faced by newly arrived refugees in yemen the agency says refugees and asylum seekers face abuse physical and sexual violence some of them are being kidnapped for ransom while others have been forced back into the sea the u.n. special envoy in yemen has warned about the humanitarian crisis in the country thousands of people are marching in armenia to protest the election of a former president as prime minister it's the sixth day of demonstrations which began in the capital on friday since spre

china's navy is to hold live fire drills in the taiwan strait next week the exercises come at a time of heightened tension with the u.s. one of washington's support for the republic of china regards taiwan as a breakaway province the announcement came as the country's navy concluded the biggest ever free tribute in the contested waters of the south china sea adrian brown reports. in this see where so many countries have territorial claims and unprecedented display of chinese military power images likely to uncertain some of china's neighbors. it was the top story on chinese state television running for more than twenty two minutes. the fleet review involved forty eight warships a nuclear powered submarine and china's sole operating aircraft carrier the leone ing the display also included seventy six aircraft including bombers and fighter planes as well as ten thousand servicemen and women. dressed for battle issuing orders their commander in chief president xi jinping armed with words for a military he's determined to strengthen. building a strong navy has never become so urgent as to

trade representative office in taiwan so all these factors a feeding into the deepening frustration and anger here in china now of course this military drill in the straits of taiwan comes just less than a week after china held a large scale a large scale military display in the south china sea involving its new aircraft carrier the leone ng that display was watched over by president xi jinping who warned that now was the time for china to strengthen its military especially its navy zimbabweans are celebrating their first independence day without robert mugabe as leader garvey had been in power since imbiber broke away from british rule in one thousand nine hundred he was forced to step down after a military intervention last year former vice president emerson non-god worked to charge ahead of general elections scheduled for july in his speech the nation your dress the power change. fellow zimbabweans five months ago the people of zimbabwe took to this. in their busy food revolution their goals for freedom the progress. of doing things like the euros before them. we heard their voices we share their vision we are committed to delivering the. welfare of a

china's holding military drills in the taiwan strait for the first time in two years state media says it's a warning against any push for independence taiwan's defense minister is calling it cheap verbal intimidation. and syria's ambassador to the u.n. says chemical weapons inspectors will enter duma on wednesday if it's safe enough he says a u.n. security team to the site. the organization for the preservation of chemical weapons will look into an apparent chemical attack earlier this month but one assign blame. now the united arab emirates has suspended operations at a hospital it ran in somalia's capital mogadishu there's a growing dispute between the two countries that have seen business is banned and iraq a diplomat searched in somalia mom of the doe has more of the usa iran ship desired hospital in mogadishu now close to the public staff there say they received orders to stop operations in definit the facility or for treatment mainly to poor on this please people in the somali capital medical workers also perform life saving surgery on those injured in mogadishu as frequent car

further next week martin because china is now announced it's going to hold live fire drills in the taiwan straits these are the first live fire drills that china has held in that area in more than twenty years and i would imagine that next week you're going to see taiwan's military also on full alert so tensions in the south china sea and also in the taiwan straits and does all of this suggest age in that china has got greater ambitions on the global stage now than it has had for a very long time. yes it's it's growing in confidence so i mean it was interesting just a few days ago there was a senior peer lay general in moscow and he said you know china is a close ally of the united states is a close ally i'm sorry of russia and we want the united states to to know that and i think that's also a sort of subtext of what we're seeing happening now in the south china sea a perhaps next week in the taiwan straits taiwan china is really sort of operating on so many levels right now and remember this also comes at a time of you know rising tensions between china and the united states over trade so there

between the supreme leader kim yong and president trump china is holding military drills in the taiwan straits for the first time in two years state media say it's a warning against any push for independence taiwan's defense ministry is calling this cheap verbal intimidation syria's ambassador to the u.n. says chemical weapons inspectors will enter duma on wednesday if it's safe enough he says a u.n. security team is at the site you're going to zation for the prohibition of chemical weapons will look into an apparent chemical attack earlier this month but won't sign blame the russian military says it's found a chemical weapons stockpile in duma that belongs to the rebels russian state media out that released this video describing the items as true renan components for making mustard gas as previously published information on syria turned out to be fake zimbabweans are celebrating their first independence day without robert mugabe as leader the gobby had been in power since we broke away from british rule in one nine hundred eighty when looking at live pictures coming from there he was forced t

fire drills just off the coast of taiwan for the first time in two decades it's happening in the taiwan strait that's a body of water that separates taiwan from mainland china is coming amid growing tensions between beijing and washington over the u.s. has increased ties with taiwan which china sees as a breakaway province was cross live to our china correspondent adrian brown in beijing for more adrian why is china staging these exercises now given the tension . well i think these exercises are taking place rob for a number of reasons but as you hinted in your introduction beijing is really concerned about the growing interaction between taipei and washington and this year an awful lot has been happening a congressional delegation has visited taiwan it was warmly received by the taiwanese leaders dying when and then the house of representatives earlier this year passed what was known as the taiwan travel act now if this becomes law it would allow senior taiwanese government officials to visit washington and vice versa and next month in taipei officials from the united states and taiwan a jew

trade representative office in taiwan so all these factors a feeding into the deepening frustration and anger here in china now of course this military drill in the straits of taiwan comes just less than a week after china held large scale a large scale military display in the south china sea involving its new aircraft carrier the leone ng that display was watched over by president xi jinping who warned that now was the time for china to strengthen its military especially its navy artists give us some breaking news we're getting here on the al-jazeera turkey's president richard type erdogan has said today that elections will be held on june the twenty fourth that's june the twenty fourth more than a year earlier than planned saying the country urgently needed to make the switch to an executive presidency so let me just repeat that again for you the turkish president heard of and sent elections will be held on june twenty fourth that's more than a year earlier than planned saying the country urgently needed to make the switch to an executive presidents more on that of course as we get it here at al-jazeera. well inspectors with the international chemical

these will happen in the taiwan strait, map the narrow waterway separating the chinese mainland from ion of its naval reach in the region, here's david campa nale. it's the most visible symbol of china's rising military power. this is china's sole operational aircraft carrier, and this week it led the navy's largest ever military display — some a8 warships and submarine, 76 fighterjets, and more than 10,000 navy personnel took part. 0bserving was commander—in—chief of the armed forces president xijinping. he told assembled troops that china's need for a world leading naval force has never been more pressing. as china flexes its muscles, taiwan responded with drills of its own. translation: today our brothers and sisters in the navy, with our air force and army assisting in combat, performed very well. they responded rapidly, were flexible in exercise, fully exemplifying our capabilities and characteristics of asymmetrical warfare. watching all this closely is the united states. since the second world war, the us navy has operated its carrier battle fleets unchallenged in asia and the

between the supreme leader kim yong and president trouble china is holding military drills in the taiwan strait for the first time in two years state media say it's a warning against any push for independence taiwan's defense ministry is calling this cheap verbal intimidation china is worried about the u.s. seeking closer ties with taiwan which it sees as a breakaway province syria's ambassador to the u.n. says chemical weapons inspectors will enter duma on wednesday if it's safe enough he says a u.n. security team is at the site the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons will look into an apparent chemical attack earlier this month but won't sign blame and the russian military says it's fine a chemical weapons stockpile in duma that belongs to the rebels a russian state media outlet released this video describing the items as chlorine and components for making mustard gas russia's previously published information on syria that turned out to be fake to more cattle and politicians have appeared before a judge in spain to be formally charged with sedition and rebellion the former in

between the supreme leader kim yong and president trouble china's holding military drills in the taiwan strait for the first time in two years state media say it's a warning against any push for independence taiwan's defense ministry is calling this cheap verbal intimidation china is worried about the u.s. seeking closer ties with taiwan which it sees as a breakaway province syria's ambassador to the u.n. says chemical weapons inspectors will enter duma on wednesday if it's safe enough he says a u.n. security team is at the site and the russian military says it's found a chemical weapons stockpile in duma that belongs to the rebels russian state media are released this video describing the items as chlorine and components for making mustard gas russia's previously published information on syria that turned out to be fake southwest airlines will inspect its entire fleet after an engine broke apart mid-flight smashed a window and killed a passenger the forty three a woman who died was partially sucked out of the broken window before the passengers pulled it back in the u.s. national transportati

taiwan has accused china of sabre rattling after it conducted live—fire military exercises in the taiwan straitng tension in the region and follows china's largest ever naval display last friday. a hollywood movie has been screened to officials and diplomats in saudi arabia as the kingdom prepares for the return of cinema after more than 35 years. the showing of the blockbuster superhero film black panther is part of a series of tests before theatres are opened to the public next month. nasa's newest planet—hunting space telescope has been launched from florida. costing more than $300 million, the satellite will search for potential extraterrestrial life by scanning thousands of planets beyond the solar system. the falcon 9 rocket is designed by the private company spacex, returning to earth to be reused. when it comes to solving china's pollution problem it seems bigger is better. this is a giant air purifier. it's the size of an industrial smokestack. it's been put up in the smog—plagued city of xian. towering between high rise buildings, the 60m device is said to be capable of cleaning up to

being deliberately targeted china's military has announced plans for life on naval drills in the taiwan straits next week the exercises come at a time of heightened tension over increased u.s. support for the republic of china regards taiwan as a breakaway province. sri lankan president said he's saying it has abruptly suspended parliament until the eighth of may the move comes amid growing tension between city santa and prime ministers on him because of a sudden the will make his loyal to the prime minister have since threatened to quit the coalition and a pressuring the president to resign right those are the headlines on al-jazeera do stay with us inside story is coming up next thank you very much for watching. al-jazeera. we're entering. a first since the military crackdown in myanmar a government minister tours a refugee camp in bangladesh home to one million where they have given him a list of thirteen demands before agreeing to return home so how will the government respond and how committed is it to resolving the crisis this is inside story. hello and welcome to the program for the firs

further next week because china has announced it's going to be conducting live fire drills in the taiwan straits on the eighteenth of april next wednesday and it's fair to assume the taiwan's military will be on full alert next week so has hair on al-jazeera a nominee for us actually have statements catlett his senate confirmation hearing and confronted with several of trump's controversial statements. and in the line of fire palestinian journalists covering protesting gaza say they're being targeted by israeli forces. from dusky sunsets over the springs event. to sunrise the top an asian metropolis. the weather has been rather disturbed for central parts of the middle east recently some rather disturbed weather making its way out of a rock into iraq area a cloud here sweeping in across the region it's kind of stuck actually we're going to see further showers or longer spells of fray as we go through friday price guys behind him is fine dry and sunny some gorgeous sunshine coming through over the next couple of days but you notice the right nest of in place in say that eastern side of iraq cuppe

further next week because china has announced it's going to be conducting live fire drills in the taiwan straits on the eighteenth of april next wednesday and it's fair to assume the taiwan's military will be on full alert next week. phila has had on out is there a call for justice for the rape and murder of an adult gal in india some politicians try to protect the accused. the looming showdown between washington and tehran over date of iran nuclear deal. we still haven't said goodbye to winter which we believe across all the parts of the u.s. and also pushing into based in areas of canada warm air coming into southern most part so we'll continue to feed in some some very pleasant conditions for some down towards the southwest we have got far warnings in force actually just around western texas pushing across into the four corners states twenty four celsius therefore a lie plenty of warmth around here at least seven degrees for at denver and then just further north this area snow just on the northern edge of this disturbed weather come further south some lively storms is brewing there across eas

further next week because china has announced it's going to be conducting live fire drills in the taiwan straits on the eighteenth of april next wednesday and it's fair to assume that taiwan's military will be on full alert next week. still ahead on al-jazeera in the line of via palestinian journalists covering the protests in gaza say they're being targeted by israeli forces i give them. all the way. and pushing at the boundaries performers in zimbabwe using their creative freedom to tackle political issues why some say and way last. follow the weather has been rather disturbed for central parts of the middle east recently some rather disturbed weather making its way out of iraq into iran air a cloud here sweeping in across the region this kind of stock actually we're going to see further showers or longer spells of fray as we go through friday bright skies behind him is fine dry and sunny some gorgeous sunshine coming through over the next couple of days but you notice the right nest of in place in say that eastern side of iraq up towards the northeast pushing up towards azerbaijan georgia and

the last exercise in the taiwan strait was in 2015. i do believe china is militarizing the south china sea, despite official claims to the contrary. >> yes, sir, i do. they are absolutely building the infrastructure necessary to support troops, fighter aircraft, providing for ammunition bunkers, and coverage shelters that will enable them to put in a variety of kinetic and nonkinetic capabilities on the island. >> that's an area you're going to be very active in. we also know that in djibouti, the mouth of africa, they are becoming active and everywhere you look, they are. but certainly, it was so obvious to us there. general o'shaughnessy, the ballistic missile defense, the national defense strategy, recognizes russia and china missile threats to the homeland. russia has developed a cruise missile that is in violation of the inf. it's nothing new there. china continues to modernize and advance nuclear technologies, despite the no first use power. so that's taking place right now. and it's pretty scary, when you consider that we have e

china has announced live firing military exercises in the taiwan strait amid tensions over increased support for taiwan's democratic government. chinese officials denounced the recent passage of u.s. law encouraging more high-level contacts with taiwan. china claims taiwan was separated from the mainland in 1949 as its territory and says the sides must eventually be united by force if necessary. estonia is offering residents. genetic profiling aimed at minimizing risk from typical diseases. encouraging a healthier lifestyle. 100,000 volunteers are donating dna samples from blood which will be analyzed for genetic variance linked to common illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. we will be right back. ♪ ♪ this is what getting your car serviced at lincoln looks like. complementary pickup and delivery servicing now comes with every new lincoln. i won. giving you, the luxury of time. that's the lincoln way. you ok there, kurt? we're about to move. karate helps... relieve some of the house-buying... stress. at least

now china's navy plans to hold live fire drills in the taiwan straits next week the exercises come at a time of heightened tension with the u.s. over washington support for the island china regards taiwan as a breakaway province the announcement came as the country's navy concluded its biggest ever fleet review in the contested waters of the south china sea as adrian brown reports. in this see where so many countries have territorial claims and unprecedented display of chinese military power images likely to unsettle some of china's neighbors. it was the top story on chinese state television running for more than twenty two minutes the fleet review involved forty eight warships a nuclear powered submarine and china's sole operating aircraft carrier really owning the display also included seventy six aircraft including bombers and fighter planes as well as ten thousand servicemen and women remain single all dressed for battle issuing orders their commander in chief president xi jinping armed with words for a military he's determined to strengthen. building a strong navy has never becom

fireannounced a five exercise in the taiwan strait to be this week. in 2015 inercise was the lead up to taiwan's presidential elections. we do believe china is militarizing the south china sea despite official claims to the contrary. sen. inhofe: i do. building the infrastructure next sincerity to support troops, fighter aircraft, they are providing for bunkers. sen. inhofe: it is a lot of places other than just their. that's an area that you will be active in. djinow that in booty -- buti. it certainly was so obvious there. general of shaughnessy, the national defense strategy recognizes. and that is missile nothing new today. power. the that is taking place right now. it is pretty eerie when you consider that we have -- even we are losingd our qualitative and understated edge. readrussia and china, you , the paper came out that was very clear in russia were to take on our nato forces, that they would win and we would lose. our allies in the south china sea, we have always depended upon now playing both sides. you see the visibility of the increase in

questions, but it's important to note even today china has announced military exercises in the taiwan straits. these are just a few challenges we have that have been lingering in the last couple years, but increasing in their importance today. do you agree with secretary mattis that north korea is the most urgent security threat the united states faces? >> i do. >> this committee has led the efforts the past several years to increase maximum pressure on north korea and the kim jong-un regime with passage of legislation policy, enhancement act and also working together to ensure maximum pressure is applied. senator markey and i have introduced legislature known as the lead act to enhance diplomacy, which puts a trade embargo on pyongyang and its neighbors. would an engagement policy mean a continued pursuit of third party entities and institutions who engage in significant trade with pyongyang? >> yes. >> will you commit to advance this lead act and others like it that make sanctions against these entities? >> i'm not up on the details. the president has made clear the continuation of the pres

"there planning to conduct live fire tests in the taiwan strait straits.t counter china's influence and what we need to do to make sure we have a policy towards china? >> that news was news to me. but i watched the administratio administration. i supported tpp when i was a member of congress. there is an economic component to what china was trying to do. we need to be engaged. there's a diplomatic component as well. i'm confident that this administration will do that. >> how many fighters from south east asia do you think are in syria today? >> how many islamic fighters to reestimate our syria? >> i don't recall the number, there are many. >> have received them returned to southeast asia as well? >> we have. >> and other terms of addressing and monitoring and combating as they move out? >> without giving too much detail, it's better in some places than in others. much as we do with our european partners and partners in the middle east, we do our best to track and further identify ways to prevent them from conducting their terror. >> they might have gone to

it's important to note today that china has announced live fire exercises in the taiwan straits. we have seen the clear militarization of the south china sea. these are a few of the challenges that have been lingering for number of years. i want to shift right mow to north korea. do you agree with secretary mattis that north korea is the most urgent security threat the united states face. >> this has led the efforts to increase maximum pressure on north korea and the kim jong-un regime. we have the lead act. the leverage to enhance effective diplomacy. will the administration's maximum pressure and policy mean a continued pursuit of third party entities or financial institutions. >> will you commit to advance this lead act and others like it that include mandatory sanctions against these entities. >> the continuation is the tool that enables the opportunity to achieve a successful diplomatic outcome in north korea. >> we have about a minute left here. can you share with me the exact goals of the presidential summit between the united states and north korea? >> yes. i believe i ca

they announced a five fire exercise in the taiwan strait to be this week. the last exercise was in 2015 in the lead up to taiwan's presidential elections. we do believe china is militarizing the south china sea despite official claims to the contrary. davidson: i do. they're building the infrastructure next sincerity to support troops, fighter aircraft, they are providing for bunkers. sen. inhofe: it is a lot of places other than just there. that's an area that you will be active in. general of shaughnessy, the -- in general o'shaughnessy, that in national defense strategy recognizes russia and china missile threats. russia has developed a cruise missile that is in violation of the iron up. nothing new there. so that is taking place right now. and it is pretty scary when you consider that even general dunford said not long ago that we are losing our qualitative end quantitative edge. he is talking about both russia and china. 7, thee read on march policy that came out. the paper that came out that was very clear in stating that if natoa were to take on our f

parades in the country's history and announced a five-fire exercise -- live-fire exercise in the taiwan strait to be conducts this wheat. the last exercise was in 2015 in the leadup to taiwan's president ial election. do you believe china is militarizing the south china sea despite official claims to the contrary? >> yes, sir, i do. they're absolutely build the infrastructure necessary to support troops, fighter aircraft, they're arriving for ammunition bunkers, revetments and covered shelters that enable them to mutt in ken nettic and nonkinetic capable on the island. >> a lot of places other than just there but that's an area you'll be active. in they -- in the mouth of africa they're becoming active but certainly it was so obvious to us there. general, the ballistic missile defense, the national defense strategy, recognizes russia and china missile threats to the homeland. russia has delved a cruise missile that is in violation of inf, nothing new there. china coins to merchandize and advance nuclear technology despite the no, first, use power. that's taking place right now and it's pretty

as we know the taiwan strait actually is quite different compare with russian and crimea.i just would like to hear more about what the link about, thank you. >> i was actually reporting what -- [inaudible] very notorious, famous ablest in beijing has been writing. so that was his argument, that is basically the same situation from his point of view, that for instant crimea is considered a traditional territory of russia, link to russia through history, and should be russian territory again. so that was the reasoning, just like taiwan from their point of view of china, from their point of view. this is one of the parallels we are seeing and then there's a crucial difference that he doesn't mention. crimea those actually a proportion of the population was actually in favor. so the were many people actually helping the russians invasion attempt. there were many who were opposed but there was a sizable, yeah, i mean, loss of military people even, even took part in it. the situation in taiwan is the course for different. it's a tiny minority of people on taiwan who would collab

militarization of the south china sea, the fact they are planning to conduct live fire exercises in the taiwan straits. this, how toabout counter china's influence in what we need to do to make sure we have a policy for china? pompeo: that news was news to me. i have watched the and i supported tpp when i was a member of congress. component toonomic what china is trying to do. we need to be engaged. there is a diplomatic component as well. we need to be deeply engaged there. i am confident this administration will do that. >> talking a little bit about southeast asia and our challenge. how many fighters from southeast asia do you think are in syria today? how many islamic fighters from southeast asia do we estimate are in syria? pompeo recall theo not exact number. there was a lot of them. detail,giving too much it is better in some places than in others. do with oure european partners and partners in the middle east, we do our best to track these terrorists as they move around the world so they can identify ways to prevent them from conducting their terror. >> fighters went to syria then returned. do

even today, china has announced live fire exercises in taiwan straits. we've seen the clear militarization of the south china sea. these are a few of the challenges that we have that have been lingering for a number of years but certainly increasing in their importance today. i want to shift right now, though, to north korea. do you agree with secretary mattis that north korea is the most urgent security threat the united states faces? >> i do. >> this committee has led the efforts over the past several years to increase maximum pressure on north korea and the kim jong un regime with working together to assure maximum pressure is applied. senator markey and i have introduced legislation known as the lead act, the leverage to enhance effective diplomacy that would impose a trade embargo on its enableers. will the united states maximum pressure and engagement policy mean a continued pursuit of third party entities and financial institutions who engage in significant trade with pyongyang? >> yes. >> will you commit to advance this lead act and others like t

trade representative office in taiwan so all these factors a feeding into the deepening frustration and anger here in china now of course this military drill in the straits of taiwan comes just less than a week after china held a large scale a large scale military display in the south china sea involving its new aircraft carrier the leone ng that display was watched over by president xi jinping who warned that now was the time for china to strengthen its military especially its navy. i mean miles president has granted amnesty to more than eight thousand frozen when me and signed the pardon which includes the release of foreigners and political activists drug offenders along with the sick and elderly will also be freed from prison. one family's dominance of cuban politics since the nine hundred fifty nine communist revolution is coming to an end a successor to president roll castro be chosen on wednesday our latin america editor lucy newman reports from heaven or. barring the unthinkable eighty six year old president old castro will be handing over power for the first time in six decades to a cuban who doesn't carry his last name and who was born after th

, straits of taiwan. can you talk about this, perhaps even including tpp, how that can counter china's influence and what we need to do to make sure we have a policy toward china? >> that was news to me. but i've watched the administration. watched the administration -- my record is i supported ttp when i was a member of congress. there is an economic -- there is an economic component to what china is trying to do. we need to be engaged. it's a diplomat component to the economic component as well. we need to be engaged there. i'm confident that this administration will do that. >> thank you. talking a little bit about southeast asia and our challenge right now, how many fighters right now from southeast asia do you think are in syria today? >> how many? >> how many islamic fighters do we estimate are in southeast asia? >> i don't recall the numbers but there are many. >> have we seen them go to southeast asia? >> we have. >> how is our coordination in terms of addressing, monitoring and combatting as they

trade representative office in taiwan so all these factors a feeding into the deepening frustration and anger here in china now of course this military drill in the straits of taiwan comes just less than a week after china held a large scale a large scale military display in the south china sea involving its new aircraft carrier the leone ng that display was watched over by president xi jinping who warned that now was the time for china to strengthen its military especially its navy syria's ambassador to the u.n. says chemical weapons inspectors will enter doomer on wednesday if it's safe enough he says a u.n. security team is at the site and will make an independent decision on access for an obese e.-w. team investigators will look into a suspected chemical attack on april the seventh but won't assign blame they arrived in damascus on saturday and of called for access as soon as possible syria's state media were reporting earlier that weapons experts have entered the rubble on clay former of one close when you. the i mean today the u.n. security team and to do more around three pm in order to assess the security situation on the ground if the security t

questions, but i think it is important to note even today, china have announced exercises in the taiwan straits. and we have seen the clear militarization, and these are a few challenges that we have that's been lingering for a number of years but increasing in their importance today. i want to shift right now to north korea. do you agree with secretary mattis that north korea is the most urgent security threat that the united states faces? mr. pompeo: i do. sen. gardner: this community have led the effort to increase maximum pressure on north korea and the kim jong-un regime and the passage of the sentence policy, the enhancement act, and also working together to assure maximum pressure applied. the lead act, the leverage to enhance effective diplomacy , which imposed a trade embargo on pyongyang at its enablers. will this engagement policy mean a continued pursuit of third-party entities and financial institutions who engage in significant trade with pyongyang? mr. pompeo: yes. sen. gardner: will you commit to advance this lead act and others like it that continue these sanctions against such

talked about the fact they are conducting or at least planning to conduct fire exercises in the straits of taiwan. can you talk about this, perhaps even including ttp, >> can you talk about how that we can make sure we have a policy toward china? >> that news was news to me. i watched the administration. i supported tpp when i was a member of congress. there is an economic -- there is an economic component to what china is trying to do. we need to be engaged. it is a diplomatic component to the economic activity as well. we need to be deeply engaged there. and i'm confident this administration will do that. >> thank you, director pompeo. how many fighters right now from southeast area do you think are in syria today? >> how many -- >> how many islamic fighters from southeast asia are in syria? >> i don't recall the number. there are many. >> reporter: do we see them return to southeast asia as well? >> we have. >> how is our coordination in terms of addressing, monitoring and combatting as they move back? >> without giving too much detail, it is better in some places than in others but much as we

of the china season, about how they are conducting plans to conduct live fire exercises in the taiwan straits. can you talk about this including tpp and how that can counter china's influence and what we need to do to make sure that we have a policy toward china? >> that news was news to me. but i have watched the administration, i supported tpp when i was a member of congress. there is an economic, there is an economic component to what china is trying to do. we need to be engaged as a diplomatic component to the economic activity as well. we need to be deeply engaged there. i'm confident this administration will do that. >> thank you george pompeo, talking a little bit about southeast asia, and our challenge right now, how many fighters right now from southeast asia do you think are in syria today? >> how many? >> how many islamic fighters are in syria? >> i don't recall the numbers, there are many. >> and have we seen these return to southeast asia as well >> we have. >> and houser coronation with those places in terms of addressing and monitoring and combating as they move back? >> withou

they're planning to conduct life-fire exercise in the straits of taiwan. can you talk about this perhaps including even tpp, how that can counter china's influence and what we need to do? to make sure we have a policy toward china? >> senator, i was -- that news was news to me. but i've watched the administration and -- by the way, for my -- i supported of record is clear. there is an economic component to what china is trying to do. we need to be engaged. it is a diplomatic component to the economic activity as well. we need to be deeply engaged there. i'm confident this administration will do that. >> thank you, director pompeo. talking a little bit about southeast asia and our challenge right now, how many fighters right now from southeast asia do you think are in syria today? >> how many -- >> how many islamic fighters from southeast asia do we estimate are in syria? >> senator, i don't recall the number. there are many. >> have we seen those go and return to southeast asia as well? >> we have. >> how is our coordination with those southeast asia natio