u.n. world food program. staying in syria government backed troops have entered a free day kurdish enclave in the north of the country turkey is preparing to lay siege to the city as part of an offensive against kurdish militia it uses terrorists and a security threat but the arrival of troops backed by damascus is stoking fears of a confrontation with turkey that could further complicate syria's civil war. pro syrian government forces chant unity slogans after entering the northern enclave of offering they've come to help kurdish fighters resist the turkish offensive which began a month ago. we are in the heart of offering with huge numbers and will stay here until we kick out the ottoman turks occupiers. turkey says its troops of the area and force the pro-government fighters to retreat president have ever won has warned them to stay away. which is unfortunately as you know these kinds of terror organizations take the wrong steps with the decisions they make. of course it's impossible for us to allow this t

damascus where my wallet is standing by from the united nations world food program thanks for talking with us a recent report from the u.n. world food program said that some civilians and they were collapsing from hunger described a dire situation how much worse has that situation there in eastern due to become in the last two days. yeah the world who program is increasingly alarmed by the escalation in violence which is leading to higher and higher levels of food insecurity basically people do not have any access to the markets who markets are closed under bombardment and we have news that several of the bakeries that exist inside this enclave have been destroyed we also know that every week there is about thirty thousand to forty thousand bread bundles that are weekly produced to serve the population those bakers are no longer available so the situation is getting worse and people are forced to stay underground to avoid the shelling unable to go on to the streets or whatever's left of them to collect or buy food so a dire situation there in eastern goot what about aid organizations getting there and getting food for ex

u.n. world food program. now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world today at least five thousand people have been cut off by landslides and hundreds of tourists are stranded after a powerful storm battered new zealand's sol final and the storm was the tail end of cycling which tore through several pacific nations last week the u.s. state department says north korea canceled a planned meeting with vice president mike pence at the last minute he was supposed to hold talks with government representatives during the olympic games in south korea go on chang reportedly scrapped the idea after parents denounced the north's human rights abuses. and brazil senate has approved a decree that authorizes the army to take command of police forces in the state of rio de janeiro the measure comes in a bid to curb violence driven by drug gangs brazil's president michel thomas said they have virtually taken over urban rio. let's check on what's happening at the berlin film festival now yesterday saw a s

u.n. world food program which delivered five mobile cranes but they can't unload large containers only smaller freight the port authority blames the saudi led coalition which rejected larger cranes and delayed the delivery of the small ones. these cranes were supposed to arrive last year but the coalition sent them back. they were only allowed into the port after protests by the world food program. court officials also say the saudi led military coalition seldom allows ships with humanitarian aid to dark here. now to some of the other stories making news around the world iranians are waiting to learn the fate of sixty five people on a crashed airliner the flight had started in tehran and was bound for the southern city of the suge search and rescue teams suspended operations until daybreak due to blizzard conditions in the mountains where the plane is believed to have come down . the seventeen year old german national known only as linda w. has been sentenced to six years in prison by an iraqi court she was found guilty of membership in the so-called islamic state her case made international h

u.n. world food program. the largest humanitarian organization in the world. thank you for joining us. [applause] please direct your attention to the side screen for an introduction of our next guest. >> the united states army major scott smiley. he was born to serve. a star in his high schools football team, he followed his brother to west point, graduating in 2003. inscribed on his ring was his favorite bible verse, "i could do all things through christ, who strengthens me." finally noticed a suspicious vehicle to the right, driving slowly with its backside dragging on the ground. a telltale sign of a car bomb. suddenly, there was a bright flash. scott smiley's world went black. he quickly realized the terrifying reality. the blast had left him fully blind and paralyzed on one side. fear soon turned to anger. in time, he would regain the use of his limbs, but his blindness was permanent. bitterness became part of his new reality. however, the love of his life, family and friends remained. on a trip to hawaii and in need of an escape, he convinced a friend to take him surfing. he was

u.n. world food program which delivered five mobile cranes but they can't unload large containers only smaller freight the port authority blames the saudi led coalition which rejected larger cranes and delayed the delivery of the small wants. these cranes were supposed to arrive last year but the coalition sent them back. they were only allowed into the port after protests by the world food program. poured officials also say the saudi led military coalition seldom allows ships with humanitarian aid to dark here. russian medalist at the pier on chiang winter olympics is suspected of having tested positive for a banned substance the international olympic committee said it had taken note of reports of a dumping case on monday alexander christian it's one of bronze medal along with his wife and mixed doubles curling is expected is suspected of having tested positive for. if confirmed it would be a major blow to russia's efforts to emerge from a drug cheating scandal i.o.c. is currently investigating the issue. well in that but as lee is softer the big game on sunday saw gladbach host dortmund in a

they would not back off their multilateral commitment in the united nations as for the world food program the u.n. may need reform and no question about that but the world food program is a different operation it's about feed people keeping people alive operating emergencies and sustainable development and so you don't. states does not back down invite we're seeing that the world food program is actually a program is bringing nations together and with all the division around the world the world food program we consider ourselves an opportunity to bridge relations so to interesting to say that because i think your agency is far more fortunate than some of the other agencies do you think perhaps they have a secret of. your success has has been your own personality or putting an american in charge i mean seriously it's a serious matter for many in the us on how crucial it is to have somebody who has that i mean the president or at least any or if he's going to do it well you've got to have the year of the leadership but you also have the right message in bringing bringing together different factions

they would not back off their multilateral commitment in the united nations as for the world food program the u.n. may need reform and no question about that but the world food program is a different operation it's about feed people keeping people alive operating emergencies and sustainable development and so the united states has not backed down invite we're seeing that the world food program is actually a program this bringing nations to give. whether it with all the division around the world the world food program we consider ourselves an opportunity to bridge relations so it's interesting you say that because i think your agency is far more fortunate than some of the other agencies do you think perhaps they have a secret of. your success has has been your own personality or putting an american in charge i mean seriously it's a serious matter for many in the u.n. how crucial it is to have somebody who has an ear of the president or at least any or if he's going to do it well you've got to have the year of the leadership but you also have the right message in bringing bringing together differen

they would not back off their multilateral commitment in the united nations as for the world food program the u.n. may need reform and no question about that but the world food program is a different operation it's about fifty people keeping people alive operating emergencies and sustainable development and so the united states has not backed down invite we're seeing that the world food program is actually a program is bringing nations to get. every with all the division around the world we're food program we consider ourselves an opportunity to bridge relations so to interesting to say that because i think your agency is far more fortunate than some of the other agencies do you think perhaps they have a secret of. your success has has been your own personality or putting an american in charge i mean seriously it's a serious matter for many in the un how crucial it is to have somebody who has an ear of the president or at least any or he's got it well you've got to have the year of the leadership but you also have the right message in bringing bringing together different factions within the gover

they would not back off their multilateral commitment in the united nations as for the world food program the u.n. may need reform and no question about that but the world food program is a different operation it's about feed people keeping people alive operating emergencies and sustainable development and so the united states has not backed down invite we're seeing that the world food program is actually a program this bringing nations together with all the division around the world the world food program we consider ourselves an opportunity to bridge relations so to interesting you say that because i think your agency is far more fortunate than some of the other agencies do you think perhaps they have a secret of. your success has has been your own personality or putting an american in charge i mean seriously it's a serious matter for many in the u.n. how crucial it is to have somebody who has an ear of the president or at least. he's got it well you've got to have the year of the leadership but you also have the right message in bringing bringing together different factions within the governme

they would not back off their multilateral commitment in the united nations as for the world food program the u.n. may need reform and no question about that but the world food program is a different operation it's about feed people keeping people alive operating emergencies and sustainable development and so the united states has not backed down invite we're seeing that the world food program is actually a program this bringing nations to. whether it with all the division around the world the world food program we consider ourselves an opportunity to bridge relations sultan tristan you say that because i think your agency is far more fortunate than some of the other agencies do you think perhaps they have a secret of. your success has has been your own personality or putting an american in charge i mean seriously it's a serious matter for many in the u.n. how crucial it is to have somebody who has an ear of the president or at least any or if he's got it well you've got to have the year of the leadership but you also have the right message in bringing bringing together different factions within

u.n. is calling for an immediate and unconditional deescalation of fighting in syria to address a worsening humanitarian crisis according to its world to its food agency the world food program nine million syrians need food assistance more than thirteen million people require immediate aid such as medical supplies of those three million are in areas that the u.n. describes as besieged and hard to reach all the five million people have fled the country since the civil war began in two thousand and eleven joining us now via skype from damascus is yacob kern who's the syria country director for the world food program good to have you with us the scope of what areas of the country are giving you the most cause for concern right now. good afternoon well developed food program and the u.n. really concerned about the up search inciting violence in many parts of the county romney's to beseeched area of east ghouta outside the mosque was fond of thousand people obviously each and heavy fighting but then also you need lope they are almost two hundred fifty thousand people are on the move or have fled to the norse . and also in the afternoon district in a poll we just heard in the new

government keep funding the world food program, unicef, u.n. refugee agencies and many others to ensure that refugees in yemen, in syria, in bangladesh, that they are provided for and that lives can be saved. thank you. thank you very much. we want to make sure that if you want to coordinate the individual conversations you want to have with any of us. otherwise it becomes difficult to sort the queueing questions. thanks very much for joining us this morning and i hope that you found it useful and thanks for your support to amnesty's work and for human rights. thank you. >>> earlier this month, the general services administration recommended that the new fbi headquarters building should be built on the current location in downtown washington, d.c. we'll get an update from the senate, environment and public works committee live at 10:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span 3. you can also follow live coverage on c-span.org and with the free c-span radio app. in the afternoon, a house panel will examine several proposals to address the opioid crisis, look

suburb of east so close to damascus aid from the un's world food program is on its way to government control to resume war in eastern syria is the first u.n. trip to the city since it fell on the ice and control twenty four teen drama make a step to director of the world food program in syria he joins us on skype from damascus. people who kind of situation of encountering on the ground as the try to do their jobs good afternoon this was a milestone mission for the u.n. team in syria. brought on team visited there so our day before yesterday the first times that it was our. forty. under the city charter of seats on of the seats where we sit with the city is majority of the city is uninhabitable eighty percent they don't miss it has been destroyed we have seen that there's a lot tricity if you don't make sure that you're on the trees there the water is not running the sewer system is dysfunctional majority of the people dependent for assistance rely on the poor from the international community. for a year i don't know what you had on how well you're into the operation and their source p.t. and we kept the people alive but however they need

u.n. is only as strong as we make it i am not alone. because we have all learned some tough lessons from the refugee crisis. we must strengthen organizations like u.n.h.c.r. the world food program. and the children's fund unicef. we must strengthen them in order to break the cycle of hopelessness and discrimination leading to a vertical eyes ation of violence. right in our neighborhood and one of the discussions over the last few months have shown is that tradition might start transatlantic burden sharing cannot consist of a model and under which some are responsible for the shop end of the stick on the mines while others deal with humanitarian measures and reconstruction i know by all of us are responsible for both aspects of both sides of the coin is restored by and this must become a guiding principle on both sides of the atlantic then it's. done and if we do this our transplant our partnership will retain its strategic strength that you need for the strength it has always had over the past decades. here just to be quite clear we replay ins must make a huge difference if we are to meet this self-imposed demand about how we cut our american friends to. have a precious obligat