we have all become somewhat battered by the daily news reports from syria over many years. and it can dull the senses. but you forget you are talking about human beings. when you get the story about one family and two sisters and this extraordinary journey, the almost fanatical determination they had, you are reminded that when you see a news report there are families being torn apart. yes, definitely. when you talk about the fanaticism, it is interesting to see how these girls, from being really ordinary norwegians, for them, religion played such a big role. without the religious dimension they couldn't have gone. finally, we don't know what has happened to the girls, whether they are alive or where they are, but if you had a chance to meet them now, what would you ask them? i would ask them to tell me everything that happened because we don't know, what has happened to hordes of young girls who went to syria. i've spoken to a researcher in london, there's a lack of information. what they spoke about with their brother in the book is a polished version, a version in the im

with regards to syria, jeremy bowen spoke about syria on sunday's 10pm news and the hopes for a ceasefire. eastern ghouta was the lead story on the radio 4 bulletins on tuesday morning, it continued to feature throughout our coverage throughout the week, and jeremy bowen is in damascus now. so i think we have managed to balance the snow story with all the other major news events that have been going on. another issue that many viewers raised was that bbc news only really got interested in giving the snow a lot of coverage when it hit the southeast? i don't think that's true. actually, we were warning people throughout the weekend this event was coming. i think it started in the southeast, but we were also able to say, on wednesday night, for example, when there was particularly severe disruption in scotland and northern and eastern england, that's where the bulletin coverage began, in those parts of the country. and it's interesting to note that today, glasgow has reported the snowfall they have had in that part of the world was the worst ever at the airport. i think that speaks to the sc

yes, for many reasons, also their journey to syria and the father who comes to look for them. he tried to stop them but he was too late.” comes to look for them. he tried to stop them but he was too late. i had gone across. he was a child soldier from somali so he was the right type to cross the board and join the front in order to be with the soldiers and try to find the girls. what happened, he found them and he was going to meet them, but two competing armies were meeting and the girls were in a car and one of them was shot and injured and yaxley got to meet the other one, and he said, finally, you will come back with me, and she said, i'm sorry, i can't go. she said, i married now, my life is now here. with islamic state ? my life is now here. with islamic state? yes. these girls chose to be there and they never wanted him to rescue them. instead he got arrested by isis and put in prison and tortured. awful experience for the father whom you got to know very well. did you admire him? 0h father whom you got to know very well. did you admire him? oh yes, i admire his persi

the british soldier killed while on operations syria has been named as sergeant matt tonroe from the parachute regiment. as funerals are held for 16 palestinians killed on the gaza—israeli border, the un calls for an independent investigation. also in the next hour, the funeral for stephen hawking is held in cambridge. mourners at the service heard that the physicist‘s legacy will live on after him. the actor eddie redmayne was among the speakers. the stage is set in cardiff, where anthonyjoshua hopes to cement his heavyweight world title againstjoseph parker. and coming up at 5:30 — a look at a policy on trial in finland, where 2000 people have been given a basic income for doing nothing. good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. in the last few minutes, the ministry of defence have named the soldier killed in syria on thursday as sergeant matt tonroe. he served with the 3rd battalion, parachute regiment. he was killed along with an american solider by an improvised explosive device near the syrian town of manbij. his commanding officer paid tribute to him and said, "his braver

plumber and syria pulls up in guvnor 26—year—old plumberand human syria pulls up in guvnor 26—year—old plumber and human rights campaigner, shejoined the kurdish militia last year, dyeing her blonde hair to stand out less. she was killed reportedly in an air strike by turkey in its offences against the ypg kurdish fighters. herfather called her principled and brave. she was quite adamant about it. i said, you could be killed. and she said, i know, dad, there's nothing i can do to reassure you about that but i have to do this because it is the most important thing for me. seven other british nationals have died fighting with the kurds in syria and iraq, anna campbell is the first british woman killed. turkey declared victory over the weekend at it seized the town of afrin from the ypg who it sees as terrorists are links to kurdish militants within turkey. the town bears the scars of a two—month offensive, some 200,000 residents fleeing, the first now returning, but as troops tore down a kurdish statue and looted shops, there is a fear thatjustice is becoming retribution. an outpouring

with where they were before the war started in syria up were before the war started in syria up until 2010 they were pretty much suppressed and off the radar. but because of the war in syria, they have gained in significance. a numberof them in have gained in significance. a number of them in syria have been recruited by the americans to fight against isis. alexander, why do you think there continues to be such a strong poll for foreign fighters to go over and be involved in a foreign war? to many people it will feel it does not affect us here. it certainly does. people have heard of isis. they should have heard of the ypg, the most effective force for destroying this menace. the attacks in london and manchester, these are planned by isis. an ideological core. if we smash them ideological, if they are seen as beaten by something stronger, more beautiful, asi something stronger, more beautiful, as i think anna completely symbolises, this destroys them in a more complete way. if they're hit by air strikes from imperialist forces, they prove their point. they say, we try to have a revolu

eight has finally been delivered to syria's eastern ghouta. bbc was there as the convoy began its journey. passports, some are more valuable than others with visa free travel. could it be yours? more to come. good evening and obviously nowhere near as cold as it was last week. milder conditions have spread to most parts of the uk. still called across northern areas and particularly in scotland where we have had more snow falling today. wintry looking seen here and contrast that with something that looked much more like spring, with some sunshine today at walton on thames in surrey. we have lost the beast from the east, the colts leathery and wind, and our error is tending to come the south. drawing in milderair tending to come the south. drawing in milder air across most of the uk, clearly seeing where it is still cold. low—pressure dominates our weather at the moment and within that area of low pressure this weather system here, tracking its way northwards, and that is producing the rain. that rain is still quite happy and it is moving nort

mps overwhelmingly backed uk air strikes against islamic state in syria in 2015. the shadow minister said the situation had changed and called for a fresh debate. the united states has made clear that the objective of coalition forces in syria is to carry out what they call stabilisation activities in what they call liberated areas in the north of the country, and use those areas as a base to achieve the eventual transition of syria from the assad regime. what everyone thinks of those activities, one thing is clear — they are a million miles away from the new mandate, military action given to this government, which was exclusively to stop syria becoming a safe haven for daesh. the minister did not respond directly to mr carden‘s calls for a vote. finally, it's autism awareness week and during a debate on the issue, mps felt that the needs of autistic people were not properly appreciated. the thing that would make that biggest difference to their day—to—day lives to if people understood autism. i have a personal aim that all people that play a role in publi

and on syria, you could argue. well, indeed. i've debated with him, the guy is obsessed and it's utter nonsense. jeremy and the left have called for... you think he's obsessed with saying that the left has an affection for russia? yes, absolutely. so there is no affection amongst... jeremy, john macdonald, the labour party has been calling for action against the oligarchy, the dirty money in this country, against money—laundering. we called for a version of the magnitsky act. he shared a stage with putin just four years ago. if we are serious about dealing with this kind of crony capitalism, dealing with the mafia state, why is it this government voted down attempts to bring in that legislation? why is it they are in hock to russian oligarchs? they are accepting millions of pounds from these characters. there is a lot in that and definitely starving the cache is an important part of this. which we have been calling forfor a long time. we need to take a step back, where i disagree with chris is this has punctured through to peo

syria in 2012. his mother says the men must be held to account. syria in 2012. his mother says the men must be held to accountlj really men must be held to account.” really a m men must be held to account.” really am not that interested in their opinion on anything. i am interested in them being held accountable for their horrific crimes. right now, they looked like they are on vacation. that is the pa rt they are on vacation. that is the part that is very concerning tumi and upsetting. diane foley has said she fears that while the two men remain in northern syria, they could still evade justice. remain in northern syria, they could still evadejustice. britain remain in northern syria, they could still evade justice. britain and the united states have been holding talks on the fate of the pair and where and how they might face trial. jessica parker, bbc news. and with me is our political correspondent, jonathan blake. has the british government addressed this question of citizenship, and what is

we don't want them here or anywhere in syria. this, the re m na nts of here or anywhere in syria. this, the remnants of the convoy. since turkey began its offensive against kurdish fighters in the area injanuary, human rights groups say over 90 civilians have been killed and hundreds injured, including children, in what they describe as indiscriminate attacks. the kurdish areas, marked in yellow, lie along much of the border with turkey. the afrin pocket in the far north—west of syria is the current focus of the turkish offensive but there may also bea turkish offensive but there may also be a move on another key city to ensure that kurdish fighters are driven well away from the turkish border. the turkish government says it is targeting a kurdish group known as the ypg because it poses a strategic threat as it is linked to insurgents, also kurdish, who are based inside turkey. already, the fighting has forced an estimated 15,000 people to leave their homes in search of safety. many here are traumatised by what they have witnessed. this man said everybody fled from his village.

exert pressure on russia, on syria, on iran. we don't see it. and so, we syria, on iran. we don't see it. and so, we can syria, on iran. we don't see it. and so, we can hope for any other measure that would help protect the lives of civilians in particular. what more can you tell me about the how many humanities situation, are the aid convoys getting through? the red cross has been able to go in. but the convoys have been few and far between. and clearly, even when they get through, there are insufficient quantities to provide the entire population of the area, which is about 400,000, with aid and food. so, many people are hunkered down in underground shelters and don't dare to come out in most cases. and even when they do, there is no food to be had, so the situation is clearly dire. thank you very much. the cathedral of notre dame in paris attracts around 13 million visitors every year — and is one of paris's leading landmarks. but for how much longer? parts of the 850—year—old gothic masterpiece are starting to crumble, because of pollution eating away at the sto

i'm co mforta ble citizens of iraq and syria. i'm comfortable these people, the evidence is all incontrovertible about the role they played? officer, they have not seen the inside of a courtroom yet. absolutely. we've been on a train groups like al-qaeda and isis for a long time. we are 100% concerned these guys were directly involved in guarding hostages and killing people, water boarding people because they have claimed it on their social media. so the evidence is there. the issue now is where they should be tried. because they should be tried. certainly iraq has the right to try them. it doesn't seem we have the appetite to bring them back to this country. the american government might take them but certainly i believe they should be tried, and the full weight of the law as far as we're concerned, should be thrown at them. one way of ensuring the weight of the law is thrown at them is to say they are at the same time were british citizens, if brought back here, they could be tried. absolutely. this could happen in the us or el

night time in afrin province in north—eastern syria. and turkish jets are pounding a target at a checkpoint. bewildered survivors emerge out of the dark and are picked up by ambulances. they had been part of a large convoy of vehicles, bringing food and fuel for the people of afrin city. there were casualties, including teenagers. but most people had managed to run to safetyjust in time. translation: we came here as a peaceful solidarity convoy for our brothers in afrin. we had no weapons, nothing. but the forces of turkish president erdogan rained shells on us. we don't want them here or anywhere in syria. this, the remnants of the convoy. since turkey began its offensive against kurdish fighters in the area injanuary, human rights groups say over 90 civilians have been killed and hundreds injured, including children, in what they describe as indiscriminate attacks. the kurdish areas, marked in yellow, lie along much of the border with turkey. the afrin pocket in the far north—west of syria is the current focus of the turkish offensi

they denied that the syrian government used chemical weapons in syria. to the history of denial goes way back. the simplest explanation is that mr skripal and his daughter were poisoned by agents who had access to the novichok chemical weapon at the nerve agent. but if there is a clear explanation of how the russian controlled chemical agent fell into anybody else's hands, and vladimir putin has that explanation, and who the perpetrators were, i'm sure the british government would be interested in hearing that. having said that, clearly the attempted murder, mass murder, iwould said that, clearly the attempted murder, mass murder, i would say, said that, clearly the attempted murder, mass murder, iwould say, is causing russia a lot of problems vis—a—vis the global stocks are, football championship. as well as a horrible image. so why would the russians be doing something as horrendous as that, like they did to the previous by? i think there is very little doubt they were behind the move 2009 murder of another spy. sorry to interrupt. in terms of vlad

the two men were picked up by kurdish forces in northern syria injanuary. they had been part of a sadistic gang of british is fighters that tortured and beheaded dozens of hostages. four of them stood out for their brutality. mohammed emwazi, known asjihadi john, found dead. aine davis, now injail. and the newly captured pair, alexanda kotey and elsheikh. they're accused of at least 27 beheadings, including alan henning, and aid driver from eccles, and david haines, a former raf engineer from perth. now in comments which have outraged their victims‘ families, kotey and elsheikh have called the murders of their hostages regrettable, and also say the uk has legally withdrawn their citizenship. one of their victims was the american journalist james foley, here in the helmet. his mother says she is worried the men could escape if there is a delay in dealing with them. if somebody doesn't take the leadership and take them to trial, i fear they will get away or something else. i am concerned that the international community and our government, the us government

they have been to syria many times to investigate chemical weapons. for two weeks, experts have been filmed taking what looks like samples from across salisbury. it‘s not been made public whether the nerve agent involved was delivered as a powder, a liquid or otherform. the team fom the opcw that has arrived at porton down will be crucial to confirming the nature of the nerve agent. its inspectors will discuss first how to transport samples of the nerve agent from porton down out of the country. the samples will then be sent for analysis to one or more of around 20 approved laboratories at their disposal. it may take at least two weeks for the results to come through. the police enquiry today moved here to durrington, ten miles from salisbury. the bbc understands a car is being recovered here that belongs toa is being recovered here that belongs to a friend of sergei skripal that wishes to pick up yulia the day before the attack. the foreign secretary, also in brussels, said russian denials were becoming increasingly absurd. this is a classic russia

tributes are paid to sergeant matt tonroe — the british soldier killed on operations in syria. as funerals are held for 16 palestinians killed on the gaza—israeli border — the un calls for an independent investigation. also in the next hour, the funeral for professor stephen hawking is held in cambridge.

they were crucial in driving is out of north—eastern syria. one of turkey's main roles has been giving shelter to millions of syrians fleeing the conflict, but they've also supported the rebel group called the free syrian army, and are accused of funding jihadists. turkey also fears kurdish autonomy in syria, as it thinks it would fuel separatism in turkey. and so it's launched a war against the ypg, who it says are terrorists. although remember, the ypg are the same fighters who are armed by and allied with the us. as a consequence, turkey, a member of nato, is now working closely with russia. down south, israel's main concern has been the growing influence of its arch foe, iran, and high—tech weaponry getting in the hands of hezbollah. and so a global conflict plays out within syria's borders, with russia now calling the shots. the war in syria is as complicated and bloody as ever. people are still dying. lives are still being torn apart. and the nation, global powers and, most importantly, the people of syria, are being drawn further into

she travelled to syria last may. her father has told the bbc she was idealistic and knew she was putting her life at risk. 0ur correspondent emma vardy reports. anna campbell was a passionate human rights activist who travelled to syria last may to join the kurdish women's armed group, the ypj. she even dyed her hair so as not to stand out among the other fighters. her father, dirk campbell, said he could not have prevented his daughter from travelling to the warzone. she was quite adamant about it. isaid, you know, you could be killed. and she said, i know, dad. there's nothing i can do to reassure you about that. but i've got to do this, because it's the most important thing for me. at first, anna campbell had been involved in fighting with the kurds against so—called islamic state in deir ez—zor, where is still hold some territory. but injanuary, turkey began attacking the kurds along the northern border around the town of afrin. it is here that kurdish commanders say anna campbell was killed. in a statement,

tributes are paid to sergeant matt tonroe — the british soldier killed on operations in syria. as funerals are held for 16 palestinians killed on the gaza—israeli border — the un calls for an independent investigation. also in the next hour, the funeral for professor stephen hawking is held in cambridge. mourners at the service heard that the physicist‘s legacy will live on forever. the actor eddie redmayne was among the speakers. and coming up later, we'll have the latest from cardiff, where anthonyjoshua hopes to unify his heavyweight world title againstjoseph parker. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. there's a warning that two british men detained in syria, accused of being members of an islamic state gang that murdered dozens of hostages, could escape justice. alexanda kotey and el shafee elsheikh — who were captured by kurdish fighters in january — say they've been stripped of their british citizenship. relatives of some of their victims have said britain and america must quickly reach agreement on bringing the men tojustice. duncan kennedy reports. the two

the british soldier killed while on operations in syria has been named as sergeant matt tonroe from the parachute regiment. as funerals are held for 16 palestinians killed on the gaza—israeli border, the un calls for an independent investigation. also in the next hour, the funeralfor professor stephen hawking is held in cambridge. mourners at the service heard that the physicist‘s legacy will live on after him. the actor eddie redmayne was among the speakers. the stage is set in cardiff, where anthonyjoshua hopes to cement his heavyweight world title againstjoseph parker. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. russia is expelling more than twice as many british diplomats as it had previously announced as a consequence of the nerve agent attack in salisbury. the british mission in moscow must be reduced by more than 50 staff. the foreign office here says it is considering the implications of the russian decision. the government's also weighing up a russian demand to be given access to yulia skripal in hospital. our correspondent simonjones is in salisbury for us. simon, let's deal w

where they we re tried in northern syria where they were picked up. there are others with dogs in the fight, the americans for example has accused one of them directly of outright torture if not execution. and they are adamant about that. and these two men originally came from the uk but how are other countries dealing with similar situations? whether they can be brought back to britain but i guess every country deals with these situations differently but there are variations. and in the middle of this you have got international law. take a very hard over a solution, which is canada. canada leaves and posters the idea that if the canadian citizen is affected, damaged or deprived of his or her life were ever in the world, the alleged perpetrator should be tried by canadian justice. the alleged perpetrator should be tried by canadianjustice. ideally in canada itself. now we're not quite there yet. as i said earlier, the international rule and particularly on crimes against humanity and war crimes, is evolving all the time. it is a very important pa rt a

they're just one of so many families scarred inside and out by syria's war. a barrel bomb killed mustafa's parents, broke both of his hips, and lodged a piece of shrapnel in his brain. he has severe nerve damage down his left side. it's hard for him trying to keep up with his peers, but he's determined. back at home, his grandmother brings out a photograph of his father, ibrahim. but mustafa is now losing the memory of what his parents were actually like. once a week, mustafa comes for physiotherapy. beside him is benin. she lost her father, two brothers and a sister when a shell landed on her home. syrian children have paid a catastrophic price for the war. and yet, in art therapy, mustafa draws himself smiling. despite everything he's been through, everything he's up against, i've never once seen him complain. caroline hawley, bbc news, amman. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: thousands of brazilians attend the funeral of a politician in rio de janeiro who campaigned against police brutality. more than 3000 subway passengers we re more than 3000 subw

briefly, have you been back to syria? i haven't been back since late 2016, just because it's so difficult to get into. it's near impossible to get into syria now. which is why there is so little coverage of it. the book is no turning back. thank you for coming in. keeping the world interesting in what is going on is a real battle. it reminded me of a tweet i saw a month ago from unicef who sent out a blank tweet, no words will do justice to the children killed, their mothers, fathers and loved ones, pointing out that all these pictures are not working because the international community is not doing enough. and you met some of the syrian refugees who came out, those people had tough lives, then once you met on the border with greece. it's two years ago this week, and it is those personal stories that stick with you, the pictures and videos pale compared to the people i listen to on the border. this family had a farm outside damascus that they sold because they wanted a wooden boat from turkey to greece because the rubber

they're just one of so many families scarred inside and out by syria's war. a barrel bomb killed mustafa's parents, broke both of his hips, and lodged a piece of shrapnel in his brain. he has severe nerve damage down his left side. it's hard for him trying to keep up with his peers, but he's determined. back at home, his grandmother brings out a photograph of his father, ibrahim. but mustafa is now losing the memory of what his parents were actually like. once a week, mustafa comes for physiotherapy. beside him is benin. she lost her father, two brothers and a sister when a shell landed on her home. syrian children have paid a catastrophic price for the war. and yet, in art therapy, mustafa draws himself smiling. despite everything he's been through, everything he's up against, i've never once seen him complain. caroline hawley, bbc news, amman. stay with us on the briefing. also on the programme — how a boyhood dream became a well paid reality — we hear from a kayaker who learnt his craft on the ganges. today we have closed the book on apartheid and that

the 26—year—old british woman killed fighting alongside kurdish militia in syria. ant mcpartlin is arrested for suspected drink—driving and goes back into treatment, his saturday night programme is taken offair. and the couple whose white wedding lasted a little longer than they expected after they were marooned by the mini beast from the east. and coming up on sportsday in bbc news, we look back on rugby union's six nations, which culminated in an irish grand slam when they won at twickenham at the weekend. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the uk and the eu have conditionally agreed a part of the transition deal that should smooth the way towards brexit. both the eu negotiator michel barnier and the brexit secretary david davis have called the agreement — for the period from march next year to december 2020 — a decisive step. these are the pages of the transition deal — highlighted in green is what's been agreed. in yellow, close to agreement, in white, the parts still being negotiated. agreed so far... eu citizens arriving in the uk before

two british men held captive in syria accused of being members of an islamic state gang that murdered dozens of hostages have said they "regret" the killings. they've complained that they won't get a fair trial. alexanda kotey and el shafee elsheikh, who were captured by kurdish fighters injanuary, say they've been stripped of their uk citizenship. jessica parker reports. they became the most infamous gang of foreign fighters in the self—styled islamic state. jihadijohn, his real name mohammed emwazi, now dead, aine davis, in prison in turkey, and alexanda kotey and el shafee elsheikh, captured in january by syrian kurdish fighters who are now holding them in northern syria while their fate is decided. among many others, the gang is accused of beheading alan henning, a driver and aid workerfrom eccles, and david haines, an aid workerfrom perth. now, speaking for the first time since their capture, alexanda kotey described the murder of is hostages as "regrettable". the pair complain that they will not get a fair trial. they say the uk has illegally withdrawn their citizenship, putti

they say the british serviceman was killed in syria by a roadside bomb. they also say, as you mentioned, that the soldier was embedded with us forces at the time of an operation against so—called islamic state. they also say that he was likely, we understand he was likely to be killed with special forces. but the family has been informed, but they haven't yet released his name. thank you. thousands of suspects under investigation for violent and sexual offences have been released from police custody without any bail conditions attached, according to research by the bbc. new rules were introduced in england and wales a year ago, designed to prevent people being kept on bailfor months and, in some cases, years. the charity women's aid said the figures were shocking, and would worry victims of domestic violence. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw reports. it was the case of paul gambaccini that sparked concerns about the use of pre—charge, or police bail. the bbc radio presenter was questioned about alleged sex offences, then released on bail for

do you believe we will see turkey fission to syria against the ypg even further? for the east in your freebies —— you freelys, it is dubious. that is why that calculation from turkey, it is simply because the united states probably make a deal over the region. but when washington would make such a deal, the eastern new 3—ds would be the red —— the eastern yafridis would be the red line. there is division in washington, close sources towards micro—washington and pesetas wrote critical for the raqqa security. others close to the state department, with the idea of the negotiation with turkey so that they could secure the east new 3—d is, and perhaps they would convince ypg forces —— eastern yafridis, so they could secure their games in the eastern yafridis where the sdf forces are very much powerful and secure. the head of cambridge analytica, the data firm used by donald trump's election campaign, has been called back before a committee of mps. they believe alexander nix has fresh questions to answer about the way his company used the personal deta

and he actually held on an operation in a bunker in syria. incredible. it ta kes bunker in syria. incredible. it takes every box. it is technology in the best way. what he is saying, we must be careful he is alleging this, but he is saying somebody hacked that while he was going on, and they therefore got the gordon as of the hospital in the bunker. weeks later it uses the words "weeks later" they think russian aircraft, except possibly russian in the piece. big bunker busting bomb destroys the hospital. they could only have copy location on board next through this. —— they could only have gotten the location awkwardness through this. doctor using technology for all the right reasons, might have led to hacking through the bad side of technology. into the destruction of the hospital. it is distressing. particularly for him because a very red guy who has been to aleppo himself and been underground and taking the same risks as those doctor he is helping remotely thousands of miles away from the safety a nd thousands of miles away from the safety and comfort of britain. they call

tributes are paid to sergeant matt tonroe, the british soldier killed on operations in syria. as funerals are held for 16 palestinians killed on the gaza—israeli border, the un calls for an independent investigation. also in the next hour, the funeral for professor stephen hawking is held in cambridge. mourners at the service heard that the physicist‘s legacy will live on forever. the actor eddie redmayne was among the speakers. the stage is set in cardiff, where anthonyjoshua hopes to unify his heavyweight world title againstjoseph parker. and coming up in half hour on bbc news, it is weather world, marking 100 years of the royal air force. and where better than here at its biggest base, raf brize norton? good evening, and welcome to bbc news. first to some breaking news we've had within the last hour. christine shawcroft has resigned from labour's ruling body, as the anti—semitism row continues. ms shawcroft was under pressure to resign after 44 labour mps and peers signed a letter tojeremy corbyn over her handling of a complaint about anti—semitism. the comedian edd

power again, but not at the expense of human rights and people and possible nerve agent killings and syria conspiring with assad. maybe now, putin will change. i doubt it, but that's my hope. don't the democrats need to be careful right now, mr richardson? because the way that they are pushing the notion that donald trump stands not just accused, but in many democratic eyes, guilty of collusion with the russians over the last presidential election, isn't that essentially hamstringing the us administration's ability to really direct a coherent russia policy right now? well, what is important here, stephen, is, one, this mueller investigation needs to keep its course. let him come up with whatever the facts are. number two, i think it's important that we, as democrats, not just attack the president. let's find the facts, but at the same time, let's come up with a message that eluded us in the last election. and i think elections in the united states are moving oui’ way. in pennsylvania, we won an election in a district that president trump won by 20% — we won that. so the public is turni

syria's president assad visits soldiers fighting rebels on the frontline in eastern ghouta. and it is a medical breakthrough, say scientists, after stem cell transplants are used to treat multiple sclerosis. vladimir putin has secured another six—year term as russia's president following a landslide election win. he told supporters he saw the result as a vote of confidence in his achievements and in the country. speaking at a news conference, he spoke about the ongoing dispute with britain over the poisoning of a russian spy. he insisted that his government had no chemical weapons, and had nothing to do with it. these are the latest figures from the russian central election commission. with 99% of the vote now counted, mr putin has won 76.7%, hugely ahead of his nearest rival, the communist party candidate pavel grudinin. he has won just under 12%. the far—right nationalist vladimir zhirinovsky is on a bit less than 6%. the election commission put turnout at 67%, a little more than the previous presidential election in 2012. steve rosenberg reports. he has been centresta

thousands of civilians flee violence in syria — aid agencies say almost 250,000 people have been driven from their homes this week. and the campaign to clean up mount everest begins. 1,200kg of waste left behind by tourists and climbers is airlifted from the world's highest mountain. hello and welcome to bbc news. russia has hit back against the uk in the escalating dispute about the poisoning of a former double agent. the british ambassador was called in to the foreign ministry in moscow and given a list of measures that moscow intends to take in retaliation to british actions against russia, which london holds responsible for the attack. steve rosenberg reports from moscow. he'd been expecting the telephone call. and today, it came. britain's ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry, and in the skyscraper that joseph stalin built as a symbol of a superpower, the ambassador was told how moscow would retaliate for uk sanctions. a note of defiance when he left. we will always do what is necessary to defend ourselves, our allies, and our values against an attack of this sort which

the ministry of defence has confirmed that a member of the uk armed forces has been killed in syria. our defence correspondentjonathan beale is at the mod tonight. what more do we know? well, a short statement from the mod saying, with regret, we must confirm a member of the uk armed forces was killed by a roadside bomb in syria yesterday while at soldier was embedded with us forces. in a separate statement, the pentagon has confirmed that two coalition personnel were killed by a roadside bomb near the northern town of manbij, one of them we now know american, one of them british. this is significant because it is the first british soldier to be killed in combat in the fight against is. we know that british troops are on the ground training iraqi forces, that they have visited syria from time to time, but the government never confirmed that british soldiers are involved in the fight. of course, the modi has a long—standing policy of never commenting on the activities of uk special forces, but we understand this was a member of uk special forces. the incident is under investigation,

night—time in afrin province in north—eastern syria. and turkish jets are pounding the target, at a checkpoint. bewildered survivors emerge out of the dark. and are picked up by ambulances. they have been part of a large convoy of vehicles bringing food and fuel for the people of afrin city. there were casualties, including teenagers. but most people had managed to run to safety just most people had managed to run to safetyjust in time. we came here as a peaceful convoy for our brothers in afrin, we had no weapons, but the forces rained shells on us. we don't wa nt forces rained shells on us. we don't want them here or anywhere in syria. this, the remnants of the convoy. since turkey began its offensive against kurdish fighters in the area injanuary, human against kurdish fighters in the area in january, human rights against kurdish fighters in the area injanuary, human rights groups say more than 90 civilians have been killed and hundreds injured, including children. they described this as indiscriminate attacks. the kurdish areas, mar

they say the british serviceman was killed in syria by a roadside bomb. they also say, as you mentioned, that the soldier was embedded with us forces at the time of an operation against so—called islamic state. they also say that he was likely, we understand he was likely to be killed with special forces. the family has been informed, but they haven't yet released his name. parents are increasingly being asked to contribute towards classroom basics such as textbooks, says the leader of the largest teachers‘ union. ahead of their annual conference in brighton, kevin courtney of the national education union said that despite more than a billion pounds of extra funding being allocated to schools in england, rising costs meant they still faced tough choices. our education editor bra nwen jeffreys reports. they're not the only ones counting carefully... the budget is tight at this primary school. it's in west sussex, an area of low funding. we need to make sure it's the same amount in each quarter... parents paid for the rug in this classroom, part of a wi

speaking to the associated press from a cell in northern syria, alexanda kotey described the executions as something that was regrettable, as he didn't see any benefit. the pair also claimed the illegal taking of their citizenships left them vulnerable to interrogation and torture. the two men were captured in the country by the american—backed syrian democratic forces, a kurdish—led militia. the home office hasn't commented on whether the pair have been stripped of their citizenship. last month, the home secretary amber rudd said she was absolutely convinced and committed to the idea of them facing justice. the defence secretary gavin williamson however, says the men should not return to britain because they turned their backs on british values. their interview come a day after a uk soldier embedded with us forces was killed by a roadside bomb in a counterterrorism operation against the militants, making him the first british member of the armed forces killed in combat fighting is. i'm joined now by the evening standard's defence correspondent robert fox. let me ask you about the h

alexanda kotey and el shafee elsheikh, who've been detained by kurdish fighters in syria, are accused of being part of the group which murdered more than 20 hostages. james waterhouse reports. alexanda kotey and el shafee elsheikh became part of the most infamous gang of foreign fighters within the islamic state group. along with fellow londoners mohammed emwazi — the killer nicknamed jihadi john — who was killed in an american air strike, and aine davis, who was jailed in turkey, the pair are links to a string of hostage murders in iraq and syria during the militants‘ bloody uprising. they include alan henning, the driver and aid worker from eccles, and david haines, a long—time aid workerfrom perth. the pair also claimed the illegal taking of their citizenships left them vulnerable to interrogation and torture. the two men were captured in the country by the american—backed syrian democratic forces, the kurdish—led militia. the home office hasn't commented on whether the pair have been stripped of their citizenship. last month the home secretary amber rudd said she was "

in syria or libya. say it. you can say it. it is a racist. you know why? to tell me that because i am arab that i should move to syria as they are demanding day by day or i should compare myself to third world countries, none democratic, totalitarian regimes, israel is claiming it is democracy, the control group and the control state should be sweden, france, england, not libya, not syria, not third states, third world states in africa or south america. i wa nt to states in africa or south america. i want to be equal, exactly like citizens in tel aviv and i do not wa nt to citizens in tel aviv and i do not want to be compared with totalitarian regimes, but with democratic states will stop it is the test. can you accept the idea that an israeli citizen who is arab is willing to be equal? it is a good way to end this interview. ahmad tibi, thank you very much for being on hardtalk. hello again. it felt like we had two different seasons across the uk yesterday, north to south. across northern areas in scotland, we had heavy snow causing transport disruption a

also tonight: in syria, thousand of civilians have fled the rebel area of eastern ghouta, on the seventh anniversary of the start of the syrian conflict. we'll be hearing the story of a seven—year—old who was born in the year the conflict began. tests on a fire door from grenfell tower have shown that it was far less flame—resistant than it was claimed to be. in florida, a newly—built pedestrian bridge has collapsed, killing a number of people. many are still trapped. and at the emirates tonight, arsenal have been playing ac milan in the europa league. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news: the irish dominate at cheltenham, while trainer willie mullins and penhill were the big winners on day three of the festival. good evening. three of britain's closest allies have declared their strong support for theresa may's response to the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter in salisbury. the united states, france and germany blamed russia for the chemical attack, which they said was an attack on british sovereignty. during the day, theresa may visited salisbury for the firs