07/04/2017

:00:10. > :00:21.Hello. It's Friday, welcome to the programme. Tonight I ordered a

:00:22. > :00:26.targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the

:00:27. > :00:31.chemical attack was launched. Just two days after a chemical weapons

:00:32. > :00:35.strike that killed 86 people, including 27 children, Donald Trump

:00:36. > :00:39.authorised a cruise missile strike on an air base in Syria. It's the

:00:40. > :00:43.first direct military intervention from America against the Syrian

:00:44. > :00:46.Government since the flick began. The missile attack marks a huge

:00:47. > :00:50.change in policy by the Americans and it's a hiej test of Donald

:00:51. > :00:56.Trump's presidency. We will look at what it means for him at home and

:00:57. > :01:00.within the international community. Assad's role in the future is

:01:01. > :01:03.uncertain, clearly, and with acts he has taken it would seem there would

:01:04. > :01:08.be no role for him to govern the Syrian people.

:01:09. > :01:13.The US Secretary of State said the attack was a proportionate response

:01:14. > :01:17.adding that Russia had been either complicit or incompetent by failing

:01:18. > :01:22.to secure the chemical weapons of its Syrian ally. A Romanian woman

:01:23. > :01:28.injured in the Westminster terror attack two weeks ago has died.

:01:29. > :01:41.Andrea Cristea had been visiting London with her boyfriend.

:01:42. > :01:46.Good morning. Welcome to the programme. We are live until 11am

:01:47. > :01:48.this morning. We will be looking throughout the show at the

:01:49. > :01:53.implications of that missile strike by America on a base in Syria. It's

:01:54. > :01:59.the first time America has intervened directly in the conflict.

:02:00. > :02:02.Do get in touch. Texts will be charged at the standard network

:02:03. > :02:10.rate. That's our main news, that the US

:02:11. > :02:15.has carried out a missile strike on a Syrian air base in response to a

:02:16. > :02:23.chemical attack that killed dozens of civilians. 59 cruise missiles

:02:24. > :02:27.were fired from the Mediterranean. They hit the base from where the

:02:28. > :02:45.attack was launched. Here is David Willis.

:02:46. > :02:47.It was a decisive response from an administration that has

:02:48. > :02:49.often seemed disorganised and at times dysfunctional.

:02:50. > :02:52.A fusillade of Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from US Navy ships

:02:53. > :02:54.in the Mediterranean aimed at the Syrian air base

:02:55. > :02:56.from which America says that deadly chemical weapons attack was launched

:02:57. > :03:00.A line in the sand moment for the new commander-in-chief.

:03:01. > :03:02.On Tuesday, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad launched a horrible

:03:03. > :03:07.chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.

:03:08. > :03:15.Using a deadly nerve agent, Assad choked out the lives

:03:16. > :03:19.These are the heart-breaking images that moved the President to action,

:03:20. > :03:23.triggering in the process a remarkable shift in foreign

:03:24. > :03:27.policy on the part of his nascent administration.

:03:28. > :03:34.A week ago, White House officials professed little interest in regime

:03:35. > :03:37.change in Syria but the use of what they say was a deadly nerve

:03:38. > :03:39.agent by Bashar al-Assad's forces has changed everything.

:03:40. > :03:47.Tonight, I call on all civilised nations to join us in seeking to end

:03:48. > :03:54.the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria and also to end terrorism

:03:55. > :04:02.News of the missile strike somewhat overshadowed a one-day summit

:04:03. > :04:04.with China's President Xi at which the two leaders

:04:05. > :04:07.were expected to discuss the growing threat posed by North Korea

:04:08. > :04:10.but depending on where the US goes from here he could find

:04:11. > :04:13.he has his work cut out in Syria, a quagmire of a conflict

:04:14. > :04:23.which could define his presidency one way or the other.

:04:24. > :04:28.Let's get more from David in Washington. Of course that's the big

:04:29. > :04:35.question, where do things go from here? Yes, indeed. The indications

:04:36. > :04:38.are that this is, if you like, a one-shot deal, that the United

:04:39. > :04:42.States will not be planning, for now at least, any further attacks of

:04:43. > :04:49.this kind. But that's the unofficial word. We wait to see. The

:04:50. > :04:54.administration simply confinding its comments about this attack to the

:04:55. > :05:00.fact they believe it was a proportionate response and one which

:05:01. > :05:06.sends the sort of message that's needed to Bashar al-Assad, namely,

:05:07. > :05:11.that he can not get away with this sort of use of chemical weapons.

:05:12. > :05:17.David, thank you very much. Much more reaction still to come. Let's

:05:18. > :05:22.catch up with the rest of the news. Good morning. A Romanian tourist who

:05:23. > :05:28.fell into the River Thames during the Westminster terror attack has

:05:29. > :05:31.died. Andrea Cristea was walking on Westminster Bridge with her

:05:32. > :05:34.boyfriend when they were driven at by the attacker Khalid Masood, who

:05:35. > :05:38.was later shot dead. Her boyfriend had planned to propose later that

:05:39. > :05:42.day. Her life support was withdrawn yesterday. The 31-year-old becomes

:05:43. > :05:48.the 5th victim of the March 22 attack.

:05:49. > :05:51.A four-year-old child has died in an incident at a farm in Northern

:05:52. > :05:55.Ireland. Police were called out to the farm yesterday evening where the

:05:56. > :05:59.boy was pronounced dead at the scene. Northern Ireland's police

:06:00. > :06:02.force says officers will work closely with the Health and Safety

:06:03. > :06:07.Executive as they investigate the circumstances of what happened.

:06:08. > :06:12.There's been a sharp increase in the number of accident and emergency

:06:13. > :06:20.departments in England turning away ambulances, compared with the

:06:21. > :06:22.previous three years. The enough field trust think tank says its

:06:23. > :06:34.analysis. Ambulances are diverted when

:06:35. > :06:37.hospitals are exceptionally busy. It's a temporary measure to take

:06:38. > :06:40.the pressure off A, but it means patients have further

:06:41. > :06:42.to travel for urgent treatment. Today's report shows how the number

:06:43. > :06:45.of diverts has leapt During the three winters beginning

:06:46. > :06:49.in 2013, this happened But in this most recent winter,

:06:50. > :06:52.the number of diverts The report says this is bad

:06:53. > :06:58.for patients and explains why ambulance trusts in England

:06:59. > :07:00.are missing their expected 500 or so - you may say "Well,

:07:01. > :07:06.it's not a very big number." They reveal a service under

:07:07. > :07:10.tremendous pressure. There'll be 500 diverts but there'll

:07:11. > :07:13.be many more A departments working right at the limit

:07:14. > :07:21.that they could have diverted. And the report says morale is low

:07:22. > :07:23.among ambulance staff, NHS England believes too many

:07:24. > :07:26.ambulances are being dispatched to simply try to hit targets,

:07:27. > :07:44.and it's reviewing the system. We can stay with health. GP practice

:07:45. > :07:47.closures have hit record levels with hundreds of thousands of patients

:07:48. > :07:52.forced to change surgeries last year. That's according to figures

:07:53. > :07:57.obtained by the medical magazine Pulse. The Royal College of GPs said

:07:58. > :08:00.doctors could no longer cope with growing patient demand but NHS

:08:01. > :08:04.England said all patients would still be able to register with the

:08:05. > :08:08.surgery. The Government is consulting on

:08:09. > :08:12.plans to ban letting agents from charging tenants unfair fees for

:08:13. > :08:17.private rented housing. The proposals are aimed to stop hiding

:08:18. > :08:21.charges and end costly upfront fees. It comes amid concerns some letting

:08:22. > :08:24.agents would double charging tenants and property owners for the same

:08:25. > :08:29.service, a consultation on the plans will run for eight weeks from today.

:08:30. > :08:32.I do think it's an important first step and we have been campaigning on

:08:33. > :08:36.this for years and we know tenants are desperate for this ban to come

:08:37. > :08:41.into force. Certainly it is only the first step. There is a lot more the

:08:42. > :08:46.Government can do, starting with the issue of how unstable the private

:08:47. > :08:49.rented sector is. We need to move towards longer tenancies so that

:08:50. > :08:57.tenants aren't having to move so much in the first place.

:08:58. > :09:02.ETA has said it will officially disarm from tomorrow according to a

:09:03. > :09:08.letter object taped by the BBC. More than 800 people -- obtained.

:09:09. > :09:11.It declared a ceasefire in 2011. The Spanish Government has refused to

:09:12. > :09:15.negotiate with the group whose aim is to achieve independence from

:09:16. > :09:23.Spain. That's a summer of the latest news.

:09:24. > :09:28.More from me at 9. 30 am. Thank you. We are focussing the programme today

:09:29. > :09:32.on the American air strike against the air base in Syria today. Get in

:09:33. > :09:37.touch with your thoughts. Texts will be charged at the

:09:38. > :09:40.standard network rate. Plenty of reaction the latest throughout the

:09:41. > :09:47.programme. Let's catch up with the sport.

:09:48. > :09:51.The Masters is under way. What's happened to Dustin Johnson?

:09:52. > :09:54.A real shock, the world number one pulled out of the tournament, it's

:09:55. > :09:57.the second time in Masters history that the world number one won't

:09:58. > :10:02.feature at Government's first Major of the year out in Augusta. You

:10:03. > :10:08.might remember on Wednesday that he slipped on some stairs at the rental

:10:09. > :10:12.property he is staying in, he bruised his back and elbow and it

:10:13. > :10:15.was limiting his movement and swing. He was on the practice range before

:10:16. > :10:19.heading out for his opening round and he looked OK. He said he was

:10:20. > :10:23.going to try to play on but he took one look at the opening hole and

:10:24. > :10:27.decided here at this moment he wasn't going to continue which is a

:10:28. > :10:32.real shock, not only for the tournament but for him himself. As

:10:33. > :10:35.the world number one he has had an incredible start to 2017 and won the

:10:36. > :10:40.last three tournaments he has played in, he was the US Open champion. He

:10:41. > :10:46.looked like he could be the man to beat in Augusta. As you can imagine

:10:47. > :10:52.this is what he had to say after, he is bitterly disappointed. I feel

:10:53. > :10:58.like I am playing the best golf in my career and for me to pull out, I

:10:59. > :11:04.mean, it sucks really bad. I am very sad that I have to do it but it's a

:11:05. > :11:08.freak accident and I feel like I wanted to play, I wanted to try to

:11:09. > :11:12.play. It's just, you know, I am not going to be able to compete like

:11:13. > :11:15.this. A terrible shame for him, what about

:11:16. > :11:18.what happened on the course, particularly with British players?

:11:19. > :11:23.Let's start with the British hopes. Lee Westwood is leading those. He is

:11:24. > :11:28.third at the moment. He shot what was a decent opening round, a round

:11:29. > :11:31.of 70. He struggled on the front nine but improved on the back nine

:11:32. > :11:35.with a series of birdies which puts him in contention after the opening

:11:36. > :11:38.round. Danny Willett, the defending champion, we were talking about him

:11:39. > :11:42.12 months ago when he became the first Englishman to win the Masters

:11:43. > :11:47.in 20 years. He dropped shots on his opening two holes but recovered

:11:48. > :11:52.well. He finished on 73. This man in front, Charlie Hoffman with an

:11:53. > :11:56.opening round of 65. It looked at one stage we weren't going to see

:11:57. > :12:01.any players shoot scores in the 60s, that would have been the first time

:12:02. > :12:04.that happened in 60 years but he performed brilliantly on the back

:12:05. > :12:09.nine. A little unknown, the American, outside the world's top 50

:12:10. > :12:13.and he's never led any Major at any stage after any round so it goes to

:12:14. > :12:16.show the performance from him as he leads, still early stages,

:12:17. > :12:23.obviously, at the moment after that opening round. Thank you very much.

:12:24. > :12:25.It was Tuesday when a clearly emotional President Trump spoke at

:12:26. > :12:29.the White House about the horrible terrible chemical attack that had

:12:30. > :12:33.killed as he put it beautiful babies in Syria. He then said something

:12:34. > :12:40.should happen. That something did happen in the early hours of this

:12:41. > :12:44.morning. 59 missiles were fired at an air base from which the Americans

:12:45. > :12:47.said the chemical strike was launched. It's the first time

:12:48. > :12:50.America has intervened directly against the Syrian Government in the

:12:51. > :12:54.conflict that's been going on for six years and marks a real shift in

:12:55. > :12:56.policy and attitude. This was what the President had to say hours after

:12:57. > :13:11.the attack. On Tuesday, the Syrian

:13:12. > :13:13.dictator, Bashar al-Assad, launched a horrible,

:13:14. > :13:14.the weapons attack Using a deadly nerve agent,

:13:15. > :13:17.Bashar al-Assad choked the lives of helpless men,

:13:18. > :13:19.women, and children. It was a slow and brutal death

:13:20. > :13:26.for so many, even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this

:13:27. > :13:28.very barbaric attack. No child of God should

:13:29. > :13:32.ever suffer such horror. Tonight I ordered a targeted

:13:33. > :13:37.military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical

:13:38. > :13:41.attack was launched. It is in this vital

:13:42. > :13:43.national security interest of the United States to prevent

:13:44. > :13:53.and deter the spread and use There can be no dispute that Syria

:13:54. > :14:13.used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under

:14:14. > :14:20.the Chemical Weapons Convention, and ignored the urging

:14:21. > :14:27.of the UN Security Council. Years of previous attempts

:14:28. > :14:34.at changing Bashar al-Assad's behaviour have all failed,

:14:35. > :14:39.and failed very dramatically. As a result, the refugee crisis

:14:40. > :14:43.continues to deepen, and the region continues

:14:44. > :14:48.to destabilise, threatening Tonight, I call on all civilised

:14:49. > :14:55.nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed

:14:56. > :15:01.in Syria, and also to end terrorism We ask for God's wisdom

:15:02. > :15:17.as we face the challenge We pray for the lives

:15:18. > :15:24.of the wounded and for the souls And we hope that as long as America

:15:25. > :15:40.stands for justice that peace and harmony will,

:15:41. > :15:42.in the end, prevail. Good night, and God bless America

:15:43. > :15:53.and the entire world. Russian state television is showing

:15:54. > :15:56.pictures of the damage caused to the airbase. We have not got the

:15:57. > :15:59.pictures at the moment but I can tell you what they are saying about

:16:00. > :16:02.the impact of the air strikes, saying that nine planes were

:16:03. > :16:09.destroyed at that Syrian air base but the main runway was left

:16:10. > :16:14.relatively unscathed, the pictures reportedly showing craters, debris

:16:15. > :16:19.and rubble. But the main runway looking largely intact, although

:16:20. > :16:23.those nine planes reportedly destroyed. Reaction coming out of

:16:24. > :16:27.Germany and France, a joint statement has been issued saying

:16:28. > :16:31.after the chemical weapons massacre of the 4th of April on Khan

:16:32. > :16:35.Sheikhoun in north-western Syria, a military installation of the Syrian

:16:36. > :16:39.regime was destroyed by a US air strike last night. President Assad

:16:40. > :16:43.has sole responsibility for this development. That is just through

:16:44. > :16:48.from France and Germany in a joint statement. In a moment we will speak

:16:49. > :16:52.to Simon Jenkins, a newspaper columnist who says anything the West

:16:53. > :16:59.does will only make matters worse. We are also drawing down the line

:17:00. > :17:06.from Syria. In France we can join to a representative from Unicef. And

:17:07. > :17:10.Alison McGovern, a Labour MP who voted against military action in

:17:11. > :17:18.2013. Let's go to our correspondent Ben James in Beirut in neighbouring

:17:19. > :17:23.Lebanon. What is the latest you are hearing that? About one hour ago we

:17:24. > :17:26.were watching Syrian state TV to see a statement by the Syrian army,

:17:27. > :17:32.their first official response to what's happened at this airbase.

:17:33. > :17:37.They are talking about six people having been killed. We will await

:17:38. > :17:40.any further news on that, but that is their latest statement. There was

:17:41. > :17:46.some report going round of somebody in the rank of Commodore having been

:17:47. > :17:51.killed, that was according to the Syrian Observatory the human rights,

:17:52. > :17:56.we will await confirmation of that. We heard a Syrian army statement, in

:17:57. > :18:00.comparison to terrorism, they will call in the United States is

:18:01. > :18:04.essentially a partner of Isis and al-Nusra as a result of this strike.

:18:05. > :18:11.The so-called Islamic State they are referring to. And the group formerly

:18:12. > :18:16.known as al-Nusra front that is now part of a wider umbrella of jihadist

:18:17. > :18:20.groups whom many still consider to be linked to Al-Qaeda, a designated

:18:21. > :18:23.terrorist group according to the US government. They do operate in the

:18:24. > :18:28.area of north-west Syria in which Khan Sheikhoun is the place, the

:18:29. > :18:32.site of course of this alleged chemical attack earlier in the week.

:18:33. > :18:36.That is what the Syrian military has been saying. The governor of Homs,

:18:37. > :18:40.the province in which this airbase is, has been talking through the

:18:41. > :18:43.morning about the rescue efforts on the base, talking about the fire

:18:44. > :18:48.fighting taking place, talking about material damage as well as opposed

:18:49. > :18:50.to high numbers of casualties. Of course it is still unclear exactly

:18:51. > :18:54.how much warning the Syrians may have got. We do know that the US

:18:55. > :19:05.military used their established protocol with the Russians to seek

:19:06. > :19:09.their consent, they made very clear, not a political conversation, but a

:19:10. > :19:12.military notification. We understand from the Russians that the agreement

:19:13. > :19:17.through which those notifications take place is now off as far as they

:19:18. > :19:22.are concerned, it was signed in October 2015 just after the Russians

:19:23. > :19:25.began to use air operations in support of President Assad. We have

:19:26. > :19:30.been hearing from somebody who lives very close to this airbase, one of

:19:31. > :19:33.the BBC producers has a contact close by, they were speaking to

:19:34. > :19:38.somebody who lived there saying they were woken up at 3:45am, very early,

:19:39. > :19:42.by the repeated sounds of these cruise missiles hitting,

:19:43. > :19:46.earthshaking sounds is how they were described. They were talking about

:19:47. > :19:49.the ambulance activity and also talking to people that they no one

:19:50. > :19:53.the airbase, talking about devastation. It is still unclear

:19:54. > :19:58.exactly what the situation is on the base itself, precisely how many

:19:59. > :20:01.planes may have been damage. The Americans say they were targeting

:20:02. > :20:05.not just the aircraft but the infrastructure that supports them,

:20:06. > :20:08.things like fuel and ammunition, on the basis they say they have

:20:09. > :20:12.conclusively linked to what they say is the chemical attack on Kaja Kim,

:20:13. > :20:17.which of course the Syrian government denies having carried

:20:18. > :20:22.out. -- on Khan Sheikhoun. There are two questions, this is going to be

:20:23. > :20:25.of limited impact on military capability, which presumably it will

:20:26. > :20:29.be, but the broader strategic implications we just have to wait to

:20:30. > :20:34.see what happens next. We certainly do. You are right, whether this is

:20:35. > :20:38.maybe more of a symbolic strike than one which might have a huge

:20:39. > :20:45.practical impact on what the Syrian air force and forces can do. Because

:20:46. > :20:49.the Americans felt they had to militarily warned the Russians, the

:20:50. > :20:52.Russians are allies of the Syrians, so presumably the Russians want the

:20:53. > :20:56.Syrians as well. We don't know how much warning was given, we don't

:20:57. > :20:59.have any of the mission about that, we know that happened according to

:21:00. > :21:03.the Americans. The Russians on their part have said that none of their

:21:04. > :21:07.personnel were hurt. We heard reports to suggest that Russian

:21:08. > :21:09.forces were seen going away from the airbase yesterday. We cannot

:21:10. > :21:14.corroborate those reports, but there is a notion that with some kind of

:21:15. > :21:18.warning then maybe the casualties and damage as well was more limited

:21:19. > :21:23.than it otherwise would have been. Still, the symbolism of this strike

:21:24. > :21:27.cannot be underestimated. It shows a potential change, a huge shift from

:21:28. > :21:31.the Americans in their policy. Only last week there were talking about

:21:32. > :21:33.it being silly to target President Assad when the priority was

:21:34. > :21:39.targeting the so-called Islamic State. Thank you, Ben. Well, let's

:21:40. > :21:46.bring in our other guests in the studio and elsewhere. I want to come

:21:47. > :21:48.to you first of all, Abdul. You are just north of Idlib. What is your

:21:49. > :21:56.reaction to the American intervention now? Hello, thank you

:21:57. > :22:03.very much. Yes, I wanted to say that everyone on earth may be happy to

:22:04. > :22:09.have partial punishment for the criminal, for the crimes that Assad

:22:10. > :22:15.made. Just when I woke up I saw my brother-in-law, who is seven years

:22:16. > :22:19.old. He told me, they say that the US targeted Assad, does this mean

:22:20. > :22:25.that we will not see planes in the sky? Does this mean that I can go to

:22:26. > :22:30.school without planes? I said, OK, this is not the case. Yes, in

:22:31. > :22:35.general, even children are happy with this. I mean, these strikes.

:22:36. > :22:46.But speaking for me, I cannot consider them. I consider them only

:22:47. > :22:52.strikes. Because when you consider it a strike, it should be kind of

:22:53. > :23:01.surprise and kind of shocking. But America said that they talked and

:23:02. > :23:07.told Russia before these strikes, and frankly speaking, even the

:23:08. > :23:13.damage with the most technical on earth, these kind of damage and

:23:14. > :23:22.casualties is so limited. So this means that it is a political strike.

:23:23. > :23:26.It is more than military strikes. Alison McGovern. In 2013, you warn

:23:27. > :23:29.of the MPs that voted against military action in Syria. Do you

:23:30. > :23:36.think it is now time for military action? Well, the approach that is

:23:37. > :23:40.taken needs to be part of a strategy to protect civilians. You know, as

:23:41. > :23:43.we've just heard, people need to get to school, they need to be able to

:23:44. > :23:49.have access doors but also medical care. If this new approach is to

:23:50. > :23:53.work -- to hospitals and medical care. It must be part of a strategy

:23:54. > :23:57.to protect civilians in Syria. That is what I and others across the

:23:58. > :24:03.House of Commons from both parties have been saying for some time now.

:24:04. > :24:05.We would ask the British Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary

:24:06. > :24:10.to come back to the House of Commons when we come back from recess and

:24:11. > :24:13.explain how the UK can play a role with France, Germany and others to

:24:14. > :24:18.make sure that whatever happens from now it is part of a comprehensive

:24:19. > :24:21.strategy that gets Syrian kids back to school, gets supplies to

:24:22. > :24:24.hospitals so that people can be treated on taking care of, and that

:24:25. > :24:33.we get on the road to these in Syria. Can you spell out what you

:24:34. > :24:36.think the strategy should be? Well, the UN needs access. One of the

:24:37. > :24:39.problems we have had is that there are, you know, warehouses full of

:24:40. > :24:41.aid that has been made available by the international community. But the

:24:42. > :24:48.Syrian regime has had a campaign not just of dropping bombs but also of

:24:49. > :24:52.starving people and besieging Syrian pounds. So, as part of what is going

:24:53. > :24:58.on now, the UN must be allowed to have access to people who need help

:24:59. > :25:04.in Syria, get that medical equipment in, get food aid and other necessary

:25:05. > :25:07.supplies to people in Syria, open up humanitarian corridors. Because, you

:25:08. > :25:11.know, these strikes will not be enough unless they are part of a

:25:12. > :25:15.strategy that helps save lives in Syria. Simon Jenkins, those are

:25:16. > :25:22.exactly the kind of things that has been set for a long time. It hasn't

:25:23. > :25:25.been happening. Does military action change that? I don't think it

:25:26. > :25:28.changes anything. It is one thing to spike a child, what do you do next?

:25:29. > :25:31.It has been going on eight years, it is the most Gnostics of all war we

:25:32. > :25:35.have ever come across, but it won't end with outside intervention -- the

:25:36. > :25:42.most nasty civil war. The only way this war is going to end is if one

:25:43. > :25:47.side wins, the side that is winning is unfortunately Assad. In 2013 he

:25:48. > :25:51.was much weaker. In the years since, with Russian and Iranian support,

:25:52. > :25:55.without decisive action by the international community, he has

:25:56. > :25:58.become a lot stronger. That is mute, nobody thought he was really going

:25:59. > :26:03.to lose. You are quite right, the Russians decided to back him, and

:26:04. > :26:10.the Iranians, and most importantly, Lebanese factions decided to back

:26:11. > :26:14.him. He was not likely to lose. It was prolonging the civil War and it

:26:15. > :26:21.was gleeful. We played a part in prolonging the Civil War and we are

:26:22. > :26:25.looking bring it to an end --. People feel desire to react with

:26:26. > :26:29.horror, you want to do something. You almost cheer when you see the

:26:30. > :26:33.bombs going off, but that is not sensible rational politics, we have

:26:34. > :26:37.been here twice before in the Middle East, in Lebanon and Iraq, both

:26:38. > :26:45.times we intervened and both times was to disaster. Why do it again? Do

:26:46. > :26:49.you agree that we have played a part in prolonging a civil War? I

:26:50. > :26:54.disagree with Simon in the sense that Syria is Syria. We have to

:26:55. > :26:59.treat this situation on its merits. It is easy to say this is just like

:27:00. > :27:03.other countries. I don't agree with this counsel of despair that there

:27:04. > :27:07.is nothing that we can do. Personally, I think that what we

:27:08. > :27:10.need now is a re-establishment of the international humanitarian

:27:11. > :27:14.principles that we all signed up to. We signed up to... Sorry to

:27:15. > :27:19.interrupt, this is a crackle what has been several long time, it has

:27:20. > :27:23.not happened. -- this is exactly what has been said for a long time.

:27:24. > :27:28.Mike things be different now if you have voted for military action in

:27:29. > :27:32.2013? If my vote had been different in 2013, I have no way of knowing if

:27:33. > :27:36.the situation would be better or worse, it is an impossible question

:27:37. > :27:39.to us. Do I regret that maybe I could have bought the Prime Minister

:27:40. > :27:43.back on more occasions, maybe we could have asked more questions? Of

:27:44. > :27:48.course, I think about every missed opportunity everyday. But my regret

:27:49. > :27:52.will do no good for in Syria. What can do some good is a

:27:53. > :27:57.re-establishment of humanitarian principles, and putting pressure

:27:58. > :28:01.through the UN mechanisms to get aid in, and if necessary, if there are

:28:02. > :28:06.people who need to be helped, to get them out so that we can try and save

:28:07. > :28:11.lives in Syria, that is what we can do now. Let's bring in a rough

:28:12. > :28:16.present different UniSA. It is now a chemical weapons attack -- a

:28:17. > :28:20.representative from Unicef. You are talking about the humanitarian

:28:21. > :28:24.aspect rather than the politics. What is your reaction to that? There

:28:25. > :28:28.have been previous chemical weapons attacks that have not elicited this

:28:29. > :28:32.response. But aside from that, if this had been a conventional weapons

:28:33. > :28:39.attack there would not have been this reaction now? Well, Joanne, I

:28:40. > :28:45.have been a humanitarian worker for 25 years. I have been working in

:28:46. > :28:52.many, many conflicts. I do not recall a single conflict that got

:28:53. > :28:57.sorted out by military power. I'm afraid the same applies to Syria. I

:28:58. > :29:04.don't think that a military solution is the way forward for what has

:29:05. > :29:08.happened for the last six years, and continues happening in Syria. How do

:29:09. > :29:14.you see the solution? Well, the solution needs to come through a

:29:15. > :29:20.dialogue, a political dialogue, how strange all of that may sound today.

:29:21. > :29:25.It is a dialogue that brings all of the parties around the table, the

:29:26. > :29:31.parties inside Syria, and the parties who have influence over

:29:32. > :29:36.those who are active inside Syria. All around the table, and, from

:29:37. > :29:39.Unicef's perspective, we have been calling it and will continue calling

:29:40. > :29:47.to all of these parties to maybe take a few seconds and start the

:29:48. > :29:51.negotiations reflecting on all of what the six years so far has

:29:52. > :29:57.brought the children inside Syria. Abdul, when you hear the

:29:58. > :30:01.conversation focusing on, you know, the need for diplomacy and for all

:30:02. > :30:03.of the parties to be around the table, and for military intervention

:30:04. > :30:10.not to be the answer, how do you react?

:30:11. > :30:24.Diplomatic and political issues cannot be achieved easily in Syria

:30:25. > :30:30.without... Assad says just to maybe yesterday he said there is no

:30:31. > :30:41.solution for him but to retreat, but to be victory, I mean he wants Syria

:30:42. > :30:45.for his gain. So, political and dialogue solutions in Syria are not

:30:46. > :30:50.available this time, not because we don't want, no, because other part,

:30:51. > :31:03.I mean, Assad he doesn't want this solution. They want to get all the

:31:04. > :31:10.land. After that they want the political issues and dialogues and

:31:11. > :31:18.conversations so this means that they are not ready for it. We want

:31:19. > :31:24.peace, our people here want peace. But we have been listening to this

:31:25. > :31:35.political solution for Syria for six years, what happens? Nothing has

:31:36. > :31:40.changed. How many, there are maybe dozens of conferences but nothing

:31:41. > :31:47.has changed, this means that there will not be political solution for

:31:48. > :31:54.Syria now at least, so if there should be a political solution it

:31:55. > :32:00.should be proceeded and resolution to punish and stop the madness of

:32:01. > :32:07.the criminal of Assad and his lies. I want to say about that he used

:32:08. > :32:17.chemical weapons to say that we can do anything, this is our land and we

:32:18. > :32:24.can do anything. Of course he knows that another - nevertheless he used

:32:25. > :32:29.chemicals. I want to say that the international community hasn't had a

:32:30. > :32:32.movement but when chemical attack happens, I mean when they saw

:32:33. > :32:37.pictures of children, the pictures of people dying who are like their

:32:38. > :32:43.children in front of them, but what about the other weapons for six

:32:44. > :32:47.years we are experiencing? A final thought, Simon Jenkins, this shows

:32:48. > :32:52.Assad that he can not act with impunity? He can act with impunity,

:32:53. > :32:56.I am sorry, we say these phrases, we must punish all these things, he can

:32:57. > :32:59.more or less do what he likes as long as Russia is behind him. We

:33:00. > :33:04.have to recognise the real politics of this, it's not going to be ended

:33:05. > :33:07.other than militarily at the moment. Once that's over, once Assad in some

:33:08. > :33:11.sense has won, he is obviously winning, once he has won, then I

:33:12. > :33:16.think the pressure on him will be to go. At the moment it's clearly not

:33:17. > :33:19.going to happen. These gestures are, they establish moral signalling of

:33:20. > :33:23.some sort but they don't do any good. You don't do good even in

:33:24. > :33:26.civil wars by bombing people, that remains the truth. If there was

:33:27. > :33:31.another way out we would have found it by now but we haven't. It's a

:33:32. > :33:35.desperate situation. We are sitting in chairmans millions of miles away

:33:36. > :33:39.but we have an obligation to think what we are doing and dropping bombs

:33:40. > :33:42.all over the Middle East now, I mean, six or seven countries we are

:33:43. > :33:48.bombing, it achieves nothing. It makes us feel good. Thank you.

:33:49. > :33:52.Thank you all of you. Do stay in touch, your thoughts are always

:33:53. > :33:55.welcome. Still to come: As Russia announces

:33:56. > :34:00.the suspension of an agreement with the US military designed to prevent

:34:01. > :34:03.air incidents over Syria we will hear about reaction from around the

:34:04. > :34:44.world to that US missile strike on Syria.

:34:45. > :34:49.Washington described its missile strike as a proportionate response

:34:50. > :34:53.to a suspected chemical weapons attack which it blames on the Syrian

:34:54. > :34:57.regime. Dozens of civilians were killed. 59 cruise missiles were

:34:58. > :35:01.fired from US warships in the Mediterranean. President Trump said

:35:02. > :35:02.it was in America's national security interest to prevent the

:35:03. > :35:13.spread of chemical weapons. Tonight I ordered a targeted

:35:14. > :35:16.military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical

:35:17. > :35:21.attack was launched. A Romanian tourist who fell

:35:22. > :35:24.into the River Thames during the Westminster terror

:35:25. > :35:25.attack has died. Andreea Cristea was walking

:35:26. > :35:27.on Westminster Bridge with her boyfriend when they were driven

:35:28. > :35:30.at by the attacker Khalid Masood, Her boyfriend had planned

:35:31. > :35:37.to propose later that day. Her life support was

:35:38. > :35:39.withdrawn yesterday. The 31-year-old becomes the fifth

:35:40. > :35:48.victim of the March 22nd attack. A four-year-old child has died

:35:49. > :35:50.in an incident at a farm in Maguiresbridge in Northern

:35:51. > :35:51.Ireland. Police were called out to the farm

:35:52. > :35:54.yesterday evening where the boy Northern Ireland's police force says

:35:55. > :35:58.officers will work closely with the Health and Safety Executive

:35:59. > :36:00.as they investigate GP practice closures

:36:01. > :36:08.have hit record levels, with hundreds of thousands

:36:09. > :36:11.of patients forced to change surgeries last year,

:36:12. > :36:13.according to figures obtained The Royal College of GPs said

:36:14. > :36:18.doctors could no longer cope with growing patient demand,

:36:19. > :36:20.but NHS England said all patients would still be able

:36:21. > :36:42.to register with a surgery. Let's catch up with the sport.

:36:43. > :36:47.The favourite for the Masters, Dustin Johnson, pulled out before

:36:48. > :36:52.his opening round. He hoped to play despite hurting his back at a fall

:36:53. > :37:00.on the stairs at his rental home. He said that he simply couldn't swing a

:37:01. > :37:05.club. Lee Westwood is the leading Brittain. Charlie Hoffman is 7-under

:37:06. > :37:12.par. Westwood, a bad hoping nine holes but recovered on the back

:37:13. > :37:16.nine. The drivers had to find alternative entertainment when

:37:17. > :37:21.practising ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton

:37:22. > :37:25.apologising to fans saying they needed to find a better way to cope

:37:26. > :37:35.in bad weather. She tested positive for EPO, the

:37:36. > :37:52.blood booster. That's all the sport. I will be back

:37:53. > :37:54.with more around 10 am. Thank you. Let's bring you all the latest

:37:55. > :38:01.developments on our main news. The US has fired nearly 60 Tomahawk

:38:02. > :38:03.missiles from warships in the eastern mediterranean

:38:04. > :38:05.at the Syrian government's Shayrat The White House says Syrian planes

:38:06. > :38:12.from the base carried out Tuesday's raid on the rebel-held town

:38:13. > :38:14.of Khan Sheikoun, in Idlib province, in which it's alleged

:38:15. > :38:19.chemical weapons were used. Last night, the US Secretary

:38:20. > :38:21.of State, Rex Tillerson, said that the US held Syria

:38:22. > :38:23.responsible for that suspected gas attack in Idlib

:38:24. > :38:26.and he also called on Russia to modify its relationship

:38:27. > :38:41.with Syria. There is no doubt in our minds and

:38:42. > :38:46.the information we have supports that Syria, the Syrian regime and

:38:47. > :38:51.the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad are responsible for this

:38:52. > :38:56.attack and I think further it is very important that the Russian

:38:57. > :38:59.Government consider carefully their continued support for the Assad

:39:00. > :39:03.regime. REPORTER: Does Assad have to go?

:39:04. > :39:07.Assad's role in the future is uncertain clearly. With acts he has

:39:08. > :39:14.taken it would seem that there would be no role for him to govern the

:39:15. > :39:19.Syrian people. What substance is the United States prepared to take in

:39:20. > :39:24.order to remove him from power? The process by which Assad would leave

:39:25. > :39:30.is something that requires an international community effort, both

:39:31. > :39:35.to first defeat Isis within Syria, to stabilise the Syrian country, to

:39:36. > :39:38.avoid further civil war and then to work collectively with our partners

:39:39. > :39:40.around the world through a political process that would lead to Assad

:39:41. > :39:46.leaving. The air strikes not only represent

:39:47. > :39:49.a change in the direction and escalation of America's role

:39:50. > :39:52.in Syria but could also have an effect of its relationship

:39:53. > :39:54.with the regime's strongest backer - Russians were present at the base

:39:55. > :39:58.which was targetted in the early hours of this morning

:39:59. > :40:00.though their role They are now saying the air

:40:01. > :40:10.strike was a violation We are hearing from the Russian

:40:11. > :40:16.Foreign Minister that no Russians were killed in the air strikes and

:40:17. > :40:18.he is saying he hopes that the provocation will not lead to

:40:19. > :40:32.irrepairable damage to ties with the US.

:40:33. > :40:36.As Donald Trump meets the Chinese President today. We can talk to

:40:37. > :40:41.Jonathan Marcus. Decisive is the word being used. Swift reaction by

:40:42. > :40:45.don't and a swift change of policy. A decisive and swift response, yes.

:40:46. > :40:49.If you look at the method of the attack, the scope of the attack, I

:40:50. > :40:56.think all the signs are that this is what the Americans say it was, a

:40:57. > :41:00.limited strike intended to re-establish a deterrent line

:41:01. > :41:08.against the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime in Syria. They

:41:09. > :41:14.hit essentially infrastructure, aircraft hangars, runways, aircraft

:41:15. > :41:18.themselves, they weren't aiming at barrack blocks. There may have been

:41:19. > :41:23.casualties, that's regrettable, it's good news there weren't any Russian

:41:24. > :41:27.casualties at the base. But I think the Americans have essentially done

:41:28. > :41:30.what many people will argue, certainly in America, many voices

:41:31. > :41:33.have been saying this is what President Obama should have done

:41:34. > :41:37.back in 2013. The great difference now, of course, is then the Assad

:41:38. > :41:44.regime was much shakier. It might have begun a process that would have

:41:45. > :41:48.led to the regime's fall. Today, the regime has consolidated itself with

:41:49. > :41:53.Iran yn and Russian help. This is in many ways a message as much to

:41:54. > :41:56.Russia as it is to Damascus, Donald Trump for all the criticism of him

:41:57. > :42:00.and the bluster and his inexperience, he does seem to have

:42:01. > :42:05.reacted pretty resolutely in this first crisis. In terms of military

:42:06. > :42:09.impact what might this do to the capability? Well, we don't know yet

:42:10. > :42:16.fully the extent of the damage on the ground. We are hearing nine

:42:17. > :42:30.planes reportedly struck. You know, they will have lost some

:42:31. > :42:33.aircraft, lost have personnel probably and some equipment. It

:42:34. > :42:37.doesn't fundamentally alter the military balance on the ground but

:42:38. > :42:42.what it does do, it sends a clear warning that if you have recourse to

:42:43. > :42:47.these sort of weapons, this kind of consequence will occur. We have to

:42:48. > :42:51.be very blunt about this. Donald Trump made a big thing of the

:42:52. > :42:55.appalling images of children and babies affected by the chemical

:42:56. > :43:00.attack. We all know that babies and children are being killed in Syria

:43:01. > :43:07.virtually every day of the week by conventional weapons, have been for

:43:08. > :43:12.many, many years now. But there is particularly in the West a strong

:43:13. > :43:17.sense that chemical weapons do cross a line. They have been taboo,

:43:18. > :43:24.they've been a particular concern ever since their first use in the

:43:25. > :43:27.Great War in World War I and Mr Trump made it clear he thinks there

:43:28. > :43:32.should be a general prohibition of their use. They're banned by treaty

:43:33. > :43:34.and so on. When people use them there have to be consequences. Thank

:43:35. > :43:40.you. As countries across the world digest

:43:41. > :43:42.last night's news from Syria, let's try and gauge some

:43:43. > :43:44.of the international reaction. In a moment, we're going to speak

:43:45. > :43:47.with Jonathan Paris, a Middle East security expert

:43:48. > :43:50.at King's College London. And down the line

:43:51. > :43:52.by Doctor Beyza Unal, a research fellow at Chatham House,

:43:53. > :44:06.who is a Turkey speclialist. But first, let's speak

:44:07. > :44:08.to our political correspondent, Eleanor Garnier, who joins

:44:09. > :44:15.us from Westminster. The UK Government has really led the

:44:16. > :44:22.international support of the US for this attack, this strike on the

:44:23. > :44:27.airfield in Syria. Both the Defence Secretary and the Prime Minister

:44:28. > :44:32.were informed throughout, I am told. Michael Fallon who I was speaking to

:44:33. > :44:35.moments ago said he and the Prime Minister had been in contact at all

:44:36. > :44:39.levels with the US administration, he said that the US Defence

:44:40. > :44:47.Secretary had called him yesterday to discuss the options that the US

:44:48. > :44:51.were looking at and then James Mattison called to inform him of

:44:52. > :44:54.don't's decision and the strikes were going ahead. Sir Michael said

:44:55. > :44:58.the strikes were limited and appropriate. They were appropriate

:44:59. > :45:02.response to what he said were the barbaric chemical weapons attacks

:45:03. > :45:06.that took place this week. I asked Michael Fallon if he thought the

:45:07. > :45:10.attacks were appropriate, why wasn't the UK itself also involved?

:45:11. > :45:16.We have not been asked to be involved in this.

:45:17. > :45:24.They didn't ask us to choose a particular option. They decided to

:45:25. > :45:27.take this action, a very limited, appropriate action, attacking the

:45:28. > :45:31.airfield, the aeroplanes and the equipment that they believe were

:45:32. > :45:35.involved in the gas attack with the very specific purpose of trying to

:45:36. > :45:36.deter the regime from future gas attacks on their own people,

:45:37. > :45:45.including civilians. I asked Sir Michael if the US had

:45:46. > :45:48.been asked to get involved, would the UK have been involved, he didn't

:45:49. > :45:52.answer the question. He did confirm that of the UK Government were going

:45:53. > :45:55.to be involved in some sort of military action, the Government

:45:56. > :46:00.would consult parliament, go back to the House of Commons and ask MPs to

:46:01. > :46:06.vote on whether we should be sending in any military action. Remember

:46:07. > :46:11.that back in 2013, MPs rejected a vote on action in Syria. We have

:46:12. > :46:14.heard from the Liberal Democrats this morning, too. Tim Farron but

:46:15. > :46:17.out a statement saying that the attack by the American forces was

:46:18. > :46:20.the right thing to do, but the Lib Dems called on the Government to do

:46:21. > :46:25.more, saying that rather than putting out a bland statement while

:46:26. > :46:32.the US attacks, it should now follow up on call an emergency meeting. It

:46:33. > :46:36.said that evil happens when did people do nothing. We cannot sit by

:46:37. > :46:42.while a dictator gasses his own people. We cannot stand by, we must

:46:43. > :46:48.not act -- we must act. Clear support for the actions overnight,

:46:49. > :46:51.but no support at the moment for the UK to get involved itself

:46:52. > :47:00.militarily. Thank you. Let's go to Crispin Blunt. Is it time now for

:47:01. > :47:05.them to be -- for there to be more action? I think the Americans have

:47:06. > :47:09.carefully calibrated this action. It is in relation to the chemical

:47:10. > :47:12.strike. They said there is no doubt that the Russians on the Syrians

:47:13. > :47:17.were responsible, or the Syrians were responsible, for it. They have

:47:18. > :47:22.explicitly rejected the explanation given by the Russians and the

:47:23. > :47:28.Syrians that this hit a chemical dump held by the rebels. If they are

:47:29. > :47:33.100% confident of their intelligence, then this was an

:47:34. > :47:39.appropriate reaction limited to the airfield and the aircraft that

:47:40. > :47:42.launched this attack. And obviously they've informed the Russians in the

:47:43. > :47:47.process to make sure that their people were not caught as collateral

:47:48. > :47:50.damage in this process, and indeed the Syrians bust have been aware of

:47:51. > :47:54.it because there appears to be ready limited casualties at the airbase.

:47:55. > :47:58.The Syrians say there are six satiety is but a great deal of

:47:59. > :48:03.ground damage, it would mean that a strike in that sense is pretty

:48:04. > :48:06.successful in its objectives. If it is just left there, does it make any

:48:07. > :48:10.difference? It is not going to make a huge difference on the ground to

:48:11. > :48:15.military capability, and what actually then changes? Well, this is

:48:16. > :48:18.related obviously to the illegal use of chemical weapons. Syria was

:48:19. > :48:23.supposed to have surrendered its chemical weapons in 2013. The

:48:24. > :48:27.Russians brokered that deal, and they oversaw the disarming of the

:48:28. > :48:32.Syrian government of its chemical weapons. And if it is the case that

:48:33. > :48:35.they used them, then plainly the Russians didn't do their job

:48:36. > :48:40.properly and the Syrians illegally held onto these weapons. And they've

:48:41. > :48:43.now taken the consequences, but it was tragically the consequences

:48:44. > :48:49.being meted out onto the people in Idlib province, as we have all seen.

:48:50. > :48:52.Sorry to interrupt, but does a solitary air strike like this

:48:53. > :48:57.actually change anything in terms of, you no, the situation on the

:48:58. > :49:01.ground with chemical weapons? Well, it will certainly change the

:49:02. > :49:04.situation Rapant guards to chemical weapons. It is inconceivable that

:49:05. > :49:09.there will be a repeat of this -- with regards to chemical weapons.

:49:10. > :49:12.The evidence on the ground we are getting from some journalists is

:49:13. > :49:18.that there are no buildings that were struck that would support the

:49:19. > :49:23.Russian- Syrian exploration. -- explanation. At the UN Security

:49:24. > :49:26.Council, the Russians were opposing a resolution which would have

:49:27. > :49:31.mandated an inspection of the airbase and the records of the

:49:32. > :49:36.aircraft that took part in the raid. So, whilst of course it looks very

:49:37. > :49:39.that the Syrians would have used chemical weapons at this time given

:49:40. > :49:45.that the regime is not under an existential threat, and they appear

:49:46. > :49:50.to be securing a number of localised ceasefires around the country, that

:49:51. > :49:53.set-aside, if the Americans are 100% confident that this was used by

:49:54. > :49:57.Syrians, this will send a very profound message about the future

:49:58. > :50:03.use of chemical weapons. What it does in the wider conflict, it will

:50:04. > :50:07.have yet to see. But it may encourage the Syrian government to

:50:08. > :50:10.be rather more co-operatives in the political talks that are now taking

:50:11. > :50:14.place in Geneva. Jonathan Paris, do you agree with that analysis, that

:50:15. > :50:18.this will mean that Syria will not use chemical weapons against? Having

:50:19. > :50:23.worked with Crispin in the past, I always agree with him. There was

:50:24. > :50:29.wonderful nuance. He said he was surprised that Assad would pick now

:50:30. > :50:34.is a time -- one little nuance. That is precisely the problem with Assad,

:50:35. > :50:38.if he feels he has Russia and Hezbollah and Iran's support and no

:50:39. > :50:43.opposition from the United States, which he had faced under Obama, he

:50:44. > :50:48.will go to the limit. That's the way he operates, that's the way much of

:50:49. > :50:51.the Middle East operates. Prior to this, President Trump had reiterated

:50:52. > :50:56.his view that Assad was not the target, it was IS. I would say that

:50:57. > :51:00.what Assad did, assuming he did this earlier this week is probably the

:51:01. > :51:09.stupidest mistake any leader could do for his own cause. I mean, he has

:51:10. > :51:11.just changed the Trump administration 180 degrees. Yes, I

:51:12. > :51:15.agree with Crispin, this was a calibrated, it is not meant to

:51:16. > :51:21.escalate into a full-blown civil war with Russia, it's not meant to

:51:22. > :51:25.escalate even as a local level, but it is a message that when this

:51:26. > :51:29.president says, I'm going to do something, you know, it's a message

:51:30. > :51:34.to others that he may very well do something. That might get more of

:51:35. > :51:38.the Russian reaction. We can bring in Sarah Rainsford from Moscow. What

:51:39. > :51:42.is being said in Moscow, Sarah? Well, what you might expect, I

:51:43. > :51:45.suppose. A lot of outrage and indignation, some strong statements

:51:46. > :51:50.coming from the Foreign Ministry and the Kremlin. We heard first from

:51:51. > :51:54.President Putin's spokesman, who talks about Mr Putin describing what

:51:55. > :52:01.had happened as an act of aggression against a sovereign nation. Talking

:52:02. > :52:03.about it having a very significant effect on relations between

:52:04. > :52:08.Washington and Moscow. But as he said, that relationship is already

:52:09. > :52:11.in a pitiful state. We then heard from the Foreign Minister, Sergey

:52:12. > :52:14.Lavrov, who has been speaking at the last few moments. He has talked

:52:15. > :52:18.about the fact that as far as Russia is concerned, there was no basis for

:52:19. > :52:23.this air strike by the United States. Russia saying over and again

:52:24. > :52:27.that there should have been an investigation into what happened.

:52:28. > :52:31.They dispute the idea that Syrian government troops used chemical

:52:32. > :52:35.weapons. Mr Lavrov said that without waiting for an investigation the US

:52:36. > :52:40.has chosen to strike in Syria, and saying that it shows that this was

:52:41. > :52:43.simply a pretext and the United States is aiming to remove President

:52:44. > :52:47.Assad from power. This is about regime change, it's not about the

:52:48. > :52:51.use of chemical weapons. So very strong wormwood. The question of

:52:52. > :52:59.course is whether that leads to any kind of action from Russia -- very

:53:00. > :53:02.strong language. We have just been hearing that there were no Russian

:53:03. > :53:04.casualties in this strike. Looking at images we have seen on state

:53:05. > :53:07.television here from the airfield itself, there seems to be a number

:53:08. > :53:11.of planes still impact, the damage is obviously fairly serious, but

:53:12. > :53:15.minimal consequences in terms of human lives lost. We do know that

:53:16. > :53:19.the Pentagon did give advance warning of this strike along its

:53:20. > :53:23.information channels, which it still has with Russia, about what happens

:53:24. > :53:29.in Syria. Therefore it seems the damage has been kept to a minimum.

:53:30. > :53:35.Doctor Beyza Unal, a Turkish specialist, how will Turkey see this

:53:36. > :53:39.intervention? Well, the first reaction from Turkey was positive.

:53:40. > :53:46.The president actually said that they were expecting the United

:53:47. > :53:50.States to take action way before. He said that actions speak louder than

:53:51. > :53:58.words. Which is true in the Turkish sense. They are thinking that this

:53:59. > :54:03.is a positive outcome. The caution I think with Turkey is that they have

:54:04. > :54:09.been doing dialogues and agreement between Russia, Turkey and Iran in

:54:10. > :54:13.the Geneva talks. It will be a cautious area. I think that Turkey

:54:14. > :54:17.needs to be careful in balancing the relations between the United States

:54:18. > :54:26.and Russia now that we know that Russia is making statements about

:54:27. > :54:33.going away from the agreement about the airspace in Syria. Crispin

:54:34. > :54:38.Blunt, on that, what do you think now about no-fly zones, safe zone

:54:39. > :54:42.is, in Syria, and those potentially being right back on the agenda?

:54:43. > :54:46.Well, the situation is immensely complex. What you have got to do

:54:47. > :54:51.with any proposed intervention is then play out what the consequences.

:54:52. > :54:56.The difficulty with no-fly zones and secure zones is then securing it.

:54:57. > :55:00.You may be able to secure it from the air, but if you have an area on

:55:01. > :55:04.the ground which can be infiltrating by people who the security forces

:55:05. > :55:09.who are going to keep the area clear on the ground, and if you look at

:55:10. > :55:12.the complexity the situation in northern Syria, those are quite

:55:13. > :55:16.difficult questions to answer. It would seem that the Turks are trying

:55:17. > :55:25.to establish some kind of safe zone in their advance. And the Syrian

:55:26. > :55:30.Kurds, who are their enemies, who they see as Allied to the PKK, who

:55:31. > :55:37.are unidentified terrorist organisation running an insurgency

:55:38. > :55:40.in eastern Turkey, they have managed to get Russian, American, Syrian and

:55:41. > :55:46.government forces deployed between them and the Turkish forces, really

:55:47. > :55:50.covering their flank. That just gives you some sense of the

:55:51. > :55:54.complexity that is on the ground there. What's really needed is for

:55:55. > :55:59.the international community to get back to where it was in November 20

:56:00. > :56:04.15th with the agreement of the International Syrian support group

:56:05. > :56:08.to focus on both Isis on the campaign against them, and on a

:56:09. > :56:11.political settlement for those who can be brought into a political

:56:12. > :56:17.agreement of the competing parties in the Syria and Civil War. On the

:56:18. > :56:21.complexity, Jonathan Paris, it is interesting to see a tweet from

:56:22. > :56:24.Donald Trump in Prydie 13 when President Obama said there was a red

:56:25. > :56:29.line is chemical weapons were used -- in 2013. Donald Trump said

:56:30. > :56:34.President Obama's weakness and indecision may have saved us from

:56:35. > :56:38.doing a horrible and costly in more ways than money attack on Syria. It

:56:39. > :56:42.is a highly complicated thing. You don't have to go back to 2013, just

:56:43. > :56:46.go back one week and listen to the statements that he made and

:56:47. > :56:52.Ambassador Nikki Haley made up the UN. That was that we can live with

:56:53. > :56:56.Assad. But after he sees that choking babies, he really was

:56:57. > :57:01.impacted. This is a president that is if event driven, if you will. He

:57:02. > :57:06.is not an ideological effects guy. You have to take into account what

:57:07. > :57:10.events do to him. That is what Assad failed to understand and what Putin

:57:11. > :57:14.failed to understand. Mr Trump has scored a number of victories with

:57:15. > :57:19.this little manoeuvre. I agree with Brisbane, this is a one-off in that

:57:20. > :57:24.sense it shouldn't be a mandate for further attacks. But I think Assad

:57:25. > :57:26.and Iran and Russia should be put on notice that they do not own Syria.

:57:27. > :57:30.Thank you all very much. What will the missile strike

:57:31. > :57:33.on Syria mean for relations between the United States

:57:34. > :57:35.and Syria's ally Russia? We'll be speaking to a former member

:57:36. > :57:38.of the Russian parliament Donald Trump was highly critical

:57:39. > :57:46.when Barack Obama suggested We'll be looking at why he's

:57:47. > :57:58.decided to intervene Jonathan Paris saying he is an event

:57:59. > :58:00.driven president, not ideological. We will be talking more about that.

:58:01. > :58:03.Let's get the latest weather update with Ben Rich.

:58:04. > :58:10.Good morning. We have got some dry weather to come this weekend. If you

:58:11. > :58:14.have outdoor plans, for once things aren't pretty decent shape. It is

:58:15. > :58:19.going to be largely fine and dry -- are in pretty decent shape. We will

:58:20. > :58:23.see some sunshine and gradually as we head on through the weekend,

:58:24. > :58:28.those temperatures are going to lift as well. Let's take a closer look at

:58:29. > :58:31.things. First of all, let's see how things are looking out there this

:58:32. > :58:36.morning. Weather watchers have been out there taking their pictures. A

:58:37. > :58:40.misty start in Somerset. For others, quite a lot of sunshine, flowers in

:58:41. > :58:44.bloom in Lincolnshire. And some beautiful skies in the Scottish

:58:45. > :58:49.Highlands. Some blue sky and patchy cloud. That really is the story for

:58:50. > :58:52.today. If we look at the recent satellite picture you can see some

:58:53. > :58:57.cloud around. Quite a lot of cloud in parts of Northern Ireland,

:58:58. > :59:00.south-west Scotland, northern England, North Wales and the West

:59:01. > :59:04.Midlands. Where we have the cloud at the moment it should break up as we

:59:05. > :59:09.go through the rest of the day. Just about all of us should join in with

:59:10. > :59:13.spells of sunshine. As always, thick cloud in the north-west of Scotland,

:59:14. > :59:18.maybe the odd spot of drizzle and fairly breezy weather here. Further

:59:19. > :59:22.south with the sunshine and light winds, very easily 18 or 19 degrees.

:59:23. > :59:25.But with the dry weather and sunshine, particularly across

:59:26. > :59:35.England and Wales, they're in mind the high pollen love. -- high pollen

:59:36. > :59:39.levels. Where we get clear spells we can see some fog patches towards the

:59:40. > :59:43.south-west, and also temperatures will drop away. Pounds and cities

:59:44. > :59:47.for - 9 degrees, the countryside cold a band that -- towns and

:59:48. > :59:54.cities. After the chilly start of the weekend, plenty of warmth and

:59:55. > :59:59.sunshine. Saturday, blue skies for the vast majority. Some extra cloud

:00:00. > :00:03.across the far north of Scotland. By tomorrow afternoon, if you want to

:00:04. > :00:06.get out and about in land, temperatures of 21 degrees. It will

:00:07. > :00:11.be cold a to the coast, developing something of a sea breeze across

:00:12. > :00:17.northern England. Sunspots could get to 20, Northern Ireland 17 or 18

:00:18. > :00:21.degrees. Always for the Western and Northern Isles, a little more cloud

:00:22. > :00:24.and some splashes of rain, temperatures nine or 10 degrees. The

:00:25. > :00:29.Grand National tomorrow of course. The weather fine for the racegoers.

:00:30. > :00:33.Plenty of sunshine, 17 or 18 degrees. Into Sunday, the

:00:34. > :00:38.temperatures look like they will climb even further. Warm air wafting

:00:39. > :00:41.its way in from the south. Howell will it get? Across central and

:00:42. > :00:52.eastern England, maybe eastern Scotland, it could get up to 19, 20,

:00:53. > :00:54.21, but possibly 23 or 24 degrees towards the south-east. Further

:00:55. > :00:57.north and west, a band of rain sinking its way into Scotland and

:00:58. > :01:00.Northern Ireland. Here it will be cooler. As we get into Monday, call

:01:01. > :01:04.are sinking its way southwards across all areas. Don't get used of

:01:05. > :01:12.the warmth on Sunday, it isn't going to last for very long -- cool air.

:01:13. > :01:23.Hello. Welcome back.

:01:24. > :01:26.Two US ships have fired 59 cruise missiles against a Syrian air base

:01:27. > :01:30.in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town.

:01:31. > :01:36.The Syrian Army says six people have been killed. I ordered a strike on

:01:37. > :01:45.the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched.

:01:46. > :01:50.Yeah, even children are happy with this, these strikes, but speaking

:01:51. > :01:57.for me I can not consider them the strikes, I can consider them only

:01:58. > :01:58.strikes. Russia has condemned the attack as

:01:59. > :02:01.an act of aggression. The Kremlin has suspended

:02:02. > :02:03.an agreement with the US designed to prevent clashes

:02:04. > :02:05.between their airforces over Syria. The strike on Assad's forces

:02:06. > :02:08.is a major change of direction He has been highly critical

:02:09. > :02:14.of previous suggestions And we will talk to a senior police

:02:15. > :02:29.officer about why he believes people in possession of drugs,

:02:30. > :02:31.even heroin and cocaine, Instead they should

:02:32. > :02:39.go to a workshop. Russia has condemned an American

:02:40. > :02:43.cruise missile attack that destroyed a Syrian air base

:02:44. > :02:49.as an act of aggression. The Kremlin has suspended

:02:50. > :02:52.an agreement with the US designed to prevent clashes between their air

:02:53. > :03:01.forces over Syria. Washington described

:03:02. > :03:02.its missile strike as a proportionate response

:03:03. > :03:04.to a suspected chemical weapons attack which it blames

:03:05. > :03:06.on the Syrian regime. 59 cruise missiles were fired from

:03:07. > :03:10.US warships in the Mediterranean. President Trump said

:03:11. > :03:11.it was in America's national security interest to prevent

:03:12. > :03:14.the spread of chemical weapons - It was a decisive response

:03:15. > :03:19.from an administration that has often seemed disorganised

:03:20. > :03:21.and at times dysfunctional. A fusillade of Tomahawk cruise

:03:22. > :03:24.missiles fired from US Navy ships in the Mediterranean aimed

:03:25. > :03:26.at the Syrian air base from which America says that deadly

:03:27. > :03:29.chemical weapons attack was launched A line in the sand moment

:03:30. > :03:33.for the new commander-in-chief. On Tuesday, Syrian dictator Bashar

:03:34. > :03:37.al-Assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack

:03:38. > :03:42.on innocent civilians. Using a deadly nerve agent,

:03:43. > :03:59.Assad choked out the lives These are the heart-breaking images

:04:00. > :04:10.that moved the President to action, triggering in the process

:04:11. > :04:13.a remarkable shift in foreign policy on the part of his

:04:14. > :04:16.nascent administration. A week ago, White House officials

:04:17. > :04:20.professed little interest in regime change in Syria but the use

:04:21. > :04:26.of what they say was a deadly nerve agent by Bashar al-Assad's forces

:04:27. > :04:29.has changed everything. Tonight, I call on all civilised

:04:30. > :04:34.nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria

:04:35. > :04:40.and also to end terrorism News of the missile strike somewhat

:04:41. > :04:50.overshadowed a one-day summit with China's President Xi

:04:51. > :04:52.at which the two leaders were expected to discuss the growing

:04:53. > :04:55.threat posed by North Korea but depending on where the US goes

:04:56. > :05:03.from here he could find he has his work cut out in Syria,

:05:04. > :05:06.a quagmire of a conflict which could define his presidency

:05:07. > :05:11.one way or the other. Let's get more from

:05:12. > :05:24.David in Washington. Your report highlighting this

:05:25. > :05:29.strategy change essentially, how is this playing out? Interesting, the

:05:30. > :05:33.previous administration of Barack Obama spent about three years doing

:05:34. > :05:39.all it could to avoid getting drawn into the conflict in Syria. Here,

:05:40. > :05:46.less than three months into the new administration of Donald Trump, we

:05:47. > :05:55.are seeing precisely that, military intervention, the firing of 59

:05:56. > :06:02.Tomahawk missiles. The President making the point this is essential

:06:03. > :06:05.to fire a shot across the bows of the administration of Bashar

:06:06. > :06:11.al-Assad and make the point he can't get away with the use of chemical

:06:12. > :06:15.weapons. As far as members of Congress are concerned, this move

:06:16. > :06:19.seems to have been met fairly favourably although there are some

:06:20. > :06:23.urging that the President go through Congress if he decides to mount

:06:24. > :06:28.further action of this kind. Will he do so? Is this a one-shot deal? The

:06:29. > :06:29.suggestion is that it might be. But we will have to wait and see. Thank

:06:30. > :06:48.you. A Romanian tourist who fell

:06:49. > :06:51.into the River Thames during the Westminster terror

:06:52. > :06:52.attack has died. Andreea Cristea was walking

:06:53. > :06:54.on Westminster Bridge with her boyfriend when they were driven

:06:55. > :06:57.at by the attacker Khalid Masood, Her boyfriend had planned

:06:58. > :07:01.to propose later that day. Her life support was

:07:02. > :07:02.withdrawn yesterday. The 31-year-old becomes the fifth

:07:03. > :07:05.victim of the March 22nd attack. A four-year-old child has died

:07:06. > :07:08.in an incident at a farm in Maguiresbridge in Northern

:07:09. > :07:09.Ireland. Police were called out to the farm

:07:10. > :07:12.yesterday evening where the boy Northern Ireland's police force says

:07:13. > :07:15.officers will work closely with the Health and Safety Executive

:07:16. > :07:51.as they investigate That's a summer of the latest news.

:07:52. > :07:57.Paul has texted, America has done what the UN did not have the guts to

:07:58. > :08:01.do and Trump is proving to be a good President after all. Another text,

:08:02. > :08:06.an attack based on very little. If any proof, other than a video with

:08:07. > :08:11.no date or time in the footage. No go ahead from the UN and no proof

:08:12. > :08:16.kwho carried out the chemical attack. John emails, unlike his

:08:17. > :08:21.predecessor he has the wit to say enough is enough. Steven tweets,

:08:22. > :08:26.Trump did something in three months, unlike Obama and his red lines, he

:08:27. > :08:30.was hopeless. Trump has warned Assad, well done. Cheryl tweets, in

:08:31. > :08:35.regards to Trump how does he think it's going to help? War is not the

:08:36. > :08:40.answer and nor is violence. Another says I never thought I would say

:08:41. > :08:44.this, well done Trump, at last someone with the courage to go after

:08:45. > :08:47.Assad. Now let's call on our MPs and Prime Minister to join in action

:08:48. > :08:52.against Assad and if necessary Russia also. David texts, I back the

:08:53. > :08:55.action taken by President Donald Trump against the Assad regime. He

:08:56. > :09:00.has been murdering his own people for years and it must stop. Using

:09:01. > :09:04.chemical weapons drew a line in the sand and the west responded. Colin

:09:05. > :09:08.on Facebook, why doesn't the US and the West keep its nose out of other

:09:09. > :09:12.country's business, we will be attacked and will be the bad guys in

:09:13. > :09:18.the end, thank you for those comments. Keep them coming in.

:09:19. > :09:24.Texts will be charged at the standard network rate. Let's catch

:09:25. > :09:30.up with all the sport. Golf's world number one Dustin was

:09:31. > :09:37.devastated at having to pull out of the Masters. He hurt his lower back

:09:38. > :09:43.on Wednesday when he fell down the stairs. I feel like I am playing the

:09:44. > :09:48.best golf in my career right now and for me to pull out, I mean, it sucks

:09:49. > :09:54.really bad. You know, I am very sad that I have to do it but it's a

:09:55. > :09:58.freak accident and I feel like I wanted to play, I wanted to try to

:09:59. > :10:02.play. It's just, you know, I am not going to be able to compete like

:10:03. > :10:08.this. Lee Westwood is the leading Brittain

:10:09. > :10:13.after a blustery opening round. He made five birdies in a row to come

:10:14. > :10:17.home in 70. He is 2 under par. The defending champion Danny Willett had

:10:18. > :10:22.a rollercoaster round, including an eagle but a double bogey and three

:10:23. > :10:26.bogeys, he is one over. The leader out in front by four is the American

:10:27. > :10:32.Charlie Hoffman. He hit a round of 65. Outstanding really. It was

:10:33. > :10:36.tricky conditions on the course. There were truly awful conditions in

:10:37. > :10:40.Shanghai where practice ahead of this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix

:10:41. > :10:43.was also wiped out. The first session disrupted and the second

:10:44. > :10:46.never got started as the medical helicopter couldn't operate. It

:10:47. > :10:51.wasn't safe for the drivers to go out on to the track. Under the

:10:52. > :10:55.circumstances, the drivers had to find alternative entertainment.

:10:56. > :10:58.Lewis Hamilton lending his hand. He said organisers really need to find

:10:59. > :11:10.a way to better cope when the conditions are this bad.

:11:11. > :11:17.She won't be able to defend her month after testing positive for

:11:18. > :11:22.EPO. She will face sanctions if her B sample also failed.

:11:23. > :11:41.And that's all the sport for new. The Romanian woman who fell into the

:11:42. > :11:45.Thames during the Westminster attract has died. Andreea Cristea

:11:46. > :11:51.became the 5th victim. Tom Symonds is with me now. Tell us more about

:11:52. > :11:56.her and what happened. She was Romanian, 31 and was a promising

:11:57. > :12:02.architect and she had come to London for a visit with her fiancee, they

:12:03. > :12:08.were looking - he was going to propose to her on this trip. He

:12:09. > :12:12.himself was injured. The car came towards them, hit him, seems to have

:12:13. > :12:16.pushed her against the side of the bridge and possibly over the railing

:12:17. > :12:21.into the water on the bridge that day. I think it was a particularly

:12:22. > :12:25.shocking incident as part of a very shocking day. Clearly there will be

:12:26. > :12:32.an inquest to examine the real cause of her death. But she fell into the

:12:33. > :12:37.water. She was rescued quite quickly, taken to hospital and then

:12:38. > :12:40.transferred to St Bart's where she had been receiving specialist care

:12:41. > :12:43.but the doctors took the decision, I think yesterday, to turn off her

:12:44. > :12:47.life support machine and she has become the fifth victim of this

:12:48. > :12:52.terrorist attack in central London. Really sad. There's a picture of her

:12:53. > :12:57.and her boyfriend who was going to propose on the trip. What is the

:12:58. > :13:00.latest on the police investigation? Before I say that, let me give you

:13:01. > :13:03.some idea of what her family have said. The police put out a

:13:04. > :13:08.statement, the family have described her as the most u like and

:13:09. > :13:12.life-loving person you can imagine. She was cruelly and brutally ripped

:13:13. > :13:15.away from our lives in the most heartless and spiritless way. She

:13:16. > :13:19.will always be remembered as our shining ray of light that will

:13:20. > :13:33.forever keep on shining in our hearts. Of course to remember those

:13:34. > :13:40.other victims of this attack. Kurt Cochrane from Utah and Leslie Rhodes

:13:41. > :13:44.and Asha Frayde. To turn to the investigation, it's ongoing. The

:13:45. > :13:48.unanswered question is what was behind the attack. We do know that

:13:49. > :13:53.Khalid Masood was a convert to Islam. But there is very little

:13:54. > :13:57.about any degree of radicalisation that may have happened to him later

:13:58. > :13:59.in his life. I think that really is still the focus of the police

:14:00. > :14:03.investigation. All of those who were arrested in the wake of the attack

:14:04. > :14:08.have been released. Thank you very much.

:14:09. > :14:12.I want to show you pictures of the Syrian air base that was hit by the

:14:13. > :14:15.American air strikes overnight. These pictures just coming through

:14:16. > :14:21.from Russian state television. I am not sure we can bring them to you

:14:22. > :14:25.right now. While we try to get access to those pictures, the

:14:26. > :14:32.reports are that nine aircraft were completely destroyed in the attack.

:14:33. > :14:37.Limited damage to the runway. Minor damage on the runway it seems

:14:38. > :14:45.according to the pictures that we are trying to bring you now. The

:14:46. > :14:48.pictures have been shown on Russian news channel. We are still trying to

:14:49. > :14:54.bring you those pictures. We will go to them as soon as we can.

:14:55. > :15:22.We are also getting more reaction. Here, the Defence Secretary said the

:15:23. > :15:26.UK Government fully supported America's decision to act. A number

:15:27. > :15:29.of other world leaders have also stated their support for

:15:30. > :15:42.Washington's missile strike as Keith Doyle reports.

:15:43. > :15:53.Syrian TV reporting the air strikes. The presenter announcing that there

:15:54. > :15:57.was a missile strike by the United States. The TV played National music

:15:58. > :16:02.and showed pictures of the Syrian army. The information minister told

:16:03. > :16:07.the station that the strike was limited in time and space and was

:16:08. > :16:11.expected and he did not anticipate any escalation. The Defence

:16:12. > :16:15.Secretary said the UK was given advance warning and the Government

:16:16. > :16:18.supported the US action. The Americans believe they have

:16:19. > :16:26.exhausted all possible diplomatic and peaceful ways of dealing with

:16:27. > :16:31.the use by the regime of chemical weapons. And they have been

:16:32. > :16:36.determined to try to prevent future attacks like this. So they've taken

:16:37. > :16:39.this action today, limited and appropriate action, against the

:16:40. > :16:44.airfield and the aeroplanes and the equipment that was used, they

:16:45. > :16:47.believe, in this attack. And that is action that we fully support. As the

:16:48. > :16:53.US released pictures of the flight paths taken by the Syrian planes, it

:16:54. > :16:57.says were involved in Tuesday's chemical attack, and aerial shots of

:16:58. > :17:00.this morning's bombed airfield, Russia issued a strongly worded

:17:01. > :17:05.statement calling the bombing aggression against a sovereign state

:17:06. > :17:10.in violation of international law. And insisting the Syrian army did

:17:11. > :17:13.not use chemical weapons. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

:17:14. > :17:17.Netanyahu welcomed the US attack, saying that in both Word and action

:17:18. > :17:22.Mr Trump sends a strong and clear message that the use and spread of

:17:23. > :17:26.chemical weapons will not be tolerated. Other world leaders gave

:17:27. > :17:31.similar support. The Australian government strongly supports the

:17:32. > :17:37.swift and just response of the United States. This was a

:17:38. > :17:45.calibrated, portion at and targeted response. It sends a strong message

:17:46. > :17:50.to the Assad regime. Syrian rebel groups called on the US to continue

:17:51. > :17:52.the attacks. They and the world will wait to see if this situation

:17:53. > :18:03.escalates. Keith Doyle, BBC News. Let's show you the pictures we have

:18:04. > :18:10.got from the airbase which was hit by the American air strikes, and we

:18:11. > :18:15.can see their rubble. As we continue to look. That seems to be inside.

:18:16. > :18:25.Mike there you go. That's the runway which, as we have

:18:26. > :18:29.been hearing on reports, was not damaged. Or at least there is no

:18:30. > :18:33.particularly significant sign of damage to the runway in the pictures

:18:34. > :18:40.we are seeing here. It is being reported that nine aircraft were

:18:41. > :18:46.destroyed in these attacks, those missiles launched overnight, 58 of

:18:47. > :18:54.them. These pictures are being shown on Russian state television, which

:18:55. > :18:58.show the damage to the airbase. Russia has said that the Russians

:18:59. > :19:02.were killed in the attack at the airbase. The United States did give

:19:03. > :19:10.warning to Russia ahead of the attack. There were some killed.

:19:11. > :19:15.Reports that six people were killed at the airbase. Let's go to our

:19:16. > :19:20.Political Correspondent Eleanor Garnier. Joining us live from

:19:21. > :19:24.Westminster. Strong international support, Eleanor, for America's

:19:25. > :19:28.actions, including from Britain. Britain has been at the forefront of

:19:29. > :19:32.the support for the US strikes in Syria. And the Defence Secretary,

:19:33. > :19:36.Michael Fallon, said that he the Prime Minister had been kept

:19:37. > :19:39.informed throughout. He said he'd spoken to the US Defence Secretary

:19:40. > :19:47.yesterday, and they discussed the various options that the US were

:19:48. > :19:49.looking at. And then he also spoke to him again and was informed that

:19:50. > :19:54.Donald Trump had made the decision for the strikes to go ahead. Michael

:19:55. > :19:59.Fallon described the strikes as appropriate. He said that they were

:20:00. > :20:04.limited, and he said that they were a response to what he called the

:20:05. > :20:08.barbaric chemical attacks that had taken place earlier this week. I did

:20:09. > :20:13.ask him whether the UK itself would be getting involved in any military

:20:14. > :20:17.action and why it hadn't been involved overnight too. He stressed

:20:18. > :20:23.again and again that this was action taken by the US alone. The US had

:20:24. > :20:28.not asked for the UK to be involved. He did also say that if the UK were

:20:29. > :20:32.to consider any military action, it would go back to Parliament, back to

:20:33. > :20:43.MPs, and there would be a vote in the House of Commons. He also noted

:20:44. > :20:46.that back in 2013 there was a vote about military action in Syria, and

:20:47. > :20:53.that was of course rejected by MPs. Allen, thank you. Let's get reaction

:20:54. > :20:58.from Russia. We can talk now Sergei Markov, who is a former MP of

:20:59. > :21:09.President Putin's united Russia party. Thank you for joining us. Is

:21:10. > :21:13.your reaction? My reaction is that Donald Trump wants to show that he

:21:14. > :21:25.is not as weak as Barack Obama. He is a really tough guy. He wants to

:21:26. > :21:31.become a real president. That is why he decided to use such provocation

:21:32. > :21:37.of these chemical weapons, which can be organised by al-Nusra, and

:21:38. > :21:43.everybody who is informed understands this very well. What

:21:44. > :21:52.will the impact be in terms of American- Russia relations? I think

:21:53. > :21:56.now Russia will react strongly by words, and carefully by action.

:21:57. > :22:05.Because Russia understands very well that Donald Trump bombed Syria for

:22:06. > :22:11.domestic political purposes. It was kind of what we call Congress, a

:22:12. > :22:17.political object of Congress. That is why Russia will react carefully.

:22:18. > :22:24.Russia will say it is aggression against another country, the

:22:25. > :22:28.Security Council should go. But I don't think that the clashes between

:22:29. > :22:32.Russia and the United States will really happen. After Donald Trump

:22:33. > :22:41.will reach his domestic political goals. And we of course are

:22:42. > :22:47.concerned about unpredictability of behaviour of Washington which we

:22:48. > :22:53.have had in the last few years. And we are very much disappointed that

:22:54. > :23:01.the United States, in cooperation with al-Nusra and Al-Qaeda in Syria,

:23:02. > :23:05.and in the Ukraine. In the end, I mean, it doesn't matter what you say

:23:06. > :23:09.or think about Donald Trump's motivation being to play to a

:23:10. > :23:13.domestic audience, if it impacts on the situation on the ground in

:23:14. > :23:21.Syria, it will have its desired effect. In Syria, from a military

:23:22. > :23:36.point of view, this air strike means not too much. Because this airfield,

:23:37. > :23:41.especially for these aeroplanes, and also, we should look more carefully

:23:42. > :23:48.on the future. If the United States really will try to make such a war

:23:49. > :23:54.in Syria, which they have conducted in Iraq, of course it would be a new

:23:55. > :24:00.catastrophe for the Middle East. It could lead to the conflict,

:24:01. > :24:04.potential military conflict with Russia. But if the United States or

:24:05. > :24:11.in the limited by this and possibly a second air strike, we will not be

:24:12. > :24:16.in that situation and we will continue our Russian policy as we

:24:17. > :24:21.used to. Why is it that there are still, there is still the capability

:24:22. > :24:26.by Syria to use chemical weapons when there was that agreement under

:24:27. > :24:31.which Russia was supposed to oversee the ending of the use of chemical

:24:32. > :24:37.weapons to secure and destroyed them? Russia failed to do that? It

:24:38. > :24:43.is a great question, everybody can understand. Look from Asad's point

:24:44. > :24:50.of view. The press spokesman of Donald Trump talking war, against

:24:51. > :24:57.Bashar al-Assad. Two days after this, Bashar al-Assad decided to use

:24:58. > :25:03.chemical weapons, with no real military reasons. You know, it's

:25:04. > :25:08.madness. To believe that Bashar al-Assad organised this chemical

:25:09. > :25:15.attack, it is not think what happened. It is pure propaganda. Of

:25:16. > :25:20.course, the chemical attack has been organised by al-Nusra, undermining

:25:21. > :25:27.possible corporation between Russia and the United States. And al-Nusra

:25:28. > :25:33.made it quite effective. Thank you for joining us, Sergei Markov. Well

:25:34. > :25:36.- the decision by Donald Trump to launch an attack on the Syrian

:25:37. > :25:38.government regime marks a big shift in policy. Throughout his

:25:39. > :25:39.presidential campaign Mr Trump strongly opposed military

:25:40. > :25:41.intervention. However, after Tuesday's suspected chemical attack

:25:42. > :25:42.he made clear his attitude had changed. Here's a reminder of what

:25:43. > :26:35.Mr Trump was saying up to this week. But if they ever did overthrow Asad,

:26:36. > :26:39.you might end up with as bad as Asad did, and he's a bad guy. But you

:26:40. > :26:43.might end up worse than Bashar al-Assad.

:26:44. > :26:53.That attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me, a big

:26:54. > :26:58.impact. It was a horrible, horrible thing, and I will tell you, it's

:26:59. > :27:02.already happened that my attitude towards Syria and Bashar al-Assad

:27:03. > :27:06.has changed very much. They will have a message, you will see what

:27:07. > :27:14.the message will be. Tonight I ordered a targeted militarily strike

:27:15. > :27:19.on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched.

:27:20. > :27:21.Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who ran against Donald Trump for the

:27:22. > :27:27.Republican presidential nomination, has given his response to the

:27:28. > :27:32.strikes. My first reaction is too obviously acknowledge and appreciate

:27:33. > :27:37.the skill and bravery of our men and women in uniform. The president took

:27:38. > :27:42.an appropriate step tonight, it is not just symbolic. He took an attack

:27:43. > :27:45.against an airfield from which these chemical attacks were conducted

:27:46. > :27:49.against innocent civilians. And I think the president made the right

:27:50. > :27:54.move. Obviously now it is an attack that have a strategic objective,

:27:55. > :28:01.degrading Asad's capability to continue to attack his own people

:28:02. > :28:05.with nerve agents like siren. We can talk to a writer for the New York

:28:06. > :28:09.Times. Thank you very much for joining us. How do you think this is

:28:10. > :28:14.going to go down in America? Well, I think initially this could actually

:28:15. > :28:21.be addressed the position of Donald Trump, he has had a quite rocky 77

:28:22. > :28:27.day presidency so far. This shows him to be decisive and strong. After

:28:28. > :28:32.Obama in 2013 failed to call Asad into account after using chemical

:28:33. > :28:38.weapons against his own people, many saw Obama as being weak. Now Trump

:28:39. > :28:44.can show himself to be decisive. However, there are serious risks.

:28:45. > :28:47.The base that selected Mr Trump come primarily from rust belt states,

:28:48. > :28:50.they elected him on the economy. The last thing they want is for the

:28:51. > :28:55.United States to become mired in another war in the region. There are

:28:56. > :28:59.also risks vis-a-vis his relationship with Mr but in going

:29:00. > :29:04.forward, and also we have seen in the past that Isis can take

:29:05. > :29:08.advantage of power vacuum in the region, that this can cause of the

:29:09. > :29:17.United States can suddenly focused on taking on Mr Assad rather than

:29:18. > :29:21.the Islamic State. He has been criticised for being unpredictable.

:29:22. > :29:26.Does unpredictability actually, is it an asset in this situation? In

:29:27. > :29:33.some ways it is an asset. As we have seen with the Chinese, who field are

:29:34. > :29:37.stabilised by Mr Trump, -- who field by stabilised. His lack of

:29:38. > :29:41.predictability can put his opponents on edge and possibly work to his

:29:42. > :29:47.advantage. And in terms of the sort of, the way that the story will be

:29:48. > :29:51.covered, I mean, you are with the New York Times, there has been

:29:52. > :29:56.animosity between the New York Times and Donald Trump and, you know, the

:29:57. > :30:02.sort of war between him and the media. That does seem to have gone

:30:03. > :30:06.away. How do you now assess Donald Trump as president and whether we

:30:07. > :30:14.are starting to see a sort of new direction, potentially?

:30:15. > :30:20.Unfortunately our line there froze. We will still have plenty of

:30:21. > :30:27.reaction to those events overnight in Syria. The American air strike on

:30:28. > :30:31.an air base reportedly nine aircraft destroyed by the airstrikes but the

:30:32. > :30:34.ramifications extending beyond what the impact is on the military

:30:35. > :30:37.capability on the ground. Also coming up we will be speaking to a

:30:38. > :30:42.police officer who thinks possession of drugs, even heroin and cocaine,

:30:43. > :30:46.should not be punished with prison. And we will look at the history of

:30:47. > :30:50.the Syrian conflict to see how we got to the stage where the US felt

:30:51. > :30:58.it needed to attack a Syrian air base.

:30:59. > :31:04.Let's join Rachel for all the news. Good morning. Russia has condemned

:31:05. > :31:09.an American cruise missile attack that destroyed a Syrian air base as

:31:10. > :31:13.an act of aggression. The Kremlin has suspended an agreement with the

:31:14. > :31:21.United States designed to prevent clashes between their airforces over

:31:22. > :31:26.Syria. Washington says its missile strike

:31:27. > :31:28.was a proportionate response to a suspected chemical weapons attack

:31:29. > :31:33.which it blames on the Syrian regime. Dozens of civilians were

:31:34. > :31:38.killed. 59 cruise missiles were fired from US warships in the

:31:39. > :31:42.Mediterranean. President Trump said it was in America's national

:31:43. > :31:48.security interest to prevent the spread of chemical weapons.

:31:49. > :31:54.Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in

:31:55. > :32:32.Syria from where the chemical attack was launched.

:32:33. > :32:34.A Romanian tourist who fell into the River Thames

:32:35. > :32:36.during the Westminster terror attack has died.

:32:37. > :32:38.Andreea Cristea was walking on Westminster Bridge with her

:32:39. > :32:41.boyfriend when they were driven at by the attacker Khalid Masood,

:32:42. > :32:45.Her boyfriend had planned to propose later that day.

:32:46. > :32:46.Her life support was withdrawn yesterday.

:32:47. > :32:49.The 31-year-old becomes the fifth victim of the March 22nd attack.

:32:50. > :32:51.A four-year-old child has died in an incident at a farm

:32:52. > :32:53.in Maguiresbridge in Northern Ireland.

:32:54. > :32:55.Police were called out to the farm yesterday evening where the boy

:32:56. > :32:59.Northern Ireland's police force says officers will work closely

:33:00. > :33:01.with the Health and Safety Executive as they investigate

:33:02. > :33:06.There is been a sharp rise in the number of accident and emergency

:33:07. > :33:08.departments in England turning away ambulances, that's compared with the

:33:09. > :33:10.previous three years. Analysis by the Nuffield Trust shows ambulances

:33:11. > :33:12.were diverted 500 times. NHS England says too many ambulances are being

:33:13. > :33:14.despatched and the system is under review.

:33:15. > :33:17.That's a summary of the latest news. Join me at 11am. Now back to Joanna.

:33:18. > :33:22.Thank you very much. Let's catch up with the sport.

:33:23. > :33:27.Only one place to start, and that's with golf. Dustin Johnson offered

:33:28. > :33:30.drama on the opening day of the Masters as he pulled out before the

:33:31. > :33:33.first round. It's only the second time in the tournament's history

:33:34. > :33:37.that the world number one won't feature at the first major of the

:33:38. > :33:40.year. He hurt his back in a fall downstairs at his rental property on

:33:41. > :33:45.Wednesday. Heading out to the first tee he said he couldn't swing a club

:33:46. > :33:54.and that prompted him to pull out. Lee Westwood is the leading Britain.

:33:55. > :33:58.He struggled on the front nine but recovered with five birdies in a row

:33:59. > :34:01.on the back nine to put himself up there on the leaderboard. The

:34:02. > :34:06.drivers had to find an alternative form of entertainment when practice

:34:07. > :34:10.ahead of this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix was badly affected by

:34:11. > :34:13.poor weather. Lewis Hamilton apologised to fans and said

:34:14. > :34:18.organisers need to find a better way to cope when the weather is bad. The

:34:19. > :34:21.Olympic mar shoon champion of Kennia has failed an out of competition

:34:22. > :34:27.drugs test. She won't be able to defend her title this month after

:34:28. > :34:38.she tested positive for the blood booster EPO. It's Ladies Day at

:34:39. > :34:48.Aintree. The feature race was won by Tea For Two. Back to you.

:34:49. > :34:55.A statement from the Pentagon on that cruise missile strike against

:34:56. > :35:00.Syrian air force, statement put out by Pentagon spokesman saying at the

:35:01. > :35:07.direction of the President the US forces conducted a cruise missile

:35:08. > :35:13.strike at about 8. 40pm local time. The strike targeted an airfield in

:35:14. > :35:23.response to the Syrian Government's chemical weapons attack. A total of

:35:24. > :35:27.59 Tomahawk missiles targeted storage, ammunition supply bunkers,

:35:28. > :35:29.air defence systems and radars. As always, the US took extraordinary

:35:30. > :35:33.measures to avoid civilian casualties and to comply with the

:35:34. > :35:36.law of armed conflict. Every precaution was taken to execute the

:35:37. > :35:42.strike with minimal risk to personnel at the airfield. The

:35:43. > :35:47.strike was a proportional response to Assad's heinous act. The airfield

:35:48. > :35:53.was used to store chemical weapons and Syrian air forces. The US

:35:54. > :35:56.intelligence community assesses that aircraft from there conducted the

:35:57. > :36:01.chemical weapons attack on 4th April. The strike was intended to

:36:02. > :36:13.deter the regime from using chemical weapons again. Russian forces were

:36:14. > :36:16.notified in advance of the strike using the established deconfliction

:36:17. > :36:21.line. We are assessing the results of the strike. Initial indications

:36:22. > :36:25.are that the strike had severely damaged or destroyed Syrian aircraft

:36:26. > :36:28.and support infrastructure and equipment at the airfield, reducing

:36:29. > :36:33.the Syrian Government's ability to deliver chemical weapons. The use of

:36:34. > :36:37.chemical weapons against innocent people will not be tolerated. That

:36:38. > :36:42.statement just through from the Pentagon. We are also hearing from

:36:43. > :36:46.Donald Tusk, President of the European Council who tweeted to say

:36:47. > :36:51.the strikes show needed resolve against barbaric chemical attacks.

:36:52. > :36:56.The EU will work with the US to end brutality in Syria. That echoing

:36:57. > :37:01.strong international support for the American actions overnight. We will

:37:02. > :37:11.talk more about it short:. If you're caught with Class A drugs

:37:12. > :37:14.you can swap prison for an education workshop -

:37:15. > :37:17.that's part of a controversial new The force is one of the first

:37:18. > :37:21.in the country to adopt the policy. A senior officer says

:37:22. > :37:23.possession of drugs - even cocaine and heroin -

:37:24. > :37:25.should not be punished Instead offenders are offered

:37:26. > :37:28.a three-and-a-half hour education workshop, known

:37:29. > :37:30.as a "diversion" course. Critics say the initiative may be

:37:31. > :37:33.simply "a slap on the wrist". Fiona Lamdin's had

:37:34. > :37:37.access to the workshop. Police out on the streets

:37:38. > :37:40.of Bristol, looking for dealers... I'll just wait at the bottom

:37:41. > :37:44.of St Nick's, wait for him to come There's two, two in there,

:37:45. > :37:49.and he was ready to smoke it. Do you have something

:37:50. > :37:53.on you you shouldn't have? But when they do find them,

:37:54. > :37:56.these days many drug users If police in Bristol now catch

:37:57. > :38:00.people carrying even Class A drugs, there is another option other

:38:01. > :38:02.than the criminal justice system. We can deal with this

:38:03. > :38:07.on the street, something called The Drugs Education Programme,

:38:08. > :38:11.or DEP, a compulsory three We're not going to say,

:38:12. > :38:17.you're going to be a heroin addict, you're going to go to prison,

:38:18. > :38:20.but already, just by using drugs, you're putting yourself

:38:21. > :38:23.at a real big risk. It's offered to anyone

:38:24. > :38:28.caught just in possession, So far they have had nearly 400

:38:29. > :38:36.people through the doors. It really does limit the kind

:38:37. > :38:45.of work you can get. A lot of you, you said you hadn't

:38:46. > :38:48.told your employers, Understandably, most on the course

:38:49. > :38:55.don't want to be identified, but they all tell us that

:38:56. > :38:58.being here is better I was found with cocaine

:38:59. > :39:02.in a nightclub. I'd use it every now

:39:03. > :39:08.and again on a night out. I don't think I'll use again

:39:09. > :39:10.because of the shock I've had and the whole

:39:11. > :39:13.process and everything. So would you go so far as to say

:39:14. > :39:16.it's a life changer? Yeah, definitely, because my job

:39:17. > :39:18.means so much to me. What we're not going to do

:39:19. > :39:22.patronise you, we're not going to stand here and say that

:39:23. > :39:25.all drugs are bad... I would have lost my job if I'd

:39:26. > :39:27.got a criminal record so it's a massive relief,

:39:28. > :39:30.it would have been life Back on the streets,

:39:31. > :39:36.the police find this man. He's only 28 but the daily wraps

:39:37. > :39:43.of crack cocaine are killing him. This man is now far too

:39:44. > :39:48.ill to be offered it but even here the emphasis

:39:49. > :39:51.is on getting him into treatment. Every time I see you you're

:39:52. > :39:56.like scrambling around Hepburn Road The Misuse of Drugs Act

:39:57. > :40:02.was brought in in 1971. This new approach has come

:40:03. > :40:13.from this man, Paul Bunt. He says the current legislation

:40:14. > :40:15.just isn't working. There are plenty of people out

:40:16. > :40:18.there who would find it frankly absurd that someone,

:40:19. > :40:20.for the possession of just a few grains of powder,

:40:21. > :40:22.could end up in prison People who supply these substances

:40:23. > :40:27.are the criminals, they're the people who are profiteering

:40:28. > :40:29.from other people's misery. People who use these substances,

:40:30. > :40:32.in my view, need help. But they need help

:40:33. > :40:37.with consequences. White male, white female,

:40:38. > :40:46.both wearing black... And when police arrest

:40:47. > :40:54.him, they find drugs. He will face court for the criminal

:40:55. > :40:57.damage but even he will be offered Some will say that's

:40:58. > :41:03.just too lenient. No, I don't think it's a soft touch,

:41:04. > :41:07.I think it makes absolute sense. What we've done in effect

:41:08. > :41:09.is replaced a court appearance with a three and a half hour

:41:10. > :41:13.educational intervention, They have to attend it,

:41:14. > :41:19.they have to remain at it and they have to actively

:41:20. > :41:22.engage in it. If they do all that,

:41:23. > :41:26.they escape a court appearance. Because I believe that a court

:41:27. > :41:33.appearance won't give them This is a drug that we just don't

:41:34. > :41:42.know what it's doing to people, Back in the classroom,

:41:43. > :41:48.the lesson is the danger of drugs. On this slide here, this

:41:49. > :41:55.is septicaemia setting in. And a YouTube film of a man

:41:56. > :42:00.paralysed by Spice. This guy is physically

:42:01. > :42:03.paralysed and his body has I think for me, I was in the prison

:42:04. > :42:09.service for 20 years, and in that time I saw the same

:42:10. > :42:12.people come in and out for the same offences,

:42:13. > :42:15.quite often drug-related. By the end of my career I was seeing

:42:16. > :42:18.people come in and then I was seeing their children come in,

:42:19. > :42:22.and that, for me, is very sad. And if pictures aren't enough,

:42:23. > :42:31.they wheel in a real-life survivor. Mark has come along

:42:32. > :42:33.to tell his story. I found myself homeless

:42:34. > :42:35.and living on the street, shoplifting, stealing,

:42:36. > :42:38.lying to people. I don't want anyone else to go

:42:39. > :42:44.through what I went through, basically, so if I can open people's

:42:45. > :42:48.eyes and they get more awareness around drug use and abuse,

:42:49. > :42:51.then hopefully it can do some good The drugs are cut with

:42:52. > :43:01.drain cleaner, they're The pilot scheme has

:43:02. > :43:06.been running for a year. No one so far who's been

:43:07. > :43:13.here has been rearrested. Drugs are always glorified but this

:43:14. > :43:16.is sort of unglorifying them. But does it mean people

:43:17. > :43:21.are stopping taking drugs? Honestly, will this make a

:43:22. > :43:28.difference to your future drug use? It's not going to stop me

:43:29. > :43:30.taking them as such, but I would be a bit more careful

:43:31. > :43:33.about who is around me, I would definitely play it smarter,

:43:34. > :43:38.probably keep it in the privacy of my own home, not stand out

:43:39. > :43:42.on the street taking it. And the police say even

:43:43. > :43:44.that is a success. We are specifically looking

:43:45. > :43:47.to use the drug education Tonight they're preparing for

:43:48. > :43:55.an operation at a Bristol nightclub. They're getting a really high

:43:56. > :43:57.success rate so hopefully that The police dog is out searching

:43:58. > :44:04.for drugs and those they find in possession are likely to face

:44:05. > :44:06.a course rather than Critics may call this a soft touch

:44:07. > :44:12.but police forces across the UK are watching this trial

:44:13. > :44:14.with interest and if it works, this soft touch could be

:44:15. > :44:30.rolled out nationwide. If you want to watch that again it's

:44:31. > :44:34.on the programme page. Back to our main news. The United States has

:44:35. > :44:38.carried out a cruise missile attack on a Syrian air base. US officials

:44:39. > :44:42.have said a red line had been crossed by President Assad's regime

:44:43. > :44:46.when it carried out a chemical attack on dozens of men, women and

:44:47. > :44:49.children in a rebel-held town this week. Let's look back at what

:44:50. > :45:40.started this deadly conflict six years ago.

:45:41. > :47:35.A red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons

:47:36. > :48:10.To me, the biggest danger of escalation is it the world

:48:11. > :48:12.community, not just Britain, but America and others,

:48:13. > :48:16.Because I think Assad will draw very clear conclusions from that.

:48:17. > :50:14.No one can imagine what happened inside Aleppo

:50:15. > :50:21.We hope that, really we hope to have a ceasefire soon

:50:22. > :50:27.because those people now are dying here.

:50:28. > :50:32.They cannot go and they cannot leave.

:50:33. > :50:34.Really, it's catastrophic, the situation here, it's

:50:35. > :51:20.We condemn the use of chemical weapons in all

:51:21. > :51:24.If proven, this will be further evidence of the barbarism

:51:25. > :51:40.Justin Bronk is a military airpower and technology expert at

:51:41. > :51:42.the Royal United Services Institute, an independent thinktank.

:51:43. > :51:45.And Ahmad was part of the student uprising against the Syrian

:51:46. > :51:52.He fled the fighting and made the perilous journey to the UK.

:51:53. > :52:00.Thank you both for coming in. Ahmed, what is your reaction? The Americans

:52:01. > :52:04.previously said in red line was crossed when chemical weapons were

:52:05. > :52:09.used. There was no military action. Now there has been. I mean, from a

:52:10. > :52:14.Syrian perspective, it's a bit cynical, because already we have

:52:15. > :52:17.over 500,000 people killed. But when you see the US government

:52:18. > :52:22.intervening in that country because of the use of the chemical weapons,

:52:23. > :52:28.the Syrian people feel like they have been let down, you know. It

:52:29. > :52:31.sends a message, you can carry out killing people using conventional

:52:32. > :52:38.weapons, but if you use the chemical weapons, it is a red line. Does it

:52:39. > :52:42.make a difference, going forward? I think initially it does make some

:52:43. > :52:46.difference. I mean, already the damage has been done. The number of

:52:47. > :52:51.people have been killed, the number of displaced people is appalling.

:52:52. > :52:55.But I think it sends out a message that in is enough, and that the

:52:56. > :53:03.Assad regime should consider carefully what steps it is going to

:53:04. > :53:07.take to go ahead. What impact do you think the lack of intervention

:53:08. > :53:10.before has had? Because obviously, as we mentioned, president Obama

:53:11. > :53:14.said that if chemical weapons had been used it would be a red line.

:53:15. > :53:23.They were used, and nothing happened. In terms of the reaction

:53:24. > :53:25.within Syria to the way the international community was

:53:26. > :53:29.responding and sort of where they might sort of get support from, and

:53:30. > :53:38.also the message that it sends to President Assad? I think it's

:53:39. > :53:43.really, now, the reaction is a bit mixed in Syria. For example, I have

:53:44. > :53:47.been trying to follow my friends back in Syria, watching Syrian news.

:53:48. > :53:52.I think it is a kind of mixed reaction. Some people are very

:53:53. > :53:55.happy, Syrians, you know, very happy because the US eventually intervened

:53:56. > :54:00.to destroy the Syrian air power which the Syrian people have

:54:01. > :54:06.suffered a lot because of it. On the other side you have goggles of

:54:07. > :54:09.people -- you have got a lot of people who say it is not going to

:54:10. > :54:17.change anything. This has been going for a long time. I think the carnage

:54:18. > :54:23.will still carry on. Justin, reaction coming out from the

:54:24. > :54:27.Kremlin, amongst other things, the Russian Defence Ministry is saying

:54:28. > :54:32.the US air strikes or a crude violation of the joint agreement on

:54:33. > :54:36.Syrian air safety. What was that agreement? So the Russians and the

:54:37. > :54:43.US-led coalition have established a series of working protocols to the

:54:44. > :54:47.conflict -- 2-D conflict as base on both sides. The Russians

:54:48. > :54:53.predominantly supporting Syrian army operations and the American

:54:54. > :54:57.coalition going after buyers. There is crossover because it is crowded

:54:58. > :55:03.airspace. -- going after Daesh. These strikes were a violation of

:55:04. > :55:07.safety protocols, according to the Russians, because it has been made

:55:08. > :55:11.clear that the Russians were warned, and indeed warning the Russians has

:55:12. > :55:13.almost certainly discreet so practically the effectiveness of

:55:14. > :55:18.those strikes because the warnings will have been passed on. Also

:55:19. > :55:21.having time to withdraw the aircraft. I think what the Russians

:55:22. > :55:28.or annoyed about is that there was a tacit understanding that if the

:55:29. > :55:31.US-led strikes only targeted by Ayesh and stayed carefully away from

:55:32. > :55:46.any Syrian regime forces dog will only targeted by -- Daesh. How do

:55:47. > :55:50.you pick your way through it? There is strong rhetoric on both sides, it

:55:51. > :55:54.is the actions in the end that matter. It is worth judging Russian

:55:55. > :56:00.intentions by what they have supported and perpetrated. That is

:56:01. > :56:04.large scale lit sing of Aleppo and besieged cities alongside the Syrian

:56:05. > :56:08.air force -- large scale blitzing. The Russians do not have any

:56:09. > :56:11.particular humanitarian objections. They don't particularly care if

:56:12. > :56:18.civilians are killed in large numbers, it is about your bid --

:56:19. > :56:22.geopolitical influence and keeping Assad in power, that gives them a

:56:23. > :56:25.lot of points in the non-Western world, defender of regimes who the

:56:26. > :56:31.West is going after for human rights abuses. So they are very annoyed

:56:32. > :56:34.about that. There will be some retaliation probably in other

:56:35. > :56:40.theatres. You might see pressure increased for example in eastern

:56:41. > :56:43.Ukraine, just shown 80 and the US in particular there will be

:56:44. > :56:47.consequences. -- just to show native. What will be interesting is

:56:48. > :56:50.if the strikes or extended to further regime targets, what happens

:56:51. > :56:55.then to the status of Russian defence and Syrian air defences with

:56:56. > :57:06.regards to coalition air power? You know, it is unlikely that Russian,

:57:07. > :57:08.even Russian air defences would fire an American aircraft, but threats to

:57:09. > :57:11.do so could be made. And therefore there is the sort of game of bluff

:57:12. > :57:15.on either side and the potential for escalation both inside Syria and

:57:16. > :57:21.also externally, it is through real. Ahmed Kamar how do you feel now

:57:22. > :57:26.about Syria's future? -- Ahmed. Do you feel any more optimistic today?

:57:27. > :57:29.I always want to be optimistic, but after the damage, according to

:57:30. > :57:34.recent figures from the United Nations in Syria today we have over

:57:35. > :57:39.500,000 people killed, over 1 billion people are injured in this

:57:40. > :57:42.conflict. And over 5 million people are taking refuge in the

:57:43. > :57:46.neighbouring countries -- 1 billion people are injured. 7 billion people

:57:47. > :57:51.or internally displaced. What happened in the last six years is

:57:52. > :57:56.beyond imagination. I think it will take a very, very long time for the

:57:57. > :58:00.Syrians to go back to the stage which is starting. Thank you both

:58:01. > :58:03.very much. I want to finish with a couple of comments. Rosemary e-mail

:58:04. > :58:10.saying, I think Donald Trump us acted hastily -- has acted hastily.

:58:11. > :58:14.Assad would have been stupid to use chemical weapons, I hope not being

:58:15. > :58:19.drawn into consultation with Russia over what could have been a false

:58:20. > :58:23.flag attack by Allied rebels. Thank you for all of your comments today.

:58:24. > :58:38.Whoo! This is what I call a proper playground.