>> this is "bbc world news america." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your

growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is "bbc world news america." meet the bomb makers. we go inside of the fight against bashar al-assad just as israeli warplanes carried out a strike in syrian territory. america's gun debate moves to capitol hill where a congresswoman who was shot herself makes it difficult personal plea. >> it will be hard but the time it is now.

you must act. >> we used to love our blackberries, now the company is moving into smart phones. we love them, too? welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. the war in syria is more complicated after israeli warplanes struck a military target inside of syrian territory. there are conflicting reports about what it was. and military research facility was hit, but that has been disputed. there has been no official confirmation from israel. i spoke to the chief international correspondent a few moments ago. what can you tell us about what was hit?

>> we had two different accounts. we had reports that israeli jets for the first time had bombed a convoy of weapons heading from syria towards lebanon to support hezbollah. hezbollah has been expressing its concern in recent days and it sent its military intelligence chief to washington where he will express concern about chemical weapons from syria of going into the hands of hezbollah. on the nighttime news, they were taking satisfaction in the fact there had not been any verbal response from damascus or hezbollah. no physical response as well. syria came out with their own version of offense which was there was no convoy but they had bombed a scientific research center close to damascus and it used a rather interesting

phrase, that it was used to support the resistance. that was the only thing they could agree on. it was something for hezbollah. what it was though, we are not sure. >> can you make any speculation about what kind of impact this might have? >> as you know, there has been tensions, missiles across the golan. israel has stepped up its borders, building its defense along the golan. both sides have warned each other that they will not tolerate any attacks on their territory. this was the big concern that president assad would try to divert attention from the disarray among arab states and the number of ad asserts that he has and focus attention on the jewish state. it is a very dangerous game because israel has made it clear that whether it comes from lebanon or syria, it will

retaliate with the full force that has and it does have a lot of force. >> the regional implications of this. thank you. inside of syria, conditions are worsening and opposition fighters are going to dangers links to win the war. that includes building weapons. they have seen evidence on how the syrian forces have made their weapons. >> somewhere near the border, the free syrian army is trying to get its chemistry exactly right. with the help of the a bit old- fashioned force. here, they mix the are the stages of nitroglycerin, using ingredients they have made themselves. the rebels insist that we not reveal exactly where they are.

their main expert has already been arrested three times. homemade explosives are an important weapon in the fight against the syrian government. these bomb makers live in the workshop. they assemble bombs here and take the explosives across the border into syria. they wanted to show us exactly how they're explosive work. they gave us these pictures of one of their tests conducted on a building inside of syria. the bomb, debt to nagin as planned. -- detonated as planned, to their obvious delight. this man used to study business and syria. he has one month in this workshop to learn how to become an expert bomb maker.

when you plant a bomb, how can you guarantee that innocent men, women, children will not actually get killed? >> we plant bombs on the edge of villages under rebel control. the officers have strict control over the detonators. we don't let civilians come close. use this sign which means attention, dangers down, to warn them. we only use the explosives against the assad regime. >> you are fighting bashar al- assad, he has warplanes. can you really be his government with these weapons? >> -- beat his government with these weapons? >> it is not enough, but we hope to get some help from outside of syria. we have to work step-by-step. >> the work in this workshop. they want heavier weapons from

countries that support their cause, but there's still a rudimentary fight. and thereby making begins. >> a rare look inside of the bomb factory of the rebels. she struggles to get the words ut but gabrielle giffords' message was crystal clear -- the time for gun-control is now. she made her appeal to a u.s. senate committee considering tighter gun laws. she spoke two years after she suffered a shot in the head in arizona. news came in of another shooting in phoenix. >> another day, another mass shooting. this one in phoenix. three were injured, one quickly. the politicians were hearing evidence about plans for new gun controls. president obama has a powerful

new ally, a politician, a survivor. allies, but her awkward steps show not fully recovered from the bullet that passed through her brain. her husband leading the way. for the former congresswoman, her gift of speech are a distant memory. >> speaking is difficult but i need to say something important. of violence is a big problem. too many children are dying, too many children. we must do something. >> her life changed forever in this arizona car blocked. she was shot at point-blank range by young men armed with a

semiotic pistol with a 32 round clip. the pressure to ban these weapons is growing. >> it will be hard, but the time is now. you must act. be bold, be courageous, americans are counting on you. thank you. >> this debate is moving. part of it. after the massacre of 20 children just before christmas, the president moved this to the top of his agenda. pundits say the plan to ban assault rifles is a logical. >> they make a bigger hires, they sprayed bullets, they are more powerful, they are heavy armored. all of that is not true. >> the gun lobby is immensely

obamaul, so president's a's strategy is to raise the emotional temperature. gabrielle giffords' testimony helped. >> for more on this debate and what can be done about it, i spoke with the police commissioner. thank you very much for joining me. you are in the front lines of the fight against crime in america. would tighter gun laws make america a safer place? >> absolutely. you have to couple gun laws with strict enforcement and punishment for those that violate the law. the status quo is not acceptable. we have to come up with some solution. >> and you were a commissioner here in washington, d.c. at a time when the city had some of the tightest gun-control laws in the country and was one of the most violent in the country. >> that is true, and that is why

it has to be done at an individual level. an individual city can have tough gun laws, but and surrounding jurisdictions don't, then you still have a problem. this has to be addressed at a national level. >> what do you make of the argument of the pro-gun lobby that there are already so many weapons out there and america that even if you impose restrictions on some weapons, it will be a drop in the ocean because there are so many out there already. >> everybody seems to be speaking in extremes but there is no reason not to act. you have to start at some point and time getting a handle on the situation that currently exists. we do have a flood of weapons on the street. in my opinion, they need to be will registered. there are things that we need to put in place that will make it difficult for a criminal to get

their hands on a gun. we're not concerned about the decent, law-abiding citizens, but those guns to get into the wrong hands on occasion. >> it is the criminals, as we heard, that are the ones that are getting the guns and committing most of the murders and even if you put in controlled background checks and tighter restrictions, they will still get their hands on his guns. >> that is not 100% accurate. nothing will be absolute. the fact someone can sell a gun to anyone without any kind of background check, that is how these guns and up in the wrong hands. 10, 15 years from now, they wind up in the hands of criminals. at least make it more difficult. this is a start. the status quo is unacceptable. because we have some any extreme positions, all we do is generate a lot of fear that is on

warranted. >> you have been talking about the need for tighter controls. do you think that's something has changed after the shootings in newtown, connecticut? >> if the slaughter of 20 babies does not hold your attention, i don't know what will. if we don't make any changes, we will continue down the same path. it is acceptable. i think many of the people that are being highlighted at these hearings and so forth to not necessarily represent the majority of people. the majority of people want some reasonable gun control in place. they certainly don't want to lose their guns come out with the exception of assault rifles. >> charles ramsey has been advising the white house in this debate. >> thank you. >> let's look at some of the

other stories from around the world. the dutch court has rejected for at a five allegations against the oil giant shell over pollution in nigeria. they found the company responsible for one case of pollution. shell is happy with the verdict but campaigners who brought the case are flabbergasted. funerals are taking place in brazil to the police report of that fireworks meant for outdoor use caused the disaster. more than 20 survivors who were thought to have escaped have now been taken to the hospital suffering from chemical pneumonia. david cameron has flown to algeria for security talks after this month's hijacking and killing of dozens of foreign workers. this is the first visit from a british prime minister and half a century, an indication of how

concerned the government is about security in algeria. >> he is the first british prime minister to visit algeria since its independence from france in 1962. his first act was to pay respect to the dozens who died when islamist militants seized a gas plant in the desert. he is seeking a new partnership with algeria and get help in this region help itself. accompanied by the head of mi-6, is aimed is to strengthen algeria as an ally in the fight against terrorism. >> he is going to develop local relationships with the algerians, to help them develop their counter-terrorism programs. quite advanced programs by themselves. the governments have a pretty good intelligence networks. hop in the algerians to give

them access to some of this dodge helping the algerians and give them access to -- helping the algerians to give them access to good intelligence. >> 37 foreigners and 10 algerians were killed. is this the new front line in the fight against terrorism? a fast and open desert terrain on the southern shores of the mediterranean? borders here are meaningless. thalgerians believe the terrorists and the gas plant had trekked across the sahara from mali. many believe that the fight against terrorism cannot succeed without a fight against the social conditions in which extremists and grows. the challenge is, how does the president and his government produce social change in that country? how do they get the wealth to trickle down?

it is a not very well organized country. they could do a lot better. frankly, they need to. >> david cameron insists david cameron will not get drawn into fighting another long conflict. the algerians themselves would play the key role on this emerging from . -- in this emerging front line. >> doctors prepare for the next step in a remarkable recovery. nearly seven years after one of the most the taurus massacres of the second world war, germany investigators have reopened the case into what happened at the french hamlet. 642 people, mainly women and children, were killed when the village was destroyed by the ss. >> and no one who will has

walked the ruins needs to be told to remember. the village stands as a perpetual with this to a massacre which few were ever held accountable. today, the german investigators are back, retracing the steps of those as as units present in june, 1944. >> the suspects have always denied their involvement in the cry because they acted in and supporting role. it is up to us to prove their intent. most are women and children. the soldiers threw hand grenades before starting the fires. the men were locked in the barns to the they were shot in the legs before the bonds were doused in petrol and set on fire. >> i would have liked this to have started earlier, says this man, who survived.

he says that it is good that germany is taking responsibility. one man who did pay for his crimes was a member of the ss, described at his trial as the murderous rifleman. he was sentenced to life but later freed on grounds of ill health. this sheds new light on the involvement of six further suspects who are still alive. the remaining suspects are in their late a.d.'s, time is short. -- 80's time is short. >> before we were addicted to our smart phones, we could not be parted from our blackberries. it was not so long that those nifty devices ruled the mobile world. as smart phones spread,

blackberries died. now, research in motion with light to change that by rolling out their new phones and changing the company's name to, what else, blackberry. will it be enough to stage a come back? >> once, a coveted status symbol. the blackberry has had many faces in the decade since it launched. it lost its way and rivals have the muscle then on the area is dominated. on the arean they dominated. the chief executive unveiled what could be the company's last chance for survival. its newest operating system, as well as two new phones. here it is, the new blackberry 10. it looks a lot like an apple iphone 5. it does have a few new features.

this is one of them. it is a one-stop shop for all of your messages. you can access your e-mail, facebook accounts, twitter. all that is delivered right here. this is really their last chance. >> it is very important. we want to prove to the market that we can build exciting smart phones. >> of course, blackberry has a lot riding on the success of blackberry 10. >> we need to see this work really well. we need consumers to have some level of excitement. the bar for excitement and success, we are not taking they will overtake apple or samsung. if a chief 5% market share, a home run. >> a far cry from the glory days when their shares peaked at over 48 canadian dollars. today, they are around 15 canadian dollars.

that is a fall of 87% in just over five years. >> it is unlikely they will ever be a leader because google and apple, they have so much momentum. the opportunity is to make to become the third ecosystem. >> introducing the blackberry helmet. >> a humorous note to how addictive we were to blackberry. in technology, fortunes rise and fall fast food to the question is, can blackberry's fortunes rise again? -- in technology, fortunes rise and fall fast. the question is, can blackberry's fortunes rise again? >> the injury suffered by an activist in pakistan were so intense that a piece of her skull ended up in her abdomen. now, they will prepare to remove it and put it back in her skull.

the doctors said she had made a remarkable recovery. >> her injury was life- threatening. a recovery so far is described as remarkable. weeks after malala yousafzai walked out of the hospital, they are preparing for her next major challenge. the government's bullet ripped a large chunk out of her skull. -- the attackers bullet ripped a large chunk out of her skull. now, they are preparing a titanium plate to repair the whole. >> this is a small defect. this is very adaptable. this is an easy battle to work with. >> malala yousafzai was attacked for defying a taliban edict. shot in the head at point-blank range as she traveled home from school.

the taliban gunmen left her for dead but she emerged at the chaos of life. there was emergency surgery in pakistan and then the airlift to birmingham possible class medical facilities. her story has become a global news. a school girl turned into a national human rights campaigner. >> seat is a high profile person and a high-profile target. -- sheet is a high-profile person. she is incredibly determined to fight for cause. "she is facing not one but two operations. the second, to have an implant to restore some hearing to her damaged ear. this is a complex procedures but the doctor remains confident that she will make a good long- term recovery. >> malala yousafzai still facing extraordinary surgery but what an amazingly brave young woman.

that brings the program to a close. you can carry on watching bbc world news for updates any time. you can reach me and the bbc team, you will find us on twitter. for all of us here, thank you so much for watching. i will see you back here tomorrow. m>>ake sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our

relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key, strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was was presented by kcet, los angeles. presented by kcet, los angeles.

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