Are not the god part of this to recognize just how dangerous this is. Also on the day hes been in power for 20 years but nearly half of that time syrian president Bashar Al Assad has presided over a civil war that has long had global repercussions is there any chance the syrian election this weekend could solve the problem many. Peoples demands are the same as theyve always being but im not sure if theyre being heard in parliament or if parliamentarians are doing their job and not enough people have simple life demands how to get their food and their daily needs met their demands havent changed yet. But less than 4 months to go until the u. S. Election pollsters say President Donald Trump is now losing. Ground even in his former republican strongholds the state of arizona hasnt supported a democratic candidate in decades but now as in many sun belt states the latest polls show joe biden head i was on a has been hit particularly hard by the thrown of our us pandemic our u. S. Correspondent it went out of went to find out more. In the arizona desert linda rawls is a thorn in the side of President Donald Trump. A white suburban woman she belongs to the very group that helped him win in 2016 but that its now offending him she can look back at a life dedicated to the Republican Party she ran for congress in 1904 but her assessment of trump is devastating. He has become worse than we could have ever imagined no one really realized that he was psychologically disturbed i dont think people realized how much he really would not follow the constitution and how much he would change the whole party from the party of freedom into a party that. Worships dictators and destroys the rule of law. For decades arizona used to be a republican stronghold but it is now becoming a battleground and the spread of the coronavirus is playing a crucial role at phoenixs largest testing site everyone in 4 tests is coming back positive. Voters in arizona are turning away from trump for many reasons but one can be found right here behind me at the South MountainCommunity College its an hours long wait to get tested here with the results coming in a week after that at best and experts say this is exactly where the United States is failing in stopping the spread of the virus. Here on the outskirts of phoenix where many voted trump in 2016 people are now frustrate. About the governments response to the pun demick i certainly dont think he protected the United States taking measures not he needed to take and. You know informing the American Public and getting guidance properly so he did a disservice to the United States near the bow to make it happen but im seeing more of the worried about other things and then this is what you should be i think they should it get this in january yes when they really knew they trap would not put him in mansion he said oh it would just go away no you dont just vanish step like that. Linda rolls still holds Republican Values plans to vote democrat this year and she might not be the only one here in arizona. Well for more on the details political picture in arizona joined from phoenix spire mike noble his chief of research a managing partner of ohh. Predictive insights and opinion Polling Company welcome to the day mike i was own up is traditionally a safe state for a republican candidate youve just published your latest poll on the trump biden basle what did you find or we found that when you said arizona is a climb for democrats the last time a democrat carried arizona in a president ial contest was actually bill clinton back in 1996 so arizona bennet very reliable state however right now trump is currently down 5 points to the challenger Democrat Joe Biden already im percent for joe biden already 4 percent for donald trump and with very few undecided they do we know why voters the desire to trump. 100 percent so trump carried arizona back into 2016 elections by 3 and a half points whats interesting about that arizona has been a long republican state as we kind of discussed and which compared to all the other republicans that won previously he won by the smallest margin and so now we see we saw in the 2800 midterm elections whats that shift it was was among suburban voters and specifically among College Educated whites. Ones that are higher educated college it higher voted are turning against trump but also the ones that its trump base are those that dont have a College Education or high school or less so those are the big shifts was the some urban demographics and. Voters. Report we heard from linda rolls of the shes a lifelong republican a desire to him is that anything complained can do to when people are talking about well i think theyre stuck between a rock art place and ill tell you why is that member arizona is home of maverick john mccain hes a legend but also you the more moderate republican a sense we know before his passing is that he got in some tips with donald trump trumps at some disparaging things about it and so when you look at among moderate Republican Voters in the arab trump is essentially started to illini that part of the base and so that is its not a surprise to hear that but also knowing that you need to carry your voters if youre at all to win on election day but also you need people actually to go and vote in any election depends on people turning out people in the arizona and so the. Well you know thats going to say yes that because when you look at the enthusiasm the want to advantage of early all the key variables in the key numbers in the race trump is not doing well however the one bright spot for his campaign was that he had about a 10 point advantage over joe biden in the Museum Category however with kobe hitting recently that is squander that Enthusiasm Gap and theres actually no other tie to and then theres the coronavirus pandemic which is starting to hit states like arizona very hot right now is the fire a vice if the virus werent there would things be looking better for them tom. 100 percent because arizona know that not only for coronaviruses and actions you know it is that hot issue currently here in the desert and with the virus weve seen theres a direct correlation among elected official as our governor or president when there are high spikes increases of crowbars that is a negative impact on those elected officials approval and with rampaging currently here in arizona you see that truck that has hurt on handling of the crowd of ours mike noble from oh its predictive insides polling in phoenix arizona thank you for this insight thank you so much for having me well if only if the virus was there but it is very much is and no one knows that better than on the next guest. Is a socalled traveling nose that means shes flying around the u. S. On crisis assignments to coronavirus hot spots currently working in phoenix but she was in new york when the city was hit by the in a previous interview you said and thats pretty much impressed me ive seen a lot of death how are you and your colleagues coping at the moment. You know were doing the best we can i think the number one thing is we know that in order to beat this virus we all have to Work Together as a team were beyond our capability that we were originally trained for in this wealth and were supporting one out of the best we can for you were caring for one of ours patients during some of the darkest hours that new york has seen how bad is it where you are now in comparison you know its funny you ask if you would have asked me this just a few weeks ago i had was feeling much more optimistic i felt arizona learned new york since stakes had an ecstatic resources and in just asking me we are now running low and then its. Understaffed where right well i dont really own hospital in phoenix or having to transfer patients i think even across state lines now. So im starting to see a lot more similarities and differences this might be an experiment and not york its a pretty dark picture that youre painting that you think its going to get worse than i was on. The plane you know a lot worse or its better at this point. Have you been getting a sense of whether people feel they have been misled by the president s trump what sort of the feeling on the ground. You know i feel like at the beginning of this coronavirus there were a lot of unknowns. But the people that were in the best position to have truthful information were our license. And i think we should return to our lives nationals in the any trump and live. In medium would be in a much better spot and i think its unfortunate that there is so much conflicting information and. I think that kind of laid the foundation wearing a mask and social distancing now becoming a political debate with reality its a Public Health issue nonpolitical issue well we heard in our report that people are saying President Trump has failed in his duty to save and protect the lives of american citizens how widespread is that view in our rezone a you know ive only been here for 3 weeks. Most of that time has been seen from inside the walls of the hospital but i will say there is a definite dramatic culture change as far as social distancing wearing a mask and i dont know about related to the prevalence of people loyal to the Republican Party down here or not but it is a stark difference from the sense of Community Character one another dixie new york city versus arizona act think of fortunately for a lot of americans theyre not going to face that part truth the reality is on the merits and they are among the lucky ones are the ones in the hospital bed or on a ventilator. Do you personally youve been at the forefront of this fight against this virus do you feel that donald trump has a done a good job in handling this crisis. Has he done a good job you know to be honest i havent all of it that much better that were going to mass is now trying to change the little face versus health issue. To me a major problem at the american should all come together to understand that this disease process does not discriminate young old. Rich or republican democrat all access the same and and i dont know if its necessarily helpful at this point to point fingers you know what i think does plan in the beginning dr optional look alikes and also as far as guidance for him see American People how they should have protected themselves and you know be at a much better so im. Traveling nurse in phoenix arizona thank you for finding the time for us on the day. To syria now where president s Bashar Al Assad is marking 20 years in power on friday parliamentary elections are scheduled for sunday but like all previous elections no real position is permitted so despite a civil war thats lasted 9 years and has major geopolitical repercussions assad looks likely to stay in power. Well well if you like you. Deny the 17th 2000 and it just 34 years old bash al assad is sworn in as president following the sudden death of his father. He quickly finds his feet meeting the great and the good earth a little syria this is. Often accompanied by his british born wife asma. From the start of his presidency assets bill close ties with both russia and iran strategic relations that will prove crucial to retaining power. In march 20th 11 antigovernment protests across much of the arab world known as the arab spring spread to syria. In the Southern City of deraa demonstrators began taking to the streets after the arrest and torture of a group of teenagers protest grew while as sands military responded with greater force. As file ins escalated the country descended into a brutal civil war. We will win without a downtick against this conspiracy theyve now reached the final stages of their conspiracy. Attempts by the International Community to force asaad to step down failed. And so 2 moves to broker a peace deal by 2030 in the un said the number of refugees fleeing syria had reached a 1000000 this was a humanitarian crisis then the regime was accused of carrying out a chemical attack near the capital damascus it took another such attack in 2017 for the us to take action blaming a sense military. You know very orderly told you. Only if you. Will you can recall. It was war. But despite the reprisal asset has continued his war with the help of russian air power and Iranian Forces the Syrian Government controls most of the country. A country that lies in tatters is. Led by a man who looks like he will Never Surrender power. Well him and next guest may know sam dagher as a journalist and author who has reported extensively from inside syria has worked for the wall street journal was nominated for the pulitzer price sam is also the author of assad or how we burned the country how one familys lost a 4 power destroyed syria published last year he joins us now from detroit welcome to the day 20 years on a country shattered how is assad still able to hold on to par. Thank you very much and very quickly we just clarify a few points in your introduction i dont think its a civil war the regime turned it into a civil war which is simply one aspect of the conflict thats number one number 2 the arab spring in the graffiti on the walls of the children are simply the triggers for you know the fundamental underlying causes of this uprising so to go to your question i think at the moment he is propped up by iran and russia without these 2 backers of the regime would fall he tends to play and play them off against each other whenever the russians lean on him he goes to the iranians for support and helped to push back the russians and thats how hes been surviving hes also his backers dont have the money now to support him so he relies on a network of war profiteers and businessmen that are deployed by the regime to help finance his regime and also one thing to keep in mind i mean the population is divided if you were to assume that you know there are 20000000 syrians now almost one 3rd of them live in the areas controlled by assad and the russians and the iranians another 3rd live in the Northern Areas controlled by turkey and other groups including a group that used to be linked to alqaeda and also the kurds and then you have you have almost an equal number outside syria in neighboring countries like turkey and also in in germany where you are and for the for the syrians that remain in areas under regime control its mainly fear ruled by fear through the network of. The police state apparatuses that he still controls they are much more important to him than the army which barely exists anymore i mean what you have now are the remnants of what used to be a syrian army. I mean some sort of units almost serve like. Mercenaries i mean the russians are deploying some syrian soldiers in libya the iranians and its proxies as well are using them to form militias cross the country even the ones that used to be with the army and affected are and are now nor are being used by turkey as mercenaries sami im not going to interrupt you there just very very briefly it seems now that even some of his family members have tons against him why is he losing support its not so much losing support i mean he has as part of his efforts to really survive and continue you know tighten his grip on power hes consolidating power and hes going after his cousin who he had you know empowered in the 1st place to be his is money man and and his financier and because he is in economic trouble and his allies are not able to save it he has to if i can use the term shakedown people like his cousin for more money. Syria is dealing with that more of them all but one that has happened it is a civil war it has as you mentioned major geopolitical we put questions and theyre just looking at the refugee crisis the destabilization of the region and plenty of discord between europe turkey the us russia youve mentioned some of those things if there is such a thing as the oft quoted International Community what should that community do now. Yeah and again i would just take issue with you i mean its not a civil war if he turned it into a civil war and thats only one aspect of it i think to go back to the International Community or whatever is left of it i would say i think number one they have to be unified and speak with one voice about the importance of justice and accountability holding your war criminals accountable for their crimes including Bashar Al Assad the process already started in germany but there needs to be much more support awards that number 2 they have to start delegating the problem to countries like russia turkey iran israel and other regional players because this problem will come back and haunt them its not over yet the refugees i mean what will come back again the root cause of the problem is still there which is this regime i mean most people wont go back to syria assad is in power. Tell us nothing sam dagher thank you very much for your time a pleasure. Iran now which is seeing fresh resto Economic Hardship police and demonstrators gathered in the southwestern city of baquba han on thursday according to witnesses several arrests were made videos from other parts off the country posted on social media also showed heavy presence of Security Forces the demonstrations as iranians take to social media to protest the planned executions of 3 young men were arrested during unrest last november. And for more on that im not joined by the see if. Weve seen that iranians have taken to the streets to protest against the government but they have also been protests online thats right so on tuesday the Iranian Supreme Court upheld the Death Penalty for 3 men who were accused of vandalism and arson during similar protests that happened late last year and pretty soon after the verdict that decision came out people took to the internet to voice their opposition using the hash tag do not execute now this tweet got massive traction was used over 5000000 times within one day according to twitter and that kind of thing is rare in iran where people are afraid of punishment by authorities for any kind of activism and its an especially exceptional in this case because prominent public figures including actors directors even sports figures team member of the Iranian National soccer team got involved so pretty exceptional just as an example lets take a look at what one actress said boneyard the reporters in a position to put yourself in the shoes of americas same roddy mahamudra jobby and say 10 g. D. But took to the streets for a better life they demanded their rights they peacefully protest that free protesters from november 21000 after forced confessions were sentenced to death the Supreme Court upheld the sentence and it may be carried out at any moment. So i mean. Hes reacted to this campaign well there have been internet outages reported across iran which is one tactic that the government often uses when the civil unrest and that might be related to this outcry but it hasnt really fallen on deaf ears a lot of people are saying that the Supreme Court listened to them because pretty soon after they issued a statement saying that the men could ask for a review of their case and they also said that they would allow lawyers to review some Court Documents that they had seen before now this was a trial that was based on very slim evidence mostly on just the confessions of the men after they had allegedly according to Amnesty International been tortured so its unclear whats in those Court Documents that the lawyers can see though does this have the potential for more on rests with whats happening now right was unclear when and if these men are going to be executed that might be postponed and its pretty clear that activists are maintaining some kind of presence online we arent seeing the same thing that we saw a few days ago when the verdict was announced but people are still active out there now some people have hope that the government the judiciary is listening to them but then again after china iran executes more people than any other country in the world a lot of them are Political Prisoners i mean thank you thanks. And that was the day as ever the conversation continues online youll find us on twitter and dont forget to use our past hour for me and from the day team lets watch. The fun. Game. To. The point of strong opinions clear positions of international perspectives. The coronavirus threatens our health also science a sound our economies so when it comes not other huge challenge Climate Change also if we look from the corona pandemic join me in my guess some time to point shortly. To the point. Next to the cotton t. W. From the from the book you are now going to keep warm. And lengthy nokomis. Exposing injustice global news that matters w. Me for minds hijacking the news. Where i go from the news it is being hijacked journalism itself has become a scripted reality show its not just good versus evil us versus them black and white. In countries like russia china Church People are told that its a and if youre a journalist there and you try to get beyond it you are facing scare tactics intimidation. And i wonder is that where were headed as well. My responsibility as a journalist is to get beyond the smoke and mirrors its not just about the prayer for balance or be mutual its about being truthful. When he was put off and i were giving up. On. The coronavirus remains a Global Challenge after months of lock down most countries are still a very long way away from anything like a return to normal and theres no dance about it corona has changed our lives economies around the world are in recession those that can afford it spending billions to try and regenerate growth but is it perhaps time for a massive rethink. Climate change might pose an even greater threats to humanity until the point we are tackling Climate Change is corona a blueprint