Hello. I am Fiona MacDonald with the BBC News.

The Syrian president Bashar al-Assad says Russia's entry into the war in his country has changed the balance on the ground. In an interview with Czech television, Mr. Assad said a year of western air strikes had failed to stop the advanced Islamic State militants. But since the Russian intervention, IS and other Jihadi groups have begun to shrink. When asked about shooting down of a Russian plane by Turkey last week, he said it was due to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's failure. "I think it has shown the real intention of Erdogan who, let's say, lost his nerve just because the Russian intervention has changed the balance on the ground. So, the failure of Erdogan in Syria, the failure of his terrorist groups, means his political demise." Turkey says Mr. Assad cannot be part of any long term solution in Syria.

On the eve of a crucial vote in parliament, the British Prime Minister David Cameron has called his MPs to support plans for air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria. But he sparked the controversy by calling opponents of the move a bunch of terrorist sympathizers. Mr. Cameron appears to be on course to win the vote.

The US Defense Secretary Ash Carter says American special forces will be deployed to Iraq to help fight Islamic State militants in both Iraq and Syria. He said he wanted the militants to wonder who might come in through the window at night. "These special operators will over time be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture ISIL leaders. This force will also be in a position to conduct unilateral operations in Syria. That creates a virtuous cycle, a better intelligence which generates more targets, more raids, more momentum."

The United States is scaling back its diplomatic presence in Mali because of security fears and will offer only emergency consular services to American citizens. The move follows an Islamist militant attack on a hotel in the capital Bamako last month. Jessica McAllen has more details.

"Twenty two people were killed when gunmen attacked the Radisson Blu, a luxury hotel popular with foreigners. The 9-hour siege, the latest in a series of Jihadi attacks in the country, ended when Malian special forces stormed the building. The US state department says the security situation remains fluid with the potential for more attacks. In response it says non-essential embassy staff and some family members can leave the country if they want."

The Brazilian government has blamed political and economic instability for the country's deepening recession. Figures released on Tuesday show that South America's biggest economy contracted by 1.7% in the third quarter of the year.

World News for the BBC.

Qatar has rejected a report by the human rights group AmnestyInternational which strongly criticized the Gulf state's efforts to end the exploitation of migrant workers. Amnesty said almost nothing had been done to tackle the problem since Qatar was chosen five years ago to host the Football World Cup in 2022. The Qatari government said the report didn't reflect reforms that had been made.

The general commander of the African Union Regional Standby Force Sekouba Konate has pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle tens of thousands of dollars in cash through an American airport. Mr. Konate admitted in court in Alexandria in Virginia that he had tried to take around 65,000 dollars through Dallas airport in Washington in June 2013.

The founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg has announced the birth of his first child, a girl called Max, and he has vowed to donate most of his fortune to make the world a better place for her to grow up in. Our Los Angeles correspondent David Lee looks at who might be the recipients of hisfortune.

"They are going to direct into education, into equality. We don't know precisely where that money is gonna go initially. What is particularly interesting is that he seems to be separating this endeavor from Facebook. Some of his previous initiatives have been about connecting the Internet and improving perhaps Facebook's user base. There seems to be a very clear gap here between Mark Zuckerberg's personal desire to spend money on these things and what Facebook, the business, will be doing in charitable ways."

A former Argentine political prisoner and her son have met for the first time since she gave birth in the cell of a clandestine detention center in 1976. The man Mario Bravo was adopted by a non-communist family, a common practice during the dictatorship. He was reunited with his mother after having doubts about his identity and agreeing to take DNA tests.

BBC News.