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Remember, more than 50% of americans did vote for trump, so some people are for him

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It was a key battleground in the war between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels who want to overthrow him.

In November, Syrian government forces launched a renewed assault, and rapidly retook almost all of the opposition-held east. By mid-December they had pushed the rebels into just a few neighbourhoods.

Tens of thousands of civilians fled those districts. The UN said it had received allegations that hundreds of men had gone missing since crossing into government-controlled areas - and that rebels prevented some civilians from leaving.

On 15 December, the warring sides reached an agreement to end the fighting, and on 22 December the government declared it had taken full control of the city following days of evacuations.

Why did both sides agree to a ceasefire deal?

The rebels had been rapidly pushed back into a small enclave, where, along with thousands of civilians, they came under intense bombing. The deal was negotiated between one of the rebels' key backers, Turkey, and Syria's ally Russia.

It follows a pattern of similar, local ceasefire and evacuation deals which have ended fighting in other besieged rebel-held parts of Syria, such as the Old City of Homs in 2014 and the Damascus suburb of Daraya this August.

Under the terms of the Aleppo deal, rebels and civilians were allowed to be evacuated to rebel-held Idlib province, while civilians in the rebel-besieged mainly Shia villages of Foua and Kefraya in Idlib were allowed to leave in return - at the insistence of Iran, sponsor of pro-government Shia Muslim militias fighting in Aleppo.

Why is Aleppo important?

Aleppo was once Syria's largest city, with a population of about 2.3 million. It was also the country's industrial and financial centre.

The old city is a Unesco World Heritage site and was famous for its 13th Century citadel, 12th Century Great Mosque and huge covered markets, or souks.

When the uprising against President Assad erupted in 2011, Aleppo did not see the large protests or the deadly violence that shook other towns and cities.

But it suddenly became a battleground in July 2012.

Rebel fighters launched an offensive to kick out government forces and gain control over northern Syria but the rebel assault was not decisive.

Aleppo ended up divided roughly in half - the opposition in control of the east, and the government the west.

Over the next four years, the battle for Aleppo became a microcosm of the wider conflict in Syria.

It highlighted the weakness of both sides, as well as the failure of the international community to protect civilians and broker a peace agreement.

Who has been fighting?

On the government side, state forces are being supported by Russian air strikes and Shia militias, including fighters from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Pakistan.

The predominantly Sunni Muslim opposition is made of several rebel groups, many of whom have received financial aid from key opponents of President Assad, including the US, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Hardline Sunni Islamist groups are involved too, most notably Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, which earlier this year changed its name from the Nusra Front and announced it was cutting ties with al-Qaeda.

How the rebels have lost ground in 2016

4 Jan: At the start of the year, the rebels hold eastern Aleppo, linked to the border with Turkey via territory to the north and west. Turkey's government is a key backer of the rebellion against Mr Assad.

27 Jul: At the end of July, government forces surround the rebels, taking control of the strategically-important Castello Road in northern Aleppo, the only route into the rebel-held east. About 275,000 people suddenly find themselves under siege.

Early Aug: Rebels and al-Qaeda-linked jihadist fighters in the countryside outside Aleppo seize back control of a route through the Ramousseh district in the south of the city linking them up with the outside world again.

Mid-Oct: Government forces retake the area in early September and resume the siege. There is a brief pause in the offensive in mid-October to allow civilians and rebels to leave, but few take up the offer.

28 Nov: Syrian government forces recapture more than a third of rebel-held territory in eastern Aleppo. The rebels lose all of the northern neighbourhoods, leaving them with under two-thirds of the territory they had in the city.

6 Dec: Troops advance further, seizing more districts in the east. The gains mean the government has now recaptured more than 70% of the rebel-held area.

12 Dec: The Syrian army makes more gains, taking several districts, including the key Sheikh Saeed area, from the rebels, leaving them confined to a small enclave.

13 Dec: Following intense bombardment from pro-government forces, the rebels are squeezed into ever smaller areas of the city, retreating into just a handful of neighbourhoods.

15 Dec: A ceasefire deal is reached. Buses begin to take fighters, their families, and wounded people from east Aleppo to rebel-held areas in Idlib province. More buses are sent to evacuate residents of two villages, Foah and Kefraya, besieged by rebels in north-western Syria, as demanded by the government after an attempted deal the previous day collapsed.

22 Dec: Government declares full control over Aleppo for the first time in four years.

Syrian government forces launch their final push

After the government resumed its air campaign on 15 November, troops pushed into several northern Aleppo districts and forced rebels and jihadists to retreat southwards. Tens of thousands of civilians fled their homes.

By 13 December, more than 90% of the city had fallen to the government. The UN warned up to 100,000 people were trapped in "ever-shrinking" areas of eastern Aleppo, adding that rebels were stopping people from leaving.

Food and fuel in the rebel-held areas were running out, and basic infrastructure and health care facilities had been obliterated - at one point in November, all hospitals in eastern Aleppo were virtually out of action as a result of air strikes.

The UN says hundreds of civilians died, but the government and Russia denied targeting them. Rebel rocket and mortar fire has also killed dozens of people in the government-controlled west.

What does the recapture of east Aleppo mean?

With the rebels defeated in Aleppo, the government retook full control of the neighbourhoods they held, which means it once again holds the country's four largest cities.

President Assad may hope that the gains made in Aleppo will snowball into something more and help bring the civil war to an end.

But with rebel forces, jihadist groups and Kurds still controlling large parts of the country, there would still be a long way to go.

So there is a possibility that it may become a different type of war - with rebels not trying to hold territory and create their own entity but instead pursuing a hit-and-run insurgency.

Territory control across Syria and Iraq

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It was a key battleground in the war between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels who want to overthrow him. In November, Syrian government forces launched a renewed assault, and rapidly retook almost all of the opposition-held east. By mid-December they had pushed the rebels into just a few neighbourhoods.

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President Donald Trump has issued an executive order for an "impassable physical barrier" to be built along the US border with Mexico.

He also signed an action to strip funds from US cities that are sanctuaries for undocumented immigrants.

Mr Trump said in a TV interview with ABC News that Mexico would "absolutely, 100%" reimburse the US for his wall.

But Congress would have to approve funding for the structure, which is estimated to cost billions of dollars.

Building a 2,000-mile barrier along the Mexican border was one of Mr Trump's key pledges in the election campaign.

What did Trump say?

He spoke of a "crisis" on the southern US border as he signed the directives during a ceremony at the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday.

The orders also called for hiring 10,000 immigration officials to help boost border patrol efforts.

"A nation without borders is not a nation," he said. "Beginning today the United States gets back control of its borders."

Mr Trump said relations with Mexico - whose President Enrique Pena Nieto he is scheduled to meet at the end of the month - would get "better".

A ban on some Muslim-majority countries

The executive orders are among a flurry expected on national and border security this week.

Mr Trump is next expected to announce immigration restrictions from seven African and Middle Eastern countries.

An eight-page document that appears to be a draft executive order has been obtained by various US media and the BBC.

It suggests Mr Trump will suspend the Syrian refugee programme indefinitely and the wider refugee programme for four months.

The president also plans to suspend issuing visas from unnamed countries deemed to pose a threat to the security of the US.

Immigration lawyers have told the BBC they believe those countries are Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen.

But the White House has refused to comment on the document, and it may be revised before being signed.

Mr Trump backed off an early campaign pledge to ban all Muslims from entering the US.

What are sanctuary cities?

The term applies to cities in the US that have policies in place to limit the assistance given to federal immigration authorities.

It got traction in the 1980s after Los Angeles told its police force to stop questioning people solely to determine their immigration status in 1979.

And in 1989, San Francisco passed an order that prohibited the use of city funds to enforce federal immigration laws.

Now there are hundreds of these areas - they are not always cities - and they include San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Austin and Boston

Trump's order to block federal grants could cost these cities millions of dollars. But the administration may face legal challenges, given that some federal courts have backed cities that say they cannot hold immigrants beyond their jail term at the say-so of federal authorities.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump was joined by parents whose children, he said, had been "horribly killed by individuals living here illegally".

He read out their names and invited the parents to stand.

"For years the media has largely ignored the stories of Americans and lawful residents victimised by open borders," he added.

'Mexico is going to pay for wall'

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Trump told ABC News he would recoup costs of the wall from Mexico.

"There will be a payment. It will be in a form, perhaps a complicated form," he said.

Mr Trump has previously estimated the wall would cost $8bn (£6.4bn), but critics have said it could be nearly double that sum.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Trump also promised a "major investigation into voter fraud".

He tweeted that the inquiry would focus on those registered to vote in two states and dead registered voters.

This week he claimed that between three and five million illegal immigrants had voted for Hillary Clinton, but offered no evidence.

Mexicans see wall as racist - Will Grant, BBC News, Mexico City

Mexicans might disagree about a lot - especially on the political and economic direction of the country.

But if there is one thing around which almost all of Mexico can coalesce, it is their profound opposition to the US border wall.

From the Mexican side of the border, it is seen as a policy which is intended to break up families and prevent ordinary people from looking for seasonal work in the north - the kinds of jobs, they note, which prop up the US economy.

Others go further, and consider the entire border wall to be a racist and xenophobic policy.

Either way, Mexicans from the president's office to the factory floor agree that the country will not pay for a wall they don't want and didn't call for.

They say they won't finance the project either at the time of building or in the future.

That's not to say some Mexicans aren't in favour of changes to immigration.

Many are aware of the risks that their countrymen take by crossing illegally into the US, especially through dangerous border regions such as the Arizona desert.

Rather than a wall with their neighbour to the north though, they want to see comprehensive immigration reform including guest worker programmes and temporary work visas.

The view from the border - James Cook, BBC News, San Diego

President Trump's Great Wall faces formidable legal, diplomatic and logistical obstacles.

Even some border patrol agents say privately that they are not sure that the project is possible.

They do, however, welcome planned increases in resources and staffing.

But here in San Diego on the southern border of the United States, there is much fear in the shadows.

President Trump's action on immigration is bold, sweeping - and intensely divisive.

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President Donald Trump has issued an executive order for an "impassable physical barrier" to be built along the US border with Mexico. He also signed an action to strip funds from US cities that are sanctuaries for undocumented immigrants. Mr Trump said in a TV interview with ABC News that Mexico would "absolutely, 100%" reimburse the US for his wall.

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Donald Trump Has His First Meeting With the CIA SUBSCRIBE to ABC NEWS: https://www.youtube.com/ABCNews/ Watch More on http://abcnews.go.com/ LIKE ABC News on FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/abcnews FOLLOW ABC News on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/abc GOOD MORNING AMERICA'S HOMEPAGE: https://gma.yahoo.com/

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"From this day forward, it's going to be only America first, America first," President Trump declared in a forceful 16-minute Inaugural Address.

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Donald Trump has signed an executive order to ban federal money going to international groups which perform or provide information on abortions.

The US president's order shows he "wants to stand up for all Americans, including the unborn," his press secretary Sean Spicer said.

The executive order - known as "the Mexico City Policy" - is likely to concern pro-choice groups, already wary of his anti-abortion stance.

Mr Trump supports a US abortion ban.

But this is not the first time a foreign funding ban has been put in place. Republican President Ronald Reagan first created the Mexico City Policy in 1984 introducing the ban, only for the Democrats to later rescind it under the Clinton administration.

The policy requires non-governmental organisations receiving federal funding to agree to "neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations".

For decades, it has been the case that no US money can be spent on overseas abortions but the Mexico City policy takes that a step further.

In 2009, Barack Obama ended the policy, which had been reinstated under President George Bush's tenure.

Pro-choice groups have criticised the move by Mr Trump.

"It's telling that one of Trump's first executive actions combines two of his favourite things: silencing anyone who disagrees with him and repressing women," a statement from advocacy group Naral Pro-Choice America.

"Just two days after the historic Women's March and one day after the anniversary of the historic decision in Roe v. Wade, Donald Trump's misguided priority is to reinstate... a policy that silences health workers at the expense of their patients."

On the campaign trail, the formerly pro-choice Republican told MSNBC "there has to be some sort of punishment for the woman" if abortion was banned. He later retracted the statement amid a widespread outcry.

His campaign said Mr Trump believed decisions on the legality of the procedure should be left up to individual states, with any criminal penalties being reserved for abortion providers.

He has said he supports an abortion ban exception for "rape, incest and the life of the mother".

Mr Trump has also promised to fill a Supreme Court vacancy with a socially conservative judge.

Meanwhile, Congress has signalled its intention to withdraw federal funding from Planned Parenthood, a group that provides reproductive health services in the US and overseas.

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Donald Trump has signed an executive order to ban federal money going to international groups which perform or provide information on abortions. The US president's order shows he "wants to stand up for all Americans, including the unborn," his press secretary Sean Spicer said.

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China has asserted its "indisputable sovereignty" over parts of the South China Sea after the Trump administration vowed to prevent China from taking territory in the region.

The Chinese foreign ministry said Beijing would "remain firm to defend its rights in the region".

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday the US would "make sure we protect our interests there".

Barack Obama's administration refused to take sides in the dispute.

It did, however, send B-52 bombers and a naval destroyer last year, and the then US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke out over what he called "an increase of militarisation from one kind or another" in the region.

Several nations claim territory in the resource-rich South China Sea, which is also an important shipping route.
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The new US president has taken a tough stance against China, and Mr Spicer told reporters "the US is going to make sure we protect our interests" in the South China Sea.

"If those islands are, in fact, in international waters and not part of China proper, yeah, we'll make sure we defend international interests from being taken over by another country," he said, without giving further details.

The Chinese government responded by saying that the US was "not a party to the South China Sea issue".

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said China was "committed to peaceful negotiations with all countries concerned" in the dispute, and said it "respects the principles of freedom of navigation and over-flight in international waters".

But, she went on: "Our position is clear. Our actions have been lawful."

'Devastating confrontation'

Mr Spicer's comments echo those of Donald Trump's new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

During his nomination hearing, Mr Tillerson said the US should block access to islands being built by China in the South China Sea, likening it to Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

"We're going to have to send China a clear signal that first, the island-building stops and second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed," he told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Chinese state media responded by warning that such actions would lead to a "devastating confrontation".

What is the South China Sea dispute?

Rival countries have wrangled over territory in the South China Sea for centuries, but tension has steadily increased in recent years.

Its islets and waters are claimed in part or in whole by Taiwan, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

Beijing has been building artificial islands on reefs and carrying out naval patrols in waters also claimed by these other nations.

Although the Obama administration insisted it was neutral, it spoke out strongly against the island-building and sought to build ties with, and among, the South East Asian nations whose claims overlap those of China.

In July an international tribunal ruled against Chinese claims, backing a case brought by the Philippines, but Beijing said it would not respect the verdict.

The frictions have sparked concern that the area is becoming a flashpoint with global consequences.

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China has asserted its "indisputable sovereignty" over parts of the South China Sea after the Trump administration vowed to prevent China from taking territory in the region. The Chinese foreign ministry said Beijing would "remain firm to defend its rights in the region".

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Worrying for Free Press?

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White House: 'We can disagree with the facts'

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Donald Trump's press secretary tells reporters he will be honest with the American people, after a row over attendance figures for the president's inauguration.