hello you're watching bbc world news. i'm ben bland. our top story this hour: over 50 people remain in hospital in st petersburg following the explosion on an underground train. eleven people died in the blast which prosecutors are treating as a terrorist act. president putin has declared three days of mourning. welcome to the programme. our other main stories this hour: colombians bury their dead, following the mudslide that killed over 250 people — a national emergency is declared. hundreds are still missing. and china's baby boom, driven partly by older mothers — we have a special report. i'm sally bundock. in business: a passage to india. uk chancellor philip hammond goes on a mission to drum up trade from one of the world's fastest growing economies. stuck in a holding pattern — a top airline boss warns brexit could cause chaos in the skies

with flights between the uk and europe suspended once britain leaves the eu. people in russia are beginning three days of mourning, after 11 people were killed in what authorities believe was a bomb attack on the metro in st petersburg. the explosion happened in a train carriage between two stations. police later found and defused a device at another station. sarah corker reports. in brushes second city, —— rush —— russia. president putin was in saint petersburg at the time of the attack. he paid his respects to those killed and injured. from

underground, images have emerged of the mangled metro train. doors blown out, passengers trying to escape the wreck, bodies lying on the platform. local media reporting the suspect is a man in his 20s from central asia but iraq conflicting reports as to whether he was a suicide bomber. -- there are. translation: we will do all we can to find out what happened. at a nearby station, a second explosive device was found and defused. security has been tightened across the country for the top officials say it was an act of terror. at this makeshift memorial, russians remained defiant and united. translation: i am certain we will not be divided. at this precise

moment, all people of all faiths, religion, political borders, remain united in grief. in recent years there have been ray—ray takes. in there have been ray—ray takes. in the thousand nine suicide bomb killed 27 people on the high—speed train travelling from saint petersburg to moscow. a year later to female suicide bombers and take the subway. at least 38 people died. another attack at an airport killed 37 people in 2011. chechen separatist leaders claimed responsibility. in 2013 another attack weeks before the winter olympics. in islamic state has been an range like its involvement in syria. once again, ordinary russians

are syria. once again, ordinary russians a re left syria. once again, ordinary russians are left asking how and why they loved ones were killed. there's more on the attack in st petersburg on our website, including analysis of who might be behind the blast, a breakdown of events as they happened and the latest pictures from the scene after the mudslide in colombia which killed more than 250 people, there is now concern that disease could spread in the area. authorities are trying to bury bodies as quickly as possible, and the president says emergency water treatment plants will be set up. the president has declared an economic, social and ecological emergency. laura bicker has more from the city of mocoa. we have had the first of the funerals, assignment there behind the coffins were they carried flowers. as we were coming here is

the town, there was a huge queue outside the cemetery. they have the tough task of trying to identify their loved ones. the search and rescue teams have been working tirelessly to try to find anyone who may be left in the mud, but for days many of them have been tearing at the mud with their hands. it's now a co—ordinated effort but, with each hour that goes by, i'm sorry to say, the chances of finding anyone alive diminishes. this is one of the worst natural disasters colombia has seen, and it's an area very well used to disasters. the mountain you can hopefully see behind me, there are five rivers coming together and they have an unprecedented amount of rainfall. president santos is visiting here. his third day in a row. he is trying to talk to people here who are coming to terms with death, who now need to prepare themselves for the prospect of disease. they are handing out sanitation kits to try to prevent the spread of disease.

as you drive into the town the smell is horribly overpowering. so, as you can imagine, this is a town trying to come to terms with death, and now has a more difficult prospect as they try to bury their loved ones and come to terms with their loss. for the latest from laura in colombia you can follow her on social media. she's been posting pictures from the site of the landslide — you can see how much damage has been done. she's on twitter @bbclbicker. in other news: iraqi forces say they've opened safe corridors in western mosul for civilians to flee the battle to drive is out of the city. some four—hundred—thousand civilians are estimated to remain in the western half of mosul. there's been growing concern over heavy civilian casualties during the government offensive backed by airstrikes from the us—led coalition. president trump's son—in—law,jared kushner, has met the iraqi prime

minister in baghdad. the us delegation receieved first—hand assessment of the battle against islamic state — their talks also focused on helping civilians who have had to flee because of the fighting. after violent protests in paraguay politicians say they'll delay a vote on a measure which would allow the president to stand for a second term in office. the protests on friday saw the congress building set alight and one demonstrator killed. and sally is here with all the business news. a bit ofa a bit of a trade mission? lots of trade missions going on. theresa may in the middle east and philip hammond in india. we start in india where the uk finance minister is leading a trade delegation. it's a two—day visit where philip hammond will stress "britain is open for business" and looking for new trade deals as the uk negotiates its way out of the european union. and let's talk you

through the relationship. in 2014 the value of all the goods and services sold between india and the united kingdom was about $24 billion. and it works in india's favour they export a lot more goods to the uk than the other way around — their top exports are clothing, footwear and medical items. but the uk is only the 18th biggest market for india's exports. and india only comes 17th on the uk's list of export destinations despite having the world's second biggest population, india is looking to raise more than 1 trillion dollars for infrastructure over the next decade and the uk hopes it can benefit from that given it's position as the world's top financial services exporter. in return india will be looking for greater freedom of movement for it's citizens who want to work and study in the uk. our correspondentjustin rowlatt

is in delhi for us. talking through the relationship between the uk and india, a long history. what deals will be done if any and four philip hammond, i guess he's tried to lay the foundations of future deals? this is about building along term relationship with india. it was the first place to go after triggering article 50 and it symbolises how important india is after britain leads the eu. britain's vast financial services sector is an ideal place for growth in indian manufacturing's sector.

they can help you, partner businesses but also find the funding behind there is longer term goal to establish some kind of trade deal with india. they will be meeting the indian finance minister and the beginning of negotiations will be on the card. britain cannot formally negotiate until finally leaving the eu that it is establishing relationships with countries outside of the european union. we will talk to him again later. there are currently around 12,000 eu regulations in force across the union and they cover everything from banking and the chemicals industry, to agriculture and the airline industry. in wbr our transport corresponded richard westcott will talk us through some of the pitfalls that brexit could create for the business of aviation. one airline ceo even predicts it

could mean a temporary suspension of all flight between the uk and the continent. don't miss that. i will have all the other business stories. south africa downgraded its credit rating. president donald trump has given his strong support to the egyptian president abdel fattah al—sisi. mr al sisi is the first egyptian president to visit the white house in nearly a decade after a difficult diplomatic relationship with the previous obama government. as they met in washington, mr trump said his administration would work with cairo to fight islamist militants. andy beatt reports. after years of being kept at arm's length by washington, this meeting at the white house symbolises the egyptian leader coming in from the cold. president trump moved to reset relations with egypt after strained ties under the obama administration.

we agree on so many things, i just want to let everybody know, in case there was any doubt, that we are very much behind president el—sisi. he has done a fantasticjob in a very difficult situation. the two presidents vowed to work together to fight islamic militants. translation: since we met last september, i have had the deep appreciation and admiration of your unique personality, especially as you are standing very strong in the counter—terrorism field, to counter the evil ideology that's claiming innocent lives. outside the white house there were competing demonstrations. supporters of mr sisi and those protesting against his violent crackdown on dissent. human rights watch says tens of thousands of people have been arrested in a purge of political opponents since 2013.

president obama temporarily froze military aid to egypt. it was later reinstated. chanting: we want democracy! in cairo, the concern for normal egyptians is soaring food prices — some have gone up by 40% in th elast year, as egypt as stopped pegging its currency to the us dollar, forcing up inflation. translation: yes, one day we eat and one day we don't. everybody is sick of it. i wish they would feed us. meanwhile, back in the us, mr sisi is believed to want an increase in the $1.3 billion a year his country gets in us military aid, as it fights so—called islamic state. egypt is one of washington's closest allies in the middle east. president trump has signed a law

which will allow internet service democrats have threatened to use a filibuster to block the nomination of neil gorsuch. but only a simple majority would be needed if the rules are changed. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the conflict in yemen has claimed more than 10,000 lives — we speak to a senior saudi general who defends his country's actions against the houthi rebels. to ban smoking in the workplace.

from today, anyone lighting up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel, where he had been addressing a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many parisians wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's birthday is being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. this is bbc world news. i'm ben bland. the latest headlines: president putin has laid flowers near the scene of the st petersburg metro blast which killed 11 people. the authorities say

it was a terrorist attack. families are beginning to bury their dead, but hundreds of people in colombia are still missing. authorities have declared a national emergency following the devastating mudslides. a senior saudi general has defended his country's actions in the brutal conflict in yemen. major—general ahmed al—asiri told the bbc that lessons had been learned, where civilian casualties had been inflicted. the fighting in yemen has claimed more than 10,000 lives and displaced more than 3 million people. in march 2015 a saudi—led coalition, supported by the us and the uk, intervened against houthi rebels who were backed by iran. the prolonged fighting has led to a humanitarian crisis. the saudi general was speaking to our correspondent nawal al maghafi, who's travelled widely in yemen during the war. she sent this report. these are the faces of yemen's starving children. an aerial and naval blockade imposed

by the saudi coalition and houthi rebels rebels slowing down the distribution of aid has meant the hungry here have seen no relief. the city of hodeidah is home to yemen's busiest port. with all five cranes destroyed, food is trickling in. new cranes for the port have been blocked. leading the government campaign in yemen is this general brigadier. we want to know why cranes that could be providing life—saving aid and fuel for the yemeni people have been sent back. we do not want to continue to enhance the capabilities of the houthis to generate money by smuggling women. even at the expense of starving the yemeni people? no, no, there is no starvation in aden, in the area controlled by the government. you should have, and the other international community, should have interest to see this war end. if we continue to sustain the militias with fuel and money

and the women, they will not stop, they will not come to the table for negotiation. the saudi—led coalition has been accused by human rights groups of using cluster bombs in civilian areas. this violates international law. in 2010, the uk signed a treaty to stop the use of its cluster munitions. until recently, the saudi government had repeatedly denied using cluster bombs at all. i want to know why it took so long to tell the truth about the use of cluster munitions in yemen? let me tell you something. is it a chemical weapon? no, it isn't. it has military capabilities used by all the air forces in the world, manufactured by different countries. it doesn't mean that because the uk decide to stop using or producing that all the countries in the world will stop it. it is banned to use cluster munitions in civilian areas. no, no... it is banned by international law.

you are giving the wrong information. you are allowed to use cluster bombs on farmland? no... are you allowed to use cluster munitions in populated areas in the city? there is no military use of it in the capital. you did use it. it was documented by amnesty international. no, this is not true. since the war in yemen began, the uk has sold over £3 billion worth of arms to saudi arabia. pressure on the british government is building and human rights groups are calling for the transfer of weapons to be suspended. when people say "arming the saudis," no, we signed a contract country to country. we purchased, we paid money. it goes in the uk economy and we enhance our military capability. the perception that people have that the uk gives us free weapons, no.

if the uk decides tomorrow to stop selling weapons to the kingdom, we will find another supplier. two years into this war, neither side has made concessions. for the people of yemen, the suffering continues. football now, and the sunderland manager david moyes says he "deeply regrets" telling a bbc reporter she might "get a slap." the comments came after the bottom club drew with burnley on the 18th of march. with more, here's our sports news correspondent richard conway. it was a routine post match question and answer, following sunderland's draw against burnley. and the owner, ellis short, was here today. does it put any extra pressure on you as a manager, when you know the owner's in the stands, watching on? no, none at all. that's brilliant, thank you very much. but then came this... just getting a wee bit naughty at the end there, so just watch yourself.

you still might get a slap, even though you're a woman. careful the next time you come in. today, david moyes apologised, having already said sorry to the bbc‘s reporter vicki sparkes, who did not make a complaint and did not want to speak further about the incident. it was in the heat of the moment, and i deeply regret the comments i made. it's certainly not the person who i am, and i accept it was a mistake. david moyes had hoped his apology would mark the end of this matter, but the fa here at wembley say they are going to write to him to ask for his observations, and it comes amidst calls for action to be taken. someone has to step in and take some action. i'd like to think it was the fa. the shadow sports minister, dr rosena allin—khan, labelled the comments as disgraceful. bottom of the table, sunderland's season has been defined by failure; an fa inquiry into their manager is, then, an unwanted distraction, as they try to avoid the drop. richard conway, bbc news, wembley. the best ice hockey players in the world will be missing

from the 2018 winter olympics in south korea after the national hockey league said it will not allow players to go to the games. the nhl is unhappy about having to shut down for almost three weeks during their regular season, while players compete in the olympics. players in the nhl have participated in every winter olympics since 1998. it's been just over a year since china abandoned its controversial one—child policy because of concerns about its increasingly elderly population and the decline in numbers of those of working age. it appears to be having the desired effect, with nearly 18 million births last year. that's an increase of nearly 8% on 2015 — the last year before the policy changed. and nearly half of those births were to mothers who already have at least one child. as our china editor carrie gracie reports, there has been a notable rush of older mothers who had stored their embryos after fertility treatment and are now keen to have bigger families.

heartbeat of an imminent arrival, a last ultrasound scan for a 48—year—old mother—to—be. she had herfirst child through fertility treatment — 16 years ago. the hospital kept her frozen embryos, and now that china's one child policy has become a two child policy, she's about to have her second miracle baby. more good news — it's a boy. she tells me she's thrilled. she's got a daughter already and would be happy with another, but the in—laws want a grandson. a two child family is still a great novelty here, so a big fuss at the clinic for a special visitor. especially as this miracle

was conceived here in a petri—dish, and frozen as an embryo for years, until china's policy changed and she could become somebody‘s little sister. translation: as soon as i heard about the policy change, i was terribly excited. i ran to the hospital immediately. my second child had been frozen there for too long. i couldn't wait to take her home. not everyone is so lucky. this lady is desperate to have a second child, but there are questions over whether her embryos are viable. translation: i only have three embryos left and the doctor says one is good, one is average and one is poor, but i'm staying optimistic. i hope heaven will give me this gift. blessings born from frozen embryos.

many of them second children, after last year's policy change. older mothers with fertility problems are now suddenly at an advantage, because they have frozen embryos to fall back on, where other older women don't. back home and getting ready for the new arrival. baby clothes from the first time round, 16 years ago. hospital bag ready for the birth, and she's already decided if the two child policy becomes a three child policy, she'll go for a third. carrie gracie, bbc news, guangzhou. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @benmbland. coming up injust a couple of minutes, sally has all the latest business news in

world business report. morning. we've got some rain working its way in from the west but, before we take a look at that, let's look back at some of the highlights of monday. yes, it's a wet glow behind me, but it doesn't tell the whole story. the warmest place yesterday was cambridge show, with lots of lushai and sunshine. # sky. a great atmospheric shot from argyll and bute as the rain clouds gathered. the rain pushed eastwards and will continue to do so over the next few hours. towards dawn it will be sitting in the south—east corner. behind it, some clearer skies, a fresher start to the day across scotland and northern ireland. more cloud, though, into the south—west. and for wales, the odd spot or two of rain still at 8am. the bulk of the rain probably sitting across the south coast up into oxfordshire, east anglia and the south—east corner. but even then it will be fairly light and well fragmented. further north, we keep a lot of cloud, some early—morning mist and murk perhaps.

some decent spells of sunshine, though, for northern ireland and scotland. a bit more of a breeze to the north and west, and that could continue to drift in on one or two showers through the northern and western isles. and the wind willjust take the edge off things, i suspect, particularly on exposed coasts. but the sunshine will continue to break through across north—west england, wales and the south—west by the end of the day. perhaps just the midlands and eastern england which will stay pretty cloudy. and, again, still with the odd spot or two of rain. and temperatures a little subdued into the south—east. highs of around 15 degrees. elsewhere, 8 to 12 as a daytime maximum. high pressure stays with us through the middle of the week. weather fronts toppling over the top of that high, and it will continue to stay quite windy in scotland. on wednesday the isobars squeezed together and the wind comes from a north—easterly direction. that means a cooler sauce and a strengthening wind, possibly gales also be gales

in the northern isles. that will make it feel rather chilly. there will be a good deal of dry weather and sunshine in the mornings. a bit of cloud in the afternoon and the risk of showers in the far north and west. that theme is set to continue thursday into friday. always a stronger breeze in the far north, but there will be decent spells of sunshine from time to time, clouding over a little into the afternoon. this is bbc world news. the headlines: president putin has declared three days of mourning and laid flowers near the scene of the st petersburg metro blast — which killed 11 people and injured more than a0. investigators believe it was a terrorist act. a second device was found and defused at a second station. in colombia, funerals have been held for victims of the mudslide which killed at least 250 people. residents are still without water and electricity. officials are handing out sanitation kits and warning of the risk of disease. president trump has extended a warm welcome at the white house to egypt's leader, and declared

a "reboot" in relations. abdel fattah al—sisi is the first egyptian president to visit the white house in nearly a decade. iraqi forces say they've opened safe corridors in western mosul