this is bbc news. the headlines at four. an alleged chemical attack in syria kills 58 people and injures more than 60; most of the dead are civilians, including children. russia says the attack on the st petersburg underground train which killed 1a people, was carried out by a suicide bomber from kyrgyzstan. the prime minister says the government is preparing for ‘all scenarios‘ in its brexit negotiations as a commons committee warns of the risk of not striking a deal. i'm confident we can get a good deal with the european union. i'm confident not just with the european union. i'm confident notjust because that would be good for us, but it would be good for them. in the next hour, held captive for eight years in a squalid room without carpet, a light bulb, bedclothes or curtains. a man who subjected a disabled woman to horrific sexual assaults while holding her as a virtual prisoner is given a 15—year jail sentence. sick people, just really sick people. i don't know how anybody,

anybody can do something like that toa anybody can do something like that to a mentally disabled woman. six more people have been charged over an attack on a teenage asylum seeker in croydon in south london, which left him critically ill. and, a storm in an egg cup? the row between the church, the national trust and cadbury about the omission of the word easter from their egg hunts. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. 58 people have been killed in a suspected chemical attack in the rebel—held province of idlib in northern syria. emergency services, who arrived in the area shortly after a series of strikes, said they found people choking in the street. the syrian government has

denied using chemical weapons. the dead are mostly civilians, and include at least 11 children. there's been widespread condemnation and within the last few minutes, united war crime investigators say they are examining the attack and reports of a subsequent strike on a hospital treating the wounded. our correspondent ben james reports from beirut. this is some of the footage opposition activists posted online after the attack on the town of khan sheikhoun. medical sources told the monitoring group, the syrian observatory of human rights, that the symptoms — the difficulty breathing, the foaming at the mouth — were consistent with a gas attack. witnesses talk about people choking and fainting after the early morning air strike. other pictures, too graphic to broadcast, show what appear to be the seminaked bodies of the dead, many of them children. some reports describe people taking victims‘ clothes off and hosing them

with water to try to help them. translation: the symptoms that we witnessed are different than symptoms of chlorine gas. all the victims who arrived had neural stress and yellow saliva coming out of their mouths, and very soon blood started coming out of their mouths too, which means that their lungs are damaged. this area in the north—west of syria has been under heavy bombardment by pro—government forces. it's controlled by a range of opposition groups, including jihadists linked to al-anda, and free syrian army fighters. there's been no official response from the syrian government to the claim of a gas attack. they've repeatedly denied using such weapons in the past. a political opposition group has called for an un investigation into today's attack. benjames

ben james bbc news benjames bbc news beirut. borisjohnson has boris johnson has been borisjohnson has been giving his react sthoun the suspected gas attack. he was speaking alongside his german counterpart who he's been in talks with this afternoon. if this were proved to have been committed by the assad regime, it would be another reason to think they are an absolutely heinous outfit that is an absolute... it's a war crime. bombing your own civilians with chemical weapons is unquestionably a war crime and they must be held to account. that's why i think we both — there's no difference between us at all — we all adhere to the lyse luges that adheres to the un. it's unbelievable to think that in the long—term bashar assad can play a part in the future of syria given what he's done to his people. we have to find a a

way forward that leads to a transition away from assad as that resolution clearly says. earlier the bbc‘s benjames said it's very difficult to prove what chemical has been used. it's extremely difficult, the notion of proof in this highly complicated conflict in syria is a tricky one because whenever one side says they've proved something, often the other side will deny it. we have seen these pictures that activists have posted on facebook and elsewhere on social media, of children who appear to have difficulty breathing, some foaming at the mouth, others that are too graphic to show on tv, with dead bodies, appearing to be the victims of that attack. it is the political fallout of this, as well, being discussed. a statement from the foreign secretary boris johnson talked of reports of horrific chemical attack. perpetrators must be held to account. emily thornberry calling it shocking and barbaric, that the use of chemical weapons by anyone cannot be tolerated. there have been other

reaction from around the world, including russia, who have said its planes were not involved in an air strike in this area. and the politics around chemical weapons used in syria have been a big part of the conversation around this conflict in the past. you will remember the united states declared chemical weapons use as a red line in 2013. also around the time of the attack in damascus, there was a discussion in parliament, a vote that david cameron's government was defeated in, that did not take place. and later a deal between the us and russia led to a decommissioning of the declared stockpile of syrian chemical weapons. opponents will say there were further chemical weapons that were not declared and maybe some of those were used in today's incident. you mentioned that response from the russian defence minister. any response from the syrian government? is no official response as yet from the syrian

government. one source, unnamed by the reuters news agency, in the syrian has been denied before, the use of chemical weapons in the past or in the present or the future. we will see what the syrian government says officially but that is the word coming via the source to the reuters news agency so far. 14 people are now known to have died in the explosion on a st petersburg underground train. the prime suspect, who's believed to be among the dead, has been named as akbarzhonjalilov, who had russian citizenship but was born in kyrgyzstan. 49 people were injured in the explosion — three days of mourning have begun in russia. they've been bringing flowers here all morning, creating a shrine in the very heart of st petersburg. a whole city suffering,

after a bomb tore through a train deep underground here. "anyone of us could have been in that carriage", this woman says. she believes 6 million people in st petersburg were in danger. these were the panicked scenes right after the blast. passengers in the mangled wreck of a train, struggling to reach safety. those on the platform hunting for survivors, desperate to help, however they could. the train was between stations when the bomb went off. down the line, a man filming on his phone heard the explosion. then came the smoke and a terrible smell. and from someone passing on the other platform, a glimpse of the carnage. the train driver kept going, to make sure rescuers could reach the injured. today, calmly, he told his story. translation: there was a bang and smoke. i contacted the dispatcher and reported the situation. at that moment, incomprehensible messages began to come in on the passenger driver link,

because everyone was speaking in all the carriages. president putin was in st petersburg when the attack happened. last night he visited the scene himself. this is a blow against his hometown. earlier, in muted tones, he'd called this a tragedy, as an official investigation into a terrorist attack was opened. it's now 18 months since russia's president ordered air strikes in syria, with thousands of russian citizens fighting alongside is, this campaign was sold as a way to stop them bringing that war back home. as the investigation into the metro attack continues, russian officials now say there's evidence this could have been the work of a suicide bomber. the security service in kyrgyzstan, in central asia, say a man born there, who has a russian passport, is now a key suspect. the metro station here has been closed again

after another bomb scare. it's the latest of several since the explosion here yesterday. this is clearly a city that is very much on edge, because nothing like this has ever happened here. so, as people here mourn their dead, they wait, too, for answers, on how and why this happened and how safe they are in their city. earlier i asked sarah if the motive for the attack became clearer? no, a clearer picture of who was behind this attack is now emerging. the investigative committee here in russia, that's the chief body responsible for looking into what happened, has just released a statement. they say the identity of the man responsible for the explosion, so a very definitive statement, is the 22—year—old we mentioned. we understand he's from kyrgyzsta n

mentioned. we understand he's from kyrgyzstan in central asia. they also say there is dna evidence on a bag which was left at another train station, a metro station here on the same day as the explosion. that bag contained a second explosion it device, the dna links the same man to this device. police are saying this one man was behind an attempted attack ant the explosion that went off in the third carriage of that train yesterday on the line just beneath where we are now here in central st petersburg. the motives, as you asked, are unclear at this point. but it does appear from the forensic evidence that this was a suicide attack that was carried out on the mote row. severalthousand fighters from central asia have gone to fight with islamic terrorists in syria and iraq haven't they? from central asia and the caucasus too. there are a number of people,

russian sit zibs and former soviet citizens too known to be fighting alongside is militants —— citizens. syria has a long history of a problem with islamists and an insurgency. central asia has been the source of fighters going to fight alongside islam —— islamic state. potentially we don't know if this man was inspired by that ideaology. we don't know about that yet. there is a known insurgency and it was the reason that president putin gave for beginning his air strikes in syria 18 months ago. he said there was a terrorist threat from central asia and the north caucasus, people going to fight and potentially bringing the fight back here. he hoped he'd been coin that threat and keep it from russia's

shores. this suggests that ponetially the opposite's happened. world leaders have rallied behind russia, three days of national mourning and all eyes now on president putin to see how he responds? interestingly, so far, his response has been fairly muted. don't forget this is a man who has a history of a very strong line on terror. he came to power promising to wipe out terrorism in this country during the second chechen war. he's always made very strong state m e nts war. he's always made very strong statements about the fight against terrorism and the need for international cooperation in that fight. so far he's simply referred to what's happened here in st petersburg as a tragedy. this was very soon after the explosion itself happened. so we would expect some further comment from him now as the full picture begins to emerge. the prime minister has insisted it is in both the uk and the eu's

interest to strike a deal on brexit. theresa may, who is in saudi arabia, was responding to a report from mps that challenged the government's claim that "no deal is better than a bad deal". the parliamentary committee for exiting the eu says parliament should be consulted before ministers walk away without a deal. six pro—brexit mps on the committee voted against the report — saying it was too gloomy. the charm offensive is on. theresa may is in the middle east, on a mission to foster new partners, and new trade partnerships, in a post—brexit world. here injordan, next stop — saudi arabia. i want to see a truly global britain that is really outward looking. a good trade deal with the eu but, yes, good trade deals around the world. but our relationships around the world aren't just about trade, they are about ensuring that we can maintain our security and support the security of areas like the gulf region. but as britain looks to make new deals further afield, closer to home questions over what would happen if the uk and eu failed to reach a brext trading agreement. do you think that leaving with no deal...?

backbench mps have released a report warning of the risks, and called on the government to work out how much "no deal" would cost. without the government setting out what mitigating steps it would put in place, the assertion that no deal is better than a bad deal is, in the words of the report, "unsubstantiated". select committees are meant to hold the government to account. they are made up of mps from across the political spectrum. in the case of the brexit committee, they are also made up of pro—leave and pro—remain mps. this report didn't have the full support of all its members, some of whom said it was too pessimistic about brexit. and critics say a committee report without the full backing of its members, lacks full credibility. it was far too obsessively focused on one side, which is the risks, and the downsides of leaving the eu, with scant real attention to the upsides and the opportunities. and actually, what we should be doing, i believe, is both.

the prime minister insisted that every scenario in the brexit negotiations was being considered, but that a good dealfor the uk would benefit the eu too. in the meantime she's looking beyond europe. this afternoon, arriving in saudi arabia, the pm shrugged off criticisms about human rights concerns and insisted engagement with the country was in the national interest. ellie price, bbc news, westminster. 58 people including children have been killed in a suspected gas attack in idlib. russian investigators confirm the man who carried out the st petersburg metro attack was a suicide bomberfrom petersburg metro attack was a suicide bomber from kyrgyzstan. petersburg metro attack was a suicide bomberfrom kyrgyzstan. the number of people who died has risen to 14. number of people who died has risen to 1a. detectives investigating the attack on a young asylum seeker in south london on friday have charged a further six people including a

15—year—old boy, bringing the number charged to 13. in sport, sunderland say david moyes still has their full support despite the incident last month in which he threatened to slap a bbc reporter. they accept that it was wholly unacceptable and say they acted swiftly and decisively to resolve the situation. the republic of ireland women's team have threatened to strike after saying that they've been treated like fifth class citizens. top ice hockey players look likely to win the national hockey league in america say it won't release players for being short sighted. a full update in the next 15 minutes. ken livingstone's future in the labour party will be decided this afternoon. the former london mayor will find out whether he faces disciplinary action over over his controversial claim that hitler supported zionism in the 1930s. a hearing into his conduct

resumed a short while ago. ken livingstone spoke to reporters on the way to the hearing. i haven't caused offence. many people stopped me, manyjewish saying, i know my history. the people are offended at the people they believe the lies they saw in they believe the lies they saw in the media. to suggest that man who loathed and feared jews, this wasn't the first stage of dementia. ken livingstone spoke to reporters on his way to the hearing. our political correspondent mark lobel is outside the hearing in central london. we are finding out ken livingstone's fate now. ken livingstone's suggesting to reporters that he might be expelled from the party.

that is but gear—12.2? anything_ 'f,::’if’:;fif use}? anything. he tiff??? g anything. he doesn'tfi not sorry for anything. he doesn't think he's done anything wrong. i spoke to the chair of thejewish labour market and in contrast to what you heard ken livingstone saying just then, jeremy was saying that he thought that there was pain, anguish and hurt caused by ken livingstone's remarks of a year ago and also that he called it a form of holocaust revisionism. what about the sanctions that he could face? well, quite simply, he could be thrown out of the party for the comments he made last year. the reason being, the thought is that those comments and the row that has been created as a result of them have really brought the labour party into disrepute. a point that ken livingstone seems to acknowledge today by suggesting that he may comment if he gets expelled today but might then leave any further reaction until after the local elections. one of the allegations is that the comments he said in

defending has shah for the comments he posted on facebook that were alleged to be anti—semitic, for dead fending her and also suggesting — which is the key point — that hitler supported the movement for a jewish nation. by making those comments, it's thought that he's offended so many people that it's better to have somebody like him who is unprepared to stop making the comments when asked as a politician separated from the labour party. detectives investigating the attack on a young asylum seeker in south london on friday have charged a further 6 people in connection with the assault, including a 15 year old boy. our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds is following the case from croydon magistrates court. just to remind you, this relates to an incident on friday night, when three young asylum seekers were heading to a bus stop in a suburb of croydon. they came into contact with a large group of people at a pub nearby,

between 20—30 and there was a confrontation, and the result of that was that a 17—year—old young asylum seeker was kicked and beaten and given quite serious head and spinal injuries. as you say, 16 people arrested, we now have eight further charges today here at croydon magistrates' court. those charged are processed by the court, bail terms considered and discussed. they have all been charged with violent disorder, and that involves the threat of violence on the part of three or more people in a crowd, and some of them, three of them, are charged with aggravated racial offences of grievous bodily harm. to give you the names of those charged today, kyran evans, who's 23, liam neylen, 19, ben harman, 20, ellie leite,19, and james neves, 22. three people who are children and we can't name for legal reasons. they are all going to appear at croydon crown court on the 2nd of next month,

and as i say there is quite a lot of processing of the legal paperwork and the decisions about bail to be done at this court over the course of lunchtime and this afternoon. some breaking news. the death toll from the reported chemical attack in syria in idlib has risen 20100. they are saying that the number of people injured is now at 400, meanwhile the united nations is saying it's investigating possible war crimes in connection with this, the syrian government hasn't said anything officially in response and the russian defence minister has said russian defence minister has said russian planes were not in the air at the time. but this is the latest death toll according to this syrian medical relief group, 100 killed in

that chemical attack and 400 injured. a man who pleaded guilty to raping and indecently assaulting a woman with severe learning disabilities while keeping her captive in his house, has been jailed for 15 years. keith baker's wife, caroline, who was also involved in the years of sexual abuse, was sentenced to three years for a series of related offences. the judge, at craigavon crown court, said it was difficult to see how someone had ‘lost their moral compass' to such an extent. chris buckler reports. for most of a decade, this estate in craigavon housed the secret of serial abuse. inside their home and hidden from sight, keith and caroline baker kept a woman with severe learning difficulties a virtual prisoner — and for eight years, they raped and indecently assaulted her. the vulnerable woman went missing in england in 2004 and was only found here in northern ireland eight years later, and she wasn't keith baker's only victim. he was raping me for 13 years.

and i couldn't tell anybody about it. and it was hurting. mandy highfield lived with the couple and is the mother of some of keith baker's children. she says she didn't know that the bakers were sexually abusing the woman kept captive in their house, but she did eventually contact the police because of the conditions she was being kept in. she was 45, but she was like a 12—year—old. keith took the handle off her door. there was no lightbulb in her light, no carpet on the floor. no curtains up against the window. it was like a little prison. they were sick people, just really sick people. i don't know how anybody, anybody, can do something like that to a mentally disabled woman. when the police found the woman, inside an unlit bedroom

in the house, she weighed just six stone and the court was told that she only had one sound tooth. neighbours say keith baker appeared controlling of his wife, but they never imagined what was going on behind these doors. i just... ijust thought she was in a situation of domestic violence with an abusive husband that didn't let her out, that was controlling. but it was very, very quiet, never heard anything. during their search of the house, which is no longer owned by the bakers, detectives found videos taken by the couple of them abusing the vulnerable woman. the whole case is extremely upsetting, it's horrific and it's depraved and the suffering of this woman over a period of around eight years, can only are imagined. it has been an awful life that this woman has been exposed to, at the hands of baker and his wife. the dark truth of what happened

in this house may now have been exposed, but authorities on both sides of the irish sea face serious questions about how she ended up in the hands of a couple who abused her under the pretence of offering her a home. chris buckler, bbc news, craigavon. working in high temperatures increases the risk of heart attack, according to new research. scientists have been investigating why the most common cause of death for serving firefighters is heart attack or heart disease. our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, reports. experienced firefighter simon mcnally used to train new recruits. it meant several times a day he was exposed to fires of almost 1000 degrees celsius. then one day at work, he had a heart attack. i was kind of in denial at first. you're hoping it's indigestion, or hoping it's something else. you're hoping it's not going to be as sinister as a heart attack. it came as a bit of a shock.

we keep ourselves reasonably fit in the fire service. we have to pass a standard test every year, we have a check up every three years, so it was a bit confusing, to be faced with those signs and symptoms. heart attacks are the leading cause of death for front line firefighters. studies in america have shown almost half of all firefighters who die on duty, are killed by heart problems. the new research carried out by edinburgh university, and published in thejournal‘s circulation, monitored the hearts of 19 healthy firefighters during mock rescues. it found body temperatures rose by1 degrees celsius and remained high for a up to four hours afterwards. blood vessels failed to relax despite medication, and the blood became stickier, carrying a high risk of forming potentially harmful clots. scientists believe the reason was the extreme physical exertion and heat. they say simple measures, such as staying hydrated, and taking breaks to cool down are vital for saving firefighters' lives.

but keith porteous wood, executive director of this easter cadbury is bringing joy to the whole nation. as easter approaches, chocolate eggs are being hidden at national trust properties up hidden at national trust properties up and down the uk. but the name of the event has attracted furious comments from the archbishop of york who is annoyed that the word easter has been dropped from its title. with cadbury‘s great british egg hunt. drjohn sentamu says cadbury's christian faith innorwich unionsed his industrial output. for christians, easter eggs are

symbolic of the resurrection of jesus christ and now the prime minister theresa may, a vic tar‘s daughter, has waded in on the row. it's a very important festival for the christian faith for millions across the world. so i think the national trust is, what it's doing is ridiculous. jeremy corbyn's also weighed in. it's me as well because i don't see how cadbury can take out the name. it's commercialisation gone too far. i'll be buying an easter egg for my grandson. gone too far. i'll be buying an easter egg for my grandsonm gone too far. i'll be buying an easter egg for my grandson. is this a storm in an egg cup? it's a big fuss over nothing because we know it's easter. a bit of both sides. in one way it's a traditional thing. on the other hand it's everyone's entitled to either want to have an easter or not. cadbury point out

that many of their products featuring the word easter prominently. the national trust updated its website to feature the word easter. they say it's nonsense to say the national trust is downplaying the significance of east ever. you have to wonder whatjohn cadbury would have maid of this. as a quaker, he didn't celebrate easter sunday, instead the group says it remembers gee six all year. —— remembers easter all year. let's ta ke let's take a look at the weather forecast and jay wynne has got that forecast and jay wynne has got that for us and looking good. we've got a variety of weather across the uk, starting off in the south—eastern corner. it is grey. fairly extensive cloud and spits and spots of rain and then a slice of sunshine from the south—west of england up through wales and then we run into showers in scotland, mainly in the north and the west and it is really windy, gusting to 60mph or

70mph. with frequent showers elsewhere, it is dry. lighter winds in the south and the west and it will turn chilly here. there maybe a touch of frost for some, but a bright start for many southern counties. cloud amounts will increase from the north, but brighter weather in the south—west and the far north—east as well. most places will be fine and dry. just a shower or two in the north—west and temperatures tomorrow afternoon will be around ten to 13 celsius or 14 celsius. similar sort of day really on thursday. a fairly dry across—the—board. a fair bit of cloud, yes, but some sunshine as well and a breeze in northern areas, but a lot of dry weather to take us on into the middle of the week as well. this is bbc news with annita mcveigh and simon mccoy. the headlines at 4.32pm: a syrian medical relief group is reporting that 100 people have

died in a suspected chemical attack in idlib. the group also says more than 400 people have been injured. russia says the attack on the st petersburg underground train which killed 14 people, was carried out by a suicide bomber from kyrgyzstan. the prime minister says the government is preparing for "all scenarios" in its brexit negotiations as a commons committee warns of the risk of not striking a deal. i'm confident that we can get a good deal with the european union. it won't just be good deal with the european union. it won'tjust be good for us, but good for them as they have acknowledged. held captive for eight years — in a squalid room without carpet or light bulb. a man who subjected a disabled woman to horrific sexual assaults while holding her prisoner is given a 15 yearjail sentence. it's time for the sport. we have a

new presenter there. olly foster. an old presenter! sunderland say they fully support their manager david moyes despite last month's exchange in which he threatened to slap a bbc reporter after disagreeing with her line of questioning in a tv interview. let's get more on this from our sports news correspondent richard conway. sunderland are looking to put this to bed saying they dealt with the matter in an appropriate manner at the time? they say it was wholly unacceptable the exchange between david moyes and vicky sparks and they say the actions aren't condoned in any way, but they say swift action, meant it was dealt worthwhile upmost seriousness from the outset and they've ensured it was resolved to the satisfaction of both vicky sparks and the bbc. they say that was their priority. they

conclude the statement by saying that the appropriate action they believe has been taken and therefore, they continue to back david moyes as their manager. richard, it will be down to the fa to decide whether or not that was appropriate? yes, this isn't the end of the matter as much as sunderland and david moyes wish that was the case. the football association will write to david moyes asking for his observations and for his side of the story effectively. they must then decide if rule breaches have taken place and what, if any, action, they will take. richard conway, thank you. sunderland are at leicester tonight, there's a full programme of fixtures over the next two evenings. liverpool host bournmemouth tomorrow, and jurgen klopp is bracing himself for bad news regarding sadio mane's knee injury. the senagalese international was forced off after scoring the opener in the 3—1win over everton in ther merseyside derby. liverpool's worst run of the season coincided with the last time mane

was absent for a long period, when he was playing at the africa cup of nations injanuary. klopp's team managed just one win in seven matches. we have to wait little bit until the kneeis we have to wait little bit until the knee is not swollen. he won't be available for tomorrow. all the rest we have to see. not very positive let me say it like this, but i can not say. the republic of ireland women's football team have threatened to go on strike saying that they have been treated like fifth class citizens and the dirt on the shoe of the football association of ireland. a group of 12 players wnet public today with their grievances. their game against slovakia on monday is now in doubt. the fai says it's deeply disappointed with the players threat despite repeated offers

to to discuss offers for the payment and compensation of members of the squad. in the past we have been getting changed in the public toilets in airports on the way to matches, being given our kit and having to open our personal bags and put our kit in and we have met the girls en route to london and four or five had to go off and get changed in the toilets and en route back as well. so we just toilets and en route back as well. so wejust think toilets and en route back as well. so we just think this just highlights probably the last of disrespect. it is not a lot we are looking for, it is just basics. we will have more on that story in the next hour and i will see you then. olly, thank you very much. police have made a direct appeal to a mother who has disappeared with her two young sons, urging her to contact them urgently and to let them know they are all safe. samantha baldwin from newark in nottinghamshire, was reported missing with her sons eight days ago, and is suspected of abducting dylan madge who is six, and louis madge who is nine.

in the last hour, nottinghamshire police made this appeal. it has been eight days since we have had direct contact with sam. we need to know that she and the boys are safe. the investigation is on—going and will continue until we find the boys. we are following a number lines of inquiry both regionally and nationally and we have a large number of officers directed on this inquiry. sam, we need to speak to you directly. i know that this is very difficult time for you. i cannot imagine what you're going through and what you're thinking at this time. and as a mother of a child of a similar age, i cannot begin to imagine what's happening in your mind. i can only emphasise with you. we desperately need to know that the boys are safe, that they're in good health and where they are. sam, we need you to contact us, but if you can't for whatever reason, please get somebody else to contact us on your behalf. you will have the opportunity to speak to us and the family court and explain the reasons behind what you've done. the boys are away from their home

and their friends and must be unsure about what is happening to them. i'm sure people that you know and that the boys know will be worried and want to hear from you. sam, if you hear this message, please contact us urgently. anyone else out there who knows where sam or the boys are, please contact us. please help us to find sam, dylan and louis. we would be grateful if you share this message as widely as possible and urge the wider public to be as vigilant as possible bearing in mind that the appearances of the three may have changed since you last seen photographs of them. detective superintendent helen chamberlain from nottinghamshire police. a man who held four people hostage during an armed siege injanuary this year has been jailed for four years. alistair gallow targeted the carol bookmakers injarrow, south tyneside. the incident sparked a stand—off with police lasting several hours. fiona trott has been following

the case at newcastle crown court. we were going over those dramatic scenes in january this year with the armed police storming the bookmakers. inside was alistair gallow armed with what appeared to be a sawn—off shotgun and knives around his waist and he was holding four people hostage for several hours. what we didn't know until today was why he did it and what we found out in court was that his marriage had broken down. his mental health had deteriorated as a result. he told friends and his estranged wife, "i'm going to do something stupid." and on one sunday injanuary, he went into that bookmakers. he pulled out this gun from his coat. what we learned in court today, was that it was a replica sawn—off shotgun, but one witness told the police that they thought they were going to die.

we saw cctv pictures of this in court and you could see a member of staff taking a couple of steps back and putting his hands in the arm in surrender. gallow told staff to trigger the panic alarm. he wanted the police there. he apologised to the hostages and he said he messed. and he said he messed up. his wife had left and he lost hisjob. while this was going on, he continued to drink alcohol inside the bookmakers, he was getting increasingly intoxicated and he hold the hostages he would let them go once he got bored and he was pacing around. eventually, armed police arrived. he asked them to shoot him. he sent texts to people saying, "death by cop. it's too late." over a period of three hours, the hostages were released one by one. eventually the police fired a baton round and that's when alistair gallow was arrested. a psychiatric report found him to be suffering from severe alcoholism

and depressive episodes too. he had a personality disorder so the judge took this into account which is why he has been sentenced to four years in prison. the husband of a woman who was murdered on their honeymoon in mauritius has returned to the island for the first time since her death six years ago, and put up a reward for information about her killing. john mcareavey has offered two million mauritian rupees, almost twice the average annual salary. michaela mcareavey was found strangled in her hotel room in january 2011, just 12 days after her wedding. two hotel workers stood trial for murder, but were found not guilty. mark simpson reports from mauritius. back on the island where his wife was murdered. this is a returnjourney most people thought john mcareavey would never make. he first came to mauritius six years ago. it was his honeymoon. but, 12 days after getting married, michaela mcareavey was murdered. time may have passed but his quest

for justice continues. and todayjohn mcareavey announced a reward to help try tp catch his wife's killers. he's offering two million mauritian rupees — that's more than £40,000. if anyone can provide information that will subsequently be used and lead to a successful conviction in court for the people responsible for michaela's murder then they are fully entitled to that reward. john and michaela were a well—known couple back home in northern ireland. herfather, mickey harte, is one of ireland's most successful gaelic football managers. michaela was killed at this hotel. she disturbed intruders who broke into her room. they panicked and killed her. two hotel workers later went on trialfor murder, but both were found not guilty. since then, john mcareavey hasn't spoken about the case,

but this week he has decided not just to speak out, but to act. nothing can ever bring michaela back. that of which we know. but the next best thing is that the people responsible for this heinous crime, a crime which resulted in a 27—year—old woman losing her life on her honeymoon, then that would bring us a lot of satisfaction. the hotel where michaela mcareavey was killed still exists and is still busy. six years on, it has been renamed, but what happened here has not been forgotten in mauritius, especially now thatjohn mcareavey is back on the island. and he says he is prepared to return again and again until justice is done. british scientists say they've

created a sieve capable of removing salt from seawater. it uses a derivative of grapheme, a fine sheet of carbon just one atom thick. the development at the university of manchester has the potential to improve access to clean drinking waterfor millions of people around the world. dr rahul nair from the university of manchester led the team of scientists and joins me now. how does this work? the membrane broke the small molecules. so this is a grapheme membrane. we take many different layers of grapheme and stick them to each other and we use the space between two grapheme sheets so

anything that can fit inside the space goes through it and anything bigger gets blocked. what we created in the lab only let water go through. how does this method compare to other methods of desalnating water then? grapheme a membrane is the most easy to prepare. if you compare this grapheme —based membrane to commercial membrane, the advantage is the material is simple to make. it will be the low—cost and water is unique through grapheme. it tra nslates unique through grapheme. it translates into better efficiency of water filtration through grapheme based membrane. you're saying it is cheaper and simpler to make and more

efficient. talk to us then about the possible application of this, in terms of delivering the need for clea n terms of delivering the need for clean water, to many areas, many parts of the world where they don't have ready supplies at the moment? the first possible application is sea water. but the potential of grapheme —based membrane is not only for sea water because we can control the sieve size from the smallest size to the biggest one. we can remove oil like bigger molecules. so we can use this membrane effectively to make drinkable clean water. i don't know whether you thought about this particular aspect of it, but how will this go, this technology go from the lab to the real world ? technology go from the lab to the real world? that is our next big

challenge. we know we can do the small experiment on the laboratory scale. or next plan is to scale this membrane into large scale and do proper testing and compare it with the existing membrane or commercially available membrane and convince the industry that this membrane has a huge potential to revolutionise this field. this is what we will be doing this a couple of yea rs' what we will be doing this a couple of years' time and we will be looking for many uses like industrial partners to come and work with us on scaling of this membrane for a large scale application. thank you very much. syrian activists say 58 people including children have been killed

in a suspected gas attack in a rebel—held town in the north—western province of idlib. russian investigators confirm that the man who carried out the st petersburg metro attack was a suicide bomberfrom kyrgystan. the number of people who died has risen to fourteen. detectives investigating the attack on a young asylum seeker in south london on friday have charged a further six people including a 15—year—old boy — bringing the number charged to 13. hello. now a look at how the markets in europe have ended the trading session. after a low day yesterday, the london market, the ftse100 has bounced back today. mining companies leading the pack today, and a slide in the value in the pound helped stocks recover. european markets though have lagged behind as investors are on guard about political uncertainty in europe.

there's a key french political debate later today so they'll be paying special attention to that. now here in the uk a tougher housing market is taking its toll on topps tiles. sales in the company fell in the last few months because of a slower home improvement market. topps tiles is often seen as a barometer for consumer sentiment, reflecting the nation's inclination to smarten up their houses, whether they're moving into a new home or wanting to invest in their current nest. shares in the company down today. and clicking their way into profit growth, is online fashion retailer asos increased sales by 38% in the six months to the end of february — thanks to a boost in international sales. a weak pound since the eu referendum result has meant clothes on asos are cheaper to foreign buyers. more than half of us bought a "free from" product during the last three months, according to survey by ka ntar world panel. now younger people are leading a trend towards buying

products without dairy and gluten in particular. uk supermarkets are increasingly stocking aisles with wide ranges of the products, from biscuits to bolognaise. discount retailers aldi and lidl have continued to increase sales by about 15%, whereas tesco, sainsbury‘s and asda saw their sales decline slightly. iceland has also seen a boost to sales. aldi and lidl now account for 11.7% of the uk grocery market. let's get more detailed analysis from the chief market analyst at cnc markets. michael let's start off with the free from product range. we are seeing inflation creep up steadily now. is that going to mean this growth in this area isn't sustainable? no, there is all going to bea sustainable? no, there is all going to be a place for these products because they are what i would call a nearby product and given the fact that the nhs are doing away with prescriptions on these types of

products for coeliacs and what have you, i think you will find that these products will gain in popularity. furthermore, you think what this panel survey has shown us is that ultimately consumers continue to remain cost conscious and the big four are continuing to get squeezed from the top and the bottom by aldi and lidl and waitrose and now there is a new player because iceland is coming to the fray with respect to adding to its frozen food brands and adding normal brands as well. iceland has increased its market share by 9.8%. let's move on to asos. they appear to be going from strength to strength. this month's results showing that international buyers seem to be leading the pack particularly with the lower pound. do you think that's where their

business will be focussing on? do you think that's where their business will be focussing 0mm has been a tough retail environment for all retailer. if you look at h&m and next there has been a lot of doom and gloom with respect to the retail sector and asos has really stood out. share price up over 80% in the last 12 months. it had a dip in the last 12 months. it had a dip in the last 12 months. it had a dip in the last three days, but it does cater to that nearby market of the 20 somethings and the mobile sales make up 70% of their overall reve nu es make up 70% of their overall revenues and with the advent of snapchat and facebook and live and instagram that's where they are making a market and stealing market share the big concern is whether the gains are sustainable. the profits have come in over £27 million. their target is £70 million, i'm not convinced they will hit that, but the declines have been as a result ofa the declines have been as a result of a decease in margins that the markets were agency. michael, we have to leave it there, thank you very much forjoining us.

let's look at markets. the ftse100 in the green. sterling slipped against the euro and the dollar with a nalysts against the euro and the dollar with analysts pointing to brexit noise and an underwhelming set of construction data results. a word on gold, shares are topping the lead are board helped by the price of the yellow stuff which hit a one week high. that's it from me. there is a round—up on our website. we have had reaction from the white house on the chemical attack in idlib. the white house says it cannot be ignored. if you think back to the obama administration, they said a chemical attack would be a

red line in the conflict in syria. as far as the numbers are concerned, anything up to 100 are dead. the health ministerfor the anything up to 100 are dead. the health minister for the national coalition for syrian revolutionary and opposition forces says 60 people have been killed and 300 injured. it isa have been killed and 300 injured. it is a complicated and confusing picture. we will keep you in touch with developments on numbers throughout the evening. one more line from the house saying the heinous actions in syria are a consequence of the obama administration's weakness. that coming also from the white house spokesperson in this reaction to the attack in idlib province. more to come in the news at 5pm. this weekend some extraordinary acts by young people are being celebrated at the rotary young citizen awards in manchester. there are seven winners from across great britain and the republic of ireland, one of whom is a mohamed khalil from leeds. mohamed grew up in syria. he was forced to flee the country with his family when he was ten,

having been shot during an attack on his school. he watched his friends die and had to play dead to survive. having moved to england, mohamed started going to leeds city academy. ian bucknell has been to meet him. mohamed khalil is a 16—year—old growing up in leeds, getting ready for his gcse in food technology. nothing remarkable about that. but how he got here, well, that's another story. mohamed was growing up in syria when his school was attacked. he saw his friends being killed and was himself shot in the leg. to survive, he pretended to be dead until the attackers had gone. i cry when i sleep because i can remember my friends. it's not going from my head. i close the room i sit in. i cry, when i sit in, because every time i think about the bad thing that happened to me. mohamed's family fled

syria and he eventually made a home in leeds. his mum has had surgery for cancer and his dad injured his back at work. so, mohamed looks after them both and helps support the family with money that he makes from working a restaurant. his teachers are astonished at the progress mohammed has made. in school, as at home, he's made it hisjob to help others. his story is what pushes him. his story is what makes him want to change things. seeing the war, at such a young age, he speaks about helping people that have been through that, that aren't managing as well as him. mohamed plans to dedicate the rest of his life to helping other people. sometimes, ifeel like if i get a lot of money i want to help the charity. like, if i have money, i want to give it to the charities. if you help people and each other you feel happy. all this week, the bbc news channel will be featuring the stories of past and present award winners.

on saturday, we'll be broadcasting the ten year anniversary ceremony live from manchester. that's at 10.30am this saturday morning. it's time for a look at the weather. let's join jay wynne. things are looking quiet on the weather front over the next few days and into the start of the weekend. we have got a big area of high pressure drifting in from the atla ntic pressure drifting in from the atlantic and that's what is bringing a spell of weather. there is a breeze out there across the north and the east, but there has been sunshine. this is the view from cumbria. it has not been like that everywhere. across the south—eastern quadrant of the uk, we have seen cloud and rain. there is that cloud across the south and the east. it is thick in place and grey here. there is that slice of sunshine and in northern scotland we have got a breeze. gusting to 60mph to 70mph in

the far north of scotland and to go with that frequent showers, elsewhere, it is a dry story. we have got the clearest skies lasting longest across the south and the west. it is down to five or six celsius for plymouth and cardiff. so maybe a touch of frost for some. into the morning, still windy in northern scotland and still showers dotted around, but for the eastern side, we will see breaks in the cloud so some spells of sunshine through the morning and it should stay dry. more in the way of cloud, northern ireland, maybe the odd spot of rain possible from the cloud in the north—west of england. head further south, yes, it is a chilly start, but a bright start for many and the winds are light down towards the south and the west as well. a decent start to the day here. we will see that cloud across northern england driftling further south, but should keep some spells in the far south—west and the south east brightening up. a shower or two in

the western side of scotland, but most the western side of scotland, but m ost pla ces the western side of scotland, but most places fine and dry and afternoon temperatures ten celsius in aberdeen and 13 or 14 for cardiff and london. through the evening we might seea and london. through the evening we might see a spot or two of rain. a spot of two of rain across the north—west, but most places foon and dry. there will be a fair bit of cloud on thursday and friday, but there will be breaks in the cloud as well. so some spells of sunshine. still a breeze for some, but nothing u ntowa rd still a breeze for some, but nothing untoward and through the weekend, high pressurejust untoward and through the weekend, high pressure just slowly drifts away towards the near continent as it does so, we will see a north breeze. i think particularly so across england and wales through the week, we will see that warm air having an impact and raising the temperatures and getting up to 20 celsius for some of us. the big question is how long will it last? today at 5, a suspected chemical attack in syria

kills dozens of people. most of the dead are civilians —— including children. it happened in a rebel—held town — —— reports suggest militaryjets also fired rockets at clinics —— where the injured were being treated. these gas attacks are happening everyday and no one is doing anything to stop these gas attacks. as urgent medical help is summoned —— the international community is warning of consequences for those responsible. if this were proved to have been committed by the assad regime it would another reason to believe that they are a heinous outfit. it is a war crime.