hello, i'm nuala mcgovern, this is outside source. a suspected chemical weapons attack has killed at least 58 people — including women and children — in a rebel—town in northern syria. all the victims who arrived at neural stress and yellow saliva all the victims who arrived had neural stress and yellow saliva coming out of their mouths. and very soon blood starting coming out of mouths which means that their lungs are damaged. the white house has called the attack reprehensible and blamed it on the syrian government. we'll be live in washington for more reaction. russian investigators say the main suspect in the bomb attack on the st petersburg metro is a russian citizen originally from kyrgyzstan. we'll hear from the bbc kyrgyz service and from the driver of the metro train. there was no time to be afraid. i had to do myjob. there was no panic, believe me. when the door of the first carriage opened, the passengers werejust standing there explaining all at once what had happened. in france, ‘the big debate‘ is under way featuring all 11 candidates running for president. we'll bring you highlights and analysis with the election less than three weeks away.

and don't forget you can get in touch using the #bbcos. at least 58 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suspected chemical attack in north—western syria, a monitoring group says. this is the town, khan sheikhoun. it's in rebel—held idlib province. the syrian observatory for human rights say that the attack was carried out by either syrian government or russian jets. both deny that this is true. here are some eyewitness reports. at seven in the morning, fighter

jets of the syrian air force hit the town with two air strikes. civil services were sent to the area immediately. our medical team say the area was targeted with a chemical agent. many were injured while trying to reach the area. more than 200 people were taken to medicalfacilities. we do not know how many were killed at this point. i went to a hospital in the south of the city of it live. i was completely shocked when i entered the facility. the place was packed with patients. survivors were everywhere, in emergency rooms, treatment rooms, operation theatres, hallways. absolutely everywhere. they all had similar symptoms: they we re they all had similar symptoms: they were choking, they had constricted pupils, and foam around the mouth. these symptoms meant they suffered

from a condition caused by a chemical agent. isil ten bodies in the hospital. which is one of the smallest in the area. —— i saw ten bodies in the hospital. there were also reports that aircraft fired rockets at the local clinics that were treating survivors. the syrian army has denied it is responsible. a spokesman said "the army command categorically denies using any chemical or toxic substance in khan sheik—hun today. it stresses that it has never used them, any time, anywhere, and will not do so in the future." but france's president hollande has directly blamed the syrian government. and this is what the uk's prime minister had to say. iam i am appalled by the reports that there has been a chemical weapons attack on a town south of idlib, reportedly by the —— allegedly by the syrian regime. we condemn the use of chemical weapons under all circumstances. if proven, this will

be further evidence of the barbarism of the syrian regime. i would urge the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons to investigate this incident as soon as possible. i am very clear that there can be no future for assad in a stable syria which is representative of all the syrian people, and i call on all of the parties involved to ensure that we have a transition away from a sad. we cannot allow the suffering to continue. meanwhile, the white house says there is not a fundamental option of regime change in syria. rajini vaidya nathan in washington brought us more of the white house response. white house press secretary sean spicer described the attack as heinous, reprehensible, and said it cannot be ignored. crucially, in the statement he gave to reporters, he also blamed what he described as the

consequence of the past administration ‘s weakness and irresolution. a dig president obama, who of course set in red line when it came to chemical weapons in syria. and was then criticised for not taking divisive action against president assad. we are also seeing that there the syrian regime, assad, there is no chance of changing it. it isa there is no chance of changing it. it is a political reality is another mani it is a political reality is another man i was reading. what will it be when it comes to strategy from the us white house in dealing with this attack? we know that president ram has met with his national security team, but we do not know whether he himself has set a breadline. we do not know any more details of strategy from him directly. —— has set a red line. what we do know is some of the noise were getting from officials close to him. we know the focus in that region for the trump

administration is to counter islamic state. if you look at some of the things that some of those close to him have been saying in regards to syria, let's take rex tillerson for example. he says the long—term status of assad will be decided by the syrian people. nikki haley, the us ambassador to the un said the priority is no longer focused on getting assad out. that rings true for what you are saying, that that has been criticised by some in president trumps own party. people like public and senatorjohn mccain, saying there needs to be more decisive action from this administration. he was very critical of president obama to. he is also urging the government to support the free syrian army. a live televised debate between all 11 candidates for the french presidential election is under way. the first round voting is now less than three weeks away. all eyes or on these two because if the polls are to be all eyes are on these two because if the polls are to be

trusted, far—right candidate marine le pen and centrist emmanuel macron will make it through to the second round, where mr macron is expected to take a decisive victory in a head to head run off. here's a little of the debate. what i offer you is a real alternative. the complete renewal of oui’ alternative. the complete renewal of our political life. we will have new faces, new ways of working. i have confidence in our country. we can ta ke confidence in our country. we can take on the challenges that we face. i want to bring back optimism. take on the challenges that we face. i want to bring back optimismlj wa nt i want to bring back optimismlj want to give the people a voice. i wa nt want to give the people a voice. i want the money of the french people to return to the french. i want to put france back in order. for this i have a clear and precise plan. i have a clear and precise plan. i have no ambiguity in my mind, and i am nota have no ambiguity in my mind, and i am not a liar. i would like to say to the french people, voted to take

back control. it is the only use about. —— the only useful vote. with 11 candidates taking part, i asked the bbc‘s helene daouphras if anyone would get a fair chance to speak. it has been organised very precisely. they all had a chance initially to introduce themselves. the question was, who are you? then there were three big questions over there were three big questions over the evening. one was about security in france, one about how they will implement their social model. the other aboutjobs, because implement their social model. the other about jobs, because obviously the big question in unemployment. they have three minutes each to a nswer they have three minutes each to answer each question. in total, they have only 17 minutes of time speech tee to speak. it is a unique thing we have never seen in france before. our people tuning in, is it popular? i think so. people were very impressed by what they have heard

the deal —— people were very impressed, from what i have heard, with the last debate. they thought it was well managed and they all had time to express themselves. tonight is more of a challenge. for people tuning in to the french election, what do they know, who are the front runners on what to watch? there is marine le pen, who is still doing very well in the polls. she gets 2596. in very well in the polls. she gets 25%. in front of her, we always knew that he would be doing well, we thought francois fillon would be the main frontrunner with her. but then with all the stories and scandals going on. we now have emmanuel macron, who is potentially the next big man to be against her. but we still have 36% of the french people who do not know for whom they are going to vote. that is a big question for the french people right

now. a lot of them are very disappointed by what has happened, they are very lost. the left, the labour candidate, is completely going down the polls now. it's not really a ny going down the polls now. it's not really any of the main parties, none of them may be present. in the second round. what will it take for the french people to make up their minds? i think people are waiting because they are expecting maybe another scandal. people are so disappointed right now, and so unsure. many people still don't dare to open up about their vote for marine le pen, because there is still some stigma. let's move on now to the st petersburg metro attack. the death toll has risen to 14 after three of those who were injured died in hospital. the man who was driving the metro train has been speaking to journalists today about the moment the explosion happened. there was a bang and smoke. i

contacted the dispatch and reported the situation. at that moment, unclear messages began to come in on the passenger— driver communication line. everyone was talking at the same time. i took the decision to drive the train onto the station. there was no time to be afraid, i had to do myjob. there was no panic, believe me. when the door of the first carriage opened, the passengers were explaining all at once what had happened. they did not even leave the carriage. they were all saying there had been a loud bang in the first carriage. so what do we know about who was responsible? well so far, russian and kyrgyz authorities have identified 22—year—old akbarzhonjalilov as the main suspect. he was born in the kyrgyz city of osh in the south of the country in 1995 and had obtained russian citizenship. russian investigators released a statement saying conclusions a statement saying conclusions

of dna tests and cctv footage give the investigators enough reason to presume that the man who committed the terrorist attack in the metro car, was also the one who had left the bag with the bomb at the ploshchad vostanya station. gulnara kasmambetov is from the bbc kyrgyz service and told me more about the area that the suspect is from. a densely populated area where the majority of the kyrgyz, also russians and ukrainians living in that area. because that is densely populated, and it is a valley area, 95% of the country are mounties. it's that valley area that is densely populated. many people do not have jobs, they migrate to russia to work there. and send money to their homes and families. many people in russia think this is the

country where we are working, we are migrants ear, and they used to like russia. that's why the latest event that happened in st petersburg is quite shocking for central asians. are the kyrgyz authorities in rational thought is working together? yes, -- all the kyrgyz authorities and russian authorities working together? the person who was involved in the explosions is the russian citizen who was born in kurdistan. —— kurdistan. russian citizen who was born in kurdistan. -- kurdistan. we also seem to have come quickly to a conclusion that this is their man? journalists have been discussing, how when they are still treating wood and people, they have come up so quickly with a conclusion? ——

wounded people. what is the evidence that it wounded people. what is the evidence thatitis, wounded people. what is the evidence that it is, that this particular person, took part in the explosion? the kyrgyz authorities that they could not give us any more information. the russian services confirmed after a few hours, saying that some genetic material taken from the place of the explosion confirmed that this is the person. coming up: president trump is delivering on another campaign promise. he's cut funding from a un programme that promotes family planning in more than 150 countries. we'll bring you more on that. the former london mayor, ken livingstone, has been suspended from the labour party for two years for saying hitler supported zionism in the 1930's. the national executive committee found him guilty of breaching party rules. our political correspondent mark lobel is at westminster. chamois chakravarty wrote that

report on anti—semitism in the labour party has sent out a statement. she says, i hope people might now revisit my report, and remind themselves better ways to argue about difficult without compromising the labour party's values of solidarity, and respect. a criticism of ken livingstone from her. also thejewish labour movement, the chair was speaking after the verdict. he was unhappy that ken livingstone had not been expelled. he was questioning what was meant in the labour party, and wa nted was meant in the labour party, and wanted to hear more from jeremy corbyn. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story: a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel—held town in syria is reported to have killed at least 58 people — most of them civilians. there's been strong international condemnation. president trump says he is working

on sweeping reforms to the banking regulations introduced in the united states following the financial crisis in 2007 . the financial crisis in 2007. the president said he was going to give the dodds—frank wall street reform and consumer protection act a very major haircut. michelle fleury joins me from new york. what does this mean in practical terms? it's no surprise that this was on donald trump is much to—do list. he's been critical of regulations and says he wants to create an environment that is pro—business. today he was meeting with about 50 business leaders, talking to them about things that we re talking to them about things that were on his agenda. reforming or

giving the dodd frank reform act a major haircut amongst those. in terms of what he can do, this would require congress to get involved. it would involve rewriting a law that was passed by the former president backin was passed by the former president back in 2010. in the wake of the financial crisis. essentially toughening up rules on banks and financial institutions. any changes to that would require votes and passage through congress. happily have seen before, donald trump has struggled with his health care law —— as we have seen before. some republicans have already been talking about this in advance of today's meeting, and have suggested that republican lawmakers are already at work trying to craft something will stop one of the things they are looking at is how they can pay for tax reform. they are trying to see if there is anything in dodd frank that would save the government money that could then be used toward tax reform. thinking very much. —— thank you

very much. the uk's finance minister, philip hammond, is in delhi where he hopes to lay the ground for an eventual free trade agreement with india. he has said brexit will make trade ties between the countries even more important. this report from justin rowlatt contains some flash photography. india is a crucial part of britain's post—brexit strategy, hence the chancellor's visit to this market in the centre of delhi. the message of this visit is absolutely clear. what the british government wants to say is that there is a world of opportunity post—brexit. india already invests more in the uk than the rest of europe combined, and philip hammond is hoping to build on that. india offers a vast potential market and is the fastest—growing large economy in the world. in a trendy cafe, the chancellor meets indian entrepreneurs keen to work with british businesses

to develop new opportunities, but the real prize is much bigger — a trade deal. this afternoon he met the indian finance minister. britain can't negotiate new trade arrangements until it actually leaves the eu, but that doesn't mean it can't begin to lay the groundwork. though getting a deal... is likely to be difficult. ones that opportunity arises, after brexit, india's once that opportunity arises, after brexit, india's open to all arrangements which are in mutual interests for expanding trade. but actually getting a deal is likely to be difficult. the eu has been negotiating for almost a decade without any luck, so why should britain find it any easier? 28 countries trying to agree together the terms of a deal to be challenging.

we've seen that and other european negotiations as well. it's always easier to make a bilateral agreement than it is to make a multilateral agreement. but don't underestimate the work involved. britain will be trying to strike similar deals with dozens of countries. it is going to keep a small army of civil servants very busy for many years to come. justin rowlatt, bbc news, new delhi. this friday the us senate will vote on whether or not to confirm donald trump's supreme court nominee, neil gorsuch. despite republicans holding the majority in the senate — his confirmation is not definite. this came into the newsroom a few hours ago. update the senate republican leader will file a petition to end the senate republican leader will file a petition to end an expected democrat filibuster of gorsuch. this is because democrats were expected to use a tactic called a filibuster to thwart republican

efforts to confirm mr gorsuch. anthony zurcher is in washington for us. the state of play. who has the upper hand right now? the clock is ticking towards the doomsday scenario, the nuclear option that republicans will use. i love this language, it makes sennett parliamentary procedure sounds so much more dramatic. the republicans need 60 votes to end the republicans need 60 votes to end the republicans —— democrats filibuster on friday. without the votes, they are talking about using the nuclear option to change the rules to make ita simple option to change the rules to make it a simple majority required. they would need 51 to confirm him. that's why we are heading right now. to flip the switch is it were, to take the boat and see neil gorsuch on friday night. why do they had all

these methods to override what people decide? is that democracy in action? is that the way the american people say it? the idea of the filibuster has been around in its current form for about 60 years. it is meant to give the minority some form of influence over senate rules and votes, the idea that sennett has and votes, the idea that sennett has an upper change is a much more deliberative body where people cooperate and not as worried about partisanship. in the current state of us politics, those notions seem almost quaint. everything is straight party line votes now, we still see a little crossing the aisle occasionally, but for the most part, people are entrenched in their partisan lines and they battle back and forth. i think that is why we are heading. the clock has been ticking on this filibuster for a while now. thank you very much. it's notjust the supreme court that donald trump's mark could be left on —

long after his presidency is over. he could replace one—third of the judiciary in four years, giving him more power to influence the us federal court system than any president in recent memory. the bbc‘s jane o'brien explains how. he's got mad with the media, riled by russia and been given a headache by health care. but it's the federal courts that have really made president trump fume. just a short time ago attacking the legal system... we're going to fight this terrible ruling. and now he has the chance to shake them up. it's conceivable that president trump could replace one third of the judiciary in four years. the republican—controlled senate was loathe to confirm president obama's nominees, therefore you got a big backlog and there are over 100 vacancies on the court. that's a record or darned close. so he has greater potential to impact our federal judiciary than any president in recent memory.

while all eyes are on mr trump's for the supreme court, neil gorsuch, the president's power to appoint judges will ripple through the entire judicial system. when you think of the american judicial system, think of a giant pyramid. at the top stands the supreme court. only a handful of cases get to the supreme court. then you have the intermediate courts and then the big base of that pyramid, they are the federal district court. that's the face of justice in america. they handle thousands of cases. interaction with the american people and the judiciary, that's where it all happens. federal courts rule on a whole range of issues including guns and immigration and abortion. they also have the power to thwart the best laid plans of congress and the president. the federal courts actually have the last word on whether something will fly in this country or not. giving president trump the power to appoint these judges, that's raw political power. that's us politics. let's take a

moment to look at french politics, there is a debate with 11 candidates taking place just after the interval. they are continuing to go on. there are some live pictures coming out. apparently everybody is going to have their say, even though there are 11 candidates. you stay with us, we have another half—hour of the programme to come, following up of the programme to come, following up on the development is on the stories we have been bringing you an outside source from the bbc. stay with us, and you can get in touch with us, and you can get in touch with the hashtag bbc os. the next uk forecasters in half an

hour but at this time of the evening we go beyond our shores and look at some of the main weather stories from around the world. cyclone debbie is long gone from australia but it is looking all quiet but debbie is still making is because in queens land some of the floodwaters are yet to peak. this area of cloud in this weather system impacting new zealand now could save some of the re m na nts of zealand now could save some of the rem na nts of cyclone zealand now could save some of the remnants of cyclone debbie, some of the moisture. there is already enough rain to bring some flooding and there is more to come in new zealand. bright colours on the rain picture for wednesday, the intensity of the rain is indicated. particularly in the north island, but some in the southern island as well. debbie is enhancing the rainfall that would have, otherwise, and we are talking about rain into hundreds of millimetres. before things gradually ease later in the week. around the bay of plenty, there will be 200 to 350 millilitres. another soaking on the

way for auckland. these are some areas that had a very wet march, we areas that had a very wet march, we are talking several months of rain inafew are talking several months of rain in a few days. combined with severe gales, this is high impact weather, and so we are likely to see flooding and so we are likely to see flooding and also further landslides as well. that's new zealand. on the usa. we've had some severe weather down towards the south and south—east. tuesday had a break but for wednesday, here comes another round of storms. atlanta, georgia showing up of storms. atlanta, georgia showing up on the map there. not a world away is augusta, where of course preparations are underway for the masters golf tournament. there will be storms going through on wednesday, they are out of the way for thursday and friday and into the weekend. but there is quite a strong wind in the first round in particular. there will be a bit of a chill in that wind as well. it will be sweaters and coaxing the crowd. to south america, we are expecting more rain in parts of the and into southern parts of colombia. still

intense downpours in places. still the risk of further flooding i'm afraid. closer to home in europe, you can see high pressure building towards the north—west but low pressure throughout parts of central and increasingly eastern areas of the mediterranean. that will bring some wet weather to some holiday destinations. we'll look at that in more detail. some showers breaking out in parts of greece for wednesday, into the balkans. one of two in italy but they are beginning to pull away, becoming less numerous. some into southern parts of france and northern and eastern parts of spain. further south than spain and portugal, plenty of sunshine. weather is settled in the canaries to. if you are staying in the uk, what can we expect? find out in halfan the uk, what can we expect? find out in half an hour. hello, i'm nuala mcgovern, this is outside source. a suspected chemical weapons attack has killed at least 58 people, including women and children, in a rebel—town in northern syria. all the victims who arrived at neural stress and yellow saliva

coming out of their mouths. and very soon blood starting coming out of mouths which means that their lungs are damaged. the white house has called the attack reprehensible and blamed it on the syrian government, who deny responsibility. we'll be live in washington for more reaction. donald trump's administration has said it will stop funding a un agency that promotes family planning in more than 150 countries. the un secretary general says the decision could have devastating effects on the health of vulnerable women. we'll bring you a report from china where older mothers who froze their embryos are driving a baby boom