the latest headlines from bbc news. i'm mike embley. the us has accused syria's president of brutal, unabashed barbarism after a suspected chemical attack killed at least 58 people. it's one of the worst atrocities of the syrian war, sparking global condemnation. the un security council is set to hold emergency talks on wednesday. st petersburg has paid tribute to the 1a people killed in the metro bombing. investigators have identified a 22—year—old born in kyrgyzstan as the prime suspect. it's not clear whether he was a suicide bomber or if he was killed when his bomb went off prematurely. prince harry has paid tribute to his mother, princess diana, for her work in raising awareness of landmines and the dangers of unexploded munitions. in a speech in london, he said he wanted help to "finish the job and rid the planet of landmines". now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk. some very significant people have lined up condemning what you have done, or questioning you? do you ——

your wisdom has been questioned in publishing the cartoons again and again, pouring petrol on the flames. when you talk about frustration with governments now, at your whole career looks like it has been spent at war. how do you feel as president that you are going to go down in history as a president who presided over a loss of a large part of your territory? we understood that you wished to do this interview, and you wished to do this interview, and you wished to do this interview, and you wished to reply to questions that we, in the name of the bbc, are putting towards you, is that not right? cheers! to the next 20 years!

how come you all have water, and i have wine's that is terrible. so go on, you need to take us back to the first. we want to hear your thoughts oi'i first. we want to hear your thoughts on how it all started. the strangest thing about starting it was that people did not talk about the content, they were obsessed with what i might wear on sat. the ideas we re what i might wear on sat. the ideas were so what i might wear on sat. the ideas were so bizarre, ranging from a normal suit, to a smoking jacket and azaz, at one particular time. luckily, we got off that and got onto the interviews. —— fez. we got onto the interviews. —— fez. we got onto the interviews. —— fez. we got onto the idea that if you are going to do onto the idea that if you are going todoa onto the idea that if you are going to doa25 onto the idea that if you are going to do a 25 minute interview, it was then to have a different character, and it was good to start drilling down and become more of a cross examination and an interview, really putting facts to people. there a net. wang yu obsession with what fa cts net. wang yu obsession with what facts are. but 20 years ago, we were clear with facts. —— there is a new

obsession with what facts are. the show about the human rights agenda, because people were interested in that. i knew nothing about anything. except that we got guests who did know things and had cases to answer. but a lot of it was also about what drove them. what drove them, but you had to come away after 35 minutes is something new. you could notjust regurgitate the same thing. no, but i think that holding people to account, i still think they are the best hardtalks. i only have one that i really remember very vividly, with the vice president of the democratic party two republic of the congo. he was found guilty of human rights abuses. i think that for me is the best kind of hardtalk, we have somebody who can really say... he

speaks french, and he did not like the questions that i asked. he kept telling me that he did not understand what i was saying. he gaveit understand what i was saying. he gave it to do thanks. i think one of the signals as the feedback that we get from our audience, particular as you talk with human rights agenda. when we do those interviews with powerful people who are not held to account in our powerful people who are not held to account in our own powerful people who are not held to account in our own countries, we just get such a wave of positive feedback from our audience, thinking of the promised of ethiopia. wannasrichan, he was a strong leader. and he ruled his country was something of an iron fist, but when i challenged him on the specific human rights records, and abuses that we can put that his government's tour, he found it difficult. and it was a very contentious interview. who presents the name of members of the election board to the house of the people 's representatives for approval? the president submitted the names to the

parliament. now, if we were to appoint new election members, it would be the prime minister which would be the prime minister which would put the names to the parliament. where were you at that particular time? i was the president of the transitional government. so you still put forward the names? i think that is the point that a train to get to. afterwards, the reaction we got nudges from ethiopians in the country, but from ethiopians all around the world, was thank you. thank you for putting the questions to our prime minister. had with being in the room, we would have put the same questions. i think the leaders who submit themselves to a hardtalk interrogation are sometimes, in a way, almost respected for doing that. it is those who just respected for doing that. it is those whojust refuse... they respected for doing that. it is those who just refuse... they want to take you on and they want to submit themselves to 24 minutes of sustained questioning. and that is often a selling point, i think, when i say to people which relate to do the show? who was your favourite? is a favourite in hardtalk that you can

remember? there is one person who brought me up short. i think sometimes the interviews is apprising. the once you do not feel igoto apprising. the once you do not feel igo to be apprising. the once you do not feel i go to be good stain your memory. this is denis mack are. the un official in charge of displaced people. i was doing the usual thing you do with un officials, and at one point, he put up his hands and said wait a point, he put up his hands and said waita minute, point, he put up his hands and said wait a minute, hold on point, he put up his hands and said waita minute, hold on a point, he put up his hands and said wait a minute, hold on a minute. point, he put up his hands and said waita minute, hold on a minute. —— mcnamara. and i got this feeling that the back of my spine, thinking, something is coming. something i might not like. he said, i can save millions of people, i have a small plane. what i can, a flat into a war zone pick up as many women and children as i can, pick them up, fly the plane, and landed somewhere safe. he looked to be across the table and said, how many lives have you saved? table and said, how many lives have you saved ? and table and said, how many lives have you saved? and ijust went, good question. a little bit of humility is not a bad thing. i know from the four of us, we are not necessarily

noted that quality, but a little bit of humility from journalists, we set listed on the fence and criticise everybody else, is a good thing, sometimes. we don't do the difficult things in life. but it is the people who surprise you in interviews, it is not, and it was the runner are not necessarily the ones that you expect. you can go into something saying... which ones do you remember? i think it is a belgian doctor that i had not heard of before. and it was ages ago. and he was talking about how he was in central africa and started noticing something, this was a doctor who had identified that the aids was not just restricted to gaze, but was throughout africa. i remember talking to many heather stanning back ——i talking to many heather stanning back —— i remember the heather stanning up on the back of my neck. and you have that moment. —— hair

standing. we do a lot of interviews we re we standing. we do a lot of interviews were we to opinion formers and people who influence people through their work. and i thinking of a writer, and are to a do, and she had what are the favourite quotes of me from a hardtalk interview i had done. and she said the african woman, she is not a downtrodden wretch, so when we interview people like that, we are actually challenging perceptions and actually stereotypes and prejudices, and so in that sense, you are sort of dealing with material that is a hard topic that somebody might not grasp. i think those hardtalks are quite important. and what about you, stephen? it is a huge adrenaline rush to get an interview that you worked on for months and months and months, that is difficult to

organise, that is frankly... the person doesn't want to do a comedy and persuade them to do it, and that would include going to caracas to interview hugo chavez, which took a lot of persuasion are not just from me, but bizarrely from oliver stone, the filmmaker. i interviewed him for hardtalk, and he became... your producer? while he knew hugo chavez quite well. and he said stephen, i think they can help. and one day, i got this phone call, and all of a sudden was on the phone and he said stephen, it is on. hugo chavez was fronting the south american film festival, and it was a red carpet thing, andl festival, and it was a red carpet thing, and i was invited on to the red carpet to beat him, and i said hugo chavez, we do need at this interview. peter beattie come to the palace later. when that up as a palace later. when that up as a palace with oliver stone, who came along, too, with the hardtalk route, and the venezuelan film crew, and we

recorded an hour with hugo chavez. “ ci’ew. recorded an hour with hugo chavez. —— crew. he weighed his finger in my face, and said i suppose the bbc said such an idiot. —— sent such an idiot. so that was an adrenaline buzz. but the other one that was very different was the corrections boss of the prison system in georgia, the man who had to sign off on every execution. a man called alan ault, who in essence push the button to electrocute a series of prisoners on

death row in georgia. and he overuse can to find this job was destroying him. i still have nightmares, not every night, but often. it is still a very hard pill to swallow. and it stays in your psyche i guess forever. it is the most premeditated murder possible. the manual is about that peak, and the progression that you go through to execute someone... everytime i think it is behind me, then something happens and it all comes back with a rush. —— is about that peak. i was out at lexington avenue bought at the time i had a flight. -- avenue bought at the time i had a flight. —— airport. this morning i was going somewhere on another airline, are usually called delta

airlines. i checked in with all these people, and the plane crashed and killed everyone. and i had to go again. all those feelings came back, although spaces came back. all those nightmares came back. —— all those faces. and just had to keep dealing with it again and again.|j faces. and just had to keep dealing with it again and again. i remember a man called hugh thomson, who was a us helicopter pilot during the event now more. and in 1968, he was trained to divert vietcong fire away from some of the american troops. he flew low over a clearing, and saw something that state in his mind until he died. he saw the picture of american troops massacring villagers, unknown to villagers, and a little place that became known notoriously as a site of a massacre.

he brought the helicopter down and told us then to train their guns on the fellow american soldiers, who we re the fellow american soldiers, who were garrotting, raping, shooting, and stabbing a numbed villages. vietnamese villages. —— villagers. he stopped it. it took 30 years before anybody said thank you. but you ostracised awhile, won't you? you would go to the officers mess and everybody would disappear. actually, when it first broke, people did not know the facts. and they forgot all about it. very soon after it happened. but personally, you paid a high price in terms of depression, didn't you, overthe yea rs ? depression, didn't you, overthe years? a lot of nightmares. there's been multiple marriages.

it's been hard for you to carry around, hasn't it? no, it's life, you know? you have to do it, you know, life goes on. can you ever forgive the people who did that? no. nope, i can't, forgive the people who did that? no. nope, ican‘t, i forgive the people who did that? no. nope, i can't, i don't think i am man enough to. i know the pain and suffering that was inflicted for no reason, no reason whatsoever, there was no threat. there was no enemy. they might have all grown up to be enemy, but that's not what a soldier doesin enemy, but that's not what a soldier does in any country. it's just not. imean, you does in any country. it's just not. i mean, you think of those who walked away from it, got on with their lives, had children, set up businesses. they've got to live with

themselves. i imagine some of them don't have an easy time. i'm ok with what i did. ijust, you know, i know they're unnecessary what i did. ijust, you know, i know they‘ re unnecessary pain what i did. ijust, you know, i know they're unnecessary pain and suffering, i know how fragile human life is. we probably all have that experience of leaving an interviewee and feeling incredibly emotional, possibly crying. the only time i've ever cried in front of an interviewee was on hardtalk, tha nkfully interviewee was on hardtalk, thankfully it wasn't on camera, most of the audience would have done too, it was the yazidi girl. it was translated so it was extraordinary sitting opposite someone who was speaking an opposite language to you but we had simultaneous translation, very broken, and hearing this extraordinary story and the most effective thing, often it's not the most gruesome stuff with these

stories, what sticks in my head was her describing how in order to secure a minute phone call with her brother she had to lick honey off vitolo of her husband, suppose it husband —— lick honey off the toe. —— suppose supposed. i had one interviewee who... the topic was so difficult for him, egyptian, very wealthy egyptian industrialist, and the topic was so hard, it was when president hamid more sea was there and a lot of the cops in egypt were concerned about the mood turning against them —— president mohamed morsi. he stop the interview after 11 minutes because the topic was so difficult for him was life or death for him, he was worried about his family's safety, we continue the interview but it shows you how difficult the subject

matter is. one thing i've done and i really appreciate the opportunity to do it is take the show on the road, because to reach some of these stories, some of these places as well, not everyone can come to the hardtalk studio in london. i can actually go on the road and do it myself so the reportage becomes me gathering the information, some of the case that we put, for example in honduras to the president of the country after we'd been to the city that has the highest homicide rate in the world, which is being crippled by gangnam, drug cartel warfare. we could naturally talk to people suffering from that reality before going into the corridors of power —— by gang. to get an eyewitness account, i paid a visit to the home of hilda. she was on the boat which came under heavy fire. she took a bullet through her thigh and remains seriously ill. her son—in—law and to

pregnant women were killed. hilder insists all were innocent victims, not drugs traffickers, simply villagers coming back from a trip downriver. —— hilda. villagers coming back from a trip downriver. -- hilda. ithink you put your finger on downriver. -- hilda. ithink you put yourfinger on something downriver. -- hilda. ithink you put your finger on something that's really important and has become more important over the years, we've seen democracy rolled back considerably over the last ten to 15 years and it becomes i think that much more important that we hold people to account. when you think about the rollback of democracy even in europe, we're getting the growth of the free—market dictatorships and people are accepting of this. social media, which is obviously something... opinion has been elevated beyond facts. but human rights has been downgraded consistently and it shouldn't be. we still need to mention the names of the disappeared, the dates when they disappeared, the dates their bullet ridden bodies were found on the

streets, the powerful people who we re streets, the powerful people who were responsible. the producers, the researchers that work on the team, we are so rigourous with our facts. i don't know if you feel this as well, but a lot of the people we interviewed over the years should either be in front of criminal trials all war tribunal is warcrimes tribunal is but they weren't. the only thing you can do in a free society is put the questions to them. that was the strength i think of hardtalk. my experience with mrs milos antic, milos antic‘s wife, who was a serial deny about the ethnic cleansing that had taken place in the former yugoslavia. do you think he will come home from the hague monday? why not? thank you very much indeed for being

with us on the programme. no, i'm asking questions that are of interest to the public. you reminded me of one another rather moment in my hardtalk career when i did an interview with former nigerian president of passenger and it was again quite a contentious

interview and human rights and corruption were two topics that came up corruption were two topics that came up in the interview, i'm sure that was no surprise to him, but we gathered a lot of evidence, spoke to quite a lot of people and it was seen as a forensic test of his record when he was in power. at the end of the interview, we did the normal handshake, because as we all know the hand sheikh happens on hardtalk, and as the credits rolled and the lights dimmed in the studio, he said with gritted teeth tomorrow, stephen, you will be hearing from my lawyers. a wonderful way a man, clearly not in power any more, felt there was some sort of walk around him and some sort of intimidation tactic he could apply. i met him, a charming man in his own way, at an event afterwards and he could not have been nicer. i had eight, i won't name him, a leading businessmen —— i had a.

won't name him, a leading businessmen -- i had a. go on, we won't tell! in the world of finance, i won't say, he might sue me. won't tell! in the world of finance, iwon't say, he might sue me. he saidi iwon't say, he might sue me. he said i have to think of a way to get back on you! bodyguards, where are you? that instant reaction when they haven't enjoyed it. they know when they come on, they often have a sense of what's in store, they are perhaps more prepared. sense of what's in store, they are perhaps more preparedlj sense of what's in store, they are perhaps more prepared. i think the extra time we have really matters. from the word go... and they haven't even give me a chance!” from the word go... and they haven't even give me a chance! i was kicked under the table by one british politician, mo mowlam, former northern ireland secretary. after this interview, she was wearing sharp heels and pointed toes, she kicked me under the heel macro bt —— date —— table. kicked me under the heel macro bt —— date -- table. you might have deserved it! it is important that you give the same treatment to

everybody and this is how the programme has lasted so long, you're as tough with everybody and you have to be. i want to say, here we are all talking about hardtalk and it's funny, people might think there is competition between us but actually what i think is nice is we are also committed to the programme that anybody, any one of us who has done anybody, any one of us who has done a great hardtalk, i think great, it's wonderfulfor a great hardtalk, i think great, it's wonderful for the programme. there is a bond between us. we share something. we've bonded over this meal but i don't think i'm the only one who has done any eating —— i think i'm. the old bbc sausage rolls. times have really moved on! hello there.

high pressure is going to be the dominating force for the weather across the uk for the rest of this week and into the weekend. here it is, just nudging in from the south—west, pushing that area of low pressure out of the way — and that has brought some severe gales to the far north of scotland, and certainly to the northern isles, that gradually easing down. so first thing on wednesday, for most of us, the winds will be light, quite a chilly start across england and wales, especially in rural places. now, there will be quite a bit of cloud across the northern half of the uk, where it will be quite windy. the best of the sunshine, to start off with across central and southern areas. so that wind quite a feature across the northern half of scotland and for the northern isles, we'll see some outbreaks of rain and a little patchy rain as well across western scotland, drier across the east. but generally speaking, it's going to be quite cloudy for scotland, northern ireland, and to the north of england. maybe some light rain or drizzle for cumbria. in the midlands southwards, here we start off dry. could be a bit of mist and fog around but that will clear quickly.

because the winds will be light it's going feel not too bad in that sunshine with temperatures of about seven or eight degrees to start the day. through the day, it looks like the cloud across the north will move southwards, turning greyer for many central and south—eastern parts. i think the sunshine just holding on across the south coast and in towards the south—west, and will see sunny spells developing across, say, the south—east of scotland, with some shelter in the north—west. and where you get the sunshine, 13 or 14 degrees, cooler than that, though, where it stays cloudy, around 11 or maybe 12 degrees. stays rather cloudy for wednesday evening and overnight, with further spots of rain across western scotland, but those winds easing all the while. so for thursday and friday, they are looking similar, day—by—day. so for the end of the week, it's largely dry thanks to high pressure. there will be some cloud around, but also some sunny spells where it will feel quite warm. now across the pond, into the united states, the masters golf has started off very windy. those winds will gradually ease down on thursday — and into friday, looks like we should see some good spells of sunshine, then it is even warmer into the weekend

with very light winds. that's what is to be happening across the uk to the weekend. this high pressure keeps things settled. we also import some warm air off the near continent. you see the orange colours bathing much of the country but it could be locally very warm across the south—east of england on sunday. but this area of cooler air, as you can see, will be making inroads into the start of the next week, so things are set down to cool down a little bit monday onwards. for saturday, though, starting off rather cloudy, some sunshine breaking through that cloud, and we'll see temperatures reaching the mid—teens celsius in many places. on sunday, it looks like the best of the sunshine will be central, south, eastern parts of the country. it'll be very warm, starting to feel cooler and cloudier, though, across the north—west. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: global condemnation for the suspected chemical attack that's killed dozens in north—west syria. the us blames the assad regime. st petersburg pays tribute to the 14 killed in the metro bombing.

a 22—year—old born in kyrgyzstan is identified as prime suspect. prince harry unveils a plan to rid the world of landmines and honour the legacy of his mother, princess diana. frontrunners in the french presidential election clash over europe in their second tv debate.