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 1a 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. hello. unabashed barbarism, according to the us secretary of state. at least 58 people died,

hundreds more were affected, choking, fainting, foaming at the mouth. the white house has said it's certain president assad's regime was responsible, despite denials from syria and its ally, russia. the un security council is to hold an emergency session. the attack was focused on the rebel—held town of khan sheikhoun, in the north—west province of idlib. this report from our middle east editorjeremy bowen, there are distressing images coming up, right from the beginning. this boy was one of hundreds of victims of the attack, he's showing classic symptoms of poisoning, perhaps by a military—strength nerve agent. the victim's lungs were badly affected. rescue workers did what they could to decontaminate the victims. that includes removing clothes, where the poison can linger, and by spraying fresh water. the attack happened in khan sheikhoun, a town that has been heavily bombed by the regime

and by the russians in the last two days. it's in idlib province, which is one of the last rebel strongholds in syria. the hospital was overwhelmed by casualties. translation: all are wounded, some are dead, there are many suffocation cases. we couldn't enter khan sheikhoun city because of the intensive and systematic shelling. there doesn't seem to be much oxygen there, which could have saved more people. translation: i lost my son, my children, my neighbours, my daughter. they're all gone, i only have god left. this morning it looked just like the chemical attacks in 2013 near damascus. confronted with scenes just like these, president obama threatened military action, and then pulled back, when syria gave up its chemical weapons. if this latest mayhem

was caused by a regime attack, it suggests some chemical weapons were held back. condemnation is coming in from around the world. i'm appalled by the reports that there's been a chemical weapons attack on a town south of idlib, allegedly by the syrian regime. we condemn the use of chemical weapons in all circumstances. if proven, this will be further evidence of the barbarism of the syrian regime. we have understood it was a chemical attack and it came from the air. we will be stimulating all those who have the capacity of finding out technically what happened. president assad's regime has denied it launched the attack but, if that's not true, what's in it for them? idlib is one of the last rebel strongholds in syria, perhaps someone in the regime thought it was time to increase the pressure. president assad's regime is much stronger than it was when the last big chemical attack

happened in 2013. perhaps the way the president faced down american threats back then makes him think he can get away with it again. when local activists were still reporting what happened, the hospital was hit by air strikes. jerry smith supervised the removal of the syrian chemical arsenal after the 2013 attack. everything that they declared left the country, we can absolutely guarantee that. so the issue then becomes, is this new stuff, if it is indeed a warfare agent. or is it undeclared? what's happened in khan sheikhoun shows, once again, that the syrian war is far from over and the long list of war crimes committed in this war has another entry.

jeremy bowen, bbc news. we can now speak to robert satloff, a us middle east policy analyst from the washington institute. i know you are specialist in arab and islamic politics and american middle east policy. what hope do you have from the un on this? regrettably the un only reflects the strength of its major leading states, so here we are talking about whether the united states and russia, as the key security council actors in syria, can be affect even addressing this problem. the leadership in damascus and in moscow deny any part in this, but nobody else has the air power, but necessary airpower, do they? no, it doesn't appear as though there are any other potential candidates than

the assad regime or it superpowered backers, the russians. it seems far more likely that assad himself, one day after american officials said that the syrian people will determine his fate, that assad himself showed america and the world what he thinks of the syrian people and their ability to determine his fate. quite the contrary. he was sending a powerful and deadly message. we heard in jeremy's report a leading inspector says everything that was declared by the syrian regime in 2013 was removed from the country. do you see something undeclared and therefore still there, or are they making new? again, these are both possibilities. i don't have any particular knowledge of what the syrians are hiding. clearly either they kept the stuff away and their suspicions

about this from the very beginning of 2013, but they didn't declare fully, or they found a way to manufacture this new. either way, it's a gross and obscene violation. it's an affront obviously to the world and humanity, at this is a grave challenge one would think the russians. the russians claim to be the responsible actor in syria today. clearly assad is a charge thatis today. clearly assad is a charge that is run amok. the responsibility is as much at the feet of the russians as it is assad. it is the case pretty much that are assad regime and the russians can do as they please on this battlefield? well, while the united states and the trump administration has decided that it's a bit allergic to the idea of regime change and doesn't want to

focus specifically on the fate of assad, if trump were alone to implement promises he made during his election campaign, promises to create safe zo nes his election campaign, promises to create safe zones for syrian civilians, promises to push back effectively at syria's most significant patron, iran, these are the sorts of things that would effectively undermine his hold and control of syria. so, the us doesn't have to declare getting rid of assad as its strategic objective, but if it were just implement what trump said he would implement this would have the effect of undermining assad's hold on power. briefly, the white house and us secretary of state are talking tough, what are the chances of them doing what they say they will do? i think decision—making on these issues is still in flux. there still a strong

chance that on all these issues, on creating what they are now calling stabilisation zones, they don't want to use the word saison, but stabilisation zones, pushing back ronnie brown, if not here than elsewhere, to make iran pay significant costs, and in making sure that the battle for raqqa succeeds and there is no opportunity for jihadist succeeds and there is no opportunity forjihadist to succeeds and there is no opportunity for jihadist to regroup succeeds and there is no opportunity forjihadist to regroup in the wake that a son of isis doesn't re—emerge. because isis has been an ally of assad in that they have combined in their efforts to promote refugee flows. so if we can get raqqa right and push back against the iranians, together this will have the effect of undermining assad's grip on power. thanks very much. the united states military has confirmed that north korea has fired a medium—range ballistic missile from a land—based facility near its eastern port of sinpo

into the sea of japan. the launch comes on the eve of a visit by china's president xi jinping to the united states. he and mr trump will discuss how to rein in pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes. 0ur correspondent steve evans is in the south korean capital, seoul. how is all this looking? it's looking like a pretty routine missile launch. not as big for example as the one on month ago, the four simultaneous missiles that approached japan. so it looks like it's a pretty calibrated gesture. firstly, they want to test missiles. secondly there is a political gesture going on and you can't divorce it from the political background. xijinping divorce it from the political background. xi jinping meeting divorce it from the political background. xijinping meeting mr trump in florida in the coming days. ramped up rhetoric about north korea from the administration. the reaction from washington has been

not quite dismissive, but simply rex tillerson the secretary of state said we've talked enough about north korea, we've got no comment. the implication being the time of talking is soon to be over. so what the launch seems to be saying is, don't forget we're still here, but we're not going to make this launch so provocative that it goes near the japan or anywhere near the joint so provocative that it goes near the japan or anywhere near thejoint us and south korean military exercises which are now happening. they're not specifically referring to any of the trump rhetoric in pyongyang, but they are clearly noted it. mr trump gave an interview to the financial times the other day, where he basically said if china won't help then we will do it on our own. and he said in the past that if north korea comes anywhere near getting missiles that could reach the united states, quote, it will not happen.

so we are getting heightened rhetoric, but the question of what can actually happen remains unresolved. here in seoul, there is evidence of increasing concern. if you're talking about pre—emptive or reactionary military strikes against north korea the risk is of a conventional military attack on seoul. experts here say that could generate another korean war. thank you very much for that. in russia, investigators have named the man they suspect of carrying out the bomb attack on a metro train in st petersburg. they say akbarzhon jalilov was a 22—year—old russian citizen, originally from kyrgyzstan in central asia. investigators believe he detonated a device that killed 1a people, injuring dozens and left a second bomb at another station, which was defused. steve rosenberg has the latest. this is what chaos looks like, underground. this mobile phone footage was shot seconds after the bomb.

there is a mad scramble to get out of the train alive. "smash it, break it down", says a voice. some passengers were helped to safety. "give me your hand". at that moment someone cries, "mum, mum." the injured are pulled away. ulvi was on the train, one carriage down. translation: there was a flash, then panic, people screaming, crying. at moments like this you think about your parents. how will they live without you? when i got out of the carriage, i could hardly stand. i was in shock, i was shaking. i saw blood, body parts, a horrifying scene. and here's the station today, wreckage cleared, service back,

st petersburg trying to be normal. it is astonishing how quickly a scene of chaos and carnage can be replaced by an air of normality. as you can see, the metro is up and running again today. but look over here, and you see a reminder of yesterday's drama. people are normally rushing by in the metro, not today. some here said prayers for the dead. but returning to normal isn't easy. more metro stations were shut today because of bomb threats. 0ne hero from this tragedy is the driver of the bombed train, for keeping calm and not stopping in the tunnel. "i was just doing myjob", alexander kaverin says. russian investigators now say that yesterday's attack on the train was carried out by a 22—year—old man from central asia, who'd been living in st petersburg. they're searching for

clues to explain why. that's a question that people of st petersburg are asking. this has been a day of mourning here, a day for paying respects to the victims, to the passengers of a metro train who never made it home. steve rosenberg, bbc news, st petersburg. and tonight the lights on the eiffel tower in paris went out in a mark of respect for victims in st petersburg. the mayor of the french capital had previously come under pressure for not using the tower to mark the attack, as it did after attacks in london, orlando and brussels. and now the controversy has moved to berlin, where the city has angered many by deciding not to illuminate its most famous landmark, the brandenburg gate. in the past, the gate has been lit with the colours of britain, france and the rainbow. local authorities say they would only do that to "partner cities". stay with us on bbc news, still to come:

20 years after diana launched her campaign against land mines, her younger son steps forward to take on the work. 25 years of hatred and rage as theyjumped up on the statue. this demonstration became a massive demonstration of black power, the power to influence. today is about the promise of a bright future, a day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past. i think picasso's works were beautiful. they were intelligent.

it's a sad loss to everybody who loves art. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the us has accused syria's president of brutal, unabashed barbarism after an apparent chemical attack left at least 58 people dead. a draft un resolution has called for a rapid investigation. st petersburg has paid tribute to the 1a people killed in the metro bombing. a 22—year—old born in kyrgyzstan is identified as the prime suspect. let's stay with that story. let's get more from colin clarke. he's a political scientist specialising in security issues at the rand corporation and joins me from pittsburgh. there seemed to be strong

suggestions that a lot of people from asia are being radicalised in moscow. why do you think that is. from asia are being radicalised in moscow. why do you think that ism is hard to say exactly why. the difficult part about radicalisation is that there is no single silver bullet. people experience radicalisation for all kinds of reasons including political, economic, social, religious reasons. some find revenge as a motivating factor. a lot of speculation is that russia's intervention in syria are inspiring sunni muslims, because russia has intervened on the side of president aside. a lot of recruiters from the so—called islamic state must be in moscow? it is suggested that between 300 and 500 exist in

the capital alone. about 80— 90% of fighters from a number of countries surrounding kurdistan have been radicalised in russia. this is a longer term issue. the number of long—term migrants has increased in russia are hugely in recent years? yes, tremendous. it is estimated there are over 6 million today, kemp had to over 350,000 in 2006. how effective do you think the security services have been against these people? —— compared to. services have been against these people? -- compared to. well, it has a lwa ys people? -- compared to. well, it has always been brutal and draconian. while that is effective in the short term, it is a myopic view. the

russians very rarely try to attempt to assuage grievances. these problems fester for sometimes decades, as we have seen in places like chechnya. this presumably feeds into prejudice against migrants? yes, this is a vicious cycle where attacks like this stoked the fire and lead ethnic russians to look at migrants with suspicion. even if you are only talking about a small percentage of migrants who are actually radicalised, it is still a major problem. thank you. all 11 candidates in the french presidential election have been debating live on tv. the frontrunner in the polls, emmanuel macron, spoke of a recovery of french optimism under his presidency; francois fillon, on the centre right, was hoping to use the debate to revive his campaign. and the national front leader, marine le pen, said globalisation should be replaced

by economic patriotism. translation: i want to give the people their voice back, i want the french people to get their money back, i want to straighten france out again and to do it i have a manifesto that's clear and precise. i'm not vague or dishonest. i would like to tell the french people that voting to really take back power is the only tactical vote that counts. translation: what i'm offering is a real, radical alternative. the total renewal of our political life, with new faces, new practices, because i believe we can overcome modern problems, we have the means to do it. and i want to get back the optimism of the french people, it can't go on like this. translation: over the next ten years my objective is to make our country europe's greatest power. a power whose economic, scientific and cultural energy should astound the world. you need strength to be the president of france. i have that strength and i'm ready to put it at the service of the french people. we had the five front runners,

that is emmanuel macron, francois fillon, marine le pen, of course, and then the two left—wingers, benoit hamon and jean—luc melenchon, who were in the first debate. but then we have the six others, who were in the first debate, but who are frankly fringe candidates who have no chance at all. two trotskyites, a sort of neo—gaullist, and a super—gaullist, who is even more gaullist than he is. a rural affairs candidate, and then a completely fringe candidate to back things like colonising mars and is sort of fiercely against international finance. so none of these candidates has any real chance, but such are the rules of the game, they have to be given their moment to speak. so this time was strictly divided between them, and that did, kind of, kill a of momentum. it meant that when ever you got to a point that was interesting, moderators had to stop and say that we had to hearfrom x or y, so they could say their bit as well. to be fair, they did have them bits to say as well,

but it did make the debate very bitty, and there were no — there have been no standout moments of huge importance, i think, that will influence the way people decide. there are few more weeks to go, how are we expecting —— prince harry has paid tribute to his mother, diana, princess of wales, for her work in raising awareness of landmines and the dangers of unexploded munitions. in a speech at kensington palace this evening, harry said he wanted help to finish thejob and rid the planet of landmines, as our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. it was one of the many images of her that caught the world's attention. diana, princess of wales, a matter of months before her death, visiting a mine clearance operation in angola. she met people, many of them children, who'd lost limbs to this most indiscriminate of weapons. she couldn't understand why the world wasn't doing more, and she said so.

i am committed to supporting in whatever way i can... her intervention upset some politicians who called her "ill—informed." a few months later, diana was dead. but the world had heard, a treaty was passed, real progress was made. forward, now, to 2017, and it is her son, harry, who is challenging the world to finish his mother's work. his speech tonight was personal and heartfelt. he recalled that his mother had been a voice for all those who'd felt marginalised. she knew she had a big spotlight to shine and she used it to bring attention on the people that others had forgotten, ignored or were too afraid to support. in august 1997, one month before her death, diana went to bosnia. there she met two boys, both of whom had lost their legs to landmines. to one of them, a boy called zarco, harry said she'd made a promise. when my mother said goodbye to zarco that august,

just weeks before her untimely death, she told him that he would not be forgotten. please, help me keep her word to zarco and malic, and other people like them throughout the world, who still need us to finish the job and rid the planet of landmines. harry met zarco and his friend malic, both grown men now, both though still struggling with the life—changing effects of weapons of war which, as diana pointed out 20 years ago, kill and maim without discrimination long after the wars are over. nicholas witchell, bbc news, at kensington palace. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, i'm @bbcmikeembley. 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 1a 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. the latest headlines from bbc news.

i'm mike embley. the suspected chemical weapons attack in syria was brutal, unabashed barbarism, according to the us secretary of state. at least 58 people died, hundreds more were affected. the white house has said it's certain president assad's regime was responsible, despite denials from syria and its ally, russia. the un security council will consider a draft resolution calling for a rapid investigation. north korea has fired a ballistic missile into the sea ofjapan, prompting an angry reaction from japan. the launch comes ahead of a visit by china's president xi jinping to the united states to meet president donald trump. 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 prime suspect. it's not clear if he was a suicide bomber or if his bomb went off prematurely. now on bbc news, panorama.

marine le pen wants to be president of france. everyone on the right is behind her. because she's our last chance to save the country. after brexit, after trump, she wants to be the next shock to the establishment. marine presents herself as the new face of a patriotic mainstream, but the toxic legacy of her father still looms large. we reveal controversial money men working behind—the—scenes. we are talking about very radical ideas. such as? anti—semitism.