hello. you're watching bbc world news. i'm ben bland. our top story this hour: the un will hold emergency talks after the suspected chemical attack in syria. it's one of the worst atrocities of the syrian war, killing at least 58 people, and sparking global condemnation. thank you forjoining us. welcome to the programme. our other main story is this our: —— stories this hour. north korea fires a ballistic missile into the sea ofjapan, just before a key summit between the us and china. frontrunners in the french presidential election clash over europe in their second tv debate. i'm sally bundock. in business, today politicians in the european parliament get a chance to debate brexit with meps well aware they have a final say once negotiations are complete.

another brick in the wall: the bidding process for the building of president trump's controversial wall along the us—mexico border has ended. we are going to talk you through the proposals. hello. the international community has accused syria's president assad of being behind a suspected gas attack in which almost 60 people were killed. washington has accused the regime of barbarism, but it denies using chemical weapons. later today, the un security council will hold an emergency session to discuss exactly what happened in the rebel—held town of khan sheikhoun on tuesday. sarah corker reports. you may find some of the images in this report distressing. hundreds of innocent syrians, including many children, struggling to breathe after a suspected chemical attack in idlib province. distressing images, and evidence

that will no doubt dominate emergency talks by the un security council later today. global leaders have called for a rapid investigation into what happened here. hospitals were overwhelmed with casualties. translation: all our wounded, some are dead, there are many savvy patient cases. we couldn't enter khan sheikhoun city because of the intensive shelling. some of the injured were treated across the border in turkey. medics wore face masks to protect themselves from the toxic gases. translation: we were affected by the gas. we could not stand up. ifelt dizzy and sick. i struggled with shortness of breath. i could not breathe. this apparent chemical strike on a rebel—held town has brought furious international reaction. the us, britain, and france, have all played the syrian government for the attack. france, have all played the syrian government for the attacklj france, have all played the syrian government for the attack. i am

appalled by the report said there has been a chemical weapons attack ona has 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. using chemical weapons as a war crime. president assad's regime denied launching the attack on tuesday, echoing denials that has made over the course of the six—year civil war. there is a history of nerve gas being used on civilians. if we have understood, it was a chemical attack, and it came from the hour. we will be stimulating all those who have the capacity of finding out exactly what happened. -- from the air. just as doctors were treating those who survived, the hospital was hit by an air strike. the attack will overs ha d ow air strike. the attack will overshadow an international conference in brussels discussing

aid efforts and syria. thousands of civilians are still trapped by fighting. what effective action from the international community can be taken to the international community can be ta ken to prevent the international community can be taken to prevent a repeat of this? sarah corker, bbc news. ijust bring you some breaking news on that story coming to us from our moscow corresponded. the russian defence ministry now disputes the claim that the syrian regime carried out the attack. they said the syrian military carried out and a strike on a large ammunition store in the area, which is held by the rebels. —— a strike. they go on to say they we re —— a strike. they go on to say they were landmines filled with poisonous su bsta nces were landmines filled with poisonous substances that were in the store. —— airstrike. we will continue to bring you updates as we get them. at first we round up some of the other main stories: —— at first. —— but

first. the first victims of the st petersburg metro explosion have been named. investigators are continuing to piece together the identity of the attacker. the blast on monday between two stations killed 14 people and injured almost 50. investigators say it may have been a suicide bomb set off by a man born in kyrgyzstan. the president of colombia has blamed the mocoa landslide, which killed more that 250 people, on climate change. juan manuel santos praised his country's emergency services for the way they responded, but he said "rich countries are the ones that have created climate change, more than poor countries. " an 18—year—old man is being held on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism, after being arrested by police in london. he was detained as he attempted to board a eurostar train at st pancras international station on tuesday afternoon. police say the arrest is not related to offences against the uk. the un secretary general has criticised america's decision to withdraw funding to the agency that provides support for reproductive health. antonio guterres said the move could have a devastating effect on vulnerable women and girls. the us says the decision is partly because the agency supports chinese coercive abortion programmes. north korea has fired

a medium—range ballistic missile, which landed in the sea ofjapan. the launch, close to the port of sinpo, comes on the eve of a visit by china's president, xijinping, to the united states, to meet president trump. the two will discuss, among other things, how to curb north korea's nuclear weapons programme. our correspondent steve evans is in the south korean capital seoul. hejoins us live he joins us live from there now. steve, over the past few weeks, we have spoken a couple of times about these missile tests. what can you tell us about this one? it is relatively minor and that north korea routinely looses off missiles. the timing is what makes this one different. it went about 60 kilometres, that is about a0 miles, into the ocean to the east of the peninsular. and that is in marked

contrast, the launch, of months ago, of four sunil tennys missiles. but the timing is all here. the even of the timing is all here. the even of the meeting of the presidents in florida, where north korea will be at the top of the agenda. it is although north korea is making a gesture. —— simultaneous missile. s. it has not sent it to close to japan or the troops exercising of the pa netta, or the troops exercising of the panetta, but it does say we are still here and do not forget about us. “— still here and do not forget about us. —— simultaneous missiles. still here and do not forget about us. -- simultaneous missiles. do you think the timing is good a dental, or is very sense that pyongyang is behaving antagonistic league when there is this crucial time of the us and china establishing the new relationship under the new

president, donald trump. you said we cannot tell. north korea feels a need to test its technology, like all countries do, even though the testing of this particular technology runs counter to un resolutions. but whatever its intention, it is being read outside as being provocative. and that might be all that matters. the technology is advancing. but the rhetoric, certainly from washington, now, is getting heightened, as north korea moves getting heightened, as north korea m oves ste p getting heightened, as north korea moves step by step closer to having the ability to attack the united states with nuclear weapons. just a few days ago, president donald trump said that he expects china to try and rein in north korea, and if china won't do it, the us will do it by itself. there is a sense now that military action is much more possible than it was under the 0bama administration. although the 0bama

administration. although the 0bama administration had not ruled it out. and there is much more concerned, certainly in south korea, amongst military analysts that if they were military analysts that if they were military action against north korea, there is a fearsome conventional artillery just 50 miles from there is a fearsome conventional artilleryjust 50 miles from here in north korea. and if there was military action against north korea, there is the possibility of pretty brutal retaliation against this city and the teacher —— in particular. so what are the realities of the military, the political to richer is being raised, and that is raising fears in the city and in this country. —— the political temperature. thank you very much, steve evans, joining us from seoul. and sally is here with all the business news. can you report were discussing last

week? this was the day that article 50 was triggered. —— can you remember what we were discussing last week. i am just testing. it's a week since the united kingdom finally gave the european union notice it wants to leave. and in a few hours' time, today, the european parliament is starting discussions on what it wants to see from the negotiations. and this matters because the parliament can veto any final agreement made between the uk and the european council. one of the big issues they'll be looking at is the size of the so—called divorce bill. a figure in the region of $60 billion has been widely reported. at the moment the two sides are bound by trade worth about $6a0 billion a year. that is sizeable sum. —— that is a

pretty sizea ble that is sizeable sum. —— that is a pretty sizeable sum. the future of that will be discussed and the initial draft also warns the uk against starting any trade negotiations with other countries whilst it's still a member of the eu. britian‘s role as the world's biggest exporter of financial services is also picked out with a warning the uk shouldn't expect "privileged access" to the eu's internal market. there is also a call for "legal certainty" for companies. an estimated that some 300 thousand uk firms currently export to the eu. and two leading industry regulators are also facing the prospect of being relocated from their current london offices. they are the european banking authority and the european medicines agency. and the future of northern ireland and the irish republic are deemed of special concern. the issue of peace is highlighted. but there's also a shared land border and particularly strong trade links. so we will discuss all of that in

detail in world business report. the deadline for contractors to bid for a chance to build the very controversial mexico border wall has just closed. several firms will now be chosen to build prototypes, before a final contract is decided upon. but this is just contract is decided upon. but this isjust one contract is decided upon. but this is just one project that would be smooth sailing for the contract. —— contractor. the boss of one company, based in texas, said he has received about a dozen death threats since publicly expressing interest in bidding. other companies have asked if authorities would rush to help if workers came under attack, and if employees would be allowed to carry firearms on the job. junein june in full more on that and we will have the other business stories as well in about 20 minutes. i will see you soon. thank you very much, sally. 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. in a moment, analysis from our paris correspondent, but first let's hear some of what they had to say. 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. and 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 sort of super—gaullist, who is even more gaullist than he is. a rural affairs candidate, and then a completely fringe candidate who backs things like colonising mars, and is very 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 that the time of this three—and—a—half—hour debate 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. this is bbc world news. stay with us. still to come, prince harry reveals a plan to rid the

world of landmines and on the legacy of his mother, princess diana. —— honour the legacy. 25 years of hatred and rage as theyjump up on the statue. this funeral became a massive demonstration of black power, 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 world news.

i'm ben bland. the latest headlines: the un will hold emergency talks after the suspected chemical attack in syria. at least 58 people died. hundreds more were affected. north korea has fired a medium—range ballistic missile into the sea ofjapan just before a key summit between the us and china. the hungarian parliament has passed a controversial law that could close one of the country's most prestigious universities. the law, fast tracked by the nationalist government, fast tracks —— stops any institution outside the eu awarding diplomas without government permission. in downtown budapest, students,

professors and supporters surrounded the university buildings, chanting for free university. this is the central european university, and the university is seen by some as a bastion of liberalism that is under attack by the government. this is an attack against the students. we believe that eventually this support will lead the government to repeal this law. hours earlier, mps passed a new bill, fast tracked legislation, which places tougher restrictions on foreign universities. 0ne minister said it is in hungary's best interests to have as many higher education institutes as possible. but it goes against hungary's interests in hosting experiments, which aim at undermining the leadership.

the university's founder is a sworn enemy of the right—wing government. hungarian—born billionaire george soros. he says the bill is the latest clampdown on liberalism. it has seen prime minister viktor 0rban increase his influence. the university has students from more than 107 countries and presents itself as a champion of free speech. it has links to universities in russia, kurdistan, georgia, russia and cut its time. it is in the top 200 universities in the world in eight disciplines. this bill would effectively shut down the university. speaking to staff from washington, the university's president said it would be a long fight. our current plan is that we want

to remain in budapest. we've done nothing wrong. it is adding to a growing chorus of a cries across the world, with students vowing to fight the bill and saying they will appeal to the hungarian president for help. four months ago almost every player for the brazilian side chapecoense was killed in a plane crash as they travelled to face a colombian club in the mid— final of the purpose of americana. 0nly in the mid— final of the purpose of americana. only six of 77 people on board survived. 0n americana. only six of 77 people on board survived. on tuesday they finally played each other, this time in the first leg of the final in a different cup competition. a warm welcome to rivals, rarely seenin a warm welcome to rivals, rarely seen in football. at these teams we re seen in football. at these teams were brought together by tragedy. after the plane crash last year,

chapecoense was awarded the civil america cup, although the final between them was never played. it is the biggest prize they have ever won. this time it was atletico who got a hero's welcome as they arrived in the city of chocolate got to face their brazilian rivals. we supported both of them, we are one family, one heart. on the pitch, rivalry returned, with four yellow cards awarded during the match. but after atletico scored a stunning equaliser, their opponents joined atletico scored a stunning equaliser, their opponentsjoined in celebration. there was a fairytale end for chapecoense, with the winning goal near the end of an emotional match. the second leg will be in colombia next month, a trip that will bring back difficult memories for chapecoense fans. a zlatan ibrahimovic penalty in the 9ath minute saw manchester united salvage a 1—1 draw against everton at old trafford. the swede was returning from a three game suspension

and slotted home the equaliser to make it 27 goals for the season. it means united extend their unbeaten run to 20 games. in the first half the performance was not good at all. it was a bad performance is not a very good attitude. in the second half the attitude. in the second half the attitude was phenomenal. the players left everything on the pitch. because of the outcome of the intensity of the game improved. pressure after pressure after pressure, so the goal finally arrived. at least you don't have the feeling of the defeat. prince harry has paid tribute to his mother, diana, princess of wales, for her work in raising awareness of landmines and unexploded munitions. in a speech at kensington palace

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 let's finish the programme with more than one sparkle. a rare pink diamond that was mined in south africa in 1999 has broken the world record for a gemstone at an auction. it fetched more than $71 in hong kong. —— $71 million. the 59.6 carat ‘pink star‘ is the largest polished diamond in its class to go under the hammer. it fetched a higher price when it was put up for auction in 2013, going for $83 million, but the new york—based buyer defaulted on the deal. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter — i'm @benmbland. coming up injust a couple of minutes, sally has all the latest business news in world business report. first, a look at the

weather where you are. 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. 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. hello. this is bbc world news. i'm ben bland with the headlines. 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 un is set to stage emergency talks later. north korea has fired a ballistic missile into the sea ofjapan, prompting an angry reaction from south korea and japan. the launch comes ahead of a visit by china's president xi jinping to the united states to meet president donald trump. frontrunners in the french presidential election have clashed over europe in their second tv debate. the centrist candidate, emmanuel macron, said proposals

by marine le pen of the national front amounted to "economic wa rfa re" colombia's president, juan manuel santos, has told the bbc