a very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: as the persecution of rohingya muslims intensifies, we ask the leader of myanmar, aung san syu kyi, if she's failing to stop ethnic cleansing. i don't think there's ethnic cleansing going on. i think ethnic cleansing is too strong an expression to use for what is happening. the us signals a new stance on syria after the chemical weapons attack that left 70 dead. i will tell you, it has already happened, that my attitude towards syria and bashar al—assad, has changed very much. a reshuffle at the white house, as chief strategist steve bannon loses a key post. but why? two weeks after the london terror attack, relatives of the dead join the royal family at a "service of hope" in westminster abbey. #we are the chosen#.

and is any publicity good publicity? pepsi pulls a controversial ad. hello. almost 18 months since aung san suu kyi led her party to power in myanmar‘s first openly contested election in 25 years, questions are being asked about her leadership and her silence on the persecution of minority groups. in the past six months, around 70,000 rohingya muslims have fled their homeland in myanmar amid reports that the national army is responsible for mass killings and gang rapes. aung san suu kyi spoke exclusively to our special correspondent, fergal keane. it is a relic of the absurdity and paranoia of military rule, a capital marooned far from the people, designed to keep the generals safe, but where the new democratic government is trying to consolidate

its hold on power. its leader, aung san suu kyi, has undergone a rapid transformation from pro—democracy icon. it's good to see you, a year later. a period of intense scrutiny and criticism. now, for the first time this year, she's agreed to a face—to—face interview. in terms of change in the lives of ordinary people, one of the things that's happened, it's happened in south africa, for example, is a massive sense of disappointment when a liberation movement comes into power. what have you done to make their lives better? you go through the whole list of things we have done, such as how many miles of roads and how many bridges and so many townships electrified. last year, we started out by saying that, at the top of our priorities was job creation and we discovered, over this one year, that if you start constructing all—weather roads and if you provide electrification, then people start creating jobs for themselves.

there've been advances in healthcare and, critically, more free elections. but all of this has been overshadowed by the terror in rakhine state where tens of thousands of rohingya muslims have fled what human rights groups call ethnic cleansing. and about which aung san suu kyi has condemned for failing to speak out. what exactly is it that they're condemning? they want you to allow a un fact—finding mission into rakhine state. that is just now. that is just what they asked for last month. but what is that they have been condemning over the last year? many, many people, including those who would be sympathetic to you, look at the situation and say "why hasn't she spoken out?" "here's an icon of human rights..." what do you mean by "speaking out?" now, fergal, this question has been

asked since 2013 when the troubles, the last round of troubles broke out in the rakhine, and they would ask me questions, and i would answer them and people would say i said nothing simply because i didn't make the kind of statements which they thought i should make, which is to condemn one community or the other. so, what we're trying to go for is reconciliation, not condemnation. do you ever worry that you will be remembered as the champion of human rights, the nobel laureate, who failed to stand up to ethnic cleansing in her own country? no, because i don't think there's ethnic cleansing going on. i think ethnic cleansing is too strong an expression to use for what's happening. it's what i think, as an outsider, i have to say. fergal, i think there's a lot of hostility there, and, as i pointed outjust now, its muslims killing muslims as well, if they think that they are collaborating with the authorities. so, it's notjust a matter of ethnic cleansing, as you've put it, it's a matter of people on different sides of a divide.

she remains the most popular politician here by a very long way and her goal remains to negotiate the military out of politics, with people power at her back and a steely interior determination. do you think that people in the west misjudged you or mischaracterised you or misunderstood you, expecting you to be this sort of amalgam of mahatma gandhi and mother teresa, for example? and, actually, maybe you're closer in your determination and steeliness to someone like margaret thatcher? well, no, i'mjusta politician. i'm not quite like margaret thatcher, no. but, on the other hand, i'm no mother teresa either. fergal keane, bbc news. you can watch the full interview with aung san suu kyi and stay up—to—date with the latest developments on that story on our website. that's at bbc.com/news. president trump has accused the syrian regime of crossing "many, many" red lines with its latest chemical weapons attack on a rebel—held area.

he called it an "affront to humanity. " at least 70 people were killed in idlib province on tuesday. mr trump said the deaths, including 20 children, had changed his attitude towards president assad. at a tense and bitter session of the un security council, moscow was accused of allowing its syrian ally to carry out war crimes. nick bryant reports from new york. five—year—old ibrahim went to bed in his spiderman pyjamas and woke up to the latest horror in syria's unending war. his grandmother was at his hospital bedside caring for ibrahim and his sister, tebba, because their father was killed in the attack. lives ended, lives ruined, by a toxic cloud that filled victims‘ lungs with poison. translation: my grandchildren were sleeping. everyone woke up to a loud noise. they went outside and that's when they came across the chemical attack. they just fell to the floor and died. it's all too easy to become desensitised to the suffering

of the syrian people, but consider the plight of abdul hamil al—yousf, he lost 20 members of his family, including his twin children, killed in a second explosion. translation: i left them in good health. why did this happen? i went to help other people and thought my children were 0k. now they are gone. yesterday, donald trump derided his predecessor, barack 0bama, for warning the assad regime that using chemical weapons crossed a red line, but not following through on that threat. but today, in the fragrant setting of the rose garden, he deployed similar language himself and signalled a change in thinking on syria. these heinous actions by the assad regime cannot be tolerated. my attitude towards syria and assad has changed very much. it crossed a lot of lines for me.

in an angry emergency session at the united nations security council, western nations pointed the finger of blame at the assad regime and also its diplomatic protectors here, russia, but moscow claimed that syrian rebels were to blame for the deaths. translation: the syrian air force conducted an air strike on the eastern edge of khan sheikhoun on a large warehouse of ammunition and military equipment. 0n the territory of that warehouse there was a facility to produce ammunition with the use of toxic weapons. but that prompted this electrifying moment of diplomatic theatre, the us ambassador, nikki haley, getting to herfeet and holding up graphic images of the dead. then, eye—balling her russian counterpart, she blasted moscow. if russia has the influence in syria that it claims to have, we need to see them use it. we need to see them put an end to these horrific acts.

how many more children have to die before russia cares? today, we saw the usual divisions at the security council, the usual deadlock over syria and the usual inability of the international community, even to agree about basic facts on the ground. us secretary of state, rex tillerson, is due to visit moscow next week. he was asked how anything could be changed in syria if the russians are unwilling to co—operate since they are there in such force, in the air and on the ground. well, there is no doubt in our mind that the syrian regime and the leadership of bashar al—assad is responsible for the attack. russia needs to think about their continued support of bashar al—assad. needs to think about their continued

support of bashar al-assad. rex tillerson speaking. let's round—up some of the other main stories. the italian coastguard says humanitarian groups operating rescue ships off the coast of libya have picked up more than 700 migrants out of seven flimsy and overcrowded boats. the number of migrants arriving in italy on boats from north africa are up 30% so far this year, according to official data released last week. the authorities in columbia say at least 290 people are now known to have died following saturday's mudslide in the city of mocoa. the government has ordered an investigation to find out whether building safety regulations were properly enforced. meanwhile the search continues for more than three—hundred people who are still missing. the united states says illegal border crossings from mexico have fallen to their lowest level in seventeen years. the homeland security secretary, john kelly, says fewer than 17,000 undocumented immigrants were detained in march. he said the fall was the result of president trump's tough immigration policies. president trump will be hosting

china's president xi jingping tomorrow for two days of talks in mar—a—lago in florida. trade, currency and north korea are expected to be at the top of the agenda at what are being pegged as the most high stakes talks of the trump presidency so far. steve bannon has been stripped of his position. steve bannon is widely seen as the far right. according to a white house aide, this reshuffle is not a demotion. jeff mason is the white house correspondent for the reuters news agency. he's also the president of the white house correspondents association. welcome. thank you for your time. you know there was an easement over steve bannon‘s original appointment. —— amazement. there were fears the

council was being politicised. what do you make of this? it is very interesting that he has been taken off the national security council. you are absolutely right to say it was very controversial when his name was very controversial when his name was added at the very beginning of donald trump's administration to that body. it is important to describe to the view was that the national security council is the top national security and by the in the united states which advises the president on wars and conflicts and disasters and disease. and to have the chief political strategist in those meetings and to have weight on those meetings and to have weight on those councils, i mean, the fact he has now been taken off is a sign that probably the new national security advisers has gained quite a bit of ground and has victory on that account. the explanation being offered to the media is making this

no less bizarre. he was only there to watch over the former national security advisor. that is an explanation. the former national security advisor was fired for not being truthful to vice president mike pence about his conversations with the russian ambassador. the new one is also rumoured to have said to others in the community that he felt he was in a death match with steve bannon. if that is in fact the case, according to my reuters colleagues who reported that today, then mcmaster won. this has been tied up with allegations against president 0bama's national security advisor, susan rice, with this one saying he thinks she committed a crime. there is no evidence of that copy what is going on? that is a separate story

not related to steve bannon being taken off the nsc, but the context of that is related to this story about espionage and surveillance that president trump has accused president 0bama of having done. he is suggesting susan rice, the former national security advisor under president 0bama, was involved with unmask and people involved in the security arena whose identities she sought to find out. so, yeah, the president weighed in today in an interview with the new york times suggesting she had broken the law. her spokeswoman said she will not even dignify that with a response. yes. apparently this was all part of a smokescreen which we will go to another time, perhaps. thank you very much indeed, jeff. and thank you to you for being involved in watching this. we hearfrom melissa

cochrane who lost her husband kurt in the westminster attack. cochrane who lost her husband kurt in the westminster attacklj cochrane who lost her husband kurt in the westminster attack. i am extremely proud of him and i am very happy that the world now knows what a wonderful man he was. 55 years of hatred and rage, as theyjump on the statue. this funeral 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 that picasso's works were beautiful,

they were intelligent, and it's a sad loss to everybody who loves art. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: myanmar‘s de facto leader, aung san su kyi, has spoken to the bbc, defending her record over atrocities against the rohingya minority. president trump has called the deadly gas attack in syria an affront to humanity, and said it changed his view of bashar al—assad. a service of hope and reconciliation has taken place in london, a fortnight after four people were killed close to the houses of parliament. the duke and duchess of cambridge, along with prince harry, joined almost 2,000 people attending the multi—faith service. melissa cochran, from utah, was also there.

she and her husband, kurt, were both hit by khalid masood's car. kurt was killed, melissa badly injured. the couple had been in europe celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. melissa cochran spoke exclusively to fiona bruce. kurt was probably the best man i have ever met. he was... ..sweet, and kind, and... i'm extremely proud of him, and i'm very happy that the world now knows what a wonderful man he was. he would probably hate all the publicity that's going on, he's a very private kind of person. very generous, very sweet, and... ..the love of my life. what can you remember about the day? we just were having another

wonderful day in our vacation. and just enjoying the sights, taking pictures, making our way to the abbey. and i don't remember much more after that, so crossing the bridge, and we were almost there. you have no recollection of the car, the attack itself? i don't, i don't. there is a photograph that has been printed, i imagine you're aware of it, of you on the ground, being helped by a passer—by. i do recall all of that, and the panic, you know, of not being able to see my husband anywhere. 0r really know what was kind of going on. it was — it was quite scary. and when did you find out that kurt had been killed? it was after my surgery on my leg.

i had come out of recovery, and they had placed me in a hospital room. and my parents had come to visit, and they were there waiting for me when i came out. i asked them to find out what had happened to my husband. my parents walked out of the room, and came back in, and they both grabbed my hand and said that he didn't make it. which, you know, crushed me. very striking, the press conference where so many members of your family came, and stood in solidarity with you, and also said that your husband would not have felt ill will towards his attacker. i think that would have surprised a lot of people. i don't think i could heal my injuries or as a person if i had hate in my heart.

and kurt wouldn't want that either, so there's no hate. the european parliament has agreed its priorities for the forthcoming brexit negotiations with the uk. nigel farage, the former ukip leader, accused his fellow meps of behaving like the mafia, setting a ransom demand. 0ur correspondent damian grammaticas watched the exchanges. it began cordial enough — smiles, genuine or not, between the architect of brexit and the man who says britain must pay billions. he is michel barnier, the eu's chief negotiator. today, the european parliament backed his demand. the leader of the socialist group said the uk must pay its bills. it's like moving house, he said. the gas bill, the electricity, it all has to be settled, said gianni patella. nigel farage laughed that off. but he had a riposte of his own. as soon as he was on his

feet, his tone changed. he said the eu was being vindictive and nasty, making impossible demands. you're behaving like the mafia. you think we're a hostage. we're not, we're free to go. we're free to go. and 85... no... groans at the mafia comparison stopped him mid—flow. then this, from the parliament's italian president. i'm sorry, mr farage, interrupted antonio tajani. but saying this parliament is behaving like the mafia, that is unacceptable. 0k, alright. it is a sign of how fractious the real negotiations could become. mr barnier responded he will not punish the uk, only ask that it live up to its financial obligations

and he said it'll have to agree the separation terms before trade talks can begin. the sooner we agree the principles of an orderly withdrawal, the sooner we can prepare our future relationship. among the parliament's other demands, that the uk can have no special access to the eu's single market for sectors like financial services. the reason this debate matters is that this parliament will have a vote in two years' time on any brexit deal, yes 01’ no. if it doesn't like it, it could throw it out, scupper the whole thing. ..was not directed against britain. a different future was laid out, too, where a young generation of britons want to rejoin the eu. a young generation that will see brexit for what it really is, a catfight in the conservative party that got out of hand. a lot of time, a waste of energy, and, i think, a stupidity. but, for now, the eu is already in what it says will be

a tough negotiating position. damian grammaticas, bbc news, strasbourg. pepsi has pulled its latest advert, starring the model kendalljenner, and apologised for missing the mark. many had complained the video was tone—deaf, and mocked and undermined the black lives matter protesters. pepsi said they were trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. elaine dunkley with the story. # we are the chosen. # we're going to shine... it is a global brand that's caused a global backlash. # we are the lions. # we are the chosen. supermodel kendalljenner handing a can of pepsi to a police officer during a protest. pepsi says the message was about harmony, but it has caused outrage on social media. they've basically set this advert in a protest situation. donald trump just got elected, black lives matter‘s just fresh of the boat. and i think people have a right to be upset, because essentially pepsi'sjust gone out and said, "with a can of pepsi, we can fix

and heal the world". and that's just not true. in america, this is the reality of protests. anger and arrests, not soft drinks and supermodels. in baton rouge, louisiana last year, there was widespread unrest following the shooting of a black man, alton stirling, by police. critics say pepsi have tried to replicate this iconic image from the protest, and it's in bad taste. i'm tired of black pain being used for commercial gain. it made no sense and it was a parody, basically, of some serious situations. i'm wondering if they even have an inclusive and diverse board of advisors, because if anybody who saw that before it went out... they would know that that was just inappropriate, and disrespectful. they say any publicity is good publicity. ad agencies are constantly trying to push the boundaries. but how far is too far? when you trivialise it, or make it seem like — you know, just put everybody

in a melting pot, kind of thing, i don't know if they're really about the issues, or if they're just trivialising the whole thing. probably bigger problems in the world, isn't there? but i think when you say insulting... it's insulting in that, you know, there are serious problems in the world, and pepsi have used the problems to try and give them some value. # we are the chosen... bowing to pressure, pepsi has now pulled the advert and apologised. it has cost the company hundreds of thousands of pounds, but it is a drinks campaign which has fallen flat, and the cost to pepsi's reputation could be even greater. elaine dunkley, bbc news. lots more on our exclusive interview with the leader of myanmar on our website. hello there.

the weather story is pretty quiet for the next few days. a lot of dry weather, variable cloud, some sunshine, and generally light winds as well. it is all because of high pressure. now, during the course of the night, most places will be dry, maybe a little bit of light rain across the north—west of scotland. more of a breeze here. but where you have the cloud, relatively mild, 7—9 degrees. where the skies clear, cool, and a touch of frost in some rural places, so a quiet looking start to thursday. so it is a quiet—looking start to thursday. most of us will be seeing light winds, but across the north, high pressure. in towards northern and western scotland, here more of a strong, north—westerly breeze. that will fit in quite a lot of cloud to the northern isles. west scotland, some light rain or drizzle, with the east of scotla nd potentially seeing some shelter, so you could be seeing some breaks and some sunshine. variable cloud, maybe a bit of sunshine for northern england. i think much of wales and england, variable cloud and some sunny spells.

i think probably the best of the sunshine in south wales and the south—west of england, where we could make 15 on friday, a similar story. light winds for most, variable cloud, also some sunshine. the high pressure is with us for thursday and friday, but it moves position as we head towards the weekend. this is pretty crucial, because we then start to pull a southerly wind off the near continent. it is drier air, and eventually it will be warmer air, particularly as we head on into sunday. notice the blue colours behind me, though. this is an approaching weather front, a cooler mass of air, which will arrive across the far north—west of the country as the weekend wears on. so i think, for saturday, probably a greater chance of seeing more sunshine around. temperatures up just that little bit. 15, 16, maybe 17 celsius. more cloud, though, across the north—west of the country. it is looking pretty good for the grand national, as well. aintree on saturday, a lot of dry weather, temperatures around the mid—teens celsius. on sunday, that weather front approaches scotland. so strengthening winds,

feeling quite cool here, outbreaks of rain. but, for england and wales it is looking much sunnier, and because we are pulling down to warmerand drierairoff the near continent, it is going to be really warm, with temperatures in the low 20s celsius. we could make 23 degrees across the south—east. so the main message for the next few days — because of high pressure, it is going to be largely dry, with light winds. there will be some sunshine around. it is going to get warmer this weekend, especially on sunday. but, like i mentioned, that weather front with the colder air behind it spreads its way southwards during monday. so a cloudy, cool day generally. temperatures in the north struggling to get much above eight or nine degrees. still fairly mild in the south—east. the latest headlines from bbc news. aung san suu kyi has told the bbc she rejects criticism over her handling of the rohingya muslims crisis. the de facto leader of myanmar has denied international accusations that she's been standing by as rohingya muslims are ethnically cleansed by the army in rakhine state. president trump has called the deadly gas attack in syria on tuesday an affront to humanity and said it changed his view

on bashar al—assad. previously, the us administration said trying to topple mr assad would not be a priority. pepsi says it's discontinued a controversial advert — starring the model kendalljenner — and apologised for ‘missing the mark‘ as they put it. viewers complained that the video undermined the black lives matter movement. pepsi said they were trying to project a ‘global message of unity, peace and understanding'. now it's time for hardtalk.