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. 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 are 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're 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. this is the deadliest attack in syria in nearly four years and after that atrocity in 2013, the assad regime was supposed to have handed over its chemical weapons stockpile. but it's continued to use banned toxic weapons and experts believe the evidence points to damascus having carried out another war crime. wrecked buildings and ruined cities are usually the grim landmarks of the syrian conflict, but today, it was empty streets and signs that warned of the poison still contaminating the air. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. 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's no doubt in our mind that the syrian regime and the leadership of bashar al—assad is responsible for this horrific attack. we think it's time that the russians really need to think about their continued support of the assad regime. 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. one of donald trump's closest advisors, steve bannon, has been stripped of his position within the national security council, reversing one of the most controversial early decisions the president made back in january. a white house aide said the reshuffle was not a demotion

for mr bannon, who used to head—up the right—wing website, breitbart news. ken gude is a senior fellow with the national security team at the think tank centre for american progress. he joins us from washington. thank you for your time. i suspect you may think we are on the wrong target. it is not so much about steve bannon but more about the new security adviser having more control. yes. this is good news. i have been quite critical of the new donald trump administration and how they have handled national security. when they make a step it is important to give them credit for that. this looks like the new national security advisor, hr mcmaster, asserting control over the national security in the white

house, and pushing aside political aides that were put in place in the beginning of the trump administration. and so we see now a more regular national security process that does not have the chief political strategist of the president sitting in national security meetings, and that is a positive step. it was amazing in washington when he was first appointed. he has no foreign policy and national security credentials. he is not sidelined, though, he will still have a say and will be an observer. yes. i think there has been a lot of hyperbole around this move. it is an important and good step, but we should not read too much into this as if steve bannon is 110w much into this as if steve bannon is now completely sidelined from national security decision—making. as you noted, just today, even though he is no longer on the principle is committee, it was

reported that he attended a national security meeting. it is not like he has been completely sidelined. what we do see scenes hr mcmaster took overfor we do see scenes hr mcmaster took over for michael we do see scenes hr mcmaster took overfor michael flynn we do see scenes hr mcmaster took over for michael flynn when he was fired after just three over for michael flynn when he was fired afterjust three weeks of national security advisor, it is a more regularised process that puts national security decision—making in the hands of real professionals, realforeign policy the hands of real professionals, real foreign policy and security professionals, rather than the first group put in by general flynn and president trump in the early days of the administration. just a very briefly if you could, it seems like there has been a bizarre explanation given to the media, steve bannon was only put in in the first place to look after michael flynn. it is weird to think you would need a ba bysitter weird to think you would need a babysitter for the national security advisor. that does not pass the

test. what we are seeing is reports that steve bannon had fallen out with jared kushner, the son—in—law of donald trump, and this tension is rather the reason why this move has been made now. and there are reports the president himself has been growing uneasy with the amount of limelight steve bannon is getting. while we should say this is good for hr mcmaster and the regular process, there is a lot of drama and speculation going on about why this is happening, and really, we do not know what is going on in the inner workings of the donald trump administration, and it certainly could be the kind of drama that we are seeing play out between steve bannon and jared kushner and steve bannon and jared kushner and steve bannon and jared kushner and steve bannon and the president himself. more could emerge. thank you very much. thank you. thanks to you. stay with us if you can. much more to come, including this, on bbc news. a mass evacuation is happening in

north—west peru after the largest flood in nearly three decades. 55 years of hatred and rage, as theyjump up 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 series of devastating floods in peru have left 100 people dead and tens of thousands homeless since the start of the year. entire roads and bridges have been swept away. peru's air force has deployed planes to airlift thousands of people. now, satellite images collected by the amazon monitoring project and conservation groups show how the floodwaters have changed the landscape in north—west peru. sarah corker reports. for weeks now, peru has been under

siege from floodwaters. using makeshift boats and carrying whatever they could, hundreds of families escape the rising water, after the river burst its banks. 800 towns and cities have declared a state of emergency. 100 people have been killed. air evacuations has have begun. 0ne been killed. air evacuations has have begun. one woman, shortly after being rescued by helicopter, gave birth to a baby girl mid—flight. this is the look of relief and exhaustion. mother and child recovering in hospital. translation: i thought the helicopter was not going to arrive. i was already in pain, but the commander called and said the helicopter was on its way. warm temperatures in the pacific

have led to torrential rains and mudslides, ripping through anything in its path. new satellite and aerial images show how the landscape in northern peru has rapidly changed. the image on the left shows the region at the start of the year. the picture on the right shows how, by march, a lagoon had formed. this is because of the la leche river in january, and this is after it burst its banks. the yellow line is the pan—american highway. with many now homeless, temporary shelters have been set up inside some of north peru's most ancient ruins, some dating back to 900 a.d.. translation: we are here because the people have basically felt invaded by this water, as much from the river as from the rain. the whole nation is suffering. these are the worst floods in peru in almost three

decades, and ongoing crisis now affecting over half of the country. the european parliament has agreed its priorities for negotiating brexit with the uk. nigel farage, the former ukip leader, accused his fellow meps of behaving like the mafia, setting a ransom demand, and was slapped down for it. 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 will 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 readying 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 has 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's just 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 sterling, by police. critics say pepsi have tried to replicate this iconic image from the protest, and it is 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 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. that menus again, myanmar‘s leader has spoken exclusively to the bbc, denying there is ethnic cleansing under way against the rohingya muslim minority. 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, perhaps with a touch of frost in some rural places. so 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, more of a strong, north—westerly breeze. that will fit in quite a lot of cloud to the northern isles. west scotland, some drizzle, with the east of scotland potentially seeing some shelter, so a few of you could be seeing some brea ks 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, in towards the south—west of england, where we could make 15 or 16 degrees. 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. now, on sunday, that weather front approaches

northern ireland, western scotland. strengthening winds, and feeling quite cool, outbreaks of rain. but for england and wales it is looking much sunnier, 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 cold 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. a series of devastating floods in north—west peru have left 100 people dead and tens of thousands homeless. entire roads and bridges have been swept away, and 800 towns and cities have declared a state of emergency. peru's air force has been deployed planes to airlift thousands of people. now it's time for click. this week: adventures in sound with posh cams,