hello, you're watching bbc world news. i'm james menendez. our top story this hour — the us has attacked an airbase in syria with more than 50 cruise missiles. this is the moment the tomahawks were fired from a us navy ship in the mediterranean. president trump said it was in response to the suspected chemical attack in syria. news of previous attempts and changing asaad's behaviour have all failed, and failed very dramatically. state tv in damascus said syria had been a victim of american aggression and the governor of homs said the missile strikes served the goals of so—called islamic state. earlier, russia warned of negative consequences of any us military action in syria but the pentagon did warn moscow of the air strikes. i'm aron heslehurst. in business, face—to—face and just the start of

what president trump calls a great relationship, the leaders of the world, two biggest economies, finally meet as the rest of the world hold its breath to see if these two can avoid a fight. and the lawsuits that probably runs more than 140 characters. twitter is suing the us government after the trump administration demanded to know the identity of an anti—trump account. but first, president donald trump has said the us military has carried out a cruise missile attack on an airbase from which syrian government planes staged a chemical weapons attack on a rebel—held town. more than 50 tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from american navy ships in the mediterranean, hitting the shayrat airbase which lies 150 kilometres north—east of damascus. the us military say the attack severely damaged or destroyed aircraft and equipment. after the operation was completed,

president trump made this statement. my fellow americans. on tuesday, the syrian dictator bashar al—assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians. using a deadly nerve agent, assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. it was a slow and brutal death for so many. even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. no child of god should ever suffer such horror. tonight, i ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in syria from where the chemical

attack was launched. it is in this vital national security interest of the united states to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. there can be no dispute that syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the urging of the un security council. years of previous attempts at changing assad's behaviour have all failed and failed very dramatically. as a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region continues to destabilise, threatening the united states and its allies.

tonight, i call on all civilised nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in syria, and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types. we ask for god's wisdom as we face the challenge of our very troubled world. we pray for the lives of the wounded and for the souls of those who have passed. and we hope that, as long as america stands forjustice, then peace and harmony will in the end prevail. goodnight and god bless america and the entire world. thank you. let's get more reaction from our correspondent aleem maqbool

aleem maqbool in washington. further details have emerged about what took place the airfield? the pentagon says this happened just before 4am syrian time so just before 4am syrian time so just before nine o'clock here in washington. those 59 tomahawk missiles were launched from two us navy vessels in the mediterranean, targeting the single airbase, shy right, close to the city of homs, and where it is believed that chemical attack on it lip was launched from. but the pentagon says is that aircraft were damaged, sorry, ammunition storage bunkers, fuel storage areas, they were attacked as well as radars and a defence systems. the pentagon has also said, as you said in your introduction, the russian military was warned but this was then a very

limited strike but having said that, a huge departure from policy in the past by the us and the first direct us military action on a syrian regime since the revolution began. that notification of the russians is interesting, there are some reports that there were russians at the base. also, one wonders if the russians were notified, was timidly that means the syrians may also have been notified. i'm sure that the pentagon realised that if they were going to tell the russians, which have been instrumental in militarily supporting the assad regime, for more than the last year or so, that the syrians would be notified. there's no word of any russian hardware being damaged in this attack as yet and certainly, no word

of casualties, military or otherwise. but the white house was very clear that they didn't ask for permission for this attack, they we re permission for this attack, they were simply abiding by the current corporation that there was between the us and russia and it is interesting that perhaps it may have paralysed president 0bama in acting in the past because there is some military cooperation on the ground in syria because there are some us special forces on the ground, between 501,000, and the reason some cooperation to allow those soldiers to go to areas where they fight isis so one to go to areas where they fight isis so one would think there has to be some way by which the russians and the americans came to some understanding that those troops would remain safe but we don't know yet what the russian reaction will be, we heard earlier in the day the

warning that came from russian officials that if there was an attack, it would be a mistake. but this is all notjust a departure from what the 0bama administration did but also a departure really from what president trump himself said on the record over recent years when it came to 2013 and there was the chemical attack, came to 2013 and there was the chemicalattack, president came to 2013 and there was the chemical attack, president 0bama said a red line had been crossed and at that time president trump was saying there shouldn't be military intervention in syria because it wasn't in the us‘s national interest. right through the campaign that led to the election at the end of last year, donald trump was talking in very sort of non— interventionist terms when it came to the middle east and now he is saying that this chemical attack, bearing in mind that nearly 500,000 people have been killed in the war in syria so far, this chemical attack had changed his mind and he believed this action that he ordered in syria today was in the national

interest of the american people. many thanks. 0ur correspondent ben james is in beirut. what are you hearing from beirut? that is emerging from the syrian site there, the account of what happened at the airbase? the main reaction from the syrian government so reaction from the syrian government so far has come from the governor of the province in which this airbase, shayrat, is located, but homs province, he has been speaking to various news agencies, talking about firefighting and rescue efforts going on for a couple of hours at the airbase, talking about dead and in his letters conversation, and the afp news agency, some dead but not a large number of people have been killed in the airbase. it seems to tally with the stated aims from the pentagon in their statement, talking about the strikes, saying they were targeting infrastructure, talking

about that but not targeting personnel as such. so we wait to see whether we see anything more from the airbase itself. 0n the other side of the political divide in syria, one of the key opposition groups, the syrian national coalition, has been reacting to the strikes, welcoming them and saying they want more of them and they want they want more of them and they want the us to further target bashar al—asaad. we have seen from reuters news agency citing unnamed official from the us saying that this is a 1—off airstrike and we wait to see whether that is true, whether that will be a report that is corroborated. it's one of the key christians that people are asking, whether this is the start of a longer campaign or whether this is merely a signal, a strong signal, to be sent from the us administration to the government of president asaad. lots of questions, not least the american saying they believe chemical weapons have been stored at

the airbase. the syrian line all this week and the fall has been that they don't have any chemical weapons. indeed and also if they sought medical —— chemical weapons on the ground and if you hit them with a strike from conventional weapons, they could cause the sort of death that we saw in khan sheikhoun in those all full pictures that were posted online by accident and even yesterday the foreign minister of syria, we saw on state tv, carried live and again a denial that chemical attacks took place on khan sheikhoun, instead blaming the release of those chemical substances on the opposition groups, including the jihadis on the opposition groups, including thejihadis groups on the opposition groups, including the jihadis groups that have been linked to al qaeda that operate on the ground in the north—west of syria. so they deny that they have been those weapons, they deny the attacks took place though of course we do also have the back in 2013 the attack on the city close to the

maskos, denied by the syrian government but they also went on to declare a large stockpile of chemical weapons that was decommissioned after a deal between the us and russia by the 0rganisation the us and russia by the organisation of the omission of chemical weapons, they took those, declared chemical weapons out of syria for the government of syria has indeed admitted in the past they do have those chemical weapons. many thanks, then. just to recap what he was saying, the report on the french newsagency quoting the governor of homs province saying that the military strike had caused several deaths but, he said, we don't yet know the number either of martyrs, as he put it, dead or of wounded. the republican senator mark rubio responded in this way to the strikes. my first reaction is too obviously acknowledge and appreciate the skill and bravery of our men and women in uniform and armed forces.

the president erdogan appropriate step tonight and this is notjust symbolic, he took an attack against ina symbolic, he took an attack against in a field that was in their field from which this chemical attacks we re from which this chemical attacks were did against innocent civilians andi were did against innocent civilians and i think the president made the right move and so obviously now it is an attack, it had a strategic addict did, degrading asaad's capability to continue to attack his own people. with nerve agent like sarin. again, we will have to see the aftermath of it, i trust the men and women of the military who make these decisions and build up these packages, i will say that once again the targeting was a specific airfield from which this chemical attacks were conducted from. it was the right move. i am confident that the right move. i am confident that the president and the administration of these military officials put in place a share number necessary to achieve the objective. again, the night was a move to degrade an emergency situation and the ability of bashar al—asaad to conduct chemical weapons attacks against his

own people. the president will not announce the night that there is some sort of longer term engagement. i think some sort of longer term engagement. ithinki some sort of longer term engagement. i think i would imagine that moment we re i think i would imagine that moment were to arrive, he would come to congress at the appointed and seek authorisation and move forward but the nikkei acted under his authority as commander in chief. he targeted a facility that was being used to gas and kill babies and children. any concerns about hitting...? and kill babies and children. any concerns about hitting. . . ? this was a targeting of a facility that was used to conduct chemical weapons attacks against civilians. if russians happened to be that that means they were complicit in the chemical attacks. that was the republican senator mark rubio speaking there in washington. news of the missile attack came as donald trump hosted the chinese president. he was speaking at a dinner, he said they engaged in long

discussions and he was confident they would have a great relationship. it was an historic handshake as the world watches to see what relationship the leaders of these economic superpowers will have. the summit at president trump's palm beach resort got off to a cordial start. president xi jinping and his wife posing for pictures with their american counterparts. and some socialising before digging into the thorny issues of trade and security. we have had a long discussion and so fari have had a long discussion and so far i have got nothing. we have developed a friendship, i can see that. i think long—term we are going to have a very great relationship andi to have a very great relationship and i look forward to it. positive talk very much in contrast to his

tough rhetoric on the campaign trail. we can't continue to allow china to rate our country. they have taken our money, they have taken our jobs. china is a currency manipulator. and so trade will be top of the agenda. donald trump previously threatened to introduce ta riffs previously threatened to introduce tariffs on chinese goods coming to the us. that could spark a trade war. the most pressing foreign policy issue is north korea. president trump wants mr xi to do more to rein in pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. we would do a lot better at it if we did this in conjunction with china and the republic of korea. and for his part mr xi is hoping to shape america's china policy in a way that suits china. the stakes are high. no major deals are expected. they have set low expectations in terms of concrete

outcomes. this permits the presidents to establish a personal relationship. if it is successful the presidents will feel that they can deal with each other more easily in the future. it was all smiles at dinner but the meeting was somewhat overshadowed by the us missile strike on syria. the ripples of decisions made inside his luxury resort felt across the globe. we picked up on that meeting with aaron. yes, the words we are hearing, right before the press conference before the missile strike and president trump talking, he said it is the start to a great relationship which we will have to wait and see about. as you just heard, the chinese president has arrived in the us for a meeting with his counterpart president donald trump. mr trump is hosting xijinping at his mar—a—lago resort in florida. their two day meeting is the first

time they are talking in person. mr trump has earlier said the summit "will be a very difficult one". last year he accused china of "raping the us". and during his election campaign, he said massive trade deficits and job losses could no longer be tolerated. so can these two dealmakers avert a potential trade war? i'll talk to an expert in world business report. twitter is suing the us government after the trump administration demanded the twitter reveal the identity of an anti—trump account. the user profile the government was complaining about was an anonymous profile account criticising president trump's immigration policy. so, that is an interesting one that

is coming up on world business report. that is it, short and sweet. stay with us on bbc news. coming up: more on the us air strikes on an air strip in syria — do stay with us. 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 world news. i'm james menendez. the latest headlines: the united states has carried out a cruise missile attack on a syrian airbase in response to a lethal chemical strike on a rebel—held town. let's return now to our top story, reports that the us has carried out a cruise missile attack on an airbase from which syrian government planes are thought to have staged a chemical weapons attack on a rebel—held town. professorjohn blaxland is the acting head at the strategic and defence studies centre at australian national university. john, professor, thank you for being

with us on bbc news. what do you make of this response by the us?m seems to be about turning foreign policy. what we see is an american leader who was america first with implied isolationist tendencies drifting considerably away from that in the weeks since then and now we see a globalist president who is very assertive taking action like this, it seems emotionally driven, timed it seems to coincide with president xi visit to the mar—a—lago with ramifications and implications for china's policy towards north korea and the delicate balance on the korean peninsular. what is particularly disconcerting when it comes to syria is that while this was targeted at military aircraft

which appeared to be involved in deploying the weapons, this is a base that the russians are associated with, it is very close to the navel and air facilities that russia leases essentially from the assad regime. russia is invested in this architecture. the united states is throwing a stone in the pond and i don't think it understands the effect of the potential ripples. this is very disconcerting. interesting that you used the word "emotionally driven" — is that the way to conduct foreign policy? that is the million dollar question. it seems i understand leaders in europe and australia and elsewhere, they we re and australia and elsewhere, they were advised of action but not necessarily consulted. that is a very big difference. this is a president acting essentially unilaterally and in complete contradistinction to the declared policy of the last few months of

leaving the assad regime in place. largely because of the recognition that on the ground at the syrian government forces are much stronger since they have russian backing. of course, the russian backing has enormous implications for what the united states does. russia will be extremely sensitive to what the united states' message is about and russia will be constantly in turn looking to send messages to the united states elsewhere. and while we have seen in the last few weeks a cooling in the relationship with russia, particularly with the domestic political equation in the us, where donald trump has had to back off with congressional pressure over the people around him who are caught up with legal battles, the relationship with russia seems to be cooling as well without a clear gameplan about how to handle the fallout. many thanks. professorjohn blaxland. many thanks. more on the

chinese president visit to florida. the bbc‘s stephen mcdonelljoins me now live from beijing. first of all, on the us missile attack, any official reaction in beijing to that? no, we have no official response yet. you would have loved to be a fly on the wall when mar—a—lago got the news of this strike on syria and you would love to know whether or not donald trump told him that he was going to do this. now, why would xijinping care about this? it risks overshadowing the entire summit. secondly, china has blocked certain measures at the united nations towards syria. and thirdly, it also makes him look like a passive leader in the face of the us president, who is quite an active leader. 0n the state—run tv we have

seen nothing of the attacks on syria. it is all about the summit and shaking hands and what have you. look at the rest of the world, look at our coverage, it is swamping the visit. so yes, the chinese president would not be happy with it. you could imagine there might even be some tense discussions about this in their meetings to come. yes, and very briefly, as professor blackland hinted, changing the dynamic when it comes to north korea. exactly -- blaxland. the chinese will be wanting to know, well, planning something similar with north korea? that is a different kettle of fish. imaginea that is a different kettle of fish. imagine a missile strike on north korea, which is not in an active war zone. so, yeah, look, the discussions to come in the coming hours between these world leaders. thanks, stephen macdonald, joining us thanks, stephen macdonald, joining us live from beijing. stay with us

here on the bbc. there is more to come. hello there, good morning. there is a lot of fine weather on offer. yesterday had a lot of fine weather. more cloud in the north and west. that is where we have the cloud overnight. the odd spot of rain will keep up temperatures. it isa rain will keep up temperatures. it is a chilly nights, seven or eight in many places. in the room rules spots, temperatures down to about two or three degrees. —— in rural spots. the wind is quite light. maybe cloud in the north—west of england and wales will break up so that sunny spells become expensive. the odd spot of rain in northern ireland. ten or 11 in stornoway, 15 or16 in cardiff ireland. ten or 11 in stornoway, 15 or 16 in cardiff and london, very pleasa nt or 16 in cardiff and london, very pleasant indeed. however, in england and wales we have high levels of birch tree pollen at the moment causing problems for hayfever sufferers. it was the wind at

augusta causing a problem for those on the first day. that will ease over the weekend with average is rising. temperatures rising over the weekend for most parts of the uk. away from the north—west, where we have a little cloud and rain, 11 here. 16— 18 for england and wales on saturday afternoon and it is looking good for the grand national, like wind and sunshine, 17 also — very pleasant indeed. high—pressure drifting to the near continent, in the process of the wind turns subtly, the air from the process of the wind turns subtly, the airfrom spain the process of the wind turns subtly, the air from spain and france, and that will be quite warm. the effect of that felt in england and wales and a weak weather front moving in here with patchy rain. cloud for england and wales. for eastern england, fine, clear skies, lots of sunshine and pleasantly warm, 22 or23 lots of sunshine and pleasantly warm, 22 or 23 in the sunshine.

temperatures will be well down on that further north underneath the cloud and patchy rain. that weather france let south through sunday night on into monday. cold air following on a keen north—westerly breeze so it feels different on monday with cloud in the sky, showers around, a noticeable breeze and temperatures peaking at around 15 degrees. this is bbc world news. the headlines: president donald trump has said the us military has carried out a cruise missile attack on an airbase from which syrian government planes staged a chemical weapons attack on a rebel—held town. more than 50 tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from american navy ships in the mediterranean, hitting the shayrat airbase which lies 150 kilometres north—east of damascus.

the us military say the attack severely damaged or destroyed aircraft and equipment. 0ur correspondent barbara plett usher is at mar—a—lago, donald trump's florida retreat. barbora, if nothing else this was a very quick response to what happened on tuesday. it