this is bbc world news today, reporting from washington. i'm tim wilcox. the headlines: president trump's rhetoric in action — russia condemns us air strikes in syria and promise and is to strengthen the country's air defence systems. a barrage of tomahawk missiles hits syria's second—largest airbase, from where the chemical weapons attack‘s believed to have been launched. tonight, i call on all civilised nations tojoin us in tonight, i call on all civilised nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in syria. a dramatic reversal of his previous position on syria eclipses the visit of the chinese premier. are other top story this hour: at least three people are killed and

many more are injured as a truck ploughs into shoppers in the swedish capital, stockholm. i could actually see bodies lying on the street, the police covering a body with an orange blanket. hello and welcome to the programme. the first american military strike against president assad's regime and against president assad's regime and a world divided, with much of the west lining up behind washington and president trump's apparent restoration of the us as the world's policeman, russia has condemned the attack as an act of aggression against a sovereign nation. president trump or put—mac authorised the strike against the error breaks —— the airbase from

where it is believed the chemical attack was launched. jon sopel reports on the strike and trump's dramatic change in strategy. it was after dark on the east coast of america and before the sun had risen in the middle east when the commander in chief gave the order. from wo war ships a volley of cruise missiles were fired at a military —— from two war ships a volley of cruise missiles were fired at a military air base, that has been used, say the americans to launch the chemical weapons attack on idlib. it is in the vital security interest of the united states to prevent and to 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.

the grotesque aftereffects of the attack, the united states believe a nerve agent was used, horrified the world and horrified this president. a line had been crossed and unlike his predecessor, he was going to act. assad choked 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. what is astonishing, is the speed with which this administration has changed its policy to syria and decided to act. at the start of week, president trump saw bashar

al—assad as a useful ally against islamic state. there was no talk of regime change. but the chemical weapons attack changed everybody and within two days, targets had been identified and struck. here what is we know about the attack. 59 tomahawk missiles were issued. the air base is 20 miles from homs. targets included, aircraft, fuel depots and radar. because russian forces are also at the base, russia was informed of the attack in advance. the aftermath shows damage at the base, but hardly devastation. the pentagon said it didn't target the runways, the aim was to destroy the infrastructure that allows the base to function and the attack has brought the president support.

the president was authorised to conduct the strike, he is not asking for a declaration of war, he was dealing with circumstances and as the commander in chief not only did he have the right, he has an obligation to act. despite the enthusiasm we can see, to quote churchill, it is the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end. donald trump, who didn't want to get embroiled in foreign conflict, has just ordered us forces into action as he ended his address last night, he didn't sound like an isolationist. good night and god bless america and the entire world. thank you. the president, not yet 100 days in, has travelled a long way in a short time.

barbara plett asher is also in florida, where president trump has been hosting the chinese president, xijin ping. potentially, barbara, a message that won't be lost on his guests for these past few days. message that won't be lost on his guests for these past few dayslj suppose not, in the sense that president trump has shown that he is ready and willing to use military force when he feels he needs to, and there is a discussion about a potential conflict with the chinese over the fate of north korea, and president trump has at times sounded quite bellicose about north korea, suggesting he would be willing to launch a pre—emptive strike. i would be very careful about drawing comparisons, because the strike in syria was very limited, with a clear objective, to send a particular

message about deterrence on chemical weapons use. something similar in north korea, it would be avast a different situation, because the risks are so much higher if you launch strikes against north korea. the chances of war on the korean peninsula would be higher. i think the message is that mr trump is prepared to act militarily when he feels it is necessary and possible, but i think drawing comparisons between different conflict areas at this point is not the correct way to see it. barbara, thank you very much indeed. more from our correspondent, laura trevelyan, on capitol hill, where senators have been briefed about the attack. largely bipartisan support there, laura? almost unanimous support, that's right. us senators have just come out of their briefing with thejoint chiefs of staff, where they received more detail on the strike last night and

possible next steps. i've only spoken to one senator, who was com pletely spoken to one senator, who was completely opposed to what happened, a kentucky senator, republican, who said that the president should a lwa ys said that the president should always get authorisation from congress before launching a military strike, but i have been taking the temperature on both sides of the aisle, andi temperature on both sides of the aisle, and i only spoke to a senator from minnesota to get her reaction to last night's air. is what we know happened here is, forthe to last night's air. is what we know happened here is, for the second time, assad killed innocent people, little children, choking together on gas, so the fact that we went after the airfield in this way, from where the airfield in this way, from where the chemical weapons were lodged, i think it was the right thing to do. that was a democrat from minnesota. she went on to make a point that a number of lawmakers have been making, which is that if the president wants to escalate this conflict against syria, then he must

come and consult with congress, and he should probably seek authorisation. i've also been speaking to a republican senator from ohio, who was very critical last week when it seemed that members of the trump administration we re members of the trump administration were suggesting it was a political reality that president assad was going to stay in office. and he said to me that he is worried about the wider middle east strategy coming out of the white house. my concern is that both in the obama administration, and in the first few months of the trump administration, we haven't had a clear strategy. what is needed is a longer term strategy to deal with what is going oi'i strategy to deal with what is going on in syria, deal with the region, to deal with some of the specific issues, whether it is at aleppo, these chemical attacks, whether it is the migration flows that have affected europe, turkey, jordan and other our lives so directly. the most hawkish members of the us senate, jon mccain and marco rubio,

are hailing this as a credible first step and asking what the administration will do next. that, of course, is the big questions about what is the real strategy here? tim. laura, on capitol hill, thank you very much indeed. russia, which supports president assad, as root —— has responded angrily, accusing the united states of violating international law. there have been accusations that the us is on the verge of engaging in military action against russia. our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, has this report on russia's response. until recently, the russian media have been singing donald trump's praises. no more. today, state tv accused him of an unprovoked show of force with the missile strike he ordered on a civilian air base. moscow said it was a gross,

groundless violation of —— missile strike he ordered on a syrian air base. moscow said it was a gross, groundless violation of the international rule book. it's definitely an aggressive act against international law, against a sovereign country, and without any true evidence of the assad regime using chemical weapons. it is russian military power that's been keeping president assad in power. russia's air force and navy is helping syria's leader turn the tide of the country's civil war, and boosting moscow's role in the middle east. today, the kremlin accused washington of inventing a pretext for the missile strikes. those american tomahawks may have been targeting the syrian military, butjudging by what the kremlin has been saying, it's us—russian relations that will take a real battering out as a result of the missile strike.

the russians had been hoping that with donald trump in the white house, relations with america would improve. so far, there's been no sign of that. today, moscow suspended a deal designed to prevent incidents between us and russian warplanes over syria. which means that we have two big military powers in the area operating without any contact and any coordination, which is very dangerous. the russians are hoping that this us strike was a one—off, but tonight, they are strengthening air defence systems across syria, just in case. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. until this week's chemical attack in northern syria, president trump had seemed set against any intervention in the regime of basher al—assad. our middle east editor, jeremy bowen, report on the implications of the air strike for the six—year syrian war. the war crime that killed

so many in a village pushed the americans into military action. the long—term impact on the war itself depends on what the americans to next. more chemical attacks would provoke a tougher american response. but the us might accept a return to conventional killing. the syrian regime denies it has ever used chemical weapons. i think president trump himself knows that syria did not use any chemical weapons, it does not have any chemical weapons, as it has given all its stock pile to the international organisation responsible for that. the americans say they have clear that the proof that the syrian forces carried out war crimes, they're certain of that, that is why i they carried out this raid. 14 years after the invasion of iraq, we see iraq has been destroyed. syria is the second secular state after iraq that is being targeted by the west, simply because it is secular and it has an army and it is against

the israeli occupation of palestine. in one damascus suburb, people stopped believing the regime years ago and want more military action from the americans. translation: we hope that any foreign intervention will be an intervention to bring an end to the suffering of the syrian people and notjust a single hit. translation: the solution is for the assad regime to step away from power. the end of massacres, the end of targeting of civilians. a reason why the war is so hard to stop is that so many countries are involved. with different interests and objectives. president assad's main allies are russia and iran. these days the rebels still fighting the regime are

mainly sunni muslim islamists. there is also the war against so—called islamic state. led by the us and its allies. think of it all as layers of conflict. sometimes they're parallel. and sometimes they intersect, and now donald trump has added a whole new layer. the events and the us response will force the syrian regime to take american threats more seriously, including calls for regime change. force equals influence in syria, and it's certain that more foreign intervention will not bring peace any closer. and joined by a former state

department official. what does this tell us about president trump's international doctrine now — driven ona international doctrine now — driven on a motion? on domestic considerations. he has had no option but to act on the red line that president obama didn't, otherwise he would have been accused of being no different than president obama, but he has found that his america first strategy does not work, and he is acting as the policeman of the world, back to the role of the united states upholding international law and acting as the indispensable nation enforcing international norms will stop this was a one—off strike so—called islamic state what happens if there is another chemical attacks or another atrocityes will america go back in? it will be difficult for him not to follow through, but he also has already crossed the line in which he now owns this conflict more

than he did before, because amongst his allies in the al... arab world, there is an expectation that the us will play a bigger role in removing assad and bringing order to syria. these are things that he didn't want to say. trump has never said what the vital interest is in syria. and there are different readings of what it means in terms of america's interests. the prospect of blowback, and the russian relations, they are now dead, are they? the two may find a way back to the middle, but the russians are clearly not happy with any american action in syria that would show them to be weak, or to force the russians to have to reassert their imperial grandeur in syria. and i think any kind of american intrusion into the military

conflict in syria is viewed by the russians as a challenge, and they would have to obviously react. then you might have a cycle that may reflect itself in ukraine and elsewhere as well. in terms of how he presents himself, the white house will be looking at it, is that this isa man will be looking at it, is that this is a man whom many saw as an amateur now looking like a world leader, in terms of decisiveness, and presumably eclipsing domestic problems as well. we knew he was decidedly not in favour of intervention. it is a peculiar coming together of the collusion of assad and the establishment foreign policy people in his administration that forced him in this direction. assad created a situation in which trump could not say no to the generals, or to the traditional foreign policy people. we should not read too much into this, because trump, ithink, was read too much into this, because trump, i think, was not driven by the facts of the conflict but by

what this would mean domestic league if he did the same thing as president obama had done. this has divided the world. the western coalition is really behind him, and russia and iran are completely opposed. russia and iran are supporters of assad and don't want the us to get involved. even if they think that assad went too far and jeopardised their position, they still cannot publicly criticise their ally, nor condone an american punishment. i suspect that privately they are pretty furious with assad. thank you very much indeed. you're watching bbc world news today. much more on the syrian attack on the website, but for now, back to london. there is one of the story dominating the news today. a truck has been driven into a crowd of pedestrians in stockholm, killing at least three people and injuring many others. the swedish prime minister said that

everything suggested this was an act of terrorism. the incident happened outside a department store on a busy pedestrian shopping street in the afternoon. the driver of the truck is still at large, and police have issued a photograph of him. the people are scared. something is happening... a moment of panic in a peaceful city. this was stockholm this afternoon, as people fled in terror from a truck which appeared to drive deliberately into crowds of shoppers on a pedestrian street. translation: i saw exactly where the lorry went in, just there. there wasn't much of a reaction, then the police arrived. the police just said, you have to run. initial reports said two people were killed, then at least three, and several injured. stockholm has seen nothing like this for years. the truck crashed into a department store and caught fire. the brewery company that owned it said a man hijacked it earlier during a delivery. this woman is a localjournalist.

you could actually see bodies lying on the street and i could see the police covering the body with an orange blanket. there were lots of police around, lots of people standing around and filming, taking photos. there was a lady laying with a severed foot, there was blood everywhere, there were bodies on the ground everywhere. and there was a sense of panic. people standing by their loved ones, but also people running away. the swedish authorities say they had no warning of this attack. the question now is, who did it and why? the police have issued these pictures of a man they want to question, while the prime minister says sweden has come under attack. they want to question, while the prime minister says sweden has come under attack. translation: the government is informed of the situation and i am getting continuous updates. we support all the authorities that

are working on this, and we are asking the public to be alert and listen to police advice. at least two people are dead and our thoughts are with their families. whoever was behind today's attack, this has been a huge shock, notjust for sweden, but for all of scandinavia. security is now being tightened in neighbouring norway and finland. they want to question, while the prime minister says sweden already, some are saying this has been a wake—up call. we can speak now to the former prime minister of sweden, who joins us live. obviously, sweden is in shock. you have any information or indication as to who was behind this and why? no, i don't have anything was upi and why? no, i don't have anything was up i think the police are searching, and behind many are doing the technical examination of where the technical examination of where the truck was hijacked and a pedestrian street. we have to wait

for the police to do their work and eventually find out who was responsible. we don't know that. the current swedish prime minister says that everything points to watch this being an act of terrorism. would you agree? absolutely. we have seen it in paris, london, berlin. a man hijacking a lorry and then driving into pedestrians with the clear intention of killing as many as he could. that is what we call terrorism. is sweden prepared for something like this? we live in the world where we live, but no one has been killed by terrorism in this city since 1975, when we had a german terrorist blowing up the german terrorist blowing up the german embassy. we had a man who attempted to do a suicide bomb in

virtually the same area in december of 2010, and he ended up blowing up only himself. apart from that, we haven't had this. but of course, swedish people, the media is available, and we know the world in which we live, and of course, these particular types of attacks are very difficult to guard yourself against. our security correspondent had just been to sweden, to stock, and he said there was not the same sense of security that you have, say, in the centre of london, nuts are many crash barriers and not so much cctv — might that change that the day? london is unique in having so much cctv. no other capital has that frequency of cctv. whether that will change, i don't know. privacy is involved, but clearly, there will have to be a review of anything that

can be done further. pedestrians and ca rs are everywhere. can be done further. pedestrians and cars are everywhere. these sorts of things are very difficult to have a 100% guarantee against. of course will stop and we know that, slowly, the public transport is becoming operational again. the subway is cleared and life is beginning to return to normal. the reaction in the street has been amazingly calm. there has been an amount of turmoil, when you close down the subway system. it is per mariner, i guess, to prevent anyone from running away. apologies for cutting you off, but we are out of time. the former prime minister of sweden joining us. there will be much more coverage of the truck attack in stockholm, and

reaction to the us air strikes in syria, throughout the evening, here on bbc news. now, the weather. it has been a fine spring day today, with sunshine, and higher temperatures are on the way this weekend. we started with a lot of cloud across northern england and northern ireland, which broke on the south eventually. still some clout in scotland, but that will blow up towards the north—west and the northern isles. clear skies overnight, some mist and fog later. that could affect the m4 andy m5. —— and the m5. it warms up quickly tomorrow in the sunshine. strong sunshine and high pollen levels for most of england and wales. tree pollen is the main culprit. the fault doesn't last long in the sunshine, and a lot of sunshine for england and wales, a beautiful day to come. more sunshine for northern ireland and northern england, filtering into scotland, away from

the far north—west, where temperatures will be lower. temperatures will peak at around 20 celsius towards the south—east. not far behind, aintree — sunny skies, quite different from this morning for ladies day. those southerly breezes draw up notjust warm air but clear skies as well. we have this conflict going on between a weather front coming from the north—west, so the weather not looking quite as good for scotland 01’ looking quite as good for scotland or northern ireland on sunday, as it clouds over and we get this band of rain. cloud could come in over the irish sea. most of england wales, a beautiful day, lots of sunshine, warm, too. 13 celsius under the cloud, 23 celsius in the sunshine. the highest temperatures are in london, cambridge and the east midlands. the heat will peak on sunday. the rain coming in from the north west brings almost nothing

southward, but it brings in some colder air, making it feel quite different as we head into monday. these are sunday's temperatures. could be 20 celsius all the way up to the vale of york. a big change across the board as we head into the new week. generally cloudy skies, probably most places will be dry on monday, but there will be showers in scotland. and in northern scotland, those showers could be of a wintry flavour. that's it for now. this is bbc news. three people have been killed and many others injured, after a lorry drove into pedestrians outside a department store in the swedish capital stockholm. the swedish prime minister says everything points to an act of terror. local media say the lorry was hijacked from a brewery earlier in the day. eyewitnesses spoke of horrific scenes. there was blood everywhere, there were bodies on the ground everywhere, and the sense of panic, people standing by their loved ones but also people running away.

police release images of a suspect, who they think is connected to the attack. and they confirmed they are interviewing two people over the truck attack. american warships have fired nearly 60 cruise missiles at a syrian government air base, in the united states' first direct action against president assad's regime. moscow has strongly condemned the action, with a warning from the russian prime minister that the us came close to a military confrontation with russia. a romanian tourist, andreea cristea, has become the fifth victim to die, as a result of the attack in westminster two weeks' ago. it's been announced that the actor tim piggott—smith has died at the age of 70. he was best known for his role in the tv drama, thejewel in the crown. his film appearances included the remains of the day and quantum of solace. a truck has been hijacked and driven

into pedestrians in the swedish capital stockholm. the prime minister says it appears to be a terror attack. on the line is leanne mcclean, who witnessed the attack from her office window. thank you forjoining us afoa must have been a distressing day for you, can you tell us what you first heard and saw? was sitting at my desk working and i heard some scream, i thought it was nothing but i saw my collea g u es thought it was nothing but i saw my colleagues running to the window and it seems a truck had just swerved into the street, and when i looked out of the window, there were two bodies covered with blankets, pools of blood. it was terrible. how quickly did it become obvious to you

that wow weren't looking at a terrible accident? i mean i think the original reactions from my colleagues, the screams we heard, people running down the streetsness saying that people needed to get out of the way. and the fact it is the most pedestrianed street in the whole of stockholm made it apparent it wasn't an accident. how busy on a friday is this street ordinarily? it wasn't an accident. how busy on a friday is this street ordinarily7m is treat, it is not so much traffic going down it. it is mainly pedestrians and it has shops where people go for lunch, so it is primarily pedestrians on the street. so very busy. what advice did you receive in the minutes after this attack? so in the office we were kind of in a state of shock and panic. we all decided it was safest to remain in the office, and after

an houror, so to remain in the office, and after an hour or, so we did receive instructions from the police that we should remain there. and eventually, ijust should remain there. and eventually, i just left my office, should remain there. and eventually, ijust left my office, about 30 minutes ago, now the city is very quiet. how were you getting your information? i think most of us were just looking online, immediately, to try and find out what had happened but we weren't necessarily believing everything, there was a lot of rumour about what might be going on round the city, but then the police did visit us and instruct us. sweden is said to be very safe place, stockholm a very safe city, how are people viewing the city tonight in the light of what's happened today? i think that for me i am not really going to let this change my perception of stockholm. it is still a very safe city and i'm not going to let one isolated incident influence that. how visible though, is the police presence on the street tonight,

compared with usual? it is very visible. as we are leaving our office, there were police that are we re office, there were police that are were questioning us, it seems very organised. there is a lot of police presence all over. what sort of reassu ra nces presence all over. what sort of reassurances though, are people hoping for, from the authorities, from the government?” hoping for, from the authorities, from the government? i think people wa nt to from the government? i think people want to feel safe. i think that the police presence right now is reassuring people, and i think that the people do have faith in the government, to deep pete safe. —— keep people safe. how wear have people been for the last few years about the risk of terrorism, the threat against sweden? yes, i think it has been something that has become more prominent in sweden. sweden is seen as a very safe country. it speaks for europe in general, that becoming more of a

risk every where it i don't think it speaks for sweden itself. we appreciate you talking to us, it must have been very distressing we are grateful for you sharing that with us. let's get the latest from stockholm and speak to our reporter maddy savage. can you tell white house is still out there on the streets maddy? yes, it is very quiet in this part of stock hope, where as you were hearing it is a busy place, packed with shoppers and people coming out for friday night drinks. people lost, wandering round since the subway system, the underground system has been closed, while police continue to hunt for the attacker, a lot of train services shut down as well this evening. and people pretty calm, wandering round the streets but there is definitely a sense of shock here, across stockholm, a lot

more police out, armed police on the street, more than you would see typically on a weekend, a lot of large public places, being closed this evening, there is... shopping malls also remaining closed this evening as police continue their investigation. i am evening as police continue their investigation. iam not evening as police continue their investigation. i am not sure whether you have had updates in the last half hour, police say they are questioning two people but they say at this stage it is no necessarily the case that they are suspects, just two people they wanted to speak to as part of problem with sound .so as problem with sound . so as yet, we are not sure whether that, it could be at the potential attacker or not, and certainly the case that investigations are still continuing. sure. how concerned are people then, about the security presence that is going to be maintained across stockholm while the person they seem to be in

pursuit of remains at large?|j the person they seem to be in pursuit of remains at large? i think looking at comments on social media and speaking to people round the city, generally, ithink and speaking to people round the city, generally, i think there is some shock, there is always perhaps less surprise than there might have been a couple of years ago, given this does fit the pattern of other attacks taking place in different parts of europe. for some there was a sense of inevitability that sweden could be on the map next, but on the other hand, seeing a lot of comments online, people saying this isn't something they want to stop them in their every day live, they didn't wa nt to their every day live, they didn't want to feel scared, but this is something that sweden, one of the most peaceful countries in the world, hasn't had a terror attack since 2010 when only the attacker was killed. so this country hasn't seen anything like this for a long time. once the dust settles there will be more conversations and debates about this to be had. what with you hearing about the casualties? we understand that three

people died but many more were injured. injured. yes, i haven't got the very latest figures, u nfortu nately for the very latest figures, unfortunately for you. other than the oneses that were released earlier, a lot of people that were seen have been describing seeing bodies on the ground. we are still yet to see the true extent of what happened in this busy area of stockholm, just a few hours ago. for the moment, thank you. now, our other main news. the un security council is holding an emergency meeting to discuss the us missile strikes on a syrian base, that washington believes was used as the launch pad for a chemical weapons attack. russia's deputy ambassador has told the meeting there could be very serious consequences in the region, and that unilateral action by the us in recent years had resulted in horrible tragedies. russia has announced measures to strengthen and improve

the effectiveness of syria's air defences, and is suspending an agreement with the us military to prevent accidental clashes between their planes. the us ambassador, nikki haley, says the use of chemical weapons is something the international community can't ignore. on tuesday the assad regime launched yet another chemical attack on civilians, murdering innocent men, women and children, in the most gruesome way. assad did this because he thought he could get away with it. he thought he could get away with it, because he knew russia would have his back. that changed last night. as i warned on wednesday, when the international community consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times when states are compelled to take their own action. the indiscriminate use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians is one of those times. the united states will not stand by when chemical weapons are used. it is in our vital national security interests to prevent the spread and use of chemical weapons.

our military destroyed the airfield from which this week's chemical strike took place. we were fullyjustified in doing so. the moral stain of the assad regime could no longer go unanswered. his crimes against humanity could no longer be met with empty words. it was time to say "enough" but not only say it, it was time to act. bashar al—assad must never use chemical weapons again. ever. the british am a ambassador matthew rycroft has told the un security council that the missile attack has sent a strong message to the assad regime. the united kingdom supports the us air strike the united kingdom supports the us airstrike on the united kingdom supports the us air strike on the shayrat airfield.

but war crimes have consequences. and the greatest war criminal of all, bashar al—assad, and the greatest war criminal of all, basharal—assad, has now and the greatest war criminal of all, bashar al—assad, has now been put on notice. the us strike was a proportionate response to unspeakable acts, that gave rise to overwhelming humanitarian distress. it was also a strong effort to save lives that such acts never happen again. the resolution we adopted three—and—a—half years ago provided a framework for the destruction of chemical weapons in syria. it had a clear author, and a clear guarantor. at the time, russia assured us that assad would fully declare his chemical arsenal and would continue to co—operate with international inspectors. perhaps that was the assurance that russia received from assad. and

perhaps russia has now learned the ha rd perhaps russia has now learned the hard lesson that backing a war criminal comes with its own consequence. humiliation. all what we have been hearing through western media is fabrications and propaganda that is targeting syria, but they failed to prove anything they talk about, and as you remember, that is what exactly what they did before the war on iraq, play presented all what they called to be the truth, about nuclear weapon and it think it is about time that we learn that they should bring that before taking action. let us speak to our correspondent in

new york. what was the mood, the atmosphere while these statements we re atmosphere while these statements were being made, this discussion was being had? well, it was a very heated ex change i would say back an forth. at one point it got personal when the russian ambassador saying that other diplomats were insulting his country and he wanted them to refrain from doing that. it was a heated back an forth. we got see the different opinions on the counsel. you had countries such as france and britain defending the us action, saying it was legitimate, proportional to what they said was a war crime. they criticised russia for their seven vetoes during this conflict, she'lling president assad from any council action, but then we heard from member on the council who we re heard from member on the council who were more in support of russia's claim that was a violation of

international law, the bolivian ambassador said that the us had violated the un charter by acting unilaterally. he called them the investigator, the torn judge and executioner, he held up a picture of colon powell saying this is reminiscent of the time during the iraq war when the us tried to present evidence of chemical weapon, it was a poll rised debate about whether the us air strikes were justified or whether they were an illegal action. how much anxiety is there though that as the russians have warned this could have grave consequence, there could be a big reaction in the region? absolutely. i think the one thing that everyone agreed on and that the un secretary—general call for was they really didn't want to see this escalate. we heard from the us ambassador saying the us was prepared to do more. even is hoping this was just a one time, one off strike, to send a message, and that the us would get back to kind of

sticking with the geneva talk, the un led talks in siria and trying to go down that route, because as you said there, everyone is very much concerned about it, escalation in this conflict which is into his seventh year, they are saying that at this point now, what needs to be done is to try to find way unify the council and for russia to go back and put pressure on the president. thank you very much. with me is now is fawaz gerges, who's professor of international relations at the london school of economics. much. thank you very much. things have changed a great deal in just a few day, i am sure you will agree, in terms of the message that the united states wanted to send to president assad, they might have sent one but what will he have received? well, i doubt it very much when assad no now, i think he would think twice before carrying out

chemical or poison gas attacks, i his the message has been received in damascus, moscow and tehran and my ta ke damascus, moscow and tehran and my take on out, probably the russians and iranians are very upset by assist‘s —— assad's alleged use of chemical weapons in idlib. the fact he did it, he undermined the credibility of russia. make no doubt about it. even though assad will not, unlikely use chemical weapons, he has am massive aristocrat natural, a massive conventional arsenal he will continue to use. in fa ct arsenal he will continue to use. in fact today he reiterated his commitment to continue the war till he wins this war. so the morn after nothing change, sadly in syria. how isolated in the region is president assad after this? this? he very isolated w the except nun of iran and a few other country, you are talking about really a coalition of

state, you have turkey, jordan, they are all against assad. what is happening in syria is is not assad versus the rest. . you will have regional aware, we have talked about it many time, on the one hand you have assad, on the other hand you is flourishing and saudi arabia. you can me how will assad feel about the attack, the attack was notjust against him, the particular message was sent to heads and russia, this is isa was sent to heads and russia, this is is a formidable thing. unless that i have a strategic vision, i would argue what you are going to witness in the next few weeks and months, more ex claition of the problemy war in syria, because they are going all to respond to this message sent by the trump administration. within the last week president trump has gone from

thinking that president assad, for all his action against his own people, is a useful alally in the fight against is. now we have had the strikes against the syrian government forces, how can that relationship between the us and syria go back to being what it was? imean, as syria go back to being what it was? i mean, as we know, this is a man of contradiction. donald trump, it is very difficult to put your finger on the pulse where he stan, he is what i call a television president. the fa ct i call a television president. the fact is, so the images on television, the horrible image of children and civilians being gassed in idlib. moved the man. the reality is it is not about why the changes that have taken place in donald trump. there is, this is a very important point. there is no political clarity, no vision, that the attack, remember this was a limited target attack. it is not informed by a strategic vision. the question is, he is fascinated with

pourer. what are you going to do tomorrow? what if he starts bombing his own people, what will the us do? do? no. he doesn't act on his own, yes, he is the president, the figure bed but he has many magsal —— national security adviser, fairways advisers, defence adviser, they must have advised him on what was a proportionate response to send the me sang without escalation. that is what he did. what he did was a limited targeted straight against an airfield in homes and they make sure no russian officers were killed. the question is not the type of military action. was the action formed by a strategic... what we are saying is that there is show me the money, there are no ideas, there are no, in

fa ct, there are no ideas, there are no, in fact, european diplomats including the un special representative complain about the fact that the trump administration does not have a road map. that is why this haar attack unless it is following up by attack unless it is following up by a strategic political division it won't change the dynamics that have been unfolding for the past six yea rs. been unfolding for the past six years. thank you. let's speak to andrew tabler who is asenior fellow at the foreign policy think tank, the washington institute. he lived in syria for seven years and had extensive access to the assad family. thank you very ruch norjoining us. —— much forjoining us. what choice do you think president trump had to do you think president trump had to do this? i think he had no choice. he use of sarin which the regime was

supposed to not have had, as a result of the 2013 chemical weapons deal, which was over a number of, went well over a number of line, and wasn't the first use of chemical agents but i think it caused the trump administration to call strikes on syria, and make a very quick decision or send a message to president assad, it will be received now, what is response will be i am not sure. it was of course a unilateral response by the united states. what have you made while watching the exchanges at the un, of the international responses? well, there is some indication of this, but the fa ct of is some indication of this, but the fact of the matter is, that it is in

no—one's interest, including the 190 i think signatories which syria agreed to if 2013, it is in all of their interests not to use, to use chemical weapons. bashar al—assad decided that agreement which he agreed to and signed in, and approved, didn't apply to him. i don't think that is anyone's interests, and i think president trump was right responding. think it was three—and—a—half years too late for the united states frankly. the russianed have warned of potential grave consequences of an escalation in the region and when the us has acted unilaterally in the past things have gone, got rapidly worse, in the light of those words though, what kind of response do you expect to see from syria itself, and russia, its ally? a good question. i don't think in terms of a response

from the assad regime, i don't think washington worries about that too much. in terms of russian response, we will have to wait and see. if they want a military showdown, which i hope they don't, i am sure the united states can handle that. if they decide they want to do down a different route, which i think they would like, tax, is towards finding a realing in quieting settlement, one in which bashar al—assad doesn't think he the shoot and gas people into submission, that he is on the verge of victory when he only controls a third of the territory. so there will be lots of talk about when rex tillerson goes to moscow next week, hopefully at least as scheduled we will have to wait for the results. having met the assad family, several times in the past, what will be going on inside the inner circle in the light of what we have seen in the last couple of day, who, if anyone, have seen in the last couple of day, who, ifanyone, is

have seen in the last couple of day, who, if anyone, is the critical friend to bashar al—assad ? who, if anyone, is the critical friend to bashar al-assad? it's a good question. visibility is very limited, andi good question. visibility is very limited, and i think it is important that we recognise that, but i think they are taking american messages very seriously, to see what he the importance is here in the coming week. as far as the chemical weapons are concerned as you have said they we re are concerned as you have said they were meant to have been removed as a port of that deal in 2013. what effo rts port of that deal in 2013. what efforts should or might the international community now make, perhaps by the united nations, to once again rid syria of these chemicals. well a good first start would be to fall through a —— follow through a propose resolution yesterday, to get some flight pan plans and data about who was flying round, who was responsible for the attack, who was responsible for the attack, who was responsible for the attack, who was responsible for giving the order to fly, responsible for giving the order to

fly, and until that is clarified, i don't think we will get to the bottom of this particular incident. argue bly, some voices have being saying this, those questions should have been asked and answer before the us took this action. well, it was a limited narrowed action, i don't think that the us was going to wait, given its evidence, that, of the kind of attack that took place, but if they find there is evidence, then that is strengthens the case. if the evidence is inconclusive, at least it sends a signal to assad he shouldn't be using queen mothers. let me remind viewers that the un has found and verified on at least three different occasions that they have used chemical weapons since 2013, that is in violation of the

chemical weapons contribution. we he earneded from donald trump early on, he was going to put america first. he was not going to worry about fa i rwa ys he was not going to worry about fairways too much. how badly does he need a road map now? he needs a plan, but, iwould need a road map now? he needs a plan, but, i would take, need a road map now? he needs a plan, but, iwould take, i need a road map now? he needs a plan, but, i would take, i would differ with the professor about lack ofa differ with the professor about lack of a strategy, think there is a strategy. what is different about this is is it very different from the previous one, which was an echo chamber, i think they very unilaterally against iran in the region, they see them as a destabilising force. how you achieve your objective, i think they will work that out. andrew, thank you very much for talking to us. said let us return to what has been happening in stockholm, after that truck attack in the capital. swede

dish police have confirmed that four people have died, and 15 people have been injured. nine of them seriously. as a result of that truck driving into pedestrians in the centre of stockholm today, police have also confirmed that one person arrested may be connected with that truck attack, we knew there were two people being questioned. they weren't necessarily, one person has been arrested who may be connected with the incident. so an increase in the number of casualties and also a development in the police investigation. much more on that through the course of the evening. here on bbc news, now i is time for a look at the weather for ka. hello. highest temperatures were round the london area but it is going to get warmer as we head to the weekend. it warmed up in northern england and northern ireland as the cloud broke from the south. we still got some

cloud in scotland but that should shrink. a mist and fog, chilly night, especially in the country snide the clear skies and light winds. it warms up in the sunshine. that fog doesn't last long, a beautiful day for england and wales and more sunshine, notjust for northern england northern ireland, but into scotland away from the far north, so temperatures will be a few degrees higher than today. better day on saturday for scotland and northern ireland, and sunday, because it clouds over when we get this band of rain. for most it will bea this band of rain. for most it will be a gloriously sunny day. a contrast of temperatures. where we have the cloud it will be is degrees, in the sunshine as high as 23. shayrat, this is bbc news, the headlines at 8pm: shayrat, headlines at 8pm: america's airstrike on a syrian government airbase draws strong condemnation from syria's ally russia. 59 missiles were fired by the us at the target —

said to be the launch pad for a deadly chemical attack on civilians. america's un ambassador says there could be more strikes if necessary. the united states took a very measured step last night. we are prepared to do more. at least four people are dead and many injured as a lorry ploughs into shoppers in the swedish capital stockholm. there was blood everywhere, there were bodies on the ground everywhere, and the sense of panic, people standing by their loved ones, but also people running away.