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. swedish police release images of a suspect

who they want to question. they've also confirmed one arrest has been made that may be connected to the attack. in sweden, police say they've arrested a man after a lorry wejoin our colleagues we join our colleagues from bbc world and tim willcox. with much of the west lining up behind washington, russia has condemned the attack as an act of aggression against a sovereign nation. president trump authorised the missile strike on the shayrat airbase where it is believed the

weapons attack was launched from. nine civilians, and seven soldiers we re nine civilians, and seven soldiers were reportedly killed. jon sopel reports on the strike and president trump of mathematics changes strategy. it was after dark on the east coast of america and before the sun had risen on the middle east when the commander—in—chief gave the order to strike. from two us warships in the eastern mediterranean, a volley of cruise missiles was fired, targeting a missiles was fired, targeting a missile base outside homes. it was launching the bash it was launched to prevent the bash it was launched to prevent the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. there can the spread and use of deadly chemicalweapons. there can be no dispute that syria used banned chemical weapons. it fine leg it is

obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the urging of the un security council. the grotesque after—effects of the attack at the us believe the nerve agent sarin was used, horrified the world and more importantly horrified this president. the line had been crossed and unlike his predecessor, he was going to act. assad stopped 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 truly astonishing,

dizzyingly, even, is the speed with which this administration has changed its policy towards syria and decided to act. at the beginning of the week, resident rob saw a sharp assad is a useful assad. by the chemicals weapons attack changed everything and within two days, targets ha d everything and within two days, targets had been identified, and struck. here is what we know about the attack. 59 cruise missiles were launched from the two destroyers in the eastern medical. the shayrat airbase is 20 miles from hommes, deepin airbase is 20 miles from hommes, deep in syrian government—held territory. targets included aircraft, the shelters, air defences and radar sites but because russian forces are also deployed at the race, russia was informed of the attack in as far. the aftermath sirs damage and debris at the base but hardly devastation. the pentagon says it did in particular target the

i’u nways says it did in particular target the runways because they can put quickly be repaired. the aim was to destroy the infrastructure that allows the base to function and the attack has bought the president strong support. he is not asking for a declaration of waror he is not asking for a declaration of war or committing ground troops, he was dealing with the circumstances, and those that commander—in—chief, not only does he have the right body has an obligation to act. despite all the ntu is yes and we have seen this morning, it is the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end. donald trump, who didn't want to get embroiled in foreign conflicts, has just ordered to get embroiled in foreign conflicts, hasjust ordered us forces into action and as he ended his address to the nation last night, he no longer sounded like the america first 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. 0ur correspondents is also in florida where president trump is meeting the chinese president. she says it is a remarkable change in strategy. president trump has shown he is ready to use military force when 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 found that times quite bellicose about north korea suggesting even rather obliquely it has to be said that he might be willing to launch a pre—emptive strike. but i would be careful about drawing comparisons because the strike on syria was very limited, it had a very clear object to send a particular message about deterrence on chemical weapons use. some ink similar in north korea would be a vast least different situation

because the risks are so much higher if you launch strikes against north korea, the chances of war on the peninsula are quite high and they would be quite destructive, based on assessments by the military. the message is president trump is prepared to act america rarely —— act militarily. laura trevelyan is on capitol hill where senators have been briefed on the attack what has the response being there? in general, there has been applause, a little bit of anger from some, but generally, republicans and democrats are saying the president had the right to act as he did in this limited manner to send a message over the specific use of chemical weapons by the vermont of president assad but there are those who are strict constitutionalist who are saying the president should have got specific authorisation from congress

before he acted. 0ne specific authorisation from congress before he acted. one of those is a senator ink and tacky who are said to earlier. it is about being the constitution. under our system, the president doesn't go to war without permission. the congress and the founding fathers debated who should have the power to stop war. congress should initiate war and they did because the executive is most prone to war so we took that power and gaveit to war so we took that power and gave it to congress. most president in our country is allowed to go to war legally without the authority of congress. the big pritchard now is what happened next pritchard mark yes, but is the question everyone is asking and democrats and republicans alike are saying they cannot be an escalation of military action in syria without congress being consulted. but, yes, so many senators i have been speaking to from both sides are questioning what

is the strategy here. only a week ago, sean spicer was saying that president assad was a political reality that have to be dealt with in the area and now you have the us secretary of state suggesting he can no longer lead the country. does this mean a revival of political talks? does it mean there will be safe zones in syria? these other questions that everyone is asking and so far, no answers. and in 24 hours, resident tramples mac domestic problems have been totally eclipse. he also got his supreme courtjustice confirmed eclipse. he also got his supreme court justice confirmed today eclipse. he also got his supreme courtjustice confirmed today so after what has been quite a turbulent beginning for this presidency, now a very dramatic two daysin presidency, now a very dramatic two days in which he launches a strike and gets his supreme courtjustice confirmed, something he campaigned on of course. very dramatic times but it is unclear exactly what this

new strategy on styria is going to need to. —— syria. russia, which supports president assad, has reacted angrily. there will be active consequences, it was said. on the verge of engaging military encounters with russia. moscow also accused president trump of damaging the fight against terrorism and so—called islamic state. 0ur moscow, bombed and has this response —— report. state tv accused an unprovoked show of force with the missiles like he ordered on assyrian airbase. moscow said it was a gross round file nation of the international rule book. 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 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, its us— russia 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 make big military power was 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 appeared against intervention of the regime of bashar al—assad. 0ur middle east editor reports on the locations of the us 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 too the international organisation responsible for that. the americans say they have clear proof that the syrian forces carried out war crimes, they're certain of that, that is whoo 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 of damascus area, 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 ends of massacres, the ends 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 slammists. some are approved by the west,

others arejihadis. 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 more foreign intervention will not bring peace any closer. in the last few minutes, reuters have said syrian fighter planes have been taking off again from that airbase which had been targeted by

the missile strikes. the little earlier, i spoke to the former state department official who works in the john hopkins school of advanced studies and asked him if donald trump was driven by emotion?” studies and asked him if donald trump was driven by emotion? i think he is driven by domestic considerations. he has no action to operate on the red line that president 0bama didn't, otherwise he would be accused of being no different from president 0bama. he has found his america first strategy doesn't work. he is going back to the united states upholding international law. enforcing international law. enforcing international norms. this was a one—off strike. what happens if there is another chemical attack or another atrocity? will america go back in. he has said 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 much more than he did before. amongst his allies in the arab world and turkey and the rebels, now there is an expectation that the us will play a bigger role in bringing order to syria and removing assad. these are things he didn't want to say. the problem with trump is he has never said what his interest is in syria. there are differences in what it means. the consequences of this in terms of blowback, warmer relations with russia are now dead, are they? they are not where they were. the two may find a way to get back to the middle but the russians are clearly not happy with any american action in syria that would show them to be wea k syria that would show them to be weak or to force the russians perhaps to reassert their imperial

grandeur in syria. 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. you might have a cycle that may also reflect in the ukraine and elsewhere as well. in terms of how he presents his self, the white house will be thinking... he is a man who look like an amateur, and now he looks like an amateur, and now he looks like an amateur, and now he looks like a world leader, in terms of decisiveness, and presuming eclipsing domestic problems. we a lwa ys eclipsing domestic problems. we always knew he was decisive, but we thought he was decisive in terms of nonintervention. it is the collusion of assad antiestablishment foreign policy people in his administration that has forced in this direction. assad created a situation in which trump could not say no to the

generals. we should not over read into this. trump was not driven by the facts of the complex, he was driven by what this would mean domestically if he did the same thing as president 0bama had done. this has divided the world. the western coalition really behind him, russia, iran completely opposed. russia, iran completely opposed. russia and iran are supporters of assad, they don't want the us to get involved. even if they think assad went too far and jeopardised their position, they still cannot publicly criticised their ally, nor condoned american punishment of assad although i suspect that privately they are pretty furious with us. former state department official speaking to me earlier. more on those us strikes on syria on the website. for now, back you in london. another main story today. in sweden, police say they've

arrested a man after a lorry was driven into a crowd of pedestrians in the capital stockholm, killing four people and injuring 15. the swedish prime minister said everything suggested it was an act of terrorism. the incident happened on a busy pedestrian shopping street at around two o'clock local time with the truck eventually crashing into a department store. the driver is still at large and police have issued an image of him. 0ur xorrespondent richard galpin has the latest. suddenly this afternoon, panic on the streets of central stockholm. people running for their lives. around the corner, a lorry has smashed across a pedestrian area, into a department store, leaving at least three people dead. 0n on its way, smashing through this pedestrian area, killing and injuring those who happen to be there. i could see bodies on the

street, there were lots of police around, lots of people filming and taking photos. i heard the noise, i heard the screams, i saw the people as i walked out immediately. just outside the store, there was a dead dog, its owner screaming. there was a lady laying with a severed foot, there was blood on the ground, bodies on the ground everywhere, and the sense of panic, people standing by their loved ones, but also people running away, mainly to the minor streets around. the general sense of sheer panic. after the police and ambulances arrived at the scene, it became clear, this was not an accident. translation: sweden has been attacked. everything indicates that this is a terrorist act. the government is doing everything to support the authorities, who are working now, and we urge the public to be alert and to listen, not least

to the information from the police. the police have told people to stay away from the city centre. the metro has been closed down, and goverment offices shut. it is thought the truck driver entered a nearby metro station to get away. soon, please pickjust we re get away. soon, please pickjust were released of a man they wanted to speak to in connection with the incident. now, there has been an arrest, in which four people were killed and many injured. the people of sweden have not suffered an incident like this for many years. there is currently a press conference going on in sweden right

now. there is no translation but we are hearing that leaves have said the person who has been arrested in the person who has been arrested in the last hour or so resembles the man in the photograph that they've released to the media and the public. the latest death toll is that four people have died, 15 of them have been injured, nine of them are thought to have serious injuries. there were two people earlier in the evening who were helping people with their enquiries, they won't necessarily connect it with this truck attack but now we understand that one person who has been arrested resembles the man in the photograph police released a little earlier. hans brun is a counter terrorism specialist at the swedish defence college. hejoins me from stockholm. thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc news. based on what you

are seeing and haring, what is the certainty that this was an act of terror? well, it looks like this truck that was used was hijacked sometime before truck that was used was hijacked sometime befo man who did this is attack. and the man who did this is still at large and the swedish police are trying to hunt him down. they have published a picture of this man. if it does indeed transpired that this is terrorism, what sort of impact do you think that will have on swedish society? we have been talking a lot about the fa ct we have been talking a lot about the fact that stockholder is very open, it doesn't have a mass of cctv cameras as we might be used to in british cities or other countries, will that change people's added to stand approach, do you think? yes, of course. it will have a large impact. people are prepared that

something like this could happen. i think there is an accent and is for surveillance and cameras just to try to stop these things happening. more on that story in a moment after the headlines but first, the headlines but first, on that story in a moment after the headlines but first, the weather forecast. highest temperatures were around the london area today but it will get warmer as we head into the weekend. it warmed up across northern england and northern ireland as the cloud broke from the south. we still have some cloud in scotland but that should shrink. generally clear skies overnight. fog in the west midlands, could affect the motorway at the end of the night. it warms up in the

sunshine, the fog doesn't last long at all. a beautiful day for england and wales. more sunshine into scotla nd and wales. more sunshine into scotland and away from the far north side temperatures for most of us will be a few degrees higher than they were today. a better day on saturday in scotland and northern ireland. for most of england and wales, gloriously sunny day. wyatt earp contrast of temperatures. —— quite a contrast of temperatures. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines at 8.30pm: america's air strike on a syrian government airbase has drawn strong condemnation from syria's ally, russia. 59 missiles were fired by the us at the target , 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.

but we hope that will not be necessary. four 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. 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've arrested one man over the truck attack. 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 pigott—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. in sweden, police say they have arrested a man after a truck was driven into a crowd of pedestrians in the capital stockholm. killing four people and injuring 15. the swedish prime minister said everything suggested it was an act of terrorism. the incident happened ona of terrorism. the incident happened on a busy pedestrian shopping street at around 2pm local time. the truck eventually crashed into a department store. the driver is thought to be still at large police have issued image of him. richard galpin has the latest. a lorry has ploughed into a

pedestrian area. killing and injuring those who happen to be there. i could see bodies lying on there. i could see bodies lying on the street and police covering the body with an orange blanket. there we re body with an orange blanket. there were lots of priests around i heard the noise. —— there were lots of police around. just outside the store there were owners screaming, a lady with a severed foot. the sense of panic. people standing by their loved ones but also running away. after the police and ambulances

arrived at the scene, it became clear this was not an accident. sweden has been attacked. everything indicates that this is a terrorist act. the government is doing everything to support the authorities who are working now. we urge the public to be alert and to listen, not least to the information from the police. the police lock down the city centre, the metro was closed and government offices shut. they have not found the truck driver at the scene. it's thought he may have entered a nearby metro to get away. but soon, these pictures were released of a man the police wanted to speak to in connection with the incident. now there has been an arrest. after a day in which four people were killed and many more injured. the people of sweden have

not suffered an incident like this for many years. richard galpin, bbc news. in the last half—hour or so, there has been a press conference taking place by the police in stockholm who have been giving a bit more information about their investigation. they said they had arrested a man in connection with the attack. they knew his identity, but they had not yet disclosed it. they say he bore a resemblance to the person pictured in the photograph that he had released to the media. the head of the national police said they would do all they could to ensure the perpetrators we re could to ensure the perpetrators were brought to justice. justice will return to that —— we will return to that story later. now, our other main news: the un security council has held an emergency meeting to discuss the us missile strikes on a syrian base that washington says was used as the launch pad for the chemical weapons attack on idlib. russia's deputy ambassador told diplomats there could be very serious consequences in the region, and that unilateral action by the us

in recent years had resulted in horrible tragedies. the us ambassador, nikki haley, said the use of chemical weapons was something the international community could not 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. 0ur 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. bouthanina shaaban, an adviser to president assad, said the syrian government was the subject of western propaganda. all we have been hearing through

western media is fabrications and propaganda that is targeting syria. they failed to prove anything they talk about. remember, that's exactly what they did before the war on iraq. they presented all what they called to be the truth about iraq and nuclear weapons. it all turned out to be false. i think it is about time that we learn that they should bring facts before taking action. 0ur correspondent nada tawfik has been at the un in new york. it was a very heated exchange back and forth, at one point it actually got quite personal between 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 and forth. we got to see the different

kind of opinions on the council, you had country such as france and britain strongly defending the us action, saying it was legitimate. it was a precaution all to what they said was a war crime. they criticised russia for the seven vetoes during this conflict, shielding president assad from any council action. we also heard from members on the council who were in support of russia's claim that this was a flagrant violation of international law. the bolivian ambassador said the us had violated the un charter by acting unilaterally. he called them the investigator, attorney, judge and executioner. he held up a picture of colin powell saying it was reminiscent of the time in 2003, during the iraq war when the us tried to present evidence of chemical weapons. it was a very polarised debate in the council about whether the us air strikes we re about whether the us air strikes were justified or whether they were and legal action. how much anxiety

is there that, as the russians have warned, this could have grave consequences? there could be a big reaction in the region? absolutely. the one thing everyone in the council agreed upon and that the un secretary general called for was that they did not want to see this escalate. we heard from the us ambassador saying the us was prepared to do more. but everyone is hoping this wasjust prepared to do more. but everyone is hoping this was just a one time, one off strike, to send a message. and that the us would get back to sticking with the geneva talks, the un led talks in severe, and trying to go down that rout. as you said, eve ryo ne to go down that rout. as you said, everyone is very concerned about an escalation in this conflict which is now in its seventh year. they are saying what needs to be done is to try and find a way to unify the council and for russia to go back and really put pressure on president assad. andrew tabler is a senior fellow at the foreign policy think tank, the washington institute. he told me donald trump had no choice but to launch the strikes. the use of science, which they

regine was supposed to not have had, —— the use of sarin gas, as a result ofa —— the use of sarin gas, as a result of a weapons deal in 2012, went well over a of a weapons deal in 2012, went well overa numberof lines. it of a weapons deal in 2012, went well overa number of lines. it was of a weapons deal in 2012, went well over a number of lines. it was not the first use of chemical agents, but it... i think it caused the drug administration to call the military strikes in syria. —— the trump administration. it sent a message to president assad, and i think it will be received. what is responsible, i am not sure. it was a unilateral response by the us. what have you made while watching the exchanges at the un of the international responses? there is some debate on

this. the fact of the matter is, it is in noi's this. the fact of the matter is, it is in no 1's interest, including the 190 signatories of the chemical weapons convention, which syria agreed to in 2015. it's in all of their interests not use chemical weapons. assad decided that agreement, which he agreed to, and signed, and approved. he decided it did not apply to him. i don't think that's in anyone's interest. president trump was right in responding and i think it was three and a half years too late for the us, frankly. the russians have warned of potentially grave consequences, of an escalation in the region and that the us has acted unilaterally in the past, things have gone rapidly worse will stop in the light of those words. what kind of response team expect to see from

syria itself, and russia its ally? it's a good question. in terms of a response from assad, i do not think washington worries about that too much. in terms of a russian response, we will have to wait and see. if they want a military showdown, which i hope they don't, i'm sure the us can handle that. if they decide they want to bid on a different route, which i think the us would like, and that's towards actually finding a real negotiation settlement to the syria crisis, one which bashar al—assad somehow doesn't think shooting gas at people into submission. he's on the verge of victory he thinks when his only controlling a third of his territory. there will be a lot to talk about when rex tillerson goes to moscow next week, hopefully, as scheduled, we will have to wait and see what the results are. with me is domitilla sagramoso from the department of war studies at king's college london, who's a specialist on russia and security.

a very busy time for you. thank you for coming in. how surprised do you think anyone should have been that the us chose to carry out these strikes? if we think about the way trump was portraying this conflict, it is quite surprising, although in the last few days there were many hints that he was going to actually conduct a much more active policy. try to set in some way retaliate against this attack, or in some way do something to ensure it would not happen again. if we follow it closely in the last three days, it was not so surprising. there were a lot of leads that he was going to do something about it. what was the reaction been from the kremlin? the kremlin has been very disappointed because i think they were expecting a much longer corporation with trump

on the syrian dossier, especially if the americans were ready to use force. i think what they were expecting probably would be some kind of agreement on how to proceed with an inspection and with some kind of fact—finding mission. with an inspection and with some kind of fact-finding mission. after those chemicals? yes. and hopefully find some kind of common position on how to act. i think they were very disappointed that the americans decided just to go into syria without really warning them effectively. 0nly without really warning them effectively. only in the last moments, when they were going to conduct the attack. what is the real russian view of this chemical attack, which the wider international community truly believes was carried out by the syrian government? publicly the russians have said they are critical of this unilateral strike by the us. it's very hard to know what they really think and what they really know. i think on the one hand, they have tried as you mentioned to come

up have tried as you mentioned to come up with an alternative, a counter narrative which they have done many times in the past. it turns out it is really the possibility that it could have happened as some kind of attack by terrorists or radicals. which is very implausible. 0n the other hand, it is possible they are privately aware that maybe assad is behind this attack, and that this has to be stopped. what they cannot do is remain in the open, condemning their ally for war crimes. they had to find a way where they save face as well. privately they might be very upset about assad ‘s and his use of chemical weapons, they cannot condemn him in public. this is the ally, syria, russia is meant to be protecting them, helping them? but the russians are probably very upset at the fact that if it is proven from the point of view that syrians

we re from the point of view that syrians were behind this, they are very upset probably with assad, by the decision of assad to use chemical weapons. in a way, they are in this very difficult position where they have to protect assad, they show wea kness have to protect assad, they show weakness if they do not come in and help him. at the same time, they have to find a way out of the situation where they can control their ally a bit better. the russians would like some kind of political solution which includes not necessarily assad himself but the regime. it's interesting that yesterday evening the press secretary of the kremlin said very clearly that russia was not going to stick around assad unconditionally. there was a hint that the russians we re there was a hint that the russians were ready, in some way, to come to an agreement and to punish him. but not in the way it was actually

conducted, without any consultation orjoint position with the americans. i think the russians want to be brought on board on decisions, so that they can cooperate and collaborate. we must remember that russians and americans are cooperating in some areas on the ground and syria. that might now become injeopardy, maybe. there has to bea become injeopardy, maybe. there has to be a reassessment of the relationship between the us and russia. they seem to think there we re russia. they seem to think there were people they could, two men who thought they could do business with each other. if the us is prepared to intervene in the way it has in syria, what will be thinking be in russia about where else america might act? that's a very good point. the russians are worried that there was this kind of attack, then there is an unpredictable reaction from the us. they worry this attack may

embolden the terrorists, criminals, the jihadists. embolden the terrorists, criminals, thejihadists. it is embolden the terrorists, criminals, the jihadists. it is what one can expect. that the russians will conduct a very similar attack... there are some reports they were already bombing the same areas. at the same time, i think a lot of the bilateral relations with the us and russia will depend very much on what is the next step in the trump administration takes. if this was just an attack to send a message to assad, i think the russians and americans can collaborate in future. if this is the beginning of a different policy of the americans, we are ready —— where they are ready to engage much more militarily on the ground, then i think we might see more confrontation, at least motherly, with the russians. the escalation —— at least verbally. the

un, the security council this evening, how harsh as wordsworth. they betray the fact that the russians are terribly upset with this intervention. getting even more, located. thank you, doctor. —— getting even more complicated. let's return to the attack on sweden now. in the last two minutes the swedish prime minister has been speaking, saying sweden will reinforce its borders but will not allow the attack to undermine its cherished values. sweden has been attacked. at 2:53pm, a truck violently ran a pedestrian street in the heart of our capital, leaving at least four dead and some 15 people seriously injured. 0ur least four dead and some 15 people seriously injured. our whole country is in

seriously injured. our whole country isina seriously injured. our whole country is in a state of shock. my thoughts are firstly with the victims and theirfamilies. in are firstly with the victims and their families. in this difficult moments, swedish authorities, including police and hospitals, are doing everything they can to save lives and maintain our safety. thoughts, concerns, and condolences have breached many of us from all around the world. we are grateful for the many warm expressions, sharing our grief. we are determined never to let the values that we treasure, democracy, human rights, and freedom to be undermined by hatred. the swedish prime ministers speaking there. 0n the line now is james savage, a journalist at the local which is based in stockholm. you were listening to the

police press conference which took place a short time ago. tell us about that. the main topic of the press co nfe re nce was about that. the main topic of the press conference was that a person has been arrested in connection with the attack. the person arrested matches the description of the man they were looking for, they referred toa they were looking for, they referred to a picture the police released earlier this evening. of a man they wa nted earlier this evening. of a man they wanted in connection with the attack. they say this man appears to match the destruction of that man. that was the main thrust of the press co nfe re nce . that was the main thrust of the press conference. they also went through what had happened earlier today, and set out the facts, that

this truck had gone down this crowded street in stockholm and had mowed the ball down will stop —— had mowed the ball down will stop —— had mowed people down. four people now dead and at least 15 injured, nine seriously. they also said, they also put right some of the rumours that had been spread on social media about the attacks in other parts of the town. there were rumours of shooting in different parts of stockholm. those rumours have been put to bed by police at this press conference. what about the whereabouts of the driver of this truck? we understand this was stolen earlier in the day from a brewery? it's not exactly clear what connection the person that has been arrested as with the attack. —— has with the attack. a truck was stolen

earlier today from a brewery. it was then used in this attack. the driver was not found at the scene of the attack. the police were looking for him. whether this man is the driver or not, we do not have that information. it would appear that police still seem to be hunting the driver, from the lines that have been dropping on the news. absolutely. that appears to be the case. in the immediate aftermath of this attack, you managed to speak to some people who saw it happen. what did they say? they told us that there was panic in the streets. they said the driver did not appear to have control of the lorry. that he was, one person said to us that it

appeared... the way he went, was not necessarily the way he intended it to go, what's what one person said. they said there was panic on the street and there was confusion. there was a big wave of people trying to move away from the scene at the time of the attack. very useful to get that update. thank you, james. it's four minutes to 9pm. the stage and screen actor tim pigott smith has died, at the age of 70. he starred in a wide range of roles, including playing prime minister herbert asquith here in 37 days and was well known for his portrayal of ronald merrick in the epic drama, jewel in the crown, for which he won a bafta. he appeared in many films including the remains of the day and the james bond movie, quantum of solace. what a voice he had, too.

let's get the weather now. thank you. good evening. lovely weather to come this weekend, my advice is to make the most of it because things will change early next week. this weekend we will find plenty of sunshine across the uk. temperatures will continue to rise as well. at the moment they are falling away. lowest temperatures right now across the north—west of england where the cloud has broken up. what little crowd there is is across scotland. clear skies elsewhere. a bit of mist and fog towards the west countries. cold night in the countryside again, down to about two or three degrees. it will warm up very quickly, the sun will warm up very quickly, the sun will be strong particularly across england and wales. we will have high pollen levels as well, tree pollen flowering birch causing you problems earlier on today. default does not

last long. lovely blue skies for england and wales. more sunshine in the northern england, even into scotland, away from the far north that is. here we are looking at a couple of degrees higher than today, so it will feel warm with light winds, a super day for the grand national. could not get any more sparkling numbness: 18 degrees or so, not a cloud in the sky. breezes drawing in drierair. so, not a cloud in the sky. breezes drawing in drier air. at the same time, a weather front approaching the north—west, so for much of scotla nd the north—west, so for much of scotland and the northern ireland ts, scotland and the northern ireland ‘s, sunday is not looking as good. and in wales, dry and sunny, into the afternoon. but we will see it well cloud coming into western coastal areas. when we do have the cloud up to the north—west, 13 degrees. where we have the sunshine we could peak at 23 degrees. probably north london, into the east midlands and cambridgeshire. that he does not going to last because this

one front sweeps its way southwards overnight and into monday. little to no rain but a change in the wind direction. more of a north—westerly. that will drag in some much colder air. a reminder of the temperatures we saw. could get all the way up to 20 degrees. we are looking at a significant drop right across the board, many of us will have a dry day on monday. a caller, cloudier kind of day. showers across the northern areas. maybe cold enough for some wintry showers in the north of scotland. looking ahead, we have the easter forecast, you of scotland. looking ahead, we have the easterforecast, you can find the easterforecast, you can find the latest on that online. this is bbc world news. the united

states warned it could take further military action against the syrian government. after its missile dry on a syrian air base, washington says it will no longer allowed president assad to use chemical weapons without consequences. the united states took a very measured step last night. we are prepared to do more. russia says the strikes could have very serious consequences in the region and the un calls for restraint. america ‘s allies offer their support. in other news, four people are killed and many injured as a lorry ploughed into strop is in the swedish habit. holm. there