hello. and welcome to bbc news. the headlines. the united states warns it could take further military action against the syrian government. after its missile strike ona government. after its missile strike on a syrian air base, washington warns it will no longer allow president bashar al—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. but the allies of america offers support. in other news, four people have been killed and many injured as a lorry ploughs into shoppers in the swedish capital, stockholm. you could actually see bodies lying on the

street and the police covering them with orange blankets. welcome to the programme. the united states has refused to rule out further military action against the syrian government. that is after washington fired missiles at an air base from which it believes bashar al—assad's forces launched a chemical weapons attack. at an emergency meeting of the un security council, the american ambassador, nikki haley, said stopping the use of chemical weapons was a vital national security interest. paramilitary destroyed the airfield from which the chemical strike this week took place. —— our military. we we re week took place. —— our military. we were justified in week took place. —— our military. we werejustified in doing week took place. —— our military. we were justified in doing so. week took place. —— our military. we werejustified in doing so. the moral stain of bashar al—assad can

no longer go unanswered. his crimes against humanity could no longer be met with empty words. it was time to say "enough." but met with empty words. it was time to say "enough. " but not 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. that was nikki haley. the syrian government denounced the tonight's attack as reckless and irresponsible, but less than 2a hours after the strikes, syrian war planes are reportedly once again taking off from the air base. jon sopel reports. 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 to strike. from two us warships in the eastern mediterranean, a volley of cruise missiles was fired, targeting a single military airbase outside homs that had been used,

say the americans, by the syrian air force to launch the deadly chemical weapons attack on idlib earlier in the week. it was in this vital national security interest of the united states to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. there could 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 after—effects of the attack, the us believe the nerve agent sarin was used, horrified the world, and, more importantly, horrified this president. a line had been crossed, and unlike his predecessor, he was going to act. assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women, and children.

it was a slow and brutal death for so many. even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. no child of god should ever suffer such horror. what is truly astonishing, dizzying even, is the speed with which this administration has changed its policy towards syria and decided to act. at the beginning of the week, president trump saw bashar al—assad as a useful ally in the fight against so—called islamic state. there was no talk of regime change. but the chemical weapons attack changed everything, and within two days, targets had been identified and struck. here's what we know about the attack. 59 tomahawk cruise missiles were launched from the two destroyers in the eastern med. the shayrat airbase is some 20 from homs,

deep in syrian government—held territory. targets included aircraft, their shelters, fuel depots, air defences and radar sites. but because russian forces are also deployed at the base, russia was informed of the attack in advance. the aftermath shows damage and debris at the base, but hardly devastation. the pentagon says it didn't particularly target the runways, as they can be quickly repaired. the aim was to destroy the infrastructure that allows the base to function, and the attack has brought the president strong support. mr president was authorised to conduct the strike. he's not asking for a declaration of war. he's not committing ground troops over an extended period of time. he was dealing with exigent circumstances. and as the commander—in—chief, not only does he have the right, he has an obligation to act. hillary clinton has also backed the president's action, but with this qualification. we cannot in one breath speak of protecting syrian babies and in the next close america's doors to them.

the president and his team at the makeshift situation room at mar—a—lago as they await news of the strike. donald trump, who didn't want 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. jon sopel, bbc news, palm beach, florida. as we heard earlier, russia was quick to respond to the us strikes, saying they violated international law. moscow said president trump's actions encouraged terrorists in the region, including the islamic state group in syria. our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, has this assessment of russia's response. until recently, the russian media had been singing

donald trump's praises. but no longer. today, state tv accused him of an unprovoked show of force with the missile strike that he'd ordered on a syrian air base. less than half of the missiles fired, moscow claimed, hit their target. still, russia condemned the attack as a gross, groundless violation of the international rulebook. it's definitely an aggressive act against international law, against a sovereign country, and without any true evidence of the assad regime being guilty of using chemical weapons. it's russian military power that's been keeping president assad in power. russia's air force and navy 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 using a pretext

for missile strikes. those american tomahawks may have been targeting the syrian military, butjudging what the kremlin has been saying, its us—russia relations that take a real battering now 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. but so far, there's been no sign of that. later, the two countries clashed at the un security council. it could be that russia is knowingly allowing chemical weapons to remain in syria. it could be that russia has been incompetent in its efforts to remove the chemical weapons. or it could be that the assad regime is playing the russians for fools. "i would ask america not to insult my country," said russia's deputy ambassador. 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... ..any contacts, and any co—ordination, which is very dangerous. russia is hoping that this us strike was a one—off. but tonight, it is strengthening air defences across syria, just in case. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. flynt leverett is a professor of international affairs at penn state and co—author of "going to tehran: why america must accept the islamic republic of iran." hejoins us via he joins us via webcam from mclean in virginia. thank you so much for your time. first of all, there has definitely been an inconsistency in donald trump's approached to syria.

has it been a messy strategy or are we now seeing clarity and consistency and a new resolve? we now seeing clarity and consistency and a new resolve ?|j think consistency and a new resolve?” think you are seeing a major strategic shift on the part of the trump administration. you know, donald trump campaigned and took off saying his top priority in the middle east was to destroy islamic state. well, if you want to do that, his natural on the ground partners in the project are russia, iran, and the syrian government. and initially, donald trump was, i think, interested in seeing what he could do with russia, was open to even partnership with the syrian government, but he had a real ideological problem with cooperating with iran. he thought unrealistically that he could somehow get russia and the syrian government somehow somehow get russia and the syrian government somehow away somehow get russia and the syrian government somehow away from iran. that did not work. he has been

constrained domestically in the us in terms of what he can do with russia. and, in fact, as the campaign against the islamic state proceeds, people in the administration, us allies like israel and saudi arabia, they are becoming increasingly concerned that the destruction of the islamic state will actually let russia, iran, and an empowered syrian government assume a more influential role in the middle east. and they want the united states to push back against that. and so just two days after the senior administration officials are talking about how they are not out to overthrow the bashar al—assad government, everything changes because they were looking for a window, some opening, where they could take military action and try and push back against the growing influence and disruption of the iranian— syrian axis in the region.

it is worrying how he was not able to act on his original impulses in the region to co—operate with russia, to take a more open position with the syrian government, but he got so hung up over iran, and he got so constrained, the massacre, in terms of what to do with russia. —— domestically. now he is looking at a more unilateral strategy within the region and he is increasingly turning to operation with traditional but problematic allies in the region like israel and saudi arabia. i wish we had more time to discuss this, but thank you very much for your time. a professor professor of international affairs in penn state. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, a lot of hot air trying to beat the record for

crossing the channel. 55 years of hatred and rage, as theyjump up on the statue. this funeral became a massive demonstration of black power, the power to influence. today is about the promise of a bright future, a day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past. i think that picasso's works were beautiful, they were intelligent, and it's a sad loss to everybody who loves art. this is bbc world news. the latest

headlines. the united states has warned that it could take further action against syria over its use of chemical weapons hours after firing missiles at an air base. well, a lorry has been driven into a crowd of pedestrians in the swedish capital, stockholm, killing four people and injuring 15, nine of which seriously, in which the prime minister has called an act of terrorism. it happened early in the afternoon on a busy street. the truck crashed into a department store. a man was arrested by police who they say resembles images they released on cctv after the attack. we report from stockholm. people running in terror, as a truck races towards shoppers

in a centre of stockholm. and this is where it ended up, in flames after crashing into a department store. 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"... you could actually see bodies lying on the street, and i could see police covering the bodies with an orange blanket. and there were lots of police around, lots of people just standing around, filming and taking photos. the truck belongs to a brewery company, who said a man hijacked it earlier as it was dropping off beer. the bluntest of weapons, used to deliver a sudden and deadly blow that has hit sweden hard. there was a lady laying with a severed foot, blood everywhere, there were bodies on the ground everywhere. and a sense of panic. people standing by their loved ones, but also people running away.

so many questions. first, who was involved, and why? police quickly released images of a man they wanted to question, and within hours they'd made an arrest. translation: earlier, we released a picture of a person of particular interest to the investigation. a short while ago, we spoke to a person that matches that description. and sweden's prime minister said they would not give in to terror. thoughts, concerns, and condolences have reached many of us from all around the world. and we are grateful for the many warm expressions of sharing our grief. we are determined never to let the values that we treasure, democracy, human rights, and freedom, to be undermined by hatred. after hours under lockdown, at least some

normality is returning to the city. the metro has reopened, and people are returning. there's an uneasy feel, here, tonight. this has really shaken people in the city. the police are visible in number, and there are already extra checks at sweden's borders. already, some say this is a wake—up call for the security services. sweden has a proud history as an open society that embraces all, but it's now the latest corner of europe forced to confront death so sudden, so shocking. danjohnson, bbc news, stockholm. eta has announced it has given up all the weapons. in a statement obtained by the bbc, the group says that as of saturday morning, they will have handed over details of any remaining arms to french authorities. they are believed responsible for over 800 deaths since the 1960s. they declared a ceasefire in 20 two 2007. we get

this report from san sebastian in spain. the heart of the vast region. once the heart of eta's brutal insurgency. hard to imagine now in towns like san sebastien. but for many bars, it is impossible to forget. a specially for officials who were targets of assassination. —— radu. translation: the world of islands was like the tide. it cannot be beat, little—by—little, and tell it took over your whole life. —— basque. and the lives of their runaround basque. and the lives of their ru na round you and basque. and the lives of their runaround you and your family. the basque separatist movement came up under the franco dictatorship. eta became synonymous with car bombs and shootings for decades. a local police chief, one of many victims, his wife rosa remembers every detail

of the day that macro shot him. translation: my son told me mother, bystrom, she says. dr strydom for five days to save him. but now she wa nts five days to save him. but now she wants the country to mourn. any steps towards peace are good, she says, but she accuses eta of making too much of their declaration. eta cause it disarmament day. their statement, obtained by the bbc, says all its weapons will be handed over to civil society representatives. this prominent basque politician played a key role persuading eta to give up its guns. he once headed eta's political wing. translation: the ceasefire was a few yea rs translation: the ceasefire was a few years ago, so disarming was the obvious next step. but look at what

is happening in the world as well. the strategies of the 20th century are over. when you look back, do you regret those decades of violence? translation: it is a difficult question. i believe the armed conflict should have ended earlier. our society wanted us to take this step earlier. we should have listened. in some ways, eta's move is largely symbolic. he does not have many weapons. they have not been many ataxia in the past region of spain. —— eta. but this is an historic turning point. it draws a line under what had been decades of violence. it brings an end to the last insurgency in the heart of europe. but for many basques, there is still the issue of eta prisoners. in villages across this region, they are regarded as heroes. hundreds language —— languish in spanish and french dales, far from their families. but eta will not get

anything in return for disarming. the spanish government will not negotiate with people it calls terrorist. an old conflict goes on, fought now with words, not weapons. senators in the united states have confirmed neil gorsuch as a supreme courtjudge, following a year long political battle over the post. the development is being seen as the biggest success so far for president trump, who had nominated gorsuch over democratic opposition. mr gorsuch will be the iisthjustice of the us supreme court. here in london, a romanian tourist knocked into the river thames during the terror attack at westminster last month has died. 31—year—old andreea cristea had been visiting the city with her boyfriend. her death brings the number of people killed by the attacker khalid masood to five. our correspondent tom symonds reports. there had been a hope that andreea cristea would make it. she was young, she'd been on holiday, about to receive a marriage proposal.

it wasn't to be. doctors at st bartholomew's said she'd been in a critical condition since the attack. yesterday, they decided to withdraw life support. we are saddened by the death of miss andreea cristea at st bartholomew's hospital. she had been receiving care here since the westminster terror attacks, having been initially treated at the royal london hospital. and our thoughts are with her friends and family at this difficult time. i'd like to pay tribute to all the staff who showed great care and compassion in looking after her. her family praised the kindness and empathy shown by medical staff and the police. after fighting for her life for over two weeks, they said, our beloved and irrepressible andreea, wonderful daughter, sister, partner, dedicated friend and the most unique and life—loving person you can imagine, was cruelly and brutally ripped away from our lives in the most heartless and spiritless way. she will always be remembered

as our shining ray of light that will for ever keep on shining in our hearts. khalid masood can't have cared who he targeted that day, using a blunt weapon, a hire car. he mowed down his victims, somehow sending andreea over the railing of the bridge and into the river. leslie rhodes, aysha frade, kurt cochrane and pc keith palmer also lost their lives. the inquest into their deaths has been adjourned, but it will consider what happened in precise detail that day. the benefit the coroner has is the sheer number of witnesses. it's thought 1,500 people may have seen what happened. last week, andrei burnaz laid a single flower in memory of the woman he'd hoped would be his wife. today, for all the victims, the flowers, the candles and the thoughts kept coming. here in the uk the skies above dover were a picture on friday morning

when over 80 hot air balloons took off, hoping to break the world record for crossing the channel. so did they manage it? our reporter fiona lamdin was on board one of the balloons. they gathered at first light in a field in kent. and as the sun rose, with almost military precision, at exactly 7am, the mass ascent began. 82 pilots from across europe were here to set a new record. the pack drifted over dover's castle and cliffs. england will soon behind them as they headed 26 miles over the channel in mainland europe. it is fantastic being able to see the other balloons. it is a once—in—a—lifetime opportunity. the cameraman is in a balloon somewhere out there so i am filming there myself. we are right in the middle of the flight. can't see france, can't see england, all i know is, i'm above the world's

busiest shipping lanes. after three hours drifting above the sea, they arrived in france south of calais to the warmest of welcomes. after three hours, 21 minutes and 20 seconds, it was down—to—earth with the most gentlest of bumps. bend your knees... when we began to see a little point in the air, and so, with the car, we tried to follow the course of the balloons, and we are happy to see you! the pilots are confident they've broken the previous record of 49 balloons but are waiting for confirmation that they hold the new title. you are watching bbc world news.

hello there. good morning. as april weekends go, i think we're in for a bit of a treat this weekend, because there is strong sunshine to be had for large swathes of uk on both days. we will see those temperatures creeping up day by day. a top of 23 or 2a degrees by sunday for some of us. or 2a degrees by sunday for some of us. however, or 2a degrees by sunday for some of us. however, across or 2a degrees by sunday for some of us. however, across england and wales today, we do have high levels of pollen. birch pollen at this time of pollen. birch pollen at this time of year. to end the week, good for much of the uk. there was the odd spot of rain in the northern west. guys the most. clear overnight in most cities. single figures in many cities. two or three degrees in some rural areas, so chilly start to saturday with a few pages of mist pollard. once the sun is up. —— and fog. once the sun is up, temperatures will rise quickly.

sunny for large swathes of the uk. in the north—west, some cloud. i3 sunny for large swathes of the uk. in the north—west, some cloud. 13 or 14 for glasgow and belfast. into the low 20s in the london area. in between, in aintree, round seven or 18 degrees. —— 17. very pleasant indeed. should be a fantastic day out. if you're off to some of the premier league matches, no problems with the weather. it is 16 or 17 degrees for tottenham and manchester city. on the other side of the atlantic, the winds easing down for the golfers at augusta. and temperatures are on the rise for the second part of the weekend. it looks pretty good here. temperatures are on the rise for the second part of our weekend, as well. warmer at coming up from spain and france, raising temperatures across central and eastern parts of england. there will be a fresh start of the day on sunday. a few pages of mr fog. a decent day for most. more cloud in the northern west, bringing rain into northern scotland and maybe northern ireland. head inland, that is where we will see the sunshine

and the highest temperatures of 23 or 2a degrees in many places. a good 10 degrees lower in the north and west. and it is that fresh air that will eventually wind out later sunday into monday. this weather front starts to head south. not much rain in it, but it will bring in cooler, fresh air. by monday, it will be a rather different day. just a quick reminder of the temperatures on sunday. there will be doing quite well. by monday, a sharp drop in those temperatures. they tend to come back down by a good eight or nine degrees. a fresher feel do things on monday. a different look to things as well. but in the sky and maybe some showers. the cause, it will feel that it's cooler. —— of cause. “— it will feel that it's cooler. —— of cause. —— course. the latest headlines from bbc news: the united states has refused to rule out further military action against syria. it comes after it fired missiles at an airbase from which it believes president assad's forces launched a chemical weapons attack. but despite the strikes,

syrian warplanes are reportedly once again taking off from the airbase. four people have died and 15 people were injured, nine of them seriously, after a lorry has been driven into a crowd of pedestrians in the swedish capital stockholm. the prime minister called it an act of terrorism. police arrested a man who they say resembles cctv images they released. the basque separatist group eta has announced that it's given up all its weapons. the group said that by saturday they will have handed over details of any remaining arms to french authorities. eta, believed responsible for over 800 deaths since the 1960s, declared a unilateral ceasefire in 2011. now on bbc news, it's time for click.