hello. this is breakfast, with charlie stayt and sally nugent. the united states warns it could take further action against syria. us officials say they will also impose additional sanctions as a war of words with russia intensifies. good morning. it's saturday the 8th of april. also ahead: police in sweden say a man they arrested after yesterday's lorry attack in stockholm is suspected of terrorism. more disruption as rail workers plan another strike. there's a warning that the grand national could be hit. despite that industrial action, they're expecting another bumper crowd at aintree. and were the old days better days? we'll ask the class of 67‘ who still get by with a little help

from theirfriends. and ben has the weather. good morning. this weekend looks very likely to bring the highest temperatures of the year so far. plenty of warmth, plenty of sunshine. things change a little bit tomorrow in northern ireland and scotland. i will have all the details for you in about 15 minutes. ben, thank you. good morning. first, our main story. the united states says it's prepared to launch more military action against syria over it's use of chemical weapons. it follows a missile strike on an airbase where the syrian government is said to have launched a deadly gas attack last week. the us says its also preparing new economic sanctions against the country. here's our washington correspondent, david willis. this was america's first direct involvement in the syrian crisis, its cruise missile attack a contradiction of the trumped up this was america's first direct involvement in the syrian crisis,

its cruise missile attack a contradiction of the trump doctrine of avoiding conflicts in faraway lands. and putting america first. and, as syria's army chief inspector the impact of the attack, on the air base from which us officials insist tuesday's chemical weapons attack was launched, the trump administration insisted it was a one—off and not the opening of a new front in the war against bashar al—assad. the strategy in syria remains focused on beating islamic state, there is no doubt it has hired and its stance on bashar al—assad considerably in the last few days. the united states took a very measured step last night. we are prepared to do more, but we hope that will not be necessary. all of this has put donald trump on a collision course with his opposite number in the kremlin, vladimir putin. russia is syria's chief

benefactor, and after the strike, they have suspended military co—ordination in the skies over syria. meanwhile, the pentagon is looking into suggestions that russia may have been complicit in the chemical weapons attack, possibly by seeking to cover up evidence, something that could harden the battlelines over one of the world's most intractable complex. bbc news, washington. swedish police say the man they're questioning about yesterday's lorry attack in stockholm has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism. swedish media are also reporting the arrest of a second man. four people died and 15 were injured when the vehicle ploughed into a department store. our correspondent, danjohnson, has this report. panic and confusion on the streets of another european capital. something is happening. people, running in terror, as a truck races towards shoppers in a stock on shop.

and this is how it ended. —— stockholm. i saw how it ended. there was not much of a reaction but then the police arrived. they said you have to run. the truck belonged to a brewery com pa ny have to run. the truck belonged to a brewery company who say that it was hijacked when they were dropping off there. it has hit sweden hard. —— beer. police released images of a man they wanted to question, and within they had made an arrest. we released pictures of a man of interest to the investigation and a short while ago we apprehended a man who matches that description. the prime minister of sweden said his country would not give in to terror. we are determined never to let the values that we treasure, democracy,

human rights, and freedom, to be undermined by hatred. after hours undermined by hatred. after hours under lockdown, at least some normality is returning to the city to be the metro has reopened, and people are returning. —— city. people are saying this is a wake—up call to security services. sweden has a history of being open to all. but now it is the latest country in europe forced to confront death that is so sudden and so shocking. bbc news, stockholm. president trump has said he believes "tremendous progress" has been made during meetings in florida with the chinese leader, xijinping. they've agreed a ioo—day plan for talks designed to reduce the us trade deficit with china. they also talked about north korea's nuclear weapons programme. a strike by rail workers at the rmt union is set to disrupt services to the grand national today. members will walk out at three companies, southern, northern, and merseyrail

in a dispute over proposed changes to the role of the on—board train guard. here's our transport correspondent, richard westcott. if you are off to the races at aintree today, expect problems by train. workers on merseyrail and northern are on strike. in an attempt to minimise problems, merseyrail is prioritising services to and from the course at expense of other routes. the last line goes at 630 in the evening, causing some to lose out on the biggest race of the day at 515. most expect widespread disruption on all services. there will be cancelled trains and replacement buses. the other company involved in the strike, southern, says it will have a&e normal service, but just a says it will have a&e normal service, butjust a driver on board. ——a near. this strike started a year ago and spread to the north of

london in recent weeks. it is over the role of the guard on trains. talks to resolve the issue keep breaking down. richard westcott, bbc news. despite that rail strike around 70,000 people are expected at aintree today. this year marks a0 years since the legendary red rum completed his unmatched treble of grand national wins as andy swiss reports. it remains one of sport's altima challenges. this year marks a celebration of victory at aintree. 50 yea rs celebration of victory at aintree. 50 years since an outsider rocked the most unlikely of wins. tremendous! you have never seen anything like it! 40 years since red rum dot to a third victory. —— got. while the challenge of the national is like nothing else, these huge fences make it one of the most unpredictable events in sport. history proves that anything can happen. so, who will 2017 along to

many feel it is this horse, definitely red, trained in yorkshire, aiming for glorious. the pressure is always there. no, it is great. we are the favourite. we just wa nt to great. we are the favourite. we just want to get in there and run the race itself. yesterday was ladies' day at aintree, the traditional festival of finery. could today's race belonged to a female jockey? this woman wants to be the first to win. just 48 hours after she was nearly ruled out. it was reported that she broke her arm. it was only bruised. she will be in pain, but it will take more than that to stop her riding in the world's greatest horse race. yesterday's race over the national sensors brought in untypical winner. 31 outsider ultra

gold and the 18 year old jockey. there is no guarantee today. bbc news, aintree. apparently the sun will shine again. what would you do if a friend had to drop out of planned holiday at the last minute? one group set out to find someone with the same name to join their trip to majorca. the ten friends from bristol tracked down a replacementjoe mcgrath on facebook and found a willing companion in stockport. what could have been a bit awkward turned out to be a great trip, according to the group's new friend. i had my friends knowing where i was. i had my tracker on my phone in case anything happened. i was all prepared for anything to go wrong. but he didn't. i am very glad it

didn't. he went on holiday with strangers just on the basis he had the same name. i thought you could pay to change your name on your plane ticket. did he have to? that is a lovely thing to do, joe. i saw sorry for the man who had to stay at home. let's ta ke let's take a look at this morning's papers. just a quick look. we will doa papers. just a quick look. we will do a full one later on in the programme. the times. images from the attack in syria dominating the front pages still. 59 cruise missiles. more information coming out. some of the images of the explosions as the missiles hit dominated the front page of the times. talking about the relation is now between russia and the us. yeah. the front page of the daily mail. a quote from donald trump saying he would strike again,

he said, last night. he said they would potentially strike again against the syrian regime. obviously, much more detail about the initial raid. and the man we are talking about this morning on the programme. they are suggesting this is the face of the truck terrorist. we have a correspondent in stockholm bringing us the latest information. one step from war, donald trump. a p pa re ntly one step from war, donald trump. apparently he came close to sparking war on syria. we will catch up more on the russian reaction in the aftermath of the attack later this morning. that is on the front page of the guardian. they are suggesting there is a clear message that donald trump is sending to syria that the chemical attack, the likes of a chemical attack, the likes of a chemical attack, the likes of a chemical attack we saw earlier this week, simply must never happen again. they are saying that the white house is backing away from wider conflict. they are doing this

because they do not want a chemical attack happening again. a slightly lighter note. this is from the times. a story about the... there was a lot of talk about the plastic fibre, how it is indestructible. this professor took on the challenge to destroy the fiver. he did succeed in obliterating the fiver note with liquid nitrogen, a hammer, and nitric acid. on line in a video he posted the proof. it becomes rigid and you can break it with a hammer. why would anyone want to waste money? he is a scientist. you are talking about the fiver? he could

have had a coffee instead. maybe two or three depending on where he went. anyway, he beat it in the end. you're watching breakfast. the united states has warned that it could take further military action against the syrian government over its use of chemical weapons. sweden's state prosecutor says a man suspected of terrorism has been arrested after four people were killed by a lorry driven into pedestrians in stockholm. also coming up in the programme: the team from click is looking in to how clever smart devices really are. that's coming up later. let's look ahead to the weekend's weather with them. good morning. good morning to you as well. if you like warmth and sunshine, i suspect you will like this weekend. very pleasa nt you will like this weekend. very pleasant weather for most of others.

the sunshine will be strong. some high uv the sunshine will be strong. some high uv levels. maybe worth some protection and it's going to turn very warm. high—pressure drifting off to the east, allowing us to draw a southerly wind and on that win, we will see increasingly warm air wafting in on our direction as we go on through the rest of this weekend. a bit ofa on through the rest of this weekend. a bit of a chilly start out there and some others, there are some fog patches. into the midlands. the fog should clear away very quickly. and for england and wales, there is some sunshine. a cloudy start the northern ireland. the crowd will burn back and we will see some sunny spells by the afternoon. here, it stays pretty cloudy. some spots of rain in drizzle. the best of the sunshine across southern scotland and northern ireland. across parts of england and wales, up into the 20s, maybe 20 to somewhere to the

north of london. a little cooler around the coasts as we develop a sea around the coasts as we develop a sea breeze but a lovely day at aintree for the grand national. sunshine for the race callers. —— race —goers. if you are out and about this evening, fine and a nice night as well. quite chilly again. a touch of frost in places in southern areas especially, the odd fog patch. these are the temperatures in towns and cities. tomorrow, we develop a bit of a split in auctions. england and wales, more sunshine. really very warm. more cloud coming into the western coast. northern ireland, scotland, clouding over from the western coast. northern ireland, scotland, clouding overfrom the north—west. maybe just 12 degrees scotland, clouding overfrom the north—west. maybejust 12 degrees in glasgow. 24 degrees in london and some spots towards the south and south—east could get to 25 degrees tomorrow afternoon. with all those dry conditions and the sunshine,

high pollen levels, particularly across england and wales. if you like the warmth, make the most of it. it will not last. a bit of a change in monday. london, 24 degrees. monday, just 12 degrees. that leads us into a much cooler week. enjoy the warmth and the sunshine. 50 years ago, the beatles released sergeant pepper's lonely hearts club band, and all this week we've been looking at some of the album's themes. breakfast‘s jayne mccubbin has been to meet the class of 67, who still believe they were lucky to get by with a little help from theirfriends. let's go back to 1967. what would you think if i sang out of tune? ringo was on vocals here. gordon,

jim, ray, billand billy were huge beatles fa ns jim, ray, billand billy were huge beatles fans back in liverpool. how many times did you see them? possibly 75, 100 over the years. many times did you see them? possibly 75, 100 over the yearsm was great times. your count card. hgppy was great times. your count card. happy days. and around this table, i believe they were better days. happy days. and around this table, i believe they were better daysm was a small world, then. we had a small group of people who grew up at the same time and had the same experiences. shared experiences. but it was bands or music or what, they we re it was bands or music or what, they were not any outside pressures to do other things in those days. life they reckon was simpler when the world was smaller, less complicated, more real. that is the problem nowadays. medication is so easy. we used had a can with of string. nowadays, people have 8000 friends on facebook. how can you have 8000

friends? you are not buying it. i am not at all. the friendships that we have, we are very lucky to still have, we are very lucky to still have them. it's all going to be so computerised. yet i can count your -- if computerised. yet i can count your —— if you can count your true friends are more than one hand, you are kidding yourself. so friendships 50 yea rs are kidding yourself. so friendships 50 years in the making. our modern friendships really less meaningful? how many friends do you reckon you guys have? facebook friends. between us. thousands. people always tend to think that everything was better when they were young and that includes friendship. meaningfulfriends. if young and that includes friendship. meaningful friends. if we are thinking about instagram followers, probably 800. we are not the first

generation to think this. earlier in the 20s the century when the telephone was invented, everybody said it would be the end of the art of friendship. there were articles in newspapers and magazines. true friendship is dead. it's all doomed. everybody wants to pick up this newfangled telephone and they will not bother to meet up with our friends or go out and do things in the real world, just stuck on the telephone. that is the end of friendship. how wrong they were. so even for these three, it's not the 8000 followers that count. real friends? if i needed someone straightaway to be there, these two. maybe you guys were wrong about this. we probably were. friendship never really changes. not true friendship. 19 minutes past —— 19

minutes past six. swedish police say they the man they are questioning about the lorry attacked and stockholders been arrested. our correspondent is in stock old. we have any more information about the arrests that have made already? just arrests that have made already? just a quick bit of context. we are right by the department store that the lorry ploughed into on friday on the corner of sweden's busiest shopping street. police have confirmed that one person has been arrested on what they have described as terror crimes by murder. no more information about his identity but it is widely reported here in sweden that he is a 39—year—old from was pakistan, understood to have links with the so—called islamic state. a second person has also been arrested out in the suburbs north of stock old, 20 minutes away but very little

information on him so far. in the meantime, security is incredibly tight across sweden. a big police presence here in the city centre. the prime minister said that reinforcements were going to be made on the swedish borders to keep security tight. one update on the injured, 15 people injured, four people dead, six of those injured now released from hospital. thank you very much indeed. the time is 6:21 a.m.. almost two years ago, molly comish started to help homeless people in her home town by giving them ‘dignity packs‘. they're rucksacks filled with essential personal items such as a toothbrush, warm hat and water. today molly is being recognised for her work within the community. we'll speak to her in a moment, first let's take a look at her story. i was walking around dublin in december of 2015 and i just saw the

amount of homeless people and i decided i needed to make a difference so i'm trying, anyway. for me, dignity is being cleaned so i thought, maybe i could put together a pack to keep people granted that we dashed a pack to keep people clean that we take the granted that homeless people could not buy so i decided to put it in a rucksack because it is reusable. everything from scarves, to gloves, to socks to deodorant. toothpaste. and bars. this pretty much everything we'll take the granted. it makes me really sad that people do have to live that way but i'm trying my best to help them make it a little bit easier. i'm delighted to say we have the lady herself. molly will tell us a little bit more. you actually have a pack here

on the sofa. tell us what's in it. what made you decide what's in it? inside, there is a plastic bag so in case it rains, nothing will get wet. we have a sponge, some clots and nail files and toothbrush, some tissues and some water as well. and then sweet treats. hats, gloves and scarves and everything inside. i thought of it because i know myself that that's what i would want if i was on the streets. it wants clean socks every day or something. and i couldn't go without brushing my teeth for more than two days. some of the really basic stuff. to this about the reaction you get. the first time you put the pack together, you go and see someone who might need a bit of help. everyone is so thankful and they give you big hugs. we go on an outreach bus with

another charity. we team up with them. they allow us to give them a ride on their bus. you were 15 when he first thought about this. is there a specific moment or person?|j was there a specific moment or person?” was walking around on the 24th of december in 2015 and i saw so many homeless people and i thought i had to do something. i thought this is the way i could do it and to me, dignity is to be cleaned so that is where it came from. this was an idea you kept to yourself.” where it came from. this was an idea you kept to yourself. i didn't tell mum or dad. you are stockpiling things. they caught me bringing in wet wipes and they asked. i had to tell them. they are more than happy. your room was like a store cupboard. it was. was it because you were worried that they might worry about you? i don't know. ithoughti

worried that they might worry about you? i don't know. ithought i would just do it by myself and show the mine independence. they got on board. so did my whole family. my nan has given up a stock room in a house and we took over her bathroom, spare room and the stock as well. so it started off as something around christmas time. when people do think about that. it has escalated. we realise that the end of january is when you should give them out because everybody is so giving during december. that is a great month of them and then itjust goes downhill. we think injanuary. how did you hear you had won this award? a woman from the rotary club called me and said i had won. never in my wildest dreams do think i would win. you're 18. wildest dreams do think i would win. you're18. what are you wildest dreams do think i would win. you're 18. what are you doing? i am

doing my leaving certificate which is the equivalent of a—levels. i am meant to be studying... what is your plan? sociology hopefully. we will see how it goes. congratulations. thank you. and you can watch the awards on the bbc news channel from half past ten this morning. whether it is dancing, gardening painting, people the uk will get involved in events to celebrate creativity. our reporter travelled to the brecon beacons to find out what it's all about. as they came together yesterday, the people, the lifeblood of the country created the heartbeat of wales. an artistic impression, the brainchild ofa artistic impression, the brainchild of a local artist. the heart of wales, wales being a creative nation andi wales, wales being a creative nation and i created this, moving the

mountain with created —— creative people. almost 100 volunteers from the local area created this artwork in south wales. its purpose is to inspire creativity. so did it hit the brief? it's fine, it's fun. it's interesting. it's different. we are doing something with lots of people and it's been good fun. yes, it has inspired us. inspired us to get out and be more creative. this year minard installation on the slopes of penna van in the brecon beacons is the launch event of more than 600 creative events happening across the uk this weekend. wonderful, look at that. several pottery studios like this one in nottingham will be opening their doors, giving some guidance and an opportunity to break the mould. those who want a bit more exercise, they can get down in several dance master classes like this one in the capital. even our

own presenters have been getting involved, with mixed results, and making origami rabbits. it takes three weather presenters to make one bunny. as the mountain came alive yesterday, the hope is that others will take the opportunity this weekend to try something, make something and get creative. it all looks rather lovely. it looks like it's from a movie. was that a heart inside a map of wales?” like it's from a movie. was that a heart inside a map of wales? i think so. heart inside a map of wales? i think so. a bit more time to study. you can find much more about events in your local area at the bbc website. michael of all the sport in a few minutes the headlines. —— michael will have. —— and the headlines. hello. good morning. this is breakfast with charlie stayt and sally nugent. coming up before 7am, ben will have the weather for you.

but first, a summary of this morning's main news. the united states says it's prepared to launch more military action against syria over its use of chemical weapons. it follows a missile strike on an airbase where the syrian government is said to have launched a deadly gas attack last week. the us says it is also preparing new economic sanctions against the country. swedish police say a man they're questioning about yesterday's lorry attack in stockholm has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism. swedish media are also reporting the arrest of a second man. four people died and 15 were injured when the vehicle ploughed into a group of pedestrians, and then a department store. president trump has said he believes "tremendous progress" has been made during meetings in florida with the chinese leader, xijinping. they've agreed a 100—day plan for talks designed to reduce the us trade deficit with china. they also talked about north korea's nuclear weapons programme. a strike by rail workers at the rmt union is set to disrupt services to the grand national today. members will walk out at three companies, southern, northern, and merseyrail in a dispute over proposed changes to the role of the on—board train guard.

rmt said it would explain to race—goers. a flotilla of 82 hot—air balloons flew from england to france yesterday in an attempt to set a new world record. they took off in the beautiful spring sunshine from dover, landing in the fields of northern france after the three hour, 26—mile crossing. if confirmed by officials, it will comfortably top the current record of 49 set in 2011. yesterday we broadcast from the balloon. the cameraman was in it and

we we re balloon. the cameraman was in it and we were filming as it happened. and it worked. for a while. good morning. 49 balloons and 40 horses. if you get definitely red in a sweepstake it's not spelled wrong, that's how it's not spelled wrong, that's how it is registered, without the e. if you are good on your grammar, do not pick it. red rum, 40 years since. but a bit of a shock at the masters, and now danny willett is

missing the jacket. the defending champion, danny willett, will not be involved in the final weekend of the masters, after he missed the cut. willett dropped four shots, on the first hole and was one of several, who struggled in their second round. but there is still some british interest, among those chasing the leaders. patrick gearey reports. there is no sporting stage quite like augusta, a mixture of beauty and cruelty, where nothing is guaranteed. ask lee westwood, whose opening—day charge wondered of course. even those at the top of the leaderboard could be lured offshore. in went rickie fowler's ball, and with it a shot. he retrieved it on the next hole. resilience is key, not something you can always say about sergio garcia. a talent, but never a major winner. is he getting closer? experience matters. this player has plenty of that, as he won in 1992. he knows how to stay out of trouble. that was the goal of many.

justin rose went neither forward or back. but he stayed in touch to be as did rory mcilroy. he knows the wind is due to drop and played will get easier. a perfect setting for the masters. patrick geary, bbc news. i enjoy when the courses play tough and the masters is difficult, because it means the high—quality shots will be rewarded and you have to hit the ball the right way. usually if i am in good form, i can do that. former england rugby star brian moore is recovering in intensive care at st georges hospital in london after suffering a heart attack. the 55—year—old has been on twitter thanking the health professionals who saved his life. brendan rodgers described celtic as the "greatest club in the world"

after signing a new four year contract with the scottish champions. the announcement comes just days after rodgers led celtic to their sixth consecutive league title, and they remain on course for the domestic treble. rodgers' new deal runs untiljune 2021. striker, harry kane, could start for spurs when they take on watford in the lunchtime premier league kick—off. kane, who's already scored 19 goals for spurs this season, has missed the last three matches with an ankle injury. we will see tomorrow is they start the game or if they will be on the bench. but if he knows he is ready and he feels good, and has a full recovery, that is good news for him and us. he is a good playerfor us

and us. he is a good playerfor us and he will be available to help the team. that is fantastic. third—placed liverpool are at stoke this afternoon, with manchester city hosting hull. at the other end of the table west ham, will hope to halt their slide when they take on third from bottom swansea. leaders chelsea are at bournemouth in the tea—time kick—off. brighton have returned to the top of the championship, with a 2—1win at queen's park rangers. glenn murray put them ahead after the break, and sebastien pocognoli's, inch perfect free kick made it 2—0. matt smith pulled one back for qpr, but it wasn't enough. brighton are two points clear of newcastle, but have played a game more. england's women were held to a 1—1 draw by italy, at port vale, in their first match since mark sampson, named his squad for euro 2017. after a goalless first half, which the lionesses dominated, strikerjodie taylor gave england a deserved lead. however, it wasn't to be enough, as italy equalised to share the spoils. great britain face an uphill struggle to stay in the davis cup. without world number one andy murray, they trail france 2—0 after a disappointing first day of their quarter—final in roan. kyle edmund lost in straight sets to lucas pwee. dan evans then followed suit, beaten three sets to love byjeremy chardie.

ifjamie murray and dominic inglot lose their doubles rubber to nicolas mahut and julien benneteau today, the tie will be over. yeah, a lot of times it is guys thrown together to play. a bunch of tournaments over a long period of time. he has been number one the last six or seven months, perhaps. he's been playing well, the final of wimbledon last year. so it is going to bea wimbledon last year. so it is going to be a really tough match. so, back to the grand national, and a red horse will definitely be one of the favourites.

definitely red and vieux lion rouge lead the betting, 40 years after another red horse, red rum, won the race for a record third time, to secure the future of aintree, and the reputation of this famous race around the world. stuart pollitt explains why red rum was an unlikely hero. he is thundering down! you have never seen he is thundering down! you have never seen anything like it before! the greatest movie never made. the horse trained by a taxi driver on a beach, an unlikely hero. but by 1977, red rum had already won the national twice and runner—up on two occasions. yet this was what sealed

his place in history. riding red rum that day was tony stack. you need to come to tipperary to find where his family trains horses. it was a long time ago. 40 years. it feels like yesterday looking back at it. tommy rode red rum more than 40 times, but this was his first naitonal win on board. you could hear the crowd, it felt unreal. he is a popular in ireland as liverpool. this is the thomas town village pub. people come in and ask if they can take a picture. chinese, japanese, anyone! americans! he is famous worldwide. in racing generally, he is the one horse that everyone can remember. we

could not believe what had happened. we drank it, and we werejust could not believe what had happened. we drank it, and we were just amazed that the horse came home fit and well. —— dreamt. that the horse came home fit and well. -- dreamt. michael burns returns where he was that they. they own the horse the family knew as red. my grandfather was 89 years of age then. the only time i ever saw him move, isat age then. the only time i ever saw him move, i sat with him, he got up and raised his arms. i could not believe the crowd. you would think he was a saint. there will never be a horse like him again. wonderful pictures from the 1970s. wonderful pictures from the 1970s. wonderful memories. the horse that never fell in wonderful memories. the horse that neverfell in 100 races. you will

wonderful memories. the horse that never fell in 100 races. you will be back with us soon. thank you. when president trump took office in january, there was much talk about closer relations between the united states and russia. but friday's bombing by the us military of a syrian airbase has led to a furious war of words between the two nations. russia condemned the attack, while america accused the kremlin of allowing syria free—reign on chemical weapons. so, what does the future relationship look like for the two countries? michaeljohn williams is a professor in international relations and joins us from new york. thank you very much for your time this morning, michael. give us your assessment of what has changed since the decision was taken by donald trump trifiro those missiles. this is mainly strategic signalling. there was motivation of human rights. but by and large this is a signal to china, syria, rights. but by and large this is a signalto china, syria, russia, and

the wider region, that this is not president obama, and that he was going to act, and the passive obama strategy would be gone. they would not remove personnel. this was highly symbolic. i doubt it will detriment of the war effort from bashar al—assad. detriment of the war effort from bashar al-assad. talk us through it. you say it was a signal, a sign, from america to russia. what indications are used in as to there reaction? well, it was clearly a signal because they warned the russians to get their personnel of the base. they did damage to structures but not to the warmaking capacity of the syrians. the russian relationship with the donald trump administration is dwindling to eve ryo ne administration is dwindling to everyone at the moment, but not quite clear. there is all the circumstantial evidence around the election and the possible alleged relationship between the administration and the russian. it is confusing to say the least. they

are hoping for a rapprochement, a battering of relations that obama's administration. —— bettering. previously donald trump said they would not bother with bashar al—assad. the russians were probably kept off of their feet by this. and all of these issues will come into focus, of course, next week, when rex tillerson, secretary of state, goes to moscow, or a visit. what are the politics of that one? what are both sides hoping to come out of it? it is fascinating that he will be going next week. the secretary of state is relatively low—key. so it will be interesting to see, although it isa will be interesting to see, although it is a very official and high—level visits, how much authority he takes with him, and whether it is coming from the white house or the secretary of state. —— visit. he will try to salvage and make a

better relationship and to see if they can co—operate in the region on primary concern is. ideally he will de—escalate the situation with crimea and the european and us sanctions against the russians. this will certainly help. it is also not in the interests of the russian government to have the rule against, the weapons violated. although they have protested here, they are not all too displeased over at us actions, probably. michaeljohn williams, four president trump, who made much of the idea of america first and looking after americans first, an apparent lack in international affairs, the last few days have been fascinating to say the least, haven't they? —— for president trump. he has been engaged for the first time in international military action. also sitting opposite the chinese president at that extraordinary time. you know,

in the campaign he focused on the domestic. he seemed quite isolationist. it is not unusual for presidential candidates on the campaign trailto presidential candidates on the campaign trail to talk about domestic economies and issues to be that as the number one issue for voters. but international relations has the ability to pull presidents away from those matters. trade issues will be very important. negotiating with china on the trade deficit, that will be a primary concern. the situation in the middle east, of course, is number one. that will be navigated without much effort. the administration will be confronted by these issues. luckily he has good people in place, with hr mcmaster is the national security advisor, and hopefully he will be able to work on that. , new york university. thank you. this is the sort of picture that

gives us some hope. a lovely day to many of us. as captured by one of our weather washes and staffordshire. the vast majority, a day of strong sunshine and warm sunshine as well. those temperatures climbing through the weekend. the temperatures are keeping our stride. the weather will come into play across scotland and northern ireland. the further south you are, the more you are going to feel warm air which will be wafting its way in our direction. as i mentioned, have you mist and fog patches. they should lift quickly. for england and wales, a day of sparkling sunshine. in most areas will lighten up. it's just the final that will remain a little disappointing through today. some extra cloud perhaps with some spots of drizzle. or eastern and

southern scotland, sunshine. lovely afternoon to northern ireland. and across the heart of england, inland spots could get 20, 21, maybe 22 degrees. a little cool at close to the coasts as we develop a bit of a sea the coasts as we develop a bit of a sea breeze through this afternoon. fine for the race—goers at aintree. sunny skies, temperatures not far away. a decent saturday evening if you are planning a barbecue or a trip out. a bit chilly as we go the night. again, we could see the odd patch of mist and fog. it will be a fairly chilly night. not quite as cold as last night. we can expect temperatures down to around two or three degrees. tomorrow, we develop something of a split in our fortunes. for england and wales in eastern scotland, after any fog is cleared, a bright day. plenty of sunshine. a bit more cloud the parts of the irish sea. or northern ireland in scotland, those weather fronts coming into play. crowds and

outbreaks of rain. 12 degrees implies go. 24 in london. we could well get 25 degrees somewhere. that would make it the warmest day of the year so far. first, would make it the warmest day of the yearso far. first, it would make it the warmest day of the year so far. first, it is time for click. -- click. . robot voice: welcome home, spen. how was your day? awful. that's a shame. i will run you a bath and play some relaxing music from your anger— management playlist. music plays. rory, do i have any messages. you 17,000 tweets, 16 e—mails, and 105 fake news updates.

anything of them urgent? your boss sent an e—mail asking if he can stop by for dinner tonight. do we have anything to eat? there is a quinoa, sapphire, and ginger scallop bake in the fridge which feeds four. i'm setting the oven to come on now and ordered a bottle of his favourite wine to be delivered at seven. and order some chocolate double—fudge cake. ok, i've ordered it. shall i apply for a gym membership for you? rory, mute. now, one day we really will have artificially intelligent personal assistants which we can really talk to and who know us better than we know ourselves, like pretend rory. thank you, rory. you're welcome. mr rory cellan—jones, everybody. now, we're not there yet, but we are well on the way. what started in our phones with names like siri, cortana, and, uh, "ok, google," can now control our homes and our cars too.

amazon's echo led the way. and this week, google's home is launched in the uk. now, it is all well having these intelligent personal assistants to which we can ask anything into their permanently open ears, but the more we use them, the more trust we are going to have to place in them. ok, google, is obama planning a coup? according to "secrets of the fed..." for example, in his dayjob, the bbc‘s tech correspondent, rory cj, recently discovered that you can't always believe what they say. obama may in fact be planning a communist coup at the end of his term in 2018. that fake news storyjust happened to be the top search result for that question.

well, dan simmons has been looking at some of the other unintended consequences of living with these devices. as we transition from controlling things through screens to using our voice, for those providing services things could start getting tricky. i'm in the bbc‘s blue room, a space where the broadcaster tests out new technology. and with voice—assistance, it's not all going smoothly. alexa, when's the next train to manchester? sorry, i didn't understand the question i heard. if you have to find out when the next train to manchester is, right now you have to say, "open the national rail app, tell me when the next train to manchester is," and go through a number of steps to achieve that. that's just not natural. you have to remember a number steps to find out content from somebody else. and that disadvantage applies to search results too. up until now, websites aimed to be on the first page of results. with voice assistants, just one answer comes back. ok, google, how far‘s the moon?

fine if it's a right—wrong definitive answer, the ones that companies constantly demo. the moon is 384,400 kilometres from earth. more controversial if you are looking for a product or service. for anyone else, how did you get to that position? only one person can have the first spot. everyone else will have to figure out what did they do, how do they work with amazons and googles to make sure their content and their results are there first. bell chimes. this is not the end of the world, it isjust the end of competition as we know it. oxford university is home to one of the world's most influential thinkers when it comes to competition. if we use our assistants to buy stuff, ariel believes there'll be consequences, and they won't be unintended ones. that shift from an on line environment to the digital helper,

what is it that you have? you have a helper that is voice—activated, you are one step further from the ability to look for outside options. your ability to check whether the price you received is truly the best price. you tell your helper, "order me one, two, three," and you just assume that the helper will serve your needs. the likelihood is that in a two—side market, the helper is actually serving the platform. today, your assumption, our default assumption, is that the price you receive is the competitive price. and you're suggesting that it won't be? i'm telling you that it's not. i went to see one of those gatekeepers, google, and asked them if sellers could purchase their way to the top result and get recommended by their digital assistant. we really want to make sure

that the consumer experienceis the main focus for what we do. doing something like that will not help them find what they actually want. so we want to make sure we are focused on what they want. amazon told us "there is lots of potential and room for many participants. ourjob is to innovate on behalf of the customer and then let customers decide." but perhaps what these home assistants are most useful for is what they are becoming most known for, and that's controlling other things around the house. alexa, turn on the bar lights. 0k. alexa, bar lights off. 0k. phone rings. hi. dan, are you there? look, i know we have

not seen each other, and you think i am crazy, but i wasjust passing by, and... oh, wait, have you still got that stupid voice control thing, what was it? alexa. turn on the bar lights. 0k. alexa, turn on the microwave. have i got your attention now? alexa, unlock the front door. 0k. it's only me. we set that up. but the lights were real, even though the oven and the front door was faked a little bit by us to just show you what the potential is of this technology if it cannot recognise your voice. in actual fact, amazon tell us the unlock feature for doors is not

available on the echo, and that may be the biggest admission there is that there is a lot to be done with security on these devices. when computing power was limited, the text adventure that players head—scratching puzzles and mysteries, all brought to life by typing instructions into the game. but the reason that i've taken us on this journey down 32 kilobyte memory lane is a game. it's a game that i've been playing on this, the amazon echo. and it's a title that reminds me of those old text adventures quite a bit. leading you through the abbey, abbess approaches one of the sisters. now, you might think playing a game on one of these is like trying to play a game on your microwave. because the echo, of course, lacks a screen, or any other way

of interacting with it other than barking commands at it. but that is exactly how the game i'm about to play works. play runescape. the player must solve a murder in a fantasy realm. the game plays like an interactive version of an audio book — you get a bit of dialogue, then it waits for a response. surprisingly, it commands quite a bit of your attention, and it's quite a relaxing way to play a game, although that

relaxing mood is shattered when you hear this... sorry, that is not a valid command. which you hear quite a lot. would you like to talk to the abbess now? talk to the abbess. sorry, that is not a valid command. go to the abbess. sorry, that is not a valid command. talk to the abbess. sorry... tell me, who is the murderer?! sorry, that is not a valid command. as the action progresses, it can shatter the illusion and become increasingly frustration when it does not understand what you are saying. which is obviously bit of a problem for a game you play by talking to it. sorry, that is not a valid command. when it does work, though, runescape on echo is a fun and immersive experience.

it also points to the potential these devices have beyond reading at the weather to you or reciting rubbishjokes. runescape is available by the skill section of the alexa app. i've got a sick bay filled with headaches... that is it for short clip. the full—length version is available. i have to thank you for your interactions with us on twitter which this week included choosing the name of our personal assistant. say thank you, rory. thank you, rory. good. thank you for watching, see you soon. hello. this is breakfast, with charlie stayt and sally nugent. the united states warns it could take further action against syria. us officials say they will also impose additional sanctions as a war of words with russia intensifies. good morning.

it's saturday the 8th of april. also ahead: police in sweden say a man they arrested after yesterday's lorry attack in stockholm is suspected of terrorism. more disruption as rail workers plan another strike. there's a warning that the grand national could be hit. despite that industrial action they're expecting another bumper