this is bbc news, i'm chris rogers. the headlines this hour: as north korea prepares to mark the 85th anniversary of its armed forces, president trump warns of new sanctions over pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests. a special report from syria, and a former is stronghold, where the militants are losing ground. and why record—breaking commander peggy whitson is feeling out of this world. and i'm aaron heslehurst. what do ivanka trump, christine lagarde and angela merkel have in common? they are gathering to close the gender gap. yep, some of the world's most powerful women take action on equality. but they have got a big task, because according to some, closing the gap between sexes could take 170 years. and how to get from a to b in a whirlwind, and avoid those horrible traffic jams.

we are taking a look at the big business of choppers. hello and welcome to bbc news. president trump has said the united nations security council must be prepared to impose new sanctions on north korea over its nuclear and missile tests. mr trump said north korea was a real threat to the world, and that the status quo was unacceptable. he was speaking as north korea prepared to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the founding of its armed forces. the status quo in north korea is also unacceptable, and the council must be prepared to impose additional and stronger sanctions on north korean nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. this is a real threat to the world. whether we want to talk about it or not, north korea is a big world problem, and it's a problem we have to finally solve.

people have put blindfolds on for decades, and now it's time to solve the problem. in an unusual move, the entire us senate has been called to discuss the problem. we will have more from steve evans later in the programme. officials in arkansas have executed two inmates, after the supreme court rejected their last—minute appeals. it is the first double execution on the same day in the us for 17 years. jackjones was the first to be put to death. he was convicted of rape, murder and attempted murder. marcel williams was given a temporary stay before his execution. williams was convicted of kidnap, rape and murder. they are among eight inmates arkansas originally planned to execute in just 11 days this month, because its supply of one of the drugs used in the lethal injection cocktail expires at the end of april. the battle against so—called

islamic state is intensifying in syria, as forces move towards the group's stronghold of raqqa. territory which has been under is control is being retaken, including dabiq, which featured heavily in the group's propaganda videos. our middle east correspondent quentin sommerville and cameraman fred scott have been to the town in northern syria, and sent this report. in northern aleppo, the so—called islamic state predicted the end of days. and here, it has come to pass. this is hallowed ground for is. but it is no longer theirs. the tiny village of dabiq was a beacon, drawing in foreign fighters from across the globe. dabiq was a great symbol for the islamic state group.

it is here the prophet mohammed said that muslims would defeat the romans. this was also the spot where britain's jihadi john murdered the american aid worker, peter kassig. is were right about one thing, though. this is a place of reckoning. but it is the place of their defeat, and they've now been driven more than 100 kmfrom here. these days, they don't make much mention of dabiq. nearby, there is the city of al—bab. is are gone, but there is another enemy for the free syrian army. it is the syrian regime. there is a weary truce on these frontlines. the regime are only 115 metres away. air strikes are no longer a threat, but the islamic state's roadside bombs and booby—tra ps are everywhere. the fsa, they are mostly ethnic

turks in this part of syria, fought here to drive out is, but also to stop their blood enemies the kurds from taking the city. the rebuilding of al—bab is already under way. in syria, it takes a lot of confidence to replace your windows. but the damage done here isn'tjust to buildings. it extends deeper, into syria's ethnic fabric. amid the ruins, this was an is headquarters. we find reminders of the victims, the disappeared, the lost, and the dead. new and rich wells of hatred are being formed. inside these four walls, the country's hopelessness is revealed. rare access to enemies, and sometimes allies, locked up together. in these cells, the prisoners agreed to speak to us. some say they are from is. others, no more than boys, fought for the kurds,

with american backing. and some for president assad, helped by russia. translation: because of the joblessness in syria, i had no salary to look after my children. so i had tojoin the fighting. foreign interference here has only caused more destruction. people are killing each other. some say they came to fight for is, others to destroy it. translation: the different people and groups here despise each other more and more. war only increases hatred, it never lessens it. all the prisoners, is included, have had regular contact with theirfamilies. these men will likely be exchanged in a prisoner swap. the war with is may be approaching an end, but there will be no rest in syria, and the people who make up this country will likely find

themselves pushed even further apart. quentin sommerville, bbc news, northern aleppo. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: the far—right candidate for the french presidency marine le pen has said that she is stepping aside as leader of the national front party to focus on her campaign. in a television interview, she said she would be above partisan considerations. ms le pen faces the centrist emmanuel macron in a run—off in two weeks‘ time. eyewitnesses in chile's capital, santiago, say buildings have been shaken by a magnitude—7.1 earthquake. the us geological survey says it took place 30 km west of the coastal city of valparaiso, at a depth of ten km below the seabed. no injuries or damage have been reported. the founder of wikipedia is launching a service aimed at tackling the spread of fake news. jimmy wales says his new website will provide politically neutral journalism, with an agenda

driven by its readers. aaron is here with all the business news. the entire us senate has been called to the white house for a briefing on north korea. the un security council, they say, must be prepared to impose sanctions on north korea. our correspondent is in seoul. we have had reaction from china saying that they are concerned about president trump's increasing stance on north korea. what has north korea had to say so far? north korea has been pretty brutal, notjust attacking the us, but also in code, but pretty clear code, attacking china, implying that if china continues to dance to the public‘s dictates then there could be catastrophic results. so pyongyang

is defiant, which rather understates it. no change of policy, it basically says. we are going on, we are not going to bow to whatever threats come our way, either of increased sanctions from beijing or military action, implied military action, from washington. to put this whole thing in perspective, though, there is no doubt there is a heightened atmosphere now. what we don't really know if the policy in washington has changed. the policy of the previous three presidents was more sanctions, china must do more, it is intolerable, what north korea is doing. what we do not know is whether president trump is now prepared to attack north korea. the previous three presidents have contemplated, for them, all options have been on the table, the famous phrase. but they have looked at the potential cost, which is a second

korean war, and decided that that cost was not one worth paying. we do not know what president trump now feels about that attitude to risk. there are people who he will be seeing in this big meeting who think the war is worth it. the washington posts, for example, quotes senator graham, a republican from south carolina. it would be terrible to attack north korea, but the war would be over in south korea, over there. it wouldn't be here. if that is now the prevailing view in washington, then we are in a different ball game. but in the past, people have pulled back. so we don't really know if we are in a realistically heightened situation, oi’ realistically heightened situation, or simply more of the same, with loud shouting. thank you for that. we will keep you up dated on the

latest from washington and that white house meeting here on bbc news. lots going on in the world of business. aaron is with me as well, in the studio for that. we will be looking at the papers later as well. we are, good to see you. we are talking about the big gathering in berlin. some of the world's most powerful people from the worlds of business and politics are meeting in berlin today. they also happen to all be women. it is part of an intuitive called w20, set up by 20 of the world's leading nations. so who is going, and what is it all about? attending the summit will be christine lagarde, the head of the imf, angela merkel, the chancellor of germany, and ivanka trump, daughter and special assistant to president trump. the group wants to highlight the issue of women's economic participation and empowerment, while reducing the gender employment gap by 25% by 2025. they have got a big task on their hands. there are just seven current women ceos of ftse 100 companies, and the world economic forum says that economic inequalities

between the sexes could take 170 years to close. the gap in economic opportunity, the wef says, is now larger than at any point since 2008. i have an expertjoining me in the studio in about 15 minutes' time on world business report. if you are a busy and successful businessperson, how do you choose to get around in a city? rather than wait hours in traffic, many are now opting to cut the time of getting there by flying. so the world's top helicopter companies are drumming up business by targeting a wide range of buyers. in world business report, we will visit a recent helicopter fair in singapore to find out more. don't forget, you can get

in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. i'm @bbcaaron. i will see you very shortly. goodbye. eltonjohn has cancelled a series of shows in america, after falling ill with what has been described as a potentially deadly bacterial infection. sir elton, who is 70, contracted the illness while on tour in chile earlier this month, and spent two nights in intensive care after returning to the uk. simon clemison reports. ever the showman, sir eltonjohn has instead been in the hands of doctors over the last fortnight, having been taken seriously ill. he was on his way back from chile when he was struck down by what his medical team quickly identified as a rare and potentially deadly bacterial infection. he was admitted to hospital in the uk, where he spent two nights in intensive care. sir eltonjohn, who two nights in intensive care. sir elton john, who is two nights in intensive care. sir eltonjohn, who is 70, wasn't able

to go home for some time but it has emerged he was discharged a few days ago. it has meant he has had to cancel tour dates at caesar's palace in las vegas. in a statement, the star spoke of him being fortunate to have such loyal fans, and he apologise for disappointing. he said he was extremely grateful to his medical team to looking after him so well. the singer is expected to make a full recovery, and is already planning a return to the stage in june. until then, the rocket man will be taking it easy. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: services are held to commemorate the fallen during the ill—fated landings at gallipoli in world war i. nothing, it seems, was too big to withstand the force of the tornado. the extent of the devastation

will lead to renewed calls for government to build better government housing. internationally, they have already been protests. sweden says it received no warning of the accident. indeed, the russians at first denied anything had gone wrong. only when radioactivity levels began to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident. for the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. this is the end of a 12—year war. they have taken the capital, which they have been fighting for for so long. it was 7:00am in the morning, the day when power began to pass from the minority to the majority. when africa, after 300 years, reclaimed its last white colony. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: as north korea prepares to mark the 85th anniversary of its armed

forces, president trump warns of new sanctions over pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests. the battle against so—called islamic state is intensifying in syria as forces move towards the group's stronghold of raqqa. it's the 25th of april, anzac day, and services are being held in turkey and across asia to commemorate the date that forces from the australian and new zealand army corps landed at gallipoli. 11,000 anzac soldiers died during the eight month campaign in world war one. we now cross live to our sydney correspondence. i understand that this year in particular, there are going to be a few changes to the commemorations? for the first time, indigenous war veterans and their victory —— their relatives have led

the parade. relatives of thousands of aboriginal soldiers who fought for australia over more than a century have said that their sacrifice and service has largely gone unacknowledged and unrecognised by australian authorities. many indigenous war veterans say that when they returned home from recent campaigns, they faced discrimination. today, those indigenous veterans and their relatives led to the national march in canberra. for them, today has been extremely important and very poignant. it is a day that is also marked by turkey, another —— and other countries across asia. has there been any remorse shown in yea rs there been any remorse shown in years gone by? if you remember the dawn service in gallipoli that started a few hours ago, that marked the time when australian and new

zealand forces began their assault at the gallipoli peninsula in 1915. more than 11,000 were killed, tens of thousands of turkish people were also killed in that eight—month campaign, along with many other allied soldiers as well. in the intervening time, those hostilities have been replaced by friendship and reconciliation. at the dawn service in gallipoli, we saw turkish officials alongside australian and new zealand officials as well. that is an indication as to how conflict can eventually give way to friendship over the years. thank you for that. we will have more from syd ney for that. we will have more from sydney throughout the day. a conference designed to raise funds for yemen is getting under way in geneva, amid what the un says is now the world's largest humanitarian crisis. according to unicef,

the un children's agency, almost 19 million people out of a population of twenty—five million are in need of assistance. 7 million people are in desperate need of food and don't know where their next meal will come from. nearly 2.2 million children are malnourished, including half a million who are severely malnourished and at imminent risk of death if they don't receive urgent care. the un will ask donor countries for $2.1 billion to fund its relief operations. un emergency relief co—ordinator stephen obrien says the world needs to act now to support the yemeni people. this is rapidly becoming the world's worst humanitarian disaster. to save lives and protect civilians in areas of terrible conflict, you need money. this is the moment for the world, and i would urge the region in particular, to step up to support the yemeni people caught in this conflict through no fault of their own. we alerted the world and gave

the alarm for the impending famines, but we could avert them, and this is the point. it is not to wait for those dreadful, and massey aged children on our television screens, to mobilise the action and the money —— emaciated. 23 time grand slam champion serena williams has accused ilie nastase of racism and sexism following the comments he made about her unborn child. the romanian fed cup captain has been provisionally suspended by the itf. writing on instagram, the world number one said, "it disappoints me to know we live in a society where people like ilie nastase can make such racist comments against my peers", before adding, "this world has come newcastle united have been promoted back to the english premier league

after just one season. their place was secured after a four one win over preston north end. our sports correspondent katie gornall was at st james's park. this is a big club with big aspirations. a regularly have about 50,000 fancy. it is a club that feels like it belongs in the premier league, but that is often just not the case. there was a lot of speculation around newcastle united this year because of the size of this year because of the size of this the stadium and club. they had to bring in12 this the stadium and club. they had to bring in 12 new players. they had to bring in 12 new players. they had to put together a new team. —— fans here. there is the thought that the new captain could put the team together correctly. the coach has said that you never know what could happen. the quarter finals of

the world snooker championship start later on tuesday, but they will do so without the australian neil robertson. the 2010 champion was beaten in the last 16 by hong kong's marco fu who will now meet the defending champions mark selby. jamie broughton reports. bidding for his first world don't —— his fourth world quarter—finals. marco fu has already won the scottish open, as well as the masters. this second round match resumed, tied at eight frames all. neither man played that well. robertson quickly seized the initiative at the start of the session, finding some fluency. having won the opening two frames, robertson looked to build a big lead. but fu fought back. fu made

his second century of the match. proceedings were level at the midsession interval. after the break, fu had chance to win the 21st frame. but he failed to take it. tension grew and robertson could not contain his emotions. , and! robertson fired up, but could not produce his best form when he needed it most. in the end, fu stayed calm under pressure and played the better snooker to win the match. he faces that defending champion mark selby in —— fora that defending champion mark selby in —— for a place in the semifinals —— come on! the american astronaut peggy whitson has broken the record for the number of days spent in space by an american. president trump telephoned her to congratulate her on beating the previous record of 534 days. greg dawson reports.

white house? this is mission control, houston. like so many long—distance calls, it got off to a slightly awkward start. do you hear me? after a few pauses to work out the delay on the line... yes, sir, we have you loud and clear. ..the president was on script as he congratulated dr peggy whitson. today, commander whitson, you have broken the record for the most total time spent in space by an american astronaut. 534 days, and counting. earlier this month, dr whitson was made commander of the international space station for the second time in her career. she made her maiden spaceflight 15 years earlier. so what could she teach the self—confessed germaphobe president about the practicalities of space? water is such a precious resource up here that we also are cleaning up our urine and making it drinkable. and it's really not as bad it as sounds. well that's good, i'm

glad to hear that. better you than me. flanked by his daughter and another astronaut, donald trump was keen to find out when space travel to mars will be possible. upon hearing it would be at least a couple of decades away, he gave an ambitious response. well we want to try and do it during my first term, or at worst, during my second term, so we'll have to speed that up a little bit, 0k? doctor whitson is due to return to earth in september, and should not be too surprised if she gets an invite to the oval office, to distract the president from the rigours of the dayjob. i have been dealing with politicians all day, these people are so much more impressive, you have no idea. greg dawson, bbc news. and that's the latest from bbc news.

hello. it feels a bit like we have been plunged into deep freeze. temperatures will struggle over the next few days. a frosty start for tuesday, plenty of wintry showers. this cold air has come all the way from the arctic, working south across the british isles. brought in our direction by a pretty strong northerly wind. tightly squeezed isobars across north—east scotland. there will be gales at times, a lot of showers as we start the day in areas exposed to that northerly wind. across the north of scotland, plenty of showers. some heavy, a mix of rain, sleet, hail and some snow, especially but not exclusively over high ground. plenty of showers in north—east england and some in northern ireland. south—west scotland, across the spine of england and much of wales, starting off dry. not many showers, cold and just three degrees in birmingham.

into parts of cornwall and devon, one 01’ two showers. especially in areas exposed to the northerly wind. those wintry showers becoming more widespread throughout the day. just about anywhere you could catch a shower. low levels, some rain, sleet, hail, thunder. could be some snow the high ground. temperatures 7—13 degrees, but some of us, such as aberdeen, it will feel like freezing, even in the middle of the afternoon. as we go through tuesday night into wednesday, most of the showers becoming confined to eastern areas. some clear spells further west. these are the temperatures you can expect right in the centre of our big towns and cities. in the countryside, could be as cold as —6 or —1. changes on wednesday. high pressure coming in, cutting off the worst of that cold, northerly flow. not quite as cold as the high builds in from the west.

showers pushing to the south—east. some of those could be heavy, some hail and thunder and possibly wintry over high ground. more cloud into northern ireland and western scotland. temperatures beginning to creep upwards. that is the story for the end of the week. cold air not lasting for long. slowly but surely, things will turn a little bit milder from the west. that's all from me for now. this is bbc world news. the headlines: president trump has called for new un sanctions on north korea over its nuclear and missile programme. hosting ambassadors from the security council, he said north korea was a real threat to the world. france has entered a period of intense political campaigning between emmanuel macron and marine le pen, the two remaining candidates for the presidency. marine le pen has announced she is stepping aside as party leader of the national front. anzac day services are being held in turkey and across asia, to commemorate the date that forces from the australian and new zealand army corps

landed at gallipoli. thousands of soldiers died in the world war i campaign. peggy whitson has broken the record for the number of days spent in space by an american astronaut, beating the previous record of 534 days. she is also the first woman to command the international space station on two missions.