this is bbc news. i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: after days of wrangling, the un security council passes a resolution calling for a 30 day ceasefire across syria. the it took as to the this resolution, how many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and shelling? —— in the three days it took last to adopt this resolution. democrats in the us release a long—awaited memo, which counters republican claims of fbi surveillance abuses. two major us airlines become the latest firms to cut ties with the powerful national rifle association, in the wake of the florida school shooting. the nra accuses them of cowardice. also in the programme... one of bollywood's greatest leading ladies dies at the age of 5a. we'll look back on the life of sridevi kapoor. hello and welcome to bbc world news.

after days of delays, the united nations security council has unanimously agreed on a ceasefire in syria. the hope is the resolution will allow some respite for civilians in the rebel enclave of eastern ghouta, who have been bombarded by russian—backed syrian forces. the resolution calls for the ceasefire to last 30 days and to begin "without delay". but we're already hearing reports from activists that jets are still overhead and air raids are continuing. more than 500 people have been killed in the last seven days in eastern ghouta. there is a desperate need for humanitarian assistance. nick bryant reports from the un. at least 120 children have been

killed since sunday, according to human rights activists. hospitals overwhelmed by the number of casualties have been targets of the government's bombing. 0n the fringes of the security council, the tensest of negotiations. but always a sense of urgency from the backers of this resolution and always the unresolved queetien. i when it came to a vote, the russian ambassador held his arm aloft not to wield a veto, but to finally agree. yet western diplomats still attacked moscow for delaying its passage for days. as they dragged out the negotiation,

the bombs from assad's fighter jets continued to fall. in the three days it took us to adopt this resolution, how many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and the shelling? while we have been arguing over commas, assad's planes have been killing more civilians in their homes and in their hospitals — imposing unbearable suffering. the russian ambassador was pessimistic about the chances of the ceasefire, saying there weren't concrete guarantees from warring parties to abide by. this resolution brings the hope, at least, that aid convoys will soon be driving through these streets and medical evacuations can finally take place. but even after the security council agreed its passage, reports came from eastern ghouta that government warplanes were continuing their week—long bombardment. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. 0n

on this within the past hour french president emmanuel macron and the german chancellor angela merkel will be holding talks on sunday with russia's vladimir putin. it was announced following a vote and will focus on not only a ceasefire but also achieving further peace in syria, that is what we are being told. us democrats have released a memorandum which counters republican claims that top fbi and justice department officials had abused their powers in spying on a former trump campaign aide. president trump blocked the memo's release two weeks ago, warning that the document contained classified material. 0ur correspondent in washington david willis has been telling me more. well, here it is. it's a ten page memo released by the democrats, refuting an earlier memo put out by republican members of the house intelligence committee

and that republican memo, just to take you back to that so we can set the current one into some context, it described a politically biased justice department and fbi. in particular, it claimed that the fbi relied on a dossier compiled by a former british spy, a man called christopher steele, and in order to convince a court to grant a surveillance warrant over — regarding campaign aide, a man called carter page, without revealing that the dossier in question was paid for by the hillary clinton campaign. now, president trump said that three page republican memo vindicated him as far as the special counsel robert mueller‘s enquiry is concerned, that's the enquiry into alleged collusion between the trump campaign and russia to sway the outcome of the 2016

presidential election. well, fast forward to today, now democrats on the house intelligence committee have published their rebuttal memo. it took a little time to come through because the white house had insisted on certain redactions at the behest of the fbi, but what it does say is the republican memo basically is a transparent effort, and i quote here, to undermine investigations by the fbi, the special counsel, and so on, and refutes suggestions that there was any impropriety in regard to the surveillance warrant for carter page, the former trump campaign aide. it is dense stuff, i realise that. which part of the american population will one or other most resonate with,

i think remains to be seen, and probably divides directly along party lines. and donald trump has just responded on twitter, saying... the national rifle association has accused several us companies of cowardice for cutting their ties with the organisation following last week's deadly school shooting in florida. us airlines, delta and united have joined a growing list of companies cutting ties with the national rifle association. they have ended discounts for nra members. car rentalfirms, a computer software company and a bank have also responded to an online boycott of businesses with links to the pro—gun lobby group. let's speak now to maurice schweitzer, he's professor of operations, information

and decisions at the university of pennsylvania. thank you forjoining us hue and bbc news. how surprised are you by the momentum that this seems to have, professor? —— here on. momentum that this seems to have, professor? -- here on. well, this is different. as we know from the sandy look shooting in 2012, that was a horrific tragedy but failed to elicit the kind of response we are getting now. —— sandy hook. we're hearing because these are high school students, not very young children, a high school students in their own voice, we're hearing the tragedy and through their social media, they are amplifying their story, and the second key difference right now is the backdrop, that is we are in a environment where we

have a liberal base that is very agitated, they are agitated about climate change, about many things, and this is one of the issue that really feeds into this divide between liberal, conservative, and so between liberal, conservative, and so you have an activated race ready to ta ke so you have an activated race ready to take this on and we are seeing more change now than we ever have before. you are talking there about liberals being very agitated and of course, what we have seen after previous mass shootings is the enthusiasm, the energy dissipates over time, whereas of course the energy to is not dissipate on the other side, the nra side. what do you think will happen this time?|j think you think will happen this time?” think you're absolutely right, that is an extremely important point because the activation, energy and organisation matters. the nra has been very organised and persistent over time and the other side of this

debate, those who favour more regulation, they come at this episodically, so after one of these horrific shootings, they get some momentum but then, that usually dissipates. you know the news cycle better than anyone. six months and now, two yea rs better than anyone. six months and now, two years and now, even a couple of weeks and now, the news cycle can move forward and it drags oui’ cycle can move forward and it drags our attention to something else, so it could be immigration, it could be climate change. there are so many different things that can grab our attention, that what we have seen in the past is that the nra, very committed to this one issue, they are going to keep their high energy and dedication and what we are going to see is that the energy behind this will start to dissipate and the nra will remain quite activated and energised about their cause here, which is a sort of commitment to

individual rights, as they see it, for lax gun regulation. always interesting to get your analysis. thank you very much, we really appreciate your time. thank you. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the american billionaire warren buffett says tax cuts introduced by president trump boosted his company's earnings by $29 billion last year. many democrats had argued that the tax package was a huge and unaffordable giveaway to the wealthy. mr buffett — who is chairman and chief executive of berkshire hathaway — has long argued for higher taxes for the rich. the employers of a filipino maid found dead in a freezer in kuwait have been arrested. the 29—year—old was found frozen in her employers‘s apartment more than one year after

she was reported are held on