nemtsov, this is bbc world news today. our top stories: a suspected chemical attack in syria. activists say these pictures are from a hospital in eastern ghouta, an area that's been under intense attack for a week. the political crisis in the democratic republic of congo — security forces open fire on a rally calling for president kabila to go. china's xijinping could remain china's xi jinping could remain as president for many years, and proposed constitutional changes. a team from poland trying to be the first to conquer the world's second—highest peak in winter — so why did one of the climbers strike out his own? hello and welcome to world news today.

there are reports from syria of a chemical attack in eastern ghouta, an enclave on the outskirts of damascus that has been under intense bombardment from the syrian regime for a week now. the region is the last major rebel—held area near the capital, and the assad regime is now determined to take it back. these are pictures we've just received of that suspected chemical attack. the reports come a day after the united nations security council demanded a syrian ceasefire "without delay". but clashes between syrian forces and the rebels have continued, as have the airstrikes. russia has accused the rebels of attacking syrian government forces. caroline hawley reports. in eastern ghouta today, a measure of calm after a week—long storm of airstrikes. in small numbers, people ventured out from underground shelters to assess the damage. but there were reports of airstrikes

continuing in some parts of the rebel—held enclave. once again, children were among the dead. today is the first day of the ceasefire resolution. still there is warplanes in the atmosphere, still shelling, but it is less bad than before. the vote last night for a month—long ceasefire didn't specify exactly when it would start or how it would be implemented, and there's another problem. in eastern ghouta, it's a disparate group of rebels fighting the regime, including some extremist elements that have been linked to al-qaeda, and the ceasefire doesn't cover them. government forces are massed around the edge of the enclave, with reports of clashes as they try and advance. tonight, we spoke to the most powerful group on the ground,

jaysh al islam, which claims to have killed and kidnapped dozens of government troops today. translation: when the regime is not abiding by the un resolution, i cannot stand still and watch and not defend myself and ourfamilies in ghouta. in one hospital in eastern ghouta, victims, activists say, of a suspected chemical attack, suffering symptoms of a possible use of chlorine gas. if there's one thing all sides agree on it's that the conflict, and the agony of syrian civilians, is very far from over. dr mohamad katoub is the advocacy manager from the syrian american medical society. he is originally from ghouta butjoins us live from turkey. what more do you know about this

suspected attack? good evening. today we received information from oui’ today we received information from our hospital in eastern ghouta, one of our hospital is there, that received 16 patients with symptoms indicating chlorine. the doctors who treated the patients are well—qualified and they experienced chemical victims before, so they know what they are talking about. we don't have any way to identify the agents other than the symptoms they described. all the patients were treated, they came in with moderate symptoms, so we have only one death between the 16. it's a child, and we are not sure if the death is because of the chemical attack or because of other injuries, because it seems

that the missile which was loaded with the chemical agent also caused some destruction in the building where this family lived. if it was chlorine, what with these people have experienced and felt during the attack and afterwards? suffocating, mainly. chlorine causes respiratory problems. this is the main issue. while other chemical or legends —— chemical agents cause other symptoms. this is how we verify it, in addition to the treatment we provide to the patient. actually, six children from those 16 don't know what's happening to them, why they are in the hospital. the doctors were very frustrated, that's not enough to explain what they feel, because they feel like this is

only an alarm and it will bring more chemical attacks, because no one is doing anything to stop them. this is attack number four in 2018, and number seven in syria which is using chemical agents against civilians. this is a chronic issue. chemical weapons have been used since 2012 to 110w. weapons have been used since 2012 to now. almost 200 chemical attacks, exactly 197, that have been reported through our medical staff, and we arejust through our medical staff, and we are just hearing about deadlines and stopping this and the un security council, but this didn't happen, especially in this area, which has been under siege for five years now. there is a shortage of medicine, no capacity to face such attacks, no protection gear even for some of the

rescue team, which pulled the people from the attack area. even they were contaminated. thank god that until now, only one death since the beginning of the year by chemical weapons. but we expect more and more as there is no action. we appreciate you joining us,—ism as there is no action. we appreciate you joining us, —ism mohamad as there is no action. we appreciate you joining us,—ism mohamad katoub. thank you. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. nigeria's government has deployed its air force to help in the search for a group of schoolgirls missing since an attack by islamist militants on a school in the north—east of the country. the information ministry says 110 girls remain unaccounted for. the national rifle association in the united states has stressed that it's opposed to any gun ban, appearing to go against president trump's recent comments that some gun controls should be considered. following the deadly shooting in a florida school earlier this month, mr trump proposed raising the age limit for buying certain types of guns, and banning modifications that enable semi—automatic rifles to shoot more rounds per minute.

police in leicester have declared a "major incident" after reports of an explosion this evening. leicestershire fire service said they were sending six fire engines to the scene and were treating the incident as a search and rescue operation. there are no reports of any casualties. the cause of the explosion is not known. one person has been killed and several others injured in the democratic republic of congo, as people have taken to the streets to protest against presidentjoseph kabila. mr kabila has stayed in power despite his mandate expiring in 2016. demonstrators defied a ban in many parts of the country to protest after sunday mass, and were met with live bullets and tear gas. clouds of toxic gas and a hail of bullets. these defied a

on taking to even they have to understand that kabila's mandate is finished, he must go. the - é

told the police men not to shoot at any non—civilians. told the police men not to shoot at any non-civilians. authorities missed a deadline g vote force opposing kabila's rule. translation: as long as we don't see goodwill and good faith from our leaders, we will not stop demonstrating. maybe we will be able to change the way we do it, but we'll stick with it. mr kabila's opponents are now focusing on stopping him from changing the constitution in his favour. he wants to re m ove

constitution in his favour. he wants to remove the presidential term limit altogether, meaning that he could stay on legitimately. if he succeeds, there could be many more days like this one. the chinese communist party has announced plans that could allow president xijinping to extend his role indefinitely. under the current constitution, he can only stay as president for two terms, until 2022. the party may now change that rule. le'ts speak now to an author and expert on china, ann lee. she joins me from new york. what do you think this is about? do you think it is about one man and his personality wanting to consolidate power, or is it more about the people at the top of the party saying that collective power doesn't work when you want to drive change? well, it's a little difficult to tell. what is certain is that this change will give him unprecedented power, but the real

question is is it going to be used for positive impact or selfish ends? and so what we do know is that china right now is at a very critical period, transitioning into an innovation economy, and emerging as a world power on the international stage. it's a tricky situation, and china knows that they need to have a very strong leadership in order to steer this ship through these very uncertain, challenging, turbulent waters. and so, it's very possible that they feel that they need to rely on someone that they know and who has been trusted by a number of folks, and they will be hoping xi jinping can stay the course and

provide that leadership. they probably worried that having leadership changes during critical periods might be inviting too much... on the other hand, having too much power concentrated in one person can also bring corruption. and this could lead to dangerous outcomes, as we've seen with chairman mao which led to unnecessary deaths of civilians during his rule. and so there could be negative outcomes if xi jinping does not use his power in a benevolent and positive way. i think that we need to just observe and see what happens, whether this is a calculated move by the communist leaders. they don't know in the end what xijinping will turn leaders. they don't know in the end what xi jinping will turn out to be in the years to come, and nobody

will know. thank you very much. stay with us. plenty more still to come, including all of the sport, with the latest from the english premier league, including manchester united's victory over chelsea at old trafford. as revolutions go, this had its fair share of bullets. a climax in the night outside the gates. the label itself symbolising one of the crudest regimes in modern asia. the world's first clone has been produced of adult mammal. scientists produced of adult mammal. scientists produced a sheep called dolly. the

citizens trying to come to grips with their new freedom. although there is joy and with their new freedom. although there isjoy and relief, scowling is everywhere. not for 20 years have locusts been seen in such numbers here, some swarms have been ten miles long. this is the last time the public will see this pope. soon, for the sake of credibility and authority of the next one, benedict xvi will be hidden from the world for the rest of his life. this is bbc world news today. the latest headlines there are reports of a chemical attack in syria. activists say these pictures are from a hospital in eastern ghouta, an area that's been under intense bombardment for a week. security forces in the democratic republic of congo opened fire ona democratic republic of congo opened fire on a rally calling for

president kabila to go. the uk's opposition party would keep the uk in a customs union with the eu after the country leaves the bloc, its party's brexit spokesman has confirmed. labour's kier starmer told the bbc that the arrangement would be best for the economy, but still respect the referendum result. the policy shift marks a clear difference with the uk prime minister, who is committed to leaving both the eu's customs arrangement and the single market. with me is bbc political correspondent ben wright. in the uk, the labour party is in opposition, but they could have an influence on government policy, couldn't they? that's right, and the reason is because theresa may's conservative party doesn't have an overall majority in the house of commons. over the next year, really, leading up to the date of brexit, there will be many opportunities for

members of parliament to vote on the brexit process so it doesn't take many, a handful, even, of tory mps, conservative mps, to vote with the labour party to defeat the government, and the backdrop to the whole of brexit over the next year 01’ so. whole of brexit over the next year or so. labour's policy position on the customs union is one of the most significant moves we've seen for months. bcentral planks of the government brexit strategy is to ta ke government brexit strategy is to take britain out of the central market, but also the customs union, sharing tariff free trade across the eu. the labour position has been evolving slowly over the last few months and they confirmed that, were they to be in power, they would want britain to create a new customs union with the european union to maintain tariff free trade as much as possible. the reason this is dangerous for the government is that there is highly likely to be a vote in the house of parliament at some point in the next weeks or months

that would allow tory mps who are critical of their own government's policy tojoin critical of their own government's policy to join forces with the labour party and potentially inflict a defeat on the government and potentially change the government's preferred option on the customs union, which changes the course of brexit. that is why these policy choices that labour is making are significant. thank you. a polish expedition attempting to become the first to conquer the world's second—highest peak, k2, in winter has confirmed that one of its climbers appears to have launched an unauthorised solo attempt to reach the summit. denis urubko struck out alone, reportedly refusing to discuss his plans with base camp on the radio. we can now speak to the expedition spokesperson, michal leksinski. he's in warsaw. just explain to me, why is it so bad for somebody to strike out on their own? you are all competitive climbers, aren't you? well, i must

say... problems with sound. without any discussion and without any consultation to make his attempt. it's an international expedition, 13 people have worked so farfor expedition, 13 people have worked so far for two months to establish camps to fix the roads on the route to the summit of k2, and without any consultations dennis attempted, or is attempting for the summit push, so this changed a bit the tactics, because of the fact that he went solo without any connectivity and without any radio with himself. we have to prepare other teams, which are now currently at an altitude of 6200 metres in a camp, and 6700

metres in a camp also, they have to be prepared for supporting denis urubko, his summit attempt. currently, he's probably at altitude of 7200 metres in camp three, from where tomorrow probably he'll go further and higher for the summit, probably, we don't know his plans, but maybe he'll try and do it in one day, so he will try and go from 7200 metres to the summit. am i right in thinking that you are very politely trying to say he is being selfish, and he is being dangerous? well, this decision probably, we can't say, but it is dangerous, because when you go solo without

consulting... problems with sound. without any other members of the team... it creates a dangerous environment, especially all k2, which is a very dangerous mountain, however we will be assuming that dennis, being very known and experienced climber, he will know whether the weather will allow him to go for the summit, and he will judge and assess the situation in the proper way, so he will not create any dangerous environment, both for him and also for the team members. 0k, and no doubt some words when he gets back down. thank you for joining when he gets back down. thank you forjoining us. now all the sport. manchester city have won their first silverware under manager pep guardiola with a comprehensive 3—0 win over arsenal in the league cup final at wembley. it was a dominant performance from city, who took the lead

through sergio aguero in the first half — his 199th goal for city in all competitions. city made sure of the trophy with two quick strikes in the second half, the first from vincent kompany... and then anotherfrom david silva, as arsenal looked in danger of being overrun, but no further goals followed. arsene wenger‘s search for a league cup win goes on, while guardiola lifted what he hopes will be the first of three trophies this year. city manager pep guardiola may draw further attention from the fa after he wore his trademark yellow ribbon, which he displays in support of imprisoned politicians in his native catalonia, despite facing a charge from english football's governing body for "wearing a political message". in the premier league, jose mourinho's manchester united came from a goal down to beat antonio conte's chelsea 2—1 at old trafford. the win keeps united in second place behind runaway leaders manchester city. after going behind to a willian goal, romelu lukaku equalised for the home side five minutes before the half—time interval. the winner came from jesse lingard 15 minutes from the end,

as chelsea drop to 5th place. earlier, tottenham beat crystal palace 1—0 — the only goal from harry kane in the 88th minute. that win stretches spurs' unbeaten record into 15 games in all competitions, and also takes them fourth after chelsea's loss at manchester united. in spain, diego costa and antoine griezmann goals for atletico madrid see them lead sevilla 2—0, heading towards the end of their primera division match. the win would take them to within seven points of leaders barcelona while sevilla would drop a place to 6th with a loss. elsewhere villarreal held on to a 1—0 win over getafe ending a five—match winless streak and moving to fifth place. athletic bilbao beat bottom side malaga while valencia were 2—1 winners over real sociedad. now to golf, and eddie pepperell edged out fellow englishman oliver fisher by one shot to secure the qatar masters. it was his first title on the european tour athough he had come close before. he lost a play—off at the irish open in 2015.

here, he finished on 18 under par overall and faced a nervous wait but fisher couldn't catch him. meanwhile, jessica korda held on to win the lpga event in thailand. the american led by four shots heading into the final round and it stayed that way as she won her first title since 2015 in what was also her first appearance this season after recovering from jaw surgery. at one point, i was in the trees on nine, andi at one point, i was in the trees on nine, and i hit this punch out into the bunker, and ifelt like tiger woods! all of these crowds coming in behind me. iwas woods! all of these crowds coming in behind me. i was like, woods! all of these crowds coming in behind me. iwas like, this woods! all of these crowds coming in behind me. i was like, this is really cool. it's always really fun playing in front of crowds like this. i really enjoyed it. movistar cyclist alejandro valverde has won the abu dhabi tour after claiming sunday's final stage. the spaniard went head—to—head with astana's miguel angel lopez after the pair broke clear with four kilometres remaining. it was valverde — who was lying in eighth place

before the final day — who came out on top, to win the stage and the overall race, finishing 17 seconds ahead of team sunweb's wilco kelderman. the winter olympics came to an end, and ourdreams of and our dreams of curling or bobsleigh gold came to an end for another four years. and that's all the sport for now. a reminder of the developing story we are following, and reports coming in to us ofa we are following, and reports coming in to us of a suspected chemical attack in eastern ghouta. this is coming from the syrian american medical society, telling the bbc that one of its hospitals has been receiving patient lee suffering from symptoms indicating a chemical attack, possibly chlorine. meanwhile, russia has criticised rebels, saying they are still breaking the ceasefire. this cold snap has been well

forecast for quite some time, so it will not come as much with a prize to hear that there is very wintry weather on the cards. for the week to come, bitter winds, weather on the cards. for the week to come, bitterwinds, destructive snow, frost and ice and wintry sunshine. easterly winds developing through this week, drawing in all of this cold airfrom through this week, drawing in all of this cold air from siberia and northern russia. during monday, western parts should be largely clear with sunshine. it will feel cold. in the east, cloud and snow showers for eastern england and scotland. first thing monday, already snow showers and temperatures subzero. we are likely to see widespread frost and some icy conditions. monday morning, most snow showers will be fairly well scattered across eastern england and eastern scotland. many places staying dry, particularly in the west. during the day, that cloud

filter is further west, so it will bea filter is further west, so it will be a cold day, temperatures perhaps a feud read above freezing for many, but adding on the wind—chill, making it feel more like minus five. a cold day on monday. we'll continue to see snow showers towards the east and, overnight on tuesday, heavier, more persistent snow working in across eastern england and scotland. a bitterly cold start to tuesday, well below freezing, and the met office had issued an amber warning. that threat of destructive snow, particularly for parts of the east, on tuesday. lincolnshire, yorkshire, the east midlands, essex, london and kent, we could see several centimetres of accumulating and disruptive snowfall. likely to cause disruption to travel through the day, and there could be school closures. temperatures not getting above freezing for many of us all day. further snow showers filtering in on that risk easterly wind on tuesday night and on into wednesday, so further regulating snowfall many

parts on wednesday, mainly in eastern england and scotland again, bitterly cold with the wind—chill, but even further west we could see some snow showers, for wales and the south—west. some places could see ten to 20 centimetres, and even more than that accumulating over higher ground. snow likely to cause disruption over the next few days, and low pressure could well bring blizzard conditions into the south later in the week. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines... there are reports from syria of a chemical attack. activists say this pictures are from a hospital in eastern ghouta, which has been under intense attack from the syrian regime for a week. china's ruling communist party is proposing changes to the constitution that would allow president xijinping to constitution that would allow president xi jinping to stay in power until after 2022, changing the rule that leaders are limited to two consecutive five—year terms.

the political crisis in the democratic republic of congo — security forces open fire on a rally calling for president kabila to go. several people were injured and one man was killed in the capital, kinshasa. nigeria's government has deployed its airforce to its air force to help