welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is nkem ifejika. these are our top stories: western leaders express outrage at a suspected chemical weapons attack in syria. the un security council is to meet in an emergency session. a landslide victory in hungary's general election. victor orban says his re—election is an opportunity to defend the country's borders. sealing the south china we go on board a us aircraft carrier as washington worries about beijing's rowing naval power. —— sealing the south china sea: we go on—board. church services are held across canada, following the deaths of 15 young ice hockey players in a bus crash. coloured welcome to the programme.

—— hello and welcome. the united nations security council meets later on monday to discuss an alleged chemical attack on a rebel—held town outside the syrian capital, damascus. dozens of people were reported killed by poison gas in the town of douma, in eastern ghouta. the us has now said it has some confidence that chemical weapons were used, but details are still being looked at. this report from our middle east correspondent, martin patience, contains distressing images from the start. this was the scene at an emergency clinic in douma. medics hosing down children, after an alleged chemical attack. these pictures were filmed by activists on the ground. some children were barely conscious. this baby is alive, but struggling to breathe. the medics are doing what they can.

but they are overwhelmed, working in a war zone, without enough medical supplies. we received many patients who suffered from symptoms compatible with exposure to chlorine gas, high concentration chlorine gas. also, the symptoms were deteriorating in a fashion that is not compatible with pure chlorine gas exposure, and that is why our physicians are concerned about exposure to nerve gas in low concentration. president trump denounced the alleged chemical attack. on social media he wrote... "president putin, russia and iran are responsible for backing animal assad. big price to pay." the white house is ruling nothing out. is it possible there will be another missile attack? i wouldn't take anything off the table. these are horrible photos. we are looking into the attack at this point. the state department put out a statement last night, and the president's senior national

security cabinet have been talking with him and with each other all throughout the evening and this morning, and myself included. back in syria, government troops have surrounded douma. it is the last rebel—held town in eastern ghouta. both damascus and its ally russia describe claims of a chemical attack as fabrication. and they are prepared to take douma at any cost. this footage was shot by syria's civil defence, known as the white helmets. here, they run in to the aftermath of an air strike. they find an injured man. while the politicians talk, this is the reality in douma. martin patience, bbc news, beirut. meanwhile, syrian state media says the evacuation of fighters from douma is under way.

on sunday evening, a deal was reached between the russian military and the rebels to allow them to leave the city. douma is the last rebel—held town in eastern ghouta. reports say 100 buses have started ferrying out some 8,000 jaish al—islam fighters and 40,000 of their family members. the buses will now head for opposition—held areas in the north of the country. state television has also shown people held by the rebels, in some cases for years, now released and arriving at an army checkpoint to be greeted by theirfamilies. let's cross to chicago now and speak to dr zaher sahloul — a senior advisor to the union of medical care and relief 0rganisations, which supports hospitals in ghouta. thank you forjoining us. tell us that you been able to gather any more evidence since this alleged attack lost night. thank you for

writing me. by spoke with one of the doctors, a few doctors who remained and dhouma. she's a medical student that as working as a nurse, added doctor, as a surgeon— because they are easily shoot shortage of people. she was tell me about the observations. she was overwhelmed and working non—stop. many patients arriving yesterday at the same symptoms. ben mitchell as a breath, they were coughing, they were choking, then the degradation and oui’ choking, then the degradation and our eyes and a ahead wheezing. somehow convulsions and some stopped breathing and ray hadley put on my support. people were clearly overwhelmed with a number of entries. more than five and people arrived to the same emergency room. better to patients with water to clea n better to patients with water to clean them from the chemical agent. she said people smell like bleach, which as a sign of chlorine. she

also paid some difficulty because she did not the right gear. all of these said they were exposed to choking agents or chlorine, which we are seen using syria. this time that looks like behind concentration than previously, because of the number of people, more than 50, and even some accou nts people, more than 50, and even some a ccou nts of people, more than 50, and even some accounts of more than one and 50, we're still getting a final numbers. u nfortu nately, most of we're still getting a final numbers. unfortunately, most of the people who work about children and women. citing as an agent, either a strong choking agent or a mixed choking agent with a nerve gas. the shale aside and said this was not the work of these forces. —— bashar al—assad. so who's to blame? what we are seen over the past few years as the frequent use of chemical agents.

more than one under and ten according to a syrian agencies were given rights. the united nations security council that the 20 litigation confirmed that the syrian government as use chlorine gas multiple times on the past. we noted there was a pattern. we note that there was a pattern. we note that the syrian regime was accused by the united nations of using chemical weapons. a faddist recovered at the syrian government did not use that, covered the nation allowing litigation teams to coming to the area and a better get used to. my understanding as there was not a party that as the ability to use chemical weapons. we're not talking about things that can be cooked shindig agent. these are advanced chemical weapons, and europe, probably. the only party that as access to this, as was documented previously by multiple organisations, as the syrian government. thank you very much for adjoining us, dr zaher sahloul. government. thank you very much for adjoining us, drzaher sahloul. —— thank you very much for adjoining

us. “— thank you very much for adjoining us. ——joining. hungary's nationalist leader viktor 0rban has won sunday's general election. his right—wing party is projected to have won nearly half the vote and two thirds of the seats in parliament. it'll be 0rban's third consecutive term as prime minister. his fidesz party has portrayed itself as the protector of a christian culture, it claims, is threatened by muslim immigration. 0ur correspondentjenny hill is in budapest. the tall who studied again. not that viktor 0rban, defiant, divisive, ever expected to lose. translation: there was a big battle behind us. we won a crucial victory, good a chance, given ourselves a chance to defend angry. -- hungary.

translation: a respected decision of the voters even as a notes and feels bad. even as the unexpected more support for once party. but we are to accept as part of live and part of democracy when things go differently to we would like. -- one's party. for a while, hungary pellets breath. they record turnout pledged to delays and the count. —— held its breath. among those who choose were plenty demanding change. translation: whitney change because what this opening their ears chaos. translation: the problem - corruption, northgate, low wages... viktor orban was a waste confident of success. —— was always. europe was watching. viktor orban those at

upset as neighbours. this dream for the eu: closed doors, elimbah or values, and most of all, no migrants. —— illiberal values. values, and most of all, no migrants. —— illiberalvalues. a desperate was again to be a winning tactic. a simple message: country comes first for us all. translation: why the focus on emigration when so few people come? translation: the eu says that ed fast as values and lords. as this direction that hungary should be going? after all, as powerful friends: russia, poland, and brussels, paris and berlin will analyse a result. this represents the struggle at the very part of the european project. let's cross live to humboldt, saskatchewan in canada, where members of the community have gathered

for a vigil at the elgar petersen arena. that's the home of the broncos junior hockey team, 15 of whom were killed when their team bus collided with a truck on friday. the canadian prime minister justin trudeau is there. like to acknowledge and thank the dignitaries who travelled to be us today. there are many yet and thank you for coming and sharing with us. would like to thank the clergy for putting this service on for us this evening. a would like to acknowledge the members of the swift current broncos for their tragic loss and the bus accident. —— i would like. they dean hadley chance this afternoon to go see the engine

players at ruh and share with them what they could share with them. —— ahad the chance this afternoon. and the reference there was to a 1986 bus crash which was carrying the swift current broncos, the team who get a patch of black eyes on saskatchewan away. ball players died. who was making a reference to that and solidarity. all at all, the ages of the players were between 16 and 21. —— four players died. whatever avenues disney bus collided with a semitrailer on the way to play a play—off game further from the city. they've been getting tributes from the hobbit deems throughout the weekend fixtures. many of pledged to support the families of the surviving players. a

gofundme pages raise millions of dollars. dustin trudeau was very on the stadium. —— justin. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. us officials say north korea has accepted the trump administration's demand that denuclearisation be on the agenda when the leaders of the two countries meet. pyongyang has already given such an assurance in initial talks with south korea, but according to the reuters news agency, this is the first time it's given this guarantee to washington. police in germany have arrested six people over an alleged plot to carry out what's described as a "violent crime", at the berlin half marathon. the german newspaper, die welt, say the accused has links to anis amri, who was behind the truck attack that killed 12 people at a christmas market in berlin in 2016. stay with us on bbc news.

still to come... as a us aircraft carrier sails into the south china sea, we report on washington's concern over beijing's growing naval power. 25 years of hatred and rage as theyjump up on the statue. this funeral became a massive demonstration of black power, the power to influence. today is about the promise of a bright future, a day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past. i think that picasso's works were beautiful,

they were intelligent, and it's a sad loss to everybody who loves art. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: western leaders express their outrage at a suspected chemical weapons attack in syria. the united nations security council is due to meet later. hungary's right—wing prime minister, viktor orban, has claimed a landslide general election victory. he says his re—election is an opportunity to defend the country's borders. the battle for influence in the south china sea is continuing to heat up. beijing has dispatched its largest—ever naval fleet to the area, at the same time as a us aircraft carrier heads there as well.

beijing has accused the us navy of "trespassing" in the south china sea, while washington has called china's construction of military outposts there "provocative". rupert wingfield hayes reports from on board the us aircraft carrier, theodore roosevelt. pilots describe what we're about to do as trying to land on a postage stamp. in the world of aviation, there is nothing harder. in the middle of the south china sea, the crew of the uss theodore roosevelt is calmly going about what is a pretty extraordinary business. but it is not what they are doing that has brought me out here, it is where they are doing it. we're about 300 nautical miles north—east of singapore, over there is vietnam, over that way is indonesia and the philippines. somewhere to the north of here, a chinese fleet has been spotted sailing south.

these satellite photos, taken at the end of march, show a0 chinese ships heading to sea. in the middle, the clear outline of an aircraft carrier. the ship is china's first operational carrier. it's the largest fleet china has ever sent into the south china sea, and it's a demonstration of beijing's growing naval power and intention to challenge america's dominance. on board the uss roosevelt, the strike group commander is unfazed. there is no doubt that aircraft carriers make a statement where they go and the statement there is that we're a professional navy and we're here operating as we think everybody else should as well. and we will continue to do so. and we will continue to operate in the maritime and the commons throughout the world, exactly right. but the geography of

the south china sea is changing, literally. two years ago, we filmed these huge new islands being built by china on three coral atolls. the latest photos show those islands are being turned into advanced military outposts. i asked the commander of the us pacific fleet how concerned he is. unfortunately, i think we're left with a wait and see, without that clarity of what exactly is the intent of the establishment of such a significant military presence that can really influence the freedom of navigation throughout the south china sea. it will be a long time before china can challenge this sort of us naval might directly. but china's neighbours have seen its intent and they know beijing will never sail away across the pacific ocean. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in the south china sea. india is increasing its patrols along the border with china, after a tense stand—off

between the two countries last year over a strategic plateau called doklam. it's claimed by both china and the himalayan nation of bhutan. india supports bhutan's claims and when the chinese tried to build a road there, indian troops blocked the project — the impasse putting bhutan in an uncomfortable position. anbarasan ethirajan reports from the capital, thimphu. bhutan's natural beauty is breathtaking. it's often described as the last shangri—la, but of late, there is an undercurrent of tension here. the problem is not inside bhutan but along its borders. doklam, a remote but strategic plateau between china, india and bhutan. india says any attempt by china to build a road there will be a threat to its security, but for bhutan, the flareup was a wake—up call.

doklam was insignificant until it became the controversial issue it was a few months ago, to most bhutanese. most bhutanese don't even know where doklam is, the majority have never been to doklam, and it became a matter of contention and discussion only after it blew up as a controversial issue between india and china. with the tense stand—off between chinese and indian troops, many in bhutan were worried that it could trigger a war between the two asian giants. but after weeks of hectic diplomacy by the indian and chinese leadership, the tension was diffused. bhutan has been under indian sphere of influence for decades but the doklam issue has divided this country, especially the youth — they want their country to chart out its own independent foreign policy, they don't want to be influenced by china, which is in the northern direction, and india, which is in the south.

india's influence in bhutan is huge. the tiny himalayan nation is the largest beneficiary of india's foreign aid. hundreds of indian troops are stationed in the country. it's a tough balancing act for the bhutanese government, which is refusing to comment on doklam. bhutan needs to actually resolve this issue with china at the earliest, that's what i feel. after that, we may be able to move forward diplomatically or otherwise. this problem is going to reoccur again, and we cannot afford to have two superpowers lock their horns at the doorstep of a peaceful nation like bhutan. many here in thimphu argue that india could have shown restraint and avoided a face—off with china. they think it might have an impact in bhutan's efforts to solve its long—standing border dispute with beijing. the last thing they need is chinese

and indian armies squaring up to each other near the border. this weekend, orthodox christians around the world have been celebrating easter festivities. —— stars of british theatre have been on the red carpet at the prestigious olivier awards — the stage version of the baftas. this year, hamilton, the us hip—hop musical, had a record 13 nominations. our arts editor will gompertz‘s report contains some flashing images. for one night only, theatreland's finest are not treading the boards, they're walking a wet red carpet. the 2018 olivier awards. the oliviers, of course, are all about celebrating british theatre, which has had a good year. ticket sales are up, box office is better, but actually, in reality, what everybody really is talking about is an american blockbuster, the musical, hamilton. # see if you can spot him. # another immigrant coming... the rap musical about america's founding fathers had a record—breaking 13 nominations, and it did all right on the night, winning seven oliviers,

including best choreographer, best new musical, and best actor in a musical. # i'm the damn fool that shot him. people talk about will the british audiences take all the american politics, the american history? i think what lin—manuel did so brilliantly was he made it about people. he made it about humans and their relationships with each other, and that will work anywhere, i think. jez butterworth‘s play, the ferryman, which is set in rural northern ireland during the troubles, won in three major categories — best new play, best director for sam mendez, and best actress. —— sam mendes. laura donnelly for the ferryman. immediate reaction? um, i'm in shock. i did not expect that. a story about 1981 northern ireland is not going to necessarily touch everybody‘s soul. but stories about love and loss will. best actor went to bryan cranston for his performance as a news anchorman having a nervous breakdown in network at the national theatre.

oh, it's very difficult to be mad as hell when you're holding an olivier. tonight, i would like to dedicate this award to the company of network actors and crew who i'm giving a huge hug to tonight, and maybe sometime tomorrow, we'll let go. cranston and hamilton weren't the only american winners. roughly half the awards, if you look at them, are work of american origin. that's very nice in some ways, but we always say about the brits conquering broadway, we don't talk about the americans colonising out theatre and i think that's starting to happen. not if james graham is anything to do with it. the prolific british playwright is enjoying a purple patch, acknowledged tonight by the best new comedy olivier for his political sendup, labour of love.

expect to see a lot more of him and his work in the future. and before we go, let's have a look at this spectacular footage of ice—breaking on a melting river in northeast china. it looks beautiful but it also has a valuable purpose: to prevent potential ice blockages, which could pose a danger to nearby residents in spring. the blasts break the frozen surface along a five kilometre stretch of the heilongjiang river, along china's border with russia. reminder of our top story, western leaders expressed their outrage at a suspected chemical weapons attack in syria. united nations security council is due to meet in an emergency meeting. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @nkem|fejika. hello. for much of the week ahead, our air is coming from the east but don't worry, it doesn't

look particularly cold, as we'll see. not so much sunshine in the week ahead as we enjoyed in cornwall, though, on sunday. it looked pretty nice too in inverness, broken cloud and sunny spells. scotland and northern ireland will see the best of the sunny spells as we go on through monday. some fog around to start the day, it could be quite dense in places — that gradually clearing. through east anglia and south—east england, a lot of cloud here, patchy rain and drizzle. on through the day, thatjust shunts a bit further west towards the midlands, maybe eastern parts of wales late in the day, with some spots in south—east england. looking to scotland, a few showers developing, not everybody will catch one. if you do, it could be on the heavy side. temperatures for the most part around ten to 1a degrees, could be quite misty and murky throughout the day. some eastern coastal parts of northern ireland, some spots on the north sea coast as well. on through monday night, an area of rain expands to cover more of england, parts of wales, some darker blue, some heavy bursts developing as well as we go

into tuesday morning. as monday begins, it will be fairly chilly. less so on tuesday morning and frosty, so not a worry as we go through this week. as we look at the big picture for tuesday, low pressure to the south of us. it's around that spiralling we see some wet weather systems occasionally, like the one we start off with on tuesday. high pressure in scandinavia. the flow of air around the two means it is an easterly flow coming into the uk but look at the colours here, they're not baltic blue, the air‘s not coming from siberia, actually the eastern mediterranean so it's certainly not cold there. so, as we go through the week, temperatures for many of us will be at or slightly above average, but there's one significant exception with that cold air coming across the north sea, the north sea coast will be chilly, single figure temperatures. some rain at times this week, not all the time. some drier and even sunnier moments to be enjoyed too. this is how tuesday is shaping up. we start off with that wet weather system, with some heavier bursts of rain, slowly moving away from england and wales towards parts of scotland.

and northern ireland. the north—west of scotland holding onto the fine weather for the longest. some sunny spells, there could be some heavy and maybe thundery showers into parts of england, especially south—west england and south wales later in the day. as we go on through the week, cloud, single figures. elsewhere, temperatures could be as high as 17 degrees. drier, brighter weather at times as we go through this week, and it looks like a pretty decent work week to come here in north—west scotland. bye— bye. this is bbc news. the headlines: western leaders have expressed their outrage at a suspected chemical weapons attack in syria. the united nations security council is due to meet in an emergency session. rebel fighters have now also begun leaving the devastated town of douma — their last remaining bastion on the outskirts of the capital, damascus. the incumbent, viktor orban, has declared victory

in hungary's general election. his right wing party, fidesz, is projected to have won almost 50% of votes and two—thirds of the seats in parliament. mr orban says his re—election is an opportunity to defend the country's borders. church services have been held across canada, following the deaths of 15 young ice hockey players, in a bus crash. prime ministerjustin trudeau is due attend a national vigil in the boys home town saskatchewan. those are the headlines.