tonight at ten... president trump says he'll decide within 48 hours on what action to take against syria. he said nothing was off the table after the suspected chemical attack on a rebel—held syrian town at the weekend. we are studying that situation extremely closely. we are meeting with our military and everybody else and we will be making some major decisions over the next 2a to 48 hours. and i am at the white house where i understand the president has been seeking to persuade britain and france tojoin seeking to persuade britain and france to join any military action against syria that could come very sooi'i. this evening, angry exchanges at an emergency united nations meeting. but russia did say syria would allow international inspectors to see the affected area as early as tomorrow. also on tonight's programme... a government crackdown on drugs networks to help fight the rise in violent crime, but are falling police numbers partly to blame?

users of facebook are told whether they are among is under the spotlight as a major generator of carbon emissions. yes, she can — a golden day for wales at the commonwealth games, as hollie arnold wins with a world record throw. and coming up later on bbc news we hear from and coming up later on bbc news we hearfrom pep guardiola on how he thinks his manchester city side m'lght. be ,, thinks his manchester city side ng lead —— ~ 7 lifis :' ' thinks his manchester city side ng lead in~ 7 lifis :' ' thinks his manchester city side glad anthe— thinks his manchester city side lg lead in the champions= thinks his manchester city side mig lead in the champions league thinks his manchester city side mig lead in the liverpool's league thinks his manchester city side lg lead in the liverpool's lead. e good evening. there were sharp words at the un security council tonight as it met in emergency session to discuss

the suspected chemical attack in a rebel—held syrian town. the ambassador from russia, which backs syria, said the use of chemical gas was "not confirmed" and accused the west of "boorishness." but he did say international experts should fly to syria as early as tomorrow to see the affected area for themselves. the attack on saturday on the syrian town of douma is said to have killed up to 60 people. syria says it was not responsible. earlier, president trump said "major decisions" about a response to the attack would be made in the next 48 hours, adding that "nothing was off the table." in a moment we'll get the latest on the uk response, but first here's our middle east editor, jeremy bowen. his report contains some images which you may find distressing. most of the casualties in syria's war were attacked with bullets and high explosive but chemical weapons have a special horror. this is the

aftermath of what witnesses said was aftermath of what witnesses said was a chemical attack as douma, a town just outside damascus, fell to the regime. not showing you pictures we have d oze ns regime. not showing you pictures we have dozens of dead bodies with foam on their mouths which can be a sign ofa on their mouths which can be a sign of a chemical attack. all this is not evidence of the use of chemical weapons by the regime, say the russians. president trump does not believe them. we will be making some major decisions over the next 24 248 hours. if it is russia, if it is syria, syria, if it is iran, all of them together, we will figure it out and we will know the answer quite soon. in seven and we will know the answer quite 500". "1 seven years and we will know the answer quite soon. in seven years of fighting the syrian war has changed from the campaign to overthrow the regime to a mini world war that is being fought by many of the world's most powerful countries and looks to be escalating. at the un in new york,

stark divisions over syria and weapons of mass destruction are expanding into an even more serious international crisis. translation: russian is being pardoned bleach threatened. the tone of the way this is being done has gone beyond the threshold of what is acceptable even during the cold war cars unpardonable eat threatened. the russian and referred to as agents of the cold war. this is not the cold war, in the cold war there was not this flagrant disregard for the prohibitions that are universal oi'i the prohibitions that are universal on the use of wmd. a year ayearago, a year ago, the americans retaliated after another chemical attack on syrian civilians. it was mostly symbolic. the assad regime, with russian and iranian help, has

continued to strengthen its position. from the start of the walk at the us, britain and their allies called for president assad to go but they did not back their words with deeds. when the president was vulnerable, the us and the uk can chose not to act. now he has the firm backing of iran's supreme leader, ayatollah khomeini and of course russian president putin. that makes them stronger now than at any time since the war began in 2011. it is hard to see what the west can do to change that. the americans and the british missed their chance. in the british missed their chance. in the last 48 hours, syria's mini world war has been heating up. it is said to be an israeli jet crossing lebanon to raid syria. in february the israelis at a plane shot down as it hit the same target, an airbase called t4. hitting t4 was not about

chemical weapons but israel's fight with iran. supporters of president assad took to the street in aleppo, the city in which the coalition between the syrian regime, the russians and the iranians scored their first significant victory. they still looked to be the big winners in this war and it is hard to see how western retaliation for the latest chemical attack is going to change that. the prime minister described the reported chemical weapon attack in syria as "deeply disturbing". in a visit to copenhagen, theresa may said that if it was confirmed as another example of president assad's brutality, then "the syrian regime and its backers, including russia, must be held to account". our deputy political editor, john pienaar, reports on the uk response and it contains some flash photography. there's much more to leadership than limousines and hugs with foreign presidents or premiers. after the chemical attack in salisbury, an apparent atrocity in syria.

today, her meeting with the danish leader encompassed a challenge to western allies, to britain's global role, and to theresa may herself. but how would she respond? if confirmed, this is yet another example of the assad regime's brutality and brazen disregard for its own people and for its legal obligations not to use these weapons. if they are found to be responsible, the regime and its backers, including russia, must be held to account. it is important that we show a united front and denmark will be ready to join the international partnership against impunity initiative for chemical weapons use. but how would she respond? are you contemplating direct british military action, and if i may, what is your direct message to vladimir putin? we assess what has taken place and we will also be discussing with our allies what action is necessary. this is a brutal regime that is attacking its own people and we are very clear that it must be held to account and its backers

must be held to account too. so theresa may is clearly keen to keep in step with key allies like america and reassert british influence. what is less clear is the form that british support might eventually take. if it is direct military action and airstrikes, say, that would surely lead to a political struggle at westminster. jeremy corbyn‘s supporters liked his response — don't fight, talk. the tragedy and the terror of people's lives in syria can only end by a political solution. that means every country in the region, country in the region, as well as russia and the united states coming together to ensure there is a meaningful ceasefire and there is a political process. this 2013 defeat still burns in tory memories. labour blocked military action after a chemical strike. today's labour mps may be more split and mrs may may hope to win though

tories don't all agree. we cannot have this level of violence, this level of chemical weapons use in a modern country. it's simply wrong. if we bomb now, what are we going to achieve? because i don't think we're going to change anything but merely make a cold war with russia into a potentially hot one. this tour was supposed to be rapid and routine. well, it has been rapid. denmark by day, sweden by tea—time and back, quickly. hard decisions and tougher struggles are waiting at home. john pienaar, bbc news, copenhagen. let's talk now to our north america editor, jon sopel, outside the white house for us. the us ambassador to the un underlined that america would respond to the attack in syria. what are president trump's options? we have heard him use the words heinous, barbaric, horrible, atrocious, this is a question about

humanity. i have spoken to a senior source who says the direction of travel is that something has to be donein travel is that something has to be done in the next 48 hours and that the americans are hoping that the british and french will be alongside them. that is a marked contrast to a year ago when the president did not really consult the french or british about that limited cruise missile strike that took place then. the president has not yet spoken to theresa may, that court is expected to happen in the next 24 hours or so. “— to happen in the next 24 hours or so. —— that call. i suppose the american concern will be that theresa may decides she has to referred this to the british parliament to decide upon and that would upset donald trump, to put it mildly. i think the americans are hoping the british will be on board and they have been given some indications that they will be but that brings you to the question of what action. america has the assets in place to launch whatever kind of strikes it wants, it wants the british and french there as well but

do you do what you did last year, a limited strike on one airfield which one year later seems to have made no difference? or something much more powerful and forceful in terms of an attack on syria but which risks destabilising the region still further and perhaps inflaming the situation with russia warning of dire consequences? these are finely calibrated judgments that have to be made. one other thing, the president last week was talking about pulling troops out of syria, it is nothing to do with us. is his position now a settled one or might it changed ain? settled one or might it changed again? thank you. gangs that recruit children as drugs couriers will be one of the targets of a new government strategy aimed at cutting violent crime in england and wales. the home secretary, amber rudd, has announced a series of measures including messages online, and more support for organisations helping young people. a leaked home office report linked a rise in violence with falling

numbers of police officers. here's our home editor, mark easton. behind the statistics and the politics of violent crime is the desperate agony of heartbroken families. like the family of dami odeyingbo, who died after being stabbed in london injanuary, one of more than 55 killings in the capital this year. he wasjust 18. i was helpless, i couldn't do anything to help him. i wish i could do something, but there was nothing i could do. i wasjust... as home secretary amber rudd knows, the public wants answers. why are the killings apparently rising, and what will she do about it? her answer, a new strategy, promising a major shift in the government's approach. the strategy represents a real step change in the way we think

about and respond to these personal tragedies which dominate the front pages of our newspapers with seeming depressing regularity. a crucial part of our approach will be focusing on and investing more in prevention and early intervention. a major shift in strategy to end violence on our cities' streets, the home secretary said in this report today. but back in 2011, her predecessor at the home office, theresa may, also launched a government report promising to end gang and youth violence. and in 2016, another government report also promising an end to gang violence. critics point out that some of the initiatives in these documents have already been cut or abandoned. labour mp chuka umunna, who's been asked by the home secretary to join a cross—party task force on violence, says it is vital to take the politics out of the issues. there isn't one solution to the problem here, it's multifaceted, and that's why you've got to put the politics to one side.

you've got to bring all parts of the public sector together, with the third sector, to stop this bloodshed on our streets. so we took the approach where we came on a weekly basis to build relationships with the key young people... there's money for early intervention schemes and to divert young people away from drugs. there's no extra cash for more police officers, even though a leaked government document suggests pressure on police resources may contribute to rises in gang violence. but is it that simple? looking at the last ten years, police numbers have fallen by around 20,000 in england and wales, but crimes of violence resulting in injuries have also fallen over the decade. in fact, the best measure of crime trends suggests serious violence has more than halved. that's not how it feels to some, though. there are signs knife crime may be rising in some areas, and after 13 consecutive years of falls, the murder rate has started to increase again. i got to the hospital, my boy was already dead. so, i didn't get to speak to him.

that broke me, i saw my son on the bed, dead. it broke me totally. all i was just doing was crying. dami is a beautiful soul. there are no easy explanations for what leads one young person to kill another, but making our towns and cities safer is a job for more than just the police, and more than just the short term. mark easton, bbc news. a brief look at some of the day's other other news stories. an investigation has been launched after a man was shot dead by police in east london. scotland yard said officers were called to romford after reports of a man making threats and claiming to have a gun. a non—police—issue firearm has been recovered from the scene. a man who murdered a woman at the travel agent's where she worked in southport has been jailed for life for murder and told he won't be eligible for parole for 26 years. andrew burke killed cassie hayes at the branch of tui where she was assistant manager. the number of uk nationals

who were granted citizenship of another eu country more than doubled in 2016, the year britain voted to leave the eu. the most popular countries were germany and sweden. the fbi has raided the offices of president trump's personal lawyer — and seized records potentially related to payments to a pornographic actress. our north america correspondent aleem maqbool is in washington. tell us more about what has happened. details are still emerging, but we do know now that fbi agents spent several hours in the offices of the personal lawyer of the sitting president. all donald trump could do was watch on from a distance, but it is believed this was all instigated by something found by robert muller, this special counsel who is carrying out the investigation into the russian meddling in the election. he said he

believed he had found something that concerns but wasn't necessarily related to his investigation, which is why he asked this other unit to get involved. what could it be about? it could tax irregularities. all the talk in the last few weeks has been about a payment that he made of $130,000 just days before the election to a pornographic actress known as stormy daniels. he said it was to keep quiet over an affair she had with donald trump several years ago. if nothing else, that would violate campaign funding laws of which is why lawyers are interested in this. certainly, donald trump would have been thrown into a rage, but it has kept in the headlines something he would want to go away, which is talk of the exact nature of his relationship with this pornographic actress, stormy daniels. thank you.

facebook has begun notifying users this evening about whether they are amongst the 87 million people whose data was shared with the controversial consultancy firm, cambridge analytica. it happened as facebook‘s founder, mark zuckerberg, arrived in washington to answer questions about the scandal in front of a senate committee. here's our media editor amol rajan. in less than a decade and a half, one company has done more than any other to connect the world. and not always in a good way. each time we scroll, share or like something on facebook, we leave a digital footprint. and our personal data can be scraped by developers of apps, or applications, some of whom pass that information on to companies such as cambridge analytica. the british data firm's alleged use of such data has plunged facebook into the biggest crisis in its history. some 87 million users' data ended up in the firm's hands, 1 million of them british. this mathematician and entrepreneur gave evidence to mps at the same time as a whistle—blower who worked for cambridge analytica. the cambridge analytica story shows that their policies and practices are not sufficient to handle our personal

data properly. so, i wouldn't trust facebook, or mark zuckerberg for that matter, with our personal data. the personal data is an extension of ourselves. do we really want to sell itjust like we would sell an organ maybe? so we have to be very careful there. this evening facebook started pushing out notifications to users. it could take up to 48 hours to reach everyone. one message will be sent to all users, showing how to remove apps they would rather did not have access to their data. other notifications are being sent specifically to those targeted by this is your digital life. it was this app which an academic used to harvest information that was sent on to cambridge analytica. people who downloaded the app, and theirfriends, are being notified that their data has been shared. not so long ago, most of us kept our most personal information in something like this, in hard copy. if you lost it or if someone took it then maybe one person would have access to that precious information. but now most of us leave information online and there such information can be scraped, shared or marketed to thousands of people.

and once you lose control of it, it's very hard to get back. tonight, founder and chief executive mark zuckerberg arrived in washington eschewing his usual t—shirt and jeans. testifying twice this week before us congress, he is expected to say facebook failed to live up to its duties. zuckerberg seems to be saying sorry rather a lot at the moment. he will do so again this week. amol rajan, bbc news. international shipping generates more than 2% of global carbon emissions — that's higher than germany — and it's a figure that's projected to increase rapidly. talks are now being held in london to try to clean up the industry. but there's a deep division between countries that want to see urgent action — and those that fear limits could damage their economies. our science editor david shukman reports. at felixstowe docks, britain's largest container port, the staggering sight of a ship that stretches for roughly the length of four football pitches. the vessels that handle global trade have grown massively.

look at the tiny figures on the quayside. but as the industry has expanded, so has the pollution it causes. so far, shipping has been exempted from international climate agreements, but that is now changing. many of the most modern vessels like these are far more efficient than older generations, but if you add up all the greenhouse gas emissions produced by ships around the world, you get a bigger total than the emissions produced by germany. no wonder there's massive pressure now on the shipping industry to clear up. in london today, more than 100 countries started to talk about cutting emissions from shipping. for some, like the small island states, vulnerable to climate change, this is a vital chance to head off the most damaging effects of global warming. we can talk about the bottom line. we can talk about profit, corporate profit. we can talk about economic development and prosperity, but if your very survival is really

at stake, nothing else matters, right? a blast of fumes at dover. the shipping industry does accept it causes pollution, but also says trade is essential. countries like brazil say they can't afford to lose out. brazil sits in a faraway location in terms of its destination export markets, so we have to really look with care any measure that would eventually be adopted that could discriminate against brazil. so, what can be done? well, the simplest option is for ships to go more slowly, to burn less fuel. further ahead, fleets from developing countries might be given more time to modernise and become cleaner, and become cleaner, and richer countries might help fund that change. and the technology is advancing all the time. already, this ferry in norway

is battery powered. and japanese researchers want to go back to sails, harnessing wind power to reduce the use of vengeance. back at felixstowe, we watch one of the massive vessels setting for asia. it's due at the suez canal by friday, when negotiations are due to finish on what to do about the industry's rehouse gases. and no one is certain of reaching agreement. david shukman, bbc news, in felixstowe. tomorrow marks 20 years since the good friday agreement. it was the culmination of a peace process agreed between politicians from northern ireland — and the british, and irish governments. it sought to end 30 years of the so—called troubles — and provide a political solution to centuries of violence in ireland. two decades on, the northern ireland assembly is suspended in a bitter atmosphere between the two main parties — and some are even asking whether or not the agreement is fit for purpose. denis murray, who was the bbc‘s ireland correspondent for 20 years, has this special report. a cafe on what used to be belfast shipyard is an unlikely

tourist hotspot, and in a city which 20 years ago was an unlikely tourist destination. now, the city and the cafe pack them in, and they come from all over the world. for 30 years, northern ireland suffered the agonies of the troubles. more than 3500 people died. here, in the republic of ireland, england, and elsewhere in europe, too. but the peace process, which involved paramilitary ceasefires, culminated in the good friday agreement, a political deal based on power—sharing and reconciliation between the communities. 20 years on, two of the most important figures have come back to the room where they made history. the minute we achieved this agreement, i realised this was epochal in terms of its impact. i think it was a seminal moment.

for the first time, you had a real bonding politically between middle unionism and middle nationalism. gone some ways to ensure that the other position was respected. but the old divisions remain. it'll take generations for those to die. some communities are still literally divided. the present politicians disagree profoundly, and it's over cultural matters like british and irish identity, including the irish language. they disagree, too, about brexit. this all—but—invisible border i'm crossing between north and south in ireland is the uk's only land frontier with the eu. but good friday was based on both nations being in europe. the return of customs and even security posts could be a huge threat to peace. 792456... europe brought money, too. two thirds of farm income here is from eu subsidies. the european model was fundamental to good

friday. part of the result, like here in county armagh, is that all of us can go about daily life without the threat of daily violence. thousands still live with the pain of that. here at the ulster museum in belfast, 18 portraits of survivors and relatives of the dead. silent testimony. today's generation of politicians is split on good friday's aspiration to recognise that hurt and harm. from victims' and survivors' point of view, they are the critical piece that is still missing and we need to tackle. i have the majority of those people sitting together, talking to our politicians and saying, if we can sit in this room despite our legitimate hurt, pain and anger, and talk to each other about the way forward, why can't our politicians do the same? because their failure to do so is part of the reason why

we're not getting what we need. the agreement won international acclaim, but it had so many rows and difficulties, has it had its day? no, it's not finished. it hasn't fully carried out all the things that we intend to do, but that's not its failure, that the failure, i'm afraid, of some people still in politics. but this process will continue, and it will continue successfully. it's only started. it's only started, because peace has been established. it is now a way of life. the legacy of the troubles is pain. the legacy of the agreement is life. if the violence had gone on, around 2000 people would now be dead. 2000 men, women, children and their families are spared the agony of those who went before. political differences will continue, but the good friday agreement is the enduring template on which they'll be resolved. dennis murray, bbc news, belfast. it's been another good day

for some of the home nations at the commonwealth games on australia's gold coast. wales' alys thomas won the 200m butterfly gold with a games record — the first commonwealth title for the 27—year—old. she afterwards said she couldn't see anything as her goggles fogged up. over in the gymnastics, england's nile wilson won his 5th medal of the games, with gold in the horizontal bar, and his compatriot alice kinsella also won gold in the women's beam. it means the top of the medals table currently looks like this, with australia leading the way, followed by england, and scotland and wales in 7th and 8th place respectively. natalie pirks reports now on the rest of the action, and it contains flashing images. in the yellow and black of jamaica was a man ready to step out from usain bolt‘s shadow. instead, yohan blake was left chasing them after a terrible start. commentator: rogers is in the lead

and simbine is coming away. it's going to be simbine's gold. simbine gets it! with adam gemili missing from the men's100 through injury, is asha philip carried english hopes in the women's race. but yet again, she finished fourth as michelle—lee ahye blazed home to win trinidad and tobago's first commonwealth gold by a woman. an eventful night in the field, too. world and pa ralympic javelin champion hollie arnold needed a world record with her final throw to win. commentator: oh, this looks huge! it's a world record! nerves of steel saw wales win another gold, their first of the athletics. well, success here for wales tonight, but it was a packed day elsewhere, too, not least in the pool, where there was a major upset for a major star. so used to sweeping all before him, adam peaty hadn't lost a major race in former years, but a slow start

saw him playing catch up in the 50 metres breaststroke. he almost got there, but south africa's cameron van der bergh pipped him to gold by four hundredths of a second. i'm not on my best form this week, and itjust shows you, even if you're at the top of your game, you're still vulnerable, and that's the most important lesson i've learned yet. and life moves at a gentler pace over at the lawn bowls, but the crowd was still moved by underdog wales's unexpected victory over defending champions scotland in the men's pairs. daniel sammon and mark wyatt, aka speedy and sparky, had just a one—point lead going into the 18th end. how about this for a final bowl? commentator: is he reaching? he needs to run, he needs to run. he's there.