the us, the uk and france consider military action against syria. at the un, there's deadlock over an inquiry into the suspected syrian chemical attack. the security council has been unable to act solely because russia has abused the power of veto to protect syria from international scrutiny. western powers have been shaken by images of apparent chlorine gas victims in syria. we'll be asking what action is now available to them. also tonight: yulia skripal, poisoned by a nerve agent in salisbury, is discharged from hospital. facebook‘s head mark zuckerberg, faces the press and the politicians in congress. it's pretty much impossible, i believe, to start a company in your dorm room and then grow it to be to the scale we're at now without making some mistakes. from mexico, we have a special report on the country's drug wars — 30,000 killed last year. key brokers of the good friday agreement gather in belfast for the 20th anniversary.

and liverpool sweep manchester city aside and head for the champions league semi finals. coming up in sportsday on bbc news. ben proud leads the medal charge for the home nations on day six of the commonwealth games on the gold coast in australia. good evening. donald trump, theresa may and president macron of france are thought to be considering joint military action in response to the suspected chemical attack on a rebel—held town in syria. president macron has said any agreed strikes would target syrian government chemical facilities. tonight russia, syria's ally, vetoed a un security council resolution to create an inquiry

apportioning blame over saturday's attack, while a rival russian bid was voted down by other members. here's our middle east editorjeremy bowen. 0utside damascus, the war goes on. this was the aftermath of the conventional attack in idlib, the rebel held province to which many fighters and families have been transferred. 0nly fighters and families have been transferred. only a small fraction of the half a million dead in syria's war have been killed by chemical weapons. more displaced people are being taken out of douma, the town that the west and others say was hit by chemical weapons. a trusted bbc source saw the immediate aftermath of the attack. translation: we entered the building

and all the dead bodies were still there. the ambulance couldn't reach there. the ambulance couldn't reach the bodies because of the shelling. there were signs of suffocation, their skin was blue, foaming at the mouth and their eyes were popped out. at the un security council in new york, the russians said there was no chemical attack. instead, the us and its allies were seeking a pretext for a n us and its allies were seeking a pretext for an illegal military operation. translation: you do not want to hear anything, you do not want to hear the fact that no traces of a chemical attack were found in douma. russia vetoed a resolution to set up an enquiry to find out who was to blame in syria. russia has used the power of veto to protect syria from international scrutiny for the use of chemical weapons against the syrian people. russia's credibility asa syrian people. russia's credibility as a member of the council is now in question. we will not stand by and

watch russia continue to undermine global norms which have ensured all oui’ global norms which have ensured all our security, including russia's, for decades. a rival russian resolution failed and it felt like the cold war. earlier, the prime minister added her condemnation. first of all, this attack that took place in douma is a barbaric attack. 0bviously, place in douma is a barbaric attack. obviously, we are working urgently with art allies and partners to assess what has happened on the ground. if this is the responsibility of assad's regime in syria, it is another example of the brutality and brazen disregard against their people they show. there are no easy options for the americans, the british and the french in syria, it has become a very crowded battlefield. president assad's men work closely with the russians and the iranians. western powers need to avoid making matters

worse. introducing more forced into such a highly militarised country, increases the chances of escalating the conflict. air strikes are possible, like those there was a groundhog day field to the security council meeting this afternoon. this is the 12th time moscow has used its veto during the syrian conflict. but ordinarily when there is deadlock at the security council, it is followed by in action, it means convoys don't get to, medical evacuations don't take place. it means ceasefires come into effect. but this time, it will mean military action. the russians are basically saying the americans put forward a resolution that they knew moscow would veto as a pretext to carry out air strikes. the western nations saying we had no other choice. russia has paralysed the security council and it is time to ta ke security council and it is time to take action, take things into our own hands. nick, thank you. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james landale, joins me now. what happens next?

i wouldn't expect immediate military action. there is clearly more conversations that need to be had between allies and russian leaders. but more work needs to be done in establishing the case for military action, precisely who was responsible for this attack and work. and also theresa may, by nature she is cautious, methodical and is going through the options in and is going through the options in a steady weight and i am told her tea m a steady weight and i am told her team are looking at the political costs of this. but there are risks toa costs of this. but there are risks to a delay that all sides know. if the chemical weapons inspectors are allowed in by the russians, will it make it harder for allowed in by the russians, will it make it harderfor military air strikes to happen at the same time? james, thank you. yulia skripal, who was poisoned with a nerve agent alongside her father in salisbury last month, has been discharged from hospital. she left yesterday and has been taken to a secure location. her father sergei, a former russian spy, remains in hospital and doctors say he is recovering more slowly than his daughter.

the russian embassy in london has said that moscow would consider any secret resettlement of the skripals as an "abduction." here's our correspondent, leila nathoo. she had arrived from moscow last month to visit her father in salisbury butjust 2a hours later, yulia and sergei skripal were both critically ill after being exposed to a deadly nerve agent. in the five weeks since the attack the two have slowly been recovering. today, the hospital explained they'd responded exceptionally well to treatment. nerve agents work by attaching themselves to particular enzymes in the body which then stop the nerves from functioning. this results in symptoms such as sickness, hallucinations. 0urjob in treating the patients is to stabilise them, ensuring that they can breathe and that blood can continue to circulate. the attack on the skripals involved a chemical so toxic it prompted a massive decontamination effort stretching across salisbury.

experts say that despite their progress, there could still be complications ahead. the long—term effects are much harder to predict because these are effects on the brain, the nervous system, on things like the kidney and the liver. and so it's quite likely that the skripals will need more treatment before they could feel normal again. yulia has now been taken to a secure location. herfather‘s home is where police believe the two were poisoned by coming into contact with the nerve agent on the property's front door. the house, out of sight behind the wide cordon still in place here, remains a focus for the police. detectives have now spoken to yulia at length and to her father about what happened to them. but the skripals have apparently not told them anything that has significantly changed the course of the investigation, and so enquiries continue,

gathering evidence from witness statements, cctv and phone records. in the longer term police are considering the option of giving the skripals new identities. russia has rejected the blame for the salisbury attack and hopes yulia will return home. its embassy in london claimed today secret resettlement of mr and miss skripal barred from any contact with their family will be seen as an abduction or at least as their forced ices la. the recovery of yulia skripal has opened up a new battleground in this diplomatic crisis. moscow has been offering yulia consular access, which she has so far declined. tonight she is in a safe house while her father remains in hospital. but both of them are key players, thrust into the middle of this tussle between russia and the uk. thank you very much. the chief executive of facebook, mark zuckerberg, has apologised to a us senate committee for allowing companies,

such as the british data firm cambridge analytica, to misuse personal data. he said that facebook did not take a broad enough view of its responsibility and accepted that russia had exploited the network in the us presidential election. 0ur media editor amol rajan reports. it was the interrogation he feared and had long resisted. mark zuckerberg has never testified before congress. now, with the eyes of the world on him, this moment in the spotlight promised high drama. and delivered it. in his prepared statement, zuckerberg said this was on him. we didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility and that was a big mistake. and it was my mistake. and i'm sorry. i started facebook, i run it, and i'm responsible for what happens here. the charge at his door, that in building perhaps the most astonishing network in human history, he had created a mass surveillance tool that emperils us all. let me just cut to the chase. if you and other social media

companies do not get your act in order, none of us are going to have any privacy anymore. mr zuckerberg is shy, awkward and usually wears t—shirts and jeans. here he was looking looking nervous schoolboy in an ill—fitting uniform. he recognized the company made a huge error in a not to tell users that they had been targeted by cambridge analytica. why didn't you inform those 87 million? we did take action. we took down the app. we demanded that both the app developer and cambridge analytica delete and stop using any data that they had. they told us they did this. in retrospect, it is clearly a mistake to believe them. that was the second act of repentance. next up, he accepted that he was wrong to describe the idea of russian interference in the presidential election as crazy. one of my greatest regrets apart

of the company is that we were slow in identifying the russian information operations in 2016. we expected them to do a number of more traditional cyber attacks, which we did identify and notify the campaigns they were trying to hack into, but we were slow in identifying the type of new information operations. as one senator pointed out, mister zuckerberg, sorry seems to be the easiest word. after more than a decade of promises to do better, how is today's apology different and why should we trust facebook to make the necessary changes to ensure user privacy and give people a clearer picture of your privacy policy? interestingly, zuckerberg seem to leave open the possibility of moving to a paid service at some point. but his core business model would always be based on our personal data. there will always be a version of facebook that is free. it is our mission to help connect everyone around the world and to bring people closer together.

in order to do that, we believe we need to offer a service that everyone can afford and we are committed doing that. if so, how do you sustain a business model which users don't pay for your service? senator, we run ads. mark zuckerberg is an introvert. this very public trial is his idea of a nightmare. his task tonight was to show humility, avoid mistakes and resist calls for new regulation. so far, he survived. but there's always another interrogation in front of congress tomorrow. reeta. 0ur north america technology reporter, dave lee, joins us from capitol hill. what has been the reaction to mark zuckerberg's test and many in the us? it was to convince senators that he was able to steer facebook out of the crisis it has found itself in without the need for more

regulation. but the mood is this is a company that has become incredibly powerful incredibly quickly, perhaps too much so for some of the senators in that meeting. but investors are happy, the stock is up around 4.5%. but he has to come back and do it all again tomorrow. dave, thank you. a coroner has ruled that failings by childcare agencies did not contribute to the unlawful killing of a six—year—old girl from sutton. herfather, ben butler, is serving a life sentence for the murder of his daughter ellie in october 2013. ajudge had returned ellie to his care the previous year. her grandfather maintains that ellie was let down by "fundamental failings in the system." the council in telford, in shropshire, has agreed to set up an independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation. there's been increased concern about the issue in the town after newspaper reports claimed up to 1,000 girls could have been abused over the past four decades. 0ur correspondent, sima kotecha, was there. tonight in telford the decision was

unanimous. the council voted for an independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation after weeks of debate. now more victims have come forward to speak to the bbc. debate. now more victims have come forward to speak to the bbci debate. now more victims have come forward to speak to the bbc. i was taken to different houses and left ina room taken to different houses and left in a room with different people. if ididn't in a room with different people. if i didn't sleep with them, i used to get beaten up quite badly. i didn't sleep with them, i used to get beaten up quite badlym i didn't sleep with them, i used to get beaten up quite badly. is this still happening today, here in telford ? still happening today, here in telford? i see what is happening. i see vulnerable girls. i know it's happening because i know the signs. i know the signs because i've been through it. i know 100% it's still happening in telford. the process of starting the inquiry will begin tonight. there is some relief among those who have suffered, but the trauma they've gone through will never go away. you talk about trying to ta ke never go away. you talk about trying to take your own life. yeah, was out

of desperation to get out. i didn't know how it was going to end. i didn't know what to do. ijust thought, i'lljust die because i'm going to die anyway. this would be my life. i would never going to die anyway. this would be my life. iwould never escape. i'd never be free. i'd constantly been beaten up every week. forced to have sex with different men. so i thought that was my future. i obviously didn't want that, so i tried to kill myself. critics have argued an inquiry will cost hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money and could label the town as a centre of grooming. for those affected, there is a desire and desperation for answers. who failed them and why. sima kotecha, bbc news, telford. in two months‘ time, mexico will hold its presidential elections. it comes amidst a surge in violence linked to organised crime and drugs, which has seen the murder rate across the country hit the highest level since records began there more than 20 years ago. last year there were nearly 30,000 murders

carried out in mexico. the beginning of this year has seen numbers rise further, with an average of 71 murders recorded every day. clive myrie and cameraman darren conway have been to the seaside town of acapulco, in guerrero, one of the states worst affected by the violence. a warning, his report contains some distressing and graphic scenes. two worlds exist in acapulco. two realities. one is a paradise of sand and sun. the other, where paradise is lost. in that world, murder is the norm and you can stumble upon a crime scene at any time. just five minutes drive from our hotel, a taxi driver's been shot in the head.

the latest gang hit, another victim for the morgue. meet luis flores, one of the hardest working men in acapulco, he's a body collector and his latest job is a corpse, dumped in a residential neighbourhood. the deaths, gang—related murders, turf wars for control of the streets. disposed off with the rubbish, in broad daylight, this man shows signs of being tortured. there have been so many murders here in the last week, luis has run out of body bags. 20 minutes later he returns to the morgue, a place reserved for those with strong stomachs. the epidemic of murders in acapulco is putting unbearable strain

on the city's resources. there simply aren't enough freezers here, so bodies rot in bags on the floor. just noticed the tag here on one of the body bags, which means it's unidentified. and at the bottom it says 13th july 2017. so that is when the body was found, more than six months ago, no identification, no—one knows who it is and nobody‘s come to claim it. last year close to 30,000 people were killed in gang violence. how difficult is it dealing with the numbers of homicides here? translation: of course it affects us because we can see the magnitude of the situation that we are living in.

how is it possible for there to be so many bodies? and the murders are getting more savage and more depraved, as a warning to others. a taxi has been left abandoned in the middle of a busy highway, the driver has fled, but left behind in the car is a package. yeah, we'vejust arrived here. it's what, 4.00pm, rush—hour here in acapulco, pulled up here and the authorities are investigating this taxi. they open the boot and there, in a cooler box, was a head, a severed head. it's actually the third severed head we've come across in three days. foreigners used to flock to acapulco, but there are few americans after state department advice that mexico is more dangerous than afghanistan or syria. military patrols look after mainly the mexican tourists,

the sun sets on another killing. this time, right on the beach. the federal government's 12 year war on drugs has seen high—profile arrests and the splintering of the big cartels. smaller gangs now fight among themselves. it's when night falls that there's money to be made. i got some coke, some ecstasy. this former dealer didn't want to be identified. break the code of silence of the gangs and you could end up dead. you can get it from a cartel. why do the cartels kill people? for a while it was good cartels here and acapulco was good, you know. there was no extortions, it was good. 1,000 miles north of acapulco there

is a single all powerful cartel, in the state of sinaloa. they agreed to meet with us, but we were never told the exact location for our midnight rendezvous and the man who agreed to speak is a top lieutenant in the sinaloa cartel. translation: if you go to jalisco or guerrero the fight is between criminal groups, no cartels. it's because they are small groups. they murder each other. they kill innocent people. they decapitate innocent people. they hang innocent people. they are not cartels, they are criminal groups. we challenged him on the devastation caused by the drugs trade,

the ravaged communities and lives lost. but he defended his business, saying no—one forces people people to become addicts, and he claims politicians understand the benefits of a single, powerful cartel. none of the candidates in mexico's upcoming presidential election would ever admit that and all say they want to destroy the cartels. but this highlights mexico's dilemma — how should it fight the war on drugs? back in acapulco, on the front—line of this battle, luis has another grim collection to make. a man's been shot in the head, a mother's only son. it's believed the dead man may have refused to pay a criminal gang extortion money. his name was elvis mendoza, he was 25.

now, he's in luis' care. clive myrie, bbc news, in acapulco. clive will be answering some of your questions on social media for the next 30 minutes. tweet him at @clivemyriebbc using the hashtag bbcnews10. a brief look at some of the day's other news stories: more than four million british gas customers will see their energy bills rise by an average of 5.5% or £60 a year from next month. the change applies to those on a dual—fuel standard variable tariff. british gas blames rising wholesale energy costs and government policies. there'll be no political guests at the wedding of prince harry and meghan markle, kensington palace revealed today. theresa may, jeremy corbyn,

donald trump and the 0bamas are among those not invited to the ceremony on may 19th. key figures involved in securing the good friday agreement gathered in belfast today to mark 20 years since the deal. it largely ended the 30 year sectarian conflict, which claimed more than 3,000 lives. leaders involved in the peace process, including tony blair and the former us president bill clinton, called for politicians at stormont to restore the power—sharing devolved government, which collapsed last year. 0ur ireland correspondent, chris page, reports. # there is a light at the end of the tunnel #. songs and speeches focused on the long journey to peace on the significant anniversary in northern ireland. two americans who helped on the way were awarded the freedom of the city of belfast tonight, the peace talks chair, senator george mitchell

and the president who sent him here. applause though i'm glad to finally have the freedom of a place which i did my small part to make free, do not give up the freedom that the peace agreement has brought. applause two decades ago, politicians and paramilitary leaders struck a deal on good friday. the aim was to stop scenes like this... explosion ..after 3,500 deaths, over 30 years. the people who designed the political agreement to end the political violence met at queen's university belfast this afternoon to mark their undoubted place in history. well, this 20 year reunion of the main negotiators is an extraordinary gathering. it's the first time they've come back together since 1998,

and this may not happen again. but as well as reflecting on the successes of the peace process, they were also contemplating the current political problems, after the devolved power—sharing government at stormont collapsed last year. this agreement is worth preserving and building upon. don't cast it aside because where we are may not be where we want to be, but it's a world better than where we were. the architects of the good friday agreement have used today to send a message that peace is precious and that the continuing deep divisions must be overcome. chris page, bbc news, belfast. hosts australia remain top of the commonwealth games‘ medal table on day six, with england lying in second. elsewhere, wales have overtaken scotland to reach seventh and eighth place respectively. let's have a look at some of today's action. ben proud successfully defended his 50 metre freestyle title in the pool before helping

england win silver in the men's 4x100 metre medley relay. but it was a mixed day for wales' youngest ever athlete. 11—year—old anna hursey won her first match, but was then knocked out of the women's table tennis singles. and it was a gold, silver and bronze for england, scotland and wales respectively in the pairs shooting title. it's been a big night in the champions league with two english teams competing for a place in the semi—finals. pep guardiola's manchester city had to overcomejurgen klopp's liverpool and a three—goal deficit from the first leg of the tie. 0ur sports correspondent, andy swiss, is there. for the liverpool players, a decidedly low—key arrival. none of the missiles and mayhem which greeted manchester city last week. but as the home fans gathered in hope, more than expectation, would it be a night to say — i was there? man city!

well, they'd need something very special. city trailing 3—0 after the first—leg, but they raced out of the blocks. 1 minute 57 seconds, gabrieljesus with the definition of a perfect start. liverpool were wobbling and soon so was the woodwork. bernardo silva so close before controversy. leroy sane's effort ruled offside, but replays showed he wasn't. cue fury from manager pep guardiola, who was sent to the stands. but a far worse punishment was yet to come. liverpool knew one precious away goal would surely end city's hope. so when mo salah struck after the break, his 39th of a remarkable season, guardiola's face said it all. the game was up and soon city were out. their fate ruthlessly confirmed by roberto firmino. city fans left to rue what might have been, but for liverpool another european night to remember.

liverpool through to their first champions league semi—final for ten yea rs. champions league semi—final for ten years. city are out as remarkably a barcelona despite leading 4 had—1678 they have been