today at 5pm, donald trump warns russia to ‘get ready‘ for missile strikes in syria — following the apparent chemical attack. in a tweet the us president said missiles will be coming nice and new and ‘smart!’ — and criticised moscow for standing by the syrian leader. here, theresa may described the chemical weapons attack as ‘a shocking and barbaric act‘ that can't go unchallenged. all the indications are that the syrian regime was responsible and we'll be working with our closest allies to consider how we can ensure that those responsible are held to account. we'll have reaction from washington and moscow. the other main stories on bbc news at 5pm. facebook boss mark zuckerberg faces more questions from congress about the data scandal — and takes personal responsibility. we didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility and that was a big mistake. it was my mistake and

i'm sorry. more than 250 people, most of them military personnel, have died in a plane crash in algeria. the uk's biggest supermarket, tesco, reveals a big rise in pre—tax profits — of £1.3 billion. and, as crime novels are revealed as the most popular genre of fiction — we'll ask an award—winning author: what's the appeal of the seedier side of life?. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at 5pm. president trump has warned russia to ‘get ready‘ for missile strikes in syria — in response to the apparent chemical attack in the town of douma at the weekend. syria has accused president trump of a ‘reckless escalation‘ — while russia had earlier urged

the united states not to take military action. here, theresa may said the continued use of chemical weapons could not go unchallenged, and britain was working with its closest allies on what action to take. the world health organisation says 500 people in douma have shown symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals, and is demanding immediate access to the area. here‘s our diplomatic correspondent paul adams. the long, painful evacuation from douma goes on, buses carrying exhausted civilians and fighters arriving in northern syria yesterday. these people left just after saturday‘s alleged chemical weapons strike. the diplomatic crisis triggered by that attack now causing deadlock in new york. at the un security council, three votes but no agreement on how to investigate what happened in douma. donald trump‘s representative rounding on russia. when we have been working with

allies and partners to rapidly reaching an understanding of what happened on the ground. all indications are that a syrian regime was responsible and we will be working with our closest allies to consider how we can ensure that those responsible are held to account. a year ago, america fired 60 cruise missiles at the shayrat air force base after another chemical weapons attack against civilians. but the base was soon up and running, and the chemical weapons attacks did not stop. russia took no action then, but warns this time will be different. translation: if there is a strike by the americans, then we point to declarations made by president putin and the russian military leadership that the missiles will be downed, and even the sources from which the missiles were fired. the ambassador was speaking in arabic for a pro—syrian audience, the threats almost certainly exaggerated, but donald

trump responded anyway. the russian presence is substantial. to hit them even by accident could have dangerous consequences. we have to be very careful in our targeting. this is where the intelligence community has really got to earn its pay and ensure that those targets selected are ones that are going to strike the syrian regime and the syrian regime only, it‘s chemical warfare capability, and ensure absolutely that russian personnel and russian equipment and aircraft, in particular, are not targeted. france‘s president macron says military action will only target syria‘s chemical facilities and not the regime‘s allies, he says that a decision will be made in the coming days. russia insists no chemical weapons were used in douma, but the world health organisation

says the evidence is there. in particular, it says, there were signs of severe irritation of mucous membranes, respiratory failure, and destruction to central nervous systems of those exposed. five years ago, syria appeared to co—operate with international inspectors in an effort to remove all the country‘s chemical weapons. now it seems the west is getting ready to take a rather different approach. i‘ll be speaking to our correspondent in moscow, sarah rainsford in a moment. first though we can speak to barbara plett usher who‘s in washington. what should people watching tonight, barbara, make of those tweets just a few hours ago from the president and what may or may not tell us about action? that's a good question. it shows the donald trump has taken to his favourite combative tool which is twitter. he likes derogatory

nicknames for his foes so he has given president assad one. gas telling animal. he has included them in his threats to send missiles. the rhetoric has escalated but the same time has been darker real about it. tempered that tweet by saying relations with russia are bad and there‘s no reason for this. we should all work together. i think the bottom line taken from this tweet is to say that it‘s the clearest indication so far that the are preparing to strike syria with missiles. they are still mulling over what exactly to do. the secretary of defence said they are assessing the intelligence and their cells. it‘s a clear sign that something is coming. and sarah in moscow. what response to all of this where you are in was blue i think the outward. response was fine. as a

boonin the outward. response was fine. as a boon in responding to the threats indeed when he was receiving new ambassadors to the country today. they said these were worrying times but that he hoped good sense would prevail in the end. he said that it was imperative for the global system to become more stable and predictable. so we can understand that he was referring to this crisis i'iow that he was referring to this crisis now building over the situation in syria. his spokesman speaking to journalists said that russia does not engage in twitter diplomacy and that russia is more serious in its approach than that and he reiterated their position which is to say that russia does not believe the serene regime used chemical weapons and therefore does not think any kind of motura strike will be justified. the second stage that is a comment from russia's ambassador to lebanon was suggested that if there were a strike that russia would respond. i

should say he was actually quoting a very senior general here in russia a month ago i made it clear that if there were a strike in which russian troops lives were put at risk and we re troops lives were put at risk and were killed in russia would respond. in the ambassador method that key line when he was quoted and i think that's critical. if russian lives are at risk than russia's responsible comp. i think that's probably what would go on behind the scenes at the moment. some kind of negotiation and calculations to see if it response can be given which does not escalate the situation even further and more dangerously. thank you very much. let‘s talk a little bit more about what may be going on behind the scenes. sir christopher meyer was britain‘s ambassador to the united states from 1997 to 2003 and joins me from westminster. ifi

if i may, your response to those tweets from the us president in the last few hours, your thoughts, does it say to you that there is imminent action plan? and it does on one level say that it is planned. it‘s quite clear that donald trump would like to fire a few cruise missiles ata like to fire a few cruise missiles at a syrian base or factory or whatever. the last time he did that he gotan whatever. the last time he did that he got an instant sugar rush from doing it and was very pleased with himself although the effect wore off. the fact that he sent me for the tweet out which seems to offer a kind of olive branch to moscow is the result of wiser counsels prevailing upon him or even a realisation that he had gone too far with language. i think the thing that he needs to consider as president macron and theresa may, what is the utility of an instant

one off i have read this morning from the previous ambassador to syria who made it perfectly clear and it was a great expert that these air strikes do not deter the regime. we have seen this as i said from what happened last year and what is happening now. and to that point you have already mentioned president macron of france and theresa may again this afternoon, is that one of the points that is specifically being discussed among each national powers like that? i think the first thing it has to be taken in a methodical way although it is an urgent situation. we have to see compelling evidence that it was indeed the syrian air force dropping chemical weapons on these poor people. the world health organization has given substance to the accusations and charges flying around and we need more of that to

know that the syrian air force is culpable. then you have to know what do you do to make sure that the syrians don‘t do that again. a punitive strike may be has some kind of benefit. it is short—term, not long—term. if they are looking for a long—term. if they are looking for a long—term solution to this letter does not happen again you must put diplomatic pressure on moscow. it was moscow who broke the 2013 deal which was that syria would remove all of its chemical weapons and destroy all stocks, and would subscribe to the chemical weapons convention. now if it is discovered to the syrian air force is told deploying these weapons the russians have to bear the responsibility for not ensuring that their client state is not using these buttons. if we‘re going to do an air strike sure but at the same time there needs to be a diplomatic offensive by the world

community on russia to hold the syrian clients to account. haven't we been saying this for years? for so we been saying this for years? for so long the duration of this war in syria people have been talking about moscow being the key to this and needing to put pressure on moscow. we have any general way, but what people did not fully take onboard is after the 2013 agreement when obama failed to meet his red line about using chemical weapons by the regime the russians suddenly stepped in and said hang on, we will deal with this. we will broker a deal and we will ensure he will remove all of his chemical weapons and that was a pledge that the russians gave solemn and binding to the world community in 2013. nobody seems to be mentioning this right now. instead of generic abuse targeted at the russians we should actually and a very diplomatic way beholding them,

them, moscow to account because they are ina them, moscow to account because they are in a sense, morally speaking, in violation of the very agreement which they themselves brokered with a side and the americans and everybody else five years ago. but who is the person who is going to do that‘s persuading of moscow? my point being certainly relations between westminster and moscow for london and moscow are not positive at the moment for other reasons.|j think it is any two governments the russians pay attention to is the united states and china. the russians will have noticed that and one of those three unsuccessful security council votes on sending in an international team for who was responsible for the atrocity the russians found themselves in a situation where the chinese far from

supporting them abstained. and bolivia soup supporting the russian position. china is usually a reliable ally and is going cold. and secondly that trump is the only government that‘s going to catch their attention. it is, government that‘s going to catch theirattention. it is, i government that‘s going to catch their attention. it is, i think, fundamentally down to the americans to say to the russians if you want to say to the russians if you want to de—escalate, if you want this thing to go away then for goodness‘ sake live by the very agreement you your self brokered. this could be donein your self brokered. this could be done in the framework of the united nations or it could be done through lateral diplomacy. if i were sitting in washington and, probably thank the lord i‘m not, but if i were that is what i would be saying to the president of the united states. get putin to honour his own agreement. very good to talk to you. thank you

for your time tonight. it is quarter past five and let‘s turn our attention to the other main story tonight. the ceo and founder of facebook, mark zuckerberg, is facing a second day of questions from members of the us congress. he began by apologising again — and by promising to make sure facebook‘s "tools are used for good" in the future. we did that take abroad and a few of oui’ we did that take abroad and a few of our responsibility and that was a big mistake. it was my mistake and i‘m sorry. i started facebook, big mistake. it was my mistake and i‘m sorry. istarted facebook, i run it and at the end of the day i am responsible for what happened here. he was asked why the company should be trusted now by its users. this developer data issue isjust one example but why should we trust you

to follow through on his promises when you have demonstrated repeatedly that you are willing to flau nt repeatedly that you are willing to flaunt your internal policies and government oversight when they need suits you? respectfully, i disagree with that. we have had a review process for apps for years and we have reviewed tens of thousands of apps per year and taken action against a number of them. our process was not enough to catch a developer... my time is almost over. i should say that to my mind the only way we will close this trust gap is through legislation that empowers an expert oversight agency with rule—making empowers an expert oversight agency with rule— making authority empowers an expert oversight agency with rule—making authority to protect the digital privacy and ensure the companies protect the users data. that hearing is so very much going on on capitol hill. our north america technology reporter dave lee is on capitol hill in washington for us. what has stood up for you, dave? and

has been a tougher day for mark zuckerberg and he faced yesterday when he spoke to the senate. the questions have been much more specific and about internal policies that facebook around sharing data publicly or privately and that the default settings should be much more private than now. unbelievably you would think mark zuckerberg admitted that his own personal data has been scooped up by a malicious actors in the way that we have been discussing recently. that gives you an idea of how hard it is for noble people to protect the data if mark zuckerberg has been a victim of this gathering. it has been a very difficult day for him and the questions have been much more thorough and specific. a few corners that he has not been able to deflect away from. in particular, his reaction to when he. when he was asked what he called the chief executive of cambridge and a look—up to question what happened said that

he did not do that he has been under a lot of scrutiny. it's fascinating to listen to but i guess people watching this also will think this is all very well, but to what extent is all very well, but to what extent is this talking shop? what is going to change as a result of these days of hearings? he is into his seventh hour now and as he comes out and they will think what is the point of that? where i think this might be heading is into things. for the university of cambridge they are being looked into by facebook because he is alleging there may be a group of researchers working on similarapps in the a group of researchers working on similar apps in the past that caused this data scraping. the second is more broadly in retreat —— increased relations. us is one the few countries that does not have blanket

data privacy rules for normal people. they have been saying today maybe the us should be more like europe and have stronger rules about control of data and giving more power to individuals to remove their data and see where it‘s being shared and see how it is being manipulated. that‘s a clear direction of travel that i think mr zuckerberg wanted to avoid any has not managed to do that. the momentum is going to be high introducing some regulation about that. as we heard in that clip the way that could be enforced is through some independent oversight. the black box of facebook seeing how it works and handles data and try to prevent this data manipulation and in the future. on capitol hill that hearing was reflecting very much ongoing. let‘sjust hear a little bit more. i think some of the questions are from congressman pete

olson from texas. let‘s hear some of the response. it's associated with a lot of positive effects of well—being that you would expect and feel more connected and less lonely. it would correlate with long—term measures of happiness and health. if you‘re using social media of the internet —— we try to ship their product more towards people how they interact with friends and families as a result of that. that‘s an example of the work that we do. one less question, i believe i have heard you employ 27,000 people thereabouts is that correct? yes. 20,000 of those people including contractors work on data security, is that correct? yes, the 27,000 number is full—time employees and the security and content review includes contractors of which there are tens of thousands. so roughly half your

employees are dedicated to security practices. how can cambridge analytica happen when so much of your workforce is dedicated to these causes? well, congressman, the issue with cambridge analytica happen before we ran those up dramatically. one thing that is important to understand overall is the sheer volume of content on facebook makes it so we cannot, no amount of people we can hire will be enough to review all of the content. we need to rely on and build sophisticated ai tools that can help us like searching content. that can help us like searching co nte nt. we that can help us like searching content. we are getting good in certain areas. one of the areas i mentioned earlier was terrorist content where we now have ai systems that can identify and take down 99% of the al-qaeda and isis content to oui’ of the al-qaeda and isis content to our system before a human invited to us. i think the chairman. i thank

you for agreeing to testify before the house and senate committee because i know it's a long and grueling process and i appreciate your cooperation. i'm a mathematician that spends 20 years in the industry developing technology including algorithms. more of my constituents are impacted by this. i'm deeply invested here and i'm going to follow up on a question. is there currently a place that i can download all of my face again three —— information about me including the website that i visited? yes. we have a download your information tool and have had it for years. you can go to it in your settings and dumb at all of the content that you have on facebook. my staff just content that you have on facebook. my staffjust this morning downloaded the information and the browsing history is not in there. are you saying facebook does not have browsing history? that would be correct. if we don‘t have content in there, then that means that you don‘t have it on facebook. you have not put it there. i'm not quite on

board with this. is there any other information that facebook has obtained about me whether facebook collected or a for a third party that would not be included in download? my understanding is that all of your information is included in the download your information. i'm going to follow—up with this afterwards. mr zuckerberg, you indicated that the european users will have those on the 25th and american users will have similar protections. when will americans have those protections? we're working on doing it as quickly as possible. i don‘t have the date. so it will not be on the 25th? we are working on it. your company has a staggering amount of personal inspiration —— information and customers not in the driver seat about how their information is used or monetized. the data collectors are the drivers seat. facebook is governed by weak federal privacy

protections that i've introduced legislation that will help introduce these issues. it would give the ftc rule—making these issues. it would give the ftc rule— making authority to these issues. it would give the ftc rule—making authority to provide consumers rule—making authority to provide consumers with strong protections. without this legislation how can we be sure that facebook won't continue to be careless with users information? congressman, let me first just to set aside that information? congressman, let me firstjust to set aside that my position is not that there should be no relation. regardless of the laws in place, we have a very strong incentive to protect information. this is the core thing that facebook is. 100 billion times a day people come to our is. 100 billion times a day people come to oui’ service is. 100 billion times a day people come to our service to share a photo 01’ come to our service to share a photo ora come to our service to share a photo 01’ a message. come to our service to share a photo or a message. i hear you saying this, but the history is not there. i think we need to make sure that there's regulations in place to give you the popular motivation to stay in line with the protection. what other problems here my mind is that in the face but history user privacy

and security have not been given as high—priority as corporate growth and you have admitted as much. it's facebook considering changing the management structure to ensure that sick dirty and privacy have significant priority any future? this is an incredibly high priority for us. the core use of the product every day about 100 billion times of day people come to share something with a specific set of people of that works because people have confidence that it is in the message will go to the person that they want. if they want to share a photo with their friends it will go to the people they want. that think really important. we built a robust privacy programme and the victor krief let‘s leave that hearing for now. we‘re keeping an eye and ear across all of that of course on capitol hill. we will be talking little bit more about that after half past their media editor as well. more on

that to come. 26 minutes past five. more than 250 people have been killed, in a military plane crash in algeria. local television reports say the aircraft came down about 20 miles south—west of the capital algiers, shortly after taking off from a military airport. sophie long reports. this is what remains of the ilyushin military transport plane that took off from the boufarik airbase near the algerian capital. according to state television, it was heading to the town of bechar, close to the border with morocco. but shortly after take—off, something caused it to plummet and to crash into a nearby field, killing more than 250 people on board. emergency services were quickly at the scene, with firefighters working alongside members of the civil protection service to put out the fire. the algerian defence ministry has confirmed at least 257 people have been killed, including the plane‘s ten crew and 2117 passengers.

most of them are soldiers, but some members of their families were also travelling with them. according to local media, among the military personnel on board, were several members of the polisario front, an algerian—backed group seeking independence for the western sahara. algeria‘s army chief is now overseeing the rescue effort and has ordered an urgent investigation to find out what happened, what caused this military plane to experience such catastrophic problems so soon after take—off. sophie long, bbc news. the uk‘s biggest supermarket, tesco, has announced a big rise in its full—year profits, reporting a pre—tax profit of one point three billion pounds. it says figures have been boosted by the sale of fresh food. the group has completed a three—year reform programme, after a series of disappointing results. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. it was hard when the boys

went off to college. i used to love cooking sunday roasts... tesco also served up something tasty with its annual results today — a big turnaround in profits. breaking through the billion pounds mark for the first time since 2014. that‘s an increase of 795% on last year.