this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:00 — president trump declares ‘mission accomplished', saying missile strikes against syria by the us, britain and france were ‘perfectly executed'. we are prepared to sustain it this response until the syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents. four british tornado jets were involved in the attacks. theresa may said the use of force was "legal and right. " we cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalised either within syria, on the streets of the uk or elsewhere. parliament should be consulted, parliament should be consulted, parliament should be able to make a view on this but instead, the strikes were launched last night. at the united nations, russia says the attacks were a blatant violation of international law. and president assad says it's an act of aggression which will make him more determined

to fight his opponents. tomorrow's observer says the prime minister will face a furious backlash from mps over her failure to get parliament's consent over the strikes. we'll look at that and the front pages in the papers at 11:30. good evening, and welcome to bbc news. president trump has declared "mission accomplished" following overnight military strikes by the us, the uk and france on suspected chemical weapons sites in syria. mr trump said the action was taken in response to a chemical attack on civilians in douma last week, and described it as the use of "righteous power against barbarism and brutality." the pentagon said the targets were a chemical weapons research

unit in damascus, and two storage facilities and a command post near the city of homs. syria's denounced the attacks but said they caused limited damage. here, the prime minister said the action should serve as a warning to syria and its ally russia against the use of chemical weapons. but russia's ambassador to the un told a meeting of the security council that the missile strikes were "an illegal act of aggression." here's our north america editorjon sopel. from a french warship in the eastern mediterranean to a british raf base in cyprus to the uss monterey in the red sea, days of planning was replaced by execution, with the bombing and missile strikes. the president said britain, france and the us had marshalled their "righteous power against barbarism and brutality." a short time ago, i ordered the united states armed forces

to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of syrian dictator bashar al—assad. and he singled out syria's two principal backers. to iran and to russia, i ask, what kind of nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women and children? the nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep. in damascus last night, flashes, bangs and streaking missiles lit the night sky. those launching the attack seemed as keen to define what this mission wasn't as what it was. this was not about intervening in the civil war. it is not about regime change.

is what i discussed with president trump and president emmanuel macron, it is about a limited and targeted strike that does not further escalate tensions in the region and that does everything possible to prevent civilian casualties. daylight reveals the extent of the destruction. this is all that's left of the scientific research centre near damascus, one of the targets that took the greatest pounding. at a pentagon briefing this morning, the defence chief said all targets had been hit with no casualties suffered. we are still conducting a more detailed damage assessment, the initial indications are that we accomplished our military objectives without interference from syria. i'd use three words to describe this operation, precise, overwhelming and effective. but in damascus this morning, regime supporters were celebrating a success in repelling american aggression. perhaps more accurately, this strike was more limited than they'd anticipated.

this apparently is president assad strolling to work today, although we don't see a close—up of his face. if he is able to walk tall, it's only because of the support he is receiving from the russians. today at the un they turned theirfire on britain, france and the us. translation: the us and its allies continued to demonstrate blatant disregard for international law. they must be especially firm in protecting the un charter. that was positively restrained compared to their syrian ambassador. translation: you attempt to see failure in actions of this organisation which do not pursue your interests. tonight, some of the british jets returned your interests. tonight, some of the britishjets returned home. they are

hoping, along with the americans, it isjob done. but now the world waits to see if there will be retaliation or any further use of chemical weapons, because if there is then this will be far from over. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. russia has failed to win the backing of the un security council for its condemnation of those missile strikes. our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, explained just how deep the rhetoric was getting from the kremlin. says moscow is president assad's biggest backer, the russians were never going to mince their words about a us airstrike on syria. that's why the wesley have been hearing here today in moscow have been strong. we heard about vladimir putin talk about an act of aggression. sergei lavrov, foreign minister. we also heard a senator saying that america was acting like a school bully. in this geopolitical school playground, there is lots of shouting and shadowboxing behind the bicycle sheds but crucially, it hasn't come to a fight between

russia and america. neither want to go to war over syria and we know because the us ambassador in moscow said so today that before the strike, the two sides took measures to try to keep out of each other‘s way during the strike. of course, syria is a crowded theatre of war and the danger of this conflict spreading and growing still exists. prime minister theresa may says the raids sent a clear signal that the use of chemical weapons would not be tolerated and she said it had been "right and legal" to take action. but the labour leaderjeremy corbyn has called the strikes "legally questionable." with more then on the reaction here in the uk, here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. 2am at home. 4am at the target. raf jets take off to strike at assad's regime. by 9am, in number ten, the prime minister emerged to explain her case.

there is no graver decision for a prime minister than to commit our forces to combat. and this is the first time that i've had to do so. we cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalised. either within syria, on the streets of the uk, or elsewhere. not just a punishment for president assad, but about a wider principle, too. we must reinstate the global consensus that chemical weapons cannot be used. this action is absolutely in britain's national interest. the lesson of history is that when the global rules and standards that keep us safe come under threat we must take a stand and defend them. will you do the same again if president assad does the same again? as you have suggested he has. and do you feel you have the public‘s consent, given you have not even

consulted mps in parliament? we believe the action was successful, but the syrian regime should be under no doubt of our resolve in relation to this matter of the use of chemical weapons. and i have taken this decision because i believe it is the right thing to do. ministers‘ legal advice justifies the strikes as... yet without explicit un backing, the labour leader believes strikes might not be legal. the consequences of any country taking unilateral, and action that has no legal basis, are that it's an encouragement for others to do exactly the same. and reduces our ability to complain when others do that. surely the united nations exists for a purpose. the prime minister will face questions from mps on monday, but no firm plans for a vote.

mps have been powerless all week to hold the government accountable on this. and for us to have to wait another two days after the event really is not good enough. there are major questions, major doubts. is this a one—off or a continuing operation. how much control do we have over what the americans are doing? we've got a very erratic american president who changes his position from one day to the next. this was not intended to end the war in syria. not part of an effort to remove assad. but the prime minister wants these attacks to be seen as a clear and grave reprimand to a country suspected of using chemical weapons. an effort to force respect for the decades—old rule that such weapons are illegal and must not be used. while theresa may's decision to act was in her gift, what happens next may well not be. the prime minister may hope her

decisions have a straightforward outcome but the political fallout may not be clean. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. white ——. white --. what impact will this have on the chemical weapons programme in syria and what do they say about the strategy? this is what provoked the strikes. britain, france and the united states are convinced this was the latest in a long line of assad's chemical attacks and had to be punished so what was achieved? the strikes sent a deliberate message to assad that he was not the target but the chemical weapons programme was. the united states fight from two

warships and a submarine and in the air, two bombers. the raf flew bombers from cyprus, saying out of syrian airspace to fire their missiles. france launched missiles from strike aircraft. the us wasn't acting alone but with two close allies and that is politically important. the targets of all of this firepower, syria's chemical weapons production. the main target of 76 missiles was a research development centre close to damascus. also a storage site near homs. target three, a nearby chemical weapons bunker. the main french target for seven of their nine missiles. has military action damaged prospects for eventual peace in syria? damaged prospects for eventual peace in syria ? definitely damaged prospects for eventual peace in syria? definitely not, ordered into the head of naked —— according

to the head of nato. if you start to normalised the use of chemical weapons, you need to risk they are being used more and more. to me, there is no condemnation between the strikes that took place last night and the efforts to support the political solution. today, the syrian army declared all of douma under its control. the town a p pa re ntly under its control. the town apparently attacked with chemical weapons last weekend and the rebel‘s last holdout —— rebels'. president assad is taking back more and more of syria. it is that that will dictate the peace. our correspondent chris buckler is in washington. a lot of people are worried about

what next. in washington, it isn't quite the same. it is there to say that the limited nature of this missile strike affect deeply placated some of the concerns that some opposition politicians had been expressing. they are saying that if there is going to be further military action and more sustained military action and more sustained military action and more sustained military action in the future then that would change things and certainly the democrats have been saying they would like congress to get involved at that stage but i think it is fair to say that across the political spectrum here, there has been concern about the images that came out of douma and the fact there has been missile strikes to transcend a message is that this happened in a one—hour window, that is something that they feel is certainly commensurate and potentially acceptable, bizarrely,

ina potentially acceptable, bizarrely, in a political sense, because it was carried out with such precision striking specifically targeting chemical weapons and the facilities where they were being stored and produced. not just where they were being stored and produced. notjust today but particularly today, just looking at the pictures of the un, it does really seen that diplomacy is incomplete deadlock now. yeah, you have syria as a fault line and if you take a look at relationships and where they have come from and where they are as a result of the last number of months, it is very much the case that russian and american relationships and of course the uk relationships, are at real low points. the problem here is that the syria remains a contentious fault line and one which will continue to divide them but also provoked challenges. people have been talking about the eye get the disease —— the

idea that this is downgraded the idea that this is downgraded the idea of the chemical weapons programme in syria. at the same time, it's not saying it has got rid of that programme. assad's regime, according to officials, they believe still has access to chemical weapons. if you are looking at the attacking team, they are suggesting that from the indications they have had, chlorine and —— potentially even sarin was used in this attack in douma. the question is what happens going forward and that will be the challenge that the us, uk and france. particularly the us. if there is another chemical weapons attack inside syria, how do they react? president trump said he felt they needed to be a sustained effort. that doesn't need to mean military but at the same time, they have laid down a marker of what is the redline. from some of the indications from the white house,

president trump seems like one who wa nted president trump seems like one who wanted a more aggressive strategy and approach and all of those in the pentagon wanted to calm it and have limited strike. the question is, what happens if there is a repeat and they are going to have to keep watching syria and that means international relationships could be tested in the months ahead. we are going to look at some other developments and other news. five pedestrians have been injured after being hit by a car on canvey island in essex. two people were airlifted to hospital in london. one is believed to be in a critical condition and another has suffered potentially life changing injuries. three other casualties are also being treated in hospital. police are appealing for information. two irish rugby internationals who were cleared of raping a woman in belfast have been sacked by both ulster and ireland while paddyjackson

and stuart olding were cleared of rape after a nine—week trial last month, there had been controversy over social media and text messages they had exchanged, which sparked a review into whether they should continue to play. the pair have apologised for their behaviour. the funeral‘s taken place in soweto of the south african anti—apartheid leader, winnie madikizela—mandela. tens of thousands of mourners crowded into a stadium, close to her home in soweto, where the campaigner was given a high—level send—off. mrs madikizela—mandela, former wife of nelson mandela, died earlier this month at the age of 81. in the last hour, sir martin sorrell, head of the world's largest advertising group, wpp, has resigned, less than a fortnight after the cumbria now is it was investigating an allegation of personal misconduct. —— company announced it was investigating. sir martin sorrell denies any wrongdoing but said he did not want to put any unnecessary pressure on the

business. the headlines on bbc news: president trump says the joint missile strikes against syria by the us, britain and france were "perfectly executed." four british tornado jets were involved in the attacks. theresa may said the use of force was "legal and right. " russia have reacted at the united nations, saying the attacks were a "blatant violation" of international law. we have got the papers and we are going to look at the front pages and how they are reporting on syria very shortly at 11:30 pm. now it is time toa round—up shortly at 11:30 pm. now it is time to a round—up of the sports news. hello. after four miles to a round—up of the sports news. hello. afterfour miles it to a round—up of the sports news. hello. after four miles it was won bya hello. after four miles it was won by a matter of inches. tiger role held off a late charge to win the grand national this afternoon. it was 14th time lucky for the jockey as he led a one, two, three, four for horses trained in ireland. would racing's biggest day see one

of its biggest stories? much of the focus beforehand was on three female jockeys, especially katie walsh. but that didn't materialise, as at the first time of asking they set off over aintree's famous fences. only 12 of the 38 horses finished and on the second circuit they had to bypass beeches brooke. it was effectively a duel, tiger roll ridden by davy russell seemed to have an one, but back came david mullins on pleasant company to set up an extraordinary finish. eventually, after a photo, tiger roll‘s win was confirmed. delight on one side, despair on the other. victory for gordon elliott on another day of grand national drama. and so day off both drama and

emotion. after one of the closest finishes this race has ever seen. manchester city are one victory away from winning the premier league again. after losing to manchester united when they had their first chance to claim the title, the runaway leaders beat spurs 3—1 at wembley tonight and at 16 point clear at the top. city lost their last three games but they scored twice in three minutes to take a 2—0 lead in the first half. that was responded to by christian eriksen for raheem sterling got the vital goal to give them a two goal cushion, and the three points as well. if they win their next game against swansea they will win the league, or if manchester united lose the next game against west brom. meanwhile southampton are in deep trouble after scoring a 2—goal lead

to lose 3—2 at home to chelsea. olivier giroud came on to get his first in nearly goal for chelsea. southampton are now five points from safety. huddersfield's chances of survival were given a big boost as in injury time goalfrom the substitute gave them a 1—0 win over watford, huddersfield's first victory in six games, moving them seven points clear of the drop zone. though salleh scored his 30th goal of the premier league season, as liverpool eased to a 3—0 win over bournemouth. —— mo salah. liverpool remain third in the league. wilfried zaha scored remain third in the league. wilfried za ha scored twice remain third in the league. wilfried zaha scored twice as crystal palace beat brighton 3—2 to third improve their chances of survival. burnley beat leicester city by a 2—1. wolves have been promoted to the premier league without even kicking a ball today. their players are preparing for tomorrow's match against birmingham. here they are watching from their hotel as brentford took a

late equaliser and install, meaning the wolves cannot be caught in the promotion places in the championship. they returned to the premier league after a six year absence. elsewhere, motherwell are through to the final of the scottish cup. they ran away with the semi— indian, beating aberdeen by 3—0. celtic play rangers in the other semifinals at hampden park tomorrow. in rugby union's premiership, wins for wasps and gloucester today, while leicester's play—off hopes we re while leicester's play—off hopes were dealt a big blow by local rivals northampton. they lost 27— 21 at welford road, and havejust two games left to secure a spot in the top fourfor games left to secure a spot in the top four for what would be a 14th successive season. in the pro 1a adumbrated a step to securing their own play—off place with a competence in 52— own play—off place with a competence in 52- 14 own play—off place with a competence in 52— 1a victory over a much changed scarlet side. edinburgh now nine points clear of fourth placed also. —— all—star. —— ulster. the

home nations won 1a of the 44 gold medals on offer on the last —— the penultimate day of the commonwealth games. men's team stormed home in the relay in a season best time to beat south africa and jamaica into second and third respectively. the women's team also romped home, a time of 42.46 seconds. that was ahead of jamaica and time of 42.46 seconds. that was ahead ofjamaica and nigeria. that is all your sports news for now. don't forget you can get all the details from all the medals from the connaught games on the bbc sport website. —— commonwealth games. and of course continuing coverage overnight, if you would like it, is on bbc two right now. and that is all the sport right now. that was enough. that was a lot. exciting stuff from the commonwealth games, of course. here at bbc news nonstory

dominates, which is of course the missile strikes in syria. the united states has warned it will carry out further strikes if the government of president bashar al—assad carries out the use of chemical weapons again. we spoke to max bergmann, senior fellow at the centre for american progress, focusing on us and russia policy, and european security. i think ithink in i think in this case there is eight question, a desire tojust i think in this case there is eight question, a desire to just do something. —— a question. that isn't a lwa ys something. —— a question. that isn't always the best desire. you need to do something that is effective. i think in this case the most effective thing about this strike is that it was done multilaterally. it was done with the backing of the us, the uk, france, as well as nato, germany, turkey. there has been lots of multilateral support for this. it is important, and i think the critical pc, is that the international community needed to make it clear that the use of chemical weapons is still not

acceptable. —— critical piece here. pa rt acceptable. —— critical piece here. part of the reason why president assad continues to use chemical weapons is because of russia. it is because his regime feels emboldened and protected by the russians. so they feel they can act with impunity and they know that the russians will protect them internationally at the united nations and will protect them militarily. but it is still, i think, important to send that message. now, this is not going to solve all the problems at all, and it isa solve all the problems at all, and it is a very limited strike, itjust targeted 80 different facilities. and so i think —— a few different facilities. and so i don't think we should build it up as this important action. but it is important to send action. but it is important to send a message that the world still cares about the international norms about the use of chemical weapons. but it is not working, is it? it is not the first time a site has used chemical weapons, if indeed he did in douma, because we cannot verify everything, inspectors still need to go there.

this war has been going on for yea rs. this war has been going on for years. hundreds of thousands of civilians have lost their lives. on both sides of the civil war. has it just got to the point now where we have to accept that perhaps the un is ineffective and diplomacy is in total deadlock? notjust one comes total deadlock? notjust one comes to syria, but all complex, many complex? —— when it comes to syria. —— but in all conflicts, many conflicts. these strikes were targeted not simply at the assad regime, but at all future regimes which are thinking about developing and using chemical weapons. it is about maintaining that normally have tried to create since 1918, since world war i, in the use of chemical weapons. what is the point of the united nations if we need use military action to do that?” united nations if we need use military action to do that? i think it raises it highlights the role that russia plays in protect in syria at the united nations. and russia has the ability, because of their position on the un security

council, of making the un utterly ineffective in dealing with these issues. and i think it highlights the need to further isolate russia. this isn't just about the need to further isolate russia. this isn'tjust about bashar al—assad. it is about who is backing bashar al—assad. interesting analysis there. much more of that to come in the papers. now it's time for the weather. good evening. it seems like these have left you wanting more you might find tomorrow a bit of a disappointment. it is probably not going to live up to the warmth or the sunshine of today. that is how the sunshine of today. that is how the day ended for a weather watcher close to wakefield. a beautiful scene here not too far away in north yorkshire. as i say, sunday, a different affair, with more cloud. lower temperatures as well. where we had the sunshine today we got close to 20 degrees just to the west of london. you can see that many spots did enjoy some sunshine. that left us did enjoy some sunshine. that left us with clear skies for the most pa rt us with clear skies for the most part to take us through the rest of

the night. a bit of showers and rain into shetland, but has the night wears on we will see thickening cloud and outbreaks of rain in the south—west of england and parts of northern ireland by the end of the night as well. the wind starting to strengthen down towards the south—west. this area of low pressure will somewhat spoil the party this weekend because it will strengthen their winds in western areas tomorrow, and it will throw this frontal system in our direction. sunday can be summed up like this. more cloud than there was today. it will be quite breezy. at times there will be some rain. not all the time. it is certainly not a com plete all the time. it is certainly not a complete washout. if you are out in the morning in the south—west of england, wales, northern ireland and parts of the midlands, we will see sporadic rain on and off, drifting into northern england and southern scotla nd into northern england and southern scotland as the day wears on. it hides that the skies brightened to the south—west, but equally there will be a fair rash of hefty showers. —— behind that the skies. perhaps the highest temperatures will be in northern scotland, inverness getting to 16 or 17. elsewhere, cooler than it was today. monday brings a fair amount of

sunshine, especially the central and eastern areas. the chance of showers across scotland. thicker cloud and rain in northern ireland late in the day. windy in the west. most temperatures, compared to today, not very impressive. 14 or 15 degrees. that won't last. tuesday, a split in fortunes. rain for northern ireland, scotland, parts of north—west england and north—west wales, but further south and east we get sunshine, and the temperatures at this stage are likely to get back to 19 or possibly 20 degrees. that is a mere taste of what is to come later in the week. wednesday and particular thursday will see us bringing in this very warm air from the near continent. look at the orange colours spreading across the chart. how warm will it get? 25 degrees across the south—east, anti—of other places not too far behind. so what tomorrow might not live up to the brightness of today, there is a more spring warmth just around the corner.