this is bbc world news. i'm tanya beckett. the un security councilfails to back a russian resolution condemning the us missile strikes on syria. the military action by america, britain and france targeted three weapons sites with more than 100 missiles. the us say there could be more strikes if syria uses chemical weapons again. there will be a price to pay if chemical weapons are used again against innocent men, women and children. president trump says the air—strikes were perfectly executed and tweets "mission accomplished". russia has called the strikes a blatant disregard of international law, with attacks carried out even before international inspectors could begin their investigations. hello and welcome to bbc news. the un security council has failed

to back a russian resolution condemning the us missile strikes on syria. the russian ambassador to the un, said there had been a blatant disregard for international law. britain and francejoined the us in the military action — in which more than 100 missiles were fired at military targets in syria. the pentagon said that the explosions hit a scientific research facility in the capital damascus, as well as two locations near the city of homs. 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. as i discussed with president trump and president 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're still conducting a more detailed damage assessment, but 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's 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. but as permanent members of the security council, they must be especially firm in protecting the un charter. that was positively restrained compared to what syria's ambassador had to say. translation: i say that you a liars. you are spoilers, you are hypocrites, you are attempting to see failure in actions of this organisation which do not pursue your interests. tonight, some of the french jets returned home. along with the british and the americans, they are hoping this isjob done.

but now the world waits to see if there will be retaliation or any further use of chemical weapons. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. the us vice—president said the air strikes sent a strong message to the syrian leader. mike pence also said the military action was successful and had severely affected the syrian regime's ability to carry out chemical weapons attacks last night the united states of america conducted a successful military strike on critical chemical weapons infrastructure in syria that has significantly degraded and crippled the ability of syria to conduct chemical weapons attacks and chemical weapons programme against innocent civilians. this was the morally right act to take and as i spoke to the president this morning, we could not be more proud of our american forces and our allies who conducted this

attack with such professionalism and brought about an extraordinary success. the president has also made it clear that the united states of america is prepared to sustain this effort to re—establish a deterrent framework that exists in order that the syrian regime and its patrons know that there will be a price to pay if chemical weapons are used again against innocent men, women and children. 0ur correspondent steve rosenberg is in moscow — i asked him how russia has reacted to the air strikes: with a good deal of anger. the

language coming out of moscow today, putin said their strike was an act of aggression. we heard the russian foreign minister say it was unlawful and unexpected —— unacceptable. lots and unexpected —— unacceptable. lots and lots of rhetoric but of course, no sign of any military response from moscow and any retaliation. in fa ct, from moscow and any retaliation. in fact, the russians went out of their way to make the point that russian air defence systems had not been used to target incoming missiles and it is clear that russia does not wa nt to it is clear that russia does not want to go to war with america over syria just like america does not wa nt to syria just like america does not want to go to war with russia over syria. you can see the limited ambition and

scope of the action that was taken. they was a debate over the past week in washington about how wide ranging and prolonged the attacks should be. in the end, they were extremely limited. not dissimilarto in the end, they were extremely limited. not dissimilar to last year when it was a single airfield. 0k, three targets hit this time. people say, the bridge, —— they are all saying it was a i—off as long as assad doesn't use any more chemical weapons and it remains to be seen whether they will be any retaliation. donald trump used an illjudged phrase. he said mission accomplished. we remember george w bush with that banner behind him supposedly to symbolise the end of combat operations and combat operations went on for many years. what the americans are saying is,

look, if you want to bomb civilians, you want to bomb residential areas, you want to bomb residential areas, you can. you just can't use chemical munitions stop that is the red line that you cannot cross. in the targeting, in the making sure the russians were not hit, russian turning on its head but not engaging, they think everybody, despite all of the overheated rhetoric, very, very conscious of the danger of escalation and not wanting to do anything that could lead to that. these strikes collocate the landscape, don't they? i want to say it is not uncomplicated how it is, we have had three un representatives could seeking to sort out this and how much further are we on? the reality is that on the ground, bashar

al—assad's regime, thanks to the help from russia and the iranians, is more or less achieved all of its military objectives. the americans are saying the only reason they are in syria is the defeat of isis stop the problems of rebuilding syria predate very much the limited military action that was taken last night. dew think that there is momentum in the us either to remain in syria ought to be active in trying to negotiate a solution? just remember how donald trump got elected. he said to the american people, "i go to stop us being involved in all of these complex foreign entanglements". that's what he said. they are not going gung ho, yeah, let's send our boys in there. the whole idea is to bring them home. as long as the fight is

focused against so—called islamic state, the has the support of the american people. i think the people we re american people. i think the people were repelled against the site of the chemical weapons attack and thought it was justified to act that he doesn't want to go in any further than he was already. nato allies have given theirfull support to the american—led strikes. the nato secretary—general, jens stoltenberg, said the attacks hadn't solved all the problems related to chemical weapons in syria, but compared to the alternative, which was to do nothing, he said this was the best response. he was speaking to the bbc‘s adam fleming in brussels. we were briefed very thoroughly by the three allies, the united kingdom, france and the united states, and we appreciate all the information they shared with us and we have no reason to doubt the findings and the assessments of these three allies. at the same time we know that the chemical attack that happened on the 7th of april happened in the area, douma, where the assad regime operates, supported by russia and iran.

we also know that previously there have been independent investigators, international investigations, which have clearly attributed the use of chemical weapons to the assad regime, so they have used chemical weapons before. and we know for instance that the world health organisation has reported that they have seen people with symptoms consistent with the use of chemical weapons. on top of that we also know that we have a lot of independent, open sources confirming the use of chemical weapons in douma. was there one piece of evidence that really convinced you, that really swung it for you? it would be wrong if i went into the different elements, but it is the whole picture that the assad regime has been responsible for the use of chemical weapons before. that is a finding by an international independent investigation. the fact that they operated in the area and the fact that there are many different

and open sources confirming that chemical weapons were used. and then we also have to look at the alternative. to be silent, to do nothing, to accept the use of chemical weapons, that would be a very wrong message. because then chemical weapons can be used with impunity. i am now in brussels close to flanders fields where chemical weapons were used during the first world war and many soldiers were killed and since then we have had a ban on chemical weapons and i think it is extremely important that 100 years after the first world war we do what ever we can to uphold the ban on chemical weapons. so, last night's strikes may appear to have been very clearly targeted, but they are being seen by some as a limited punishment on syria. so what impact will they have on syria's chemical weapons programme — and what do they say about the strategy of america, britain and france? here's our diplomatic correspondent james robbins. this is what provoked the strikes.

last saturday's apparent gas attack on civilians in douma. 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, precise, if limited message to president assad — you are not the target, your chemical weapons programme is. the united states fired missiles from two warships and from the submarine ussjohn warner. plus, in the air, two b1 lancer bombers. the raf flew tornadoes from akrotiri in cyprus, staying out of syrian airspace to fire their storm shadow missiles. france launched missiles from its frigate languedoc, as well rafale and mirage strike aircraft flying from france. so the us was not acting alone, but with two close allies this time, and that's politically important. the targets of all this firepower — syria's chemical weapons production. the main target for 76 missiles was a research and development

centre close to damascus. but also a chemical weapons storage site near homs. 22 weapons were aimed there, including the raf‘s eight storm shadow missiles. and target three, a nearby chemical weapons bunker, the main french target for seven of their nine missiles. but has military action damaged prospects for eventual peace in syria ? definitely not according to the head of nato, america's wider military alliance. if you start to normalise the use of chemical weapons, wythes this will stop them from using chemical weapons in the future. this strike was double the size of the strike in april 2017 and i would also emphasise that this was a multinational effort. but an end

to the war is no closer after this action. as long as russia continues to dominate fighting to keep our sad in power, it is hard to see an eventual peace that is not largely dominated by that alliance. syria is expected to dominate the annual arab summit which begins in saudi arabia on sunday. 0ur arab affairs editor sebastian usher has been telling me what to expect. well, this is an annual summit. nothing is normally very much expected from arab summits, it must be said. saudi arabia is the host, and is amongst the strongest anti— assad countries in the arab world. they were very quick to support what the americans, british and french did. other gulf countries like tar and bahrain are also the same. —— two. a couple of other countries, it arrived in beirut and lebanon, they have said that they want this summit

tomorrow to come up with a clear position about what has just happened in syria. now, those countries which are closer to iran. they have read shia populations, so they are slightly adrift, perhaps, from the general way that the arab leaders are looking at this. —— have big shia populations. so from the perspective of the arab countries there is a great deal more at play here industry and complex than the survival or not of bashar al—assad? yes, but in a sense, going back to the saudis, they were very upset yea rs the saudis, they were very upset years ago when president 0bama did and go in guns blazing. there was a real cold ness and go in guns blazing. there was a real coldness after that, which is unusual between saudi arabia and the us. they are applauding the fact that president trump has done something but it is nowhere near enough and doesn't change the equation in any way in the conflict. so it doesn't do anything, as far as the saudis are concerned. they are pushing, under the crown prince, mohammad mithun and, for a much more

proactive role in the middle east. —— mohammed bin salman. they would have applauded if president trump had followed his instincts, as we we re had followed his instincts, as we were hearing, and gone in hard. this won't mean much, i think. to expect a clear position from the arab summit on this, i think, would be asking a great deal. i don't really think that is where the action is. but as you say, the attacks themselves don't really change the course of the conflict, do they? no. the conflict has divided into a number of different battlefields, essentially. perhaps the most disturbing and worrying one is one that came the day after the suspected chemical attack, when it was reported that israel had attacked in the country, and a number of iranian servicemen were killed. israel has become much more proactive in the south of the country. it is a serious escalation of the conflict between israel and iran, as iran seems to be trying to entrench itself in the country, to

be there for the long haul, right on the border with israel. that is a development which might not have been expected a year or two ago, and i think we have to look at that closely. as far as the united states is concerned, its real interest lie further north, where it is backing kurdish forces, who were very important in the battle against islamic state. i think it is a slight misunderstanding of what is happening to see them as irrelevant 110w. happening to see them as irrelevant now. the americans, through their proxies, control a very important pa rt proxies, control a very important part of the country. they control the oilfields. at part of the country. they control the oil fields. at some part of the country. they control the oilfields. at some point president assad and his backers are going to be looking in that direction and thinking, we need that, if we are actually going to be able to put this country back together underneath the regime's control. let's look at some of the other stories making the news now. sir martin sorrel has announced that he's stepping down as head of the world's largest advertising firm wpp. in a letter to staff, he said he'd made the decision because what he described as the "current disruption" was putting too much pressure on the business.

he'd been under investigation by the board of wpp, over an allegation of misconduct, which he denies. many of the girls who were kidnapped from a school in chibok in nigeria are now dead, according to a nigerian journalist. ahmad salkida, who has links to the islamist group boko haram, says he understands that all but 15 of the girls have died. around 100 girls are still missing, despite efforts to negotiate their release. the nigerian government says it believes they're still alive. tens of thousands of hungarians have demonstrated in budapest against the recently re—elected right—wing government of prime minister viktor 0rban. they were protesting against what they say is an unfair election system, which gave the governing fidesz party two—thirds of parliamentary seats with just under half of the national vote. the organisers are also calling for a non—partisan public media service. mr 0rban won a third consecutive term in elections a week ago, after running a stridently anti—immigrant campaign. thousands of south africans have

attended a funeral service at a football stadium in soweto for the anti—apartheid campaigner winnie mandela, who died earlier this month. in a moving eulogy, her daughter zenani said it was mama winnie who'd kept nelson mandela's memory alive during his long detention under apartheid. the bbc‘s nomsa maseko was there. there are big crowds here at orlando stadium for winnie madikizela—mandela's final sendoff. the government has declared a state funeralfor mama the government has declared a state funeral for mama winnie. president cyril ramaphosa is giving the eulogy. all of these people are from different political parties, but mainly from the governing anc and the economic freedom fighters. they

seem to have put aside their political differences to give mama winnie the sendoff she deserves. they are singing liberation songs, and the sound is reverberating through the stadium. most of the songs they are singing about are about mama winnie's resilience and herfight for the about mama winnie's resilience and her fight for the liberation of black south africans. back now to our main story, the airstrikes in syria. lyse doucet is our chief international correspondent who has been watching events from beirut. she gave her assessment of the situation. what we heard from the pentagon today was from lieutenants general mackenzie, that syria's air defences isn't work at all. —— lieutenant—general. he said more than 100 missiles at their targets, and none of the missiles, or the aircraft, were engaged by syrian

defences. he said a0 missiles hadn't been fired —— had been fired by the syrians, but they were fired after the aircraft left syrian airspace. he also pointed out that the russian air defences were not operating at the time. so we have those two versions. we heard from syrian officials as well, hailing the fact that there are defences had worked. aside still has a way to go to wind this war and to hold his position. —— assad. he is quite defiant in response to these strikes, isn't it? president assad, time and again in recent yea rs, president assad, time and again in recent years, has been defiant, vowing, even against their wishes at times of his ally russia, in saying that he will take back every inch of syrian territory. he has been saying that again today, saying that these airstrikes make him even more determined to crush his opponents. they are saying tonight that all of eastern ghouta, that last suburb on the edge of damascus that was under

rebel control, is now back in the hands of the syrian army and government agencies. the next target, widely expected, will be the province in northern syria that is largely under rebel control, and thatis largely under rebel control, and that is idlib. so there are still areas controlled by the syrian opposition but they have no kind of territorial foothold to be able to challenge president assad's rule. the big question is, when do you say, to use the phrase that you and many others have used, when is the war over? there is a great fear that when this war begins to draw to a close, at least in terms of the territorial battles, there will be another kind of conflict which will become the bloodletting, the revenge, the recriminations, and of course there are still the remnants of so—called islamic state, al-qaeda are also present in syria, and they are also present in syria, and they are able to carry out attacks even if they no longer control territory. soi if they no longer control territory. so i think we are a long way off saying the war is over. but it is clearly in a new phase, and president assad, across large parts

of syria, clearly has the upper hand. that was leased to set. recapping our main story, the un security council has failed to back a russian resolution condemning the un -- us a russian resolution condemning the un —— us missile strikes on syria. the russian ambassador to the un said there had been a blatant disregard for international law. nikki haley, the american ambassador to the un, told the security council that her country was, as she put it, locked and loaded and ready to stage more airstrikes if the aside regime uses chemical weapons. —— assad regime. she later tweeted, when our president draws a red line he enforces that redline. don't forget, you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. i'm at @bbcta nyabeckett. hello there. if scenes like these

have left you wanting more spring warmth and sunshine, well, i have to say, the second half of the weekend probably won't live up to the promise of the first. that is how saturday ended across north yorkshire. 0rkney shrouded in a bit of low cloud but some blue skies overhead as well. sunday does look a little bit different because of this area of low pressure which is now pushing its way in from the west. it will strengthen up the winds. this frontal system will also bring some outbreaks of rain northward and eastward across the uk. so, sunday, a cloudy day. quite a breezy day as well. there will be some rain at times but not all the time. it is by no means a complete washout. we will, though, see some rain into the south—west, parts of wales, northern ireland, through the first part of the morning. that rain pushing its way across the midlands and northern england and southern scotland through the day. it will be quite on and off, quite sporadic, it will not be raining all day. as the main band of —— main band of rain clears will be left with showers pushing into

the south—west. very windy across northern ireland. the brightest of the weather across the north—east of scotland, i suspect, the weather across the north—east of scotland, isuspect, and perhaps the weather across the north—east of scotland, i suspect, and perhaps the highest temperatures. inverness could get to 16 or 17 degrees. some showers drifting north and east through sunday night but by monday morning most places will be dry. with some clear spells. temperatures not dropping too far, six or seven or eight degrees. that's about it, as we start the new working week. during monday, not about looking day for many. we will see spells of sunshine. more cloud and a few showers across scotland. the cloud will thicken up in northern ireland later in the day. 0utbreaks will thicken up in northern ireland later in the day. outbreaks of rain here as well. particularly in the late afternoon. the wind is still pretty brisk in those western areas. temperatures not as high as they we re temperatures not as high as they were on saturday, no, 13 or 1a or 15 degrees will not feel too bad if get some sunshine. that relatively warm feeling will stick with this as we move out of mundane into tuesday. low pressure to the west, high pressure to the east, squeezing between the two we have this south—westerly wind. across northern ireland scotland they could be some

pretty wet weather on tuesday, outbreaks of rain, which could spill down into north—western england north wales at times. further south and east will see the best of the sunshine and the highest of the temperatures. 19, maybe 20 degrees. that is a mere taste of what is to come. as we get into wednesday and thursday, we will start to import some very warm thursday, we will start to import some very warm air thursday, we will start to import some very warm air indeed from the near continent. watch these deep orange colour is spreading across the map. how high will the two bridges get? perhaps 25 in the south—east, plenty of other places not far behind, so there is more spring warmth on the way. this is bbc news, the headlines. the us has warned of further strikes on syria — should they use chemical weapons again. it follows military action by america, britain and france, targeting three weapons sites with more than 100 missiles. president trump said the air—strikes were perfectly executed and tweeted "mission accomplished". prime minister theresa may says britain has no intention of toppling assad or intervening more widely in the war.

the un security council has rejected a russian call to condemn the missile strikes against syria by western powers. the un secretary general has urged restraint — asking all sides to avoid acts that could escalate matters the russian ambassador to the un has called the strikes a blatant disregard of international law, with attacks carried out even before international inspectors began investigating the alleged gas attack in douma. now on bbc news.