this is bbc news. the headlines at 6: the us is preparing new sanctions on russia over moscow's support of syria, following yesterday's joint air strikes. voices from inside the devastation in syria — the bbc hears from a mother and daughter who survived the suspected chemical attack in eastern ghouta a week ago. translation: three doctors came, one carried me and the other carried my sister and ran. they took us to the first medical point, put us on the ground and poured water on us. hundreds of australian firefghters are tackling a huge bushfire threatening homes in the suburbs of sydney. the chief executive of the world's largest advertising agency, martin sorrell, is stepping down also coming up — a moment of history in the commonwealth games. england have done it!

england beat australia in the final second of the match — securing their first netball commonwealth gold medal. manchester city win the premier league title as their rivals united fall to a shock defeat at home to bottom of the league west brom — reaction to that and all the rest of the day's sport in sportsday in half an hour. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn has questioned the government's decision to launch air strikes on syria — saying he would only consider taking military action with the backing of the united nations. the strikes by britain, the united states and france targeted suspected chemical weapons sites — today the foreign secretary

borisjohnson said no further action was planned. but he said if the assad regime used chemical weapons again, the government would "study the options". here's our political correspondent ben wright british jets have already fired their missiles at syrian targets. but the political argument continues. the government says the purpose of yesterday's air strike was clear, to show the use of chemical weapons whether in salisbury or syria could never be accepted. there is no proposal on the table at the moment for further attacks, because, so far, thank heavens, the assad regime hasn't been so foolish as to launch another chemical weapons attack. he said there would be no slide into this or meddling into the civilian war. and showing how low the relationship with russia has sunk, borisjohnson rubbished recent suggestions by russia. to say that the uk was involved in salisbury —

which is offensive. or that we were somehow involved in douma — which is absolutely demented. jeremy corbyn is at odds with the government. opposed to military action in syria without un backing. i can only countenance involvement in syria if there is a un authority behind it. the russians vetoed un resolutions on this six times now. there is no reason that will stop. both sides have either vetoed or threatened to do that, they're obviously hasn't been an agreement. russia has repeatedly used its un veto to block sanctions and chemical weapons investigations during the civil war in syria. jeremy corbyn said weapons inspectors should be allowed to do their work. confront president assad with that evidence. confront any other group that may be... i am saying maybe, involved, i don't know. then say they must now come

in and remove and destroy those weapons. on the legality of this, on the need for a parliamentary vote, the labour leadership strongly disagrees with the government. a row which will be played out in the house of commons tomorrow when theresa may makes a statement to mps. the government does have the power to launch military action without having the consent of mps first, but opposition parties say that theresa may mustn't sidestep parliament. labour want to clarify parliament's role in sending british forces into combat. the snp also says convention has been ignored. not many good things came out of the iraq war debacle. but one of the things that it was a practice of parliament organising military action. in all barthe in all bar the most exceptions circumstances. for this to take place without parliamentary approval

isa place without parliamentary approval is a retrograde step. the snp is pushing for a symbolic vote tomorrow. theresa may is likely to face tough questions from all sides about her long—term strategy for syria. the united states says its preparing new sanctions against russia over its support for syria. the us ambassador to the un, nikki haley, said they would affect companies dealing with chemical weapons equipment. president putin has warned that any further western missile strikes against syria would cause international chaos. here's our middle east editorjeremy bowen in damascus, journalists were allowed to see one of the targets. the syrian deny it was a complex used to develop biological and chemical weapons. in the end the operation was a limited attack, a punishment, and a message that the west will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons. powerful hardware was used. this was an american b—i bomber loading up at its base in the us. no wonder there were fears the raids

could make syria's war even worse and risk a confrontation with russia and iran. the syrian regime's main allies. but their targets were chosen to avoid hitting them. this was a periscope view of a missile being fired from a us submarine. this week and's winners included those against escalating the war. the americans want nothing to delay the pull—out of us troops, who have been in northern syria fighting jihadists extremists. president assad's regime wasn't hit, either. his conclusion will be that the us, france, and britain, for all of their power, are not prepared to touch him. no wonder he looked relaxed meeting russian politicians in damascus. this family were caught up in the attack a week ago in douma. the accounts of what happened seemed to corroborate reports it was a chemical attack. the bbc managed to track them

down to the relative safety of a camp in northern syria. translation: i saw white smoke like fog. our legs started to get weak. we started to lose the nerves in our legs. had shortness of breath and burning in the nose and chest. there was no oxygen. and we were fighting death to go upstairs and reach the higherfloors. people were dying. suddenly the civil defence came. they put us on the ground and poured water on us. then they took us to the medical centre, sprayed us, gave us injections. iwas fainting. my heart was aching. when we went to sleep we were covered in dust from the shelling. we went back down to the basement and saw how they were bringing the martyrs.

instead of breathing air we breathe in the smell of blood. in douma the russian military brought in heavy equipment to start clearing rubble. another chemical attack might change things, but after the western rhetoric and raids this looks like business as usual. jeremy bowen, bbc news. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in beirut. talk from the americans about further sanctions against russia, is any of this going to make any difference? well, yes, this will not be welcome news in russia, even before this latest crisis erupted, there were reports from russia about how much pressure this is is putting on the russian economy and pressure on the russian economy and pressure on vladimir putin. in times of crisis, when russia seems to be lacked in battle with the united states and britain and france, this could also serve to strengthen vladimir putin and his supporters,

thatis vladimir putin and his supporters, that is the signs of what we are seeing from damascus with defiant state m e nts seeing from damascus with defiant statements from president assad, saying the missile strikes that made them more determined to crush their opponents. is there any sense from america orfrom moscow that opponents. is there any sense from america or from moscow that they are trying to repair diplomatic relations, they at a very low ebb, is there a sense they want to pull back, or is itjust ratcheting up again and again? no, quite the opposite. i think that was the message from the nature of these strikes that were carried out by britain, the united states and france, there had been an expectation that there could be broader attack and president trump wa nted broader attack and president trump wanted to target other of president assad's assets, even targeting his allies, it is said the fact they we re

allies, it is said the fact they were limited, targeted, meant the views of the secretary of defence prevailed. he wanted them of an escalation. we know what is called t confliction hot line was work. there isa confliction hot line was work. there is a hope the strikes are over this could end the military side of the relationship and they can work out other aspects and disagreements that have to be addressed. but this is a very risky situation. is there any role for the un, there has been talk about whether they can be involved, eve ryo ne about whether they can be involved, everyone knows that russia has so far vetoed efforts, could that change? well, it was interesting in the immediate aftermath of the strikes we heard from emmanuel

macron and the us ambassador to the un and from the un secretary general the same message that now the focus must shift to reinvigorating the political process. there was talk of getting the un envoy to syria. but the reality of this is for years the un has been trying to get the two sides to engage around the negotiating table. after years of effort, yea rs of negotiating table. after years of effort, years of it gathering in one western city or another, they have not met face to face for any significant talks. the last round of talks in december, the un envoy said it had been a missed opportunity and he blamed all sides, but mostly he blamed the syrian government. when i go to damascus there is real defiance, they say look at the battlefield, why should which give anything away at the negotiating table. i see no sign that this will

change any time soon. thank you. police have launched a murder investigation after a man was shot dead in birmingham. officers were called to a shooting in the bordesley area of the city at just after midnight. a 20—year—old man was pronounced dead at the scene. police are appealing for information from the public a man has died, and a woman is in a critical condition, after the vehicle they were in, collided with a car during a police pursuit, on the outskirts of stoke—on—trent. the pair were being followed by officers on the a50 near longton after their vehicle failed to stop. they collided with a car on the eastbound carriageway at around 6.15 this morning. staffordshire police have referred the incident to the independent office for police conduct, which is routine when somebody dies during an operation. two teenagers have been arrested after five people were struck by a car in essex yesterday afternoon. three people remain in hospital following the incident in canvey island.

a 17—year—old boy and an 18—year—old man, both from the area , are being questioned by essex police this afternoon, on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. the founder and chief executive of the world's largest advertising group wpp, sir martin sorrell, has resigned — less than a fortnight after it announced he was being investigated for misconduct. he leaves wpp after 33 years in the job. sir martin denies any wrongdoing as our business editor simonjack explains. advertisers want you to remember the products they are selling, not the name of the company that made the adverts. many of the biggest advertising agencies, and pr firms, are owned by an even bigger one. it is called wpp and has been run since 1985 by sir martin sorrell. he gobbled up dozens of businesses over the years creating a £15 billion global giant.

a big figure on the world business stage... if the eu does not give on that... he was happy to give his opinion. after 33 years at the top he stepped down with immediate effect, after accusations he may have mr used the funds of wpp. he denies this claim. more advertisers are going direct to google and facebook, rather than via wpp agencies. the company has lost a third of its value, prompting this goodbye statement: his critics say he was overpaid and ran the company like his own private fiefdom, when in fact he earned less than 2%. some shareholders told the bbc it was time for a change. for many in the world of advertising sir martin sorrell was more of a money man band

an ad man, treating it like a professional service rather than a creative industry. but british business has lost a true giant. simon jack, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: the us is preparing new sanctions on russia over moscow's support of syria, following yesterday's joint air strikes. hundreds of australian firefghters are tackling a large bushfire threatening homes in the suburbs of sydney. the chief cxecutive of the world's largest advertising agency, martin sorrell, is stepping down a bush fire is burning out of control near sydney — with the flames now threatening some streets around 20 miles from the city centre. hundreds of people have left their homes, and australian police say they suspect the blaze may have been started deliberately. phil mercer reports.

strong winds have pushed the flames toward suburban streets, about 35 kilometres from the centre of sydney. as the blaze approached, many residents left, while others stayed to join a huge firefighting effort. authorities said the fast—moving outbreak was aggressive and unpredictable. while 500 firefighters confronted the inferno on the ground, they were supported in the skies by more than a dozen aircraft. very warm autumn weather and a lack of rain have turned bushland on sydney's outer fringes into a tinderbox. we have to deal with the worst that mother nature can throw at us. and the worse australians are presented with by nature, the better it brings up the australian spirit. conditions in the fire zone are reported to be easing. but crews will again be working through the night

to try to contain the blaze. south—eastern australia is one of the world's most fire prone regions. most outbreaks are sparked by lightning, or accidentally by power lines. sometimes more sinister hands are to blame. australian police believe this monstrous fire in south—western sydney may have been lit on purpose. experts say that australia's annual bushfire season is starting earlier and ending later. they believe that climate change is making the threat worse. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. earlier i spoke to paul best from the new south wales rural fire service in sydney. he told me conditions are improving for firefighters. the conditions are easing and improving for firefighters. they have been able to do some back—burning operations through the night tonight. which is good news.

to try to slow the progression of that fire. how many residents have been affected, have they been forced to leave the area? no, during the height of the fire over the last few days, we have been giving people the advice to stay in nair home to protect themselves from the heat of that fire. there haven't been any forced evacuations, but of course some people have chosen to leave themselves. this is something that does happen pretty regularly in your area, what kind of challenges do firefighters face when they're trying to deal with these bushfires? yes, you can imagine it is very hot and the fires over the last few days has been fanned by some very strong winds. so we have had 500 firefighters actively fighting that firefighters actively fighting that fire over the last couple of days to try to bring it under control. but the weather is certainly a challenge and the land that it is burning in

also presents quite a few challenges. some are saying that actually this is becoming a more regular occurrence. do actually this is becoming a more regular occurrence. do you actually this is becoming a more regular occurrence. do you think that that is the case and if so what is to blame? it's hard to say whether this is becoming the norm. i certainly haven't seen any fires this late in our traditional fire season. this late in our traditional fire season. we have had a significant long spell of dry weather and that has seen the fields dry out considerably. coupled with those strong winds, have seen that fire fan and make a run as it has over the last few days. mps, celebrities and business leaders have launched a campaign calling for a public vote on the final brexit deal between the uk and the european union. the people's vote drive aims to unite anti—brexit groups, with a rally being held in north london. earlier, i spoke to one of the politicians attending, the former labour cabinet minister

lord adonis. he said people should be able to have a say on the terms of the brexit treaty. theresa may is in brussels negotiating the brexit terms. our argument is that those terms are going to be a lot worse than what we have now, it will be worse for trade and our economy, there won't be the £350 million she promise ford the nhs every week. on the contray we are looking at a exit bill of £39 billion. there is a huge crowd gathered in north london who are campaigning for the people to have a say on whether or not we do this brexit, or whether we choose to stay, that will be better for our economy and our society and we can get on the big problems/which is state of nhs, opportunities for young people, sort ogg tut housing crisis, but not scapegoating europeans and turning our back on

our international trading alliances. it looks like there is a big turn out in london, do you think there is a wider shift in public opinion, that people are demanding this second vote? well, the evidence is that people want a say. let's be frank, it was a vote in the dark two yea rs frank, it was a vote in the dark two years ago, no one had any idea of the consequences of brexit, because there was no deal, we didn't know what it would mean for our economy. now people can see there is a massive bill attached to brexit and none of the advantages for the nhs, our trade will be worse off and jobs will suffer and people are starting to say, hey, we should a say on this, it is the biggest decision the country will take in a generation and shouldn't just a country will take in a generation and shouldn'tjust a be decided for us and shouldn'tjust a be decided for us behind closed doors in westminster and that is why people are gathering here across parties

the greens, the tories and labour party and the liberal democrats with people are saying we want to look at this treaty and decide whether we are better staying. you have to persuade mps to come on side and amend a bill to get this to happen, is there assign, given the labour and conservative front bench are not in favour, is there any hope this can be achieved for you? this is an extremely fluid situation, parliament won't decide until october or november and we don't know what the terms of the treaty will be. we know there are problems about trade, about the border in ireland, about the money and the £39 billion exit fee. once we see the terms of the deal, in october and november, and mps get tojudge it, my prediction is there will be a massive movement of parliamentary opinion towards the people and they will vote for a final say and it

will vote for a final say and it will be led by my party the labour party, which is the people's party, and we are all in favour of democracy and we will be spear—heading a move to wards a popular referendum to be backed by people from the other parties and there is still time to do it before we crash out of european union in a mistaken way in a year's time and trash ourjobs, mistaken way in a year's time and trash our jobs, and mistaken way in a year's time and trash ourjobs, and trash the future of our young people. that was the labour peer lord adonis. a service has been held in salisbury this afternoon with the purpose of symbolically reclaiming the city for the common good, after the nerve agent attack last month. the bishop of salisbury, nick holtam hosted the "service of cleansing and celebration" at st thomas's church, close to where sergei skripal and his daughter were found. the service was attended by some of the police and other emergency services staff who attended the scene when the pair were first discovered and who worked on the investigation. the bishop said it was an opportunity for residents to reclaim the city and he praised the resilience of the residents.

the service will be conducted by the right rev nicholas holt ham. who are you reconciling with? it is a service in which we want too thank the community that have carried salisbury through this and to have an opportunity to gather together and to reclaim the city and so this is, it has a number of functions, it is, it has a number of functions, it is about saying salisbury is open in business and we are wanting new life in this easter season. we are wanting to reclaim the new life that is given us. it was about 200 metres from here that sergei skripal and his daughter were found. that must have been a shocking vent for the city, how have locals reacted. have been a shocking vent for the city, how have locals reactedm has been traumatic and terrible for

the people directly affected, but it has impacted everybody. for some it has impacted everybody. for some it has had an impact in a variety of ways. it has an impact on business and people's well being. it's caused people to be anxious. there is a loss of trust and now it has gone global. that is quite tricky to know the relation between salisbury and this world. what that is relationship? it is the connection between local and global and the sense in which something that started here has had impacts beyond here. we live in a connected world and we need to learn to live peacefully together. that is another thing we want out of service, we wa nt thing we want out of service, we want the pray for peace in our world. in your easter sermon you commented about the political situation. can i ask you about them. you said the expelling of diplomats from russia and britain, you said

that us wasn't good news. tell me more about that. we have got to get beyond these immediate reactions to something more long lasting that will build for peace. we have got to think hard, to pray hard and to work for peace and justice, we have got to find our way beyond the present crisis. when you walk around salisbury, there are still parts that are cordoned off, waiting to be decontaminated, can salisbury ever come back and be the way it was after this? of course salisbury will come back. we now need tojust patiently keep working through with the emergency services to get to a conclusion so we can start to live again in the city, notjust as it was, it is different and i think this is a great opportunity for salisbury to think again about what sort of city we are and how we

belong together with one another and what we want to be. the bishop of salisbury there. now the weather. it has been a miserable april so far, but things are set to warm up this week. we could see highs of 25 degrees in the south—east. but it is not just the south—east. degrees in the south—east. but it is notjust the south—east. today, the sunshine has been isolated and it has been in the far north a beautiful afternoon as you can see in st andrews. but for most a cloudy day with some showery rain. the rain will continue to push its way north and east over night. taking that wetter weather and at time into northern ireland and north—west england and scotland. not as cold as the night past. the rain will ease in the south and temperatures start

at around five to nine degrees. monday starts off on a quiet note. a fairamount of monday starts off on a quiet note. a fair amount of cloud. that will break up to allow some sunshine. the rain will ease in scotland. by the end of afternoon, the winds will increase and the arrival of some wetter weather in northern ireland. highs of 12 to 15 degrees. the wind will continue, gusting to gale force through northern ireland, scotland and north—west england and some heavy rain for the start of tuesday. we start off with a north—west, south split. to the north we will see highest values around 13 or 1a and we might in the south and east pa rt and we might in the south and east part of england see 18 or 19 degrees. that will start to feel pleasant. but by the middle of week we see high pressure from the near continent and is in south—easterly flow that is going to drag in this warmer air. something we have not

seen for quite some time. so lots of sunshine in the south and east. the rain will move further north. so perhaps at around 1a or 16 degrees for scotland and northern ireland. highest values on wednesday of 23. on thursday just a highest values on wednesday of 23. on thursdayjust a bit of fair weather cloud to the west, but a fine day and lots of sunshine and warmth and highest values possibly of 25. enjoy. this is bbc news, our latest headlines: the us is preparing new sanctions on russia over moscow's support of syria, following yesterday's joint air strikes. hundreds of australian firefghters are tackling a huge bushfire threatening homes in the suburbs of sydney. the chief executive of the world's largest advertising agency, martin sorrell, is stepping down. now on bbc news — sportsday.