this is bbc news. wighton the fact we went back down to the basement and saw how big the marchers. also on the programme...a huge bushfire near sydney has forced hundreds of people to leave their homes. and manchester city — seen here on saturday — are crowned premier league champions after local rivals man united suffered a shock defeat at home to west brom. hello and welcome to world news today.

america's ambassador to the un, nikki haley, says washington will announce new sanctions on monday against russian companies with ties to syria's president bashar al—assad, and his alleged use of chemical weapons. moscow has condemned the joint air strike by american, british and french forces, following a suspected chemical weapons attack by the syrian government on rebel—held territory. syria's president has been meeting russian politicians in damascus. he's reported to have been invited to visit moscow — a sign that president putin continues to fully support his government. our middle east editor jeremy bowen has this report on the latest developments. in damascus, journalists were allowed to see one of the targets. the syrians 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—1 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 weekend'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. earlier i spoke with our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, about the human toll of this conflict. the sad side of this tragic or in syria that every major battle, and there have been many, is that a huge monetary and disaster. when you have sprung lines running through neighbourhoods and streets, and you have all sides in this war willing to do whatever it takes to try to

win, to prevail on the battlefield, women, children and civilians not just being caught between the front lines, they are at the front line in this war. we are seeing this on a suspected chemical attack in duma with both sides accusing the other of carrying out these attacks. now that this battle for eastern ghouta, the last rebel on played in damascus, is over, all eyes are now on the last of the areas held by the rebels in syria. that will be the northern promise of labour which is largely held by hardline muslim —— islamist groups including fighters linked to al-qaeda. these will be brutal battles and again we will see a dire humanitarian situation. the american ambassador to the united nations, nikki haley, has declared that washington is now preparing sanctions on russia over moscow's support of syria. and earlier speaking on fox news sunday, she denied reports that president trump plans to pull us troops out of syria within six months. if one wanted to make sure that

chemical weapons were not used, or weapons of mass destruction not used in any way that could harm american national interests. he wanted to make sure that we defeated isis com pletely make sure that we defeated isis completely and holy, to make sure that all that threat was gone because it is a threat to american national interests. and he wanted to make sure that we had good grounds to watch what iran was doing and they weren't making a lot of aggressive headway in terms of that, it is run is a national threat to american interests. i think that, no, he never thought he would get out in 48 hours. yes, it is all of oui’ out in 48 hours. yes, it is all of our goal is to see american troops can come, but we are not going to leave until we know we have a contest those things. he has talked to our allies and said they need to step up more, they need to do more. it shouldn't just be step up more, they need to do more. it shouldn'tjust be us doing it, andi it shouldn'tjust be us doing it, and i think that the right approach. be very clear, if we leave, when we

leave, it will be because we know that everything is moving forward. earlier, i spoke with our correspondent barbara plett usher about the diplomatic pressure the us is putting on russia. nikki haley derrick announced that there would be sanctions forthcoming on companies, she said we are dealing with equipment related to president bashar al—assad and his use of chemical weapons. she didn't give any further details. she signalled that the announcement was coming. she also very much put that into the context of russia's behaviour and what the administration has continually called out as russia's complicity with the syrian regime, —— syrian regime's use of chemical weapons. she said one of the reasons for the military strike was that the attack had been egregious and there was an accumulation of smaller attacks before that, though it was time to state —— take a stand. and also

because diplomatic efforts have failed, six times the security council had tried to set up and investigate mechanisms and six times russia had blocked it. repeating as the administration has over the last weeks that russia is complicit in the assad ‘s use of chemical weapons, because it is the syrian regime's strongest military ally. and also because it took part in that agreement in 2013 with president 0bama to get rid of all of syria's chemical weapons and was the guarantor that that would happen, and clearly it hasn't. the sanctions it seems the next step. a bush fire is burning out of control near sydney — with the flames now threatening some streets around 35 kilometres from the city centre. hundreds of people have been forced to leave their homes, and australian police say they suspect the blaze may have been started deliberately. 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. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news... more protests are being held in barcelona, against the detention of a number of catalan separatist leaders. the arrests were made after last 0ctober‘s referendum on independence from spain, which the government in madrid said was illegal, and an act of sedition. in montenegro, the leader of the governing democratic party of socialists, meelojookanovitch has won the presidential election. he was the clear favourite in what is the first such vote

since the countryjoined nato — a move that has angered its traditional ally, russia. one of the great names of italian cinema — vittorio taviani — has died. the cannes film festival winner, together with his brother, paolo, directed some of the most striking films of the past half— century, among them padre padrone and the night of shooting stars, which made them household names in italy. he died after a long illness, aged 88. the first family of rohingya muslims, who fled violence in rakhine state have returned home. more than 700,000 people took refuge in neighbouring bangladesh following a military operation which the un says was tantamount to ethnic cleansing. the burmese government says it has been responding to terrorist groups. rylee carlson reports... union mad government says this is the first row family over 5— bggde' from j j

their voluntary repatriation. begin their voluntary repatriation. in this reception centre, they are fingerprinted, there are taken and they are given a medical checkup. at they are given a medical checkup. at the ends, they are also given a national verification cards, a small piece of id that many head or refusing because their citizenship is still in question. —— many rohingya. hundreds of thousands of rohingya muslims fled this area into neighbouring bangladesh. the united nations has called the reported killings, rapes and asked an ethnic cleansing, claimed the country

denies, calling instead legitimate counterinsurgency operation. last week, the unmarked's minister of social welfare and resettlement visited a camp where he was met with rohingya refugees concerned about their status and persecution if they returned home. the most important thing is the repatriation process happening as soon as possible. if we can overcome all the difficulties, . .. can overcome all the difficulties,... we are trying. for 110w difficulties,... we are trying. for now it is up to the families to decide on that pledge is enough. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come... why sir martin sorrell — one of the world's most powerful advertising bosses — has resigned after over three decades at the top. this is bbc world news today.

the latest headlines... the us has revealed that more sanctions against russia will be announced on monday, over its support for bashar al assad. donald trump has warned the syrian government there could be more missile strikes if there is any further use of chemical weapons. for more on our top story, the situation in syria — i spoke to dr. andreas krieg — assistant professor at the defence studies department of king's college london, and got his opinion on the effectiveness of the air strikes. this operation was very bounded in time, in scale. that's why very quickly trump was saying this is national, based because the targets we re national, based because the targets were hit, because the objectives that were supposed to be achieved we re very that were supposed to be achieved were very limited. the facilities

worth it but i'm pretty sure, and the allies are british, that there are still stockpiles of chemical weapons in the country that are accessible by the regime ‘s. the force, even if it'sjust helicopters, are somewhat operational. it is not the last time that we see him use it, also because i think the air strikes are not denying the ability to do so. the question is whether he will be deterred to do so, and even if he is deterred to do so, and even if he is deterred for the time being, what will happen in a couple of months? will he used chemical weapons again? i think to terence is very limited. that is the key here, this was an action of components. we are trying to compel assad, telling him not to do that again or else. if you do it again, we will punish you again. this is a tit—for—tat kind of game that has been going on for years and yea rs. that has been going on for years and years. finally the drug administration have said enough is enough. you set yourself there, question, which i will put to you,

was with room out of washington initially, first of all saying it was a one—off strike and then said that them saying they are locked and loaded, ready to go. do you think the assad regime will say, ok, this has happened, we know what the response will be, we will be less likely to use it again if they did use of the first time. you alluded to the fact that the americans have new sanctions in place to compel the russian regime as well to basically this and its support for the assad regime, orat this and its support for the assad regime, or at least return to the negotiating table. the problem here is that all three west and countries involved in the strike yesterday don't have that leveraged anymore that they might have had in 2013, when the 0bama administration was thinking to strike for the first time. today it is a run, russia all who were very much bogged down and well—established in syria and calling the shots. the americans are trying to get back into the game to exercise some leveraged. it's very

questionable whether the other 36 will respond to this, also because if... the problem is a liability. —— whether the assad regime. even if there is truth, there will never be 100% proof that chemical weapons we re 100% proof that chemical weapons were used. used the phrase that donald trump said in a tweet, mission contest. if you were donald trump and just carried out this course of action, would you use that phrase? it's a very value loaded phrase? it's a very value loaded phrase to be used after the very intimate speech that bushjunior david you thousands three, or that aircraft carrier. it is mission, blushed because the mission the west has said it does in syria is very limited. they sent from the onset this is not an intervention in the civil war. we are not trying to solve the civil war, we are trying to intervene whenever our very existential national interest is concerned for our values. i think that's what this operation was about, the value of the use of

chemical weapons or non—use. in terms of interest, though, the west has a whole range of different interests in syria, one being the contain of terrorism, the other one definitely migration which is very concerning for europeans. the third one is somewhat a run, particularly with the new trumpet ministration. unfortunately, . .. with the new trumpet ministration. unfortunately, . . . stash like with the new trumpet ministration. unfortunately,... stash like a somewhat iraqi, particularly for the president trump administration. him a whole range of different sources to use against his own people. the analysis doctor craig. former us first lady, barbara bush, is said to be in "failing health" and no longer seeking medical treatment. a statement from the office of her husband — the former president george bush senior — said she's chosen to focus on "comfort care". 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 his views were sought... 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. more of a moneyman van and ad man. but british business has lost a true giant. simon jack, bbc news. gavin has all the sport now. manchester city or the english premier league champions, who

secured their first title under pep guardiola after manchester united lost to west bromwich. city have been the runaway leaders throughout the season. they remained on course to break several records. it should surpass the current record for the most number of points in a single season. the most number of wins at the muslim ruggles gourd. champions with five games remaining, they can no longer be if west bromwich albion have beaded manchester united, and manchester city or the champions of the premier league. what an upset. what a result west bromwich albion. 0ut what a result west bromwich albion. out of the blue. jay rodriguez with the only goal of the game. one of the only goal of the game. one of the most unexpected results of the season. confirms what we have all expected for a very long time. manchester city are champions,

manchester city are champions, manchester united had beaten today. it is united— zero, west bromwich albion, one. after manchester united beat manchester city last week, jose mourinho said the defeat to west bromwich was a bad reaction. he was his response. i knew it. years and yea rs his response. i knew it. years and years in the top conditions, of course i knew it. they were the best tea m course i knew it. they were the best team sooner or later they would get, they were going to get the points. no dramas when in the best team wins the league. no dramas. benitez can breathe a sigh of relief as newcastle united should now be safe after coming from behind to win 2—1 against arsenal. erez and richie with the goals for the home side. arsenal's terrible away form continues, yet you had an away point in the league in 2018. 24th eric

azizi title. is the win leaves them with 80 points, meaning they have an unassailable ten point lead over second placed ajax. it is their third champion chipped in four seasons. daniel riccardo pulled off a series of stunning overtakes for his first formula 1 win of the season that the chinese grand prix. a processional race was turned on its head when the two laura rosso is collided on the 30th lap, the safety car came out and standing riccardo made a pit stop. his first retire as so he moved from six to first. in just ten laps. he held on for the win. bassey in the towel, starting from pole, could only be bothered at the dutchman was given a penalty. lewis hamilton claimed for it. sebastian vettel‘s leaders down to nine points. i don't seem to win boring races. they are all pretty fun. that

was unexpected. putting ourselves 24 hours ago, i thought we may be starting at the back of the grid. firstly, thanks to the boys yesterday. i packed them after qualifying but today is the real reward for that work. battle the sport now. thank you. a quick reminder of our top story, the us has warned syria of more missile strikes if chemical weapons are used again. it also said it will announce new sanctions against russia over its support for bashar al—assad. that is it, don't forget you can get in touch with me at any time. of the team on twitter — i'm @lvaughanjones good evening. it's fair to say it

has been a miserable april so far. if you haven't already heard, things are set to warm up this week. we could see highs of 25 degrees in the south—east, but it's notjust the south—east. some widespread warmth across the country, high teens and low 20s. for today, the sun xiang has been fairly isolated. in the far north, a beautiful afternoon. —— the sun has been. for most of us a cloudy day with outbreaks of showery rain. the rain will continue to push steadily north and east overnight. taking that wetter weather in time —— into northern ireland, north—west england and parts of scotland. a little more cloud, not as cold as the nightjust little more cloud, not as cold as the night just passed. little more cloud, not as cold as the nightjust passed. further south, the rain easing. temperatures quite widely to start monday morning at around five to 9 degrees. monday sta rts at around five to 9 degrees. monday starts off on a relatively quiet note. hopefully the cloud will break

up note. hopefully the cloud will break up from time to time to allow some sunshine. showery rain easing in scotland. by the end of the afternoon, winds increasing and somewhat weather into northern ireland. izod 12 to 15 degrees. as of monday, the winds will continue to strengthen, gusting to go forth through northern ireland, scotland and north west england. some heavy rainfor and north west england. some heavy rain for the start of tuesday. starting in the north—west and south—east splits, but as the front bushes outfit will weaken a band of cloud and showery rain. to the north, highest value is around 13 or 14. in the south and east and brightening lives, maybe highs of 18 01’ brightening lives, maybe highs of 18 or 19. brightening lives, maybe highs of 18 or19. in brightening lives, maybe highs of 18 or 19. in the sunshine, that will deal quite pleasant. by the middle of the week, and influence of high pressure from the near continent. the south easterly flow will drag in this warmer air, something that we have not seen for quite some time. lots of sunshine in the south and east. rain moving further north, so

perhaps at around 14 or 16 degrees for scotland and northern ireland. i is to values on wednesday 23. on thursday, the weather cloud to the west. a fine day with light winds, lots of sunshine and warmth. highest values possibly for 25. enjoy. this is bbc world news. the headlines. the us says russian companies with ties to the syrian president will face sanctions. details of the measures will be announced on monday. hundreds of firefighters are tackling a large bushfire burning out of control in the southern suburbs of sydney. there are fears flying embers could spark new blazers. in montenegrin the clear favourite has won the presidential election. it is the first such pollutants the country joined nato. barbara bush is said to be in

failing health and is no longer seeking medical treatment, a statement from the office of her