tonight at ten, syria's last—remaining rebel areas, now under heavy attack from president assad's forces, eight years after the start of the devastating civil war. assad's army is advancing, in a major offensive, backed by russian air power targetting idlib, northern hama, and western aleppo. the fighting has forced around 200,000 civilians from their homes, leading to warnings of a new humanitarian crisis. translation: aircrafts were bombing that day, at midnight a fighterjet bombed them and killed my son, his wife, his daughter and his son. we'll have the latest on the scale of the humanitarian problems in the region. also tonight... two years after the grenfell tower fire in west london, the government is to spend £200 million on replacing dangerous cladding

on privately—owned, high—rise buildings. as soon as i was aware of the context, i took it down! danny baker, one of the biggest names on bbc radio 5 live, has been sacked after posting a tweet about the royal baby, which led to accusations of racism. i love you. i don't want to do this any more. counting the cost of drug and alcohol abuse in hartlepool, where life expectancy is actually falling and treatment services have been cut. and arsenal striker again! and in tonight's football, arsenal have comfortably secured their place in the europa league final, but chelsea's game goes to extra time. and coming up on sportsday, we will have all the reaction from tonight's football and news from the british masters golf, where matthew jordan breaks the course record in southport.

good evening. eight years after syria was consumed by a bloody civil war, president assad's army is advancing in a major offensive backed by russian air power on the last big area of the still held by rebel forces. the fighting has forced around 200,000 civilians from their homes leading to warnings of a new humanitarian crisis. government forces are attacking the provinces of idlib, northern hama, and western aleppo, the rebels‘ last remaining strongholds. a takeover of some areas by extreme islamist fighters has led to the collapse of a recent ceasefire, as our middle east correspondent quentin somerville reports.

with barrel bombs and strikes, president bashar al—assad is clawing at the edges of cerro‘s last rebel province. this most indiscriminate of weapons has killed dozens in the last week alone, a deadly force has brought the war back to life. the tactics and terror are horribly familiar. but the options for the 3 million people in idlib have never been narrower. 0riente hospital was one of many targeted. the sick and injured forced out into the open. four months a deal between russia, its regime and turkey kept some kind of peace here. but the cracks are beginning to show. this family were asleep in their beds when their home was hit. they

found the bodies of the children first. two—year—old khadijah was the only one to survive. her father, her sister and baby brother died alongside their mother. four more lives lost to a war which has killed more than half a million syrians. khadijah‘s grandmother did my grandfather tells us only this girl survived. who else will look after her? we will take care of her. idlib is under the control of islamist extremists, some influenced by al-qaeda. damascus is it'll eradicate them all. british

jihadists are among their ranks. more than 100,000 people are already on the move. many of them have fled aleppo. now there is nowhere else to go so they take cover in olive groves and open fields. and, all the while, the government's offensive continues, the regime is farfrom done with idlib. and quentin is with me. what does this offensive represent for president bashar al—assad and his campaign? he is unquestionably on its way to victory and standing on its way to victory and standing on the way of that victory is idlib province. we don't think this is the last great push, we think you will move incrementally taking towns and villages. it will not be his victory alone. it was brought to him by russian air force and iranian—backed troops. when we travelled through syria, the towns and villages looked the same, incredible destruction caused by the free syrian army, the

regime, the islamic state. it is almost impossible to untangle it. full government control in syria and peace in syria still a long way away. many thanks. quentin somerville, our middle east correspondent. two years after the grenfell tower fire in west london, the government is to spend an estimated £200 million on the replacement of dangerous cladding on privately—owned, high—rise buildings. there had been growing concerns that individual leaseholders would have to pay for the work because some private landlords were not coming up with the money. but many fear the actual cost of removal will be much higher, as our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports. flats in this block in bromley can cost up to £300,000, but it's now a fire risk and that means having someone on duty to raise the alarm if the worst happens. hugely expensive, so the flat owners do it themselves. we are on waking watch duty, 24—7, and we have been doing this for a year and a half

to keep everybody safe. it will take seven minutes for the flames to reach the top. seven minutes for everyone to get out. this is the escape route for the ninth floor of the building. there's the fire door. and this is flammable cladding. it has got to go, the cost is £70,000 perflat. the building owner won't pay so they say the government has to. it'sjust impossible. the situation has come about because of a failure of government regulation, so it is right the government take responsibility. 166 private buildings need remedial work. some building owners have contributed. but the housing secretary said some others had been reckless. first and foremost, this fund is about public safety. it will allow remediation to happen quickly, it will restore peace of mind, and it will allow residents living in these blocks to get on with their lives. but look at the numbers.

the government is spending £200 million to make about 170 buildings safe. but here they have been told the bill could be £3.2 million. and, at other buildings, i've been told, the bill could be £5 million or even £10 million. today's money is just to sort out aluminium cladding. the government is about to start new tests similar to this on other materials. if they fail, the bill could go up. which is why, in manchester, katie had this reaction to the news. 0n the one hand, it is a good start, but ultimately i felt gutted. because she has been told her wooden cladding and the construction behind it all needs to be removed. it doesn't include us. this is essentially a cladding lottery, in terms of what our building has been covered in and we're not one of them. it's going to take months and even years to sort out, which is why, back in bromley,

flat owner luke will continue the unpaid waking watch, 21w. tom symonds, bbc news. danny baker, one of the best known presenters on bbc radio 5 live, has been sacked, after posting a tweet about prince harry and meghan‘s baby, which led to accusations of racism. the tweet showed a couple holding hands with a chimpanzee. 0ur correspondent david sillito has the story. ah, bbc...! as the press arrived at danny baker's house this morning, he opened the door to reveal he'd just been sacked. the conversation had not been cordial. i said bleep and bleep. so by mutual agreement, we terminated. the reason? this tweet. a vintage photograph of a couple, and we are not showing the full image, but between them was a chimpanzee dressed in a coat and a bowler hat and a reference to the royal baby. we take all those arguments on board...

danny baker says it was a mistake, he deleted the tweet, and it was not a comment on the duchess of sussex‘s african—american heritage. but many feel it was unforgivable, among them a fellow presenter on a 5 live podcast. when i saw it, i was shocked, genuinely shocked, disgusted. how someone thought that was acceptable is beyond me. we're going through a day and age at the minute in 2019 that unfortunately footballers are dealing with banana skins and bananas getting thrown on the pitches. both my brothers played football, and they had to deal with a lot of fans making monkey noises at them, and that was not that long ago. but still it's happening in 2019. and then for a picture like that to come out from somebody that has quite a lot of status, it wasjust beyond me, i was genuinely upset and just let down by it. the bbc said this was a serious error of judgement and goes against their values and danny baker will no longer be presenting his weekly show. however, the presenter says this was a grotesque error, and he claims he had no idea

which royal baby it was and who the parents were. i asked him again — did he really not know whose baby it was? no, i genuinely don't! the royal baby, archie, i put one joke up about underneath the arches... that's the thing, i know you have an incredulous look on your face, you simply wouldn't do that, would you, if somebody of colour had a baby? you wouldn't do that. are you the only person in the country who didn't know that she'd had a baby? plainly, the proof is in the pudding — i would not. and remember, he is an award—winning broadcaster on a national radio programme. his career at the bbc is over. david sillito, bbc news. the church of england has been accused of secrecy and of putting its own reputation above the needs of victims in a critical report into the way it dealt with the former bishop peter ball, who was convicted of abusing teenagers and young men in 2015. the report also said the actions of the prince of wales, who corresponded with ball

after he stood down as bishop of gloucester in 1992, were "misguided". in written evidence, prince charles said he had been "deceived". in a highly unusual move, a criminal hearing, involving the alleged serial rapist joseph mccann, had to be held at belmarsh top—securityjail after he refused to appear in court by video link from prison. joseph mccann is facing 21 counts involving eight alleged victims. as well as rape, the charges include kidnap and false imprisonment. police investigating the murder of the journalist lyra mckee in londonderry have arrested four people under anti—terrorism legislation. the 29—year—old was shot during rioting in the creggan area last month. those arrested are being questioned in custody at a police station in belfast. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, says the prime minister has yet to make what he called a "big offer" in cross—party brexit talks aimed

at ending the brexit deadlock at westminster. mr corbyn said negotiations were difficult because the government was in disarray. launching labour's european election campaign, mr corbyn said labour was more interested in uniting people than labelling them remainers or leavers. 0ur political editor, laura kuenssberg, has more details. brexit is a long and a strange journey. labour in kent today to launch a campaign for european elections that were never meant to happen, trying to impress all of us with a promise from jeremy corbyn he'd compromise to take us out of the eu. applause a vote for labour is a vote to bring our divided country back together. labour is the only party with a plan to unite our country and make it work for the many, not the few. calls for another referendum lurk here, though. jeremy corbyn‘s mention of the possibility raised a cheer.

cheering and applause and the chances of talks with the tories working out seem very faint. there's been no big offer, and the red lines remain in place. it's actually quite difficult negotiating with a disintegrating government. can you tell voters if labour is now definitely a brexit party, or could you still be a remain party? we triggered article 50, that was respecting the referendum, and, as you know, our manifesto includes an option of a public vote on the outcome. so labour mps backed brexit in the commons but might still offer another say. they love him here, but there are nerves about facing so many ways. i'm very disappointed in the kind of half—and—half attitude of the party. he is looking at what's important for the country, not what's important for... within the labour party.

he's looking at a wider picture. us remainers lost the vote, and they need to do what they were voted in to do and get us out of europe. jeremy corbyn says he can pull the whole country together, it shouldn't matter who was leave and who was remain. but that question is live and kicking in his own party and in the country. labour's careful compromise of ifs and buts on brexit might not find many friends at a time when so many voters are aching for something crystal clear. i think they have no strategy, they have no way forward, and i think they're just making mischief. go on, get on with it and work with what we've got, really. i think the labour party is sitting back, feeling, "we're glad we're not in the tories' position." what do you think about what is going on? it is a fiasco, a political fiasco. but whose fiasco?

yours to judge at the ballot box in two weeks' time. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, gillingham. life expectancy in the uk has been rising for decades, but in hartlepool, it's actually falling, and that's being blamed on high levels of poverty, along with alcohol and drug abuse. drug—related deaths in the town have risen sharply, while treatment services have seen big cuts. in his third report on how austerity is affecting hartlepool, our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan looks at the impact of drug deaths on the town. i look forward to seeing him, but i hope it's the last time he's in here. parents can show love in many different ways. tom and ros are off to collect their son from prison — again. this is the road leading up to the jail. this time, he got 16 weeks for shoplifting. all of terry's many offences are linked to his two—decade use of drugs.

i love you. i don't want to go through this any more, terry. i've been on them since i was 13, like started off as solvents and stuff, then tippex and all that, then expelled from school and itjust led up to class as, heroin, crack. i've got bad legs at the minute through injecting in my legs. i need to stop, really. terry's brother sean died in october. several drugs were found in his body — an insight into his own long—term problems. zopiclone, diazepam, morphine, pregabalin and alcohol. ijust wish i could see him walk through that door. sean was introduced to drugs by terry when they were both teenagers. initially unaware, their parents were powerless to stop the developing addiction that's cost them one son and may cost them another.

aren't we just numb? yeah. numb. it's the worst thing any parent can go through. it's horrible. it's broke my heart. he was my baby. 33 year old's no age. hartlepool has had an entrenched drug problem for decades — a product of poverty, unemployment and low aspirations. an abundance of abandoned properties allow users to inject discreetly. a blood—splattered ceiling here suggests a main vein was hit. this is it — the paraphernalia of an active drug den. in recent years, drug—related deaths have increased far faster in hartlepool than they have in england as a whole. i've never experienced such a high density of people dying. sincejust november,

i've lost eight people that i know. window—cleaning helps faye wright pay for a shrinking drug habit. the 29—year—old is cutting her use of heroin ahead of going to rehab in a few months. she knows she's lucky. spending on drug—treatment services has almost halved here since 2015. i think there should be more support out there. these people need not to bejudged. there is your minor few that do take advantage of the system, who aren't interested in getting clean, but i also know a really good majority who just need someone to say, "i'm here, there's something here for you, there's something to live for." in some areas of hartlepool, drug dealing is rife, while the use of skunk, a potent form of cannabis, is rising rapidly among teenagers. the local council say they've increased spending on early health and preventing drug misuse but acknowledge

much more can be done. this street‘s known for... basically your hard end, so heroin, crack... the decline has infuriated sue rowley, who has worked tirelessly for decades. they die, young people are dying every day. and we have to standi around and watch cos there's nothing we can do. so we're just waiting to help. so we thought this generation has lost out, so we thought this generation has lost out, if there's anyone left! back in town, we met a familiar face — terry, enjoying his freedom. i'm doing fine, yeah. it's a week later since we met you. yeah, and i'll tell the truth, i've had one go at crack but i went in and i told my mam straight away. what did she say? 0h, she wasn't happy, wasn't happy at all. i promised her, iswore on my brother's ashes i'm not going to take no more.

he later admitted he'd had more drugs — so many he'd ended up in hospital the night before. addiction is an illness, and it's killing a generation in the prime of their lives. michael buchanan, bbc news, hartlepool. in south africa, the african national congress is on course to retain power, with nearly two—thirds of results declared. but the anc is heading for its worst performance in its 25 years in government. 0ur africa editor, fergal keane, is in the capital pretoria. in your view, is this result for the anc likely to mean it will do things differently from now on? the anc has about 57% of the vote at the moment, and that is down 5% on the last election, and what significant is that support seems to have drifted to the economic freedom fighters, a radical party advocating the redistribution of wealth and the

expropriation of white land. it cyril likely to do that no, not with high unemployment and a stagnating economy, but his biggest battles be within the party. the anc lost support because of corruption under his predecessor, jacob zuma. many of his predecessor, jacob zuma. many of his allies still hold senior positions in the anc, and they would gladly see the back of cyril ramaphosa. due to nights results make his task any easier? i don't really think that they do. now, i've known him for 30 years, he's a steely fighter. let me tell you, he's going to need to be. fergal keane with the latest on the election in pretoria. the scottish national party also launched its european election campaign today, with an appeal to vote snp to stop brexit. the party leader, nicola sturgeon, accused the conservatives of treating the scottish parliament with contempt. she said the european elections were scotland's chance to make its voice heard, as our correspondent lorna gordon reports.

nicola sturgeon‘s core message on the european union has never wavered — scotland is a country which, she says, lies geographically on the edge of the eu but wants to remain at its heart. this is by far the most important european election in scotland's history. the party she leads, the snp, would like to see two referendums — another vote on europe and, if the country does leave, another on scottish independence. if people do vote for the snp in the european elections, do you see that as strengthening your case for independence for scotland? people who support independence certainly will want to vote snp to express that view, but my message to the people who don't support independence is if you don't want to see scotland continually ignored, if you don't want to see our interests disregarded and cast aside, and if you want to see scotland and indeed the whole of the uk stay within the european union, then vote snp. nicole sturgeon‘s argument that westminster politicians have ignored

scotland's interests for too long isn't new, but this vote is, she says, a golden opportunity to send a strong, unequivocal message that scotland is not in favour of brexit. so is this likely to whet the appetite of scottish voters? if i want to vote and vote for something like remain, then i could vote for the greens, i could vote kind of for labour maybe, but then i could also vote for the snp or the change uk party, i don't know. i would like the snp to win the day on that and for scotland to stay in europe. i always thought i wanted to be part of europe, but i'm split now, it's 50—50. they'll be hoping to change his mind with a campaign theme clear to all. lorna gordon, bbc news, edinburgh. football, and another tense night in europe with both chelsea and arsenal fighting for a place in the final of the europa league. arsenal took a two—goal lead to valencia and were able to build on that to qualify comfortably. but it's been a more

difficult night for chelsea, as our sports correspondent joe wilson reports. not everyone can win the champions league but don't worry, son, there is another trophy. it's there in green. make way for the europa league, english football's great opportunity for thursday. chelsea, in traditional blue, started this leg level with eintracht frankfurt. the german team were here to express themselves, though. that was all the encouragement their fans needed. if they bounced, well, eden hazard twirled. here, his vision and his movement, as so often, created chelsea's chance. it still needed to be finished, though. loftus—cheek! for chelsea's management, loftus—cheek could be a big player when hazard leaves. well, if he leaves. but in the here and now, the game is back on between chelsea's four defenders there was one luka jovi , and he knew exactly what he was doing.

he scored against chelsea again! 2—2 aggregate score, ties are never straightforward these days. well, not this week. frankfurt's goalkeeper had this shot covered and then almost didn't. as the match went to extra time, just the odd sign that chelsea's manager was feeling the strain. yeah, ithink yeah, i think i know how maurizio sarri feels, because we are still waiting for a winner at stamford bridge behind me, deep into the second half of extra time, still locked at 1—1, 2—2 on aggregate. arsenal were involved in the other semifinal of the europa league this evening, in valencia, and in spain they were convincing winners in the end, 4—2, thanks mainly to a hat—trick from aubameyang. so as we stand here at stamford bridge, the number of european football finalists stands at three, possibly four, huw. joe wilson with the latest at stamford bridge. newsnight

will be getting under way very shortly, on bbc one it is time for the news where you are. have a good night. hello, and welcome to sportsday,

i'm lizzie greenwood—hughes. the headlines tonight: aubameyang scores a hat—trick in valencia to help put arsenal through to the europa league final. but will chelsea join them for another all—english european final? they're playing extra time at home to eintracht frankfurt with the aggregate scores locked at 2—2 aggergate. and matthewjordan breaks the course record with a 9—under par opening round at the british masters golf. so, tonight's europa league matches may not have had dramatic comebacks of this week's champions league semi—finals, but they were both farfrom done deals with plenty of goals. chelsea's game is still on—going, more on that in a minute.

but arsenal are through to the europa league final after beating valencia 7—3 on aggregate. they'd taken a 3—1 home leg lead with them to spain, seeing off a spirited valencia who were far from a pushover. joe lynskey reports. in football this week and no gap in the school and has fell out of reach. from high in the sky, valencia had eyes of the latest combat. they trailed arsenal 3—1 from the first looking for a premier league size so fragile on the road, this was the worst start. valencia cutting the lead and raising the noise inside 12 minutes. but for all their worries in defence, this arsenal in the mood can outscore teams. this would become a night for their superstar strikers. first pierre—emerick aubameyang got a crucial away goal and then alexander like is that put the gunners in front bliss needed for to go through. they did manage one but with time running out, it was

slipping away. and as he spinach side chase the game, arsenal ran away with it. and nato struck again. —— arsenal. away with it. and nato struck again. -- arsenal. a stretches of the but for a nevada cat trip. this from marble we cover arsenal through the bruins were it all came together. a couple of minutes left in the moment the match adding to penalties and we are live to stamford bridge window a bit more. let's about totte n ha m. window a bit more. let's about tottenham. he was talking about spurs and liverpool after they had their comeback to make the champions league final. they will play that champions league final dye in the final dye champions league final in madrid on the 1st ofjune. they found themselves 3—0 down on aggregate to ajax, the same deficit liverpool had come back from 2a hours earlier against barcelona.