it's in idlib province, which is one of the last rebel strongholds in syria.tal was overwhelmed by casualties. translation: all are wounded, some are dead, there are many suffocation cases. we couldn't enter khan sheikhoun city because of the intensive and systematic shelling. there doesn't seem to be much oxygen there, which could have saved more people. translation: i lost my son, my children, my neighbours, my daughter. they're all gone, i only have god left. this morning it looked just like their chemical attacks in 2013 near damascus. confronted with scenes just like these, president obama threatened military action and then pulled back when syria gave up its chemical weapons. if this latest mayhem was caused by a regime attack, it suggests some chemical weapons were held back. condemnation is coming in from around the world. i'm appalled by the reports that there's been a chemical weapons attack on a town south of idlib, allegedly by the syrian regime. we condemn the use of chemical weapons in all circumstances. if proven, this will be further evidence o

idlib is constantly under government attack.ways justifies its attacks by saying it is targeting terrorists but you know, there are lots of civilians in idlib and they are being constantly attack on the government and the fear that we are going to see another level in idlib, you know, of targeting civilians there. thank you very much for that update. the headlines on bbc news: north korea has made a failed attempt to launch a missile — as the us vice—president arrives in the region. theresa may urges unity over brexit, and speaks out for the role of christianity as she delivers her first easter message as prime minister. the evacuation of besieged towns in syria has resumed, following a suicide attack targeting evacuees. more than 100 people are now known to have died. sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's hugh woozencroft. good morning! there's been more success for great britain on the final day of cycling's world track championships. after winning two silvers already in hong kong, elinor barker

and idlib is constantly under government attack.always justifies its attacks by saying it is targeting terrorists but you know, there are lots of civilians in idlib and they have been constantly attacked by the government and the fear that we are going to see another level in idlib, you know, of targeting civilians there. thank you very much for that update. the pope has urged an end to conflict. in the vatican he spoke to ending the pain of the migrants and mentioned the bureaucracies that he said stood in the way of change. the number of people killed following the collapse of a rubbish dump in the sri lankan capital colombo has increased to 23. hopes are fading that anyone else will be found alive. a local resident told the bbc he believed another 20 people were still missing. tonnes of rubbish fell on to more than a hundred homes on friday after the dump became unstable following heavy rain. voting is under way today in turkey in a referendum that could grant sweeping new powers to president erdogan. if approved, the role of pri

and idlib is constantly under government attack.always justifies its attacks by saying it is targeting terrorists but you know, there are lots of civilians in idlib and they have been constantly attacked by the government and the fear that we are going to see another level in idlib, you know, off—targeting civilians there. thank you very much for that update. the number of people killed following the collapse of a rubbish dump in the sri lankan capital colombo has increased to 23. hopes are fading that anyone else will be found alive. a local resident told the bbc he believed another 20 people were still missing. tonnes of rubbish fell on to more than a hundred homes on friday after the dump became unstable following heavy rain. we will shortly bejoined we will shortly be joined by viewers of bbc one for an update on the headlines. before that. but first, tens of thousands of people across the united states have marched in more than a hundred cities this weekend to demand that president trump releases his tax returns, something he h

this is the town in idlib province, the town and the province held by the rebels.of the opposition that are evacuated not only from the stands yesterday but elsewhere, they are evacuated and it showed solidarity between both sides after the blast that happened where many children and women, mainly civilians, were targeted. we have seen evacuations happening from opposition activists and loyalists, helping women and children who were targeted. we describe it as an evacuation but it also seems to be a swa p evacuation but it also seems to be a swap of competence. people are going from a dangerous place but are they going anywhere safe? that's a very important question. for the loyalists to the government, that have been evacuated, around 5000 of them evacuated yesterday, between civilians and militants, going to safe areas because they are going to be under government control but for the opposition who left around 2200 mixed between civilians and militants, they are basically going to idlib, the rebel held area as i mentioned. idlib is constantly under government att

in a village, 30 miles south of idlib.he prime suspect is sarin, a nerve agent, 20 times more lethal than cyanide. people cannot breathe. they foam at the mouth, their faces go bright red and then white. and then they die. abu waseem, can you hear me? yes. surgeon david knott got in touch with a syrian colleague working in a hospital in idlib today, 30 miles north of where the attack took place. the syrian doctor treated ten patients who were struggling to breathe. we are looking at some photographs that were sent to me this morning from this town in idlib, which shows eight dead children — some of them are frothing at the mouth, some of them are in various contractures. i can see one boy whose arms are obviously flexed and extended and that is the position that he died in. what actually happens is that when the muscles work, they work in 1 degree and then they do not relax. when you take a deep breath in, you then cannot breathe out. the muscle goes into paralysis, and it stays like that. that is what you are seeing here.

. the rebel held province of it lip. —— in idlib. james, who —— in idlib. let's get more with our correspondent benjames, who is in beirut. we saw his report a short while ago. how difficult will it be to prove and to prove quickly precisely what substance has caused these deaths and injuries? it's extremely difficult. the notion of proof in syria is a tricky one because whenever one side says it's proved something, often the other side will deny it. we have seen these pictures activists have posted on facebook and elsewhere on social media of children who appear to have difficulty breathing, some foaming at the mouth. others are too graphic to show on tv with bodies appearing to show on tv with bodies appearing to be the victims of that attack. it's the political fallout of this, as well, that's being discussed. i'm reading a statement from boris johnson, talking of horrific reports of chemical weapons attack the idlib. this investigate must be investigated and people how to account. emily thornberry calling it barbaric. there have

in idlib province. the un security council will meet tomorrow in emergency session.port by our middle east editorjeremy bowen includes distressing images from the beginning. this boy was one of hundreds of victims of the attack. he is showing traffic symptoms of poisoning, perhaps by a military strength nerve agent. the victim's lungs were badly affected. rescue workers did what they could to decontaminate the victims, that includes removing clothes, or where the poison can linger, and by spraying fresh water. the attack happened in carroll, a place that has been heavily bombed by the regime and russians in the last few days. it lip province —— it is in idlib province. the hospital was overwhelmed by casualties. translation: all our wounded, some are dead, there are many suffocation cases. there was intended unsystematic shelling. there doesn't seem to be much oxygen there that could have saved more people. translation: there that could have saved more people. translationzli there that could have saved more people. translation: i lost my son, my children, my neighbou

amy: what do understand took place in idlib? >> it would seem about 6:30 in the morning, there was an airstrike in a town that resulted in hundreds of civilians, mostly children, i believe, about 50% of them, to exhibit signs of exposure to a nerve agent. so they were found to be either comatose, not breathing, foaming at the mouth, having spasms, vomiting. many were rushed to a nearby hospital, as well as an msf -based clinic that were also been hit by near strike. i believe the death toll now is about00 civilians, with 380 injured. amy: and who do you believe did it? >> as far as i'm concerned, there is -- it is committed by an airstrike communally the assad regime or the russian air force's have that capability. amy: let's go to the international rescue committee responding to the chemical attack in syria, calling it a breach of international humanitarian law. this is spokesperson oliver money. >> what we want to remind people of, the people paying the price of the civilians, the civilians are learning about who have been att

many children are among the dead and injured in idlib.out by a suicide bomber from kyrgyzstan. the prime minister says the government is preparing for all scenarios in its brexit negotiations, as a commons committee warns of the risk of not striking a deal. i'm confident that we can get a good deal with the european union. i'm confident notjust because that will be good for us but it will be good for them, as they have acknowledged. a man is sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping a woman with learning difficulties, who he held captive for eight years.

however, we can't say they've arrived into safety because idlib, rebel held in northern syria is cosyria is constantly under government bombardment and there are fears that it will be another aleppo in idlib because it's mainly held by the rebels. people being eventuated, we should be clear about this for people watching, is the people who have been actively involved in the fighting or is it also civilians? on both sides, you have the government—held towns, there are shia muslims loyal to president assad, 5000 civilians and militants loyal to president assad and in the south, 2200 people including civilians and some fighters, a mix of people in this deal that has been brokered by iran and russia. and this evacuation, many opposition look at it as demographic change because most of the sydney opposition are being moved to the north in idlib, one thing that happened yesterday after the attack that gives some light in this war is that gives some light in this war is that after the blast in the attack on civilians, you have seen people from both sides, opposition and loyalists, running

it's in idlib province, which is one of the last rebel strongholds in syria.pital was overwhelmed by casualties. translation: all are wounded, some are dead, there are many suffocation cases. we couldn't enter khan sheikhoun city because of the intensive and systematic shelling. there doesn't seem to be much oxygen there, which could have saved more people. translation: i lost my son, my children, my neighbours, my daughter. they're all gone, i only have god left. this morning it looked just like the chemical attacks in 2013 near damascus. confronted with scenes just like these, president 0bama threatened military action and then pulled back when syria gave up its chemical weapons. if this latest mayhem was caused by a regime attack, it suggests some chemical weapons were held back. condemnation is coming in from around the world. i'm appalled by the reports that there's been a chemical weapons attack on a town south of idlib, allegedly by the syrian regime. we condemn the use of chemical weapons in all circumstances. if proven, this will be further evidence o

we have had reaction from the white house on the chemical attack in idlib.t in syria. as far as the numbers are concerned, anything up to 100 are dead. the health ministerfor the anything up to 100 are dead. the health minister for the national coalition for syrian revolutionary and opposition forces says 60 people have been killed and 300 injured. it isa have been killed and 300 injured. it is a complicated and confusing picture. we will keep you in touch with developments on numbers throughout the evening. one more line from the house saying the heinous actions in syria are a consequence of the obama administration's weakness. that coming also from the white house spokesperson in this reaction to the attack in idlib province. more to come in the news at 5pm. this weekend some extraordinary acts by young people are being celebrated at the rotary young citizen awards in manchester. there are seven winners from across great britain and the republic of ireland, one of whom is a mohamed khalil from leeds. mohamed grew up in syria. he was forced to flee the coun

the attack took place in a town called khan sheikhun, which is on the road into idlib province. it is a place where there's been a lot of fighting. many as 19g, as airstrikes that have taken place at there. the attack is self them, the chemical attack, reports that it is a result of strikes from aircraft, others from jet fighters and others that it could be the strike caused by bomb like devices that would drop from helicopters. what is clear is that images coming out posted on social media and you can see a large number of bodies that seem completely otherwise untouched, casualties from many. what you can see is signs of very heavy foaming of the mouth and and some of the children even, bleeding from the mouth and at the nose. they say there are cases of vomiting and fainting. images from people who survived and taken to local clinics and in some of those photos and videos, you see doctors describing some of the pinpoint eyes, pinpoint pupils and nonresponsive. again, no signs of in other physical harm to them. with the exact number of people injured, a good chance that the fat

on the 4th of april in syria in the region of idlib.l substances applied and the consequence missile strike of us on the 7th of april. we have repeatedly expressed our assessment of this step and today we spoke about the necessity of a very thorough investigation of this incident which has become a subject of multiple speculations. the russian federation wants to address the organisation of the limitation of chemical weapons at the hague but it has all the authorities to in the cedate this investigation. we addressed our party ‘s attention to the statement of the syrian government and to send a group of independent inspectors for objective and impartial investigation of the situation both in idlib and at the airport that was subjected to missile strikes. we have seen the readiness and prepare it does of russia and america to support this investigation and we call on the united nations authorities and the chemical weapons authorities will be used. we want the united nations to accept the resolution that would not only investigate the inc

it happened in the rebel—held province of idlib, with the un saying the attack came from the air.linics struggled to cope with the injured. witnesses claim many of the victims were choking, fainting, or foaming at the mouth. what we understood, it was a chemical attack and it came from the air. the syrian and russian governments deny any involvement in what's being investigated as a war crime. we'll have the latest. also on the programme. russian investigators say the explosion on the st petersburg metro was the result of a suicide bombing. a man who sexually assaulted a woman with learning disabilities, keeping her a prisoner for eight years, has been jailed in northern ireland. new tax and benefits changes will affect millions, we'll have a special report. and the sieve that can make sea water, drinkable, and it's all down to the wonder material, graphene. coming up in sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, we'll look ahead tonight's premier league fixtures including manchester united's match against everton, asjose mourinho‘s team try to stay in touch with the top four. good

yesterday at 6am, i was south of idlib.to evacuate them. to secure them. so there were different cases, depending on the amount of gas they had inhaled, and where the rocket exploded. i saw many children sick and many children who had died. 20 children died approximately and 21 women. the rest were men. they were suffering from difficulties breathing, and they had specific signs, which was a constricted breathing. when we see the signs, it is serious. it is similar with the signs of sarin gas, nerve agent that produces severe secretions in the lungs. the patient suffocates because they are respiratory system is full of secretions. so we started to treat them based on these symptoms and we tried to find the antidote. after giving the antidote, there was a very good response, which made us think it was definitely sarin gas. abdul aziz ajini is the media officer at the opposition—run idlib health directorate. is it clear to you that this was sarin gas? well, when we first got information about the suspected chemical attack, we

then again up around idlib. there have been heavy strikes.ven large surface-to-surface missiles today. >> you left your post in protest to the obama administration's lack of attention. from your perspective, is this a valuable change in u.s. policy toward syria? >> it could be. as i said, i think assad with his russian -- will begin to test after a period of time, they will begin to test american resolve and the resolve of our allies, with us, and about helpful if secretary tillerson in russia next week can convince the russians that we are determined to, again the point driven home by ambassador to the united nations ni ckki haley. tillerson has to get the russians to understand that and, in turn, for the russians to lean on bashir al assad. >> tillerson has said in the past 24 hours there is something of a plan to remove president al assad. does the u.s. have the leverage now after this strike that it needs to push negotiations where, as you well know, have failed? they failed many times before despite the enormous, tireless efforts of secr

is conceivable, was it possible, that syrian forces could have launched that attack in idlib last week and have you been disappointed by vladimir putin's reactions and then? i think it is certainly possible but unlikely. i know they are doing investigations into that right now. i would like to think that they did not know, but certainly they could have. they were there. so we will find out. general mattis is looking into this with the entire white house group that does that kind of work. so it was very disappointing to see. but when you get on to the gasses, especially that form, it is vicious and violent. everyone that form, it is vicious and viole nt. everyone in that form, it is vicious and violent. everyone in this room has seen it all too many times in the past few days. young children dying, babies dying, fathers holding children in theirarms babies dying, fathers holding children in their arms that were dead, dead children. there cannot be a worse side and it should not be allowed. he is a butcher. —— sight. he isa allowed. he is a butcher. —— sight. he is a butcher. ithought al

mr spicer made the remarks during a press briefing about the recent sarin gas attack in idlib. russia is hardening its support for the assad regime — even with the us secretary of state in moscow for crisis talks. president putin has accused syrian rebels of setting up fake attacks to justify more american missile strikes. over 48 hours after the incident — the boss of united airlines has issued a full apology to the man who was dragged off a flight in chicago. his remarks follow a storm of media criticism and a drop in the compa ny‘s trading share—price. now for the latest financial news with aaron heslehurst and world business report. what does junk status do to you? south africas battered economy tries to recover from a double downgrade, but it won't be easy — especially trying to borrow money from its internationalfriends. and — all on board. yep, how a group of enterprising berliners, fed up with paying ever more for their daily train tickets clubbed together to crowd—fund their own train line. we're going to take a ride with them. welcome to world business report. i'm aar

province killed dozens held down in idlib province killed d oze ns of held down in idlib province killed dozens of people. we understand 59 ci’ews dozens of people. we understand 59 crews missiles hit the airfield, fired from two navy destroyers. we understand runways, aircraft and fuel points targeted. we believe russia was told the attack was on the way, which implies these are token strikes, if you will, is pacific contained response, rather —— but this remains to be seen. this is what president trump had to say just now. my fellow americans. on tuesday, the syrian dictator bashar al—assad launched a horrible chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians. using a deadly nerve agent, assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. it was a slow and brutal death for so many. even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. no child of god should ever suffer such horror. tonight i ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in syria from where the chemical attack was launched. it is in this vital national security interest of the united sta

, but first, the headlines on bbc newsroom live: an alleged poison gas attack on a town in syria‘s idlibpital where the victims were being treated. russian officials believe that a suicide bomber was behind yesterday‘s explosion on the st petersburg metro. the number of people who died has risen to 1a. detectives investigating the attack on a young asylum seeker in south including a 15 —year—old boy. the rapid growth in unsecured lending could endanger banks. the central bank said it is planning to take a closer look at the risks and assess if credit standards are slipping. 0nline fashion retailer asos reports growth of 38% in the six months to the end of february, thanks to a boost in internation sales. a weak pound since the eu referendum result has enabled the online fashion retailer to offer lower prices as exporting becomes cheaper. ‘free from‘ eating is changing the look of our shopping baskets, the category saw a whopping 36 % boost in sales in the past 12 months. more than half of us bought a ‘free from‘ product during the last three months, according to ka ntar world panel. .. i

, this is the province, idlib province, thatis is the province, idlib province, that is held by the rebels evacuated not only from these two towns but elsewhere, they are evacuated to. what happened yesterday has brought some solidarity to both sides after this blast were many children and women, mainly civilians and were targeted. we have seen evacuation happening from opposition activists as loyalists, who ran to rescue the children who were targeted. the iraqi military says that in fierce fighting with islamic state militants its forces have pushed deeper into the heart of the city of mosul. after weeks of near stalemate, troops and police launched an attack in the area of the old city, which has been an is bastion. the government forces say they managed to advance some 200 metres. the difficulty for government forces has been the area's narrow streets, which often make it impossible to deploy tanks and armoured vehicles. at least 20 migrants trying to reach europe have drowned off the coast of libya. the bodies were found during an operation by a maltese rescue vessel that was apparent

ederson some frontier, they have seen evidence of the chemical attack in the opposition held every other idlibn regime. —— opposition held area of. i think the kremlin will be leaning hard on assad to come clean on those chemical weapons. russia assad to come clean on those chemicalweapons. russia is embarrassed by what has happened, actually humiliated by what has happened, because remember russia was part of that accord in 2013 that was part of that accord in 2013 that was meant to eliminate all its chemical weapons. there was concern when rex tillerson was appointed about his previous close links to russia, could that give him some leverage? know, in fact the kremlin is quite surprised to see secretary tillerson talking pretty tough. he arrived in moscow today with strong endorsement from the g7, supporting the us cruise missile strikes on the syrian air base and strong support for assad to eliminate those chemical weapons. i think now vladimir putin will be seeing rex tillerson in a different light to what he did when he gave him a special award a few years ago. thank you for talking to us

missile strike on a syrian air base in response to the chemical weapons attack earlier this week in idlibvince. it is the first direct us military action against forces commanded by syria's president. the kremlin, which backs the assad regime, has condemned the move. the missile strike hit the shayrat airbase in the west of syria, north of the capital, damascus. six people are thought to have been killed, and the pentagon says aircraft and buildings were severely damaged. the strike was a direct response to the chemical attack believed to have been carried out by the syrian regime further north in the town of khan skeikhoun. ourfirst report comes from our correspondent in washington, david willis. it contains flashing images from the start. it was a decisive response from an administration that has often seemed disorganised and at times dysfunctional. a fusillade of tomahawk cruise missiles fired from us navy ships in the mediterranean, aimed at the syrian air base from which america says that deadly chemical weapons attack was launched earlier this week. a line—in—the—sand moment for the

i asked him what he thought had happened in idlib this week.ed is that a fabricated incident of the use of chemical weapons in khan sheikhoun was made, and at the end of the game, the united states has come at the request of terrorist groups in syria and bombarded a very important airport from which our planes go and attack daesh and jabhat al—nusra in its fight against terrorism. what happened to ignite sarin gas in khan sheikhoun this week? i think the terrorist groups have hidden these materials, and we have reported this to the united nations security council, and to the organisation on the prevention of chemical weapons, some time ago, and told them the terrorists groups, including daesh and jabhat al—nusra, are bringing in chemical materials the real story has not been yet confirmed because the whole area is under the control of a terrorist group. is it your contention, mr mekdad, that the syrian government has not used sarin gas or chlorine gas at any point in the conduct of this war? in my capacity, as the chairman of the syrian nationa

has dismissed reports that his forces carried out a chemical weapons attack on a rebel—held town in idlibnce last week. he says they invented the claims so they had an excuse to bomb a government airbase. speculation is growing that north korea may be ready to carry out its sixth nuclear test as soon as this weekend, to coincide with the country's most important national holiday — the anniversary of the birth of its founder kim il—sung. the lawyer for david dao, the passengerforcibly dragged off a united airlines plane earlier this week, says he's likely to sue the us carrier. now for the latest financial news with aaron heselhurst, and world business report. start your engines. it's a $2 trillion business that just keeps accelerating. but is the global car industry changing gear fast enough? we report from the new york auto show. plus, airb‘n‘burglary — the home rental giant says it's tightening security after users advertised their homes, which then got robbed. we have a special investigation. welcome to world business report. i'm aaron heslehurst. we have got that friday feeling which

many children are among the dead and injured in idlib. ambulance workers say they saw people choking in the street. there are calls for the un security council to hold an emergency meeting. also this lunchtime... russia says the attack on the st petersburg underground, which killed 1a people, was carried out by a suicide bomber from kyrgyzstan. the prime minister says the government is preparing for all scenarios in its brexit negotiations, as a commons committee warns of the risk of not striking a deal. i'm confident that we can get a good deal with the european union. i'm confident notjust because that will be good for us but it will be good for them, as they have acknowledged. a man is sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping a woman with learning difficulties, who he held captive for eight years. and also, a storm in an egg cup? the row between the church, the national trust and cadbury about the omission of the word easter from their egg hunts. and coming up in the sport on bbc news... the football association will ask sunderland b

sheikhoun in idlib province was hit by an air strike.me clear it was not a conventional attack. dozens of babies, children and adults were left choking and foaming at the mouth. and today, tests on some of those taken to hospital in turkey have proved it was a chemical attack. there's speculation it was the deadly nerve agent sarin. for us president donald trump, this was enough for him to make an abrupt u—turn on his comparatively lenient policy towards the syrian regime. when you kill innocent children, innocent babies, babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that is so lethal, that people were shocked to hear what gas it was, that crosses, many, many lines beyond a red line, many lines. these heinous actions by the assad regime cannot be tolerated. with hint try for that washington is now even considering military action, the syrian government has acted quickly to deny it used chemical weapons in khan sheikhoun. translation: our army has never used chemical weapons and will not use chemical weapons and will not use chemical weapons

military and officials intercepted between military and -- after last week's gas attacks in idlib. we are told the u.s. did not have prior knowledge of the attack and so far no intelligence intercepts show russian military or intelligence officials communicating about this chemical attack. >>> joining us to discuss the president's u-turn, live in washington this morning, i have to say when you get into the office of the presidency and you are sitting next to you know nato leaders and sitting next to the chinese president and your secretary of state is in russia, it is normal the conditions are different than on a campaign trail but this is pretty stunning, the things he ran on is he now running away from. >> reporter: that's right. the line we're getting from the white house is that circumstances change, so they're position is that he's not necessarily flip flopping or versing but adapting to what's on the ground. folks would say not really that much has changed except that donald trump has taken the seat at the white house and sort of more exposed to some of these issues. on syria

it happened in the rebel—held province of idlib, with the un saying the attack came from the air.we'll have the latest. also on the programme. russian investigators say the explosion on the st petersburg metro was the result of a suicide bombing. a man who sexually assaulted a woman with learning disabilities, keeping her a prisoner for eight years, has been jailed in northern ireland. new tax and benefits changes will affect millions, we'll have a special report.

nermeen: you have been in touch with people in khan sheikhun in idlib where the attack took place. what have they been telling you about what is needed there now? a you know, we are humanitarian organization. when these kinds of attacks happen, we go into emergency mode. we reach out to people on the ,round to see what they need what is missing from them on the ground, how we can alleviate their suffering and pain. this time, the response was very stark, very bleak, and they said, "nothing you can said will save us. nothing you can send will help us. all we need is your prayers." nermeen: how do you respond to what trump said that his attitude as a consequence of this attack, his position on assad and syria has changed? and speaking wednesday, he faulted obama for not enforcing his redline on chemical weapons, following the 2013 attack. trumka i i think t the obama administration had a great opportunity to solve this crisis a long time ago when he said the red line in the sand. when he d did not crossss that e after r making the threat, i thk that set us back a long ways, not only

we have the impression that we are seeing in a slow-motion -- a disaster we that will happen in idlib. we are afraid that the populations are being concentrated there, they are at a serious risk to their lives. aleppo has resulted in further radicalization of armored groups. hts,of the new formations, united a terrorist group with a number of other extremist armed groups. the presence of these groups in raisesnd western aleppo serious concerns for escalation of hostilities in those areas, which puts at risk the evacuees now leaving. you don't need a crystal ball to say that. isil has against resulted in the group losing control of a significant swath of territory. ground, let'soses not forget there are multiple parties contesting the same territory, which further puts civilians at risk. the commission continues to investigate allegations of weapons by parties to the conflict. we recently documented the use of chlorine in our last two reports. we are investigating sense the following day of this incident, the alleged use of sarin or s t killede substance tha many. this is our mandate t

as arwa says, we've seen this with the systematic destruction of virtually every government in idlib.> what do you think? >> i think the trump administration has an opportunity here. it's easy to turn around and blame the predecessor for the situation that you're in but are you going to look back on history and allow it to repeat itself or are you going to take actions? yes, syria is complicated and the russian factor has changed. the dynamics on the ground, to a certain degree. but there are pressure points that can be applied. there are negotiations that can be made at this stage and if the trump administration really wants to stand behind these kind of statements that it's putting out, there are other options to be explored, things that turkey, for example, like safe zones inside syria. >> yeah. thank you and, colonel, with all due respect, i hope you're wrong and that there are not many more of these and i hope the administration, to use arwa's words, uses this as an opportunity to do something. colonel, thank you and arwa thank you so much as well. i have ari flieischer who stand

giving them access to idlib province. it's not clear yet in the syrian government will agree to that, but there is indications that russia could go along with that resolution if the wording is right. that is what will unfold at the next several hours at the united nations following that initial meeting now taking place there. >> thank you so much, thank you kristen welker. as we await the photo opportunity with king abdullah and president trump, i want to bring in chris murphy who is on the foreign relations committee. so much happening on so many fronts. first of all, what we are just hearing about this chemical attack, we have been told by the obama white house, by secretary kerry, that one of the reasons to justify them not taking military action after the last chemical attack, the last major attack in 2013 is they reached than agreement with russia and they cleared syria. now we see major evidence of gas. >> russia did not live up to their agreement. if this was a ri sheem led attack, they violated an agreement. so th

these sort of air strikes are very much regular occurrence in particularly in idlib province. certainly, it's impossible to believe that this is not also some kind of a message, some kind of a retaliatory punishment to the people. although i should say one of the reasons that the death toll doesn't appear to be very high is possibly because the town is reportedly largely deserted. but i think more broadly speaking, ana, what we're seeing today from the assad regime is that they're trying to project a sense it's business as normal. they'll continue to bombard the opposition as they please. they haven't been cowed by the u.s. strikes on their base and of course, we heard from the air base the base that was struck by those u.s. missiles is again now open for operation, syrian jets are now flying from it once again. this shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone because the u.s. military wasn't trying to render that base unusable. what they were trying to do was a delivered specific response to the chemical attack and try to assure that the chemical weapons weren't used again

the strike is in response to syria's chemical attack in idlib on tuesday, which killed 86 people. >> tonight i ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in syria from where the chemical attack was launched. it is in this vital national security interest of the united states, to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. >> the pentagon says it striked positions. let's bring in brian. first, from the latest from the pentagon. and what's the damage assessment from the air strike. >> reporter: they don't have a formal damage assessment in yet. we're waiting to hear that. we're hearing what is targeted. aircraft were targeted. and aircraft tied to the regime. hangars, taxiway. they wanted to make the airfield no longer operational with the strikes. 59 tomahawk missiles coming down on to this airbase. they did it at a time of day that would minimize the casualties. there are russian personnel at the airfield. but they intepgs intentionally avoided striking areas where the russians are believed to be. and they communicated to the russians to inform them of th

a response to these allegations saying that there was an explosion at a poisonous gas facility in idlibnce but they're saying that it was a facility that was used by the rubbles and all those people that we've spoken to today, the accounts of eyewitnesss coming out from that town have indicated that this attack came from the air, that it was an air strike. we've spoken to doctors and medical workers who have also spoken to cnn today describing those really horrific and chaotic images, as you've seen in the images that have surfaced throughout the day that are so difficult to watch. some of those medical workers are also saying that the international community shares partly some of this blame here saying that if it wasn't for the silence and the inaction and that no one has been held accountable for these atrocities that keep being committed in syria and those red lines that are crossed over and over again saying that if it wasn't for that, we would not be seeing these attacks repeated time and time again, brooke. >> so how is the white house responding? let's move on to that piece out o

these were people coming from two villages, mainly shia villages in idlib province, which is largelyed in port is quite a complex deal, which has been tried before on a smaller scale, and again there were problems with that, with towns near damascus, they have been under control of rebel held forces for two years. government soldiers, officials are concerned about who was coming out of the rebel villages, the rebel towns. are the fighters, too many fighters, heidi coming with weapons they are not supposed to bring? that is why these people were essentially a sitting target. we are hearing from the other evacuees and from these two tones, from the people in charge of that, there are huge concerns that know they may be targeted in revenge, and i think we need to be concerned obviously about the horror of what has happened. we do not know who was responsible. one wonders who has most to gain from this and why they would do it. but also two things, can this deal continue, and they are up to 30,000 people from this area who were supposed to be moved from this area in coming days, this was

i would have seen that the syrian government will hit back hard at idlib, where the rebels are, essentiallyn over funding cuts in england's schools has been backed by the national union of teachers. the nut voted on the measure at its annual spring conference in cardiff today. it comes as a survey ofjust over 3,000 staff, carried out by the union, found that almost half of young teachers expect to quit the profession within five years. increasing paperwork, longer hours and concerns over mental health were just some of the reasons cited. there is a strong undercurrent to this four—day conference, and that is anger at what teachers perceive to be significant cuts to funding in england's schools. as you have just said, they have now balloted to increase the pressure on the government with further industrial action, and they have not ruled out the possibility of a one—day strike, a national protest against what they regard as significant funding cuts. they have had delegate after delegate after delegate talking this morning. one was a parent, a mother who described how, in her area, some schoo

translator: we are paying attention to syria and discussing the incident of the 4th of april, the idlibent, the place where chemical substances were used and then they are subsequent to u.s. missile strikes on the 7th of april. we, as you know, have put our point of view on a number of points. and we have insisted that this, today, that we have a very thorough investigation of all that, the russian federation has said that what we want to do is to apply to the opcw in haag that they have the full investigation and that we have drawn attention to the letter, which has been sent to syria and the u.n. about the ban on well call weap chemical weapons to make sure they pay attention to the investigators to carry out the impartial, unbiased investigation in idlib and at the airfield, which under -- mr. tillerson supports this kind of investigation. and he said that the powers will be taken immediately in order to do that. we shall attempt in the security council to approve a memorandum, which will not be so much about the investigation as to try and fix and identify the culprit. so we didn't

idlib is the place where there was the recent horrific alleged chemical attack.being killed. they are leaving what is a brutal siege but they are going to somewhere that is getting more and more dangerous by the day. save the children works with partners on the ground, you do not have your own staff there, but for every two villages where they say we can get you out, presumably there are others where youngsters are suffering and continue to suffer? there are. there are hundreds of thousands of people, about 600,000 people who are still under siege in areas across syria. in some of these places, such as a town near damascus, people have not had a therefore months and the situation has been getting worse and worse. there are about 4 million people across syria in some of the ha rd est to reach people across syria in some of the hardest to reach areas which have not seen a single convoy of aid this year. so the situation in a lot of places is still extremely serious. they are forcing people to move all the way across the country, that is not a solution to ending the