03/04/2017 BBC News at Ten

The Russian government says a terrorist attack has claimed

at least ten lives and injured dozens in St Petersburg.

It happened on the city's underground system, as a train

Officials quickly closed the entire underground network,

and an explosive device was found at a different station,

I was sitting next to a metal railing and I

Everyone was knocked in one direction by the blast.

We'll have the latest from St Petersburg,

Where some reports suggest a suicide bomber was responsible.

Talk of a military conflict over the future of Gibraltar

is dismissed by Downing Street, amid talk of getting

We will be working closely with the Gibraltar government, as we have

We will continue to do that to ensure we get

Following the savage beating of a young asylum seeker in

Croydon, four men and a woman have appeared in court.

The Football Association is investigating after Sunderland

manager David Moyes talked about slapping a female reporter.

That's certainly not the person who I am.

And why China is experiencing a baby boom, driven

Coming up in Sportsday later in the hour on BBC News:

A vote of confidence over three months

before the start of the Women's European Championship, England

At least ten people have died in a suspected suicide bombing

on the metro system in St Petersburg.

President Putin, who was in the city at the time,

said all causes, including terrorism, were being investigated.

The explosion happened in a train carriage as it travelled

Within minutes the entire network was closed

and police later found and defused a device at another station.

Our correspondent, Steve Rosenberg, is in St Petersberg with the latest.

2 million people use the Saint Petersburg Metro every day. This

city relies on this underground. Earlier today Metro train left the

station behind me, entered the tunnel and was rocked by an

explosion. The blast shocked not just the city but

this country as well. A woman shouting, are there any children? A

train carriage torn to shreds and a desperate effort to pull people from

the wreckage. From the safety of a passing train, a hint of the

devastation it is leaving behind. At least ten passengers were killed

today and dozens more wounded. The blast occurred in the tunnel but the

wrecked train sped on a managed to reach the next station but this was

the scene one stop behind, the platform filled with thick, choking

smoke and the stench of explosives. TRANSLATION: There was a huge bang,

it was deafening. Was sitting next to a metal railing I think it saved

my life. Everyone was knocked in one direction by the blast. Emergency

services were on the scene fast. From this underground Hell, the

wounded were helped to the service and to safety. Adding to physical

injuries was a deep sense of shock as to what happened. A spokesman for

Russia's and heat is an committee said the train had been blown up by

an unknown explosive device. Special unit of the security. Where being

dispatched. The Saint Petersburg Metro went into emergency lockdown.

All passengers evacuated. All stations closed and searched. Later

it was revealed an explosive device had been discovered at another Metro

station in Saint Petersburg. This one was made safe. It was

confirmation that today's explosion had been a deliberate attack.

Vladimir Putin was in Saint Petersburg today. His meeting with

another president overshadowed by the tragedy across town. The police

and special services would do all they could to find the cause of what

happened, President Putin said. And he promised support to the families

of the victims. Russia says this was an act of terror. You carried it

out? Russia made enemies with its bombing campaign in Syria. In recent

years, the country has been targeted by Islamist terrorists. In 2015, a

plane carrying Russian holiday-makers was blown up over

Sinai, killing 217 passengers and crew for the so-called Islamic State

said it planted the bomb. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin,

visited the Metro station whether bond train had ended its journey and

paid his respects. For victims of this attack Saint Petersburg

declared three days of mourning. The Metro is alive blood of this city.

This has left people here fearing more violence. -- the life

blood. That you Putin has been meeting security officials here in

Saint Petersburg as the investigation gets under way.

Tonight there are reports in Russian media that this attack may have been

carried out by a suicide bomber. I can confirm that security has been

tightened in Saint Petersburg and across Russia tonight. Thank you

again. Our security correspondent,

Frank Gardner, is here. Frank, are there any

more indications tonight Can you shed more light on the

picture? There are two macro groups. Terrorism from the Caucasus or

international terrorism from Syria. One report has put the number of

Russian nationals who have gone to fight in Syria up to 7000. Some have

been killed, some have stayed and some have come home. Russia has

already been fighting two wars in the North Caucasus. It has reduced

that to a simmering status. People are angry. A lot of the fear

fiercest fighters who have joined so-called Islamic State have come

from the North Caucasus bout with the latter is where the focus of the

F X -- FSB's attentions have been focused. They are the successes of

the KGB for that they had been looking at the evidence and parental

residue, examining the bomb and questioning suspects and looking at

CCTV. They have been commendably reticent, and name the suspect that

those are the areas they are looking at.

The Prime Minister has dismissed suggestions

of a possible military conflict between Britain and Spain,

Yesterday, the former Conservative leader Michael Howard drew parallels

with the battle over the Falklands in 1982.

It follows a suggestion by the EU that any Brexit deal will apply

Theresa May was speaking on a visit to the Middle East.

Our deputy political editor John Pienaar is travelling with her.

Theresa May is out to show Britain will still be a big, global

Standing by friends, old allies like Jordan,

She came here with promises of military training but today

she also had to scotch any suggestion those enemies

might include Spain - which claims Gibraltar as its own.

Negotiation, not war, was the answer.

We are focusing on talking with the rest of the EU,

starting the formal negotiations, and ensuring that, at the end

of those negotiations, we see a result that will be

in the interests of the UK and in the interests of Gibraltar.

Actually I think it will be in the interests

of the 27 member states of the European Union as well.

Being the face of British power is serious work but Mrs May had

laughed out loud earlier when reporters asked her to rule out

Another Prime Minister, Churchill, famously preferred

But Gibraltar, famous ape population and all, has been coveted

The rock's freedom to levy lower taxes is resented by Madrid,

which wants a say in Gibraltar's future after Brexit,

not if those in charge now have any say in it.

Gibraltar is not a bargaining chip in these negotiations.

Gibraltar belongs to the Gibraltarians

Nobody is going to gut our soul by taking away our British sovereignty.

The row over the rock is another Brexit complication.

Every EU state has to approve the Brexit deal but Spain was taken

aback after a senior Tory compared the row to the Falklands

TRANSLATION: It is obvious that in this case -

Europe and Gibraltar - the traditional, British phlegm has

Today, Theresa May calmed the tone of a dispute

The notion of a war with Spain was always wildly implausible

but that dispute goes on and Britain will need all the goodwill

it can get if it is to get a good deal on Brexit.

The mission of developing relations outside the European Union is vital.

The Prime Minister will carry on with that mission tomorrow.

There will be more cash to help Jordan's rulers to cope with a

massive influx of refugees fleeing Syria. The next stop is Saudi

Arabia. It has a human rights record that makes for a far less

comfortable relationship. As Mrs May heads tonight

to Saudi Arabia, a senior Saudi general has defended his country's

actions in the brutal Major-General Ahmed al-Asiri told

the BBC that lessons had been learned, where civilian

casualties had been inflicted. The fighting in Yemen has

claimed more than 10,000, and displaced more than

three million people. In March 2015, a Saudi-led

coalition, supported by the US and the UK,

intervened against Houthi rebels, The prolonged fighting has led

to a humanitarian crisis. The Saudi general was speaking

to our correspondent Nawal Al Maghafi, who's travelled

widely in Yemen during the war, These are the faces of Yemen's star

thing children. An aerial and naval blockade imposed by the Saudi

coalition under who the rebels slowing down the distribution of aid

has meant the hungry here have seen no relief. All five cranes have been

destroyed and food is trickling in. Leading a government campaign in

Yemen is this general Brigadier. We want to know by cranes that could be

providing life-saving aid and fuel for the Yemeni people have been sent

back. We do not want the Houthis to generate money by smuggling women.

There is no starvation in the area controlled by the Government will

you should have the other international committee interest to

see this war end. If we continue to sustain the militias with fuel and

money and the women, they will not come to the table for negotiation.

The Saudi led coalition has been accused by human rights groups of

using clustered -- cluster bombs. The UK side are treaty to stop the

use of its cluster munitions. Until recently, the Saudi government had

repeatedly denied using cluster bombs at all. I want to know why it

took so long to tell the truth. Let me tell you something. Is it a

chemical weapon? No, it isn't. It is manufactured by different countries.

It is bound to use cluster munitions in civilian areas. It is bound by

international law. You are giving the wrong information. You are

allowed to use cluster bombs on farmland? There is no military ill

effect used. You did lose it. Vella macro no, no. Since the war in Yemen

began, the UK has sold ?3 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia.

Pressure on the British government is and human rights groups calling

for the transfer of weapons to be suspended. We signed a contract to a

country to country. We pay money. It goes in the UK economy and we

enhance our military capability. The perception that people have that the

UK gives us free weapons, no. If the UK decides tomorrow to stop selling

weapons to the kingdom, we will find another supplier. Two years into

this war, neither side has made concessions. For the people of

Yemen, the suffering continues. Live to Amman in Jordan,

and John Pienaar is there. The Prime Minister heading to Saudi

Arabia but she's been talking about the conflict in Yemen. What has she

been saying? This has been an often uncomfortable relationship for

successive British leaders over decades. Now the famine continues in

Yemen, the number of casualties continue to rise and Theresa May

sees this relationship, among others, as being so important to

Britain's relationship and punching power in the world after Brexit.

She's been arguing here that Britain relies on intelligence from Saudi

Arabia, that it saved British lives, that Britain donated money to

humanitarian relief in Yemen. But those are not satisfied you say it

makes most sense to support a blockade and seek to relieve the

suffering it causes at the same time. Others say Britain is selling

its principles for profit. Thank you. John penile, travelling with

the Prime Minister and in Jordan Smiler.

Four men and a woman have appeared in court,

charged in connection with an attack on a teenage asylum seeker

This evening, two more people have been charged.

Seven people, who have been arrested, remain in custody.

Police say up to 30 people were involved

Reker Ahmed, who is 17 and a Kurdish Iranian,

suffered a fractured spine, a fractured eye socket

Our home affairs correspondent, Tom Symonds, has the story.

The suspects all live close to where the attack

Police have asked us not to show their faces.

Daryl and Danyelle Davis, Barry Potts, Jack and George Walder,

appeared in court charged with violent disorder.

Jack Walder alone with racially aggravated wounding.

A group of up to 30, allegedly confronted two

young asylum seekers - a third waiting at a bus stop

was dragged in and police said what followed was

So there's been an incident outside the pub, they have obviously

And there was no reason for this attack.

And I believe that because of the numbers involved,

people have just jumped on the back of it, and this has turned into this

violent brawl, where somebody has been viciously beaten and is very

This is where the attack ended, leaving Reker Ahmed bleeding in

Police said that neighbours did come and help.

Of his pursuers, they said some did not strike any

blows but equally they did nothing to stop it happening.

Police have gathered CCTV footage and released pictures of two more

16 have now been arrested and this evening two more people charged.

There is a constant police presence here and an air of tension.

A brief look at some of the day's other news stories now. The driver

admitted killing the death of two young cousins by dangerous driving.

They were killed as they cross the road in old on New Year's Eve. Train

drivers have narrowly rejected the deal to resolve the long-running

dispute with Southern Railway. It's the second time Aslef members have

voted against the recommendations of their own union leaders. Both sides

said they will resume talks. Aslef says it will not be calling more

strikes. Shares in a British company,

Imagination Technologies, have plunged in value,

after its biggest customer, Apple, said it would end

a deal to use its products Apple's phones, laptops and watches

all contain computer chips designed by Imagination,

but the US giant says it wants to develop its own versions

of the technology. Officials in Colombia have started

to release the bodies of some of the victims of the weekend

flooding and landslides More than 250 people are now

confirmed to have died Many families spent all night

digging through the debris Residents are still without

water and electricity. Our correspondent Laura

Bicker is at the scene. Laura the rescue operation

is continuing, but what's With every passing hour the hopes of

finding someone alive is incredibly slim. You mentioned the rescue

effort. Rescuers have been working with people here in Mocoa, sometimes

with their bare hands, wading through the torrents to try and find

everyone left alive. There are still 100 people who are unaccounted for.

Meanwhile, the process of trying to identify those who have been found

has started. As we were coming into the town, there was a huge queue

outside the cemetery, almost a mile long, as they wait to go in and

perhaps look for someone that they have lost. The first of the funerals

has also happened, just within the last few moments. There was a

funeral procession around the square, very silent procession that

went with their heads bowed. A single flower in each hand. This, as

they are coming to terms with the death, there is another threat on

the horizon, and that is disease. President Santos is coming here in

the next few minutes, and trying to hand out sanitation kits, to try and

prevent any outbreaks after this catastrophe. Laura, thank you for

the update. Laura Bicker with the latest on the situation in Colombia.

Disabled people are still being treated

like second-class citizens, according to a report

by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

It says that although laws were introduced 20 years ago

banning discrimination, life chances for disabled

people remain very poor and public attitudes

Our disabilities correspondent Nikki Fox reports.

Chantelle has to take each day as it comes.

14 years ago, she owned a house and ran her own successful business.

But everything changed when her son, Harry, was born.

Harry has multiple life-limiting conditions.

He needed two liver transplants as a baby.

Single mum Chantelle feels she isn't receiving enough support to make

I cashed in the last of my pension pot five years ago,

to get replacement equipment I needed for Harry.

The wheelchairs, stairlift, specialist buggies.

And now he's come to the point where all of that needs replacing.

I now have debts which I'll never be able to clear,

And with reforms to Social Security, charities have warned the changes

have hit disabled people the hardest, and impacted

on their independence and standard of living.

The report takes an in depth look at what it's like to be

It shows that disabled people are significantly more likely to go

without the very basics - with many having to turn to food

In the UK, nearly 20% of disabled people can't

afford a nutritious diet, compared to 7% of the rest

And almost 60% of British families with a disabled child struggle

to pay for the essentials - like food, rent and heating -

compared with an average deprivation rate of 20%.

The lack of support and services available to families to help care

for their disabled child can make it very difficult for them

to balance their caring responsibilities with holding

On the other hand, the additional costs associated with raising

a disabled child can be significantly higher.

Those disadvantages are being experienced

right across the board, from education, to health

Everybody assumes that the Disability Discrimination Act

But there's been a missed opportunity in relation

to making progress since that period 20 years ago.

And, I think, in many ways, progress has either stalled or,

The Government says it is committed to ensuring that a disability

or health condition should not dictate the path a person

It says it's proud of the work it does to support people with

What's your dream for the future, Chantelle?

For me, just to be able to say I've got the freedom to be able to go out

The commission says society needs to stop ignoring the rights

of disabled people, so that Britain can be a fair and inclusive country.

President Trump has said the United States will

"solve" the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear programme.

In an interview with the Financial Times,

the President said the US would act alone if China wouldn't intervene.

He made his comments ahead of a visit to the US by the Chinese

Our North America Editor Jon Sopel joins us from Washington -

What does this tell us about the President's approach to this

upcoming visit? For all the talk of surveillance and

phone tapping and wiretaps and Russia, this is the major strategic,

national security issue, at least as far as this White House is

concerned. What to do about North Korea and their growing ability, it

seems, to launch a nuclear missile that could hit the west Coast of

America. Eight years ago Barack Obama, he launched a very similar

attempt to try to get the Chinese on board. He said and a mystery in

secret to Beijing to speak to the Chinese leadership. Donald Trump is

doing the same thing but rather more loudly. It's worth reading what he

had to say. He said China has great influence over North Korea and China

will decide to help us or they won't. If they do it will be very

good, and if they don't it will be very bad for everyone. What Donald

Trump hasn't spelled-out is what that might be, but a military option

has not been taken off the table and I think that is an attempt to say to

the Chinese, you could have military action with all the instability that

would bring, or you could help us do something to rein in North Korea.

Thank you very much. David Moyes, the manager

of Sunderland Football Club, says he deeply regrets threatening

to "slap" a female reporter The comment was made to BBC

5 Live's Vicki Sparks Both the club and the BBC say

the matter has been resolved, but there have been calls

for the Football Association Our sports news correspondent

Richard Conway has the story. It was a routine post match

question and answer, following Sunderland's

draw against Burnley. And the owner, Ellis

Short, was here today. Does it put any extra pressure

on you as a manager, when you know the owner's

in the stands, watching on? That's brilliant,

thank you very much. Just getting a wee bit

naughty at the end there, You still might get a slap,

even though you're a woman. Today, David Moyes apologised,

having already said sorry to the BBC's reporter Vicki Sparkes,

who did not make a complaint and did not want to speak

further about the incident. It was in the heat of the moment,

and I deeply regret It's certainly not

the person who I am, David Moyes had hoped his apology

would mark the end of this matter, but the FA here at Wembley say

they are going to write to him to ask for his observations,

and it comes amidst calls for action Someone has to step

in and take some action. Of course, football's very

passionate, but people have to learn that this

behaviour's not acceptable. The Shadow Sports Minister,

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, labelled However some on social media,

believing the words were said in jest, called for restraint

in any condemnation. Bottom of the table,

Sunderland's season has been defined by failure; an FA inquiry

into their manager is, then, an unwanted distraction,

as they try to avoid the drop. It's been just over a year

since China abandoned its controversial one-child policy,

because of concerns about its increasingly elderly

population, and the decline It appears to be having

the desired effect, with nearly That's an increase

of nearly 8% on 2015 - the last year before

the policy changed. And nearly half of those births

were to mothers who already As our China editor

Carrie Gracie reports, there has been a notable

rush of older mothers who had stored their embryos

after fertility treatment Heartbeat of an imminent arrival,

a last ultrasound scan She had her first child through

fertility treatment - 16 years ago. The hospital kept her frozen

embryos, and now that China's one child policy has become a two child

policy, she's about to have her She's got a daughter already

and would be happy with another, A two child family is still a great

novelty here, so a big fuss Especially as this miracle

was conceived here in a petri dish, and frozen as an embryo for years,

until China's policy changed and she could become

somebody's little sister. TRANSLATION: As soon as I heard

about the policy change, My second child had been

frozen there for too long. This lady is desperate

to have a second child, but there are questions over

whether her embryos are viable. TRANSLATION: I only have three

embryos left and the doctor says one is good, one is average and one

is poor, but I'm staying optimistic. I hope heaven will

give me this gift. Many of them second children,

after last year's policy change. Older mothers with fertility

problems are now suddenly at an advantage, because they have

frozen embryos to fall back on, Back home and getting ready

for the new arrival. Baby clothes from the first time

round, 16 years ago. Hospital bag ready for the birth,

and she's already decided if the two child policy becomes

a three child policy, More on the BBC News Channel

throughout the