04/04/2017 BBC News at Ten

The Syrian government is accused of mounting a chemical attack,

killing dozens of civilians - including children.

Some are calling it a war crime by the Assad regime.

The attack was focused on a rebel-held town

What we understood, it was a chemical attack

Local reports say a hospital treating the victims

The events have provoked strong criticism around the world.

If proven, this will be further evidence of the barbarism

But Syria and its Russian allies deny any responsibility.

The UN Security Council will meet in emergency session tomorrow.

In St Petersburg, tributes to the 14 killed in yesterday's bomb attack

People are often angry, but that doesn't make them anti-Semitic.

Ken Livingstone is suspended from the Labour Party for another

year for controversial comments about Adolf Hitler and Zionism.

20 years after Diana launched her campaign against land mines,

her younger son steps forward to take on the work.

The sooner we are able to clear all remaining landmines,

the less chance there is of innocent lives being lost or changed forever.

And - the wonders of graphene, the British invention that

And coming up in Sportsday later in the hour on BBC News,

we'll have the results from tonight's four Premier League

games, including Manchester United's match at home to Everton.

There are many children among the victims

of a suspected chemical weapons attack on a town in Syria.

At least 58 people were killed and hundreds injured.

The Prime Minister, Theresa May, described it as an act of barbarism.

The White House said it was certain that the Assad

Both Syria and its Russian allies have denied any involvement.

The attack was focused on the rebel-held town

The UN Security Council will meet tomorrow in emergency session.

This report by our Middle East editor Jeremy 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: I lost my son, my children, my neighbours, my

daughter. They are all gone, I only have God left.

This morning it looked just like their chemical attacks in 2013 near

Damascus. Confronted with seems just like this 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 of the

barbarism of the Syrian regime. We have understood it was a chemical

attack and it came from the air. We will be stimulating all those who

have the capacity of finding out technically what happened. President

Assad's regime has denied it launched the attack, but if that's

not true, what's in it for them? This Idlib is one of the last rebel

strongholds in Syria. Perhaps someone in the regime thought it was

time to increase the pressure. President Assad's regime is much

stronger than it was when the last big chemical attack happened in

2013. Perhaps the way the president faced down American threats back

then makes him think he can get away with it again.

When local activists were still reporting what happened, the

hospital was hit by air strikes. Jerry Smith supervise the removal of

the Syrian weapons arsenal after the 2013 attack. Everything they

declared left the country, we can absolutely guarantee that. The issue

then becomes, is this new stuff? If it is indeed a warfare agent. Or is

it undeclared? What's happened in Khan Sheikhoun

shows once again that the Syrian war is far from over and the long list

of war crimes committed in this war has another entry. Jeremy Bowen, BBC

News. In a moment we'll speak to Jeremy,

but first let's join Jon Sopel, our North America editor,

who's at the White House tonight. This very confident assertion by the

White House that the Assad regime is responsible... Is that likely to

lead to any action? The simple answer to that is we don't know. The

White House said it was a reprehensible act and that the

civilised world must act against it. There has also been condemnation

from President Trump of Barack Obama. The statement went on to say,

these Venus actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of

the last administration's weakness and he resolution. You will remember

Barack Obama said that a red line would be the use of chemical

weapons. Chemical weapons were used and he didn't do anything about it.

In no small part down to parliament having also voted to reject it

before he was about to make a decision here in the United States.

But in answer to your question, Donald Trump hasn't said there is a

red line over which we will do X while Z. He has pulled back from

Saint Bashar al-Assad must stand down as the Syrian leader. It has

all be made more computer aided by his relationship with Russia. This

time yesterday he was on the phone to Vladimir Putin saying, offering

condolences for the St Petersburg terrorist attack and saying, we must

stand united in the face of terror. But look what happened. You have a

situation where the Assad regime may have done this and Russia is

assisting the Syrian regime. How do you stand united in that situation?

Many thanks. Jeremy Zuttah with me. -- is with me. I suppose the

question is is president Assad making an assumption he can get away

with it, if he has done a question mark is allegations, we haven't got

proof circumstantial evidence points in that attempt direction. If it was

an error attack, regime planes and Russian planes were in the air at

that time. Yes, they have been here before. 2013I was in Damascus, and

along with the rest of the population there I was essentially

waiting to be bombed. It didn't happen. After that I felt the regime

was reinvigorated, it was almost like they felt they'd stared Barack

Obama down and he'd blinked first. And once the Americans had

threatened and then not taken it through, I felt the regime was more

confident and felt stronger after that. It could well be that they

simply think that this is an option they've got, they will use it, the

world didn't do anything last time, maybe the world won't do anything

last time. And if they do what do something, they also have big

friends in their corner of the ring as well, particularly President

Putin. Jeremy, thank you. Our Middle East editor,

Jeremy Bowen, there. In Russia, investigators have named

the man they suspect of carrying out the bomb attack on a metro train

in St Petersburg yesterday. They say Akbarzhon Jalilov,

who was 22, was a Russian citizen originally from Kyrgyzstan

in central Asia. Investigators say he detonated

a device that killed 14 people They also believe he left a second

bomb at another station. Our correspondent Steve

Rosenberg has the latest. This is what chaos looks like,

underground. This mobile phone footage was shot seconds after the

bomb. There is a mad scramble to get out of the train alive.

Smash it, break it down, says a voice. Some passengers were helped

to safety. Give me your hand... At that moment someone cries, mum,

mum. The injured are pulled away.

This man was on the train, one carriage down. TRANSLATION: There

was a flash, then panic. People screaming, crying. At moments like

this, you think about your parents. How will they live without you? When

I got out of the carriage, I could hardly stand. I was in shock, I was

shaking. I saw blood, body parts, a horrifying scene.

And here's the station today, wreckage cleared, service back. St

Petersburg trying to be normal. It is astonishing how quickly a

scene of chaos and carnage can be replaced by an air of normality. As

you can see, the Metro is up and running again today. But look over

here and you see a reminder of yesterday's drama.

People are normally rushing by in the metro, not today. Some here said

prayers for the dead. But returning to normal isn't easy. More metro

stations were shut today because of bomb threats. One hero from this

tragedy is the driver of the bombed train, for keeping calm and not

stopping in the tunnel. TRANSLATION: I was just doing my job.

Russian investigators now say that yesterday's attack on the train was

carried out by 22-year-old man from Central Asia, who'd been living in

St Petersburg. They are searching for clues to explain why. That's a

question that people of St Petersburg are asking. This has been

a day of mourning here, a day for paying respects to the victims, to

the passengers of a Metro train who never made it home. Steve Rosenberg,

BBC News, St Petersburg. Ken Livingstone, the

former mayor of London, has been suspended from

the Labour Party for two years, for asserting that Hitler

supported Zionism. He has already served one

year of the suspension. The National Executive

Committee found him guilty Speaking after the decision

was announced this evening, Mr Livingstone said no one should be

suspended for stating the truth. Some Labour MPs said

he should have been expelled, as our political correspondent

Alex Forsyth reports. Waiting to hear the fate of one over

Labour's biggest figures. In here, a disciplinary panel decided. Ken

Livingstone did bring the party into disrepute, but he's not been booted

out. Still a member but he's been suspended for a year from holding

office or representing the party. What's your reaction? I expected

them to expel meats, so I've now got to consider whether I challenge this

legally or just live with it. -- expel me. Comments made on a BBC

interview last year started the controversy. While defending a

colleague allegations accusations of anti-Semitism, Ken Livingstone said

this... When Hitler won his election in 1932 it was that the dues should

be moved to Israel. He was supporting Zionism before he went

mad and ended up killing 6 million Jewish people. Some Labour

colleagues were furious, accusing him of anti-Semitism. Divisions

again laid bare, with some supporting him. Everybody in the

Labour Party, and particularly Democrats throughout the country,

should read resist the attempt to have free speech on Israel closed

down in the Labour Party. Debate is the essence of democracy. And again

tonight Mr Livingstone stood by his comments.

I know you've consistently said you are not anti-Semitic, but do you

recognise the offence your comments have caused this?

He said they'd been misreported and used to undermine Labour's

leadership. D chairman of the board of Jewish people said for me to have

said Hitler was a Zionism is deeply offensive... He believed it. That

was seven weeks after what I said. And even then he didn't know. This

is what's so wrong about the fake news and the rubbish level of our

media these days. Do your comments have helped Labour's cause? Anything

that tells people the truth, helps. Ken Livingstone's comments fuelled a

wider row about the Labour Party and anti-Semitism. Jeremy Corbyn was

accused by some are failing to do enough to stamp it out. That's

something he has consistently denied this, insisting there is no place

for anti-Semitism within the Labour Party. But some think this decision,

a partial suspension not an expulsion, sends a different

message. It sounds like some kind of revolving door system, where you are

OK to revise the history of the Holocaust, cause pain and anguish to

Holocaust survivors, said quietly for 12 months and re-emerge as a

political figure. They should have shown Ken Livingstone the door

because if they had done, that would have been a golden opportunity for

the Labour Party and its leadership to send a clear message that Labour

is genuinely opposed anti-Semitism. So his immediate future may be

decided but the debate rumbles on foot up to my's decision is unlikely

to end what's been a difficult and divisive issue for Labour. Alex

Forsyth, BBC News, Westminster. A couple from Craigavon,

in County Armagh, have been jailed for holding a woman captive

for years and sexually abusing her. Keith Baker was sentenced

to 15 years, his wife The police officer who led

the investigation described it as the "most depraved crime" that

he'd ever encountered. The worst-polluting cars could be

forced to pay up to ?24 a day to drive in central London under

plans outlined by the The new charge will come into effect

in 2019 and will cover the same area It will apply to diesel cars over

four years old in 2019 and to petrol cars more than 13 years

old at that time. In Colombia, the first funerals have

been held for the victims of the devastating landslide

which happened on Saturday. At least 260 people were killed

when a wave of mud destroyed an extensive area in the south-west

of the country. The President has declared

an "economic, social He spent the night

in the town of Mocoa, Our correspondent, Laura Bicker,

is there and sent this report. In Mocoa they are finding

their missing, but after days of desperate searching,

there are no comforting reunions. Those who have survived pick

through the remaining possessions. This man has lost family

and friends, but he saved many lives in the worst hit neighbourhood

of San Miguel with just TRANSLATION: I was the only one

who had a flashlight. The darkness was everywhere

and people everywhere were shouting/ I tried to shine light

on them, when they shouted, They're doing all they can to try

to reclaim their homes from the mud. The people who settled

here were already displaced after years of conflict and now,

once again, they have nowhere to go. Columbia has endured 52 years of war

and now its president says they must prepare for another battle,

one against a changing climate. He believes warmer and wetter

conditions are on the increase and he says it's turning this

mountainous landscape into a killer. But, for now, there is a more

immediate problem - no clean running water and,

with so many dead bodies still to find, this is a breeding

ground for disease. And still they search,

but with little hope. Over 300 people are still missing,

many of them young children. Work is already under way

to try to repair and rebuild the scar this torrent of water has

left on the town, but the wounds it has inflicted on its

people may never heal. Laura Bicker, BBC News,

Mocoa, Columbia. Prince Harry has paid

tribute to his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales,

for her work in raising awareness of landmines and the dangers

of unexploded munitions. In a speech at Kensington Palace

this evening, Harry said he wanted help to "finish the job and rid

the planet of landmines." As our Royal correspondent,

Nicholas Witchell, reports. It was one of the many

images of her that caught Diana, Princess of Wales,

a matter of months before her death, visiting a mine clearance

operation in Angola. She met people, many of them

children, who'd lost limbs to this She couldn't understand why

the world wasn't doing I am committed to supporting

in whatever way I can... Her intervention upset some

politicians who called But the world had heard,

a treaty was passed, Forward now to 2017

and it is her son, Harry, who is challenging the world

to finish his mother's work. His speech tonight was

personal and heartfelt. He recalled that his mother had been

a voice for all those She knew she had a big spotlight

to shine and she used it to bring attention on the people that others

had forgotten, ignored In August 1997, one

month before her death, There she'd met two boys,

both of whom had lost To one of them, a boy called Zarco,

Harry said she'd made a promise. When my mother said goodbye

to Zarco that August, just weeks before her untimely

death, she told him Please, help me keep her word

to Zarco and Malic and other people like them throughout the world

who still need us to finish the job Harry met Zarco and his friend

Malic, both grown men now, both though still struggling

with the life-changing effects of weapons of war which,

as Diana pointed out 20 years ago, kill and maim without discrimination

long after the wars are over. Nicholas Witchell, BBC News,

at Kensington Palace. Theresa May has been meeting senior

officials in Saudi Arabia on the second day of a visit

to develop closer trading and security links

with the Gulf states. The Prime Minister rejected

criticism of her visit from those who draw attention to Saudi Arabia's

record on human rights. She said she'd have no

difficulty in raising including Saudi involvement

in the war in neighbouring Yemen. Our deputy political editor,

John Pienaar, is travelling A warm welcome for Theresa May,

and this time no-one Her day started with a visit

to this UK-supported secondary school in Oman,

where these children, Jordanians and Syrian refugees,

learn and dream, some told her, The smiling face of British

policy in the region. Next stop, Saudi Arabia and down

to business, boosting trade, Earlier, she'd brushed aside those

who say it's wrong to support and sell weapons to a country

so criticised for its Well, the important thing

for the United Kingdom, when we meet people and we want to raise issues

about human rights, is if we have the relationship

with them, then we are able So rather than just standing

on the sidelines and sniping, War across the border

against rebels in Yemen British weapons sales

to Saudi Arabia were worth over ?3 billion in the first year

of the fighting up to last March. Planes, arms and target training -

Britain's contribution There's famine, mounting

civilian casualties. Britain joins the aid effort

while supporting its Saudi ally. What is the May doctrine

of foreign policy? Well, the May doctrine of foreign

policy is that everything we do It is in our British national

interest to have good relations around the world,

so we can trade around the world, that brings jobs

and prosperity to the UK. It's also in our national interest

to ensure that we are working with others around the world

to maintain our safety and security and, yes,

it is in our national interest to ensure that the values that

underpin us as Britons are values that we promote around the world,

and that's what we do. So today she was a house

guest at a Saudi palace, meeting the Crown Prince,

the kind of relationship she's keen to cultivate

for post-Brexit Britain. The Prime Minister needs

to strengthen political and trading links beyond Europe if Britain

is to remain a strong, No-one knows how well Britain

will come out of its EU divorce. A committee of MPs said today that

ministers had no idea and needed to work out the cost of Brexit

if negotiations end up with no deal. Maybe, but that deal's

for the future and her mission She dropped by the Saudi

stock exchange, too. She's been busy, but ahead

of Brexit, business is business. Millions of people will be affected

by new welfare changes coming into force this week relating

to taxes and benefits, the first to be introduced

since Theresa May became Child tax credits

restricted to two children. A freeze on benefits,

including working tax credits and an increase in the living

wage to ?7.50 an hour. Our home editor, Mark Easton,

has been to Blackburn to try to measure the impact

of all of these changes. Blackburn is going to be more

affected by this week's welfare tax and wage changes than almost

anywhere else in the country. More than half the town's

children live in low income, working households receiving tax

credits, help being progressively Child benefit's frozen and parents

who have a third or subsequent child no longer receive tax credit

support, worth ?2,700 a year. How does that go down with this mum,

pregnant with her third baby? In this day and age,

you should be able to get the help regardless and be free

to expand your family Well, I just mean, I wouldn't

have a third child because I know that I couldn't afford

to have a third child. As things stand, the tax and welfare

changes will see a low earning couple with two children,

living here in Blackburn, For some families, it

will be seven times that. Overall, the welfare reforms

will take ?50 million a year out But the Government argues public

spending must be reduced and the changes will encourage

people to become less It's wrong that people

have to go out to work. Like, we go out to work,

you have to come home and look after your kids and other people

just get paid to sit They're struggling with food

as it is now because the cost of living is going up,

but the benefits are staying more They're cutting them more

and I think it's all wrong. One in eight of Blackburn's workers

earn the minimum wage, many of them in the health

and social care sector. Michelle will gain from this week's

increase in the national living wage, but loses from the freeze

on her working tax credits. We go out to work to earn money,

to provide to for our children and provide for our families and,

ideally, that's where we want to go, so we're actually earning income

without actually relying But your tax credits

are going to be frozen, But Michelle's boss warns that wage

levels set in Whitehall may not make A lot of companies are working

within very fine profit margins. I know there's a trend

to go towards ?9 by 2020. If people aren't able

to charge more and people aren't able to pay more,

that's going to be How Blackburn responds to this

week's reforms will have a profound Football, and in the Premier League

tonight Manchester United had to rely upon a late goal to salvage

a 1-1 draw against Everton were 1-0 up for most

of the match until a penalty in injury time gave

United the equaliser. They've now drawn nine games

at home in the league, while Everton have missed the chance

to climb above them in the table. The British-based team of scientists

who developed graphene, the world's thinnest material,

have announced a new breakthrough which could have a significant

impact for millions of people Researchers at Manchester University

have used graphene to create a sieve which is capable of sifting salt

from sea water. Our science correspondent, Pallab

Ghosh, has been finding out more. It's three times the strength

of steel, incredibly flexible and a sheet of it can be

the thickness of a single atom. And that's not all -

graphene has been described Here in Manchester, graphene oxide

has been used to create a filter The aim is to convert sea water

into a form that's drinkable. The potential of this technology

is giving clean water to millions of people around the world and we're

sure that this technology will be available in a couple of years' time

to sell to people around the world. Like any sieve, this graphene paper

has tiny holes in that lets the water through,

but not the salt. In the past though, it's

not worked properly. That's because the graphene weakens

and the holes get bigger. So the researchers here have coated

it with a chemical that stop So the water here is

completely salt-free. According to the UN,

drinking water will be scarce It's hard to believe that countries

don't have water at the moment. If you don't have it, it compromises

everything that you do - your health and the ability

to educate your children. A lot of things rest

on this basic human right, Current desalination

plants, such as this one It costs ?270 million to build

and they use a lot of energy, The graphene based filter could be

a much cheaper and greener solution, but the big question is whether it

works just as well in real Pallab Ghosh, BBC News,

at the National Graphene Newsnight is coming up on BBC Two.

Here's Kirsty. Ken Livingstone will be

here in the studio following his suspension for two years

from the Labour Party after he said That's Newsnight with Kirstie coming

up.