:00:12. > :00:13.Hello, I'm Nuala McGovern, this is Outside Source.
:00:14. > :00:16.A suspected chemical weapons attack has killed at least 58 people,
:00:17. > :00:22.including women and children, in a rebel-town in northern Syria.
:00:23. > :00:25.All the victims who arrived at neural stress and yellow saliva
:00:26. > :00:31.And very soon blood starting coming out of mouths which means
:00:32. > :00:36.The White House has called the attack reprehensible and blamed
:00:37. > :00:38.it on the Syrian government, who deny responsibility.
:00:39. > :00:42.We'll be live in Washington for more reaction.
:00:43. > :00:45.Donald Trump's administration has said it will stop funding a UN
:00:46. > :00:49.agency that promotes family planning in more than 150 countries.
:00:50. > :00:52.The UN Secretary General says the decision could have devastating
:00:53. > :00:55.effects on the health of vulnerable women.
:00:56. > :00:58.We'll bring you a report from China where older mothers
:00:59. > :01:01.who froze their embryos are driving a baby boom
:01:02. > :01:05.a year after the one-child policy was abandoned.
:01:06. > :01:08.In OS sport we'll look at why the US National Hockey League
:01:09. > :01:10.won't be taking part in next year's winter olympics.
:01:11. > :01:29.And don't forget you can get in touch using the #BBCOS.
:01:30. > :01:34.At least 58 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suspected
:01:35. > :01:38.chemical attack in north-western Syria, a monitoring group says.
:01:39. > :01:55.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say that the attack
:01:56. > :01:57.was carried out by either Syrian government or Russian jets.
:01:58. > :02:13.We had this from the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, he said this
:02:14. > :02:19.chemical attack shows how sad operates with brittle, unabashed
:02:20. > :02:21.barbarism. I wanted to find out
:02:22. > :02:32.The denial by the Syrian government is still the same. The reaction by
:02:33. > :02:36.the White House combination has flipped everything over. It is quite
:02:37. > :02:43.strong, as you may know. The description that it is intolerable
:02:44. > :02:48.and reprehensible is probably the strongest reaction we have at the
:02:49. > :02:53.moment. I am sure our viewers will have seen some of the pictures that
:02:54. > :02:58.have come out with children, but difficult to verify those pictures
:02:59. > :03:04.or know where they came from? Verification is difficult at the
:03:05. > :03:08.moment so the UN has said probably an independent investigation will
:03:09. > :03:13.take place from the moment the Security Council will be having an
:03:14. > :03:16.urgent session tomorrow morning, probably. After this session, an
:03:17. > :03:22.investigation will take place to be able to verify the pictures since
:03:23. > :03:26.the investigation is going to be almost impossible to get on the
:03:27. > :03:32.ground to get those pictures verified. If we go back to Syria in
:03:33. > :03:36.2013, there was another chemical attack and international
:03:37. > :03:39.condemnation and some rules were set down and also having inspectors come
:03:40. > :03:46.in to rid the country of chemical weapons. What happened if, as it is
:03:47. > :03:51.alleged by some, this could have been the Syrian government? If it is
:03:52. > :03:55.the Syrian government that permitted the alleged attack today, it will be
:03:56. > :04:02.a war crime. Since 2013 actually, the chemical weapons organisation
:04:03. > :04:08.following the UN said that three chemical weapons attacks have been
:04:09. > :04:12.committed between 2014 and 2016 so if it is proven the Syrian
:04:13. > :04:18.government is committing that, it will be a war crime. If it is proven
:04:19. > :04:22.it will be taken to the Security Council afterwards. I suppose
:04:23. > :04:23.questions would remain wide those inspectors were not able to rid the
:04:24. > :04:27.country? Of course, yes. The US says it is withdrawing
:04:28. > :04:29.funding for this, the United Nations
:04:30. > :04:33.Population Fund - Unfpa. It's an agency that promotes family
:04:34. > :04:36.planning in more than 150 countries. The US reason is that the agency
:04:37. > :04:39.supports or participates in a programme of coercive abortion
:04:40. > :04:42.or involuntary But the Unfpa says "Unfpa refutes
:04:43. > :04:50.this claim, as all of its work promotes the human rights
:04:51. > :04:51.of individuals and couples to make their own decisions,
:04:52. > :05:00.free of coercion or discrimination." It's a big deal because the US
:05:01. > :05:15.is the fourth largest This is the United States, the
:05:16. > :05:19.fourth largest donor, the United Kingdom on top. My colleague is in
:05:20. > :05:27.New York. Some are wondering if this is the
:05:28. > :05:39.Trump Administration beginning to pull away from the UN? He did
:05:40. > :05:46.outline he was planning to cut 28% of foreign aid and a large part of
:05:47. > :05:50.that would be the UN. Said the UN Secretary-General warned at that
:05:51. > :05:58.time against slash and burn cuts. This is the first time we have seen
:05:59. > :06:14.an agency directly affected. President Trump reinstated the gag
:06:15. > :06:21.rule. We have seen strong reaction from the UN Secretary-General to the
:06:22. > :06:25.US' decision. He said this could have devastating impact on the help
:06:26. > :06:29.of vulnerable women, girls and families around the globe. He said
:06:30. > :06:37.he believes the decision is based on inaccurate perception. Is there any
:06:38. > :06:40.turnaround if the UN Secretary-General puts pressure on
:06:41. > :06:46.the White House, or tries to? It probably won't move those fronts
:06:47. > :06:50.over, we heard that they were going to transfer them to US aid which is
:06:51. > :06:57.a state Department agency which would deal with family planning in
:06:58. > :07:05.countries abroad? Absolutely. If you have looked in the past, the Unfpa
:07:06. > :07:10.has had their fronts cut by past Republican administrations. It is
:07:11. > :07:17.very unlikely during this Administration those fronts would be
:07:18. > :07:22.reinstated. The UN Secretary-General has told other donors to increase
:07:23. > :07:27.their fronts so they can prevent women in conflict areas and other
:07:28. > :07:32.areas having troubled birth is to prevent deaths during pregnancy and
:07:33. > :07:36.provide life-saving activities that they do around the world. What is
:07:37. > :07:42.interesting, we have not heard too much criticism from other UN
:07:43. > :07:46.members. The UK, who is the largest donor, when asked about this, they
:07:47. > :07:51.said they will continue their support for the UN population front.
:07:52. > :07:57.But it is a delicate valance that everyone is playing at the UN. The
:07:58. > :08:01.US is the largest donor to the United Nations. It relies on a
:08:02. > :08:04.working relationship with the US. I think the Secretary-General is
:08:05. > :08:08.trying to balance speaking out when these critical fronts are cut, but
:08:09. > :08:13.trying to maintain a good relationship with their key partner.
:08:14. > :08:18.Thank you very much. That was a little bit of the political
:08:19. > :08:20.contacts. I want to bring you a bit more about what the front does.
:08:21. > :08:22.Jina Moore, is a Buzzfeed reporter specialising
:08:23. > :08:24.in global women's rights, who gave her perspective
:08:25. > :08:35.It is important to note that this has been a policy change people have
:08:36. > :08:41.been expecting. Like the global gag rule and the Mexico City policy,
:08:42. > :08:44.this is a policy that comes in with the Republican administrations but
:08:45. > :08:50.tends to go out when Democrats come in. It is a funding cut that was
:08:51. > :08:55.expected. Unfpa has always said that funding does not support the kind of
:08:56. > :08:59.policies the Trump administration is pointing to the justified the
:09:00. > :09:07.funding cut. All this is rooted in a 1985 amendments, whose
:09:08. > :09:10.interpretation changes with different administrations. Unfpa
:09:11. > :09:17.said the matter he is in charge in the United States, which party does
:09:18. > :09:24.not fronts these things, and it does not front the Chinese government. It
:09:25. > :09:27.does do some work in China, but they support voluntary family planning.
:09:28. > :09:34.It is a little bit hard to know exactly where and why the Trump
:09:35. > :09:43.administration has come out apart from the memo they issued about
:09:44. > :09:50.China and its reproductive policies. Would the Unfpa have any recourse, I
:09:51. > :09:53.did see the US government is planning to front USAID, which is a
:09:54. > :09:59.department within the government which also covers family planning
:10:00. > :10:04.around the world. Is there a way to reverse this decision are to get the
:10:05. > :10:10.jump administration to backtrack? The backtracking would be a policy
:10:11. > :10:15.change from the State Department. I have to imagine, although I don't
:10:16. > :10:18.have a lot of inside information, there has been conversations and
:10:19. > :10:23.lobbying going on. An important thing to know about the funding
:10:24. > :10:30.change over to moving the Unfpa fronts by the US government is all
:10:31. > :10:35.that funding is impacted by the Mexico City policy, which also
:10:36. > :10:40.requires that any organisation taking US federal funding for any
:10:41. > :10:46.global health activity, as far as we know right now, not use its other
:10:47. > :10:50.funding to discuss, promote or perform abortions. There has been a
:10:51. > :10:57.lot of work that shows it has a detrimental affect on women's health
:10:58. > :11:00.and lives as well. So it is a Catch-22. Thanks very much.
:11:01. > :11:03.The American National Hockey League has announced it won't be taking
:11:04. > :11:07.part in next year's winter olympics in South Korea because of
:11:08. > :11:11.It means the world's best players won't be able to compete
:11:12. > :11:29.a Swedish goal keeper for the New York Rangers.
:11:30. > :11:38.Let's go straight to Tulsen Tollett in the BBC Sport Centre.
:11:39. > :11:47.How tight are the schedules that they can't even squeeze in a game at
:11:48. > :11:50.the Olympics? Three weeks of the regular season is what the clubs
:11:51. > :11:55.don't want to release their players for. They want compensation for the
:11:56. > :11:58.fact that players will be playing in South Korea during the Winter
:11:59. > :12:05.Olympics next year. But also it means there will be players like
:12:06. > :12:12.Sidney Cosby he was with Canada when they won it in 2014. He will not be
:12:13. > :12:17.available. A Russian player says he will be playing. We could have a
:12:18. > :12:20.position where players may decide they will boycott the fact the NHL
:12:21. > :12:25.don't want them to play and play for their countries. It is a big
:12:26. > :12:28.tournament. The Winter Olympics, might only come along once for some
:12:29. > :12:33.of these players and maybe the players coming towards the end of
:12:34. > :12:37.their careers, may feel it is a worthwhile opportunity to go and
:12:38. > :12:41.play in South Korea. It is certainly going to be a difficult situation. I
:12:42. > :12:47.suspect there will be more mediation in this between the NHL and the IOC
:12:48. > :12:51.president has said he is disappointed. I expect there will be
:12:52. > :12:56.some diplomacy that takes place and maybe his players might go and play
:12:57. > :12:57.in the Winter Olympics. Always an interesting debate.
:12:58. > :12:59.The Republic of Ireland women's football team has
:13:00. > :13:01.threatened to go on strike, after accusing the Football
:13:02. > :13:04.Association of Ireland of treating them as fifth-class citizens.
:13:05. > :13:07.11 members of the team fronted a press conference earlier,
:13:08. > :13:10.saying they've been forced to change in public toilets on the way
:13:11. > :13:13.to matches as well as share a kit with the youth women's team.
:13:14. > :13:16.On top of that, they say the FAI warned the players
:13:17. > :13:20.taking their grievances public could cost them their careers.
:13:21. > :13:34.I think we need to recognise that the women's international team is
:13:35. > :13:40.being treated, not as a second classicism, but a fifth class
:13:41. > :13:46.citizen. They are the dirt of the FIA's shoe. That is how they see
:13:47. > :13:50.them. It is borderline basics. In the past, we have been getting
:13:51. > :13:56.changed in the public toilets of Airports the way to matches, been
:13:57. > :14:01.given market there, having to open personal bags, put our kit in. The
:14:02. > :14:05.Met the girls en route to our final destination in London. Five had to
:14:06. > :14:09.go off I get changed in the toilet. And the same on the way back. It
:14:10. > :14:13.highlights probably the lack of disrespect and that it is not a lot
:14:14. > :14:19.we are looking for, it is just basics.
:14:20. > :14:20.College basketball in America is big business.
:14:21. > :14:22.Arguably bigger than professional basketball.
:14:23. > :14:24.If you needed any convincing, take a look at this.
:14:25. > :14:26.These were scenes after North Carolina defeated
:14:27. > :14:30.Gonzaga University in the "NC-Double A" championship game on Monday.
:14:31. > :14:35.As you can see hundreds of people flooded the court to celebrate
:14:36. > :14:40.Those keen basketball followers among us will know North Carolina
:14:41. > :14:44.was the same university Michael Jordan attended.
:14:45. > :14:47.But when there's a winner, there must be a loser.
:14:48. > :14:50.These were the scenes among the Gonzaga fans.
:14:51. > :14:55.This was just their second loss of the season.
:14:56. > :14:58.It's also the first time they'd made the championship
:14:59. > :15:04.A tough pill to swallow for many of their fans.
:15:05. > :15:08.Stay with us - in a few minutes we bring you a report about why
:15:09. > :15:11.older mothers have helped drive China's baby boom just over a year
:15:12. > :15:21.after the government dropped its one-child policy.
:15:22. > :15:23.The former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone has been suspended
:15:24. > :15:25.from the Labour Party for one year, following a disciplinary
:15:26. > :15:29.hearing over comments he made about Adolf Hitler.
:15:30. > :15:31.Speaking after the hearing, which was held behind closed doors,
:15:32. > :15:35.Mr Livingstone said he was surprised he hadn't been expelled but stood
:15:36. > :15:51.I expected them to expel me. I now have to consider if I challenge this
:15:52. > :15:56.legally or live with it. You have just been suspended for another
:15:57. > :15:59.year, how do you feel about that? As I am not seeking to return to
:16:00. > :16:04.Parliament or stand for the local parliament, it doesn't make much of
:16:05. > :16:11.a change. It does seem quite lenient because you expecting to be
:16:12. > :16:21.expelled. It was like sitting in a court in North Korea because nobody
:16:22. > :16:26.was listening. Mr Livingstone, what is the reason they gave you for a
:16:27. > :16:31.year-long suspension instead... I did the Vanessa Feltz interview and
:16:32. > :16:39.that is a crime against humanity and defending Naz Shah in saying she
:16:40. > :16:49.wasn't anti-Semitic. They dropped the charges of the anti-Semitic. Do
:16:50. > :16:53.you accept you brought the party into disrepute? Should someone be
:16:54. > :16:57.disciplined for stating an historical truth? I think that is
:16:58. > :17:01.important. I will not make an immediate decision but I have to sit
:17:02. > :17:06.around and think about this with my lawyers. Have they asked you to
:17:07. > :17:13.retract your comments? They have. Are you angry? I would have been
:17:14. > :17:15.angry if I had been expelled, but I don't think anyone expected this
:17:16. > :17:21.result and that is the simple reality. I know you are considering
:17:22. > :17:26.your options? On the assumption I was going to be expelled, I was
:17:27. > :17:33.planning a judicial review. But no one should be suspended for stating
:17:34. > :17:38.the truth. I have been suspended for stating the truth, Labour MPs who
:17:39. > :17:46.tweeted that I was anti-Semitic, I said Hitler was a Zionist, I said
:17:47. > :17:51.and that the Nazis, no discipline against them and that is double
:17:52. > :17:52.standard. MPs cannot be treated differently from ordinary party
:17:53. > :18:01.members. This is Outside Source live
:18:02. > :18:03.from the BBC newsroom. A suspected chemical weapons attack
:18:04. > :18:07.on a rebel-held town in Syria is reported to have killed
:18:08. > :18:10.at least 58 people - There's been strong
:18:11. > :18:28.international condemnation. show you what else has been
:18:29. > :18:32.reported. South Africa's president is under growing pressure to step
:18:33. > :18:40.down. Influential members of the ANC have told Jacob Zuma, it is time to
:18:41. > :18:47.go. That is the lead story on BBC Swahili.
:18:48. > :18:57.A report that a media company paid $30 million to five and he made
:18:58. > :19:01.harassment accusations against Bill O'Reilly. He denies any wrongdoing.
:19:02. > :19:06.It's been just over a year since China abandoned its one-child
:19:07. > :19:08.policy because of concerns about its increasingly elderly
:19:09. > :19:10.population and the decline in numbers of working age citizens.
:19:11. > :19:14.It appears to be having the desired effect with nearly
:19:15. > :19:28.About 45% of babies were born to families that
:19:29. > :19:33.And many of those were from older mothers, who stored their embryos
:19:34. > :19:35.after fertility treatment and who are now keen
:19:36. > :19:48.Here's our China Editor Carrie Gracie.
:19:49. > :20:00.Heartbeat of an imminent arrival. Last ultrasound scan for 48
:20:01. > :20:05.mother-to-be. She had her first child through fertility treatment 16
:20:06. > :20:12.years ago. The hospital kept her frozen embryos and now that China's
:20:13. > :20:21.one child policy has become a two child policy, she is about to have
:20:22. > :20:30.her second miracle baby. More good news, it is a boy.
:20:31. > :20:34.She tells me she is thrilled. She has a daughter and would be happy
:20:35. > :20:43.with another, but the in-laws want a grandson. Two child family is still
:20:44. > :20:51.a great novelty here. So a big fuss at the clinic for special visitor.
:20:52. > :20:58.Especially as this miracle was conceived here in a petri dish and
:20:59. > :21:05.frozen as an embryo for years. Until China's policy changed and she could
:21:06. > :21:10.become somebody's little sister. TRANSLATION: As soon as I heard
:21:11. > :21:14.about the policy change, I was terribly excited. I ran to the
:21:15. > :21:18.hospital immediately. My second child had been frozen there for too
:21:19. > :21:27.long. I couldn't wait to take her home. Not everyone is so lucky. This
:21:28. > :21:33.lady is desperate to have a second child, but there are questions over
:21:34. > :21:37.whether her embryos are viable. TRANSLATION: I only have three
:21:38. > :21:42.embryos left and the doctor says one is good, one is average and one is
:21:43. > :21:52.poor. But I will stay optimistic. I hope heaven will give me this gift.
:21:53. > :21:58.Blessings born from frozen embryos, many of them second children after
:21:59. > :22:02.last year's policy change. Older mothers with fertility problems are
:22:03. > :22:06.now suddenly at an advantage, because they have frozen embryos to
:22:07. > :22:15.fall back on, were other older women don't. This lady, back home and
:22:16. > :22:21.getting ready for the new arrival. Baby clothes from the first time
:22:22. > :22:25.round, 16 years ago. Hospital bag, ready for the birth and she's
:22:26. > :22:28.already decided if the two child policy becomes a three child policy,
:22:29. > :22:33.she will go for a third. Scientists in Manchester have made
:22:34. > :22:37.a remarkable discovery, creating a sieve that can make
:22:38. > :22:39.sea water drinkable. It's made from graphene,
:22:40. > :22:41.and raises the tantalising prospect, of helping millions of people around
:22:42. > :22:44.the world, who don't have easy Well our science correspondent
:22:45. > :22:48.Pallab Ghosh is at the Graphene It's three times the strength
:22:49. > :22:56.of steel and incredibly flexible, and that's not all -
:22:57. > :22:58.graphene has been described Here in Manchester, graphene oxide
:22:59. > :23:05.has been used to create a filter The aim is to convert sea water
:23:06. > :23:15.into a form that's drinkable. The potential of this technology
:23:16. > :23:18.is giving clean water to millions of people around the world and we're
:23:19. > :23:21.sure that this technology will be available in a couple of years' time
:23:22. > :23:24.to sell to people around the world. Like any sieve, this graphene paper
:23:25. > :23:28.has tiny holes in that lets the water through,
:23:29. > :23:30.but not the salt. In the past though, it's
:23:31. > :23:35.not worked properly. That's because the graphene weakens
:23:36. > :23:38.and the holes get bigger. So the researchers here have coated
:23:39. > :23:42.it with a chemical that stop So the water here is
:23:43. > :23:51.completely salt-free. According to the UN,
:23:52. > :23:58.drinking water will be scarce It's hard to believe that countries
:23:59. > :24:03.don't have water at the moment. If you don't have it, it compromises
:24:04. > :24:06.everything that you do - your health and the ability
:24:07. > :24:08.to educate your children. A lot of things rest
:24:09. > :24:14.on this basic human right, so this is why we
:24:15. > :24:16.focus a lot on this. Current desalination
:24:17. > :24:18.plants, such as this one It costs ?270 million to build
:24:19. > :24:25.and they use a lot of energy, The graphene based filter could be
:24:26. > :24:29.a much cheaper and greener solution, but the big question is whether it
:24:30. > :24:32.works just as well in real Pallab Ghosh, BBC News,
:24:33. > :24:52.at the National Graphene So ending with that good news story
:24:53. > :24:56.here. We're back again at the same time tomorrow and you can follow up
:24:57. > :24:59.on any of these stories on the BBC website. From me and the team,
:25:00. > :25:04.goodbye.