Its newsday. Good morning. Its 7am here in singapore, midnight in london and 2am in syria, where at least 58 people have died with many more injured ina people have died with many more injured in a suspected chemical weapons attack in the rebel held province of idlib. Eyewitnesses say victims were left choking, fainting and frothing at the mouth. Many of the dead are children. The Un Security Council will meet in an Emergency Session later on when state. This report by our Middle East Editorjeremy Bowen includes distressing images from the beginning later on wednesday. This boy was one of hundreds of victims of the attack, hes showing classic symptoms of poisoning, perhaps by a military strength nerve agent. The victims lungs were badly affected. Rescue workers did what they could to decontaminate the victims, that includes removing clothes, where the poison can linger, and by spraying fresh water. The attack happened in Khan Sheikhoun, a town that has been heavily bombed by the regime and by the russians in the last two days. Its in idlib province, which is one of the last Rebel Strongholds in syria. The hospital was overwhelmed by casualties. Translation all are wounded, some are dead, there are many suffocation cases. We couldnt enter Khan Sheikhoun city because of the intensive and systematic shelling. There doesnt seem to be much oxygen there, which could have saved more people. Translation i lost my son, my children, my neighbours, my daughter. Theyre 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. Im appalled by the reports that theres 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 assads regime has denied it launched the attack but, if thats not true, whats in it for them . Idlib is one of the last Rebel Strongholds in syria, perhaps someone in the regime thought it was time to increase the pressure. President assads 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 supervised the removal of the syrian chemical arsenal after the 2013 attack. Everything that they declared left the country, we can absolutely guarantee that. So the issue then becomes, is this new stuff, if it is indeed a warfare agent. Or is it undeclared . Whats 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. 0ur our other top stories this hour the british chancellor Philip Hammond is in india to discuss financial and business links. Hes being accompanied by the governor of the Bank Of England and leaders of uk financial services. Officially the uk cant agree trade deals until it leaves the eu but mr hammond is making it clear he is already seeing india as an important economic partner. Indias economy is growing and developing in a way that would have seen developing in a way that would have seen unimaginable a few years ago and the uk has made the historic decision to leave the European Union and to re forged its historic links and to re forged its historic links and ties with partners, allies and friends around the world. Britain and india have a huge amount in common. We already have a very significant trade and investment relationship. Also making the news, a spokesman for the un Secretary General says americas decision to withdraw funding from the Un Population fund could have a devastating effect on Vulnerable Women and girls. The us says the decision is partly because the agency supports chinese coercive abortion programmes. The un says it does not provide or promote abortions. The National Electoral council in ecuador has declared the socialist candidate lenin moreno the winner of sundays president ial poll. With almost all the results now in he got almost all the results now in he got a full 51 of the votes. In south korea, a Software Mogul is to be the candidate for the opposition party, the peoples party, in the upcoming president ial elections. The 55 year old will stand against the liberal front runner, who won his partys nomination on monday. Now, the white house has released this image, the First Official portrait of melania trump, the us first lady, but the portrait has raised some eyebrows, particularly on social media, with accusations it has been airbrushed. White house Officials Say the portrait was indeed taken at the white house but social media users are all over this, comparing melanias picture with that of other first ladies. Well, the Trump Administration is writing its own rules when it comes to diplomacy. Donald trumps son in law has organised the upcoming meeting between the president s of the us and china later this week, not while at the state department. So how will the chinese view this unusual setup and how will it help the us get what it once . Earlier i asked a doctor from the Lowy Institute for International Policy if there are any benefits for donald trump using his son in law. Well, a lot is clearly riding on the shoulders of Jared Kushner at the moment. He has a very wide portfolio and this is an unconventional approach to such a high level summit, a summit that puts the two most important powers in the world together. But there are also concerns about conflicts of interests, arent there, because in theory china could offer some deals to the trump organisation, or kushner companies, to win some favours . In fact the issues go wider for the us. I think one legitimate criticism is this is a premature summit because the us hasnt clearly got its asia policy arranged or its case against china on trade. So that puts donald trump at a disadvantage in his meeting with president xi. President xi has also been around longer, hes met mr 0bama, hes more co mforta ble longer, hes met mr 0bama, hes more comfortable in this kind of statesmanlike role. So i think it will be interesting to see how it plays but i think the Tactical Advantage lies with china. There are advantage lies with china. There are a lot of things to talk about between the two leaders and of course President Trump several days ago said that the us would solve north Koreas Nuclear issues on its own if necessary. Youve been to north korea, how do you think this meeting is viewed in pyongyang . Well, there will certainly be keenly watching how this relationship plays out. They. Pyongyang is very used to dealing with china and the United States. I think they clearly see their priority as continuing down their priority as continuing down the current track, which is to get their missile and Nuclear Programme up their missile and Nuclear Programme up and ready and running and their Negotiating Position will therefore be stronger in future. But the relationship with china is already highly problematic. The problem is evenif highly problematic. The problem is even if president xi cooperates with President Trump, he must know his leverage with the north koreans is actually quite limited. And trade is another key issue and President Trump has said that he would use that as a leverage to get china to co operate. Do you think that could work . Well, in his campaign, President Trump warned about 45 ta riffs President Trump warned about 45 tariffs being put on china, that hasnt happened yet. I think for the obvious reason that politically it would hurt him at home to do so and i think the chinese are aware of that. But on the other hand, president xi needs to avoid a trade war with the United States. Hes got important things at home to take ca re important things at home to take care of, hes got an Important Party c0 ng ress care of, hes got an Important Party congress coming up, and what he really needs to do is take friction out of the relationship. So i think he will be prepared to offer something to the United States but what he doesnt want is to have a relationship that he has to go back and explain to his peers and collea g u es and explain to his peers and colleagues why its in trouble. So i think hes looking to basically avoid any kind of conflict. But what the trump team have to do is to get some kind of deliverables back on their side, and im just not sure theyre in a position to know exactly what they want. Doctor Ewing Grahame there. A short time ago the lights on the eiffel tower in paris went out as a mark of respect for the victims of mondays St Petersburg attack. 1a were killed and others and is of others were injured after an explosion at a Metro Station in the city. Investigators have said the suspect for the attack is akbarzhonjalilov. Ash dozens of others. 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 heres 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 yesterdays drama. People are normally rushing by in the metro, not today. Some here said prayers for the dead. But returning to normal isnt 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. I was just doing myjob, Alexander Kaverin says. Russian investigators now say that yesterdays attack on the train was carried out by a 22 year old man from central asia, whod been living in St Petersburg. Theyre searching for clues to explain why. Thats 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. Youre watching newsday on the bbc. Still to come on the programme 20 yea rs still to come on the programme 20 years after diana launched her campaign against landmines, her youngest son, prince harry, steps forward to take on the work. The accident that happened here was of the sort that can at worst produce a meltdown. In this case the precautions worked, but they didnt work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the Safety Features of these stations from resurfacing. The Republic Of Ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. From today, Anyone Lighting Up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. The president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel, where he had been addressing a trade union conference. The small crowd outside included his assailant. It has become a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many parisians wished it had never been built. The eiffel towers birthday is being marked by a re enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. Welcome back to newsday on the bbc. I mariko welcome back to newsday on the bbc. Imariko oi welcome back to newsday on the bbc. I mariko oi in singapore. Thank you very much werejoining i mariko oi in singapore. Thank you very much were joining us. Underbidder at xiaomi in london. The assad regime has been accused of barbarism after dozens of people we re barbarism after dozens of people were killed in a suspected gas attack on a rebel held town. Babita sharma. Tributes are late to the 14 babita sharma. Tributes are late to the 1a People Killed in mondays bomb attack in St Petersburg. This suspected gas attack in syria has dominated many of the front pages from around the world. It was described as amongst the worst in the countrys six year war. The Golf News Leaves with that story, which will be discussed in an Emergency Session of the Un Security Council on wednesday. Gulf news. It runs a picture of a child being treated by doctors at a makeshift hospital. The japan times reports on the governments decision to send back its ambassador to south korea after a row over a statue representing wartime sex slaves. It says that shinzo abes hard line approach did not work in that they failed to force south korea to remove the statue. And finally, the Financial Times has this Special Report on the gender gap in the finance industry. It says that women are still missing out on most seniorjobs, and that only 25 of top executives are female. Candidates in the french president ial election race have been putting themselves in a Live Television debate. The bbcs Hugh Schofield has been following the events for us. We had the five front runners, that is Marine Le Pen, francois fillon, and emmanuel macron. And then we have the six others, who were frankly french tenants who have no chance at all. Two trotskyites, a neo gaullist, and a super gaullist, who is even more gaullist than he is. They rule affairs candidate, and then a french candidate to back things like colonising mars and these sort of fiercely international buyers. So none of these candidates has any real chance, but such are the rules of the game that they had to be given their moment of their time to speak. So this time was truly divided between them, and that did kill a of momentum. It meant that when ever you got to a point that when ever you got to a point that was interesting, moderators had to stop and say that we had to hear from x or y, so they could say that it as well. To be fair, they did have them bits to say as well, but it did make the debate very bitty, and there have been no standout moments of huge importance i think that will influence the way people that will influence the way people that do make the site. We have a few more weeks now. The way that people decide. There are few more weeks people decide. There are few more wee ks h owley people decide. There are few more weeks howley how are we expecting things to go . What is your assessment . That is a fair question. In this sense, not much has changed in the last couple of weeks. We are still looking very much on who will win the other place in the system. Is it to run system, and to build onto the run. One is expected to be greener than, the populist nationalist, who would she go up against . A Sam Willoughby Francois Ffion . He was damaged so much in that matter of paying his wife for a job. All of the manual macron . He has stepped up into second place in looks and he will go to the second place against Marine Le Pen. If that is the case, and he will win the election. All polls suggest that whoever is facing Marine Le Pen will win. Now, we are wondering who is said to be facing her. I dont think this debate will change very much. And that means that the manual macron remains the favourite. Emmanuel macron. Local governments are scratching their heads and wondering how to fix the problem of pedestrians, bikes, and cars, battling for space in chinas overcrowded cities. The rapid success of chinas by Thai Companies took everybody by surprise. It is also raising questions about how a city should run its transport. It is not about the rose, but about the footpaths. Bike hire companies. As you can see, there are now places in beijing that are totally crammed with bikes. The beauty of these is that you scan them with your phone, and then leave them with your phone, and then leave them wherever you like for the some of those complaining about the bikes want to park cars on the footpath. Ultimately, this system is effective because the bikes are everywhere. If the authorities that is too much, they could wreck the whole scheme. They could be coming to me that really works, and that millions of people are using. They could be killing something that. Ina in a speech at kensington palace, chris harry paid tribute to his mother, and said he wanted to finish her work and rid the world of landmines. It was one of the many images of her that caught the worlds attention. 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, whod lost limbs to this most indiscriminate of weapons. She couldnt understand why the world wasnt doing more, and she said so. I am committed to supporting in whatever way i can. Her intervention upset some politicians who called her ill informed. A few months later, diana was dead. But the world had heard, a treaty was passed, Real Progress was made. Forward now to 2017 and it is her son, harry, who is challenging the world to finish his mothers work. His speech tonight was personal and heartfelt. He recalled that his mother had been a voice for all those whod felt marginalised. She knew she had a big spotlight to shine and she used it to bring attention on the people that others had forgotten, ignored or were too afraid to support. In august 1997, one month before her death, diana went to bosnia. There she met two boys, both of whom had lost their legs to landmines. To one of them, a boy called zarco, harry said shed made a promise. When my mother said goodbye to zarco that august, just weeks before her untimely death, she told him that he would not be forgotten. 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 and rid the planet of landmines. 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. You have been watching newsday on the bbc. Stay with us. I would back with Business News and our week long series on Property Sector continues, and today will be looking at thailand, and how it is being transformed and what is driving the demand. And before we go, i wanted to leave you with this picture from last week. They hike was given a warning after what appeared to be an abandoned black bear cub in are gone. Now to Orphan Farecards had been saved in montenegro by a farmer. Both cases are raising questions about the saving of wild animals. Hello there. High pressures could be the dominating force for the weather across the uk for the rest of this week and into the weekend. Here it is, just nudging in from the south west, pushing that area of low pressure out of the way. And that has brought some severe gales to the far north of scotland and certainly to the northern isles. That gradually easing down. So posting on wednesday, for most of us, the whistle be light. A chilly start across england and wales, particularly in rural places. Quite a lot of cloud across the northern half of uk, will be windy. Those of the sunshine to star weather across central and southern areas. That went quite a feature of the northern half of totland and the northern isles. We will see some outbreaks of rain, patchy rain across western scotland, dry across the east. Cardiff or scotland, northern ireland, and the north of england, it may be some light rain or drizzle for cumbria. The mid southwards, we start of dry. Could be so mist and fog around. That will clear quickly in light winds. It will not feel too bad in the sunshine. Temperatures seven or eight degrees to start with. Through the day, it looks at the cloud across the north will move south. It will turn grey to central and south eastern parts. Sunshine just hanging on the south coast and into the south west, and sunny spells developing across the south east scotland, with some shelter from the north west wind. And when you get the sunshine, 13 or 14 and when you get the sunshine, 13 or 1a degrees, cool enough for a forest as cloud here the many let a lot of degrees. Where it stays cloud cloudy. It is a friday, theyre looking similar. They buy day, for the end of the week, it is likely dry thanks to High Pressure. There will be some cloud around, but also some sunny spells where it will feel warm. Across the pond into the United States, the gold coast off very witty. Those little is done on wednesday and friday wishes should see good spells of sunshine. That is what will be happening across the uk over the weekend. This High Pressure keating settled. We also get some warm airfrom the near keating settled. We also get some warm air from the near continent. You can see the orange colours bathing much of the country. Luckily, it could be warm across the South East Of England on sunday. But this area of cooler air as you can see will be making inroads into the start of next week, so things are set to cool down a little bit monday onwards. The saturday, though, starting off cloudy. Sunshine breaking through that cloud and will see temperatures reaching the mid Teens Celsius in many places. On sunday, looks like these central and southern eastern puzzle out the best of sunshine. Cooler and cloudy across the north west. Youre watching the world news. Im babita sharma. Our top story 60 people have been killed in a suspected Chemical Attack in syria. Many of the victims are children. Its one of the worst atrocities of syrias bloody war. The un will hold Emergency Talks as the us accuses the assad regime of brutal unabashed barbarism. The lights have gone out early on the eiffel tower as paris joins russia in mourning the 1a victims of mondays metro attack in saint petersburg. This story is trending bbc. Com a red diamond known as the pink stark has set a new world record when it was sold in hong kong for 71 million. Rare. It was bought after just five minutes million. Rare. It was bought afterjust five minutes of bidding time in the auction. Thats it from me team. Stay with us, more to come. Now on bbc news, its hardtalk
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.