BBC在线收听下载:南非总统祖玛的去留成问题

This is the BBC New. Hello, I'm Jonathan Izard.

Reports from northern Syria say there have been further air attacks by Syrian government forces on rebel-held areas in Idlib province with some sources suggesting that toxic gas was used. Residents and medical staff report the smell of a foul odour as helicopters passed overhead. Our correspondent in Beirut Martin Patience has more details. One doctor told the BBC that helicopters dropped barrel bombs on the town of Saraqeb which has seen some of the fiercest fighting. He said 15 people were brought to hospitals after the suspected chemical attack. They smelt of chlorine he said and were suffering breathing problems and irritation in their eyes. Damascus has denied US allegations that there has been using chemical weapons on opposition forces. The Syria regime is currently fighting to regain control of Idlib province, one of the last major areas still under opposition control.

Senior figures in the African National Congress are to hold an emergency meeting today to decide the future of President Jacob Zuma who has resisted intense pressure to step down. The Party's popularity has already waning amid a weakening economy and the claims of corruption surrounding the President. From Johannesburg, Andrew Harding reports. The pressure on Jacob Zuma is growing relentlessly. On Sunday, a small ANC delegation reportedly failed to convince him to step down. Now a larger group is expected to gather in Jahannesburg to discuss his removal and to pave the way for the Party's executive committee to turn a polite request into a formal instruction. President Zuma, already facing substantial corruption charges, has seen his power base collapse after his allies lost control of the ANC in December and the Party's new leader Cyril Ramaphosa promised to tackle high-level corruption.

The sole surviving suspect from the Jihadist attack in Paris in 2015 has gone on trial in Belgium. Salah Abdeslam engaged in the gun battle with Belgium police while he is hiding in Brussels. He was Europe's most wanted man until his capture four months after the gun and suicide bomb attacks that killed 130 people in Paris. Abdeslam was brought to Belgium overnight from France when he has been held in solitary confinement.

This is the World News from the BBC.