Syria strike reports and police cuts in focus

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Leading the condemnation was US President Donald Trump, who branded Syria’s President Assad an “animal” and warned that he, along with allies Iran and Russia, had a “big price to pay”. The Assad regime has always denied using chemical weapons and Moscow said events in Douma had been “staged”, but Western powers have dismissed those denials.

A leaked document from February notes that since 2012, “resources dedicated to serious violence have come under pressure and charge rates have dropped.” It adds: “This may have encouraged offenders.” The report concludes that while pressure on resources is not the “main driver” that “triggered the shift in serious violence”, it has “likely contributed”.

The officials behind the leaked document were drafting a new strategy to tackle violence in England and Wales, the details of which will be set out later by the home secretary.

No, not Lewis, but the hip hop musical phenomenon. The West End production of the show about US founding father Alexander Hamilton swept the board last night at the Olivier Awards, picking up seven gongs and equalling the record for the most scooped by a musical.

With its scenic mountains and stunning Buddhist monasteries on hilltops, Bhutan is a traveller’s dream and described by some as the last Shangri-La – a mystical beautiful place where everything is perfection. The country’s capital, Thimphu, is a refreshing delight to those who are tired of traffic and pollution in mega cities. The fresh air and the lush green mountains and snow peaks in the distance offer a visual treat. But beneath the surface, this picture-postcard country has been experiencing an undercurrent of tension and nervousness since last year.

Many papers place blame at Russia’s door for the latest suspected chemical attack in Syria. The Daily Express accuses the Kremlin of propping up the Assad regime “with terrible wickedness”, while the Times leader column insists Russia “cannot be allowed to block investigations into yet another breach of the chemical weapons convention”. Others, though, cast their net wider. According to the Sun, “the West is not innocent” as a combination of “ignorance, cowardice and political calculation” means everyone “turned a blinding eye” to the horror in Syria. The Guardian criticises what it sees as the repeated flip-flopping of US policy. Elsewhere in the papers there is focus on the violence on London’s streets.

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2003 Iraqis pull down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad as US tanks roll into the centre of the city. Millions around the world watch the moment live on television.