hello, you're watching bbc world news. i'm adnan nawaz. south korea confirms the brother of the north korean leader was killed in an attack in kuala lumpur. kim jung—nam, the estranged half—brother of kim jong—un, is believed to have been assassinated. police say before he died he told them he was grabbed from behind and had liquid splashed in his face. welcome to the programme. our other main stories this hour: damage limitation at the white house — officials admit president trump knew there was a problem with michael flynn weeks before the resignation of the national security adviser. on patrol in the artic circle — nato border guards remain on high alert as russia is accused of flexing its military muscle. i'm aaron heslehurst. in business. more, you want more?!

the imf says greece needs more money but europe says it's had enough, as it sends in its top man to try and break the deadlock over debt. and up, up and away, as india breaks a world record and shoots 104 satellites in one go into space. we're going to look at how that country is becoming a serious player in the space race. south korea has confirmed reports that kim jong—nam, the half—brother of the north korean leader, kim jong—un, was murdered in malaysia on monday. a spokesman for the south korean unification ministry has told reporters his government is certain the dead man is kimjong—nam. police in malaysia say he was attacked at kuala lumpur‘s international airport and died on his way to hospital after complaining a liquid had been splashed onto his face. rupert wingfield—hayes reports. this is kim jong—nam, whose body is thought to be the one

now lying in a malaysian morgue. officials there say he died after being sprayed in the face with something at kuala lumpur airport this morning. south korean media immediately claimed north korean agents had assassinated kim on the orders of his own younger brother, kim jong—un. north korea's young dictator has been tightening his grip on power, ruthlessly purging potential opponents. what's so sensitive? last year i saw for myself how strange north korea can be. i was detained and expelled for insulting the kim leadership. much more telling is what he did to his own uncle, seen here on the left. jang sung—taek was hauled away from a party meeting,

accused of treachery, and executed. has he now also eliminated his brother? kim jong—nam was once his father's favourite, being groomed to one day take over as north korea's supreme leader. but his downfall began here in tokyo, when he was caught sneaking into japan on a fake passport. these pictures of his humiliating deportation from japan are said to have deeply angered his father, north korea's late dictator kim jong—il. his place at his father's side was taken instead by his younger brother kim jong—un. kim jong—nam then went into exile in macau. in interviews, he repeatedly said he had no interest in power. so why kill him? kimjong—nam, although he had been quiet and lying low for a while, not low enough it seems, had gone off—message badly before. he'd said some stuff about not believing in hereditary succession. and maybe, in this kind of a system, like medieval europe,

any other possible claimant to the kingship could potentially be a threat. in the 21st century, fratricide is normally confined to history books. yet again, north korea is showing it is not a normal country. rupert wingfield hayes, bbc news, tokyo. the bbc‘s karishma vaswani has been to the morgue where the body was taken. she filed this a short time ago from kuala lumpur. iam standing i am standing outside the morgue where the body of the man we believe to be kimjong—nam was brought by malaysian police overnight. since then we have seen several police ca i’s then we have seen several police cars and a police van carrying away what we believe to be that body. now here is what we know. on monday a north korean national was taking off for a flight to macau from kl

airport when malaysian police say he complained of being a attacked by women who covered his face with eight cloth covered in burning liquid. he was taken to a clinic at the airport and then taken to hospital. he died en route. malaysian police initially said that the man who died on monday was kim jong—nam, the half brother of north korean leader kim jong—un. there jong—nam, the half brother of north korean leader kimjong—un. there is a lot of confusion and speculation as to what has actually gone on in this case but malaysian police have said that until a complete investigation and an autopsy of what happened is confirmed they won't be saying much else. the white house is rejecting suggestions donald trump's presidency is in turmoil despite the resignation of his national security adviser michael flynn less than a month into the new administration. general flynn had admitted misleading colleagues over his contact with russian diplomats before mr trump took office. our north america editor jon sopel reports. they were oh—so—close,

politically inseparable. but, afterjust three weeks as national security adviser, michael flynn has gone, in a stunning fall from grace, after a day of chaos and confusion at the white house. the camera—loving president suddenly becoming camera—shy when asked about his future. do you have full confidence in him? but today, the president's spokesman came out all guns blazing. the former "close friend" had lost the president's trust. we got to a point, not based on a legal issue, but based on a trust issue, where the level of trust between the president and general flynn had eroded to the point where he felt he had to make a change. the president was very concerned that general flynn had misled the republican leadership, always uncomfortable about the unorthodox general, were relieved to see him go. you cannot have a national security adviser misleading the vice president, and others. so i think the president was right to ask for his resignation, and i believe it was the right thing to do. this all goes back to action taken

over the christmas period by the former president, barack obama, to impose sanctions against russia over its interference in the us election. on 29 december, michael flynn speaks to the russian ambassador, in the first of a series of calls. on 15 january, vice president mike pence denies that sanctions were discussed. what i can confirm, having spoken to him about it, is that those conversations, that happened to occur around the time that the united states took action to expel diplomats, had nothing whatsoever to do with those sanctions. but in late january the former acting attorney—general warned the white house it might have been misled by general flynn's account. no action was taken. but then, on 9 february, the washington post revealed that flynn did discuss sanctions, and it was then that pressure grew. and democrats are not going to let the matter go. michael flynn was a spear—carrier for donald trump during the election, making

hillary clinton's honesty a central point of attack. we do not need a reckless president who believes she is above the law. but now it is michael flynn who on a question of trust has been found wanting, and finds himself very much alone. steve fish is a politics professor at the university of california, berkeley. thank you very much for your time. many people are asking questions of the white house, the white house is giving its own spin on things. one of those spins, maybe we can call it spin, the white house press secretary continuing to insist it was an issue of trust and not a legal issue when clearly there are legal issue when clearly there are legal issues that need to be looked at and the other one being about the content at and the other one being about the co nte nt of at and the other one being about the content of these conversations. the white house still hasn't addressed

fully its analysis of what michael flynn exactly was discussing with the russians. i think it is safe to say that they are not going to discuss that. this is something that american intelligence agencies know very well. of course they take this conversation. all would be subject to scrutiny and to tapping by an american intelligence agencies —— taped. you would have to think that mike flynn would know about it as well. he served as defence intelligence director for sometime. what is puzzling is he didn't seem to think he was being listened to all he thought he would get away with it. what is clear is he did discuss the sanctions. with the russian ambassador. and of course thatis russian ambassador. and of course that is not something you are supposed to do. it policies of your own government. president trump wasn't the president at the time, he wasn't the president at the time, he was president—elect. those

conversations would have undermined the policies of the obama administration. the problem is resident from, when he was a candidate, has consistently show more loyalty to president trump and russia than his own government and his own intelligence agencies —— president trump. it is not about flynn, it is about trump. there seems to be conflicting opinions around the highest in the committees about whether he should be investigated or not. if he is investigated or not. if he is investigated surely everything is going to come out and the white house will live to be more direct in addressing this issue? he will only do it under duress if they have to. i think all of this was probably going to come out and it is almost unthinkable that congress can get away with not investigating this at this point. the republican party so far, the leadership thought they could control donald trump. less than a month into the presidency it is clear that they can't. right now you still have people like the

speaker, ryan, the head of the us house of representatives, a quiver getting about whether an investigation is needed. the fact is it is clear that one is and it is almost sure that it will go on at the committee level. —— equivocating. thank you very much for your time, we appreciate it. my pleasure. aaron is here with... i have com pletely aaron is here with... i have completely forgotten your top story. greece, perfectly said. back in the headlines. needs more money, who is gonna give it? it goes on, doesn't it? the eu's top economist, pierre moscovici, i don't know if we have a picture of him, that is not a good way to start, is it? he is visiting greece today to talk about the country's debt problem. he's trying to break the deadlock over the release of a further bailout. athens and its international

creditors have been wrangling for months over the issue, and failure to reach agreement has spooked the markets. not only that, but yesterday it was revealed that the greek economy unexpectedly shrank in the last three months of 2016. i don't know why they said unexpectedly, but anyway. so, what options does the country have? greece is now under increased pressure to step up its economic reforms, including on painful things like cutting pension payments and raising taxes. meanwhile, the international monetary fund says greece needs more money, more cash in order to get its economy back on track. but that's not going down well with the eurozone, laughter suprise, surprise, which says it's already done enough and it's already written off enough greek debt. the greek government faces debt

repayments of $7.1; billion this summer. and they can't afford those payments unless they meet the conditions being asked by the lenders, and in return the lenders will agree to release more money from the country's $91 billion bailout pot. there you go, athens. so far, tick, tick, tick, but none at the moment. so, what kind of treatment can greece expect at the hands of its lenders? here's how the international monetary fund's spokesman put it last week. india's space agency successfully achieved a world record, have we got pictures of it? — oh, there we go launching 104 satellites in one go. its commercial launch operations are much cheaper than in other countries, and it's been creating a thriving ecosystem for privately

funded space programmes. lava streams from a vent low in the crater flow down to the sea on the east of the island away from the town for the time being, but it could start flowing again at any time. the russians heralded their new—generation space station with a spectacular night launch. they've called it mir, russian for ‘peace'. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: confusion surrounds the death of kim jong—nam, was the half—brother of the north korean leader poisoned by assassins? a postmortem is due to be held to establish the cause of death. damage limitation at the white house — officials admit president trump knew his national security adviser general michael flynn had misled colleagues, weeks before he was forced to resign. india has created history by launching a record 104 satellites from a single rocket. all but three of the satellites are from foreign countries,

96 are from the united states. with this successful effort, the indian space research organisation surpasses its russian counterpart, which put 39 satellites into space, in a single mission in 2014. let's cross live to delhi, sanjoy majumder has been watching the launch. the satellite has been launched or is it still reaching the level it is supposed to get to?|j is it still reaching the level it is supposed to get to? i can confirm that within the past hour, or 104 satellites have been separated from the rocket launch vehicle. they have 110w the rocket launch vehicle. they have now successfully been placed into orbit —— all. a big moment of congratulations for all the signs of. they are very pleased, the announcement went out just a of. they are very pleased, the announcement went outjust a short time ago. congratulations are pouring in, led by the indian prime minister. he described it as yet another proud moment for the space science community and the nation. it is quite and achievement because

people who know a lot about space launchers know that the minutes after release are the most crucial, making sure that the satellites do not crash into each other. does india is that the usage that every satellite will be deployed to perform, and presumably they are making money from deploying for an —— foreign satellites into space?m isa —— foreign satellites into space?m is a very lucrative business. most of the cost of this mission, which is already much lower in cost than comparative missions, most of the cost will be met by the fact that 101 of the satellites belong to foreign countries. that is really the main objective. they do not really that what is they have a very clear understanding. 96 satellites from the united states, there are also some from israel, the

netherlands and the uae. most of the satellites are small satellites, the biggest one weighs more than 700 kilograms. it is cartographic and has the ability to take high resolution mapping images. we understand that is going to be used by india primarily to monitor events in china and pakistan, to countries which are its main regional rival.|j very much appreciate your time —— two. the us defence secretary james mattis is in brussels for his first nato summit. he's expected to repeat president trump's message that european nations spend more of their own money to support the military alliance. they though will be looking for reassurances on russia — which continues to flex its military muscle, notjust in eastern europe, but also to the north. our defence correspondent jonathan beale has sent this report from the arctic circle. winter in the arctic circle in the days are at last getting longer. but

the climate is still unforgiving. the norwegian border guards have to go out in all kinds of weather, keeping an eye on their neighbour, russia. this is the nato alliance's most northerly border. it is pretty inhospitable. every day, all year round, the norwegian army is patrolling this border. round, the norwegian army is patrolling this borderlj round, the norwegian army is patrolling this border. i don't think we can say that there are a lot of increased activities. they have had high activity here in the north or long. they are training and preparing themselves —— all along. russia's flexing its military muscle in the high north, staking claim on a region thought to have more oil and gas reserves than saudi arabia. the new us defence secretary has called on russia's moves in the arctic aggressive. —— called

russia's moves. it has not reached the levels of the cold war, but the temperature is dropping. to the south, us marines are being trained by the british. learning how to survive and fight in the arctic. for many, it is their first time on skis. i am going through another method of moving. this training is serious and has become a regular rotation, the persistent presence of us forces in norway, a key nato allies. it is important to have a military presence and a cooperative agreement with our nato allies. when russia says it is on helpful, what do you say? i say that we continue to support the nato alliance and we will allow politicians to work through what they have to work through. tension is in competition between the east and west are

nothing new for the people of norway, but they are getting mixed m essa 9 es norway, but they are getting mixed messages from a new us administration. james mattis is talking tough on russia, but the president appears to want closer ties —— and. president appears to want closer ties -- and. i --i am more afraid of donald trump and president putin —— then. i am afraid of both, how could you pickjust then. i am afraid of both, how could you pick just one? then. i am afraid of both, how could you pickjust one? i am more afraid of trump than putin. but in is a control maniac, but trump is an uncontrollable maniac —— putin. control maniac, but trump is an uncontrollable maniac —— putinm is business as usual for these border guards, but they are uncertain times when nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. the us office of government ethics has recommended the white house

investigate one of president trump's senior advisers for publicly endorsing the product line of his daughter, ivanka. kellyanne conway urged people to buy ivanka trump branded products in a tv interview last week. a statement from the ethics office — which is bi—partisan — says there is strong reason to believe ms conway violated standards of conduct for government officials. she was speaking after the retailer nordstrom had just dropped the ivanka trump brand. this is just, it is a wonderful line, i own some of it and i am going to give a free commercial here. go and buy it today everybody, you can buy it online. our washington correspondent, david willis, spoke to us about the way ms conway promoted ivanka trump's products. this followed the announcement that the nordstrom department chain was dropping her products from its stores, because of falling sales. it prompted donald trump to take to twitter to condemn the move. then we had kellyanne conway going on to fox news to say, go and buy these products. it's available online. the office of government ethics has

now taken on the matter. they are urging disciplinary action against kellyanne conway and they are asking the trump administration to consider this whole issue, and to give it two weeks to decide what action they are going to take in terms of discipline. kellyanne conway is a special adviser to donald trump. she referred to the bowling green massacre, something which didn't exist. she also came out yesterday afternoon to say that michael flynn, the former security adviser, enjoyed the full support of president trump, only for him to resign a few hours later. the white house has said that kellyanne conway has been counselled about her comments regarding ivanka trump's products, we will wait to see whether any punishment is handed out to her. now, a unique opportunity from the bbc — applications are now

open for the bbc world news komla dumor award. ivanka it was launched in 2015 following the unexpected death of the bbc‘s komla dumor in 2014 — at the age ofjust 41. komla was an outstanding african journalist and much—loved across the continent, so the aim of this award is to continue his legacy by recognising and nurturing the next generation ofjournalism talent in africa. it's the third year now of this award, and this is how you can get involved. in memory of our friend and colleague komla dumor, we wanted this award to ensure investment in the future of african journalism. we have had two winners so far. up to 13,000 applicants. it has been com pletely life 13,000 applicants. it has been completely life changing for me, i will forever be known as a bbc komla

dumorwin, will forever be known as a bbc komla dumor win, which is like changing. from the get go, i felt like this was a 2—way relationship. you get everything from presenting to editing, writing, telling the story, understanding the practices of the bbc. we are looking forjournalists who write, create and understand africa's voice in the world. maybe you have what the bbc is looking for. you need to take this opportunity seriously and apply. for more details on how to apply, visit oui’ more details on how to apply, visit our website. go there! apply. more details on how to apply, visit ourwebsite. go there! apply. come here. coming up injust a couple of minutes, we have all the latest business news in world business report. first, a look at the weather where you are. from now on, for the rest of this week, things are looking milder. some rain in the forecast, little bits and pieces during the overnight

period, moving north before more rain gets into the south—east in south—west later on. it will be quite a south—west later on. it will be quitea damp, south—west later on. it will be quite a damp, misty and murky night, quite a damp, misty and murky night, quite mild. some chilly spots across northern scotland. some rain getting into devon and cornwall, into dorset, in south wales as well. a bit of a wet commute. some heavy burst. elsewhere across england and wales, largely dry. a great morning, some mist and murk around. some showers on the irish sea coast and into south—west scotland. further north, a colder start to the day. some mist and four, also some sunshine. it is going to be bright through northern scotland through the day. brightness into northern ireland as well. rain in the south—west continues to move north and east across england and wales. in the afternoon, we could see some heavy burst in the midlands and south—east. writing up across the

south—west later on. seen temperatures up to 11 degrees. cooler than that to the north. the weather front bringing heavy rain clears on wednesday night. a cooler nights to come, some mist and fog. low pressure skating the north of scotland, bringing blustery conditions to northern ireland and scotla nd conditions to northern ireland and scotland on thursday. heavy showers mixed in with some sunny spells, strong winds and lighter winds further south. quite a nice day on friday, feeling mild in the sunshine. low pressure scooting off to scandinavia. high pressure building in across the uk for friday. it means that there is some waste are in the air. light winds and we could see some fog problems on friday morning. it should clear and lift for many, and we should see some sunshine making an appearance in the afternoon. a foggy start on friday, sunshine developing through the day. double figures foremost, turning breezy and cloudy across

northern ireland later on. into the weekend, staying mild. a little bit of rain about across western areas, but for most, it should stay dry. this is bbc world news. the headlines: south korea has confirmed the half—brother of the north korean leader was assassinated in a brutal attack in kuala lumpur. police say before kimjong nam died he told them he was grabbed from behind and had liquid splashed in his face. the white house says president trump knew weeks ago that his former national security advisor, michael flynn, misled officials about his secret talks with the russian ambassador. they insist he was asked to resign over an erosion of trust. the us office of government ethics has recommended the white house investigates kellyanne conway, one of president trump's senior advisers, for publicly endorsing the product line of his daughter, ivanka, in a tv interview. india has launched a rocket into space, carrying 104 satellites from around the world. a record numberfor a single mission.