i'm mariko oi in singapore. the headlines: a former russian double agent who spied for britain is critically ill in hospital after being exposed to an unknown substance. as delegates from south korea met officials in the north, the leader says he wants to write a new history of reunification. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: china's national people's congress welcomes plans to abolish term limits for the country's president — a move that could leave xi jinping in power indefinitely. and going home with oscar gold. the movies with something to celebrate after hollywood's because the night. russian double agent is critically ill in hospital after apparently

being overcome by an unknown substance. sergei skripal was found unconscious on a bench alongside a woman in salisbury. police declared a major incident, and a local restaurant was closed as a precaution. mark urban has more. passers—by noticed two people apparently unconscious on a bench in salisbury. the area was investigated by people in protective suits, as suspicions built that the two victims had been poisoned. they are in salisbury hospital tonight, described as critically ill. we are unable to ascertain as to whether or not a crime

has taken place. a major incident has been declared today, and a multi—agency response has been co—ordinated. the bbc established that the man being treated is sergei skripal. he was convicted by a court in moscow in 2006 of being a spy for british intelligence. he was sent from the court to the gulag, where he languished for four years. it was in 2010 that the arrest of a network of russian agents in the united states provided an opportunity for mi6 to repay its debt to skripal. the uk asked for his name to be added to a list of prisoners the cia was putting together, and injuly of that year, skripal and three others were put on a jet from moscow to vienna. the ten accused by the us of espionage, among them anna chapman, were flown from america, and in the best cold war traditions, the two parties of spies crossed on the tarmac in austria. asked about who might have betrayed this american spy ring, president putin vented his fury publicly.

translation: traitors will kick the bucket, trust me. these people betrayed their friends, their brothers—in—arms. whatever they got in exchange for it, those 30 pieces of silver they were given, they will choke on them. as for skripal, he flew from vienna to britain, where he began a life in exile. police were today securing the house in salisbury where the former russian intelligence officer has lived in recent years. mark urban reporting. in 2006 and agent died after being poisoned. his widow says mi6 has a responsibility to protect men like her husband. i think you need to be sure people

receiving political asylum here are com pletely receiving political asylum here are completely safe, and if they are provided this asylum, they need to be more serious, and especially now after what happened to this man and his friend or partner. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. president trump has repeated his threat to tax eu cars imported into the us. the comments come as the world trade organisation warns of the danger of a trade war, saying it could plunge the global economy into deep recession. that, however, is not the view of the president. people have to understand — our country, on trade, has been ripped off by virtually every country in the world, whether it's friend or enemy — everybody. china, russia, and people that we think are wonderful, the european union.

we can't do business in there, they don't allow it. they have trade barriers that are worse than tariffs. north korea's leader is reported to have told a delegation of south korean officials that he is ready to write a new history of national reunification during their visit to pyongyang. the north‘s official newsagency said the leader exchanged views and made a satisfactory agreement with the delegation from seoul, without detailing what that agreement was. britain's most decorated olympian, the cyclist sir bradley wiggins, and his former employers, team sky, have been accused of crossing an ethical line by british politicians. a parliamentary report claims the tour de france winner used drugs, which are allowed under anti—doping rules, to enhance performance, instead of just for medical need. both he and team sky strongly refute the allegations. former italian prime minister matteo renzi says he is resigning

as leader of the governing centre—left democratic party after its defeat in sunday's election. his party won less than 20% of the vote. the two parties that performed well in the election, the five star movement and the league, have both made claims to govern italy. a former aide to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is reported to have signed a state witness deal with prosecutors investigating the prime minister for alleged corruption. nir hefetz is a former spokesman for mr netanyahu. so far, israeli police have provided no details on the reported agreement. the brazilian footballer neymar has left hospital after surgery on a fractured foot. the world's most expensive player is still on crutches, and facing an uphill battle to get fit, and pictures like this are unlikely to fill brazil fans with confidence, with just over 100 days to go to the start of the world cup in russia. how would you feel about eating a burger that was made by a robot?

well, these pictures are from a californian fast food chain where they are using a robot to flip their burgers. if it is a success, it could mean fewerjobs in the kitchen. dozens of locations are looking to bring in the system, which is destined to replace human fast food workers. to china now, where one of the most significant political gatherings for a generation is now underway. the national people's congress will consider a proposal to abolish presidential term limits, which would give the current president, xijinping, a mandate for life. the idea was welcomed with applause at monday's meeting. but asjohn sudworth reports, those who might dare to voice opposition to the idea are being forced to leave beijing during the congress. as the delegates arrived, there was no mistaking it —

a sense of something momentous. "should xi jinping rule for life?" i ask. "of course," they answer. "he's a man of the people. he loves the people." inside the hall, he is given a standing ovation. the vote to abolish the two—term limit on his rule takes place next week. but there is no doubting it will be passed. "the constitutional change will strengthen china's leadership and governance," this senior official announces. who would dare to object? is he coming? yeah, i see him. it is grim news, of course,

for china's few remaining democracy campaigners. this activist is already forced to leave his beijing home during every people's congress. translation: i cannot stay. they don't want me to talk to people like you — the so—called foreign anti—china forces. "time to go," the police tell him. these are the people come to take you away? "they are political policemen," he tells me. and then he is driven away. he'll be allowed to return after the parliamentary session is over. the speeches inside the great hall of the people are always about progress and reform, but politically, china appears to be going backwards. the disaster of its last experiment with unlimited, indefinite rule is precisely why the term limits were introduced in the first place. china's most significant

political shift in decades is fraught with risk. while the party plays along, all public discussion is being heavily censored. john sudworth, bbc news, beijing. the us aircraft carrier is making a historic visit to vietnam. it is the first since the end of the vietnam warand is meant first since the end of the vietnam war and is meant to demonstrate the country's growing military ties. but its presence is also being widely perceived as an attempt to counter china's military influence in asian waters. what you can see is one of the destroyer escort for the carrier strike group centred on the uss cole vinson, the giant us aircraft

carrier, the first to come to vietnam since the end of the vietnam war, which is now anchored somewhere offshore. it is too big to come in. it two support ships have come in here on what is symbolically important diplomatic mission. remember, the nang is where the first combat troops landed 53 years ago at the start of the vietnam war, today coming in friendship to cement a growing military relationship with vietnam —— danang. remarkable when you think of the history and more su btly to you think of the history and more subtly to the show support for vietnam in the tension there is out in the south china sea over islands which have been occupied and fortified by china. well, that is the uss cole vinson, more than 300m long, nearly 100,000 tons. this is unrivalled power, but of course, it is power that in this 555 be used 77 77 77 w 7 555 be used and 7 77 w 7 555; be used and up i regien really can't be usedanti’gp has regien really can't be usedbnti’bb has very regien really can't be usedbnti’bb has jéiii‘t‘“;

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the restaurant tables, then suddenly the tables, the chairs and people crashed : 33:33737 tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i heard the news earlier and so my heart went bang, bang! and are sent to hospital.

this religious controversy, i know you don't want to say too much about it, but does it worry you that it's going to boil up when you get to the states? well, it worries me, yes, but i hope everything will be all right in the end, as they say. i'm marika oi in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: a russian man convicted of spying for britain is critically ill in england after being exposed to an unknown substance. delegates at the national people's congress in china are welcoming plans to abolish term limits for the president of the country. and from our website, a man is being held on suspicion of stealing frances mcdormand's oscar after the awards on sunday. terry bryant was arrested after the statuette went missing.

the statue has since been returned to the best actress winner. and now for a look at front pages around the world. the new york times and what they call an expansion of additional censorship in china. the paper reports that as president xi jinping consolidates power, services like whatsapp and instagram could be filtered out. and his controversial plan to abolish presidential term limits is receiving a lot of coverage a cross limits is receiving a lot of coverage across the region. the south china morning post quotes senior officials saying the changes have wide support. and finally, the financial times is leading on the political uncertainty in italy. they say the country is on a course to clash with brussels after the victory of eurosceptic populous in the election on sunday. ——

populists. and what about on line? the election on sunday. —— populists. and what about on line ?i sad story that has captured people's attention on our website. sad story that has captured people's at trevor on our website. sad story that has captured people's at trevor on ( dying )32‘% sad story that has captured people's at trevor on ( dying at 24“; sad story that has captured people's at trevor on ( dying at 2‘: ii? of h . windup radio, dying at the age of 80. he was inspired to design the radio after watching a documentary about aids in africa. he believed the invention would help halt the disease by making education programming available to more people. unicef says there has been a significant drop in the number of child marriages across the world in the last decade. india has seen one of the biggest reductions in recent yea rs, of the biggest reductions in recent years, though, overall, it is still the country with the biggest number of women who have been married under—age. for more on this, i spoke toa under—age. for more on this, i spoke to a doctorfrom

under—age. for more on this, i spoke to a doctor from the under—age. for more on this, i spoke to a doctorfrom the regional office for south asia in unicef. any report recently came out where we have seen a significant reduction in child marriage. 25 million globally have been averted in the last 10 years. this has looked at various data across hundreds of countries in terms of assessing what led to these reductions. as you pointed out, the global burden, we are still seeing one in five girls are still getting married, and that is a large trend shifting from south asia to sub—saharan africa. the reduction we have seen in terms of the 25 million child marriages, the trends are largely driven by a reduction in south asia over a period of time. you talked about policy shifts, but what other things can be done to reduce child marriages further? indeed, there is no 1—stop solution

to ending child marriage. it is a complex solution that requires a lot of work and ground work. what really works is, if i can start i saying that keeping girls in school really works and investment in education. they need to complete primary and move on to secondary education as well. that requires multiple approaches to make sure barriers to education are being addressed. we also need to see empowering girls, giving them empowerment. they need to know about what is happening. they need to have participation. the mechanisms for them to be really, you know, having self—awareness. there is a lot of that that works, but at the same time, policy is required and laws have improved in various regions, including south asia, really enforcing marriage age

laws. and we need to know that child marriage is a socially constructive phenomena. child gender norms are rapid in these regions. it is a harmful practice which requires change at eight community and household level. there is a great deal of investments required for multiple approaches. you can imagine this will be a very traumatic experience for these girls, but what exactly a re experience for these girls, but what exactly are the consequences you are seeing of those girls marrying under edge? well, absolutely. as you said, the consequences are tremendous. firstly, the female child going to this issue, what you would see is, you know, the first thing that happens is the gold dropped out of school. she will be taken out of education and will not go on to com plete education and will not go on to complete it. —— girl. and then in the household she marries into, she

experiences domestic violence from the husband and at a household level. she has a high burden of care in terms of house work. she will it last and it less. there are consequences on her nutrition needs. —— eat. early pregnancies come in. if you are a girl child in somewhere like south asia, there is less value for the girl child. the girl who is married off, she ends up having a girl child, she is then ostracised from the community as having bad luck. you see and onset of pregnancies taking place which places a huge risk in terms of the health and well being of both the mother and the child. rohingya muslims living on no man's land between myanmar and bangladesh

have told the bbc they are still receiving threats from the burmese military. tensions rose between the two countries after myanmar send more troops to the border last week. this is the border between bangladeshi and myanmar on the other side. there are thousands of refugees, as rohingya muslims have taken shelter in no man's land. but it actually belongs to myanmar, just across this canal. the myanmar military is quite closely watching what is happening in these camps from the tower was just behind me on the hills over debt. there was tension herejust a the hills over debt. there was tension here just a few days ago after bangladesh accused myanmar of increasing the number of guards on the other side of the fence. —— over there. that triggered a diplomatic initiative between the two countries. and as a result, bangladesh now says the number of guards have been reduced on the other side of the border. but myanmar officials say they increased

the number of guards due to threats to internal security. the refugees living in no man's land, they are actually inside myanmar territory, but outside the barbed wire fence. these people, they say, they get threats from myanmar border guards every day, and they are asking them to leave this place and go into other refugee camps. but people here, they say they do not want to leave this area because once they leave, once they cross over, they will lose the right to return to myanmar. we ended yesterday's newsdayjust as the oscars were getting under way. so let's bring you up—to—date with all the winners of hollywood's biggest night. our arts editor, will gompertz, has a full round—up of the 90th academy awards. the night began with host, jimmy kimmel, using his opening monologue to round up some of the elephants in the room. black panther and wonder woman were massive hits, which is almost miraculous, because i remember a time when the major studios didn't believe a woman or a minority could open a superhero movie.

and the reason i remember that time is because it was march of last year. laughter that joke set the agenda for the evening. in the year of the 90th academy awards, it was time's up for a monocultural male dominated movie business. it's a new day in hollywood... ..said jennifer lawrence, before announcing that the winner of actress in a leading role was... francis mcdormand, three billboards outside ebbing, missouri. so, i'm hyperventilating a little bit. if i fall over, pick me up, because i've got some things to say. if i may be so honoured to have all the female nominees in every category stand with me in this room tonight, the actors... meryl, if you do it, everyone else will, come on. the film—makers. .. look around, everybody, look around ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed. the call for equality and tolerance was made time and again and was perhaps best captured by guillermo del toro, whose film the shape of water,

a story of misfits and outcasts, won best picture and he best director. i am an immigrant, and like many, many of you, the greatest thing our art does and our industry does is to erase the lines in the sand. we should continue doing that when the world tells us to make them deeper. roger a deakins... there were long—awaited wins for two british veterans. after 13 failed attempts, the cinematographer roger deakins finally converted a nomination into a golden statue for his work on blade runner 20119. and for his portrayal of winston churchill in the darkest hour, gary oldman won his first oscar. i say to my mother, thank you for your love and support. put the kettle on, i'm bringing oscar home! the silent child, a british film about a deaf four—year—old, played by maisie sly, won the short film category. i made a promise to our six—year—old lead actress that i'd sign this speech.

my hands are shaking a little bit, so i apologise. cheering and applause maisie, who is deaf in real life, had friends and family watching the ceremony nearby when the announcement was made. the silent child, chris overton and rachel shenton... cheering our daughter is the face of change, let's hope. you know, it's just... i don't know what to say. theirwins summed up the underlying theme of the night, which was to celebrate diversity in all of its forms. will gompertz, bbc news, hollywood. this has been newsday on the bbc. and before we go, let's take a look at these pictures. thousands of dead starfish and lobsters have washed up on a beach in england's south. the uk's marine conservation society has said the cause appears to be recent freezing temperatures and blizzards in the uk. local residents said its common for animals to wash up

following storms and temperature changes but they'd never witnessed anything at this scale. hello there. as temperatures continue to slowly rise, increasingly we are seeing snow being confined to the high ground in scotland and that means commuters that have been hard hit by the heavy snow — the snow is continuing to ease and thaw, but of course it is going to be a long road. looking at the weather picture today we have got some rain pushing to the northern half of the uk and it is notjust rain, also some white mixed in across scotland. we are expecting more snow. what it will be over the hills. in the south, a few clearer spells, some mist and fog and patches of frost possible as we start off the morning in the countryside. a slippery start to the day again. looking at tuesday morning, this area of snow that could cause problems for scotland because we are going to see heavy snow mostly in the hills, above 200 metres elevation looking

at 5—10cms towards the east coast and low down it is more likely to be rain that falls but that cause problems because the rain is going to be heavy and will act as a thaw of the snow already on the ground. some localised flooding is a possibility and perhaps the snow getting to lower levels in some of the deep highland valleys. a few showers across south—west england and wales, cold in the north but relatively mild in the south. highs of 12 degrees in london. looking at the weather picture through tuesday night and wednesday, that snow will ease its way across from northern scotland but the weather front will sneak across the english channel and curl back into south—east england and east anglia, threatening a spell of morning rain on wednesday. quite a wet start but that rain will clear away, followed by some brighter skies and sunshine. some showers around, particularly western areas, some wintry across the high ground of scotland but temperatures continue to recover, looking at highs of six in edinburgh. thursday promises to be a quite a on a weather front, still a few showers knocking around and a more persistent area of rain running to the english channel, not far away from south england so that could come inland. otherwise, quiet, some bright skies,

bit of sunshine coming through and tmeperatu res between six and nine celsius. nothing severe for thursday. through to the end of the week and the weekend, quite cool for the northern half of the uk but relatively mild into the weekend in the south. many areas will be dry. you are watching bbc news. our top story: a russian man convicted of spying for britain is critically ill in england after being exposed to an unknown substance. sergei skripal has been living in the uk since a prisoner swap between russian and the us in 2010. he is being treated in salisbury, in the south of england.

delegates at china's national people's congress have welcomed a plan to abolish presidential term limits, which could hand the current president, xijinping a mandate for life. and this story is trending on bbc.com: a man is being held on suspicion of stealing frances mcdormand's oscar after the awards on sunday. terry bryant was arrested after the statuette went missing. it has since been returned to the best actress winner. and the top story here in the uk: britain's most decorated olympian, the cyclist sir bradley wiggins, has told the bbc he is not a drugs