i'm sharanjit leyl in london. the headlines — pointing the finger at moscow as britain's prime minister says a nerve agent was used to poison a former russian spy and his daughter. this attempted murder using a weapons grade nerve agent in a british town was notjust a crime against the skripals. it was a reckless act against the united kingdom. a question from the bbc‘s correspondent in russia gets the brush—off from president putin as moscow accuses the british government of making up fairytales. i'm rico hizon in singapore. also in the programme — with tight sanctions on north korea, we ask how this shop in pyongyang obtained its luxury goods. the main against them in report that seen

e§%j;:;7 ieei le: r;a: :::r .e: rrezr received companies in london... this in london... is newsday. hello and welcome. it's 8am in singapore, midnight here in london, where the british prime minister says it's highly likely that russia was behind the attack on a former russian spy and his daughter. in a dramatic statement, theresa may revealed that sergei and yulia skripal were poisoned by a military grade nerve agent, part of a group developed by russia. moscow's ambassador has been summoned to explain. mr speaker, this attempted murder

using a weapons grade nerve agent in a british town was notjust a crime against the skripals. it was an indiscriminate and reckless act against the united kingdom, putting the lives of innocent civilians at risk, and we will not tolerate such a brazen attempt to murder innocent civilians on our soil. moscow was quick to respond to mrs may's statement with the russian foreign ministry calling her suggestion "a fairytale" and a "circus show in the british pa rliament". our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg reports now from krasnodar, in southern russia, where president putin is on a visit. getting close enough to vladimir putin to ask a question isn't easy. but we were with the kremlin leader when he visited russia's national grain centre. he wanted to talk about record harvests, but we wanted to know if moscow had targeted britain. president putin, bbc news.

is russia behind the poisoning of sergei skripal? translation: we're busy with agriculture here. to create good conditions for people's lives. and you talk to me about some tragedies. first, work out what actually happened there and then we'll talk about it. but when the british government announced it had worked out which country had attacked the skripals, moscow was in no mood to listen. tonight, russia described theresa may's commons statement as a circus show and it dismissed accusations against moscow as an informational political campaign based on provocation, a fairytale. meanwhile, russian state tv has been pointing the finger back at britain. the news bulletins suggested the uk had poisoned the former double agent. "only the british stood to benefit," he says. "it feeds their russophobia."

security experts, though, believe the trail leads to moscow and to the kremlin. i haven't got the sense, frankly, that operations of this magnitude, something that you know is going to have a major geopolitical impact, can go ahead without being signed off from the very top. now, whether that actively means a plan being spelt out to putin, and him saying, yes, go for it, or something a little bit more lightweight. but nonetheless, this is not something that came from anything other than the top of the system. this weekend, russians are expected to re—elect vladimir putin as their president. a new term that's set to be marked by a new confrontation with the west. steve rosenberg, bbc news, krasnodar. a leaked draft of a united nations report claims two singaporean companies have violated sanctions against north korea.

if the claims are proven, this potentially raises questions about just how common this is in the rest of asia. the final report, which has been submitted to the un security council, is expected to be published later this week. singapore's ministry of foreign affairs has told the bbc it is aware of these cases, and has said that where there credible information of offences committed under singapore law, the government has begun investigations. a draft copy of the report has been seen by the bbc. here's more from karishma vaswani. this is a shop in pyongyang, selling branded watches, handbags and alcohol. items which are banned under un sanctions and singapore law as well. now, a leaked un report claims there is evidence of at least one singaporean company selling luxury goods in north korea as recently as lastjuly. there are two

singaporean companies named in the un report. they both shared the same direct and un report. they both shared the same directand up un report. they both shared the same direct and up until late last year they also share the same address. here at this building. the main allegation against them in the report that we have seen is that they received funds in singapore for doing business in north korea. both singaporean companies deny any wrongdoing. according to the un, in 1997, singapore's ocn opened an account with north korea's credit bank. it later change the account's name. but account was allegedly used to tra nsfer name. but account was allegedly used to transfer money to goods sold in north korea to its account in singapore. when 2011 and 2014, when sanctions had already kicked in, at account continued to transfer money into the singapore accounts. the d raft into the singapore accounts. the draft report says. the companies deny any knowledge of both in relation to the goods being sold in

north korea and to funds coming from that account. which the report alleges. the other main allegation in the report is that 0cn and tea specialists have long—standing close ties, including ownership ties a commercial bank that has been on the us sanctions list since 2017. the companies have denied this. i would say that our clients do not have any financial relationship with these entities in north korea. they also do not have any interest or any financial interest or relationship with this commercial bank that you have named in the dprk. have your clients ever had any financial relationship or done business in north korea? they have done business with a north korean entity previously before this un sanctions came in to force. but that was

previously, and after the un sanctions have come into force, and i think they have reduced their involvement in these things they ta ke involvement in these things they take a bit of time, but this all form part of the investigation that are ongoing, so it would be very difficult for me to comment further on this. many of these transactions, according to the report, appear to have you singapore's a natural system. they told the bbc they are working closely with the un on these cases. in a statement, it specifically warned that banks need to be aware of the increasing use of multi— jurisdictional front companies, shell companies, joint ventures and complex or opaque ownership structures. singapore has a reputation of being one of the most well regulated financial hubs in the world. so what is troubling is if this has indeed happened here, and how widespread a problem in this in the rest of asia, whether banking is not as transparent, and has

serious issues with corruption and a lack of oversight. staying on the korean peninsula, and south korea has engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activity to secure support for the planned meeting between the north korean leader kimjong—un and president trump. a south korean envoy has met xijinping in beijing to brief the chinese president on his recent visits to both north korea and the united states. but both south korea and the us say they have yet to receive any further communication from pyongyang about the potential talks. the bbc reporter gave the assessment of north korea's silence. if you speak to analysts, they are not surprised not to have heard from pyongyang. after all, when kim jong—un sent that letter of invitation to president moved with his sister here to seoul, it certainly didn't appear in state media and that is one of the ways that the outside world gets to hear

what is happening in pyongyang. also, it could be they are waiting foran also, it could be they are waiting for an official late —— letter or some kind of official government to government approached from the united states or south korea. they may be waiting for a potential date 01’ may be waiting for a potential date ora may be waiting for a potential date 01’ a venue may be waiting for a potential date or a venue will stop we don't exactly know. plus, i think it's worth reminding people that when it comes to north korea, this is going to bea comes to north korea, this is going to be a bit ofa comes to north korea, this is going to be a bit of a difficult turnaround. kim jong—un has sold anti—american is on to his people. they are the enemy. and now he wants to speak to them. there might be a kind of communication issue going on in pyongyang, how do we sell this to people? south korean diplomats making their regional rounds to get all stakeholders on board. a japanese and chinese. yes, and we heard from president xi in beijing after he met with the south korean on boy and he said and very much praise the government's approach. china has been pushing for talks for some time. china has a bit of a

tricky one here because they don't wa nt to tricky one here because they don't want to be left on the sidelines, they don't want south korea and other partners doing all the works. they want to be involved. japan all along has almost kind of criticised south korea's approach, maybe believing it has been too soft on its neighbour, so we are waiting to hear a response from saintjoe —— shinzo abe. also making news today — a top united nations rights expert says myanmar‘s government must be held accountable for the crackdown on the country's rohingya muslims. almost 700,000 have fled to bangladesh since last august. the un special rapporteur to myanmar says the military operation bears all the "hallmarks of genocide". iam i am calling for in impartial and credible and investigation to be conduct did without delay, and the perpetrators to be held responsible

for the alleged crimes that were committed in october 2016 and august 2017, and for the violations that continue today. the united states has drafted a new un security council resolution demanding a ceasefire in syria. the us ambassador, nikki haley, accused russia of failing to ensure the implementation of a similar resolution passed two weeks ago. president trump has backtracked on his calls to raise the minimum age for buying semiautomatic rifles to 21. it was a proposal he championed following the school shooting in florida. but he's moving ahead with his controversial plan to provide firearms training to school staff. the white house also wants to improve background and mental health checks. police in austin, texas have warned residents not to open suspicious

items delivered to their homes, after two package bomb explosions killed a 17—year—old boy and injured two other people on monday. earlier this month, a 39—year—old man was killed in a similar explosion. police say the attacks may be linked and are investigating racial hatred as a possible motive. anti—xijinping posters have appeared in a number of western universities in the wake of china's decision to remove the 2—term limit on the presidency. criticism has been heavily censored at home. the posters are written in mandarin and english and feature phrases such as "not my president" and "i disagree". at least 49 people have died after a bangladeshi plane crashed on landing at nepal's international airport in kathmandu. 71 passengers and crew were on board, which veered off the runway, as it came in to land

before bursting into flames. the airline has blamed air traffic control, but the nepali authorities say the plane made an "unusual" landing. andrew plant reports. the mangled remains of a passenger plane that crashed on landing with 71 people on board. many killed as the plane burst into flames, missing the plane burst into flames, missing the runway at kathmandu airport and skidding to rest in a nearby field. translation: it was shaking like this and about to crash but it picked up and flew as it shook. it then tilted and hit its wings and engine, then crashed. i saw it cash fire and ran towards it. people feel alljumped fire and ran towards it. people feel all jumped out of fire and ran towards it. people feel alljumped out of the windows. at the end of the plane was burning very badly. it would be hard to survive. in the local hospital, relatives waited for news. names of the injured pinned to the walls.

0fficials injured pinned to the walls. officials say 31 people survived the crash. some have since died from their injuries, others now in a critical condition. this man was pulled from the wreckage. translation: i do anything, i don't remember. i remember only the accident, nothing else. i don't know how i got out. accident, nothing else. i don't know howl got out. this man managed to climb from one of the aeroplane's broken windows. translation: the plane was going up, down, right and left so i thought it was some air traffic only. the us banking up plane, a bangladeshi airline formed to 16, dame —— came down in daylight. the company has been quick to dismiss an error by the pilot, blaming what they called a mistake by the airport's traffic control. a statement from airport authority said the plane was already out of

control as it came in to land. witnesses say the plane had approached the runway from the wrong end will stop the mountain to reign of nepal has a history of air accidents. they've lacked box recorder has been recovered from what is nepal's deadliest air crash for 25 years. you are watching newsday on the bbc, live from london and singapore. still to come in the programme: tributes to the fashion genius — the man who brought us the little black dress, hubert de givenchy, dies, aged 91. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this, the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 24 hours then, the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior. we heard these gunshots in the gym. then he came out through a fire exit

and started firing at our house. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an 8—car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much, do you think? i don't know, really. i've never been married before. this is newsday on the bbc. glad you are staying with us. i am

rico hizon in singapore. and i am sharanjit leyl in london. our top stories: the british prime minister has said that the nerve agent used to poison a former russian spy and his daughter was of a type developed by russia. nato secretary generaljens stoltenberg says the alliance is deeply concerned. luxury goods inside pyongyang shops — a leaked draft of a united nations report claims two singaporean companies have violated sanctions against north korea. tens of thousands of farmers in the western indian state of maharashtra have ended their protest after marching to the state capital, mumbai. they were complaining about prices and land rights but have called off the protest after meeting state ministers. that story is popular on bbc.com. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the japan times reports that the ministry of finance has admitted to altering documents linked to the 2016 sale of state land to a nationalist school operator. it says the revelation could have

implications for prime minister shinzo abe. the times reports that he has apologised but that he strongly denies any involvement in the decision to sell off the land. there's another apology in the south china morning post which covers the poor showing by some opposition politicians in hong kong's legislative council by—election. it describes the loss of the previous pan—democratic stronghold of kowloon west, as a shock "reversal of fortune" — and notes that the pan—democrat camp has publicly said "sorry" in front of media cameras. finally, france's le figaro carries a striking image of a smiling xijinping on its cover. it describes him as the "new emperor" who is now free to rule for life following the abolition of fixed, two—term presidencies. let's return to our top story —

the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter in the uk. —— we go toa —— we go to a now the story. -- we go to a now the story. will you marry me? i would let hansard know that that was a yes. a resounding yes. you might remember this. this is last december, where cam wilson became the first person to make in marriage proposal in the house of representatives. during the debate on same—sex marriage, he asked this partner, as you saw, ryan, to marry him. he said yes, and

the couple have tied the knot in melbourne. but let's return to that top story. that is the poisoning of a former russian spy and this daughter in the uk. the british prime minister says russia is "highly likely" to have been responsible. david willis is here with so more analysis. what kind of support will the us give the uk when it comes to further sanctions against russia ? the us has been quiet on the whole issue. but now rex tillerson, the secretary of state here releasing this very robust statement. basically expressing support for the united kingdom. he said that earlier today he spoke with the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, and he said, and a quote from the

statement, we have full confidence in the uk's investigation and its assessment that russia was likely responsible for the nerve agent attack that took place in salisbury last week. he said there is never a justification for this type of attack. the attempted murder of a ride that citizen on the soil of a sovereign nation. we are outraged that russia has engaged in such behaviour. rex tillerson also spoke to reporters on a flight back from africa, and said theresa may's statement that this appeared to be a military grade nerve agent, developed by russia, seemed to the us to be accurate. he said it was beyond convention that a state, a foreign nation such as russia, would do something like this, and asked whether there would be a response. he said that it would certainly be a response. with the us embroiled in

its own investigation into russian interference in the elections, is this notion of a russia that is becoming more powerful and troublesome to its neighbours beginning to sound alarm bells? to some, certainly, but it is very interesting that up until now, we had very little on this from the united states, as i mentioned. indeed, the white house press spokesman, spokeswoman, sarah sanders, had not got as far as rex tillerson did in this statement, refusing to say point—blank that russia was clearly involved in this. of course, as far as donald trump is concerned, he directly as being very relu cta nt concerned, he directly as being very reluctant in the past two directly criticise russia and vladimir putin. david willis, thank you forjoining us. one of the great names in french fashion, the designer hubert de givenchy, has died. he was 91. among his clients were american first ladyjackie kennedy, and the film star audrey hepburn.

for the latter, he designed the black dress she wore in breakfast at tiffany's. from paris, lucy williamson reports. it is one of the most famous dresses in cinema history, it designed by hubert de givenchy to show off what he said were audrey hepburn's good shoulders and long neck, and to hide her skinny collarbone. givenchy was famous at this intake rear fort mac ching innovation become the simplicity. this fashion house, founded in the 19505, it designed skirts and blouse i5 founded in the 19505, it designed skirts and blouse is to give freedom to women in the way they dre55. they mu5t to women in the way they dre55. they must move while on a woman's body. if you put too many decorations on a garment, it contradicts the piece itself. you must never contradicted if you want to work with the fabric.

the justice of windsor wallace incident wart i5 the justice of windsor wallace incident wart is close, as did jackie kennedy, saying it needed to be kept secret from the american pre55 be kept secret from the american press to maintain a sense of national loyalty. he sold the mai5on givenchy 30 years ago, but this ideas on fashion were sought until this death. at an exhibition to celebrate this work last year, he told an interviewer that the perfect d re55 told an interviewer that the perfect dre55 can make many things happen in a woman's life — it can bring happine55. lucy williamson, bbc news, pari5. designer hubert de givenchy who has died aged 91. before we go, look at the5e died aged 91. before we go, look at these pictures of meghan markle at her first official engagement. this was at the annual commonwealth day service. good morning. i don't they do, but i

wasn't be5t plea5ed good morning. i don't they do, but i wasn't be5t pleased with the start of the week by the weather. it was cloudy throughout most of england and wales with rain at times. look at this weather watchers picture sentin at this weather watchers picture sent in from wembley. lead and looking 5kies. that low has moved away. it has allowed the ridge of high pressure to build over the last few hours, and that is going to give us few hours, and that is going to give us each start to tuesday, perhap5 few hours, and that is going to give us each start to tuesday, perhaps it will see the dry i5 us each start to tuesday, perhaps it will see the dry is whether the week, though. de5pite temperatures in the closing the figures in scotland, there will be 5un5hine in northern ireland, was in south—west england. eventually the cloud will start to thin and break up in eastern area5, start to thin and break up in eastern areas, with the exception perhap5 eastern areas, with the exception perhaps of the north sea coast. here cloudy during the day. but prolonged and the dry. especially compared to monday, with highs of 7— 11 degrees. moving from tuesday, we will be under the influence of low pressure and i5 under the influence of low pressure and is low pressure out of the

atla ntic and is low pressure out of the atlantic is actually going to stay with us for the rest of the working week. the good news is it is filling up week. the good news is it is filling up south—westerly wind5, so mild air dominates the uk. it will be windy at times and we will see some wet weather 5piralling around that low pressure me weather 5piralling around that low pre55ure me almost weather 5piralling around that low pressure me almost like a catherine wheel, driving up rain at times. chiefly affecting the south—west, but eventually moving into northern ireland and wales. but for much of the eastern area5, ireland and wales. but for much of the eastern areas, we will see dry, bright weather. temperatures are responding with the sunshine and wind, up to 40 degrees. a similar story on thursday. a friend bring5 rain into northern ireland, wales, and eventually into the south—east, but much of eastern england, along with scotland, will cease and dry, sunny weather, and with that wind direction, it will still feel reasonably warm with highs of 7— 40 degrees. so if you get the sunshine with those temperatures responding, it could feel almost springlike. —— 7- 14. but

it could feel almost springlike. —— 7— 14. but don't get used to it, because it looks as if by the weekend we will see a dramatic contrast in the weather as the wind direction changes and it gets colder again. that is because we start to see another area of high pressure dominating across scandinavia. the winds clockwise around that high a cold easterly set to return. it looks as if it will turn much gold as we move into the weekend, and any moisture coming in off the north sea could again fall as snow. so it is certainly something that we are going to have to keep a close eye on. i would going to have to keep a close eye on. iwould not going to have to keep a close eye on. i would not be surprising to the weekend as we start to see a return to snow on the way. take care. i'm sharanjit leyl with bbc world news. our top story — britain says it's likely moscow poisoned the former russian agent who was targeted in southern england earlier this month. the prime minister, theresa may, said the nerve agent used was military grade and of a type developed by russia. the united states has said it agrees with britain'sjudgement while russia has ridiculed the accusation as a fairytale and politically motivated.

luxury goods inside pyongyang shops — a leaked draft of a united nations report claims two singaporean companies have violated sanctions against north korea. and pictures from the life and career of hubert de givenchy are trending on bbc.com. the french fashion designer was 91 yea rs the french fashion designer was 91 years old. his name is linked to some of the most classic mid—20th—century designs, including the black dress audrey hepburn wore stay with us. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.