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. 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. a leaked draft un report claims two singaporean companies are involved. 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. and a "master of elegance", hubert de givenchy, the man who dressed audrey hepburn and jackie kennedy, has died

at the age of 91. live from our studios in london... and singapore. this is bbc world news. it is newsday. hello and welcome. it's 9am in singapore, 1am 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. in other news. 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 too. but now, a leaked un report claims there's 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 director, and up until late last year, they also shared the same address —

here at this building. the main allegation against them in the report that we've 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 daedong credit bank. it later change the account's name to t specialist, it's claimed. that account was allegedly used to transfer money for goods t specialist sold in north korea to its account in singapore. between 2011 to 2014, when sanctions had already kicked t specialist‘s singapore account, ea; if??? 7511272 e55?

the cemeanies deny am! lam-nady: 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 ocn and t specialist have long—standing close ties, including ownership ties with a commercial bank, which 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 dprk, north korea, and they also do not have any interest or any financial interests or relationship with these commercial banks that you have named in the dprk. have your clients ever had any financial relationship or done business in north korea? well, they have done business with north korean entities previously before these 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 and these things take a bit of time, but these 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 used singapore's financial system. the monetary authority of singapore told the bbc it's 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's troubling is if this has indeed happened here, then how widespread a problem in this in the rest of asia, where the banking is not as transparent, and has serious issues with corruption and a lack of oversight. karishma vaswani, bbc news, singapore. 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. if you speak to analysts, they're not surprised in many ways not to have heard from pyongyang. after all, when kim jong—un sent that letter of invitation to president moon with his sister here to seoul, it certainly didn't appear in state media, and that's one of the ways that the outside world gets to hear what's happening in pyongyang. also, it could be they're waiting for an official letter or some kind of official government to government approached from either the united states or south korea. they may be waiting for a potential date or a venue.

we don't exactly know. plus, i think it's worth reminding people, rico, that when it comes to north korea, this is going to be a bit of a difficult turnaround. kim jong—un has sold anti—americanism to his people, they are the enemy, and now he wants to speak to them. so 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, the japanese and the chinese. yes, and we heard from president xi in beijing after he met with the south korean envoy

and he said and very much praised the south korean government's approach. remember, china has been pushing for these talks for some time. china's got a bit of a 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 work. they want to be involved. japan, all along, has almost kind of criticised south korea's approach, maybe believing that it's been too soft on its neighbour, 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". 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. 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 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 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 all jumped 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. 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. 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're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: tributes to the fashion genius, the man that brought us the little black dress. hubert de givenchy

dies at the age of 91. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this, the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 2a 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. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm sharanjit leyl in london. our top stories: the us state department says it's outraged and agrees with the uk's assessment that russia was probably behind the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. 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. more now on the british government's likely response to the nerve agent attack on a former russian spy living in the uk. until last year, daniel fried was the co—ordinator for sanctions policy at the us state department. he's now with the think tank the atlantic council and he joins me now from washington, dc. welcome to the programme, mr fried. asa welcome to the programme, mr fried. as a sanctions expert, what measures if anything could the uk possibly ta ke to if anything could the uk possibly take to be effective, especially as

russia already has sanctions slapped against it because of ukraine and crimea, would britain's allies follow it in imposing new measures? i think britain has a strong case to bring europe and the americans together in a coalition to hit the russians for various misdeeds. these killings on british soil, or attempted killings on british soil, are one. russian interference in the american and french elections are another. and their general use of money and cyber methods to interfere in our political systems. i think we should act. what should the us and its allies do potentially to help the uk impose new sanctions, because, as we know, there already are some in—place. because, as we know, there already are some in-place. there are some, there are some, but the sanctions we

imposed because of the russian attack on ukraine were not complete. there's a number of things we can do add in sanctions a good rule is follow the money. we know that putin... putin is as a system rests ona putin... putin is as a system rests on a network of corruption and very wealthy businesspeople who are beholden to putin. they have money in new york, miami, london, and i think it is time for the west to start taking this seriously and to start taking this seriously and to start going after the channels of russian dark money, investing in real estate and in other ways. i think it is also time for us to consider something, the putin network, as it were, that system of agents, oligarchs, that he has used to support his war. this is a big deal. i wouldn't do this if i was the british unilaterally but i would be talking to the americans and

europeans and trying to forge a coalition and i think america would be well advised to stand with britain and the allies in this matter. we saw the statement from the us state department using some really scathing language against russia, stating how it continues to be an irresponsible force of instability in the world, acting with open disregard for the sovereignty of other states and the life of their citizens, that's the language used in that statement. but with the us also embroiled in its own investigations into russian meddling of the us presidential elections, for instance, is this notion of an increasingly belligerent russia sounding alarm bells? well, you're right about american politics. this is not an easy time for us. but i think britain has a case to be made. in the west and we need to show solidarity with one another and we ought to consult on a general way to deal with russian

aggression. daniel fried, thank you so much forjoining us on the programme. my pleasure. 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. # moon river plays # it's one of the most famous dresses in cinema history, designed by hubert de givenchy for audrey hepburn to show off what he said were her "very good shoulders and long neck," and to hide her "skinny collarbone." givenchy was fated throughout his careerfor mixing innovation with timeless simplicity. his fashion house, founded in the 19505, showcased the concept of separates — skirts and blouses designed to give freedom to women

the material has a life of its own, and one should never contradict it if you want to work with the fabric. his creations were worn by the duchess of windsor, wallace simpson, and by the former american first ladyjackie kennedy, something that had to be kept secret from the american press to maintain a sense of national loyalty. he sold the maison givenchy to the luxury french brand lvmh 30 years ago, but his views on haute couture were sought until this death. at an exhibition to celebrate this work last year, he told an interviewer "the perfect dress can make many things happen in a woman's life — it can bring happiness." lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. he will be sorely missed in the

fashion world. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. coming up: more on the leaked un report claiming that two singaporean companies have breached international sanctions against north korea. we'll talk to our asia business correspondent who's seen that report. and before we go, let's take a look at these pictures. meghan markle has made herfirst official engagement alongside britain's queen elizabeth. prince harry's fianceejoined other senior members of the royal family, including the monarch, at the annual commonwealth day service held at westminster abbey. that's all for now, stay with bbc world news. thanks for watching. good morning. well, i don't know about you, but i wasn't best pleased with the start of the working week's weather.

it was cloudy throughout most of england and wales with rain at times. look at this weather watchers picture sent in from wembley. leaden—looking skies. the rain was a real nuisance. that low has moved away. it has allowed this ridge of high pressure to build over the last few hours, and that is going to give us a chilly start to tuesday, perhaps tuesday likely to see the driest weather though. despite temperatures in the closing the figures in scotland, there will be sunshine in northern ireland, western scotland and south—west england. eventually the cloud will start to thin and break up in eastern areas, with the exception perhaps of the north sea coast. here a little more 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 is low pressure out of the atlantic is actually going to stay with us for the rest of the working week. now, the good news is it is spilling up south—westerly winds,

so milder air starts to dominate the uk. it will be windy at times and we will see some wet weather spiralling around that low pressure, almost like a catherine wheel, driving up rain at times. chiefly affecting the south—west, but eventually moving into northern ireland and into wales. but for much of the eastern areas, we will see dry, bright weather. temperatures are responding with the sunshine and wind, up to 1a degrees. a similar story on thursday. a front brings rain into northern ireland, wales, the midlands, and eventually into the south—east, but much of eastern england, along with scotland, will see some dry, sunny weather, and with that wind direction, it will still feel reasonably warm with highs of 7—14 degrees. so if you get the sunshine with those temperatures responding, it could — dare i say it — feel almost springlike. but don't get used to it, because it looks as if by the weekend we will see quite 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 colder as we move into the weekend, so it is certainly something

that we are 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 roads. take care. our top story. britain says it's highly likely moscow poisoned the former russian agent 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 says it agrees with britain'sjudgement. russia has ridiculed the accusation as a fairy tale and politically motivated. a leaked draft of a united nations report claims two singaporean companies have violated sanctions against north korea by providing luxury goods to pyongyang shops.

and pictures from the life and career of hubert de givenchy are trending on bbc.com. the french fashion designer was 91 years old. his name is linked to some of the most classic designs, including the black dress audrey hepburn wore in breakfast at tiffany's. that's all from me for now. stay with bbc news. and the top story here in the uk: a 17—year—old boy has beenjailed for more than ten years