government to explain how a nerve agent, thought to be russian—made, was used to poison a former spy and his daughter. sergei and yulia skripal remain in a critical condition in hospital. moscow continues to deny any involvement in the attack. us secretary of state rex tillerson has made his first statement since being sacked by president trump, conspicuously failing to thank his boss, or praise his policies. the president told reporters that he and america's top diplomat had a different mindset on key issues, including the iran nuclear deal. the gulf state of qatar is set to introduce a sugar tax after health surveys showed that 70% of qataris were overweight or obese, almost double the global average. the government's taking action to try to get people to lose weight and it's also set to start screening adults for diabetes. a teenager on trial for the attack at parsons green underground station in london has admitted leaving a device on a train, but said he never intended to kill anyone. 18—year—old ahmed hussan said it

became a fantasy for him when he was very bored over the school holidays. he denies attempted murder and causing an explosion likely to endanger life, as our home affairs correspondent, june kelly, reports. ahmed hassan has always admitted setting off on a september morning last year to plant a device on an underground train. today, it was his turn to explain to a jury why he did it. after listening to days of prosecution evidence against him, he was brought to court to mount his defence. in the witness box, he said he expected the device to burn, rather than explode. asked by his barrister, the tim maloney qc: the device partially detonated on a train at parsons green train station. passengers were burnt

by the fireball. today, hassan said he hadn't looked at this footage when it was played in court. last summer on his bedroom door he made plain his boredom with his life. he told the jury it was partly boredom which drove him to build and plant the device. using the explosive tatp, he constructed it in the kitchen of his foster parents‘ home and he said he packed it with shrapnel because he wanted it to look serious. under cross—examination by the prosecutor, alison morgan, hassan denied that he wanted to avenge his father's death in a coalition airstrike in their native iraq. she put it to him, "you believed that the fight against britain should be brought into this country." he replied, "no". hassan was aiming to leave the uk after the attack. today, he said he fantasised about being a fugitive chased across europe by police. in fact, he was arrested in dover. june keller, bbc news. now on bbc news, our world.

it has been called the world's largest open prison. the gaza strip. penned in by walls, barbed wire and gun turrets. the 1.8 million people living here can only get into israel with special permission. and even if their livesdepend on it, they have to enter through here — the erez crossing, the main gateway into israel. this is the story of the desperate choices people have to make. it's the story of how the israeli

state seeks to protect its citizens. i wouldn't rule out that 9,000 people are still alive, they don't even know they were about to be killed. and of those who now live tortured by shame and regret. this is a film about palestinians who collaborate with the israeli state. those who would work for the enemy. in may 2017, the ruling hamas government in gaza released this video to a shocked public. some palestinian men

had apparently been caught working for israel in gaza. they were explaining how they were recruited. each had been cleverly targeted according to their needs and beliefs. they were then recruited by israeli agents to kill a senior leader of the hamas military wing, a man called mazen fuqaha. fuqaha was one of those behind a series of bombings in 2002, killing and wounding israeli citizens.

he received nine life sentences for murder. but he was released in a controversial prisoner exchange in 2011. mahmoud is one of the founders of hamas. he had known fuqaha for years. but someone seemed to think that fuqaha was still active. ashraf abu laila received his instructions

on the 24th of march, 2017. he outlined the plan in the hamas confessional video. hamas officials say that this is ashraf, caught on cctv as he walks past the hospital, into the yard, and towards his target's parking lot. fuqaha had spent a family day on the beach. he was alone in his car. the gunman followed him, knocked on his window and shot him five times. ashraf‘sjob was done. hamas had lost one of its key assets and there was an outpouring of grief at fuqaha's funeral. soon after, ashraf and his suspected accomplices were arrested. in their confessions, they warned the audience not to fall for israeli recruiters. days after these confessions

were filmed, all three men were executed as traitors and as a warning to others. we cannot verify the testimonies in the video. hamas would not share their evidence. but collaborating with israel is not such a rare thing here. working for israel security forces is a matter of taboo here among palestinians. i'm on my way to a prison to speak to an inmate who knows a lot about this subject.

according to prisoners at this gaza jail, a quarter of the inmates are convicted collaborators. this inmate runs a support group for prisoners who have worked for the israeli state. ibrahim told me that israeli recruiters prey on the needs of people in gaza. the israeli authorities told us they don't try to recruit people in these vulnerable situations. most of those imprisoned here for collaboration have been prosecuted for simply giving information to the israelis. but ashraf, and others convicted for killing mazen fuqaha,

went much further. hamas say they committed murder. what could have made a palestinian like ashraf kill a leading hamas militant? and how might the israeli security forces have found and recruited such a man? the fuqaha murder confession wasn't the first time ashraf was noticed. he was active in the violence that erupted after hamas took power here in 2007. it turns out that ashraf was a member of hamas security forces. he was heavily involved in fighting against hamas opponents. then, back in 2007, he started to adopt more radical views. in 2007, ashraf kidnapped and murdered the owner of a christian bookshop in gaza. when rami ayyad's body was recovered,

it was disfigured by multiple stab and gunshot wounds. ashraf was a brutal killer. i wanted to find somebody who could explain his motivation. jihadists aren't welcomed here by hamas authorities in gaza, but i have managed to contact one of them who is very influential among these circles. i hope he will be able to tell me more about ashraf. did ashraf share his plans with other radicals here? jihadis had been arrested in gaza, and even killed. the hamas authorities have attacked their mosques. was ashraf motivated by revenge? i'm hoping my contact will give me some answers. so, i met him.

he don't want to be filmed. but he told me very interesting stuff. ashraf approached the jihadists, claiming he's a member of the so—called islamic state, but thejihadists rejected him. as a loner, ashraf might have been easier to control. but would the israeli security forces really recruit a jihadi? someone dedicated to the violent destruction of israel? it seemed an extraordinary risk. the seafront in nearby tel aviv feels like a different world from gaza. these swimmers, joggers and holidaymakers seem to take their safety and protection for granted. but i have come to meet a man whose job was to guarantee

this protection. forfive years, avi dichter was the director of shin bet, israel's secretive internal security service. he now heads the foreign affairs and defence committee of the israeli parliament, the knesset. if i ijust take three years, and during those three years, ‘01,'02,'03, we have lost 900 people. mainly civilians. mainly in suicide bombings. in many cases, we've succeeded to foil those terror attacks. so if the number of people that got killed is 900, then i wouldn't rule out that 9,000 people, if not more, are still alive, they don't even know that they were about to be killed. i asked him how easy it was to recruit reliable informers. when you are interested in someone you try to map, what are his skills?

what are his weaknesses? but above all, what is his usefulness? otherwise, you don't need him, you can take another one. would you recruit a jihadist to kill a hamas operative? everything is possible in the fight against terrorism. everything. there is one very strong principle in my eyes. i always used to tell it to my people. if you decide to become a terrorist, you better know that the israeli shin bet, military, police, never mind, any israeli, one way or another, will not rest until you get to yourself in prison, or your grave in the cemetery. in a tel aviv park, i am meeting a reserve officer from israeli military intelligence. we are protecting his identity,

and he has to be careful about what he says, in order to avoid arrest. the role of his unit was to recruit informers among the palestinian population in places like gaza. and that meant mass covert monitoring — phones, e—mail and social media. translation: people's lives are like an open book for us. we know so much about people's personal lives — their romantic affairs, their sexual affairs, their health problems, everything. so, if you want to gain co—operation from people, it's obviously best if we can blackmail this person. in some basic courses on arabic in the unit, you learn specific words, like different synonyms for homosexual in arabic, such as luti. so you will tell this guy, let's say, for instance,

you are luti, in order to break him. why? that is a possible course of action, yes. you put this person in a lose—lose situation. either way, his life is at great risk. but it is notjust sexual orientation that makes people targets. if someone‘s daughter has cancer, for example, and he wants to get treatment in one of the israeli hospitals which is known to have better treatment than palestinian hospitals, and if we know about it, maybe we can stop him and tell him, "ok, you can have this, but only if you co—operate." this woman knows all about this coercion. today, she is with her grandchildren.

a year ago their mother, kholoud, needed urgent treatment for cancer. the israeli authorities granted her permission to go to a hospital injerusalem. it was 6:00am and barely light went she arrived t7? ix 5572?— =’=i;f§i fmi';%;% i she said he was an olive tree farmer. the officers wanted information about a man married

to kholoud's cousin. she said he was an olive tree farmer. she says her daughter was not able to give any information about the man. but the israeli authorities did not allow kholoud to board the bus. three weeks later, kholoud died. the israeli authorities told us that entry to israel is not conditional on providing information or cooperation, and they denied any irregularities in their

dealings with kholoud. some palestinians work with israel because they genuinely believe this is the right way to protect their own people. i have come to a tiny village in the far south of israel. it is the home of a bedouin community of around 20 families that were moved from gaza, where they had devoted their lives to working with the israeli state. hassan is a community leader here, a role he inherited from his father, a bedouin sheikh from the sinai desert. his father sided with the israeli state after the palestinians were defeated in the 1967 arab—israeli war, and israel occupied his land. but israeli counter—terror

operations have also been far more aggressive. over the last 15 years, more than 300 palestinian militants have been targeted and killed in gaza. how often have collaborators helped in these killings? in a side street in a provincial israeli town, i found someone who might be able to tell me. we have to protect his identity. i could now understand why this man wanted his identity concealed. he told me he had worked in gaza for the israelis from the age of 17. but that was before he had to get out. this bird told me his testimony had

ensured many hamas cellmates remained behind bars for decades, but it has taken its toll. this bird told me his testimony had ensured many hamas cellmates remained behind bars for decades, but it has taken its toll. normality, more than anything, is what people in gaza crave. but, for most here, it is out of reach. constant scrutiny, suspicion and human need mean collaboration will keep shaping and poisoning lives, and some will continue

to work for the enemy. hello there. plenty to talk about in the weather story for the remainder of this week. we closed out yesterday in the south—west with a beautiful sunset. however, u nfortu nately, that's the place today where we will see some of the wettest and windiest weather courtesy of an area of low pressure moving in from the atlantic. it is bringing quite a lot of heavy rain and gale force winds to parts of portugal and spain. this low will sit out in the atlantic and influence

the story for the next few days to come. good news, a southerly wind will bring milder air across the country so if you managed to escape the rain and get sunshine, it will feel quite pleasant. quite a west—east divide with our weather today. central and eastern areas seeing the best of the sunshine and further west will see increasing and strengthening winds and rain, some turning heavy as we move through the middle of the day. gale force gusts through the isles of scilly, up into cornwall and affecting south wales as well. eventually, we will see the rain pushing steadily northwards into lunchtime into northern ireland and western fringes of scotland. there is a level of uncertainty as to how far inland that frontal system will turn as we go through wednesday but central and eastern areas should state dry, bright and sunny. we should see highs peaking at 1a which will feel quite pleasant with the sun. moving into thursday, we still keep the winds across the south—west noticeably and a weather front making slow

progress north and east. behind it, sunny spells and scattered showers. some could be heavy and possibly thundery. we keep the mild air down to the south but things are starting to change into the north—east. as we move into friday, more of an easterly breeze driving in a few showers and these will turn wintry to higher ground chiefly on friday but milder air still sits over england and wales for one more day at least. as we move out of friday and into saturday, under the influence of high pressure yet again, into scandinavia, and circulating around that high, we will continue to see that easterly wind returning. not quite as extreme as last time but nevertheless it will be noticeably colder as we head into the weekend and there is a risk of snow showers falling at lower levels across eastern parts of england through the day. it is worth bearing in mind

as we head into the weekend, there is the potential to see the return of some snow which could cause some issues. keep watching the weather forecast. we will firm up on those details. take care. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is nkem ifejika. our top stories: professor stephen hawking, world famous physicist and author, dies at the age of 76. russia defies a deadline to explain the nerve agent attack in britain that left a former spy and his daughter fighting for their lives. as international pressure mounts, moscow warns any punitive measures will be met with a response. hours after the us secretary of state's shock sacking, a breathless rex tillerson bows out of public life. what is most important is to ensure an orderly and smooth transition during a time that the country continues to face significant policy and national security challenges.

and the black directors behind blockbuster movies, diversity finally hits hollywood.