was behind the nerve agent attack that poisoned a former spy and his daughter on uk soil. moscow's ambassador to the un denied russian involvement in the attack. earlier, britain announced the expulsion of 23 russian diplomats. tributes have been paid to the world famous scientist, stephen hawking, who popularised theoretical physics in a best—selling book, a brief history of time. he's died at the age of 76. and video of the american student gun protest is trending on bbc.com. in the us, tens of thousands of students staged a series of classroom walkouts to demand tighter gun safety laws. the protests were led by survivors of the florida school shooting in which 17 people were killed by a former student. stay with bbc news. and another top story here in the uk — toys r us is closing all 100 of its uk stores in the next six

weeks after administrators failed to find a buyer. don't panic, don't do anything drastic. recognise him? he is the new economic adviserfor drastic. recognise him? he is the new economic adviser for president trump. singapore tops that economic index for the fifth year in a row, but which cities are the most expensive to live in? good morning, age, hello, world. glad you could join us. we start off with us president donald trump and he has appointed his new economic adviser, and it is a familiar face to many of you who watch business

television. larry kudlow has been a tv commentatorfor television. larry kudlow has been a tv commentator for decades. his predecessor resigned last week in a disagreement over tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. the incoming economic adviser said china has earned a tough response from the us. china has not played by the rules for a long time. i have talked about that, intellectual property rights, corporate technologies, other barriers, trans each month —— ship was to get around things. i don't think you should punish your friends to try to punish your enemies in international affairs. they don't necessarily see eye to eye on sun economic issues, so why did donald trump pick him? i asked the question tojoe miller. trump pick him? i asked the question to joe miller. he is really good on tv, and that counts for a lot. the president watches a lot of television, watches his friend on television, watches his friend on television, and what is striking is as you saw in that clip, larry

kudlow has been critical of donald trump's tariffs on steel and aluminium that he announced last week, and that was the reason that larry kudlow‘s red assessor left the white house over a disagreement over donald trump's tariffs, and now he has been replaced with someone who has been replaced with someone who has been replaced with someone who has been equally critical of those tariffs. he is a very good communicator, he is very good on tv and he is broadly supportive of the economic agenda and has been for some time. it makes sense that he has been chosen for this role. apart from trade tariffs, where does larry kudlow stand on other issues such as free trade? he is a traditional free trade person, he is someone who worked in the reagan administration, he has always been traditionally for open markets, for low taxes, and in that way, he is very supportive of donald trump's tax policies. it is not really a departure from the very

standard republican agenda when it comes to the economy, and he has softened his stance but towards some of donald trump's less free trade and more protectionist agenda. and that was joe miller and more protectionist agenda. and that wasjoe miller in new york. we have add news from toys r us. it is closing all of its uk and us stores. we will find out why it from my colleague. doing so well here in asia, but in the western countries, it is not. that's right. we know toys r us is a very successful chain, but in the uk and us they have been struggling for quite sometime. shoppers are going to online shopping, like amazon, and also children are choosing electronic gadgets over toys, and as pa rents we electronic gadgets over toys, and as parents we can attest to that. in the uk, they are closing the remaining 75 stores in the next six weeks and that will result in the job losses of about 3000. the number is worse in the us. we understand

they are closing all of its 885 stores, and if that is true, it could risk for two 33 thousand jobs. they have been looking for a buyer and it is reported that toys r us will file for bankruptcy later today. in 04 that update. hong kate —— hong kong are interested to buy the shares it doesn't own the toys "r" us asia franchise. thank you very much. moving on now. to india, which has set itself an ambitious target. by 2022, they want to insult renewable energy capacity and that is four times more than the country is four times more than the country is currently out. the sources for renewable energy include wind, water and the sun. while the push of the two business opportunities for these industries, it is an uphill task or solar panel produces.

it is meticulous work. 36 of these cells need to be strung together to make a working solar panel. with the government mandate and rising demand for clea n government mandate and rising demand for clean energy, many will think that means bright prospects for the solar industry here. but businesses are struggling. we are making good quality solar panels. the toughest thing we are facing is from the low quality imports of solar panel and components from the neighbouring countries, particularly in china. china, malaysia and taiwan supplier the majority of solar panels to india, which are much cheaper to produce an indian units. that is largely down to its senses the government has offered them. indian producers are subject to strict politic controls and face higher domestic service, making it impossible to compete with overseas players. india is an entirely of

clea n players. india is an entirely of clean energy because of this pollution. delhi is one of the most polluted cities in the world. the last three years, indian solar panel manufacturers have been able to double their production. but it is the import from china of cheaper solar rocks that has gone up by 600%. to try and get a foothold in this market, now indian solar panel manufacturers are demanding to impose a duty on these products. the indian government is considering a 70% tariff on imported panels. but solar power installer say a tariff would make the generation of solar power much more expensive. the government says the benefits of import duties will outweigh the costs. when people buy, they look at who offers the low prices, so they be the chinese, the militias, the taiwanese. but we do want to look at

that. local manufacture, we have gone on policy. india recently hosted the first official meeting of the international solar alliance in delhi, a treaty to promote the use of solar energy. taking the lead there signals in the's ambition to ta ke there signals in the's ambition to take pole position in a switch to clea n take pole position in a switch to clean energy. at a dispute over ta riffs clean energy. at a dispute over tariffs at home could derail prime minister goals. singapore has been topping the cost of living index for some time and it is still the most expensive city for expats. it has topped the list for a fixed consecutive year. for example, the goods and services or i6% more inner—city public stake in pt new york. paris has jumped inner—city public stake in pt new york. paris hasjumped to inner—city public stake in pt new york. paris has jumped to second place due to a stronger euro. as for hong kong, it has slipped to number four slot. tel aviv is now in the top ten due to higher transportation

cost and so too has sydney. the strong aussie dollar raises the cost of living into other cities, brisbane and adelaide. the study ta kes brisbane and adelaide. the study takes into brisbane and adelaide. the study ta kes into accou nt brisbane and adelaide. the study takes into account price of i60 products and services including rent, utility bills, private schools as well as household supplies. earlier i spoke to simon baptist from the el you and he explained why singapore remains at the top of the list. singapore is about 4% more expensive than paris, which is in second place, and singapore does come up second place, and singapore does come up as second place, and singapore does come up as very high at cost concern categories. the biggest one is owning and running a vehicle. it is the most expensive thing about living in singapore. also, alcohol and cigarettes are also quite expensive. it will get more expensive. it will get more expensive here in singapore because over the next three to four years, the government will raise the goods and services tax. there might be some tax increases here, although i am not sure they will be faster than elsewhere. it might not affect the

ranking. singapore is actually more in line with the asian business city average in some other categories. it isa average in some other categories. it is a cheap place to buy food, and it is a cheap place to buy food, and it is also a fairly cheap place to get domestic help and also for personal services. how critical are changes in currency valuations of the cost of living? currencies are one of the most important that it is. if you are an international company, moving people around the world, looking at how much you are an international company, moving people around the world, looking at how much it will pay to hire orfor world, looking at how much it will pay to hire or for allowances of people travelling, then the currency is one major driver. 0ther people travelling, then the currency is one major driver. other big drivers are taxation and regulations, as you brought up, and demand and supply. singapore might top the list for the world for the most expensive cities, but unfortunately, for those of us here, it has not taken the number one spot as the world's happiest nation. that title goes to finland. the annual report has been released

ranking 156 countries buy happiness levels, taking into account such factors such as income and life expectancy. australia, and canada made the top ten. the us came in at number 18. singapore was in 30 fourth place. let's have a quick look at their markets and currently as you can see on the asian market boards they are all in negative territory due to a fall in the dow and the nasdaq. to pounds, hong kong and the nasdaq. to pounds, hong kong and australia in the red in mid—morning trade. thank you for investing your time with us. sport todayis investing your time with us. sport today is coming up next. the top stories this hour — the us says it agrees with britain that russia was behind the nerve agent attack that poisoned a former spy and his daughter on uk soil. russia has dismissed the allegation. the world has paid tribute to professor stephen hawking, the world famous physicist and author, who's died at the age of 76. almost 800,000 people who live here in the uk speak little or no english.

now, the government is planning to spend 50 million pounds to try to change that and to encourage social integration. five councils in england have been selected for special help — bradford, blackburn, peterborough, walsall and waltham forest in london. judith mortiz sent this report from bradford. what about this one? what sound does that give? 0ne sound at a time, these women are learning english. whilst their children are at school, they're studying too, wanting to improve their language for lots of reasons. it would be easier for me and my husband to establish our own business. i've got four children. need to help with the children. you want to help your children? yeah. to do homework. i'm really clever and i'm good at my work and i can do anything. i'm creative. but i can't be my 100% if i don't have my skill of english. empowering marginalised women

and boosting language skills are amongst new government plans to tackle segregation. bradford is one of five areas which have been selected. we've got florists, we've got artists, we've got tailors, we've got women with a plethora of experiences that they come with, but unfortunately, they can't engage in the local society because of the lack of the language. now, if the language is there, just open one barrier, we'll open a whole field full of opportunities for these women. bradford was at its lowest ebb in 2001 when race riots erupted and segregated communities were shown to be leading parallel lives. 17 years on, tackling segregation here is still a work in progress. but what bradford has achieved has now earned it extra funding and a chance to show other areas how to improve. two years ago, a report warned that segregation and social exclusion were at worrying levels in britain. its author has long been calling on the government to take action.

some of these communities that we're worried about, these very isolated communities, have abject poverty and that will take money. i'm not sure that 50 million over two years will be enough. the government says its plans are designed to get more people to mix together, live together and play together. judith moritz, bbc news, bradford. toys r us is closing all 100 of its uk stores in the next six weeks after administrators failed to find a buyer. 3,000 jobs will be lost as a result. some 25 stores have either already closed in recent days or are due to close by tomorrow. jim molan best known as the presenter of the game—show bullseye has died at the age of 80. he was inspired to try stand—up comedy after seeing ken dog run. time now for all the sports news in sport today.

hello, this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: lionel messi scores his 100th champions league goal as barcelona ease into the last eight. it's 99% effective, the fifa boss gives his backing to the video assistant referee. and lewis hamilton says he doesn't know how much longer he'll stay in f1. thanks forjoining us. barcelona and bayern munich have completed the champions league quarter—final line—up, with convincing wins against chelsea and besiktas on wednesday night. barca won 3—0 on the night and 4—1 on aggregate, while bayern won 3—1 in turkey for an 8—1 overall score.