police launch a murder inquiry after another russian exile is targeted in london. nikolai glushkov, a russian businessman, was found dead in his home on monday, it appears he was strangled. the police are keeping guard outside his house tonight, they say there is nothing yet to link his death to the attack on sergei skripal. with mr skripal and his daughter still critical in hospital, the foreign secretary blames vladimir putin for the nerve agent attack. our quarrel is with putin's kremlin, and with his decision — and we think it overwhelmingly likely that it was his decision. the kremlin retaliates by calling mrjohnson‘s comments shocking and unforgivable. also tonight... the iraqi teenagerfound guilty of the parsons green tube bombing, who was on the government's anti—radicalisation programme at the time. thee african countries, home to most of the continent's elephants, call for all ivory to be banned. they say even antique ivory should be banned. more elephants are being killed every year than are being born. it's still a big crisis

for africa's elephants. and the three mile duel that saw native river win the gold cup at cheltenham. coming up on sportsday on bbc news, liverpool and manchester city will meet in the last eight of the champions league, the first all—english quarterfinal since 2011. good evening. detectives from scotland yard are treating as murder the death in london of a russian exile and businessman. nikolai glushkov, who was 68, was found dead at his home on monday. a postmortem concluded he'd suffered compression of the neck, suggesting he'd been strangled. his death, just a week after the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter in salisbury, is being investigated by counter—terrorism police.

they say there's no evidence at the moment to link the two cases. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds has more. it was an ominous development, given what has happened elsewhere. monday night, a 68—year—old man found dead, his body taken for a postmortem examination. ominous because nikolai glushkov was russian, a political exile, number one on that country's list of people it would like sent back to russia. not that his neighbours had much idea of his background. i think he presented as a normal englishman. i didn't know he was russian. it's horrible to be on your doorstep, for one thing, about to happen to him, it must be a horrible thing to have happened. the daughter must be terribly upset. all week, his house has been the subject of a detailed search. the tents were for protecting items of interest.

the pathologist has concluded that nikolai glushkov died as a result of compression of the neck, suggesting strangulation, but detectives are clear they are keeping an open mind. they'll be looking at all aspects of his life, and of course his past. but the stakes for them are high, not least because of the possible consequences for britain's relationship with russia. in the 1990s, glushkov was director of russia's state airline, aeroflot, but in 1999 he was charged with fraud and money—laundering. afterfive years in prison, he fled to the uk and was given political asylum. among his friends here was the russian billionaire boris berezovsky, a prominent critic of vladimir putin, found dead in 2013 at his former wife's berkshire home. the coroner recorded an open verdict, but nikolai glushkov was convinced that berezovsky and other russian exiles had been murdered. this week, glushkov was due to appear in court in london. the russian authorities

were continuing to pursue him for more than £100 million of aeroflot‘s money. did his past make him a target? russia's sternest critics have no problem believing that. mr glushkov‘s death fits into a wider pattern of the last 12 years or so of kremlin opponents dropping dead across europe. the consequences for the kremlin of this were limited for far too long. the uk response has recently been much stronger but there's still an awful lot more that we could do. but it's clear to take the strongest possible action britain will have to rely on the gathering of solid evidence. so the world watches another complex investigation unfolds. tonight, we have spoken to lord bell, the former advertising executive and pr executive. he has told us he is a friend of mr

glushkov, and he says he is concerned that his friends passed might have put him on the list of people that russia might suspect of working against his country. in fa ct, working against his country. in fact, we have got to the point where the police and security services are reassessing their previous view that russian exiles were at a low risk. so much so, that the police are starting to contact some of those russian exiles to discuss their safety. tom symons, in south—west london. thank you. a direct attack by the the foreign secretary on the russian president has triggered a swift and angry response in return. borisjohnson says he believes it's "overwhelmingly likely" that president putin was personally responsible for directing the use of a nerve agent on the former spy sergei skripal and his daughter in salisbury. the kremlin has called his comments shocking and unforgivable. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale‘s report contains some flashing images. boris johnson brought the polish foreign minister to a battle of britain museum today, a memorial to a war fought in the air. every single plane that britain

had, was up in the sky. and the foreign secretary used the opportunity to push forward britain's current battle with russia — fought this time over the airwaves, blaming vladimir putin personally for the nerve agent attack in salisbury. 0ur quarrel is with putin's kremlin, and with his decision — and we think is overwhelmingly likely that it was his decision — to direct the use of a nerve agent on the streets of the uk, on the streets of europe, for the first time since the second world war. that is why we are at odds with russia. today, president putin visited a medical centre in st petersburg ahead of sunday's elections. his spokesman issued an angry statement, accusing mrjohnson of a shocking and unpardonable breach of diplomatic etiquette. the kremlin confirmed that some british diplomats, based here at the embassy in moscow, would be expelled, an announcement officials said could come at any moment. a response to the uk's decision

to expel 23 russian intelligence officers who will leave london next tuesday. once again, russia's foreign minister denied any involvement in the salisbury attack. translation: i don't really want to comment on the current situation any more. let it stay on the conscience of those who have started this shameless, groundless, russophobic game. and as for the undiplomatic language or the defence secretary, gavin williamson? translation: he says russia should go away and shut up. well, maybe he lacks education? i don't know. 0fficials here at the foreign office believe that the robustness of britain's response and the unity of the western allies has surprised russia, and they say they are ready for any form of retaliation coming from moscow. as one source said, "we've got more stuff in the locker." it's now almost two weeks since the former russian intelligence officer sergei skripal

and his daughter, yulia, were poisoned with something london's russian ambassador named today as novichok a234, a delayed casualty nerve agent. downing street said officials from the chemical weapons watchdog would come to britain imminently to start verifying the nerve agent. the investigation in salisbury focused on mr skripal‘s car, potentially containing clues about how he and his daughter were poisoned. the police here were still in their protective gear, still investigating, still making the streets safe. james landale, bbc news. an iraqi teenager who smuggled himself into britain on a lorry to seek asylum has been found guilty of the london tube bombing at parson's green. 18—year—old ahmed hassan left his bomb on a packed underground train during rush hour. the device only partially detonated, but injured 50 people. it's emerged that hassan was on the government's de—radicalisation programme "prevent" while he was plotting the attack. the government says

there are lessons to be learned from the case. june kelly reports. ahmed hassan, buying batteries and screwdrivers in asda. everyday items, but for a violent extremist, part of his bomb—making kit. he's asked for id. he may have looked young but hassan is said to be mature, highly intelligent and calculating. cctv cameras captured his journey, as the following morning he left home early with his bomb in a bag and a murderous plan in his head. he was setting off to cause carnage on the london underground system. he made for a train and then, a few stops down the district line, he got off, empty—handed, his bomb on a timer left behind. just after the train pulled into parsons green station, the bomb detonated, creating a massive fireball which rolled down the carriage. passengers were left burning and screaming in pain. a gassy flare ran up

above my head, singed my hair. there was panic all around me on the train. people were diving off the train. fortunately the doors were open so i managed to get off the train. my initial reaction was that there was a fault on the train rather than a device. hassan had strapped shrapnel to the device — nuts, bolts, screws and knives — to cause maximum death and injury. it was said to be pure luck that his bomb only partially exploded. this computer—generated graphic shows the scene in the carriage after the attack. he had used the explosive tatp, known as mother of satan. at parsons green, a major emergency operation got under way. terrified passengers were taken off the train, injured commuters carried out of the station. meanwhile, the teenage bomber left london and went on the run. the year before, he declared it was his duty to hate britain because his father had been killed by coalition forces in iraq.

at the time of his attack he was on the government's de—radicalisation programme, prevent, aimed at turning people away from terrorism. he was very cunning and devious and, on the face of it, hassan was engaged on the programme, but coming back to his devious nature, he kept it very secretive in relation to what he was doing, what he was planning, and nobody around him actually knew what his plot was. armed police! 2a hours on from the attack, firearms officers were surrounding hassan‘s house in sunbury in surrey. inside were his petrified elderly foster pa rents, penny and ron jones. this was a couple who had received mbes from the queen for fostering hundreds of children. ahmed hassan repaid them for giving him a home by secretly building a bomb in their kitchen. and it came out in court that the teenager staying in their spare bedroom had told immigration officials he had been kidnapped and trained to kill by the islamic state group.

it is understood thejoneses were not given his full story. after the bombing, hassan headed for dover. he was arrested as he tried to flee the country which had given him a home and an education, but for which he felt only hatred. he will be sentenced next week. people are going to be wondering how a young man who was on a programme designed to prevent getting involved in terrorist activity was making a bomb while on the programme?m in terrorist activity was making a bomb while on the programme? it is an astonishing story. it was with an elite immigration official interview when he said he had been kidnapped and trained to kill by the islamic state group. a charity worker from barnardos was sitting on that interview and raise the alarm, not immigration officials. that was a failing. when orders were told by somebody from the prevent deradicalisation programme that there was no cause for concern and they should look out for signs of strange behaviour, such as him

hanging black flags in his room. at that stage, he was living in a barnardos home. it was decided he should go on the prevent programme. surrey county council, responsible for his welfare at that point, we are told that they did not involve a specialist home office mentor to oversee him on that programme. while he was on that programme, he was actually building his bomb. surrey cou nty actually building his bomb. surrey county council said they apologise, they realise that there were failings in the case and that lessons have been learned. they also apologised to his foster parents. the father of a female engineering student allegedly attacked by a group of women in nottingham has called forjustice for his daughter. 18—year—old mariam moustafa died on wednesday, nearly a month after she was assaulted on a bus in the city centre. the case has caused outrage in egypt where mariam's family are from. nottinghamshire police says there is nothing to suggest it was a hate crime, though they are keeping an open mind. sima kotecha reports from nottingham. 18—year—old mariam moustafa, an

engineering student in nottingham. her family are from egypt and came here for a better life. her sister and father described her as loving, cheerful and intelligent. mariam was always looking at, looking forward to being in engineering. she was a hard worker. she always put all her effort into being in engineering. in february, as the teenager was making her way to see her mother and sister, she was attacked. she caught a bus on this street to try and get away from the girls. however, they followed her. police say she was punched several times. she died on wednesday. this footage on social media shows what happened on the bus. you, move out my way. you, move out of my way. yesterday, police said there was no information to suggest it was a hate crime, but that they were keeping an open mind. however, today, they acknowledged there had been a previous incident

involving mariam and that the family had expressed concern about it. 0fficers said they were reviewing that case. mariam was discharged from hospital after the attack, but then she fell ill and was readmitted. that's when she went into a coma. the family gave us these pictures. for me, i still can't believe that she's gone. i still feel like she's around me, i feel like she's going to come knocking on the door saying, "mallak, i'm here." but that's not happening. the egyptian government, as well as her family, have called on the uk authorities to bring those who did this to justice quickly. a 17—year—old girl was arrested on suspicion of assault, but has been released on conditional bail. in a tweet this afternoon, the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, assured the egyptian authorities that nottinghamshire police was investigating the case. sima kotecha, bbc news, nottingham.

as we heard earlier, the russian leader vladimir putin was out on the campaign trail today, ahead of the country's presidential election, on sunday. mr putin is hoping to win his fourth term in office — he's the clear favourite in the opinion polls which show him on nearly 70% of the vote — his next nearest rival is on 7%. so why is mr putin so popular? 0ur moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg travelled to karabash in the russian rust belt to find out. the west fears the kremlin is spreading disorder, but at home many see vladimir putin as a cog that keeps russia moving. this is carol karabash, rust belt russia. this is karabash, rust belt russia. karabash overwhelms the senses, from the smoke of copper works to the biting cold.

0utside, it's 20 below. inside, the heat hits you. this is russian fire and fury. many here support vladimir putin, not because he's forged a great country, but at least one that feels more stable than 19905 russia after the fall of communism. "stability will continue under putin", sergei says. "there is no one else worth voting for". and yet real incomes in russia are falling, the economy stagnating. so the government appeals to patriotism. it tells the people, "we are a player on the world stagew. it tells the people, "we are a player on the world stage. that's little comfort to nina. her biggest concern is making it home, because no one clears the ice outside her apartment block. nina complains her heating bills are getting bigger, but she doesn't blame the kremlin and she doesn't want

a new president. for the retired maths teacher, it's a simple equation. no change equals no risk. "i'll vote for putin", nina says, "so that life doesn't get any worse. "as long as we have no war here, that's what matters". undeeradimir putin, you see two very different russias. there is russia, the military and cyber superpower, flexing its muscles on the international stage. and there is another russia, where more than 20 million people live below the poverty line, and where life is a daily struggle. tatiana can afford the basics, like milk, but not much else. her pension is barely enough to live on. she has to borrow to get by. when i visit tatiana at home, i meet her daughter, natalia. she has been unemployed for four years, but she still has

faith in the kremlin. "i'm for putin", natalia says. "at least putin tries his best". many russians fear change. they worry that change can bring greater instability. and those in power exploit that fear. that benefits vladimir putin. it allows the kremlin to argue it's safer to stick to the same path. steve rosenberg, bbc news, karabash. a brief look at some of the day's other news stories. as many as 70,000 people have fled two separate offe nsives in syria in recent days. the un estimates almost 50,000 people have left the northern town of afrin in the last few days, while activists say 20,000 have escaped rebel—held eastern ghouta, near damascus. police in miami are continuimg

to search under a collapsed footbridge, 2a hours after it fell onto an eight—lane motorway near florida international university. at least six people were killed, and nine injured. the bridge was only completed last saturday. police in east sussex are responding toa police in east sussex are responding to a report of a shooting at a property in saint leonards. people are advised to stay away and remain indoors but the incident is not thought to be terror related. the former president of south africa, jacob zuma, will face prosecution for 16 charges of corruption. mr zuma denies the charges, which relate to a multi—billion—pound arms deal before he took office and include counts of fraud and money laundering. three african countries that are home to the majority of the continent's elephants have signed a petition asking britain and the rest of the eu to ban the legal trade in antique ivory. at a wildlife summit in botswana, the country's president said a complete trade ban would help protect the remaining elephants.

he criticised donald trump for lifting a ban on hunting trophies, saying he was "encouraging poaching". 0ur africa correspondent alastair leithead reports from botswana. botswana is the last sanctuary for africa's elephants. half of the animals left on the continent live here and on its borders. but conservationists say the continuing trade in tusks, be it legal or illegal, to feed the market for ivory in china, means the elephants are still seriously endangered. thousands of elephants are still being killed for their ivory across africa every year, leaving orphans, like these guys. although the scale of the poaching is down from what it was a few years ago, more elephants are being killed every year than are being born. it's still a big crisis for africa's elephants. we haven't passed the worst of the poaching crisis. i fear the worst is yet to come. the political will to address these

issues, unfortunately is not there. it has been in botswana, and if our neighbours can learn from botswa na's example, i feel that we can address this poaching crisis. this is one way to address it, cracking down hard on the poachers and traffickers. a demonstration at the giants club summit shows how lessons learned in counterterrorism are now being used for anti—poaching. making sure animals are worth more alive is important, but many here think ending trade is key. this ivory ornament was bought at auction in the uk as an antique, and therefore legal to sell. but radiocarbon dating proved it was from an elephant killed 13 years ago. if the experts can't tell, then how on earth are the public supposed to know? and i think the default setting when you have that level of uncertainty simply has to be, "we can't afford to sell ivory". that's why a global petition is pushing for an eu and uk ban of antique ivory sales,

now signed by three african presidents. well, i think the way we are moving now, when you look at the other countries coming on board, for example, like china. i think they are setting a wonderful example for others to follow, whether it is the uk, the european union or anyone else involved in the trade. banning the legal ivory trade won't stop the illegal killing and orphaning of elephants, but it's another step towards making ivory a less acceptable ornament. alistair leithead, bbc news, botswana. the first polar bear cub born in britain for a quarter of a century has been filmed for the first time in the scottish highlands. as you can see, mum and cub, born in december, are doing well. the footage was captured by remote cameras for a channel a documentary. highland wildlife park is yet to find out if the cub is a boy or a girl, but it's already proving to be a confident little character, and very cute. in a thrilling two—horse race duel, native river ridden by champion

jockey richard johnson has beaten the favourite might bite to win the gold cup at cheltenham. it'sjohnson's second gold cup win, and comes nearly two decades after his first. andy swiss was there to see all the action. # life could be so sweet on the sunny side of the street.# in racing you need that bit of optimism and with what seemed like the most open of gold cups... any more bets? punters certainly required it. so many factors, not least the soggy, stamina—sapping conditions. but while there were 15 runners, this proved the ultimate two—horse race. in the white nose band native river, and next to him might bite. the rest mere observers as fence after fence, furlong after furlong, they slugged it out. going into the last, they were seemingly inseparable... who will prevail up the cheltenham hill? native river and might bite... but on that final, gruelling gradient it was native river who edged ahead, a remarkable duel and a remarkable victory.

he wins the gold cup! forjockey richard johnson, a second gold cup win, some 18 years after his first. this was even sweeter. i'm still a bit speechless now. the first time i don't think i realised how amazing it was and how hard it is. 18 years later, you realise just to get one of these horses to ride, let alone to win the race, is very difficult. and delight too for dorset trainer colin tizzard — once a dairy farmer and now part of a gold cup—winning team thanks to a horse seemingly enjoying his big moment. well, the gold cup has seen some dramatic duels over the years, and this was right up there, on a day when leading from the start produced the perfect finish. andy swiss, bbc news, cheltenham. that's it. now on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. have a very good night.

welcome to bbc london news with me, victoria hollins. the headlines tonight. two premier league teams will become one in the champions league semifinals after liverpool draw manchester city in the last eight of the competition. video assistant referees will be used at the world cup for the first time after fifa formally approved the technology for this year's torment. and no fairy tale triple

crown for nicky henderson at feldman is native river beating might bite to win the gold cup. hello again. in a moment we will ta ke hello again. in a moment we will take you to cheltenham and for the champions league quarterfinal draw the first to the team that were not there because of what was described asa there because of what was described as a disgrace, shocking and difficult to watch. manchester united were hugely criticised for their defeat as savilla this week but todayjose mourinho launched an astonishing 12 minute defence of himself and his team, ranting uninterrupted at a press conference using notes to back up his point about united's recent record in europe and the premier league which he claims should put their defeat in a different light. i'm not going to run away, not going

to disappear, i'm not going to cry. because i heard a few boos, i will not disappear from the tunnel, running away. the next match, i will be first to go out. i respect the fans, not afraid of anything. i'm not afraid of my somebody‘s son. and now, at 55, i am what i am and i did what i did because of work, because of my talent and my mentality. i could be in another country with the league in the pocket. the kind of league that you win even before it starts. but i am not, i'm here. i'm here and i'm going to be here. in no way am i going to change my mentality. what an extraordinary outburst. that's just part of 12 minutes and

more. you can see it all on the bbc sport website. all of that because they were not in the hat for the champions league quarterfinal draw today. perhaps fitting that their two biggest rivals are paired together, liverpool will pay manchester city in the last eight —— will play. the games will be in april, the first game at anfield. the first english side at this stage since 2011. a fascinating draw, manchester city just two wins away from the premier league title at the moment. liverpool though are the only team to beat them so far in this league campaign. they finished 4-3 at this league campaign. they finished 11—3 at anfield in january, this league campaign. they finished 11—3 at anfield injanuary, thrilling game. the previous meeting finished 5-0 to game. the previous meeting finished 5—0 to man city so let's go ahead and promised goals at this stage. of all of the teams left liverpool and city get a draw that will take them 30 miles each way along the and 62. let's move a little further away. people who have to actually travel some sort of distance. spain where

there are three la liga teams involved in the champions league quarterfinals including barcelona. thanks in part to lionel messi kubot selfie out in the last round. they have room while real madrid take on juventus. this is a repeat of the 20 17th final. the only knockout win that real madrid have against juventus since 2003 and the italian legendary goalkeeper has not won this competition before. he retired at the end of the season. the other spanish side savilla after beating manchester united played bayern munich but the standout ty very much a meaningless birth at that perspective is liverpool against manchester city. 21 points separate them butjurgen klopp is the only manager to have a winning record against that party alone. of those who have played ten times. against that party alone. of those who have played ten timesm against that party alone. of those who have played ten times. ifi thought about one of the other teams idid not thought about one of the other teams i did not think, that is a