this is bbc world news, i'm sharanjit leyl. our top stories: britain's anti—terror police launch a murder inquiry into the death of a russian exile living in the uk. nikolai glushkov was found dead at his home near london on monday — he had been a critic of vladimir putin. in a separate development, the british foreign secretary accuses president putin of being behind the recent nerve agent attack in the uk. we think it overwhelmingly likely that it was his decision to direct the use of a nerve agent on the streets of the uk, the streets of europe, for the first time since the second world war. it's emerged that an iraqi teenager found guilty of a tube train bombing in west london, was on the uk government's anti—radicalisation we look at how people are being punished for bad behaviour. hello and welcome to bbc world news.

police here in the uk 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 comes just a week after the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter in salisbury. police say there's no evidence at the moment to link the two cases. it comes as the british foreign secretary, borisjohnson, says he believes vladimir putin was behind the poisoning — which the kremlin denies. tom symond's report on the continuing diplomatic fallout contains flash photography. 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, i mean on your doorstep, for one thing, but to happen to him, it must be a horrid 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. a 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 over the last

12 years or so of kremlin opponents dropping dead across europe. the consequences for the kremlin of this were limited forfar 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 unfold. the direct attack by britain's 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 warfought 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 it 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. officials 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 russia 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. a turkish air strike has reportedly hit a major hospital in afrin in syria, killing nine people. it's not immediately clear whether medical staff were among the dead. it comes as turkish armed forces and their allies have almost completely encircled the city in syria's north. turkey is fighting us—backed kurdish militia that it

considers terrorists. some 30,000 people have fled the area in recent days. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. tens of thousands of slovaks have been protesting in cities across the country about the murder of a journalist investigating corruption. they're calling for early elections, unsatisfied by the resignation on thursday of the prime minister, robert fico. it's the third consecutive friday to have seen mass demonstrations overjan kuciak‘s killing. german chancellor angela merkel is distancing herself from comments by the new interior minister, who says islam doesn't belong to the country. in a newspaper interview, horst seehofer said germany was shaped by christianity, and shouldn't give up its traditions. mr seehofer, who heads a bavaria sister party of merkel‘s conservatives, has been a vocal critic of her refugee policies. and here in britain, a rapist has beenjailed for 23 years after giving himself away

by urinating in a neighbour's plant pot and leaving his dna. eric mckenna raped two women in separate attacks in the 1980s. police hadn't linked the assaults until they were called to the neighbour dispute in 2016 and took swabs from mckenna which matched the cold cases. an iraqi teenager who smuggled himself into britain on a lorry to seek asylum has been found guilty of bombing a london tube train. 18—year—old ahmed hassan left his bomb on the packed train during rush hour. the device only partially detonated, but injured 50 people. it's emerged that hassan was on the british government's de—radicalisation programme while he was plotting the attack. 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. man: 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.

it's been a day of speculation in washington, with rumours of more imminent comings and goings at the white house. earlier in the week we saw the departure of secretary of state rex tillerson. now us news reports have been suggesting that national security adviser, hr mcmaster, was about to be fired. but donald trump's press secretary, sarah sanders, has told reporters that employees have been reassured that there are currently no staff changes planned. the chief of staff actually spoke to a number of staff this morning, reassuring them that there were personnel changes, no immediate personnel changes, no immediate personnel changes, no immediate personnel changes at this time. but people shouldn't be concerned, we should do exactly what we do every day, and that is coming to work and do the very bestjob that we can, and that's exactly what we're doing, it's exactly what we're focused on, and many of us have relayed that two

other staffers that were part of that meeting. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: getting more girls into animation. we hearfrom one award—winning director who wants to even out the gender gap. today we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, fainting, headaches and the dimming of vision, all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself was on the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. it was an international trophy and we understand now that the search for it has become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats

of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: uk police have launched a murder investigation after the death of russian exile in south—west london. separately, britain's foreign secretary accuses president putin of personally directing the recent nerve agent attack in the uk. moscow says the claims are shocking and unforgivable. president trump has signed the taiwan travel act, legislation that allows us officials to travel to taiwan to meet their counterparts. the move is certain to anger china, which views the island as a renegade province. it has previously urged the united states to abide by its one china policy and cease official exchanges with taiwan. our correspondent chris buckler has the latest from washington.

america doesn't have formal ties with taiwan, but it has long been regarded as being one of taiwan's allies and protectors, probably its most important protector. now, what this travel act is effectively going to do is not change that, but it will allow officials from america to travel to the island in order to meet officials there. so that is regarded as being somewhat of a step towards greater diplomatic relationships, even if there is an formerly one, and it is key to point out at this point that the white house has been very careful in its language. it has very much set up to this point that this bill is non—binding, that it wouldn't go into effect even with president trump's signature, but china has reacted by saying that it regards

this as being something that is totally against. it says that really america should stand by its one china policy, and of course that goes back to this old relationship with china. china regards taiwan as being a place that should be under its sovereignty, and therefore a america is potentially getting involved in a pretty diplomatic, sticky situation. and we know it is not the first time that president trump has angered china, when it comes to taiwan, is it? yes, and i think it is also why we are seeing the white house being very careful when it comes to language. it is worth pointing out, of course, that taiwan is economically pretty important force. i mean, it has an extremely good record when it comes to the economy and trade, and america at the moment is causing some problems and ripples with its relationship with china because of this talk of tariffs, and very much president trump talking tough on trade, saying that as far as he is

concerned, china in particular is being difficult with trade, that it is unfair that the trading practices are not good for america. and that is why he is talking about these tariffs. but at the same time, i think you are getting these warm words from rossington, as well, because the white house knows it needs beijing at the moment, particularly when it comes to the issue of north korea —— washington. the support of china is very important in that region, as it tries to deal and ease the tensions with north korea. south africa's former president jacob zuma will be prosecuted for corruption, just weeks after being ousted from power. the charges relate to a multibillion—dollar arms deal before he took office. he will face trial on 16 counts of racketeering, fraud, money—laundering and corruption. mr zuma denies any wrongdoing. the bbc‘s milton nkosi reports from johannesburg. the call forjacob zuma to have his day in court has been a long time coming. he is facing 16 charges of corruption, including fraud,

racketeering, and money—laundering. the charges had been controversially set aside nine years ago. paving the way for mr zuma to become president. in the light of the above, i have come to the difficult conclusion that it come to the difficult conclusion thatitis come to the difficult conclusion that it is never possible nor desirable to continue with the prosecution of mr zuma. this case dates back to the early ‘90s, when the state purchased fighter jets, patrol boats and other arms, in a massive defence overhaul now known as the arms deal. the charges relate to allegations that mr zuma solicited bribes for his personal benefit from a french arms company, through his financial adviser, mr shaikh. shaikh was tried and found guilty of corruption. back in 2005.

but the former president has always maintained his innocence. this is what he told me when i asked him about these corruption allegations back in 2012. there's nothing to clear my name of. absolutely. nothing. iam sure i am sure that is just politicking, more than anything. there is nothing. you know, there was only one issue that was raised some time ago, the arms deal. and i was never even involved in the processes of the arms deal. i was still a provincial minister, i was not even in the national house. so i never got involved. there were allegations, and this allegation couldn't stick. i have got no corruption to clear. mr zuma is no stranger to controversy. two years ago, he was ordered by the highest court in the land to repay some of the public money used for security upgrades at his private residence

in a rural location. the current charges he is facing have nothing to do with his latest corruption scandal, involving his relationship with the controversial gupta family. the prosecuting authority said it has more than 200 witnesses lined up for this case. this is going to be a long and complicated trial. milton nkosi, bbc news, johannesburg. about a dozen people are reported to have been injured after a ski—lift ran out of control in the caucasus mountains in georgia. video footage of the incident in the gudauri ski resort shows a chairlift apparently moving in reverse, pulling skiers back around the pulley to the start of the lift. as it malfunctions, the cable doesn't stop and the chairs start smashing into each other. several skiers try to jump off the moving lift to avoid the pile—up. a local mayor said the lift stopped in a power cut, and then started travelling at speed in reverse. football's world governing body,

fifa, has confirmed that video assistant referees will be used at this year's world cup in russia. var technology has been trialled in several major leagues this season, and will allow for certain decision made by the referee in a game to be reviewed. the decision was announced by fifa president gianni infantino at the organisation's council meeting in colombia. animation is fast—growing industry, with a massive international audience and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues. but, for the most part, it has been dominated by men. well, at thursday night's british animation awards, a record number of women were nominated, making up almost a quarter of the finalists. still, one of the winners says more needs to be done to get young girls into the industry. chi chi izundu has more. hiya! it is an enemies—to—friends story.

it's so nice to finally have some company. a polar bear and a grizzly bear forced into survival together because of their changing environments. we could team up! four paws better than two, right? but this year's winner for the favourite film at the british animation awards says it is important more women in the industry are given an opportunity to create. young women coming up, even little girls coming up, feel that this is something that's achievable. so it is important. it is important because it puts it there as a possibility, as opposed to feeling swamped in a world where it feels unattainable. according to 2017 figures, the animation industry employs around 7,750 people. out of that number, just over 2,300 are women. but look at the percentage of creators in comparison to back office roles for women. only 21% are animators. the rest work in distribution, sales and marketing. demand for animation is increasing,

with the growing popularity of streaming and immersive experiences like augmented reality and virtual reality. and paloma says that should create more chances for female—led stories. what we all want in the industry is for equality, so it's not a situation where a woman is being hired because she's a woman. really, parity and equality comes from opportunity, and equal opportunity, and it being an even playing field. last of the dried supplies. chi chi izundu, bbc news. a man in romania has failed in his bid to get a court to recognise that he is alive, despite turning up in person in front of the judge. the romanian authorities declared constantin reliu officially deceased in 2016, after his wife sought a death certificate. he had left to work in turkey in the 1990s, falling out of contact with his family. mr reliu, who is 63, only realised he was dead

when the turkish authorities deported him because his paperwork had expired. now, here is one for those with a sweet tooth. the world's most expensive chocolate has gone on display in portugal. the diamond—shaped treat is filled with saffron threads, white truffle, madagascan vanilla, and coated in 23—carat edible gold leaf. but, if you fancy one, it is going to cost you almost $9,500. that is quite a sweet treat indeed. thank you so much for watching. i will be back with some half heads. hello there. step outside this

weekend and you may well have a bit ofa weekend and you may well have a bit of a shock to the system, particularly if you got to enjoy some sunshine during friday, because in southern areas, that lifted temperatures all out to 1a degrees. forget about that for saturday. two 01’ forget about that for saturday. two or three degrees will be much more typical, and not only will it be called through the weekend, we will see some snow and some ice, which brings the potential for some disruption. so here is how the early pa rt disruption. so here is how the early part of saturday shapes up. this band of snow drifting southwards and westwards, perhaps still some rain and sleet into the far south—west, but these showers following on from the east will all be falling snow, because there is some very cold air towards us. i say racing, we will have a really strong easterly wind blowing, and that will make it feel extremely cold. now, i have taken the cloud of the charts to allow us to focus on the snow. you can see this band of snow moving across

southern areas, that will give recovering in places, then the showers feeding in across the east, but the key parts of northern england. all the while, for northern ireland in scotland, not as many showers. there will be some sunshine here, but wherever you are, a cold day, and then when we add on the strength of the wind and factor that into the equation, well, it will feel like it is subzero across many parts of the country. and then, as we go into saturday night, we have met office came but be prepared warnings in force initially across parts of eastern england, into the north midlands, also part of the south—east, including the london area. and then into sunday, parts of south—west england and south wales. these are the areas most prone to disruptive snowfall as we head to saturday night and into sunday. lots of showers pushing in from the east, as you can see. and then later in the night, through the early hours, there is the potential for

the night, through the early hours, there is the potentialfor an the night, through the early hours, there is the potential for an area of more persistent snow to develop across the south—west of england and into the south of wales. temperatures dropping below freezing, so quite widespread frost and some ice to take us into sunday morning. so on sunday there is the potential for significant and disruptive snow across the south—west of england and the south—west of england and the south—west of england and the south—west of wales. worth touch @ forecast gm! dry weather, some spells sunshine. iti; though, . . , sunshine. iti; though. still , of sunshine. it will, though, still be cold. now, high pressure will be sitting through the north has to go through the weekend. during sunday night, that high drifts a bit further westwards, and eventually that will cut off the feet of easterly winds, giving something a bit more northerly. still not a very warm wind direction, but things will turn a bit less cold through next week. dry the start, more unsettled later on. this is bbc news, the headlines: uk police have launched a murder investigation after the death of a russian exile in south—west london on monday. nikolai glushkov had been a critic of president vladimir putin. in a separate development, britain's foreign secretary has accused president putin

of personally directing the recent nerve agent attack in the uk. russia has denied involvement, saying the accusations are "shocking and unforgivable". an iraqi teenager has been found guilty of bombing a london tube train. 18—year—old ahmed hassan left his bomb on the packed train during rush hour last september. the device only partially detonated, but injured 50 people. a turkish air strike has hit a major hospital in the syrian town of afrin, killing nine people. it comes as turkish armed forces and their allies have almost completely encircled the town. now on bbc news — injanuary 2017 finland began a bold social experiment: the government started paying 2,000 unemployed finns a basic income. it's free money — it comes with no strings attached.