hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. a turkish air strike has reportedly hit the main hospital in the syrian town of afrin, killing nine people. it's not yet clear whether medical staff are among the dead. turkey's military, and its syrian allies, have denied hitting civilians in their offensive against the kurdish militia, who control the northern town. around 30,000 people have fled the area in recent days. lebo diseko reports. an exodus, the seemingly endless stream of civilians leaving afrin. desperation punctuated by the sound of despair. tens of thousands of people are said to have left the city near the border with turkey. the united nations says 50,000 have left in the last few days alone. translation: we have no money. we have nothing. we have kids. all of us left our houses. where can we go?

translation: houses and buildings are bombarded and this is why we left the city of afrin. human rights organisations must speak about those things. translation: i am arabic. i have six children on the frontline. we will not abandon afrin. i want to return. i just want to find shelter for those children and then i will return to afrin. this is what they are escaping. turkey is bombarding the mainly kurdish town, trying to force out fighters from the ypg. turkey calls the kurdish militia terrorists. but the group has been key in the fight against the so—called islamic state which is why the us has been backing it. it is perhaps afrin‘s proximity to the border that makes turkey feel so threatened. turkish fighters have now almost completely encircled the town. 0n the other side of the country, just outside damascus in eastern ghouta another big military operation.

syrian government forces helped by russia are trying to retake the area from the opposition. calls for a ceasefire have been ignored. it is thought that 80 people were killed by russian airstrikes on ghouta. 14 of them were children. thousands of civilians have now made the journey out of town but seven years into this conflict and with no end in sight, the future for people here looks bleak. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. police in britain have opened a criminal investigation into the mysterious death of a russian exile, nikolai glushkov. it comes two weeks after a russian double agent, sergei skripal, was attacked with a deadly nerve agent in the town of salisbury. the metropolitan police say the two aren't connected. meanwhile, the kremlin has reacted angrily to britain's foreign secretary, borisjohnson, who said it was "overwhelmingly likely" that

vladimir putin personally directed the nerve agent attack in the uk. moscow described the comment as "shocking" and "unforgivable". an iraqi asylum seeker who set off a home—made bomb on the london underground has been found guilty of attempted murder. 18—year—old ahmed hassan planted the device on a train in south—west london in september. more than 50 people were injured in the explosion — experts say that if it had detonated fully, it could have claimed many lives. an indian pop star has been sentenced to two years in prison for smuggling migrants abroad. daler mehndi and six others were accused of cheating people of large sums of money by falsely promising to take them to western countries. hollywood trade publications are reporting thatjohn bailey, the president of the organisation that oversees the oscars, is being

investigated over allegations of sexual misconduct. the reports citing unnamed sources said the academy of motion picture arts and sciences is investigating three claims of sexual harassment against its president. 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 referees' decisions to be reviewed. the move was announced by fifa president, gianni infantino, at the organisation's council meeting in colombia. for more on all of these stories, just go to our website. and don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter, i'm @lvaughanjones. two women have been shot dead at a house in east sussex tonight. two other women, one of whom is pregnant, are said to have been taken

to hospital after being injured. sussex police have arrested a man in connection with the incident in the seaside town of st leonards. more now on the investigation into the death of a russian exile in london. the body of nikolai glushkov was found at his home on monday. a postmortem examination suggested he'd been strangled. tom symond's report contains flashing images. 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. 0minous 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 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, boris johnson, assured the egyptian authorities that nottinghamshire police was investigating the case. 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'll face trial on sixteen counts of racketeering, fraud, money—laundering and corruption. mr zuma denies any wrongdoing. the bbc‘s milton nkosi

reports from johannesburg. . the 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 is neither 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, problem 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, schabir 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. i'm 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. so i never got involved. there were allegations, and these allegations 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 rural nkandla. the current charges he is facing have nothing to do with his latest corruption scandal, involving his relationship will 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. this is bbc news. the agencies say over 50,000 people have fled afrin in the last few days alone. syrian allies deny hitting civilians in their offensive against the kurdish

militia who control the northern town. police have launched a murder investigation after the death of a russian exile in south—west london. nikolai glushkov had been a critic of vladimir putin. an iraqi teenager who smuggled himself into britain on a lorry to seek asylum has been found guilty of the london tube bombing at parsons green. 18—year—old ahmed hassan left his bomb ona 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 has emerged that ahmed hassan was on the government's deradicalisation programme, prevent a while he was plotting the attack. the government says there are lessons to be learned from the case. he made for training and then a view 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. there was panic all - me, 1.23- ,, there was panic all - me, 55; around me, the as death and injury. it was maximum death and injury. it was said. be maximum death and injury. it was said . be pure luck that his bomb said to be pure luck that his bomb only partially exploded. ‘s computer—generated graphic shows the scene in the carriage after the attack. he had used an explosive known as mother of satan. at parsons green, a major emergency operation got under way. terrified passengers we re got under way. terrified passengers were taken off the train, injured commuters carried out of the station. meanwhile, the teenage, 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 deradicalisation programme, aimed at turning people away from terrorism. he was very cunning and devious and

on the face of it he was engaged on the programme by coming back to his devious nature he came it very secretive in relation to what he was doing and what he problem was. 24 hours on from the attack, officers were surrounding his house in sunbury in surrey. inside were his petrified elderly foster parents. this was a couple who had received mbe‘s from the queen from fostering hundreds of children's. ahmed hassan repaid them for giving him children's. ahmed hassan repaid them forgiving him a children's. ahmed hassan repaid them for giving him a home by secretly to a bomb in the 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 the joneses by the islamic state group. it is understood thejoneses awful, but given his full story. after the bombing, he headed to dover. he was arrested as he tried to flee the country had given him a home and an

education, but for which he felt only hatred. he will be sentenced next week. leaders from across southeast asia are meeting in sydney to combat terrorism in the region. a special asean summit is being hosted by astra earlier. and meeting is expected to result in agreement to harmonise counterterrorism laws and share intelligence. —— australia. security at the top of the agenda, what exactly are the leaders hoping to get out of all this? asean is all about corporation, they don't really talk about domestic problems in each other‘s countries. there is a case to be made that the threat from carrot in the region is evolving, as resort in the philippines last year, groups affiliating themselves to the so—called islamic state show that there is potentially a resurgence of

extremist violence in the region. the idea is to harmonise the laws so that people will work together, it is possible to possibly extradite suspects from one country to another and also share intelligence of nearly to prevent attacks. to some extent that is where australia has an interest in this. we have seen plots halted in astra earlier thanks to intelligence from abroad so it may not be a member of asean but it has a vested interest in making sure the counterterrorism works. he said that countries tended not to get involved in other‘s domestic affairs of. not quite possible. demonstrations or eat you are. -- where you are. yes, although kept well away from the leaders of. primarily it has been under the human rights records of cambodia, the prime minister has been in power

for over 30 years and is accused of silencing and imprisoning his opponents there. there has been a strong showing from the cambodian community in sydney and further afield, calling for him to leave. you have made heard in advance of the summit he threatened to beat up anybody who burnt an effigy of him. also the plight of the rohingya people, hundreds of thousands who fled myanmar because of the threat of violence. the state council —— the state council is one of the leaders at asean, she hasn't spoken publicly yet. she faces or questions around her ability to stop the process and her culpability for the rohingyas suffering. malcolm turnbull said he will discuss with her and other asean leaders but will do it as part of bilateral talks,

not as partners of the summit because that would break the protocol of not interfering in domestic matters. see what comes out in the next couple of hours, thank you. skiers in the republic of georgia were forced to jump for their lives when a ski lift suffered a severe malfunction in the causcasus mountains. at least 12 people were injured when the lift went into reverse at and began throwing people off at speed, near the country's border with russia. georgina smythe reports. holidaymakers watch in horror as a day on a mountain turns to mayhem. a ski lift travelling downhill at georgia's gudauri resort fails, picking up speed and flinging skiers off backwards off the slope. this skiier in an orange jacket is suddenly hurtled into the carnage, as lift chairs pile at the bend. terrified onlookers are unable to do anything to watch. further uphill, skiiers seeing the danger ahead jumped for their lives, abandoning the lift and scrambling out of the way whilst screaming for others to do the same. suddenly the lift comes to a stop and this is the gnarled destruction left behind. the injured extracted

from the wreckage and treated close by on the snow. the gudauri resort, which is regarded as the country's best and most popular ski station, confirmed at least 12 people received moderate injuries, but there are no reports of any fatalities. the incident has shocked the industry, the mountain resort development company of the ministry of economy of georgia stated they had contacted the ski lift producer and will investigate the incident. next, the first polar bear in

britain born in britain for the quarter of a century has been filmed for first—time. it was quarter of a century has been filmed forfirst—time. it was born in a wildlife park in the scottish highlandsjust wildlife park in the scottish highlands just before christmas. staff are yet to find out whether that there is a boy or girl. pictures were captured by remote cameras as it ventured outside its enclosure. after the initial first cries, tentative first steps after weeks in the warmth of its ten. emerging from the den, it's mum close by. this is how we knew we had the polar bear cub. you can hear the sound. keeper vicki larkin was the first to find out that a cub had arrived. super excited. it is probably the most exciting thing to happen in my whole zoo career. i am really excited to see how the cub grows, getting to know its little character and also just eventually

sharing it with the public as well. it is just such an amazing thing to happen. the two male polar bears of the park are kept in a separate enclosure, well away from the female and its new offspring. you canjust see at the back, he will never meet his cub. replicating what would happen in the wild. everything in the mother does, the cub copies. it is learning and growing fast. inquisitive and for the most part, fearless. some conservationist we're questioned whether these animals should ever be bred in captivity. but keepers here is a diminishing seaice but keepers here is a diminishing sea ice threatens the polar bear population in the wild. we try where possible to get our animals best quality of life that we can. we have some of the largest enclosure is in captivity. the wild population is in

trouble and while we may not be able to do it right now, it may be necessary to augment the wild population from a captive population in the future. the area the cub is exploring is growing fast. it is still being shielded from view. by this polar bear cub should, is likely to be a big draw and people could get to see it in the open within the next few weeks. those polar bears are mum a few looking forward to the cold weather coming in the. let's get a check with the weather. hello there. step outside this 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 the way up to 14 degrees. forget about that for saturday. two or three degrees will be much more typical, and not only will it be cold through the weekend, we'll see some snow and some ice, which brings the potential for some disruption. so here's 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 as snow, because there is some very cold air racing towards us. i say racing — we'll have a really strong easterly wind blowing, and that will make it feel extremely cold. now, i've taken the cloud off the charts to allow us to focus on the snow. you can see this band of snow moving across southern areas. that could give a covering in places, then these showers feeding in across the east, particularly in 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 sub—zero across many parts of the country.

and then, as we go into saturday night, we have met office amber "be prepared" warnings in force, initially across parts of eastern england, into the north midlands, also parts 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 through 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 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 a 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 wales. worth staying in touch with our forecast through the weekend. but notice further east, the showers tend to fade away. more on the way of dry weather, some spells of sunshine. it will, though, still be cold. now, high pressure will be sitting to the north as we go through the weekend. during sunday night, that high drifts a bit further westwards, and eventually that

will cut off the feed 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 to start, more unsettled later on. aid agencies in syria say over 50,000 people have fled the rebel—held areas of eastern ghouta, in the last few days alone. dozens of buses are heading towards shelters for the displaced. earlier a turkish air strike hit a major hospital in afrin, killing nine people. a war of words has broken out between london and moscow after the british foreign secretary said it was "overwhelmingly likely" that vladimir putin personally took the decision to use a nerve agent on the former russian spy, sergei skripal and his daughter. the kremlin says the accusations are unforgivable. south africa's former president, jacob zuma, has been charged with corruption a month after he was forced from office. mr zuma denies the sixteen charges which relate to a multibillion—dollar arms deal completed in the 1990s. those are the latest headlines.

now it's time for a look back at the week in parliament.