welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: as the conflict in syria continues, aid agencies say over 50,000 people have fled afrin in the last few days alone. the british foreign secretary accuses president putin of being behind the nerve—agent attack on sergei skripal and his daughter. 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. the fbi's deputy is fired by the us attorney general. andrew mccabe is sacked just days before he was due to retire. jumping to safety. a dozen people are injured when a ski—lift goes out of control in a ski resort in georgia. 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, a 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. there's been a swift and angry response from the kremlin after the british foreign secretary said it was "overwhelmingly likely" that vladimir putin personally took the decision to use a nerve agent on a former russian spy in the uk. moscow said borisjohnson‘s comments were "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. 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 russia's london 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. well, meanwhile police in london have opened a criminal investigation into the mysterious death of another russian exile, nikolai glushkov, who was found at his home on monday. a postmortem examination suggested he'd been strangled. although he died just a week after the attack on sergei skripal and his daughter, officers aren't

linking the two cases so far. here's tom symond's. again, there's 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. 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. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. 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. hollywood trade publications are reporting thatjohn bailey, the president of the organisation that oversees the oscars awards is being investigated over allegations of sexual misconduct. the reports, citing unnamed sources, say the academy of motion picture arts and sciences is investigating three claims of sexual harassment against its president. 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 out of large sums of money by falsely promising to take them to western countries. 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. in the past couple of hours it's been announced that the former number two at the fbi has been fired by the u.s attorney generaljeff sessions. andrew mccabe was disliked by president trump and faced accusations that he misled justice department officials in an investigation. he says it's a set up. and in another twist, mr mccabe was due to retire in just two days, now a significant part of his pension might not be paid. 0ur washington correspondent chris buckler gave me details of mr mccabe's sacking. yet another late—night sacking comes connected to the white house itself. andrew mccabe basically oversaw a

controversial investigation into hillary clinton that took place during the presidential election. during that, he allowed some representatives from the el to brief a report and the question has become about exactly whether he was forthcoming or not about what he allowed them to brief. the fbi office —— office of responsibility said there was a lack of can—do, which is not forthcoming and is a series defence and they had recommended action was taken against him.jeff recommended action was taken against him. jeff sessions has taken the action tonight and he has fired him. as you mentioned, just a matter of 36 hours before his 50th birthday and 36 hours before he was due to retire. he had stepped down already from the post but was due to formally retire after more than 20 yea rs of formally retire after more than 20 years of service with the el. he would have been entitled to a full

pension but that now is in doubt because he has been fired. what has also happened to note is that we have a full and very lengthy statement from andrew mccabe and he is very strong on it. he criticises president trump or amplifying things, not least on twitter. you might remember one tweet some months ago in which he said fbi deputy director andrew mccabe is racing the clock to retire with full benefits, 90 days to go? he feels that president trump has turned this into a political situation, he feels that he has been a victim of a political firing and says that he specifically because of events he witnessed whenever president trump fired the director of the fbi, james cammy. —— james comey. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: a dozen people are injured after a ski lift, malfunctions and moves into reverse at a resort in the mountains of georgia. 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: aid agencies say over 50,000 people have fled of being behind the nerve agent attack on sergei skripal and his daughter. the kremlin calls the comments shocking and unforgivable. tens of thousands of slovaks have been protesting in cities across the country about the murder of a journalist investigating corruption. they are calling for early elections, unsatisfied by the resignation on thursday of the prime minister robert fico. it is the third consecutive friday to have seen mass demonstrations overjan kuciak‘s killing. nimesh thaker reports. it is estimated at least 60,000

people joined rallies calling for fresh elections and an end to corruption. the gatherings have been held for the last three weeks, and were prompted the killing of journalist jan kuciak and his fiancee, martina kusnirova. several people were arrested and then released. no—one has been charged. activists say mr kuciak was investigating alleged corruption linked to italian organised crime. critics say that the government failed to act when his unfinished story was published after his murder in february. the family of the victims told reporters they wanted justice. the political pressure has forced the resignation of prime minister robert fico, but he has claimed his deputy and the government has a mandate to serve his full four—year term. this has left many unimpressed.

translation: the whole government should fall, and people should decide again in new elections. this would be the fairest solution. translation: i came to support the right thing, so i would not have to leave my country, and in order to start feeling good and to save this place. protests were held in towns and cities across the country, and it wasn'tjust the prime minister who felt the pressure. the interior minister, the culture minister, and other senior officials also lost theirjobs. demonstrators say they won't rest until early elections are held. all they say they want is a decent slovakia. leaders from across south east asia are meeting in sydney to agree on new measures to combat terrorism in the region. the special asean summit is being hosted by australia, which is eager to work more closely with member nations. the meeting is expected to result in an agreement to harmonise counter—terrorism laws and share intelligence.

earlier i spoke to the bbc‘s hywel griffith in sydney. i asked what the leaders hoped to get out of it. well, i guess asean is all about cooperation. are really talk about domestic problems, but there is a case to be made that... as we saw earlier in marawi, groups affiliating themselves with the islamic state show there is a resurgence of extremist violence in the region. so the idea is, as you said, to harmonise the laws so that people will work together. it is possible to extradite suspects from one country to another, and also ultimately to prevent attacks. i think to some extent that is where australia has an interest in this. we have seen plots halted here in australia thanks to intelligence from abroad. so it may not be a member of asean, but it has a vested interest in making sure that the

counterterror measures in the asean nations work. you said interestingly there that countries tend not to get involved in each other‘s domestic affairs. not quite possible, though, of course — demonstrations there where you are. yes, although the demonstrators have been kept well away from the leaders. primarily the demonstrations have been around the human rights records of two countries. first of all cambodia, whose prime minister, hun sen, has been in powerfor over 30 years, and is accused of silencing and imprisoning his opponents there. so there has been a strong showing from the cambodian community, here in sydney and further afield, calling for him to leave. you may have heard in advance of the summer that he was threatening, actually, to beat up anyone who burnt an effigy of him. but as i said, the two sides kept very much apart, at the moment at least. but also the plight of the rohingya people, hundreds of thousands of people who fled myanmar because of the violence there. aung san suu kyi has not

spoken publicly yet. she is here at asean. of course she faces lots of questions about her ability to stop that process, and her culpability for the rohingya's suffering. australia's prime minister, malcolm turnbull, has said he will discuss human rights with asean leaders, but he will do it as part of direct bilateral talks, not as part of the summit, because essentially that would break the protocol of not interfering in domestic matters. 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. 0ur africa correspondent alastair leithead reports from botswa na.

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 poaching is down from what it was a few years ago, more elephants are being killed every year than are being born. it is 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 is unfortunately not there. it has been in botswana, and if our neighbours can learn from botswa na's example, i feel we can address the 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 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 is 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,

or the european union, or anyone else who's involved in the trade. banning the legal ivory trade won't stop the illegal killing and orphaning of elephants, but it is another step towards making ivory a less acceptable ornament. alastair leithead, bbc news, botswana. skiers in the republic of georgia were forced to jump for their lives when a ski—lift suffered a severe malfunction in the caucasus mountains. at least 12 people were injured when the lift went into reverse 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 on the slope. picking up speed and flinging skiers 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. 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. the chocolate is strictly limited edition. only 1,000 are being made. but, if you fancy one, it is going to cost you. the precious sweet is priced at almost $9,500. rupaul has become the first drag queen to be awarded a star on the hollywood walk of fame. rupaul said it was the most important moment of his professional life, while jane fonda, who presented the honour, said the star should have been three times the size of all the others. you bbc. —— you are watching bbc news. 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 from the east, particularly across parts of northern england. all the while, for northern ireland and 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 in 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 little bit further westwards, and eventually that will cut off the feed of easterly winds, giving us 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. this is bbc news. the headlines: 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. the former deputy director of the fbi has been sacked, by the us attorney general less than two days before he was due to retire. andrew mccabe was deeply involved in investigating hillary clinton's use of e—mail and russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election campaign. the father of a female engineering student allegedly attacked by a group of women in nottingham has called for "justice"