this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 11. russia's leader, vladimir putin has declared victory in his country's presidential election, with results so far pointing to a landslide. borisjohnson has accused russia of stockpiling the nerve agent used in the salisbury attack. travel disruption and school closures in the west of england and wales — as the so—called ‘mini beast from the east‘ brings snow and ice to much of the uk. and facebook announces a review after allegations that private information was harvested for use by political campaigns. residents from clifftop chalets in norfolk are told to evacuate their homes — at risk of coastal erosion due to the high tide. and an arts and textiles teacher from north—west london, becomes the first person from this country to win a million—dollar teaching prize. good evening and welcome to bbc news.

the foreign secretary borisjohnson has accused russia of making and stockpiling the nerve agents known as novichok, used in the salisbury poisoning two weeks ago. sergei skripal and his daughter remain critically ill but today president putin said it was nonsense to say that russia was responsible. we'll hear from our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg in a moment — but first our diplomatic correspondent james robbins. whatever the weather, the decontamination work and forensic investigation in salisbury goes on. two weeks after the chemical attack on the skripals it is clear that one focus of the enquiry is his bmw, amid suggestions that the chemical agent may have been played —— placed

there to be ensure the occupants we re there to be ensure the occupants were poisoned. a team of international chemical experts arrives in salisbury tomorrow to did they begin a further independent investigation. it today, the foreign secretary went further than ever, blaming russia and lifting the veil a little on secret intelligence. borisjohnson a little on secret intelligence. boris johnson says a little on secret intelligence. borisjohnson says it a little on secret intelligence. boris johnson says it shows a little on secret intelligence. borisjohnson says it shows that russia has been making nerve agent within the last decade. we have evidence within the last ten years that russia has not only been investigating the delivery of nerve agents or the purposes of assassination, it has also been creating and stockpiling novichok. the foreign secretary also dismissed and ride the suggestion from one of russia's most senior diplomats that the nerve agent used in salisbury could actually have come from britain's own military research facility. porton down, as we now all know, is the largest military

facility in the united kingdom. it has been dealing with chemical weapons and research. and it is only eight miles from salisbury. you are not suggesting that porton down is responsible for this nerve agent?” don't know. however theresa may's government got solid support from the shadow chancellor after criticism ofjeremy corbyn‘s more questioning of approach. vladimir putin has questions to answer because this is likely to have been a state execution. what we do not do in this country is the we do not lea p to in this country is the we do not leap to conclusions without evidence. as the investigation continues, the government will focus on broadening international backing for britain's stamp. on tuesday, there will be discussions as to whether or not a second round of measures against moscow will be launched at the risk of an endless tit—for—tat. this evening president putin said claims that his country was behind

the skripal poisoning were ‘nonsense but that russia will work with the uk. he was speaking after winning another term in office in the presidential election. steve rosenberg has the latest from moscow. he has been centrestage in russia for the last 18 years. tonight, by the kremlin, vladimir putin sent his people for re—electing their president. we are destined to succeed, he said. russia, russia, they chanted. however, in putin's fourth term, our russia and the west destined for a cold war? later, the president dismissed rich accusations that he was behind the nerve agent attack in salisbury. translation: make it is rubbish, drivel, nonsense to think that russia would do something like that ahead of a

presidential election and the world cup. president putin's pitch to voters had been to stick with me and russia will be strong. and many russians believe that. he is a genius. blood if it wants russia to prosper and thrust to live in happiness. she says that it is thanks to vladimir putin russia still exist. however, critics of the kremlin says that the election was fixed and only those candidates who stood no chance of an seating vladimir putin were allowed to run. the problem with russia is that there is no such thing as russian politics. politics has been rock eliminated in russia altogether. there is only one political institution in russia and that is the physical body of vladimir putin. which is why vladimir putin was a lwa ys which is why vladimir putin was always going to win this vote. this election was not about choosing a new president. it was about reappointing the old one. and

although many russians to support vladimir putin, crucially, it is the political system he has built in russia that guaranteed him a landslide win. these images are embarrassing, however. caught on cctv, a woman stuffs a ballot box near moscow. suddenly, there is none of them at it. and during a vote count in siberia, balloons are moved to cover the camera. election officials say they will investigate. but the results will not change. neither will the name of russia's president. the 42—year—old television presenter seen the 42—year—old television presenter seen here on the left was arrested after hailing a roadside breathalyser test. police were called to lower richmond road in mortla ke late called to lower richmond road in mortlake late this afternoon along with ambulance and fire crews. a number of people were treated for

minor injuries and a child was taken to hospital. much of the uk has been on the mid—of a second significant snowfall of the winter. for many areas it was combined with bitterly cold winds bringing misery to those travelling this weekend. there are reports. snowstorms and snowdrift. be seen many people woke up to this morning. strong wind causing blizzard conditions making driving treacherous. in the north—west, snow gates on the a 66 remain closed between cumbria and counted on and just getting outside the front door in newcastle was no mean feat. we have been here for a good hour and i have done a quarter of this road so iam making have done a quarter of this road so i am making headway. there were severe delays as trains were stopped in their tracks. railway stations across the country have also seen delays and cancellations. in gloucester, sporting fixtures like the anglo welsh cup final had to be

called off for snow stopped play. and as the heaviest snowfall hit the south—west, bristol airport stopped flights with exeter airport cancelling flights for the rest of the day. the snow showed no sign of giving up in devon and neither did those trying to keep traffic moving. while snowploughs and critters cleared major roads, some drivers we re cleared major roads, some drivers were stuck and there were problems on the m5 and a roads with murderous seemingly ignoring repeated appeals not to go out unless it was essential. when people ignore those warnings it does get frustrating because the already stretched resources about us and our partner agencies have, become even more stretched, rescuing people and recovering them who really have no reason to be out in this weather.m was not all doom and gloom as the so—called mini beast from the east swept through. another snow day, played a back and. but there is an amber warning in place across the

south—west until the early hours of tomorrow morning with ice at being a major risk. facebook has tonight announced the competency of review to determine whether the personal data of 50 million users has been compromised after reports of this use by cambridge analytic, the campaign firm used by donald trump. it comes as the head of the company has been call back —— called back to face a committee of mps. both facebook and cambridge analytica deny any wrong doing. we have more details from new york. the revelation that tens of millions of facebook users have had their personal data harvested in this way have caused dismay on both sides of the atlantic and may have profound implications. both facebook and cambridge analytica deny any wrong doing and they say they have not broken the law. could be precisely the fact that they have not broken

the fact that they have not broken the law that causes alarm because there are at least three layers to this story. who knew what and when. the whistleblower from cambridge analytica has given an account of what happened which has blatant inconsistencies with that given by facebook and cambridge analytica. the second issue is public safety. we live in and there were a few superstar firms have become fabulously wealthy by masking vast droves of personal data. consumers need to wise up to the fact that they go online they leave a huge digital footprint they go online they leave a huge digitalfootprint and they go online they leave a huge digital footprint and individuals, companies and governments can and use that personal data to do things that they may not particularly like. the third layer is the politics of it. we have now to regulators and bridges looking at whether or not cambridge analytica was involved in the brexit referendum, the eu referendum. in america there are concerns and questions about the role in the election of donald trump. it is proven, as cambridge analytica claim, that they used psychological profiling to target and influence voters, if that is the

case and perhaps the fragility of western democracy owes at least as much to our online habits as our off—line ones. amount has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after at least 13 people were injured when at least 13 people were injured when a car was driven into a busy nightclub in gravesend. it was thought the car drove into a cupboard smoke and area. police say it is a miracle that nobody was killed. a packed tented area of the club for smokers, ploughed into by a four—wheel drive— at just before midnight. ploughed into by a four—wheel drive— atjust before midnight. bbc dj was there. my god, i nearly died. this car came through the club. look! police say 13 people were hurt although it was likely that others we re although it was likely that others were injured left the club for ambulances arrived. everyone was panicking, screaming and crying. i remember this one girl, she was right next to me. she was only

little that she was crying so much because her friend was outside. we don't know if they got hit or not but the amount she was crying we think she may have. this woman says her first thought was to text her pa rents. her first thought was to text her parents. i was shaking. i her first thought was to text her parents. iwas shaking. i had never shaken a much i like. ijust thought in my head i have to make sure that my parents know where i am and that this happened. i don't get out of here. obviously something bad really does happen in the them to know that i love them. a 20—year—old man is being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder. it was believed he had been asked to leave earlier in the evening following an altercation. the owners say they are deeply saddened that people were injured here last night and were relieved that no—one was killed. they say their thoughts and prayers go out to the guest and the staff members who have been affected by what happened. police are not treating the incident as terror related. syria's president bashar al—assad has visited soldiers in eastern ghouta — an area his forces have been trying to retake from the rebels.

these images — published on a syrian presidency facebook page — show him surrounded by troops. a monitoring group has confirmed that government forces and their allies now control some 80% of eastern ghouta. thousands more civilians fled on sunday. but a pro—rebel website says there's been relative calm for the first time in a month. the turkish president says the northern syrian city of afrin is now under turkish control after its troops backed by syrian allies, entered the city centre. turkey has been engaged in a two—month battle with kurdish fighters over the city, in northern syria. the kurdish administration of afrin says its forces will now strike turkish and allied militia positions at "every opportunity". mark lowen reports from istanbul. the sound, not of battle but of celebration. syrian rebel fighters

act by turkey taking the town of afrin after a lightning advance. their flags marked the new order here. the ypg, kurdish militia, had promised to fight to the death in afrin, but in the end, their resistance looked to melt away. afrin fell within hours, the vestiges of the ypg ripped away. in the name of god the merciful, we are now inside afrin liberated from terrorism, says this fighter, the city has returned to the syrian revolution and we call on all residents to come back. the scars of this two month—long offensive are everywhere, a town encircled and besieged, residents fleeing the turkish advance. over 150,000 people are said to have escaped in recent days. a triumphant president erdogan announced the success. turks from all sides have rallied behind an offensive, targeting a group they say are linked to kurdish militants within turkey. crushing age—old foes is a rare uniting force in this otherwise polarised country.

translation: most of the terrorists have already fled with their tails between their legs. our special forces and members of the free syrian army are clearing the remaining pockets of resistance. in the centre of afrin, symbols of trust and stability are waving, instead of the rags of terrorists. as a kurdish statue in central afrin was torn down, a bad omen for the much needed reconciliation. many residents who will return are kurds, hostile to turkey and syrian arab fighters. but in some areas of afrin, the rebels were welcomed as liberators, the question now is whether turkey will push on to other ypg—held territory. that will be discouraged by the west, which sees the kurds as vital allies. but for now, victory is being savoured, and eight years into syria's war, each side continues to carve it up. mark lowen, bbc news, istanbul. the headlines on bbc news:

the foreign secretary accuses russia of stockpiling the nerve agent thought to have been used on a former spy and his daughter in salisbury. russian president vladimir putin thanks voters for what he called their "confidence and hope" after appearing to secure another six—year term as leader. travel disruption and school closures in the south—west of england and wales — as the so—called "mini—beast from the east" brings snow and ice to much of the uk. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's james. rory mcilroy has won his first tournament in more than a year and a half with a stunning victory at the arnold palmer invitational in florida. mcilroy began the final day two shots off the lead but today fired 5 birdies in the final six holes to finish on 18 under par,

a lead of 3 shots over bryson dechambeau. the northern irishman had dropped from the top of the world rankings to number 10, having not won a tournament since september 2016. the band, and not surprising. —— a happy man, and. tiger woods return to form continued as the 1a time major winnerfinished tied for 5th on 10 under par. chelsea are through to the fa cup semi—finals after predro scored in extra—time to give them a 2—1 win against leicester at the king power stadium. chelsea took the lead just before half—time when willian broke free and found alvaro morata, who scored his first goal of the year. leicester's equaliser came a quarter of an hour before the end. jamie vardy bundling the ball home, to take the tie into extra time. but it was chelsea who ended up celebrating. it was pedro who scored the winner at the end of the first period of extra time. it's chelsea's 10th fa cup semi—final in 18 years. we must be pleased, because i saw a

good performance from my team. they put their heart into it. especially after the game, at champions league, where we spend a lot of energy. —— game, the champions. southampton will be chelsea's opponents in the semi—finals. in mark hughes' first game as manager, southampton beat league one side, —— side wigan 2—0. pierre emile hojiberg fired in from a second—half corner for their first, before defender cedric soares scored his first goal for saints to confirm the victory in stoppage time. it was southampton's first away victory by more than a goal in over a year. people questioned this group, and maybe my appointment as well. it is

only a start, but it is good. we will go on to the wembley semifinals, which is a great thing for the fans to look forward to. so it's chelsea against southampton. manchester united will play spurs in the other semi—final. tennis, now, and in the last few minutes, juan martin del potro has defeated roger federer in a closely contested final at indian wells. trailing after going down in the first set 4—6, federer staged a comeback after the second set went to a tie—break. the world number one clinching it 10—8 in this exchange. tied 6—6 in the third set, the final was also decided on a tie break, as del potro saw off federer 7—2. naomi osaka has become the first japanese player to win the women's singles at indian wells. she beat daria kasatkina of russia, winning in straight sets 6—3 6—2. the 20—year—old is ranked 44th in the world. scotland have finished their women's six nations campaign in fifth place, after being well—beaten by italy in padova.

on a terrible, muddy pitch, italy won by 26 points to 12, with beatrice rigoni crossing to secure their bonus point. scotland end the tournament with just one win from five, whilst the italians finish in fourth, having claimed two victories. france clinched their fifth grand slam with friday's thumping of wales. qatar hosted the first motogp race of the 2018 season and it ended in thrilling fashion with a duel between familar foes. the final lap was a close contest between marc marquez and andrea dovizioso. the italian, dovizioso, held off the challenge of the world champion, finally claiming a win at qatar, having finished second there the last three years. valentino rossi joined them on the podium in third. the foreign secretary borisjohnson has accused russia of making and stockpiling the nerve agents known as novichok, used in the salisbury poisoning two weeks ago. sergei skripal and his daughter remain critically ill — but today president putin said it was nonsense to say that russia was responsible. alex goldfarb, thank you forjoining us. but let's start with your friend who was found dead only a few days a go. what do you believe happened to

your friend, go. what do you believe happened to yourfriend, mr glushkov, go. what do you believe happened to your friend, mr glushkov, and go. what do you believe happened to yourfriend, mr glushkov, and what happened to him? i believe he was murdered. at whose hands? while, the only person, the only entity, that would be able and willing, had the opportunity and the motive is to have him dead, is the russian state. —— well. particularly because they have done it before. in the case of litvinenko, it was demonstrated to be beyond reasonable doubt that it was a state—sponsored attack. it is early days in the glushkov inquiry, but how had mr glushkov developed

enemies in the russian secret service? he was one of several dozen fugitives from the russian state. he has received asylum, and the image courts refused his extradition to russia. he is considered in russia as one of the most prominent exiles who have been given safe haven from vladimir putin. in his past life in russia he was chief financial manager of a large organisation, and in this capacity became an archenemy of the russian security services. hundreds and thousands of spies

worked under him during the soviet times. you mentioned litvinenko already. other deaths have been issued to the russian state. —— have been attributed. vladimir putin said it is nonsense to blame things like the poisoning of sergei skripal and his daughter. he stands accused of being the person who sanctioned these murders. so it is not surprising that he is trying to put a smokescreen. in the case of litvinenko, it has been proven in a

court of law the armed reasonable doubt in five months of hearings, and there was a ruling by the britishjudge that the and there was a ruling by the british judge that the russian state has murdered litvinenko with this radioactive poison. russian agents came to london from moscow and brought the agent with them. so anybody can go on the internet and see that. the same judge ruled that vladimir putin is likely be person to have given the orders. with regards to sergei skripal, the main — the main piece of evidence is this nerve agent that is only available toa nerve agent that is only available to a few states, and russia is a suspect. what is known to the british government, i don't know,

but i have no reason not to trust the british government when they say it is vladimir putin, and i have every reason not to trust vladimir putin when he says it is not him. of course, but if all of these accusations. we have even had a russian diplomat said that the agent could have been produced here at one of our research laboratories. but to what extent could the confrontation with britain have bolstered support in these elections for vladimir putin at home? well, i think that is the main reason for these recent murders. vladimir putin was going to an election. he is eliminated his main principle opponents. one was murdered and the other was removed from the ballot. i of course mean

alexei navalny. people are expected to be apathetic and not come to the polls. he betrays himself, in the propaganda, he betrays russia as being under siege will stop in these circumstances, vladimir putin sees himself as tough and resolute and getting his detractors and traitors. this is really good for him. so this is probably the main reason behind these murders. another reason, of course, is to prevent further defections. we have all been witnesses of russian defectors

exposing scandals, which have cost russia dearly. so to prevent further defections of that sort among those who could bring out evidence of russian involvement, meddling, in western elections, he needs these things to show that it is impossible to hide from him, even if a person is given protection by britain. certainly police are contacting other russians in exile in great britain about their safety. vladimir putin said it will not be business as usual, and he is not planning any further constitutional reform will stop just briefly, if you could cover what you expect from his next six years? i expect the tightening of screws. he knows that the

discontent is growing. his opposition, however, are marginalised, because of the state control of the media. the opposition has lots of supporters, particularly moscow, which is the place where the social of writing —— social uprising might happen. so here's nervous, and this is a classic way to maintain power in these circumstances. his play the nationalist card and increasing pressure. that is what they expect will happen. alex goldfarb, thank you forjoining us died. we will have the papers in a moment, but first, the weather. —— thank you forjoining us today. the cold snap is easing, but we

could see some action in the morning. an amber office from the met office expires at 3am in the south—west. this cold easily wind is coming in, and we keep us into monday. high—pressure staying in charge. the winds will not come from such a cold direction on monday. we will likely start with sub—0 temperatures across the board, however. it could be as low as minus eight degrees in areas of scotland, particularly where you have that cloud. parts of devon and cornwall, the channel islands, and kent in sussex will be cold as well. very cold to the north, but most places dry. a sharp frost first thing. during the day, most will stay dry

and bright. more cloud will filter in. if you snow flurries could come down to the channel isles. but things are looking largely dry. temperatures still a bit low for this time of year. 4—7. not as