tonight at ten, the russian journalist reported to have been murdered in ukraine is alive and well after all. arkady babchenko, an critic of the russian government, appeared at a news conference in kiev today. the ukrainians said they'd faked his death to expose russian agents. amid mounting anger among friends who'd been grief—stricken by his reported death, the russian journalist revealed the extent of the deception. translation: i have buried friends and colleagues many times and i know the sickening feeling. i am sorry you had to experience it but there was no other way. we'll have more details as the ukrainian authorities face worldwide condemnation for the tactics they adopted. also tonight: today's family tributes to victims of the grenfell fire, including the man who sheltered other residents in his top—floor flat. our moses, our hero. sadly, where there is nojustice, there will be no peace.

i will neverforget, i will never forgive. the man who killed two police officers and a civilian in the city of liege yesterday had killed another person the day before. a bumper strawberry harvest in england but farmers are facing a severe shortage of eastern european workers to pick the fruit. and how a major ticketing service could face legal action after missing a deadline to make its prices clearer. coming up on sportsday on bbc news, cameron norrie hangs on in the fading lights at the french open. he'll return tomorrow two sets to one down against lucas pouille in the second round. good evening.

we start tonight with the extraordinary turn of events in ukraine where a russian journalist reported to have been murdered yesterday has appeared alive and well at a news conference in kiev. the journalist, arkady babchenko, a critic of the russian governmment, was said to have been shot dead yesterday, but today the ukrainian security chief said the fake death had been staged by the security service to expose russian agents operating in ukraine. there's been worldwide condemnation of the tactic, not least from babchenko‘s friends who had been arranging vigils to honour his memory. live to kiev and our correspondentjonah fisher. it was about this time yesterday that news was coming through that the prominent russian journalist and critic of vladimir putin had been killed here in kiev. many people spent the day trying to come to

terms with the news that arkady babchenko had been killed. flowers we re babchenko had been killed. flowers were laid, vigils were planned for this evening, some even started collecting money for his funeral. then late this afternoon came the extraordinary turn of events which, to be quite frank, still has many people scratching their heads in disbelief. it turned out that this was all a setup by the ukrainian authorities, are fake to try and ensna re authorities, are fake to try and ensnare and catch a russian agent. this was the scene last night outside arkady babchenko‘s apartment. ukraine's police had just announced the russian journalist had been assassinated. a fearless and outspoken critic of vladimir putin, mr babchenko‘s death seemed another chilling example of the way the kremlin targets its opponents wherever they live. translation: it

is calculated, deliberate international terrorist crime. this morning we were at the apartment. somewhere around here, as he went into his apartment, he was shot in the back several times. there was a strange lack of police, but at that point we had no inkling of what had really ta ke n point we had no inkling of what had really taken place. neither did most ukrainian politicians who were quick to point the finger of blame towards the east. it marked another dark moment in the awful relationship between russia and ukraine. a steady strea m between russia and ukraine. a steady stream of anti—kremlin figures had been assassinated on kiev‘s streets. but arkady babchenko incredibly is not one of them. 19 hours after he was declared dead, he was brought forward very much alive to gasps at a press conference. colleagues at

his tv channel responded as you might expect, in amazement. it turned out that mr babchenko had been a willing participant in a security service to sting. it was a p pa re ntly security service to sting. it was apparently to catch a russian linked man who really was trying to kill him. translation: first, iwould like to apologise for what all of you had to experience, for what you had to get through. i have buried friends and colleagues many times andi friends and colleagues many times and i know the sickening feeling. i am sorry and i know the sickening feeling. i am sorry you had to experience it, but there was no other way. as mr babchenko went to meet ukraine's president, the debate as to what had happened began in earnest. for many the end have justified the many lies. translation: i was the only

one who knew about this at the presidential administration, one who knew about this at the presidentialadministration, i one who knew about this at the presidential administration, i wish there was no other way to it. you have done very well. others are wondering about the lasting impact on ukraine's credibility. it claims to be on the front line, fighting against russian wars of disinformation. now it has been responsible for perhaps the greatest of all fakes. given the outstanding tensions, what has been the reaction in moscow today? let's talk to our correspondents steve rosenberg. what have they made of it there and what has been said? the russian foreign ministry said it was very pleased as citizen of russia was alive, but it called the staged murder anti—russian provocation. meanwhile, the russian newspaper which had given arkady babchenko his first reporter'sjob given arkady babchenko his first reporter's job concluded that the dissident journalist could

reporter's job concluded that the dissidentjournalist could not have given the kremlin a bigger presence if he wanted to. what does that mean? ukraine and the west readily accuse russia, and not without reason, of spreading disinformation and fake news. now russia can claim it is the victim of a fake news story and use that to try to question the credibility of a whole string of accusations that have been levelled at moscow. in fact that has already started. tonight russian tv likens the resurrection of arkady babchenko to the recovery of sergei skripal and his daughter. it is a clear message, it is all fake news. steve rosenberg with the latest reaction in moscow. the final commemoration hearings for the victims of the grenfell tower fire have been taking place at the public inquiry into the disaster. one family paid tribute to a grandfather who sheltered several people from the blaze in his top—floorflat, describing him as a "modern—day moses". the inquiry is due to begin hearing formal evidence next week. 72 people died as a result

of the blaze at the block of flats in west london lastjune. our special correspondent lucy manning reports. as they faced fire and death, those trapped inside grenfell turned, in their last moments, to each other. raymond bernard known as moses was, his family said, a hero. he'd worked as an electrician at buckingham palace and the house of lords. on the night of the fire he sheltered six neighbours including children in his flat. there was no way down to escape. the only alternative was to head towards the top floor. there they met ray and took refuge in his flat. the positioning of the bodies of debra, jessica berkti and biruk were on my brother's bed with my brother resting

beside the bed on the floor. sometimes the lives lost at grenfell have barely been lived. six—month—old leena belkadi was found in her mother farah's arms. farah, her husband omar and eight—year—old malak were also killed. barely able to speak through his tears, their grandfather. translation: the time farah, my daughter, hugged me and i didn't know that that night was the night when they would die. death has separated us and they left me torn into pieces. 16 victims of the fire were remembered today on this, the last day of commemorations by the bereaved. sisters fatima and sakineh afrasiabi died together, fatima

loved to sew and sing. but the family upset her husband was refused a visa to join them today. sakineh's family said their disabled mother should never have been housed on the 18th floor. our mum lost her life not only to the fire that night but to the corporate negligence by the very people who were to ensure her safety. if you have your mother please hug her and feel the unconditional love that god bestowed in her. as the family tributes ended, the room rose as every name was read out. hania hassan. fethia hassan. marco gottardi. it took nearly seven minutes.

it is the love that has shone through each of these memorials that has made these past few days so profoundly affecting. as we move to the next stage of the enquiry, my team and i are determined to provide the answers that you seek. they remembered lives that had been full and the young lives that were still so unfulfilled. and their families want to know why. lucy,it lucy, it has been a very moving initial stage to this inquiry, what are the next steps now? it has been like attending a funeral after p&l, day after day and the families came to the inquiry not to talk about g re nfell to the inquiry not to talk about grenfell the building, but about the meaning and the value of the lives

behind those doors. it has been emotional and draining. and relative colla pse emotional and draining. and relative collapse today after seeing some of the commemorations. it has been at times uplifting and at times angry and desperately sad, but it has given the brief, the survivors, a voice they felt that they have not had all year and it has set the tone for the inquiry. one of the survivors said to me today that the giving of the enquiry could have been professional, professional, as he put it, and instead it has been emotional because he wanted the chairman to change things because of emotion. certainly the chairman said he had felt humbled and felt emotional about what he had heard. on monday the lawyers will start, we will get the statement from the council put the enquiry. it is expected to provide shocking evidence from experts that the enquiry has commissioned, but nobody will forget what we have heard over

the last two weeks. heard over the last two weeks. one of north korea's most senior officials is due to meet with the us secretary of state in new york this evening, as preparations for the summit between president trump and kim jong—un take shape. mike pompeo and the former intelligence chief general kim yong—chol will try to agree the scope and franework of the talks. earlier the white house had said that preparations for the summit, expected on june 12, had been ‘positive'. our correspondent nick bryant reports. this is the week in the american calendar when the nation honours its fallen soldiers. among them, the 36,000 us personnel killed in the korean war. that conflict has never officially ended. the threat from north korea has intensified, not gone away. this memorial in washington reminds us of the course of war and the decades of failed diplomacy. in new york tonight, the latest diplomatic manoeuvre, the arrival on american soil of the most senior north korean official to visit this country in nearly 20 years, his mission to salvage

the singapore summit. kim yong—chol is the korean leader's right—hand man, at his side at the recent summit with the south koreans, a former spy master who satjust yards from ivanka trump at the closing ceremony at the winter olympics. he's received a guarded welcome from the white house. the conversation is going to be focus on denuclearization focused on denuclearization of the peninsula. that's what these ongoing conversations taking place now will be centred on, as well as this summit that would take place in singapore, and we're going to continue... as long as that is part of the discussion, we're going to continue to shoot for the june 12. this on—again, off—again diplomacy has been hard to keep track of. last thursday, in what read like a break—up letter, donald trump cancelled the summit, citing north korea's "tremendous anger and open hostility." but the north korean response was conciliatory. that clearly mullified the

president, who yesterday tweeted... so tonight, the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, will renew acquaintances with kim yong—chol, who he recently saw in pyongyang. it's their third meeting in the last two months. the main stumbling block is likely to be what precisely is meant by the denuclearization of the korean peninsula? the two sides have very different definitions. and the latest cia assessment is pessimistic, that north korea has no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons, but rather, it's considering a number of goodwill gestures such as opening up a western hamburger franchise in pyongyang. that's not the kind of deal that donald trump is looking for, not even close, and the fear about a singapore summit is that it could be all sizzle and no steak. nick bryant, bbc news, washington.

the trial has started of a former southampton youth football coach — who's accused of historical sexual abuse. bob higgins — who's 65 — denies 50 charges of indecent assault relating to teenage boys between 1971 and 1996. salisbury crown court was told that the coach had used his power over the future careers of young players to carry out the abuse, as our correspondent sophie long reports. arriving at salisbury crown court this morning, his face hidden by a hat and scarf. bob higgins faces 50 counts of indecent assault against young teenage boys over a period spanning three decades. the court heard that he had been involved with coaching the youth team at southampton football club from the mid—1970s, then based here at the dell. he also ran his own soccer academy, before working at peterborough united football club until 1996. higgins sat silently in the dock as the jury was told there was no

doubt he had been a talented coach, spotting and nurturing many young players who went to achieve significant national and international success. but adam feest, prosecuting, said throughout this period higgins was carrying out a widespread campaign of sexual abuse against many of those in his charge. he held supreme power over their footballing futures, a fact he made abundantly clear to them. the court heard that his abuse of some had been more serious and more sustained. with others, his activities appeared to be more opportunistic. but for the best part of 25 years bob higgins was a serial abuser of young teenage boys, using his position and influence to manipulate their feelings and engineer opportunities to sexually abuse them. bob higgins denies all the charges against him. the trial is expected to last at least eight weeks. sophie long, bbc news, salisbury. a brief look at some

of the day's other other news stories. police in wolverhampton have started a murder investigation after a teenager was stabbed in the city last night. the 15—year—old has been named by his grandfather as keelan wilson. police have urged parents to talk to children about the dangers of carrying knives. a pilot has been killed in a helicopter crash in north yorkshire. the helicopter came down in a field near boroughbridge. the pilot has not yet been identified and there were no passengers. in dublin — the taioseach leo varadkar has said his country has opened up ‘another dark chapter‘ in its history — following new discoveries about illegal adoptions. the government has revealed 126 people had their adoptive parents registered as their birth parents. leo va radkar apologised to those affected — and said the findings could be the tip of the iceberg. more discussions have been held in rome to try to avoid another italian general election. it's reported the country's prime minister—designate,

carlo cottarelli, has abandoned efforts to form his own interim administration, to focus instead on a renewed attempt to put together a coalition involving the populist five star movement and the right—wing party, the league. let's get the latest from our europe editor in rome, yesterday we were talking about the turmoil and the imprecations on the financial markets, how does it look today? well after appearing to try to shut down in this popular nationalist eurosceptic government here in italy for the other policies would put this country on collision course with brussels, the italian president has had a change of heart. he's done his sums. emotions here are running really high, migration and weary, recession really high, migration and weary, recess i 0 n weary really high, migration and weary, recession weary italians are fed up of their traditional ruling classes here at home and in brussels. they wa nt here at home and in brussels. they want those changes that populist

politicians are promising them. so the president trying to foist an unelected government of technocrats, threatening the same old same old and tried to put a lid on things did not go down well. if there were fresh elections it would probably explode into even more support for the populists. so what now? now we are ina the populists. so what now? now we are in a waiting game, can italy avoid fresh early elections? will italy get the antiestablishment government? if it does all those antiestablishment politicians be as radical and fiery as they promised 01’ radical and fiery as they promised or will being in government temper their policies? everyone is watching. italians, investors, the financial market and brussels. i have said this before but it is economy in the eurozone, you cannot overestimate italy's importance to the european project. thank you very much, the latest from rome. officials in belgium have said a man who shot dead three people in the city of liege yesterday had already murdered another person the night before.

prosecutors said they were still trying to establish a motive but are treating the incident as an act of terrorism. our europe correspondent damian grammaticas reports. they were colleagues, police officers, both murdered in cold blood. on the left soraya belkacemi, a single mother who leaves twin 13—year—old daughters as orphans. on the right, lucile garcia, recently married with a 25—year—old son. "shoot him, shoot him," a woman shouts. she was filming the attacker yesterday from her balcony. this wasjust moments after he had gunned down the policewomen and a man in a car. he can be seen brandishing two guns. when he gets close, the woman retreats. and just a few minutes later armed officers have now arrived. you can see them advancing cautiously up the street. the attacker is hiding in a school. he runs out firing.

prosecutors say the killer, benjamin herman, was on temporary overnight release from prison. he had been in and out ofjail for ten years for minor offences. the killer benjamin herman had been in and out of prison for a decade. drugs crimes, theft. prosecutors here say he was on temporary release this week because he wasn't seen as a threat. now they think he was radicalised in prison and these were terrorist crimes. herman's killing spree started here on monday nightjust after his release from prison. his aunt saw him come to visit a former inmate he knew. the man too was murdered. translation: he didn't seem stressed, he was normal, laughing, he went up to michael's, i heard nothing after that. but was yesterday's mayhem avoidable? belgium's justice minister today said he was examining his conscience. "i am responsible for prisons. the question is, should this man have been released ? "

he said. so today a silence for the victims of benjamin herman and hard questions for belgium to answer. damian grammaticas, bbc news, brussels. a project to provide free sanitary products to women from low—income households in aberdeen is to be extended across scotland. the scottish government scheme, designed to tackle what's called ‘period poverty‘, was launched in july last year. the pilot programme has given out free products to more than a thousand women so far — as our scotland editor sarah smith reports. food banks and those who supply them do want to hand out more sanitary products. they are necessities, but they are not often donated. that is why the scottish government now says it will give over half a million pounds to fund free towels and tampons for women in low income households. for women who cannot afford to buy adequate sanitary protection it can be a humiliating experience, not something you necessarily want to talk about.

so many have been suffering in silence whilst girls have been forced to miss days at school and their mothers are having to choose between buying food and menstrual products. this charity, fair share, will soon be distributing government funded sanitary products as well as food to women who often do not like to ask. i think it‘s just the stigma that surrounds it. i think it‘s difficult to admit that you maybe have to make the choice between that or eating, so that‘s certainly the stigma surrounding it. i think if we can take some of the barriers away and remove that stigma, it will make it easier for women and girls to access this. so the college bag we are going to fill with mixed products. for the last ten months kerry and kelly have been running a government pilot project in aberdeen. for them it is deeply personal. they too suffered what is known as period poverty, having to cope without adequate or indeed any protection. it was quite shameful actually, i didn‘t want to discuss it,

i didn‘t want anyone else knowing that i had been through that experience. but when i heard other women speaking about similar experiences, or using similar alternative products like toilet roll, socks, etc, i said absolutely not. 25 years later and i‘m still hearing this is an experience for women, so that was where my motivation to get involved came from really. from august all schools, colleges and universities in scotland will also be providing free sanitary products, believed to be the first government initiative of its kind. sarah smith, bbc news, glasgow. farmers are predicting a bumper strawberry harvest this summer, despite the poor spring weather. but they‘re facing a shortage of workers to pick the fruit that‘s ripening in the fields. last year 99% of seasonal pickers working in uk horticulture came from eastern europe. nearly two—thirds of those were from bulgaria and romania. this year 75% of uk agricultural and horticultural businesses anticipate labour shortages.

our environment and rural affairs correspondent claire marshall reports from romania. in the summer heat, even with skilled hands, it takes hours in this backbreaking position to bring in the strawberry harvest. far fewer seasonal workers from eastern europe now want to travel to britain to pick fruit on ourfarms. the reasons are complex. we catch a few moments with these pickers. she says herfriends prefer to go to germany and spain. this lady says the job opportunities are getting better in romania. it is crazy how difficult it is getting. we travelled deep into the romanian countryside with recruitment agents estrela and doug to try to track down pickers who want to come to the uk. things started becoming much harder since brexit for our business definitely.

it is the uncertainty because no one knows what is happening. is it going to become harder for me to come? we arrive at a little village near the moldovan border. so these could be exactly the kind of workers that uk farmers need. the problem is now they take a lot more persuading. the drop in the pound after the brexit vote was crucial. they would now earn less for the same work. only five sign up. the latest figures show that more than half of the companies sourcing labour for uk farms cannot find enough workers. alina has decided to come. she has made thejourney to britain before to pick flowers and fruit. she showed us the house she started building with the money. translation: we hope in the next two years to be able to finish our home. but leaving my children behind is very difficult.

romania is one of the poorest countries in europe. however, almost 30 years after the revolution and the fall of communism, its economy is growing at almost three times the rate of the uk‘s, creating a wealthy middle—class. many young people here tell us they have no intention of picking fruit. pugh is a geography student. translation: english people could pick their own fruit, not let it rot. that is why i find brexit really strange because the foreigners come to do the low—paid jobs. estrea and doug now have to recruit workers that before they would have turned away. previously we were looking for people with some english. right now we are finding it difficult to recruit anyone with english. you don‘t have to worry

about finding labour if you pick and sell yourself, but the question now is who is going to supply the british with british summer fruit? the website viagogo — which resells tickets — could face legal action after missing a deadline to make its prices clearer. the advertising standards authority said viagogo was continuing to mislead customers — by not being transparent about additionalfees and delivery charges added at the end of the booking process. the culture minister today told music fans to boycott the site — as our correspondent chi chi izundu reports. he‘s one of the world‘s biggest artist but ed sheeran isn‘t a fan of ticket resale sites. last week the singer cancelled more than 10,000 tickets for his current stadium tour bought on the website viagogo. but this isn‘t the first time fans have had issues with that site. two years ago claire turnham tried to buy tickets for her kids to see ed.

it ended up costing her over £1,000. she has since got her money back and now helps other fans who have been ripped off do the same. we‘re all standing up, we‘re all speaking out. you know, it‘s unacceptable, we don‘t want to see other people ripped off as we have, and we are really determined to ensure that it is much more saferfor consumers. now the advertising standard authority says it is recommending trading standards take legal action against viagogo for not being transparent enough with customers on the final cost of a ticket. one of the other issues that the asa had with viagogo was the 100% guarantee it had on the website. that‘s because it said that gave fans the impression they would always gain entry into a venue like this. and that hasn‘t always been the case.