rory challands is in the russian capital moscow. has there been reaction from any of those involved. there certainly has, there has been a wealth of reaction from people. i have not seen gig that relates to vladimir putin, that the russian president might be involved in the death of alexander litvinenko. we heard from the two men at the heart of the place, andrei lugovoy, and dmitri kovtun. he has been brief. he said he had nos comment. he needs a look through the report. andrei lugovoy has been more verbose saying it's nonsense, absurd and once against shows russia's anti-muslim position, and looks like london's pathetic attempt to use a skeleton in the closet. >> the politicize eyeings is something that the russian government has been hammering home too. this is what the ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson. she said that moscow had no expectation that london's report would all of a sudden become impartial, and after analysing the document, we'll issue our own detailed review. there has been a couple of unnamed sources that ha

he had a wife and a daughter who could be held hostage in moscow. so that when he goes out, he knows there's somebody at home that he has to keep omnipresent in his mind, lest he be tempted by those capitalist goods. mark: that didn't seem to be as much of a temptation for the partner that was assigned to him. partner is maybe too good a word. whoses another character name many of you may not know. he was a lower ranking agent that was assigned to willie an educational charge. trainingo be the go to person. daughterad a wife and in the soviet union, but managed to find a wife here too. prey to a lot of the temptations that freedom offers here. and that sort of became his undoing. >> he was a bit of a bumbler. and he had a hollowed out coin with microfilm and it. john: he managed to go out and spend it. [applause] [laughter] john: perhaps you saw an article in the new york times about the situation. the newsboy that dropped the coin on the ground was featured in today's new york times. i can't resist telling you that i have such a coin right here. my

and in one of his speeches when he got back to t soviet union, he talked about being a boy in moscowand taking apart house bells to make radios. that isn't a 17-year-old youth. that is an 11 or 12-year-old boy. he was an 11 or 12-year-old boy in the northeast of england where the first ship to shore and shore to ship radio mast was set up a couple of years before the young william fischer was born. that was where he learnt it. the radio mast was just a few hundred yards from their home. you can see 12, 13, 14-year-old kids setting up crystal sets so they could listen to the signals. the radio started there. the other thing i have to say is the -- willie fischer, abel, used art as his cover in the united states. and he always was an artist. he loved painting. and a significant point, the american artist winslow homer spent a number of months living in color coats in the northeast of england. this is long before willie fischer was born. but in the united states, there are -- and in brooklyn itself and certainly in new york, there are winslow homer paintings all color coats in the north

the same year he was killed 2006, journalist anna was gunned down in her moscow apartment building. reported for years on russia's bloody wars in chechnya often highlighting the abuses of soldiers there. these are the most infamous cases and the full list is much longer and journalists, lawyers, activists, opposition leaders, all murdered, all had in one way or another sided against russia's political elites. russia may be a modern capitalist state but according to some there are aspects of its authoritarian repressive past it still clings to. >> translator: it tells us that russia is managed by the same part that governed the country with 70 years of soviet rule and kgb says ex kbg is a continuation of kbg and an instrument is the political murder. >> reporter: so did putin approve the death? this analyst is unconvinced. >> i think there is new evidence circumstantial and interpretative and there is a strong body of opinion britain included that everything is going wrong putin is responsible. there is very little even indirect evidence of that. >> reporter: regardless criticizing t

clearly since the split between moscow and washington against the drop of moscow's intervention in syria, the idea of two coalitions against terrorism have emerged. russia doesn't really have much of a coalition but certainly has the friendship of iran or complicity of iran there. what's happening between the two coalition dependency what happens between lavrov. >> and kerry. >> and kerry in zurich. this is a very funny thing. some of us who have been following this for the last few years, as they say in the middle east, kerry and lavrov is like the pot that found its cover. they kind of work together rather well against the backdrop of different style of leadership of their own penalties. putin and obama don't work well together. there are two different style of leadership, two different people, one a bit overly pragmatic one a big cynical, but the two foreign ministers are working together. they will set the tone as to how the coalition against terrorism will work against isil because kerry said last month, december 15 in moscow that the beyond and russia looks in a similar way to syri

has summoned the ambassador over moscows refusal to cooperate.he kremlin says the investigation may poison the relationship between the two countries. leaf barker reports. >> the long awaited murder inquiry has led investigators right to the very doors of the kremlin. the damming finding say the russian president himself probably approved of his murder, because of a long personal feud. >> all rise. >> the inquiry chairman also implicated the head of security service, nikolai calling the killing a state sponsored assassination. >> there is a strong problem that when he poisoned him, he did so under the direction of the fsb, the federal security service of the russian federation. >> the report says these former russian agents andre and demetry coughton poisoned him with radio active 210. that this london hotel. it also says this was their second murder attempt, speaking in russia, he called the allegations nonsenses. >> everything that's being said by the media referring to an open and public hearing is a lie. outrageous lie and i can't find any ot

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. katty: it is believed to be the largest burglary in british history, and today, three men were convicted of involvement in the robbery. they stole jewelry worth more than $20 million over easter weekend last year. four other men, all in their 60's and 70's, had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary. daniel has all the details. >> at first, it seems like the perfect crime, millions of pounds of jewelry stole under the feet of london's diamond dealers. but in fact, the thieves left a trail of evidence to follow. brian reeder, terry perkins, danny jones, and kenny collins pleaded guilty last year. today, two more men were found guilty by a jury and another man was found guilty of helping move the stolen property. like so many infamous crimes, it was plotted in a london pub, a group of thieves planning one last job. they let themselves in through the back door and a fire escape before using a lift to get into the safe deposit. they used a diamond tipped drill. the sma

. >> moscow has slammed this british investigation. when we look at the investigation, was a completely unbiased? >> we have to see that this is run by an independent church. he is not a product tour -- provocateur. they should not miss the political system in europe and in england. i guess they found out that is the case. sarah: you investigated this case and it wasurprisi for yo >> i have been following this investigation for a long time and for me, it was clear what happened. it is a clear sign. for me, now there is some official finger-pointing and that is a strong moment and i did not expect it. sarah: a strong moment that will have implications for diplomacy. we turn to some other news now. addressing europe's migration crisis. the eu has struggled to find the united approach dealing with the flow of refugees. more than a million arrived. also in solving the problems which caused people to flee their homes in the first place. >> these are the survivors. wreck you'd -- rescued after 12 others drowned attempting to cross the sea of

a late winter's night in 2015 and a body lies still in moscow.it is a former deputy prime minister and vocal critic of vladimir putin. a chilling signal his opposition colleagues concluded sent by those guard iing him. he had been shot metres from the kremlin's wall. another died after an alleged beating in a russian prison. he had exposed a 230 million dollar tax refound fraud only for the authorities to turn the tables and jail him for the very same crime. the same year alexander litvinenko was killed, 2006, journalist was gunned down in her moscow apartment building. she had reported for years on the country's war and showing the deaths. journal >>s, lawyers, activists, opposition leaders all murdered in one way or another. russia may be a modern capitalist state, but according to some there are aspects of its authorityarian oppressive past this it still dcings-- clings to. >> translation: the continuation of the criminal rule of the kgb and one of the instruments is the political murder. >> reporter: so did it approve alexander litvinenko's d

rem: i came to moscow for the first time in 1967. i was unaware of the architecture.adical aware of the perception of architecture. life.nvented daily from the beginning, i was less interested in form, but in the role in architecture in helping to define daily life. at the time, i was a scriptwriter. ofhitecture is also a form script writing. this is a living room and here is the staircase and there is the kitchen. implicitly, you describe it as pristine. that made it a very easy switch. charlie: preservation and modernist architecture. rem: the interesting thing about preservation, we previously the world was divided into architects who make and preservation sabotages the architect. when i looked into preservation, it was part of the whole process of modernization. it was invented after the french revolution. it makes perfect sense. you have to decide what to keep. preservation is a form of selection. you have to understand it as part of modernization. when we discovered that, it became very creative territory. charlie: what does conventional beauty mean to you? rem:

a moscow doctor? i know no one can help, if nature doesn't help, and very few cases end badly but... you mnow, people have said things to her, and she's afraid. and i have a littlelenxiety myself. all right. i'll do o . (chuckling) it's a bad business. what is, father? women. marriage. no use unmarrying them. but don't worry, i won't tell anyone. (chuckles) but we'll take care of her, she'll want for nothing. she's a pretty littlthing. now listen. take this to kutuzov. tell him i remember him and love him. stay with him, learn from him, and you won't go far wrong. thank you, father. very well, goodbye then. and remember, if you are killed, i shall be pained. but if i learn you have not behaved like the son of nikolai bolkonsky, i shall be ashamed. you had no need to tell me that. yes. well... we've said our goodbyes. off with you. off with you, i say! (door closes) what is it? what's wrong? nothing's wrong. it's just his way, you know what he's like. andrei, (scoffs) i know... i know you don't believe

moscow continues to insist that its campaign is directed at isil and other armed groups.so rejected claims that aircraft have hit saville againsts saying it uses the planes to drop humanitarian aid to those living in besieged areas. >> translator: i think that today there is not a single arm knit world that would talk about its military operation so thoroughly with facts and numbers as the russians have in syria. i would like to stress it's an operation against international terrorism in this region. >> reporter: isil controls most of this province. it has kept the remaining pockets of government-held areas there under siege for the past year. this week it's been on the push to capture those areas. the russians say they intensified aerial bombardment are to counter that push by isil fighters. but the people here say it's all been at their expense. gerald tan, al jazeera. >>> well, in the west of the country syrian state media is reporting that pro-government forces have recaptured an important opposition base in the coastal province. it's understood that the offensive is

the bombings in moscow and two other buildings in 1989. it was the pre-sex for russia's second invasion of chechnya. he made personal attacks against putin, even accusing him of pedophilia. >> it was what he was trying to tell while he was away. which is basically anti-western, and it took them years to get his message through. >> reporter: given polonium at a swank hotel. it came weeks after a russian journalist was shot and killed outside of her moscow apartment. he has long been suspect in her murder as well. his son was by his bed as he suffered organ failure. >> he said if something happens to me, take care of your mother. and grow up to be a good person. i wished that he would recover. >> reporter: after his death, his wife fought for a public inquiry. >> i believe that the truth has finally been uncovered. the murderers have been unmasked. >> reporter: but those responsible for his death will likely never face justice. >> courtney keeley reporting for us. >>> a former marine who spent four years in an iranian prison is finally home

to get to the russian airbase in latakia, syria, you have to start here in moscow. you don't just show up at the gates of the airbase. you have to be invited by the russian ministry of defense, then taken on a russian military transport on a circuitous five- hour flight over territory friendly to russia- the caspian sea, iran, iraq, before finally landing in syria. it was almost midnight when our plane took off from a russian airbase outside moscow. as we started to take pictures out the window, we were told nyet-- "no"-- something we heard often during the next three days. >> no, no, no. >> whitaker: this was the first face we saw after landing. that's syrian president bashar al-assad. this once was a syrian airport. since the summer, the russians 4,000 personnel, paved roads, rolled in truckloads of equipment and munitions, erecting a bit of russia in the heart of assad-controlled syria. this is mostly friendly territory, at least 20 miles from the closest frontlines, but the russians aren't taking any chances. helicopter gun ships constantly patrolled the perimet

after turkey shot down the russian fighter, the "moscow" aircraft defense. that a russian guided missile cruiser is providing air defense against turkey, a u.s. ally, in what was supposed to be a war against isis and islamic terrorism is a sign just how complicated this temporary mission has become. >> maria lipman: russia has to be reckoned with, which has been putin's goal all along throughout the 15 years of his leadership. >> whitaker: maria lipman is a political analyst in moscow, one of the few independent voices willing to publicly criticize president putin. >> lipman: seeing russia waging this state-of-the-art military operation in a very important region made the russians feel proud. this began with the annexation of crimea, when russia reinstated historical justice, the way it was seen in russia. >> whitaker: so this is world? >> lipman: of course, it is also about syria. but i do not think the goal, the primary goal, was to stop the war. i think the primary goal was russia's stature in the world. >> whitaker: we wanted to know what they thought of

it was almost midnight when our plane took off from a russian airbase outside moscow. as we started to take pictures out the window, we were told nyet-- "no"-- something we heard often during the next three days. >> no, no, no. >> whitaker: this was the first face we saw after landing. that's syrian president bashar al-assad. this once was a syrian airport. since the summer, the russians have built barracks, brought in 4,000 personnel, paved roads, equipment and munitions, erecting a bit of russia in the heart of assad-controlled syria. this is mostly friendly territory, at least 20 miles from the closest frontlines, but the russians aren't taking any chances. helicopter gun ships constantly patrolled the perimeter. they took us out along newly extended runways to watch a steady series of planes taking off. the roar was deafening. the russians invited about a dozen news organizations on this tour of the latakia airbase. they especially wanted us to take note of their newest fighter-bomber, the su-34. our russian guide in syria, major general igor konashenkov, is chief

this day, our destination was "the moscow," a guided cruiser ship. they brought us aboard and did everything short of firing off a missile to demonstrate russia's naval might. "the moscow" is normally the flagship of the black sea fleet. it now has a new mission. when i see all of this, i just wonder who are you fighting? isis doesn't have any capability like this. >> translator: the general told us the ship's main mission is after turkey shot down the russian fighter, "the moscow" was reassigned to provide anti-aircraft defense. it was supposed to be a war against isis and islamic terrorism, is a sign just how complicated this temporary mission has become. >> russia has to be reckoned with, which has been putin's goal all along throughout the 15 years of his leadership. >> reporter: maria lipman is a political analyst in moscow, one of the few independent voices willing to publicly criticize president putin. >> seeing russia, wage thing state of the art military operation in very important region, made the russians feel proud of this, beginning with

this day, our destination was the "moscow," a guided missile offshore. they brought us aboard and did everything short of firing off demonstrate russia's naval might. the "moscow" is normally the flagship of the black sea fleet. it now has a new mission. when i see all of this, i... i just wonder, who are you fighting? isis doesn't have any capability like this. general konashenkov told us the ship's main mission is not to fight terrorists. after turkey shot down the russian fighter, the "moscow" was reassigned to provide anti- aircraft defense. that a russian guided missile cruiser is providing air defense against turkey, a u.s. ally, in what was supposed to be a war against isis and islamic terrorism is a sign just how complicated this temporary mission has become. >> maria lipman: russia has to be reckoned with, which has been throughout the 15 years of his leadership. >> whitaker: maria lipman is a political analyst in moscow, one of the few independent voices willing to publicly criticize president putin. >> lipman: seeing russia waging this state-o

in moscow the security forces are in lock down. at railway stations full luggage screening has been brought in with 15,000 additional police and troops deployed. a degree of anger and frustration at the end of a very difficult year. >> translation: the year was complicated convenient for us. i lost my job but i'm really glad because now i work for myself. what shall i expect from next year? maybe our government will get smarter and will start barking at everyone internationally. >> reporter: this is a former kgb officers, now an opposition leader. he predicts protests will grow. >> translation: i think putin's ratings will fall, but only a war can prevent that. what war? will it be a war in syria, a ground operation, an explanation of the ukrainian conflict conflict or on our borders. we can't say. but any war consolidates people around their leader. >> reporter: president putin's popularity jumped after the wars in ukraine and syria, but they haven't produced the results he was looking for. >> translation: today i would particular

moscow had problems with that list. we understand mr. kerry has also been speaking by telephone to his russian counterpart it will be up to the opposition to it will look like the opposition is the one who doesn't want peace. i think it's more likely than not some sort of talks will take place later in the week. those will be so-called proximity talks with the u.n. envoy shuttling 2003 the two. i am told initially they will look at possible cease-fires in syria and trying to alleviate the humanitarian situation and those areas of syria under si e siesiege >> at least 20 policemen have been killed by two isil car bombs in a village west of the iraqi city of ramadi. the suicide attacks hits the headquarters of the federal police. isil killed 72 soldiers in separate attacks. the iraqi army says the latest finding was in isil's language stronghold in the area. imran khan reports. >> reporter: iraqi soldiers on the road to what they hope is the last stronghold in ramadi. isil fighters have managed to slow the iraqi forces' assault and the las

crossing over to rory challands who will give us the reaction from moscow.y, the official reaction, as well as the reaction from one of the accused who neave was just talking to us about. >> reporter: yeah, he -- if you pass all of the different responses to this inquiry that have come out today in russia, the one common denominator is the view that this inquiry has been politicized by the british authorities; that essentially they are prosecuting some sort of andy russian agenda. in that is what andre lugavoy said. he said that it's again showing russia's -- sorry, london's anti-russian position, and the unwillingness to determine the true cause of his death. he says that he actually poisoned himself. he goes on to say it looks to me like london's pathetic attempt to use this skeleton in the closet to satisfy its political ambitions. a similar response from the russian foreign ministry came out as well, which basically said it would have a look in detail this inquiry report and some up with its own analysis, but they said they never really expected the brit

. >> summoned to the foreign office, the ambassador to the u.k., moscow says the findings are base less we consider the case, and the way it was disposed, of provocation of the british authorities. >> the british government now says lit freeze the assets of those suspected of the killing. it was a murder straight out of a cold war spy novel the former agent had defected to the west, only to be hunted down and poisons on british soil, apparently by his former colleagues. the new report suggests there was personal antagonism, dating back to the 1990's. he had made repeated attacks on putin, accusing him of pedophilia the public inquiry has no legal basis alone. but with putin's cooperation needed when it comes to defeating isil in syria, the full blown row is the last thing that the government wants. al jazeera, london. >> well, the british prime minister says the u.k. will now toughen it's stance against russia. >> what happened was absolutely appalling. and this report confirms what we have always believed and what the last government believed at the time of this dreadful murder, which

the ministry of foreign affairs has hammered the politicization angle saying moscow had no expectation that london's record on litvinenko would all of a sudden become impartial, saying the whole process was flawed and biased from the start. they say after they thoroughly analyzed this document, they will list their own doiled review and regret this strictly criminal case has been politicized and darkened the general atmosphere of bilateral relations between the u.k. and russia. that's something that has been driven home as well in other sources, unnamed sources within the russian hierarchyive that this is going to have on relations between the two countries. they say there is no chance of the two being tray dated to london for criminal proceedings. >>> appearing before the hague based court, judges have to decide whether there's enough evidence for him to stand trial. the atrocities he's accused of took place in northern uganda. we were there and smoke to community members who gathered to watch the court proceedings. >> dozen was people have gathered here at the primary school because

moscow didn't like the saudi list and mr mistura has listened and brought in a wider list. it's not clear that they were on the saudi group, and an important decision we need to hear in the coming hours >>> thank you for that. in other world news the w.h.o. is warning the zika virus could spread to almost every country in the americas. scientists are investigating a suspected link between the mosquito born illness and birth defects in thousands of babies in brazil. the u.s. government is warning pregnant women against visiting zika hot spots. >> reporter: it all started last may with brz brazil's first case of the virus. even calling in the army couldn't stop it infecting 1.5 million people. it is spread by a specific kind of mosquito and is not normally life-threatening for adults, but doctors think it also causes microcephaly, a condition in which new borns heads and brains don't develop. they noticed a massive surge in the illness after zika arrived. the link between the two hasn't been definitively proven, but now slavld, eqador and colombia have taken the extraordinary

moscow admits that its intervention helped reverse the situation on the ground. we have a report on the government's recent advances. >> the syrian flag flies again. it's taken the army weeks of intense fight to go retake this town in the southwestern province. state television showed military forces entering the town center after securing supply lines. battles of reported to be continuing on the outskirts. the importance of the ruined town cannot be overstated. it lies on the main road linking the capital with the city where the revolution began nearly five years ago. government forces had given up much of this territory until russian armed forces began their military campaign last september. the intervention is being seen as a game changer. >> things have just turned around 180 degrees for the regime since the russians came in. just last summer, the al-nusra front, the al-qaeda affiliate was making gains in the province and now, there's the significant reversal, which will affect the rebels. >> russian jets carried out thousand was missions helping the syrian g

this day, our destination was "the moscow," a guided cruiser ship. they brought us aboard and did everything short of firing off a missile to demonstrate russia's naval might. "the moscow" is normally the flagship of the black sea fleet. it now has a new mission. when i see all of this, i just wonder who are you fighting? isis doesn't have any capability like this. >> translator: the general told us the ship's main mission is not to fight terrorists. russian fighter, "the moscow" was reassigned to provide anti-aircraft defense. it was supposed to be a war against isis and islamic terrorism, is a sign just how complicated this temporary mission has become. >> russia has to be reckoned with, which has been putin's goal all along throughout the 15 years of his leadership. >> reporter: maria lipman is a political analyst in moscow, one of the few independent voices willing to publicly criticize president putin. >> seeing russia, wage thing state of the art military operation in very important region, made the russians feel proud of this, beginning with >

what about reaction from moscow? we have heard already from andrei lugovoy, one of the men who the report says was pretty much certain to be behind the death of alexander litvinenko. he, as neve revealed, isa russian duma, so has immunity. essentially london is trying to use a skeleton in the closet to further its political aims and agendas. there has been also someone speaking to the russian news agency, unnamed at the moment, saying that russia will not give up the two men, dmitri kovtun and andrei lugovoy, and so they will also not be prosecuted inside russia. as for the wider claim in this report, that this was a state substantialed hit, probably something that vladimir putin knew about, we have not heard any specific response to those claims. we are likely to hear along the lines that this is a political gestures, that this is something that london is doing to target russia, to slander russia so there'll be little response. >> given that this is referring to an incident. presumably the kremlin and london feels t

a close moscow ali.went to sea on board a russian destroyers, sailed out into the mediterranean and saw how much firepower moscow committed to the effort. cruise missiles on board, it not only is supporting the russian campaign in syria, it's sending a signal to the rest of the world about the russian navy's modern capabilities. at the main russian air base in syria, jets are roorg day and night. the perimeter bristling with helicopter gun ships. this is the tip of the spear of russian air power in syria. the russians tell us they've thrown more than 5,000 sorties from this base striking 10,000 targets. the massive russian commitment here and the way it's rapidly shape add the battlefield stand in sharp contrast to president obama's years of caution. even after declaring -- >> that assad needs to go. >> reporter: but the u.s., britain and others say russia is helping the assad regime a lot more than they're fighting isis and they accuse their forces of is diskrim nat attacks that killed hundreds of civil