department of state has resigned. usrea is a nerve agent tuque kill the half brother of kim jong—un last year in malaysia. —— to kill. returning to our top story. as we've heard, the man at the centre of the investigation — sergei skripal — arrived in the uk in 2010, as part of an exchange of spies. he was a former colonel in russian military intelligence. and mr skripal‘s relatives have told the bbc that he believed russia's special services could come after him at any time. our security correspondent gordon corera examines whether the signs so far point to a state—sponsored assassination attempt. does the long arm of the kremlin reach all the way from moscow to salisbury in wiltshire? and if the attack on sergei skripal did come from russia, why? after being released from jail, skripal had spent the last eight years living quietly in salisbury but he still had enemies. sergei skripal had been imprisoned in russia for selling secrets to british intelligence here at m16. it's claimed he provided the identity of hundreds

the us state department has formally confirmed that it believes the north korean government used thent, vx, to assassinate the half brother of the country's leader, kim jong—un. kim jong—nam was attacked at kuala lumpur‘s main international airport in february last year by two women who rubbed a cloth in his face. our correspondent laura bicker is in seoul. the timing is terrible but before we talk about this, the us has consistently accused north korea of being behind this attack. and of course, malaysia and authorities last month announced that they believed the vx nerve agent was used to kill kim jong—nam. believed the vx nerve agent was used to kill kimjong—nam. this was believed the vx nerve agent was used to kill kim jong—nam. this was the estranged half brother of the current leader, kim jong—un. he estranged half brother of the current leader, kimjong—un. he had criticised his family's control in the past over north korea and two women on trialfor the past over north korea and two women on trial for murder. what is new is that at this moment, the state department has decided

we saw the statement from the us state department using some really scathing language against russia,ability in the world, acting with open disregard for the sovereignty of other states and the life of their citizens, that's the language used in that statement. but with the us also embroiled in its own investigations into russian meddling of the us presidential elections, for instance, is this notion of an increasingly belligerent russia sounding alarm bells? well, you're right about american politics. this is not an easy time for us. but i think britain has a case to be made. in the west and we need to show solidarity with one another and we ought to consult on a general way to deal with russian aggression. daniel fried, thank you so much forjoining us on the programme. my pleasure. one of the great names in french fashion, the designer hubert de givenchy, has died. he was 91. among his clients were american first ladyjackie kennedy and the film star audrey hepburn. for the latter, he designed the black dress she wore in breakfast at tiffany's. from paris, lucy williamson reports. #

in just the past few hours, the us state department has formally confirmed that it believes the northment used the nerve agent, vx, to assassinate the half brother of the country's leader, kim jong—un. kim jong—nam was attacked at kuala lumpur‘s main international airport in february last year by two women who rubbed a cloth in his face. our correspondent laura bicker is in seoul. when it comes to the nerve agent vx, malaysian authorities have already said they believed that was the agent used to kill kim jong—nam. the state department have decided to impose further sanctions on north korea stopped the timing could not be worse. it comesjust as north korea has decided it is willing to and the discussions with the us and also willing to get rid of its nuclear weapons. how it reacts to more sanctions imposed on them, we will have to wait and see. we are also hearing the north korean leader kim jong—un gave the south korean delegates a letter for donald trump and it will be delivered to the trump white house in just a few days time by the south korean delegates. we are not being told wha

the us state department has confirmed that north korea used the nerve agent, vx, to kill the half—brotherf kimjong—un in malaysia last year. and this video is trending on bbc.com. remember this photo of a little girl staring up in awe at a new portrait of michelle obama 7 well now the former first lady has met little parker curry and posted this clip saying, "parker, keep on dreaming big for yourself...and maybe one day i'll proudly look up at a portrait of you!" that's all from me now. and the top story here in the uk. military experts in britain are testing the substance thought to have made a former russian spy and his daughter critically ill. now on bbc news all the latest business news live from singapore. asian markets react to the news that the white house's top economic adviser steps down just hours after president trumps stands firm on steel and aluminium tariffs. and billions of dollars in offshore oil and gas are mocked for east timor. welcomed asia business report live from singapore with me, marika oi. the white house's top economic adviser gary cohn has resigned, reportedly

the us state department says it could take more action. where is this going?terioration of diplomatic relations between us and russia? some senior officials in the un says this has the potential to deteriorate into a kind of situation saw during the cold war. i don't think we are anywhere near there yet. certainly, things are becoming colder, that is very clear. the big concern about all of this is notjust what happened in the uk, notjust these claims are spying that have taken place in america, but also what potentially could happen elsewhere. there are obviously disagreement and problems between america and russia on a range of different issues, ukraine, syria, and the questions about what happen internationally could ultimately lead into this. it is worth reflecting that russia has really sent out a message back to america, but they are reserving their right, here in washington, to send another message back. much more on that story on our website. china's rapid industrialisation has left it as one of the most polluted countries on the planet. but with toxic

the attorney—general in the us state of massachusetts is to begin an investigation into claims that informatione been used by a data company during the 2016 us presidential election. a former employee of cambridge analytica claims that 50 million profiles were accessed. the two companies deny any wrongdoing. carole cadwalladr writes for the guardian and helped break this story. she explains why the alleged misuse of data is so troubling. everything that you post on your facebook profile, things about your family, tv shows, whatever, a tiny little crumbs that we live out their when they are all pulled together by a company, they can be very revealing about who we are and how we can be targeted. by political messages. and what is so troubling about this, not only is the information taken from facebook app in facebook was the platform on which these political messages were disseminated. this is a very complex story with several companies involved. our business correspondentjoe lynam explains what's been going on. this all started when an app was developed in the university of cambridge about four

give us state resources so that we can use the properties that we have for 100% affordable housing projects. i think the older generation can all support that. i can say as a district 3 supervisor, virtually every piece of vacant land whether it was broadway and battery or broadway and phantom we are looking to legislation at 530 phantom street with a mezzanine with a fire station where we could build 200 feet of affordable house. we're looking at those opportunities all over the city. there are tens of thousands of units in the pipeline. to the individual who said this takes time, that is a true fact. much has been made of the planning commission's memo. there are actually two of them. the most recent dated march 8 that addresses the senate bill as revised and there's a lot in there for everybody but i want to call out a few top-line highlights and then want to go actually into the language of legislation pirp legislation. i know this is a highly emotionally charged issue. i don't know how many have read the legislation as amended but to the planning department, senate bill 827 may preclud

the us state department is imposing new sanctions on north korea, after formally accusing it of usingy nerve agent to kill kim jong—un‘s estranged brother. washington said the use of vx nerve agent to kill kim jong—nam showed contempt for universal norms against the use of chemical weapons. we can go live now to our correspondent laura bicker in seoul. just yesterday we were talking about the progress being made with regards to the diplomatic moves to bring it north and south korea together and yet here we are today discussing this. i think the idea that north korea used the chemical agent vx against kim jong—nam is korea used the chemical agent vx against kimjong—nam is not new. the state department have officially concluded north korea is behind it and they are willing to pose further sanctions. when the state department announced that it said it should not have allowed any chemical agents of any kind. within the last 25 hours there has been a major breakthrough. 0nce talks concluded in pyongyang major announcements were made. not only did he appear willing to did you to rise but al

the us state department says they have determined that it was the north korean government using the chemicalcal warfare agent to assassinate the half brother of kim jong—un warfare agent to assassinate the half brother of kimjong—un kim. we will get more details. they used the agent to assassinate kim sergei skripal and his dagghter'mfia' ' are critically ill in hospital after they were exposed to an unidentified substance on sunday. the substance is now being tested by military experts. relatives of mr skripal have told the bbc russian service that the former spy believed the russian special services might come after him at any time. the russian government is denying any suggestion of involvement in the incident, as steve rosenberg reports from moscow. it sounds chillingly familiar. russia under suspicion of planning and executing an attack, 2,000 miles away, in britain. in 2006, the target was former russian agent alexander litvinenko, murdered in london. the man britain believes poisoned him is andrei lugovoy. today, he dismissed claims that moscow had attacked sergei skripal as propaganda

the fbi now believes that six separate attacks in us state of texas are the work of a serial bomber.st incidents, explosive packages were left at separate fedex offices. police say they have responded to hundreds of calls from the public who have sighted other possible devices including one at a charity shop on tuesday when an old military device donated to the store had detonated, injuring an employee. tonight, at approximately 7pm, the austin police department received a call that came through travis county. the court was upgraded to a bomb hotshot coal that occurred in the goodwill. officers responded to the goodwill. officers responded to the scene. upon the initial investigation, officers determined that a goodwill employer had found a box that someone had dropped out that contained some items that that employee did not think the goodwill wa nted employee did not think the goodwill wanted to have. hit pass the box on, ina wanted to have. hit pass the box on, in a plea took the box around the corner to dispose of it and looking inside of it it had two small devices that were at t

used to be over here. these will be one of the higher border states. and i think that's the sweetest thing it used to kill whales now it's protecting them. from. sea show book the threatening to worry oh it's an assault on the ocean so egypt needs to worry us go down to the way you see schumer was the only one window on the . most aggressive story was how the sea shepherd stood up to that and got in between you know the. new steps to the processing ships and prevented them from being able to transfer the whales on to the process instead. of being there in the small boats next to the harp warships and it's just yeah it's gary it's new friend but then again the growing pains balls to lurches physically stopping illegal fishing vessel and taking them out of the action to save the millions hundreds of thousands of lives. that we would get very very close to the wind.

spoke to the head of an organization for the prevention of child marriages she told us that some us states which allow early wedlock and not helping matters. unfortunately if you look at the danger that takes it's currently the us has a federal structure where states of different age do not marry and unfortunately in the u. quest like the u.k. like canada do allow marriage of girls under the age of eighteen if in the world today's six hundred fifty million women where married as children then you know that they all didn't run but of course that all cases where girls of being in power away they know their rights and that it will to run unfortunately not as many girls are able to make it to safety as the we would like to see i think it compounds the problem if the boys over eighteen because then you're talking about issues of. i would say statutory rape because she's a minor but i think more children are becoming more aware that our more services that we like whoa. can get help and support. thousands of protesters have marched on the streets of god as capital denouncing u.s. military expansi

the attorney general in the us state of massachusetts, is to begin an investigation into claims that eral in the us state of massachusetts, during the 2016 us presidential election. a former employee of cambridge analytica claims that 50 million profiles were accessed. the two companies deny any wrongdoing. with me is our business correspondent, joe lynam. tell us the background to this case. this is fiendishly complicated. bear with me. this happened when an app was developed in the university of cambridge which harvested the profiles of anybody who signed up for it through their facebook login but it also harvested all of the information of their friends as well. that information was given to cambridge analytica, no relation specifically. facebook ordered them to delete all the personal information because it was breaching their rules. in the last few hours facebook has said you didn't all delete the information as ordered so thatis delete the information as ordered so that is why they are suspending the account for cambridge analytica and this professor in the university of cambrid

equipment had outdated software that you weren't even able to upgrade, even if you chose to. 14 states used voting equipment that had no audible paper trail. in the aftermath of our hearing, i discovered that my state, virginia, did not have a full system with every state having a paper trail. now, we had to act quickly because we had state elections last year. we had 23 jurisdictions where we had to change our machines. it took a real scramble but that scramble was appropriate to try to give virginians the confidence that our systems were going to be secure in our state elections last year. the challenge and the problem at this point is that in 2016, it was the russians. and we've seen evidence of russian intervention in other election systems around the west. this is a tool now, the tool kit is available, it's available not only to russians but other potential adversaries as well. so the recommendations of this committee, and i look forward to joining the colleagues who have legislation and co-sponsorship of their efforts. it's terribly important. i think tomorrow's hearing is terribly im

but the question is should the canadian military be allowed to use united states radio frequencies the united states of america the answer would be flatly no this is a one sided deal on one side of the arrangement keep in mind as well that u.s. oil giants have been exploring all show or from god and reportedly have discovered many fines in terms of petroleum and i dare say that these u.s. oil giants are also concerned about protecting their investments in west africa and there who are they would also demand and desire an enhanced and increased u.s. military role. but washington really is shrunk from its responsibilities in the world. instead of helping african countries develop their economic powers by investing in infrastructure development group energy ports united states it is increasingly relied on military kinetic warfare to fight terrorists and this doesn't work because the reason these terrorists are able to recruit is because of the poor economic conditions at virtually drive the young people into the hands of terrorists small amount of money . the dollar is facing a new threat

residents in the us state of fighting against having a fleet of f. thirty five station nearby the people of burlington say that deeply concerned about noise pollution and safety to make their feelings loud and clear campaign is use giant speakers to blast the sign a sound of flying jets in the city center. a number of protests were held last week against the thirty five base police made one high profile arrest among the activists one of the co-founders of the ice cream brand ben and jerry's ben cohen. bosses have already spent around eighty three million dollars preparing the base for the jets the month national guard said on tuesday night the thirty five says still shuttle to arrive in the autumn of twenty nineteen. the airport in burlington is located in a very heavily densely populated area so there are one hundred twenty four thousand people that live within about five miles of the runway half a dozen of us put on a demonstration of what that sounds like and people came running out and said stop this is horrible my children my animals my family i

that is just one example of how congress can take what's happening in states and use it to benefit more people. as this committee undertakes another effort, i believe we can find room for similar progress between states and washington, d.c., and as more states learn what is working, i believe conversations like this can help a short and ideas are being put to good use for families everywhere, which is why we are so eager to hear from both of our witnesses today. and so grateful that you can join us to discuss the efforts you have underweight in your state to address this crisis and what lessons you have for other communities and its and those of us who are working on this nationally. i believe the discussion today will offer interesting insights as we continue here to look for common ground and common sense solutions to help those struggling with the menace of opioid addiction. before we begin, i want to summit for the record testimony tribe who have been doing important work to address the opioid crisis to call attention to the challenges our tribes are facing in responding to this epi

we have arab news but every paper in the world is looking at this sacking of the us secretary of statet says," is you're fayed". of the us secretary of state. this onejust says," is you're fayed". —— lucrative. not often that the editor of cheese put their name to a very strident opinion piece. —— fired. basically, they say that rex tillerson was the wrong person for thejob since day tillerson was the wrong person for the job since day one. he used to lock himself in his office and didn't really engage. there has been reports that he has upset many of the diplomats he needs to work with. put into that context, you know, trump's firing of him yesterday doesn't seem like quite surprising. the middle east is an area where the us wanted to make ground under rex tillerson and they haven't. the president's first foreign trip was to saudi arabia. arab news is a saudi backed paper and it's interesting they say that they should discuss the fact that rex tillerson wasn't good at his job on many levels. that is the viewpoint of their editor—in—chief. also, of course, many would argue that the foc

ball alex we sure appreciate you being being with us you're always a great to tell us we know you know about the states up there and we appreciate you telling us about it alex mahela bitch up in toronto thank you alex thank you. and kenyon on the subject of food inequality and healthiness and some of that about the still szell status too we're joined by fred coffee fred kaufman author of bet the farm how food stop being food fred thanks for being with us again ok so let's go back to what alex was talking about first about these places trader joe's whole food wakeman's in the d.c. area you know they are more than just a place to get healthy food there's somewhat of a status symbol of going there right look social status has long been associated with choices in this country really for the past couple of hundred years and what's so interesting in this regard is that those choices are dependent upon education and income as opposed to proximity right. quickly on the social thing it's not just about what you eat because some of these places there's a whole foods near where we live and it's a hangout place th

the us state department confirms that north korea used the nerve agent, vx, to kill the half—brothere blamed for poisoning a former russian spy and his daughter. the kremlin is denying any involvement but the british foreign secretary says the uk will respond if moscow is found to be responsible. calling russia a malign and disruptive force.

on facebook and twitter up to date in touch follow us. state by state. the most colorful.the loveliest. the most traditional find it all at any time. check in with a web special. take a tour of germany state by state on d w dot com. live chat. on this foster over when you think about it. the crucifixion was incredibly sadistic. and here you see the body covered with blood and lou let's hop off the fingers clenched the hands.

like for you if we could only imagine the death rates of due to heroin in the us in the sunni areas you know in the united states we've had a three or four fold increase overall for the whole country in use and in deaths we've it's epidemic it's it is a national health crisis united states opioid epidemics it is horrific what is occurring that has occurred and yeah i don't think you can see it in d.c. i live in new jersey you see if you see it throughout the country it's it's getting a lot of attention because it affects the white communities when the when the crack cocaine epidemic occurred in affected the black or the african-american community didn't have this kind of attention you see the societal problems that drive so many issues but regarding the opioid issue yes no coincidence that we're having this opioid crisis and the opioid production the poppy production that produces these opioids heroines are going to whatever has increased exponentially i mean each year there are record crops in afghanistan since the west invaded since we put this afghan government in power which is composed of the drug lords and

the us state department says it is outraged and agree with the uk's is set —— perception that russiassian spy distorted. a leaked d raft russian spy distorted. a leaked draft of a united nations report says to sing —— singaporean companies have violated sanctions against north korea. plastic and the problems it causes in oceans and rivers around the world are already well known. but what's not so clear is how much damage microplastics are doing — the tiny particles of plastic — less than 5 millimetres in size. they can be found in all kinds of things from industrial pollution to cosmetics. and now researchers have discovered that a river in greater manchester has the highest levels of microplastic pollution so far recorded anywhere in the world. our science correspondent victoria gill reports. all along this river bank you can see evidence of plastic litter, plastic bags, plastic bottles, food containers. but it's when things like this break down into much smallerfragments that they're just one source of the microplastics that end up in the riverbed. to find outjust how much micropla

partnering with us at the state level providing resources around education and prevention would be useful at the state level. >> the methamphetamine program that has been in place about four years to stop people from getting exposed has paid some dividends. >> i want to follow up on senator isaacson's first question. we know that there is a decrease in opiate prescribing. overdoses are rising. we released new data that shows a 30% increase in emergency department visits associated with opiate overdose. we do know that of the street drugs. i'm working on clarifying fda's authority at our mail facilities were fat knowledge centering the country. i think we need to look at some appropriations. i think this is something that we have to start getting a handle on. understand oregon doesn't allow law-enforcement access to state prescription drug monitoring program. why was that decision made and what are the implications for sharing data with other states. >> were just beginning our work. i just introduce legislation in past the legislature. i haven't signed it yet as a result of the opiate tax

state. should there be no credible response, we will conclude this action amounts to an unlawful use of forcell blown crisis, with britain asking its allies for back up. we'll hear how russia is likely to react. authoritarianism is on the rise in poland and it's spooking the eu. europe threatens to remove warsaw's voting rights, while the poles resent brussels' high handedness.

ride hailing app — has been told it no longer has permission to test it's self driving cars in the us stateona. that's where just over a week ago a 49—year—old woman died after being hit by one of the vehicles. uber voluntarily suspended tests last week and says its continuing to help investigators. our correspondent peter bowes is folloing the story from los angeles. i understand that urban now has specific reasons on the state of arizona as to why they have been banned. —— uber. arizona as to why they have been banned. -- uber. and this is on the order of the state governor ducey has this been a strong supporter of what uber has been doing, paving the way to the phoenix area to become a hub of experimentation for this technology that uber has been following for some time but in a letter, he has spelt out his reasons for suspending that permission to carry out those experiments. this is improving public safety has always been the emphasis of arizona postmark approached the vehicle testing. and my expectation is public safety is the reason. he says the incident that took place on march 18 i

offices of dacer firm cambridge analytic out there investigating whether the company improperly used state or from some fifty million facebook users to target areas with political messages the firm is under scrutiny for its role in the twenty sixteen u.s. presidential election and the price a campaign. in the united states hasn't of protesters are expected in washington for a protest in favor of tighter gun controls organizers claim it will be a defining moment in the long simmering national debate over tougher initialisation protests will be led by survivors of the last month massacre at a high school in parkland florida. u.s. president donald trump has ordered the banning of most transgender troops from serving in the country's military people who've had gender reassignment surgery or taken hormones can often and serve an earlier version of the problems of protest and was successfully challenged in courts. football and world champions germany welcome spain for a friendly and does the door fun friday it was a chance for coach yogi live to test his charges against a fellow title favorite a

it's used to finding the united states a bit of a bully. 's not used to the united states doing things that don't make sense even on the terms they're advocated, tariffs against canada, raising prices for 6.5 million workers. >> 6.5 million workers you just said. >> work in sectors that centrally use steel compared to about 150,000 -- 130,000 who work in the steel industry. people aren't used to seeing the united states do things that are irrational on almost any measure. >> before i get to where you come in as well as many other issues, the presidential decision making, the cabinet decision making, i want to ask you about china because clearly the president's signal during the campaign that he was going to get tough on china. apparently this actually doesn't hurt china. they're not exporting to us. >> a pinprick to china because their exports go to places other than the united states. sure, there's -- i might or might not agree on the details -- but there's a case for more aggressive trade policies with respect to china, but that is not wha

the data from the census are used to represent fair redistricting and every state uses those data. the census results are used to allocate over 600 billion with a "b" dollars in federal funding every year. the private sector replies on census data and the american community survey this making a number of decision ises about where to put the facilities, how to hire, et cetera, et cetera built basically it drives private sector investment and growth. and very importantly, every data collection activity for the most part that's done in the united states that's based on collecting data from household or population surveys like the american community survey, the national health interview survey, the current population survey which puts out the month to month estimates of unemployment, all those surveys are made very accurate by the controls that are used by the census. it's why they're so accurate. that's why there is a lot of concern about a potential for an undercount in the census, because an undercount in the census or lack of representation of a population group would not just effe

spoke to the head of an organization for preventing child marriages she told us though that some us states which do allow early wedlock are not helping matters either fortunately if you look at the data that exists currently the u.s. has the federal structure where states are different. unfortunately if you place like the u.k. like. a love marriage of. eighty eight in the world today six hundred fifty million women where married as children then you know that they all didn't run but of course there are cases where girls are found where they're not yet rights and it will to run unfortunately not as many girls are able to make it to see. as the we we would like to see i think it was the problem of the voice over eighteen because then you're talking about issues of. i would say statutory rape because she's a minor but i think more children not becoming more way that our morals that this is that these are all great gas can get help and support. and other needs thousands of protesters have marched in the streets of ghana's capital and i'm seeing u.s. military expansion in the west african natio

the united states is calling again for a 30—day ceasefire in eastern ghouta in syria. the usd nations, nikki haley, has warned that washington may be compelled to act unless the syrian government halts its 3—week—long offensive to retake the rebel enclave on the outskirts of damascus. the slovakian interior minister robert kalinak has resigned, plunging the country into a deeper political crisis and sparking calls for fresh elections. the murdered journalist, jan kuciak, had been investigating alleged tax fraud by a property developer from whom mr kalinak bought stock. mr kalinak and the developer have both denied wrongdoing. police in austin, texas have warned people not to open suspicious items delivered to their homes after two package bomb explosions killed a 17—year—old boy and injured two other people on monday. earlier this month, a 39—year—old african american man was killed in a similar explosion. police say the attacks may be linked and are investigating racial hatred as a possible motive. the venezuelan 0pposition coalition has urged the united nations not to send

far hundreds of mourners have been to a funeral of a black man who was shot dead by police in the us state of california officers blocked roads as groups marched after the service for stefan clarke he was shot by police who say they believe he was pointing a gun at them investigators found a mobile phone but no weapon. so the headlines news continues keep it here on al-jazeera one o one east is next. i really felt liberated as a journalist was. getting to the truth as it always does with his job. they are young vulnerable girls from near mars rural villagers desperately poor they are sold a vision of money and adventure all they have to do is sign up to become maids in singapore. but for many the reality is far darker. and steve cho on this episode a one on one east we find out why girls who are too young to work continue to be trafficked to asia's most prosperous nation. in may last year a young domestic worker from minbar had a terrifying fall from the night floor of this block of flats in singapore. her employer whom we will call john can still remember that day. a bouncer touch you sai

hours after the us secretary of state's shock sacking, a breathless rex tillerson bows out of public life. what is most important is to ensure an orderly and smooth transition during a time that the country continues to face significant policy and national security challenges. where 70% of people are obese or overweight, qatar says it's time to tax sugar. and the black directors behind blockbuster movies. diversity finally hits hollywood. hello. russia has ignored a midnight deadline, set by the british government to explain how a nerve agent, thought to be russian made, was used to poison a former spy and his daughter. sergei and yulia skripal remain in a critical condition in hospital. moscow continues to deny any involvement in the attack. our correspondent sarah rainsford reports from moscow. accused of a crime many miles from here, under pressure to explain a chemical attack that shocked britain. but today the kremlin has remained silent. the foreign minister, though, was in full defensive flow. sergey lavrov rejected britain's 2a hour ultimatum to respond to the claim that mosc

the us state department has formally confirmed that it believes the north korean government used theerve agent, vx, to assassinate the half brother of north korea's leader, kim jong—un. kim jong—nam was attacked at malaysia's main international airport in february last year. british chemical experts are working to identify the substance blamed for poisoning a former russian spy and his daughter. the kremlin has denied any involvement and accused the media of trying to demonise russians. the british foreign secretary has called russia "a malign and disruptive force." now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. donald trump claimed he could broker the deal of the century between israel and the palestinians. this instead, he seems to have entrenched the hostility. my guest is veteran arab israeli mp and one—time adviser to yasser arafat, ahmad tibi. is the arab—israeli experience a sign that the uneasy, messy status quo is the only viable response to the conflict between jew and arab? hardtalk theme music plays. ahmad tibi, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen

the us state department has formally confirmed that it believes the north korean government used the nerve agent, vx, to assassinate the half brother of the country's leader, kim jong—un. kim jong—nam was attacked at malaysia's main international airport, in february last year. british chemical experts are working to identify the substance blamed for poisoning a former russian spy and his daughter. the kremlin has denied any involvement and accused the media of trying to demonise russians. the british foreign secretary has called russia "a malign and disruptive force." now on bbc news, tuesday in parliament. hello there and welcome to the programme. coming up, borisjohnson says britain will respond robustly if it's found that the russian state was involved in the suspected poisoning of a former spy and his daughter in wiltshire. it is clear that russia, i'm afraid, is now in many respects a maligned and disruptive force. pressure is mounting on the government to intervene in the proposed {7.4 billion takeover of the british defence engineering giant, gkn. and there is anger in the co