:00:09. > :00:10.This is BBC World News Today, broadcasting in the UK
:00:11. > :00:45.-- Geeta Guru-Murthy. It was badly hit. Malaysia and police confirm
:00:46. > :00:51.there was an air of chemical attack on the Korean leader's brother.
:00:52. > :00:58.Donald Trump hits out at the press and confirms he intends to build the
:00:59. > :01:04.wall on the border with Mexico. We are building the wall. And Claudio
:01:05. > :01:08.Ranieri's sadness at being sacked just nine months after winning
:01:09. > :01:17.Leicester City their only Premier League title.
:01:18. > :01:22.Police in the say a highly toxic nerve agent called VX has been found
:01:23. > :01:24.on the face of Kim Jong-nam, the murdered half brother
:01:25. > :01:28.Mr Kim died last week after two women accosted him
:01:29. > :01:30.briefly in a check-in hall at Kuala Lumpur airport.
:01:31. > :01:38.The nerve agent, VX, is classified as a weapon of mass
:01:39. > :01:40.Our correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
:01:41. > :01:55.Last week at Kuala Lumpur airport someone chose to attack Kim Jong Nam
:01:56. > :01:58.Last week at Kuala Lumpur airport someone chose to attack Kim Jong-nam
:01:59. > :02:01.in full view of at least half a dozen CCTV cameras.
:02:02. > :02:04.It was a very deliberate and very public act of violence.
:02:05. > :02:10.It is the VX nerve agent, which is a chemical weapon.
:02:11. > :02:12.Kim Jong-nam was walking across this busy departures hall last week
:02:13. > :02:17.Now we know what was used to kill him, VX, one of the most
:02:18. > :02:23.Just a tiny drop, one hundredth of a gram,
:02:24. > :02:28.VX is also banned under international convention,
:02:29. > :02:31.and yet someone decided to use it here in the midst of this
:02:32. > :02:35.VX is colourless and odourless with, the feel of engine oil.
:02:36. > :02:38.It is so deadly it is classified by the United Nations as a weapon
:02:39. > :02:51.Symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath,
:02:52. > :02:54.South Korea says the North started producing chemical weapons
:02:55. > :02:57.in the 1980s and has up to 5000 tonnes of stocks.
:02:58. > :02:58.North Korea's young dictator Kim Jong-un already
:02:59. > :03:05.Some think he is now sending a chilling new message,
:03:06. > :03:07.by killing his older brother with the world's
:03:08. > :03:11.What they have demonstrated is that they do have a weapon
:03:12. > :03:13.of mass destruction, VX, which has the potential to kill
:03:14. > :03:17.They have shown that they want to be part of the weapons
:03:18. > :03:19.of mass destruction club and that they should
:03:20. > :03:38.And if we do nothing, then we're going to be
:03:39. > :03:40.The more we learn, the more bizarre this story becomes.
:03:41. > :03:42.This is one of the alleged assassins taking part
:03:43. > :03:47.Nothing about her suggests she could be a killer.
:03:48. > :03:50.About the only thing we know for sure is that Kim Jong-nam must
:03:51. > :03:53.His body convulsed, his lungs gasping for air.
:03:54. > :04:03.Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC News, in Kuala Lumpur.
:04:04. > :04:05.Joshua Pollack is the editor of The Nonproliferation Review
:04:06. > :04:07.and a leading expert on nuclear and missile proliferation.
:04:08. > :04:22.Thank you for your time. Can you tell us a bit more about this nerve
:04:23. > :04:29.agent? VX is an especially potent nerve agent, and has traditionally
:04:30. > :04:35.been used as a battlefield weapon, not as a tool of assassination. The
:04:36. > :04:41.only exception I am aware of where some attempts in the 1990s by a
:04:42. > :04:54.group in Japan the boys in some of their enemies with VX among other
:04:55. > :04:59.chemical and biological agents -- group Japan to poison some of their
:05:00. > :05:05.enemies. It had mixed success. The success of this was not in doubt he
:05:06. > :05:11.suddenly. What do we know about how it was made, whether North Korea has
:05:12. > :05:15.it and has used it? It is a synthetic chemical. It has long been
:05:16. > :05:22.strongly suspected that the North Koreans have it. It is one of the
:05:23. > :05:30.preferred military nerve agents. You can read for example South Korean
:05:31. > :05:43.Defence Ministry papers on the subject which suggest that VX and
:05:44. > :05:55.also selling are the mainstay of the North Korean chemical arsenal. This
:05:56. > :06:00.report, if it is accurate in the end, tends to confirm they do have
:06:01. > :06:04.VX, but it does not tell us a much. Can you explain a bit more about the
:06:05. > :06:11.biological effects on the victims hit with this, and also what about
:06:12. > :06:17.using this drug, it seems a pretty exotic approach? Well, yes, the
:06:18. > :06:23.effects. It is inhaled, absorbed through the eyes or even through the
:06:24. > :06:30.skin, and if that happens it will cause a lot of the body systems to
:06:31. > :06:34.shut down. I think approximate cause of death is that you stop breathing
:06:35. > :06:39.because your central nervous system stops telling you to breathe and
:06:40. > :06:52.your muscles that control your breathing also fail. I would say
:06:53. > :07:01.that the power of this agent, and it is an especially deadly agent, using
:07:02. > :07:07.it in an exposed public space, especially in a foreign country, is
:07:08. > :07:12.especially provocative and is likely to have consequences for North
:07:13. > :07:15.Korea's relationship with Malaysia, among other countries, along with
:07:16. > :07:24.China which apparently had extended some form of protection to the late
:07:25. > :07:28.Kim Jong-un -- Kim Jong-nam. So there will be consequences. There
:07:29. > :07:34.are really two hypotheses right now about the decision to use this nerve
:07:35. > :07:38.agent. Firstly, that it was meant as a demonstration of North Korea's
:07:39. > :07:48.capabilities and its willingness to use them against its enemies. A
:07:49. > :07:53.warning that it could enhance its deterrence of South Korea or the
:07:54. > :07:58.United States. Another hypothesis is that the agent is so exotic, so
:07:59. > :08:01.unusual, as a tool of assassination, that it would not be detected in
:08:02. > :08:06.time by the Malaysian authorities who would hand over the body to the
:08:07. > :08:10.North Korean authorities and nobody would ever be the wiser. That may
:08:11. > :08:24.have been what the Russians intended with polonium in London seven years
:08:25. > :08:27.ago. Sorry to interrupt, Joshua Pollack, we are out of time, but we
:08:28. > :08:29.do appreciate your time and expertise.
:08:30. > :08:32.Iraqi forces are launching attacks on a neighbourhood in the west of
:08:33. > :08:34.Mosul a day after troops recaptured the city's airport.
:08:35. > :08:35.Mosul is Barack's second-largest city.
:08:36. > :08:38.It fell to IS in June 20 14th and the Iraqi
:08:39. > :08:40.military operation to retake it began in October last year.
:08:41. > :08:43.Government forces retook the eastern side across the River Tigris last
:08:44. > :08:53.The river, which splits the city in two, is now the front line.
:08:54. > :08:55.Iraqi forces advanced into the western side
:08:56. > :08:57.via the south on Sunday, moving in on the airport,
:08:58. > :09:00.and also cutting off exit routes to the Syria
:09:01. > :09:01.border to stop IS militants from escaping.
:09:02. > :09:07.Well, our Middle East correspondent Quentin
:09:08. > :09:09.Sommerville is with the Iraqi army in Western Mosul,
:09:10. > :09:11.and - as he's been doing throughout the week -
:09:12. > :09:14.he's sent a flurry of tweets from the front line.
:09:15. > :10:11.Here's a look at part of his story today.
:10:12. > :10:19.And Quentin's Twitter address is of course on-screen there.
:10:20. > :10:20.Donald Trump, speaking to the conservative wing
:10:21. > :10:23.of the Republican Party at an event in Maryland, has renewed his
:10:24. > :10:27.He said "fake news outlets" where the enemy of the people.
:10:28. > :10:29.He also said he was going ahead with building the wall
:10:30. > :10:39.For too long we have traded away our jobs to other countries. So
:10:40. > :10:50.terrible. We have defended other nations' borders while leaving ours
:10:51. > :10:55.wide open so anybody can comment. We are going to build the wall, don't
:10:56. > :10:59.worry about it. -- anybody can come in. In fact, it is going to start
:11:00. > :11:13.soon, way ahead of schedule. We ahead schedule. -- way ahead. Way,
:11:14. > :11:17.way, way ahead of schedule. I am not against the press. I don't mind bad
:11:18. > :11:24.stories if I deserve them. And, I tell you, I love good stories, but I
:11:25. > :11:32.don't get too many of them. But I am only against the fake news media or
:11:33. > :11:37.press. Fake, you're that worried. I am against the people that make up
:11:38. > :11:43.stories and make up sources -- you hear that word. They should not be
:11:44. > :12:00.allowed to use sources are mostly use somebody's name.
:12:01. > :12:03.We are also putting in a massive budget request
:12:04. > :12:06.And we will be substantially upgrading all of our military,
:12:07. > :12:15.Bigger and better and stronger than ever before.
:12:16. > :12:17.And hopefully we'll never have to use it.
:12:18. > :12:19.But nobody is going to mess with us, folks.
:12:20. > :12:36.Well, another line coming out of Washington at the moment, the White
:12:37. > :12:40.House correspondents' Association has protested about some journalist
:12:41. > :12:42.are apparently being excluded from a press briefing. China wass from
:12:43. > :12:50.several organisations were told they could not attend an off-camera
:12:51. > :12:51.meeting -- some journalists from several organisations were told.
:12:52. > :12:54.Laura Bicker is in Washington for us.
:12:55. > :13:03.What do we know about this? From what happened today, we understand
:13:04. > :13:06.the white House press officer Sean Spicer said they have expanded the
:13:07. > :13:13.call to include other networks, including the likes of the right
:13:14. > :13:18.wing conservative publication and the Washington Times. When they
:13:19. > :13:22.included the list from today's briefing, these were allowed in, but
:13:23. > :13:28.we understand certain others were not, including the BBC, CNN, the New
:13:29. > :13:33.York Times, political and others. I have a statement from our editor in
:13:34. > :13:43.Washington and he said he understands the white -- White House
:13:44. > :13:47.restrict certain press, however he says on this occasion selected media
:13:48. > :13:51.were not allowed to attend including the BBC. The BBC has a
:13:52. > :13:55.representative at every daily White House briefing, so we are not clear
:13:56. > :13:58.why we were barred from today's and we are seeking clarification from
:13:59. > :14:03.the White House press team. That is going on at the moment. He just
:14:04. > :14:09.mentioned there the White House correspondents' association is all
:14:10. > :14:14.school -- also asking why this has happened. Apart from referring to
:14:15. > :14:18.the press again publicly in Maryland, Donald Trump also spoke
:14:19. > :14:23.about that wall, which is not going away. The new US delegation has been
:14:24. > :14:26.in Mexico as well this week? Yes, that was interesting. He said they
:14:27. > :14:31.were ahead of schedule when it comes to plans for that border wall and
:14:32. > :14:34.work will start soon. The first we have heard there. There were other
:14:35. > :14:40.interesting briefings within that speech, where he spoke about a plan
:14:41. > :14:44.that is being developed to combat the so-called Islamic State. We
:14:45. > :14:47.heard a bit about a plan during his campaign, one he said that would not
:14:48. > :14:56.be made public, but we now understand our plan is being put
:14:57. > :15:00.together. I think the biggest cheer for his speech today, and remember
:15:01. > :15:03.this is almost preaching to the choir, the right wing conservatives
:15:04. > :15:07.happy to have a right-wing president, and the biggest cheer
:15:08. > :15:13.came during the America, first, when he said he would fight for American
:15:14. > :15:15.jobs and American democracy. Laura, from Washington, DC, thank you very
:15:16. > :15:15.much. Stay with us on BBC
:15:16. > :15:21.World News - still to come: Something of interest to the Friday
:15:22. > :15:26.night team in the newsroom, we will look at the new drive in Japan to
:15:27. > :15:29.get people to leave work early on Fridays.
:15:30. > :15:38.The Conservatives have beaten Labour to win the Cumbrian seat of Copeland
:15:39. > :15:41.But Labour held Stoke-on-Trent Central seat, seeing off
:15:42. > :15:52.But the reaction from Jeremy Corbyn, and first the Prime Minister.
:15:53. > :15:58.This is an astounding victory for the Conservative Party but also for
:15:59. > :16:04.the people of Copeland. You know, Labour have held the seat since the
:16:05. > :16:14.1930s. A party in government hasn't won a by-election from the ... From
:16:15. > :16:18.a seat held by the opposition for 35 years. I tell you what happened
:16:19. > :16:21.yesterday, people came out, worked and knocked on doors to deliver a
:16:22. > :16:25.message, a message about the economy, about jobs, about this
:16:26. > :16:27.country, but above all it was a message that hope triumphs over
:16:28. > :16:34.there. -- message that hope
:16:35. > :16:51.triumphs over fear. The brother of North Korean leader
:16:52. > :16:57.Kim Jong-un was reportedly killed by a nerve agent in Malaysia. Donald
:16:58. > :17:03.Trump has claimed he will build the wall on the border with Mexico ahead
:17:04. > :17:07.of schedule. Remember his rally last weekend in Florida, those comments
:17:08. > :17:08.about Sweden? Those comments but a lot of
:17:09. > :17:18.attention and he touched on that again today... I took a lot of heat
:17:19. > :17:24.on Sweden. And then a day later I said, has anybody reported what is
:17:25. > :17:28.going on? It turned out they didn't. Take a look at what happened in
:17:29. > :17:32.Sweden. I love Sweden, great country, great people. But they
:17:33. > :17:36.understand I am right. The people over there understand I am right.
:17:37. > :17:43.Take a look at what is happening in Sweden. The comments Mr Trump was
:17:44. > :17:49.referring to concerned a Fox documentary about alleged violence
:17:50. > :17:53.in Sweden. Our correspondent has been to Malmo, one of Sweden's most
:17:54. > :17:58.diverse cities to see what the situation is really like. You look
:17:59. > :18:01.at what was happening last night in Sweden, Sweden! Who would believe
:18:02. > :18:08.this, Sweden! Since Donald Trump's comments there have been that has
:18:09. > :18:12.been attention on Sweden's approach to immigration. It the more refugees
:18:13. > :18:17.per capita than almost any nation in Europe. Many settled in Malmo, home
:18:18. > :18:18.to one of Sweden's most notorious neighbourhoods. What is it really
:18:19. > :18:38.like there? TRANSLATION: There are a lot more
:18:39. > :18:42.problems in the US than in Sweden, so he should solve the problems in
:18:43. > :19:00.the USA first then he can talk about the problems here in Sweden.
:19:01. > :19:06.Bullies in Sweden did not publish data on the ethnicity of criminals
:19:07. > :19:10.but they tell us that in Malmo, one of Sweden's most diverse cities,
:19:11. > :19:14.crime has gone down actually in the last year. But at the same time fear
:19:15. > :19:18.of crime here has gone up -- police in Sweden. It is this that is
:19:19. > :19:21.driving support for the country's nationalist party who believes
:19:22. > :19:28.Donald Trump was right to link crime and immigration. There are a lot
:19:29. > :19:33.more problems here than we see in more Swedish parts of Sweden. I
:19:34. > :19:39.think the military should help the police get control of these areas.
:19:40. > :19:44.You one for me to going? Yes, exactly. The Swedish government says
:19:45. > :19:47.discussion of no-go zones is wildly exaggerated. When we spend the night
:19:48. > :19:55.there we did not see any outward signs of trouble. So was this
:19:56. > :19:58.typical? Most of the nights are like this, OK, we have problems and we
:19:59. > :20:09.cannot deny that and we have things to work on, absolutely. But,
:20:10. > :20:15.overall, I would say it is quiet. And safe. Many locals say they are
:20:16. > :20:18.fed up your feeling like political footballs in a global debate about
:20:19. > :20:23.immigration, a debate plenty would like to call time on.
:20:24. > :20:30.Let's get some of the sport now. Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes has all the
:20:31. > :20:34.latest. A rather shocking editor to a football fairy tale? Yes, thank
:20:35. > :20:40.you very much. Claudio Ranieri has claimed his dream died after he was
:20:41. > :20:44.sacked as manager of Leicester City. He has now become one of sport's
:20:45. > :20:58.most famous victims after the success of last year. BBC sports
:20:59. > :21:02.editor Dan Rowan reports. At least there is still some loyalty left in
:21:03. > :21:07.Leicester. Claudio Ranieri and the city both came to terms with his
:21:08. > :21:15.dismissal, the miracle worker out of work -- Dan Roan. Emotions among the
:21:16. > :21:24.neighbours, running high. It is a disgrace! Having masterminded the
:21:25. > :21:28.least likely and most popular triumph ever seen in the Premier
:21:29. > :21:32.League, the Italian has become the victim of its most controversial
:21:33. > :21:41.sacking. Nine months ago he was the toast of Leicester... But the fizz
:21:42. > :21:45.has long gone, today's press conference flat. The man who stood
:21:46. > :21:50.beside him in the dugout was left to describe his mood. A bit shocked, as
:21:51. > :21:56.we all were, but his tone was no different. Very level-headed in
:21:57. > :21:59.terms of, that is football. Can you categorically say he had not lost
:22:00. > :22:04.some parts of the dressing room, Claudio Ranieri? There was a lot of
:22:05. > :22:08.frustration because of results but he had not lost the dressing room.
:22:09. > :22:12.But the ruthlessness of the dismissal has shocked even those
:22:13. > :22:16.spent a lifetime in the game. Former Leicester star Gary Lineker did not
:22:17. > :22:20.just present Claudio Ranieri with coach of the year, he paid a very
:22:21. > :22:28.public prize for doubting the team's success and he is angry. Just to
:22:29. > :22:33.toss that all the way of a premature decision, over a disloyal... And in
:22:34. > :22:40.many ways a lack of gratitude, it is quite gobsmacking. I am not ashamed
:22:41. > :22:46.to say that last night when the news broke I shed a tear, I shed a tear
:22:47. > :22:50.for Claudio, for football and for my club. Since then the euphoria has
:22:51. > :22:58.evaporated. The champions languishing one point above the
:22:59. > :23:02.relegation zone. The club's Thai owners said the club was in trouble
:23:03. > :23:07.and they decided to act. The fans are divided. For me, I would have
:23:08. > :23:12.kept him. To find out he had been sacked after what he did last year,
:23:13. > :23:16.disgusting. It was not long ago Claudio Ranieri helped bring the
:23:17. > :23:21.city to a standstill. Many wanted him to stay forever but the journey
:23:22. > :23:24.has ended faster than many imagine. Apologies there for the Sound
:23:25. > :23:29.problems on that film. The former Great Britain coach Brian Noble says
:23:30. > :23:35.he is certain rugby league can be a success in North America. He is now
:23:36. > :23:39.coach of the Toronto Wolfpack, a Canadian team who have begun life in
:23:40. > :23:43.the third tier of British rugby league and have plans of reaching
:23:44. > :23:45.the super league. Thanks to the better Toronto winter they will play
:23:46. > :23:49.half of their home games in England before playing the remainder in
:23:50. > :23:52.Canada. They will have to fund their opposition's travel and
:23:53. > :23:58.accommodation. They play in the challenge cup tomorrow live on the
:23:59. > :24:02.BBC sport website. Back to you. Thank you. Thousands of workers in
:24:03. > :24:08.Japan had the chance to go home early today in the country's first
:24:09. > :24:13.ever Premium Friday, part of a drive to tackle Japan's notoriously long
:24:14. > :24:16.working hours. All offices are being encouraged to close early on the
:24:17. > :24:21.last Friday of every month. People dying from overwork in Japan is such
:24:22. > :24:26.a long-standing problem that it even has its own words...
:24:27. > :25:06.a long-standing problem that it even has its own word...
:25:07. > :25:42.Extraordinary! I will not tell you what we are all saying in the
:25:43. > :25:47.newsroom here. It is of course 24/7 here at the BBC, and we don't mind!
:25:48. > :25:57.All very happy to be here. Carry on watching, because BBC News continues
:25:58. > :26:09.in the coming hours, and I am on Twitter, @ Geeta Guru-Murthy. I will
:26:10. > :26:14.see you soon. Hello there. Good evening. There will be a detailed
:26:15. > :26:18.look at the weather in the UK for the weekend and beyond. Right now we
:26:19. > :26:19.will look at some weather stories elsewhere around the world,