Alex Thomson , Chief Correspondent

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has refused to answer questions about her country’s human rights record. She is in the UK as part of the Commonwealth Summit. This programme has been investigating the many cases of the so-called “missing” in Bangladesh who are political opponents of her government.

Professor Monica McWilliams, who was a founder of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, and the leader of the Progressive Unionist Party and former paramilitary, Billy Hutchinson, were both signatories of the Good Friday Agreement.

Syrian activists say at least 40 people have been killed in a poison gas attack on Douma – the last rebel-held town in Eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus… rescue teams described finding families suffocated in their homes. Relief workers in the town said hundreds more people had been brought into clinics, with symptoms…

The Russian embassy in London has called for a meeting with the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson over the Salisbury poison attack – claiming its dealings with the UK had been “utterly unsatisfactory”. The Foreign Office hit back, saying it was Russia’s response that had been unsatisfactory – accusing them of failing to answer numerous questions…

A huge police operation is underway after three people were killed and 20 injured when a vehicle crashed into a crowd sitting outside a popular bar in the German city of Muenster. Police say the driver then shot himself dead – but warned it was too early to speculate about a motive. The German Chancellor Angela…

A month ago it was thought Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were close to death after the nerve agent attack in Salisbury. Today the doctor responsible for his care says his condition has improved rapidly.

A statement has been issued on behalf of Yulia Skripal by British police which says: “I woke up over a week ago and am glad to say my strength is growing daily.” The statement followed a Russian TV station broadcast of an alleged phone conversation between Ms Skripal and her cousin. The police statement also suggested…

We are expecting reason to prevail, Vladimir Putin declared today – but the war of words between Russia and Britain over the Salisbury poisoning is escalating yet again. Moscow accused the UK of a ‘grotesque provocation’ – while Britain rejected Russia’s call for a joint investigation into the nerve agent attack as “perverse”. Meanwhile Boris…

Protestors blocked the streets in the Californian city of Sacramento last night after the funeral of a young black man who was shot dead by police. 22 year old Stephon Clark, who was unarmed, was killed in his grandmother’s back yard earlier this month – after two officers mistook the mobile phone he was holding…

Of course the incident in Salisbury prompted one of the most co-ordinated expulsions of Russian diplomats from countries across the Western world. And tonight, finally, Russia has responded – announcing in the last hour that it is to expel 150 diplomats – almost half of them from the US.

There was a special armoured train, a formal welcoming ceremony and a troop review at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, before a banquet with President Xi and his wife. Yet according to state media, the surprise trip to China by North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un was just an “unofficial visit”.  

The Trump White House has cracked down hard on Russia with its expulsions, but what about President Trump himself? It hasn’t gone unnoticed that Donald Trump didn’t tweet about, much less personally announce, the move. And his press secretary says he “still wants to work with Russia” . Now some in the US are calling…

President Trump has weathered many storms in Washington, but none quite like this.The adult film star and director, Stormy Daniels, appeared on CBS’s 60 minutes programme in the US last night, detailing her alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump in 2006. She made claims of alleged hush money and threats to keep her silent.The White…

It’s a David and Goliath story playing out in colder climes. For the last 15 years, Scottish law has allowed crofting communities in the Outer Hebrides to buy, manage and farm the island’s land as they see fit. But now four of them are taking on the might of French-owned energy giant EDF, which has…

As the tension between the UK and Russia shows no sign of abating, 23 diplomats based at the Russian Embassy in London have flown home. The same number of British diplomats currently posted in Russia will be travelling in the opposite direction later this week in a tit-for-tat move following the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei…