I have lived in this city for years, but hong kong still makes me fall in love with it time and again. And now, bbc world news. Reporting from washington, i am laura trevelyan. An aide to president putin found dead in a washington, d. C. , hotel. The mystery deepens. As it is revealed that Blunt Force Trauma killed him. Years ago, a tsunami pushed through japan. Today many are still trying to rebuild their lives. And changes everywhere you look in cuba. Including body art. We will take you inside havan as only Tattoo Parlor. Welcome to our viewers on Public Television and american also around the globe. It reads like a cold war mystery, the death of a former aide to Vladimir Putin at a hotel in washington, d. C. , is raising serious questions. The body was found in november but now the autopsy reveals the cause of death was Blunt Force Trauma. Russian Officials Say they want more information from u. S. Authorities. Reporter Mikhail Lesin was nicknamed the bulldozer. A member of Vladimir Putins inner circle, he was moments was once the press minister. Before going on to found russia today. In 2014, he retired and moved to americas west coast. Then, last november, he was found dead. His body found in the Dupont Circle hotel in washington, d. C. His former newsnetwork rt reported that his family died said he died of a heart attack. Fresh details paint a different picture. The medical examiner said the cause of death was Blunt Force Injuries of the head, with other causes being injuries to the neck, torso, arms and legs. The manner of death was undetermined. This latest development raise more questions than answers. Most autopsies are completed within 90 days. Why did this one take so much longer . And one newspaper is reporting that mr. Lessin was involved in an altercation before he returned to his room. So, how did he die . And was he killed . In what seems like an ordinary crime scene, the circumstances around his death or anything are anything but. Before he died, he was being investigated by the fbi for money laundering. As police in washington continue their inquiries, the russian government is to mandy moore demanding more information from u. S. Authorities. So far, officially at least, there are no suspects, no motives, no concrete clues as to why a one time aide to Vladimir Putin met and him timely met an untimely death. Thor ofi spoke with an aurt the rise and reign of Vladimir Putin. Just how close was Mikhail Lesin to Vladimir Putin . Steve lessin was very much involved in the development of the Media Ministry and ways that and with that the takeover of independent media that began in Vladimir Putins first term. Laura did the to have a serious falling out . Steve there does not seem like there has been evidence of a a personal falling out but he did leave the government a few years ago. He was very much involved in the media, the National Media group that is related to another close friend of Vladimir Putins. So, he still seems to be very much in the inner circle. If not the very inner circle but the second ring. In 2014, beginning of 2015 he left. There is some speculation there was a power struggle within the company. Some disputes over one of the other independent media outlets, a radio station, but no one ever explained why he suddenly disappeared and seemed to relocate to the u. S. Laura there could be people in russia who would see him as a threat . Steve there has been wild speculation without a lot of evidence, so far. He did own property in los angeles, so he had family there. There could be reasons why he was in the u. S. There is no clear sense there was a falling out. But nonetheless, it has raised questions about why he seemed to not be in favor now. Laura the fact he has taken the u. S. Authorities for months to four months to announce he did not die of a heart attack suggests that is a real little hot potato. Steve im not so sure it suggest there is a political motive. It does seem strange that in the initial days, they did not come to a conclusion about some kind of injury. Blunt trauma would have been evident from the very beginning. Why it took this many months to sort that out as a cause of death i am not a medical expert. It is compensated. It is complicated. They may have been looking for other things, too. There have been questions of poisoning before involving other cases, not this one. But i think they were being very careful and how they dealt with this because this is a very prominent minister. Laura what could the repercussions be in terms of u. S. Russia relations . Steve they are so bad right now it is hard to imagine the could get any worse. But lets see what happens. If they find out who was involved in this, if there was a crime, they are not saying it was a crime. Theyre still treating this as a natural death. Laura thank you very much for joining us. Five years ago an earthquake and a tsunami devastated communities along the northeast coast of japan. 18,000 people were killed and fukushima went into meltdown. Today a ceremony was held in tokyo at the exact hour the earthquake struck. Rupert wingfieldhayes reports. Rupert who can forget these pictures and the sound of buildings being crushed, of the terror of those watching, those homes and neighbors being swallowed by the black waters . Hurry, hurry, a man shouts. For far too many, there was no time to escape. [siren] rupert today the siren sounded again in memory of the 18,000 who died. They are looking for the spot their house used to. Stand on when the sirens sounded that day, their father rushed to help evacuate people near the coast. He never came back. I lost my father in tsunami. How many lives were lost in our town . Each one is important. I think it is our duty as survivors to tell the world how dear life is. Rupert the 17yearold is finding it hard. If we talk about it, i feel down. So i avoid talking about it. I sometimes want to know what my parents went through but i do not ask. Rupert nearly 2000 people were killed in this one small town, that is 10 of the population. The trauma has been immense. Any governments first duty is to protect its people. So, its perhaps not surprising that this has been the response. Massive new walls like this will stretch for 250 miles along this coast. The whole landscape is being reengineered to make it safe from the sea. But after five years, hes still shes still waiting for a new plot of land with growing frustration. I sometimes think we would be much better off if we had left here after the tsunami and started in somewhere else. We have waited so long to rebuild our lives. Rupert in what was once their garden, they have found a little pine sapling. They decided to dig it up to plant at their house. It is a small sign of life amid so much devastation. Laura the struggle to recover five years on. The world athletics governing body says that russia has yet to meet all of the conditions for the global ban on athletes to be lifted. They say significant progress has been made but russia still needed to take further measures. In november, russian athletes were suspended from International Competition after a report by the World Antidoping Agency uncovered cheating and corruption. Was enough done to prevent libya becoming a failed state before colonel qaddafi . The whie hte house is trying to smooth over angloamerican relations where president obama took aside britain and france for allowing libya to become a mess. Reporter in benghazi, it is a most as if the war never started. Soldiers take cover and a sharpshooter fires at them. Yas is where lib revolution began five years ago. Today it is the socalled Islamic State which is the enemy. For decades, qaddafi held libya and his grip. When he fell, there was hope that Something Better could be achieved. In benghazi, a promise of health. Of help. But this was an opportunity missed. Libya collapsed. Two rival government and haostless c filled the gap. For a year it went by with the libyans able to set up a democratically elected parliament to start a constitution drafting process and a National Dialogue process. A borderset up Monitoring Mission to strengthen control of libyas land borders. British government set up specific programs of assistance, but we were taking our turn from the libyans who did not want a military occupation force. Wanted to be masters in their own house. Reporter the arrival of Islamic State has added a new dimension to libyas problems. It was in qaddafis hometown that i. S. Took hold. Here last year we watched as the militants motored fighters so drivingo them out and expanding the control running rampantn. Could not be contained. In tunisia, it was i. S. Attackers trained in libya who killed. Westbritain and the esest libya mattered again. This is the aftermath of a u. S. Airstrike. Special forces from america, france and britain are preparing the ground. Double be more to come there will be more to come. We continue to develop our situational understanding. Do you think we need to do more . The International Community and the libyans all have to im not asking about the International Community. Im asking about the United States of america. Yes, i think we have to do more, yes, sir. Reporter what does the future hold . Europes refugee crisis began in part on libyas shores. Libyas cities and i. S. May find a bolt hole. The u. N. Is trying to bring libyas factions together to confront this threat. E unified, more outside help will be forthcoming. It is a country that britain and the west since we cannot forget. Laura you are watching bbc world news america. Carsonrival ben throws his support behind donald trump youre at eyes are on contests next week. Were marking a special anniversary on bbc world news. 25 years ago we first went on air in 1991. E world has changed a lot since then and so have have. Take a l so have we. Take a look. Good evening. The headlines tonight e news about ourselves. In 11 hours from now, the bbc will launch its new 24 hour news and information channel. Hello and welcome to a new look gmt. Our First Program from the state of the art studios in the heart of london. And welcome to global. Welcome to todays outside source. Bbc World Service news on monday, march h11. March 11. From me, ed mitchell, good night. Laura they were once rivals for the republican president ial nomination. But today ben carson threw his support behind donald trump. They may have buried the hatchet. Carson described donald trump as a cerebral person. His endorsement comes a day after a Republican Debate which was notable for its emphasis on issues instead of insults. A brief time ago i discussed it with the bbc. Ben carson has endorsed donald trump in these crucial days before the big primaries in florida and ohio but the two men were not best buddies before. What impact does it have . In the heat of the campaign, donald trump said ben carson had a pathological temperament and likened him to a child molester. Carson says there are two Donald Trumps. The showman and in private, you see a more cerebral trump emerge. What impact does it have . Probably a negligible effect. What we have tended to see is that when the people do the endorsing, they actually get damaged a la Chris Christie of new jersey. Laura it seems like everyone is changing their tune now, because last nights Republican Debate was much more family front. Familyfriendly. Not so much shouting as usual. Why this change in tone . It was a lot less angry. It was a lot more civil than debates have been in the past. One of the reasons why people are saying it was a new level of civility is because donald trump did not mention the size of his manhood. That is pretty low bar for civility. I think there are number of reasons. Marco rubio has realized that attacking donald trump actually hurts him. I got the feeling from watching the debate it was also as if he realized hes reached the end of his campaign and he wants to go out more gracefully. He wanted to go out on a positive message. John kasich has always stuck to a positive message. He has never tried to indulge in the attacks and insults. Ted cruz tried to land a few punches on donald trump but he surveyed did not go after him in he certainly did not go after him in the way he had done in the past that a lot of them are realizing if you go after donald trump, it tends to rebound, boomerang negatively on you. Laura is there a chance that tonight we are taking a look at what they think of him further afield. We went to the hometown of trumps mother to find out what locals make of their distant american relative. Windblown, godfearing island, wholly charming. No wonder donald trump likes to boast of his links to lewis. His mother came from here. Did it help to make him the man he is today, and how have the values of these hardworking, plain speaking folk shaped the billionaire developer . They are blowing our own trumpet, we are not one for fanfare. Mr. Trump im really rich. No matter what your position in life, you are treated as an equal. Mr. Trump i love the poorly educated. Like to punch him in the face, i tell you. Stephen the tycoon visited his mothers old home in 2008, spending as a minute and a half inside the house. All in all, he clocked up almost three hours on the lewis sod. The women come back in the mens 10 to go out and try to and the men tend to go out and try to make a buck. Im very busy building jobs all over the world. It is very tough to find the time to come back. It seemed inappropriate time because i have the plane. It seemed an appropriate time. I wanted to see it. Stephen this bunch were among the few willing to share their thoughts about m r. Trump. He does not behave as people up here would behave. Hes full of himself which people here arent. They are quite modest. Stephen do you know anything about the family, they do not play on it . Not at all. They are just normal people. A quality i hope he would take from these islands is the qualities of kindness and being accepting of others, regardless of their religious, regardless of what country they are from. Stephen donald trump is a chip off the old block. He is from lewis up to a point. It would be stretching thing to say he is of lewis. As we were leaving, a pot of gold. Who does that remind me of . Laura Stephen Smith on Donald Trumps scottish roots. And over week, president obama will make a trip to cuba. Tonight we look in the new trend on the island. In many parts of the world, tattoos are common. They have been frowned upon for many years in cuba. Things are changing. There are a few places to get inked on the island. Will grant visited the only Tattoo Parlor in havana. Logo of adesign is a fashion magazine she writes for and has a certain sentimental value. Though she now realizes she underestimated just how much it would hurt. She is the latest in a wave of cubans to get tattooed. What was previously considered the slow the domain of prostitutes, prisoners and sailors, body art is common in havana. Her daughters name on one arm and a religious symbol on the other. He said he did his to express his familys longstanding connection to russia. Colorfulmore influences from abroad are reaching cubans, and tattoos are a visual expression of changing attitudes. There is only one place to get it done properly. It recently celebrated its First Anniversary as cubas only properly licensed tattoo shop. Before it opened, most tattoo artist worked from their homes. Many were shut down by the health authorities. The founders cubas top body artist. He says the sterilization processes are of international standards. We try to keep the professional standard here in cuba. We have all the ice. All eyes on us. We need to be like it. Healthy. And good quality. So we want to be careful about that. Reporter it is not just cubans. Many tourists looking for memento of their trip to havana are seeking out the artists. But running a Tattoo Parlor in a country under u. S. Trade embargo is a challenge. Its good business. But here, it is kind of hard because we do not have any tools, any supplies. We need to fly out of the island at buy, bring to here. When we charge, we do not charge too much. We would never be rich here. Just make money. Reporter her elephant is finally finished. On reflection, she says it was worth the agony. More young cubans are rolling up their sleeves to receive body art. Whether or not is part of a cultural explosion or simply a desire to express themselves freely, the chances are its here to stay. Will grant, bbc news, havana. Laura it makes you think i might even get one myself. Maybe not. That brings todays broadcast to a close. You can find much more on our website. Team, gome and the bbc to twitter. For washinghank ss and have a great weekend. Make sense of International News at bbc. Com news. Funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newmans own foundation, giving all profits from newmans own to charity and pursuing the common good, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs, and hong kong tourism board. Want to know hong kongs most romantic spots . I will show you. I love heading to repulse bay for an evening stroll. Its a perfect, stunning backdrop for making romantic moments utterly unforgettable. I have lived in this city for years, but hong kong still makes me fall in love with it time and again. Bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles. Im all about navigating. Navigation gets you where you want to go navigation its how you