this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top story — leaving london — russian diplomats are expected to depart later in the aftermath of the nerve agent attack on a former spy and his daughter. the uk authorities are seeking a warrant to investigate a company accused of using millions of facebook members data to influence the us presidential election. homes destroyed, cattle killed and thousands of acres of land devastated by wildfires in south—west australia. uber suspends all tests of its self—driving cars after a woman in arizona was killed in a collision — a potential setback to the technology expected to transform transportation. also in business briefing, the tech sell—off continues on the stock markets in asia following a sharp fall in the value of facebook shares. a warm welcome to the programme,

briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and we'd like you to be a part of the conversation. "how do you feel about self—driving vehicles on the roads? safer or under threat?" get in touch just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. the uk government is to decide whether to take further action against russia after saturday's expulsion of british diplomats by moscow. both sides have ordered 23 embassy staff to go following the nerve agent attack in salisbury which britain has blamed on russia. the russian embassy says

its diplomats and their families, totalling about eight people, will leave london today. our diplomatic correspondent, james robbins, reports. for britain, this is both expulsion date and another decision day. the russian embassy of london will say goodbye to its 23 diplomats ordered out by the prime minister as undercover intelligence officers. as they leave, theresa may and her senior ministers on the national security council will consider possible next steps against russia. after moscow's response on saturday, expelling the same number of rajesh diplomat, but also closing down both the british council in moscow and the british council in moscow and the consulate in st petersburg, will britain now decide to launch a second band of measures? to do so risks and endless tit—for—tat with the kremlin. but not to do so risks accusations of weakness from some quarters. more than two weeks after

the salisbury attack, bowling boris johnson's visit to brussels yesterday, british ministers are heartened by the level of solidarity on nato from the european union. more supportive than some had expected. it looks as if the government may reserve the right to ta ke government may reserve the right to take further —— action against russia in future. we will keep you up—to—date with that story as it develops today. the number of people expected to leave london is 80, not eight as i said earlierfor london is 80, not eight as i said earlier for the london is 80, not eight as i said earlierfor the more london is 80, not eight as i said earlier for the more details london is 80, not eight as i said earlierfor the more details on our website on a story. the uk's information commissioner says she will seek a warrant to look at the databases and servers used by british firm cambridge analytica. the company is accused of using the personal data of 50 million facebook members to influence the us presidential election in 2016. it comes after a whistleblower came forward about the leaked data, which led to a big drop in facebook‘s share price on monday. andrew plant has the latest. facebook has come under fire,

facebook has come underfire, a leak of uses data, it now faces tough questions about its privacy rules from politicians in the us and the uk as well. you have a company that is collating and putting together all the state on americans. christopher wood up with the company before turning whistleblower, joining first with the new york times, the guardian and channel 4 news, really —— revealing that the date of 50 million us facebook users was harvested and then passed to a political consulting firm, the uk firm cambridge analytica. algorithms simplify the information into the things i want to know. rather than looking at all your messy profile, i get some really clean numbers from a scale of zero to 100, where do you fall on certain personality traits

01’ fall on certain personality traits or where do you fall on partisanship scale aware of you fall on certain things? that makes the day to really digestible and summarises what we actually ca re digestible and summarises what we actually care about. cambridge analytica denies doing anything wrong. the uk's information commissioner is now demanding to examine the compa ny‘s commissioner is now demanding to examine the company's servers and see what data is there and how it was used. meanwhile, many facebook users will be surprised that their information may have been covered and used outside the site. there is no such thing as a completely secure system, but by pointing out vulnerabilities can make it more secure. but there is no such thing asa secure. but there is no such thing as a perfectly secure system. that is impossible. there is now pressure on facebook founder mark laverde to publicly address the issue of how secure uses data really is. facebook shares were heavily

impacted by this story. many other tax docs are on the way down in asia right now. we will talk about that let ina right now. we will talk about that let in a news briefing. let's take youtube china. the president has been delivering his closing speech to the annual session of the national people's congress. it has been a significant people's congress with the presidential term limits being lifted, making him president for life should he choose to. there's talk to our correspondence based in beijing. stephen mcdonell from beijing. i feel like we are talking about this that for months now. it is now official, isn't it? yes, absolutely. when we look at shooting ping's speech today. a lot of people are talking about it, in one way, it doesn't matter what he said in it. the point is that he made the speech andi the point is that he made the speech and i will explain what that means. he is the president, and this is the

national people's congress. usually the closing date is nothing to do with the president. it is supposed to be the premier‘s day. he has his press c0 nfe re nce to be the premier‘s day. he has his press conference and that is how the government get its message is out. not under xijinping. government get its message is out. not under xi jinping. he government get its message is out. not under xijinping. he is putting himself a writer the centre of events again, making this big speech on the last day, and in a sense, upstaging what the premier then has to say at his press conference. not only that, but he's pushing all this nationalist bottoms. we won't let one inch of our territory be carved off to huge applause. the parties in control of the military, this type thing. ina control of the military, this type thing. in a way, it is a bit like what vladimir putin has been doing. it is distracting from this massive power grab from him by showing everybody, look how strong we are, look great country this has come. don't worry about the fact that i can, ifi don't worry about the fact that i can, if i want to, hang around for

as long as i like as leader because this is a fantastic china under me. quite interesting because as you say there was a press conference later after his speech with the premier talking about the future for china, and actually, that message was very much, we are opening our doors wider than ever to business, our economy is more open, a very different message to that we are getting from president trump and the united states for example. yes, well, it is a pretty common trade issue, and some would say, sure, you say you are more open than he used to be, but is china really more open than it was? for example, the new head of the reserve bank, the people's bank of china, has said he wants to open up of china, has said he wants to open up its economy to more foreign investment for example, in the finance sector. good, let's see if that actually happens. in some ways, when you look at the internet, this place is closing ever more. you are right, the flipside of the argument

is like trade. china has become this defender of multilateralism opposing ta riffs defender of multilateralism opposing tariffs and you have the us government pushing up tariffs and putting up walls if you like. it is a little bit like china's approach to the environment. china is defending this approach which says man—made climate change is real in the face of the trump administration's apparent denial of this. and so you have this funny situation on the one hand, president xijinping becoming more of a strong man, a tougher leader who cannot be questioned, and yet he is also defending these universal principles to do with environment, multilateralism and free trade. very interesting. thank you for now. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. sex and the city star cynthia nixon has announced she is launching a bid for new york governor. nixon, who played miranda hobbs on the hbo show, plans to challenge incumbent andrew cuomo for the democratic party nomination. the 51—year—old liberal activist has never held elected office.

the united states and south korea are to resume military exercises on 1 april. the pentagon and the korean defence ministry said the annual drills wouldn't be significantly smaller than in previous years. there had been speculation they would be scaled back to avoid angering pyongyang, potentially jeopardising a planned meeting between president trump and the north korean leader, kim jong—un. uber has suspended all tests of self—driving cars after a woman in arizona was killed in a collision. at the time of the accident, the vehicle was running in autonomous mode with an operator at the wheel. as you can imagine, this has drawn a lot of headlines. james hughes, chief market analyst at axi trader joins me now.

this was always the fear, isn't it, about this technology, this autonomy —— autonomous vehicles as it were, and it would seem our worst—case scenario has happened. yes, of course, and when ever anyone ever mentioned driverless cars, there was only one thing that sprung to mind and that is any sort of collision, whether that be a collision with a pedestrian, other cars, that was a lwa ys pedestrian, other cars, that was always going to be the issue. some will argue to say when people were making cars, it initially, there we re making cars, it initially, there were car crashes that we see all the time. it would inevitably be something like this happens to this technology moves forward, but when people's lives are in danger, it becomes a huge issue. there is not just that situation. the other side is this is a uber and whenever there is this is a uber and whenever there is any bad news around uber, it is magnified as we know. they have had a lot of bad news, to be fair. they have theirfair share of

a lot of bad news, to be fair. they have their fair share of skeletons in the cupboard. it depends whether this will be seen as a bump in the road, not to make light of the situation, but a bump in the road in terms of the moving forward of this technology whether this is even the end of this technology going forward , end of this technology going forward, because it isjust end of this technology going forward, because it is just on say. thank you for now. james will be back for the news briefing. he has lots of other stories to talk about. uber holds self driving tests after death. the detail with regards to what actually happened is on there, including the point that this lady, the pedestrian sort of walked out a p pa re ntly the pedestrian sort of walked out apparently between two cars. it was not as if she was crossing at a pedestrian crossing. there will be an investigation. i have been asking for your views on this. i would share one from charlie who is watching us in colorado. ifeel safer with the cars than texting drivers. they are everywhere. that is just drivers. they are everywhere. that isjust one opinion drivers. they are everywhere. that is just one opinion so far. stay with us on the briefing.

also on the programme, is ita bird, is ita plane? actually, it's a new taxi service designed for brazil's high flyers. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision, all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself was on the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. now, this was an international trophy and we understand now that the search for it has become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats

of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is the briefing. here are the headlines: 23 russian diplomats are expected to depart later in the aftermath of the nerve agent attack on a former spy and his daughter in salisbury, in the west of england. uk authorities are seeking a warrant to investigate the company accused of using millions of facebook users's date to influence the us presidential election. residents in parts of australia hit by bushfires have been told its still not safe to return

home, after more than 70 properties were destroyed. officials say the fires in new south wales and neighbouring victoria are now being brought under control, but hundreds of cattle have been killed and over 100,000 acres of land burnt. we're hoping to get more on that story later in this programme. the brazilian city of sao paulo is one of the most congested cities in the world. with more than eight million cars, travelling just the shortest distances to and from work can take hours. traffic jams have been known to exceed 100km, but there's a new taxi service designed to cut all the congestion out. our south america correspondent katy watson has more. these are usually the preserve of the mega rich but sao paulo's newest cab service wants to shake up the city's skies. richard cameron is giving it a shot. he is only going a few kilometres from the domestic

airport to his office but it is a journey that on bad days could take over an hour. 0rder journey that on bad days could take over an hour. order the chopper on your out and then head to the newest helipad, easy. taking a helicopter from a helipad right next to your office and in five minutes be in the airport or that say in 15 minutes be in the international airport, it is just a huge advantage and itjust saves a lot of time and you can spend more time here at home with yourfamily, or in the office spend more time here at home with your family, or in the office and get back to the meeting. so that is extremely valuable. in this city, said to have the biggest fleet of helicopters in the world, there is plenty of choice. the city of sao paulo has 400 helicopters and 200 helipad is, but the recent economic crisis in this country has been tough on the industry. people have less money and the demand for helicopters has fallen, which is why using helicopters more like taxis is seen by operators is one way to boost the industry again.

helicopters nowadays stay a lot of time on the ground, and when you have less time flying, so he is making less time money than expected, the helicopter, the pilots, it the air hangar, in this way we are looking reduce the price and create a new kind of transportation for our population. they aim to make helicopters are viable alternative to road transport. the just a few hundred dollars, you can fly to the international airport, twice the cost of a taxi at with as little as half the trouble time. they are still 90. this woman takes nearly six hours a day commuting cross the city. first bus, then a metro and another bus, and then the same on the way home. translation: it would be marvellous, no? in five minutes,

i would be here. i would not have to wa ke i would be here. i would not have to wake up so early. i would have so much more time to do things. people joke that what ties people out is the commuting, not the actualjob. for most of this deeply unequal city of 19 million people, travelling to work on a helicopter is still high in the sky. —— pie in the sky. let's bring you that situation in australia, where many residents had been evacuated due to bushfires. they have been told and is still not safe to return. 0fficials they have been told and is still not safe to return. officials say the fires in new south wales and neighbouring victoria have now been brought under control but hundreds of cattle have been killed and over 100,000 acres of land burnt. joining me live from sydney is rob rogers, deputy commissioner

—— let's now go live to sydney. what is the latest? you say that people cannot go back to their homes yet? yes, so this fire has been quite difficult to contain. at the moment, we re difficult to contain. at the moment, were working really hard to extinguish the hotspots on the edges. 0urfocus this extinguish the hotspots on the edges. our focus this afternoon has been on the edges of the fire, we have a lot of areas that are firefighters are working in the train these hotspots. we are seeing much cooler temperatures today than we did see on sunday. some residents are being allowed back into their properties this afternoon, which is obviously devastating for them, to see the remains of their homes. so we're working very closely with them to give them all the support that they can need when they go back their properties. we asked still this afternoon focusing on trying to contain this fire. as you say, devastating, very, very chromatic,

not only for those who have lost their homes, but some their livelihoods with farms and cattle, etc, but there are no fatalities. is right? yes, that is correct. we had a very, very difficult day here on sunday. we had temperatures in the 40 degrees month, we had winds from the north—west, which is the worst direction for us here on the east coast of australia, gusting at up to 90 kilometres an hour, the worst conditions for firefighters to try to combat fires, particularly in remote areas like this one, where it has started. the fire was spotting very, very hot comeback far ahead of itself, extremely difficult for our firefighters to control and they protected as many homes as they could that afternoon but the fire was just too fast and too intense. but as you say, it is a fantastic outcome that nobody was killed during these fires and we are taking oui’ during these fires and we are taking our hats off to our volunteers on the ground to protect its only lives

and so many homes on sunday, in some of the worst conditions that we have seen. all right, thank you for bringing us right up to date there. a representative from rural fire service explaining some of the conditions they have been facing. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. and of course, all eyes on london as moscow confirms the 23 diplomats expelled from its embassy in britain will return to russia today. in washington, donald trump will host saudi arabia's crown prince mohammed bin salman, who is on a multi—city tour of the us seeking investment for the kingdom. and then a retro release in san francisco. as atari launches its first games console in 20 years. iimagine i imagine those who are really into gaming have probably never heard of them, but that is on the agenda as well. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sport centre. hello.

welcomed the tue sports briefing. 0ne welcomed the tue sports briefing. one man continues his assault on the nda. the west indies in the cricket, and we have an astounding bit of playacting to show you as well. after making her long—awaited return to the court at indian wells following the birth of her daughter, serena williams is back in action again at the miami open. after losing in the quarter—finals to her sister venus williams, things will not get any easier for the grandslam champion. that is because she has been drawn against 0saka in the opening round. it capped a brilliant tournament for her who thrashed simone harlech in the semifinals and beat her opponent in the semis. the

cricket world cup continues in the west indies. india need to beat afghanistan to stand any chance of making the final, after beating the west indies. —— afghanistan need to beat india. the trailblazers are in portland, while the boston celtics we re portland, while the boston celtics were second in the east, hosting the 0klahoma were second in the east, hosting the oklahoma city thunder. at madison square garden, the thunder looking like one of the teams to beat at the moment. last time out, they beat the toronto raptors on their home court. their star player made an incredible straight this double. what a man, as the thunder one 100 and —— won 132—125. the west indies hopes of qualifying

for the world cup are back on track, thatis for the world cup are back on track, that is after they beat zimbabwe in houari. they came out with a point to prove, and this playerfelt houari. they came out with a point to prove, and this player felt the brunt of it as he was hit by a bouncer. brendan taylor setting the west indies totalled 290 to win and although chris gayle was out early on, a brilliant 8680 balls from marlon samuels fought victory within insight and despite losing four wickets within 12 balls, they still managed to scrape over the line with a ball to spare. and staying with cricket, he may have 399 test wickets to his name but stuart broad still has no plans to retire any time soon. stuart broad and his england teammates are preparing for the first test against new zealand, which starts on thursday, and is looking forward to taking one wicket and joining the 400 cloud. looking forward to taking one wicket and joining the 400 cloudm looking forward to taking one wicket and joining the 400 cloud. it is one of those achievements that obviously i'm not there yet i think you can

look back on the news to come with some pride because it is not necessarily just about taking individual wickets, more likely length of time it takes, the dedication that sort of thing that you have got to put in to be able to be on the grounds the bat long to have the chance of taking 400 wicket. you can get all the latest sports news at our website. that's bbc.com/sport. but from me and the rest of the sport today team, goodbye. thank you for that. let's share some of your comments about uber, of course they have had an accident, hit a pedestrian, a self driving vehicle, and sadly, tragically, she died. so uber has withdrawn all that self driving vehicles for now. one respondent said i would feel much safer. keep your comments coming in to the

briefing, i will see you soon. hello again. 0ur weather's showing signs of catching up on the season, going from something that has felt a bit more like winter to something more springlike over the next few days. of course, over the weekend it was bitterly cold. come thursday, we should see highs reaching 12 degrees. why the change in weather? well, we had the beast from the east, this area of high pressure sat across scandinavia is now sat to the south—west of the uk. 0ver across scandinavia is now sat to the south—west of the uk. over time, the air is becoming less cold, coming in from the atlantic rather than from cold, continental europe. weatherwise today, we start out with a lot of weather around. averages hovering around about freezing or below in places. again, we could get some icy stretches. maybe down to

about —8 in scotland. where we start out cloudy, particularly across parts of england, the cloud could be thick enough for a few showers, especially across the midlands. those across south—west england should fade pretty quickly, we are getting increasing amount of sunshine across east anglia and south—west england, further north to scotland, northern ireland and the far north of scotland. that trend to mild conditions continues as we head into wednesday, the area of high pressure continues further southwards, allowing the colder air in and that in turn will allow some rain. we will see temperatures lifting a bit, not as cold night as we had on thursday. further north and west, we have the cloud. the rain becoming heavy and persistent with some gusty winds working in the western scotland as well, not so many writers spells, probably for western england. highs reaching

double figures for scotland and northern ireland. the weather continues into thursday, there might bea continues into thursday, there might be a bit of rain across the east for a time, a lot of cloud across western areas with outbreaks again moving north across the country. the wind coming from a south—westerly direction and that will be temperatures to reach double figures nationwide, so our weather is pretty much warming nationwide. that is your weather. this is business briefing. i'm sally bundock. here are the headlines. turbulent times for facebook — shares in the social media giant slump as it faces heavy criticism about how it protects peoples personal data. uber suspends all tests of its self—driving cars after a woman in arizona was killed in a collision —

a potential setback to the technology expected to transform transportation. and on the markets: the tech sell—off continues in asia. investors weigh up what is in store for the likes of facebook and uber.