welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: it is the biggest mass expulsion of russian diplomats since the cold war. the united states, canada and 22 other countries respond to the nerve agent attack in britain. investigators trying to find out what caused a deadly fire in a shopping centre in siberia say the alarm system was switched off and fire exits blocked. european union leaders say turkey has not responded to a long list of concerns, including that it's flouted the rule of law. and in deep water — a new report backed by the un says the earth's resources are running out faster than we think. hello. it is the greatest collective expulsion of russian diplomats

and intelligence officials in history. 2a countries, including the united states and 16 european nations, have united in response to the nerve agent attack in salisbury. the us is to expel 60 russian diplomats. most are based in washington, but a dozen will leave from the un in new york. 16 member states of the european union, including france and germany, are taking similar action. it is an unprecedented move, a response to the poisoning of former russian agent sergei skripal and his daughter. last week, 23 russian diplomats were expelled from the uk. the russian government has said the expulsions are a mistake and it will respond "symmetrically" in the coming days. our diplomatic correspondent, james robbins, has the latest. sometimes, size really does matter, and this diplomatic action against russia by western democracies is unprecedented in its scale. on their own, the american expulsions are remarkable, 60 russians being ordered out

by the white house — a new record in the post—cold war world. france, germany, and poland each kicking four russians out, top the list of european government action. more than half all eu states are expelling, backing britain with action, notjust words. nato ally canada is also clearing out some russians, as is one of president putin's largest victims, ukraine. and the list may get longer. the prime minister could hardly have hoped for more. she told the commons it was the largest collective expulsion of russian intelligence officers in history. i have found great solidarity from ourfriends and partners in the eu, north america, nato and beyond, over the past three weeks, as we have confronted the aftermath of the salisbury incident. together, we have sent a message that we will not tolerate russia's continued attempts to flout international law and undermine our values. three weeks after the salisbury attack, as the investigation goes on,

and warnings to those who were in the area at the time remain in place, the diplomatic heat on president putin is being turned up again. in brussels, the president of the european council, donald tusk, said today's eu action could even be extended quite quickly. additional measures, including further expulsions within the common eu framework, are not to be excluded in the coming days and weeks. today's action has its roots in years of alleged russian misbehaviour. from president putin's annexation of crimea, judged illegal by most of the outside world, through armed intervention in eastern ukraine to destabilise the country, to accusations of kremlin fingerprints on a catalogue of cyber attacks against the west, combined with abuse of social media and plots to undermine elections and democracy in europe and the united states. russia's immediate reaction?

translation: what the united states of america are doing today is destroying what little remains in terms of russian—american relations. i'd like to add that the entire responsibility for the consequences of that destruction lies on america. tonight, i asked the foreign secretary why so many countries had been willing to act together. the reason why you've seen this outpouring of revulsion at what russia has done is because so many other countries in the last ten years have now experienced provocations of one kind or another. they've had destruction of the elections, cyber warfare, all kinds of russian aggression and malign behaviour. are you braced for whatever retaliation russia chooses? they might go, mightn‘t they, to cyber warfare. well, let's be very clear.

it's notjust we who are obviously bracing — we have every possible protection and precaution that we've taken — but it's our friends and partners knowing that they probably will face now some kind of retaliation from russia, and that, for me, is all the more impressive, that they've chosen to do it nonetheless. moscow is sticking with denial. russian retaliation is inevitable. the crisis triggered by attempted murder in salisbury continues to grow at a startling pace. james robbins, bbc news. in the past few hours, our correspondents in moscow, brussels and washington gave us their assessments of the latest expulsions. not since the cold war, not since russia was the soviet union have so many diplomats been expelled in one go. this is tough, aggressive action by the us, frankly is that the total upper end of expect patient of what the british embassy in washington have been anticipating. it is in

line with what we have heard from the white house over the past few weeks in terms of their written statements. they have been behind theresa may, they signed a joint letter with the french, the germans and the british and there has been fierce condemnation in a statement released today. the yukon -- countries wanting to respond, and thatis countries wanting to respond, and that is the majority, including front and germany, took matters into their own hands, expelling russian diplomats themselves. even countries like hungary, with much closer ties to moscow, have also taken part in this co—ordinated response. there is talk of further measures to come. this after an unprecedented step by the eu when it brought home its ambassador to russia. this is all out of solidarity with the uk, but there are wider concerns about russia as well following on from its action in syria and ukraine, and salisbury isn't that much closer to home. russia and the west tonight are at loggerheads. was moscow surprised by the strength of the

co—ordinated action taken against it? undoubtedly. does it send a strong signal to the kremlin as theresa may '5 has suggested? yes, i think it does. but the problem facing the west ryde now in this escalating diplomatic war with russia is that the man who works out of the office behind me, vladimir putin, he doesn't react positively to pressure, and for any confrontation with the west, he will be determined to emerge the winner. and australia has become the latest country to expel russian diplomats, prime minister turnbull speaking of his shock at the first offensive use of chemical weapons in europe since world war ii. for more on this, let's speak to our correspondent hywel griffith in sydney. how was looking from there? australia is not the first to expel russian diplomats, but certainly wa nted russian diplomats, but certainly wanted to be seen to show solidarity with the uk and line up alongside america and those others we heard

from in the report. there isn't a huge foot print of the russian government or embassy here in australia, but two people who have been accused of being undercover spies, formally diplomats but accused by australia of being intelligence officers, will be on a plane back to moscow within a week, so plane back to moscow within a week, so malcolm turnbull using some pretty strong language in a statement that has come through to us statement that has come through to us in the last few hours, accusing russia of a pattern of reckless and had deliberate conduct that constitutes the international security. this is the latest incident, the latest attack in salisbury. australia has had sanctions against russia are going back to 2014 because of the incidence in the ukraine. what kind of russian retaliation is australia expecting? what kind of impact might it have? we have heard the term symmetrical retaliation being used, so symmetrical retaliation being used, so two diplomatic is expelled

and then smoke. there was no emergency alarm here. 0n the floors below, confused crowds made for the exits. the woman filming describes how she was up in the cinema when the fire broke out. "there was panic," she says. "children screaming. it's a nightmare." rescuers battled the blaze for hours, but this fire was fierce and vast. and now, officials say, emergency exits inside were locked, trapping dozens. some fled to the roof, others jumped for their lives through the choking smoke. there were today queues to donate blood for the injured from locals who just wanted to help. this girl says her friends were at the mall and their children are still missing. people have been scouring lists at hospitals all day, looking for relatives.

dimitri can't find his 5—year—old daughter or his son. "igor should be ten in april," he says. translation: when my wife called, she said, "dima, help us, we're suffocating" and i could hear the children cry. most of the victims here were children. so as this city mourns, it also has many angry questions. sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. we can go live now to kemerovo and to sergei goryashko from the bbc russian service. good to talk to you on this, but a terrible situation. what more information coming through? hello, as we have heard yesterday, there are five people arrested on this case and one of them is the security guard of the shopping centre who presumably turned off the fire alarm signal when the fire started. he is

detained by investigated community in russia here, kemerovo. the city is in mourning today, it is the first day of mourning. people are, as we have heard earlier, will gather today in the place near the city administration to hold a rally against local authorities who, as a thing, haven't done enough to save all people in this terrible tragedy. thank you very much indeed. taking you like the australian prime minister, responding live to the expulsions of the russian diplomat. the invasion of the eastern ukraine, the downing of mh 17, cyber attacks and efforts to manipulate western nations elections. the latest, this latest incident demanded a response

and it has received a concerted, international response from the united kingdoms, allies and partners around the world. to do nothing would only encourage further efforts to undermine the international rules —based order upon which our security and our prosperity rely. as i said, when introducing new foreign interference legislation into the house of representatives last year, russia is threatening the democratic world right around the world. there are credible reports that russia was actively undermining the integrity of the actively undermining the integrity why we are taking this action today with another 23 nations around the world. we are defying this recklessness, this lawlessness of russia and expressing in solidarity to the united kingdom and other nations that share those values, that we will not tolerate this type

of reckless undermining of international law, this reckless assault on the sovereignty of nations. earlier this morning, the russian ambassador was informed that i had declared to russian —— there's russian officials persona non— gratis pursuant to the vienna conventions on diplomatic and consular relations and they had seven days to leave australia. we do not take such decisions lightly. in fa ct, not take such decisions lightly. in fact, the last time diplomats were expelled from this country was in 2012 went to syrian diplomats were expelled because of the use by the assad regime of chemical weapons and in this instance, we share the outrage of the british government and other allies and partners over the deployment of military grade nerve agent in an attempted

assassination in salisbury in the united kingdom and we should not forget that the manner in which this nerve agent was just dashed deployed put at risk are possibly hundreds of other lives. we see this as a direct challenge, a direct attack on the international rules —based system and australia is a staunch defender of the international rules —based system. we are also a member for the organisation of the prohibition against chemical weapons and which share the australia group, which is a grouping of nations determined to control the export of chemical weapons. so with that background, australia could not tolerate this act on the part of the russians in the united kingdom. as the prime minister points out, russia is in a unique position to uphold global peace and security. as a permanent memberof the peace and security. as a permanent member of the security council,

russia has a unique responsibility to defend and strengthen and uphold the international rules —based order yet there has been a pattern of conduct over recent times that shows russia is in direct defiance of that very rules —based order of political assassinations, cyber attacks, the illegal annexation of crimea, invasions of the country 's territory, georgia, ukraine. it's disruptive role in the investigation into the downing of mh17 when it should be assisting investigations. i have remained in constant communication with bonn —— foreign secretary borisjohnson communication with bonn —— foreign secretary boris johnson in communication with bonn —— foreign secretary borisjohnson in relation to the investigation and the ongoing act, ongoing actions that may well be taken in response. we have just been hearing from australian foreign ministerjulie bishop and australian

prime minister malcolm turnbull respond to the greatest collective expulsion of russian diplomats in history. 24 countries including the us, 16 european nations and australia uniting in response to the nerve agent in salisbury in britain. mr turnbull said russia was a threat to democracy around the world and australia had no dispute with the russian people, this was about the actions of the russian government and australian national security. a new study, backed by the un, is warning that up to 700 million people could be forced from their homes by 2050, as food demands outstrip supply. a new study, backed by the un, is warning that up to 700 million the report into land degradation says farming, mining, pollution and urban expansion is already affecting 40% of the global population, and that food and water security will be seriously threatened in the coming decades. andrew plant reports. deforestation on the ever—increasing size of the world's towns and cities and mining and water pollution. but

thousands of years humans have been changing the land around them. now scientists say the destruction of nature is rapidly eroding the planet's capacity to provide food and water and the study backed by the un says many millions could be affected. the main cause we find of land degradation worldwide is the imbalance between what we are demanding of the land and what it can supply. we've converted large amounts of our forest. we've converted large amounts of our grasslands. we've lost 87% of our wetlands, 50% since 1900, grasslands. we've lost 87% of our wetlands, 50% since1900, so we have really changed our land surface in the last several 100 years. in the same month that the last mail northern white rhino died, the study shows that biodiversity is suffering a sharp decline. exploitable fisheries in the asia pacific falling to zero by the middle of

this century. 130 million hectares of brazilian rainforests lost since 1990. more than 500 experts say the time to act has already passed and that a global plan is needed to stop what they call the unsustainable and irresponsible use of land. if not, they say, up to 700 million people could be displaced by 2050 is the land around them fails to provide the food and water they need. media reports are suggesting a senior officialfrom north korea, perhaps even the leader, kimjong—un, is visiting china. these pictures show heavy security around the state guest house in beijing, where some high level foreign visitors stay when they visit the city. there's been no official response to the reports, and they've not been covered by chinese or north korean state media. but if a visit is under way, it would be a significant diplomatic development.

leaders of the european union are saying they've received no concrete answers from turkey to a long list of concerns raised at a meeting in bulgaria, including exactly what turkey is doing in syria. they have already accused turkey of undermining the rule of law since the failed coup of 2016. president erdogan has said relations won't improve until the eu stops being overly critical. this report from our correspondent mark lowen. expectations the progress today were low. relations between the eu in turkey are so afraid that the aim was to be to talk again. solutions and compromises? my answer is no. the president of the european council, donald tusk, say no solutions or compromises were reached on sticking points. concerns over turkey's democratic backsliding, mass arrests and its offensive in syria. from turkey, prostration, perceived lack of solidarity from europe in the face

of terror threats and what president erdogan called the eu's excessive criticism. erdogan reiterated tu rkey‘s criticism. erdogan reiterated turkey's desire for full eu membership, warning it would be a big mistake to leave the country out of enlargement. translation: i would like to highlight the eu was a strategic partner for turkey and it would be a mistake to isolate turkey from the process of partnership because turkey is a partner of strategic importance to the eu. jean—claude juncker, the president of the european commission, talked only of turkey being the eu's strategic partner. no side expects major steps forward yet mrjuncker rejected calls to halt turkey's membership talks calling that simple and superficial. fundamentally the two sides need each other in trade, security and migration where the deal between them has dramatically reduced the migrant boat to europe. for the eu, turkey remains the often

unwieldy neighbour that simply can't be ignored. the 101 year—old oscar—winning actress dame olivia de havilland has lost her lawsuit against the entertainment company 21st century fox. she had claimed that a television series called feud about hollywood screen legends bette davis and joan crawford had damaged her reputation and breached her right to privacy. however, an appeals court in california has thrown out the case and ordered dame olivia to pay the company's costs. arizona's governor has suspended uber‘s permission to test self—driving cars on state roads after a pedestrian died last week. the 49—year—old woman was walking her bike across the road. governor doug ducey sent a letter to uber‘s chief executive saying he found the police video disturbing and alarming. and before we go, take a look at this — a sleepy neighbourhood in california which had an unexpected visitor in the early hours of monday morning. when this mountain lion was discovered roaming around, officials warned people to stay inside until they could subdue the animal.

mountain lions usually hunt deer, though this one probably took a wrong turn. the animal was tranquilised and ta ken away. much more on the website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. hello there. the weather is looking fairly mixed as we head through the remainder of this week. during monday, there was some blue sky and some sunshine around for many of us. in fact, this picture comes from one of our weather wwatchers in saltburn—by—the—sea in north yorkshire. it was a beautiful end to the day on monday, but skies have been clouding over overnight. and through the day on tuesday, we start with quite a lot of cloud, some rain around which should clear toward the east and then things will turn brighter from the west later on in the day. so that's all down to the fact that we have this frontal system moving its way from west to east across the country through the day on tuesday.

low pressure in charge. but we will see some clearer conditions following behind this cold front as we work through the afternoon. also, a dip in the temperatures behind that front too. so tuesday morning, we've got a lot of cloud. you can see the outbreaks of rain in the east. some snow on the mountains of scotland as well. most of that rain clears off and then we see brighter skies with sunny spells too. we'll keep the rain and a little bit of hill snow at times across parts of scotland. and temperatures range between around about 5—14 degrees. now, later on, on tuesday then, we'll keep the outbreaks of rain and hill snow for a time across scotland. further south across the country, clearer skies, but then we see more cloud building in from the south, with some outbreaks of rain later on into the early hours of wednesday morning. so temperatures for most of us, frost—free to start the day on wednesday. but during the day, we'll start to see some slightly colder conditions. so on wednesday, the winds turn to more of a north—westerly direction, importing that slightly cooler air mass through the middle of the week. so here is how wednesday's shaping up.

we've got that rain in the south. could be a little bit off sleetiness over the higher ground as well. still a few wintry flurries for the mountains of scotland. whilst that rain clears towards the south—east, still a few showers, but most places looking dry. but temperatures certainly colder by the time we get to wednesday. by the afternoon, around about 6 or 7 degrees so probably the coolest day of the week. looking ahead towards thursday, low pressure still sitting towards the north—west of the uk and another frontal system moves to move in from the south—west so after a largely dry start to the day on thursday, there'll be some showers pushing into wales, south—west england too, making their way further north and east, mainly for england and wales. for scotland and northern ireland, it's looking a drier day, particularly through the morning. could be an isolated shower during the afternoon and temperatures on the cool side, around about 9 or 10 degrees for most places during thursday. now what about the outlook towards easter? it starts off on that fairly cool theme, i think, but things will gradually turn milder. there'll be a little bit of rain at times but also some sunshine to be enjoyed too.

bye for now. this is bbc news. the headlines — it's the biggest mass expulsion of russian diplomats since the cold war — the united states, canada and 22 other countries respond to the nerve agent attack in britain. russia's foreign ministry calls it "unfriendly and provocative" and promises to retaliate. at least 60 people, including many children, have died in a fire at a shopping centre in siberia. investigators say fire exits were locked and the alarm system had been turned off. emergency services are struggling to recover bodies from inside the mall. a new study, backed by the un, is warning that up to 700 million people could be forced from their homes by 2050, as food demands outstrip supply. the report into land degradation says farming, mining, pollution and urban expansion are already affecting 40% of the global population. now on bbc news, it's time to look back at monday in parliament.