this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top story: nations across europe and around the globejoin the biggest mass expulsion of russian diplomats since the cold war — 2a countries respond to the nerve agent attack in britain. the moment a shopping mall turned into a deadly inferno. a security guard is among five people arrested in siberia after investigators say the alarm was switched off and fire exits blocked. one of the world's most famous prehistoric cliff faces gets a makeover. uber is banned from testing its self—driving cars in arizona after last week's deadly accident raising fears the technology could be stopped in its tracks. and i'll be speaking to the lawyer hoping that he'll convince a london court that volkswagen should pay compensation to uk customers over the diesel emissions scandal.

a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. bbc online has a story on brits drinking habits changing so much so that the pub is in danger. 18 pubs across the uk closed every week in the second half of last year. have your drinking habits changed dramatically? is it a lifestyle choice and are they responsible for a change to your local town . do get in touch — just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing.

britain and its allies are waiting to hear how moscow will respond to the dozens of expulsions of russian diplomats announced on monday. the expulsions are in response to the nerve agent attack on the former spy sergei skripal and his daughter. australia has now joined what is the biggest mass expulsion of russian diplomats since the end of the cold war. jane frances kelly has the latest. there is very much a chill in the air in moscow as it weighs up its options following the unprecedented round of expulsions from its eu and nato allies. more than 20 countries have shown their support. america has ordered 60 russian diplomats to leave including some it accuses of being intelligence officers. european allies, canada and australia have also told dozens of russians to go in response.

australia have also told dozens of russians to go in responsem australia have also told dozens of russians to go in response. it was an attack on the sovereignty of every nation that expect —— respects the rule of law and that is 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 with 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. in recent yea rs, sovereignty of nations. in recent years, russia has annexed crimea, an action widely condemned as legal. it took part in armed intervention in eastern ukraine in what was seen as a bid to destabilise the country. in the uk, the investigation continues into the use of nerve agent on the streets of salisbury. moscow denies it had anything to do with it and reacted angrily to america's whole—cell expulsions. reacted angrily to america's

whole-cell expulsions. 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. russia has vowed to retaliate. the question now will be how far will putin go? will it be simple tit—for—tat measures are syndicated or something perhaps more far reaching to show he is perhaps not going to be pushed around. shortly, we will be going live to syd ney to shortly, we will be going live to sydney to get more on that story, the move on the part of the australian government to join the biggest mass expulsion of russian diplomats. more on that in a few minutes. a security guard is among five people who've been arrested following a fire at a busy shopping centre in siberia. at least 60 people died in the blaze including many children. investigators say fire exits were blocked and the alarm system had been turned off.

emergency services in siberia are struggling to recover bodies from inside the complex, in the industrial city of kemerovo. we can go live now to kemerovo and to sergei goryashko from the bbc russian service. tell us what is happening there at the moment. as you can hear, there isa the moment. as you can hear, there is a big massive rallyjust near the doors of the city administration. people are gathered here because they are not happy with the reaction of the government regarding the situation. they think the government is hiding the truth about how many people really died in this awful fire. they think there are more than hundreds dead and government officials are trying to assure them that they are not hiding the truth and they want to co—operate but now

people are saying government officials should resign after this fire. they are waiting for the government to leave. they are waiting for president putin, who is also arrived to kemerovo but has not come to this rally. just described the shopping maulfor us because many, the shopping maulfor us because any the shopping maulfor us because many, many children are among the dead because there were lots of facilities and entertainment centres geared towards children, is that right? that's right, the fourth floor was dedicated to children, especially designated to them, a cinema, some other activities for children. there were a lot of them on sunday when the fire happened. lots of children have died. one of

the people has told me that she is not happy that kemerovo is famous for the children's deaths. thank you very much for bringing us up to date. thank you again to sergei goryashko, who is part of the bbc russian service. the adult film actress stormy daniels is suing donald trump's lawyer for defamation, after he denied that the president had had an affair with her in 2006. the lawsuit, filed in a los angeles court said mr trump's attorney, michael cohen meant to convey that stormy daniels was a liar. a court in germany has remanded in custody the ousted former president of catalonia, carles puigdemont. he'll be detained pending a decision on extradition to spain. mr puigdemont was held on sunday on his way to belgium, where he's been living for five months thousands of people have been protesting otuside the slovakian parliament

after a reshuffled government led by peter pellegrini won a parliamentary confidence vote on monday. it's a month after the murder of an investigative journalist sparked mass protests and forced long—serving leader robert fico to resign. the new cabinet adopted much of the former leader's agenda. and linda brown, who was at the centre of a landmark legal case that ended racial segregation in american schools, has died at the age of 76. the case was brought by her father when linda was refused a place at an all—white school in kansas. the german carmaking giant volkswagen is due in court again over the diesel emissions scandal. this time its trying to fend off a class action lawsuit in the uk. tens of thousands of vw customers wants to damages from the company.

they say they lost out as a result of it fittting emissions cheating software to their vehicles. volkswagen has recalled i.2m uk vehicles because of it but denies customers suffered losses. jane foley is senior foreign exchange strategist at rabobank. good to see you again. this is an interesting case case. we've already had similar class—action. volkswagen paid around $25 billion us but in europe, it's a bit different. the

emissions standards are different. bolts lagan say they could have got away with it, even if these devices we re away with it, even if these devices were not fitted to vehicles in europe, they would still have managed to get through. this is a class action in the uk, 60,000 owners of vehicles want to go to court but the court today will only decide on a cut—off date for the class—action in which lawyers will ta ke class—action in which lawyers will take charge in the case as well. it's one of those ongoing scenarios but it goes in favour of the customers, it could be costly for volkswagen. it could be huge but they have a better defence in europe than they did in the us. this is related to the different emissions standards and they have recalled thousands of cars and fitted them with an adjustment and they said most of their customers are quite happy with that but that doesn't address the fact that many customers

feel they have lost money. people don't want diesel vehicles, they are suspicious. of the 60,000 cars and customers today, about 1.2 million vehicles are affected. notjust bolts lagan, it's the volkswagen group. seat, skoda. a large amount of cards. i will be talking to the lawyer representing a 60,000 customers so he will bejoining me representing a 60,000 customers so he will be joining me as well. also on the programme, all the latest sports news, including the continuing fallout from the australian ball—tampering scandal. let there be no more wars or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. i'm so proud of you both.

with great regret, the committee have decided that south africa should be excluded from the 1970 competition. (chanting) streaking across the sky, the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji. woman: wow! you're watching the briefing. our headlines — a security guard is among five

people arrested over a deadly fire in a shopping centre in siberia. president putin has arrived to see the extent of the damage. australia becomes the latest country to join the biggest mass expulsion of russian diplomats since the cold war. 2a nations respond to the nerve agent attack in britain. let's stay with that now. our correspondent hywel griffith is in sydney. to live or how many have been told to leave australia? you make to differ but so far have been told to pack their bags and get out of australia. they were in australia underfalse australia. they were in australia under false purposes according to

the government to not declare the spires. it is not known. the least two people accused as such. australia expecting that the same number might be expelled from moscow. the australian government made very clear in solidarity with the uk. malcolm turnbull said the russians actions were a brazen criminal attack on salusbury, which is an attack on all of us in the sovereignty of every nation. wanting to make clear which side australia is on. very strong words from the australian prime minister as you say andi australian prime minister as you say and i would imagine he is preparing for the reaction from moscow, like the other leaders around the world. absolutely. even before this announcement was made, we heard from the ambassador suggesting that each country will be dealt with individually but there could be repercussions. the australian government says it is making plans

brits diplomats to be sent back to australia. but it's also very conscious of what it says is the other threats coming out of russia, not least the potential for a cyber attack. australia is going through a process of trying to strengthen its security and its espionage laws and russia is a name that comes up in those discussions. obviously having to prepare to what the repercussions would be. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. in a few hours, at 0930 gmt, christopher wylie, the facebook—cambridge analytica whistleblower will give evidence to a government committee here in london. and at 1200 gmt, a review into the response to the manchester arena attack is release. 22 people died when a bomb was set off

at an ariana grande concert last may. it's hoped the review‘s findings will inform authorities how to respond to future attacks. also, coming up, the french national assembly votes on a bill to increase digital surveillance and combat cyber attacks. the bill names cyberspace as a major threat to france's defence and security, and calls for greater capability for cyber defence or offence. a new study back by the united nations says people will be forced by their homes by 2050 as food demands outstrip supply. 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, the ever—increasing size of the world's towns and cities and mining and water pollution.

for 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 a 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. large amounts of our grasslands. we've lost 87% of our wetlands, 50% since 1900, so we have really changed our land surface in the last several hundred years. in the same month that the last male northern white rhino died, the study shows that biodiversity is suffering a sharp decline. exploitable fisheries in the asia—pacific, for example, 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 as the land around them fails to provide the food and water they need. andrew plant, bbc news. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello. this is sport today live from the bbc. world champions germany host brazil and the pick of the friendly. international reaction continues to flood in after australia's cricketers admit to tampering with the ball during the third test against south africa. there is less than three months to

go to the start of the world cup and this week is the last round of international friendlies. this week is the last round of internationalfriendlies. the this week is the last round of international friendlies. the chance for a lot of the major teams to play each other. the defending champions germany played brazil since the first time they beat them in the semi—final in 2014, and while supporters of the south american tea m supporters of the south american team may be looking for revenge, the german coach who oversaw the wind doesn't think it will affect their opponents. translation: i expect three players in the starting squad that played in 2014. i don't think these players are still traumatised. they all have their ups are still traumatised. they all have theirups and are still traumatised. they all have their ups and downs and everybody came back. or else we would not play in the brazilian national team. came back. or else we would not play in the brazilian nationalteam. on tuesday, italy failed to qualify for the tournament but there will be a big test for england at wembley.

russia are home to france and spain play argentina. as a team national has been confirmed as the venue for the 2020 match. it was into any seed that the americans won the trophy for the first time in eight years after three successive victories for europe. as a team will become the first american to host the ryder cup for the second time. uruguay on the china cup on monday, beating wales in the final. the only goal of the game was scored early in the second half. it is the second year in a row that the south american team has won the china cup following delay's success last year. portugal humbled 3—0 against the

netherlands in their friendly. portugal humbled 3—0 against the netherlands in theirfriendly. they scored after 12 minutes before they notched a second which was added to by virgilvan notched a second which was added to by virgil van dyck. sloane stephens won the battle of the grandslam to reach that quarter—finals of the miami open. stevens, the local favourite, stevens, the localfavourite, who comes from florida, reached the last eight in miamifor only comes from florida, reached the last eight in miami for only the second time and now she will face angelique kerber. social media is still abuzz with the ball tampering scandal involving the australian team. it was during the third test against south africa. a former indian spin

bowler is not happy about the lack ofa ban bowler is not happy about the lack of a ban in his tweet about the situation, referring to instances in india's asked. the former england wicket—keeper says the aussies must be giggling again, but issues cricket australia will take a tougher stance. —— assumes. you can get the sports news at our website. i am tolsen tollet. that is your tuesday spot briefing. —— sport. it's an historic cliff face formed 300 million years ago under the sea, so it's no surprise cheddar gorge in the west of england needs a little tlc from time to time. a team of specialists has been called in to remove loose boulders and invasive plants from the giant rock faces, but they'll have to do it while suspended from ropes. our reporter sarah—jane bungay went to hang out with them. job description, must enjoy working

at heights. the timescale? six weeks and counting. it is all to preserve this ancient landscape and make it safer for everyone. these specialist fences at cheddar gorge are designed to catch any falling rubble and they can hold up to a ton of material at a time. i am going up even higher onto the rock face to find out how they are making things safer there. first, it is a bit of a climb. the gorgeous 3.5 miles long. it is home to these chaps. they keep down some of the invasive greenery, but not all. the gorge is heavily wooded, it brings the trees which can cause damage to the rock structures beneath it. there are other invasive species such as ivy and those particular species bared their routes between the cracks, which then start to swell and they can crack off pillars of rock. once at

the top, it was time to see the gorge from a different angle. i am 25 metres up one of the rock faces now on cheddar gorge and i thought i better come up to see the kind of challenges this work presents to be technicians. it is a huge privilege teehgieigns; * work l the teehgieigns; * work the f’f; ,, , the in. a; h walk in. hundreds of it's a long walk in. hundreds of fizéfiié—ii it's a long walk in. hundreds of féféf of rope, it is a big it's a long walk in. hundreds of f§f§f of rope, it is a big job. metres of rope, it is a big job. when we are here, it is fantastic. it is dangerous, but the view, makes it all worthwhile. he describes the work as de scaling. it is like putting the gorge the dentist chair. we use hand tools to remove large boulders. nothing too heavy. these cliffs have a lot of history. we don't want to be too hard on them. we do have a little goat population that watch us work, yeah. otherwise it isa that watch us work, yeah. otherwise it is a lonelyjob. that watch us work, yeah. otherwise it is a lonely job. it is, yeah.

sometimes they provide better company than the guys you work with. as for me, a rather in elegance gravel back to the top, but with a true appreciation of what it takes to preserve and protect this natural wonder. we have business briefing coming up with the latest on uber, and the class action law suit going on here in the uk against a vw. we are asking you about a story that we are asking you about a story that we are featuring online, we have an article about the good old british pub in danger, and this is mainly because our drinking habits are changing quite significantly. on this story, i'm hoping you can see it injusta this story, i'm hoping you can see it in just a second. it talks about the various ways drinking habits are changing. we will talk more about that in the next half an hour. hello there.

this week started off on a fairly blue note. this is how we ended the day. tuesday will be a fairly cloudy damp sort of start of the day, that things should brighten up for the west later on as the rain clears way towards the east. we have that rain courtesy of this frontal system that will push its way courtesy of this frontal system that will pl the s way é’f” courtesy of this frontal system that will pl the ssffitfla 4— " ’ 7 x“, 77 71 some snow , 71 some snow carer 1 some snow carer the tuesday morning. serge éfigw'gfi'e-‘ihii of tuesday merninda auras sideways-cilia of scotland. a few showers mountains of scotland. a few showers in northern ireland. some clear skies and sunny spells developing in the afternoon. ted richards about 14 degrees towards the south—east of england. we are stuck in single

figures for england and northern ireland as well. old onto some of the rain and snow over mountains in scotla nd the rain and snow over mountains in scotland for a time. clear skies as we move into wednesday. doing wednesday morning, the batch of rain moves into the south—west of england and south wales too. but to start to wednesday but most of us are frost free. wednesday we will see a dip in temperatures because the winds turn more north—westerly, rotating around that area. a fairly cool site of the day. outbreaks of rain scattering from west to east across southern counties of england followed by showers across england and wales, scotla nd showers across england and wales, scotland and northern ireland also seeing some showers. look at those temperatures. it is cooler and we are stuck in single figures. into thursday, a small ridge of high pressure keeps these dry for a time but the next atlantic weather system approaches and that will bring some showery rain on thursday to initially to wales in south—west

england. though showers will further eastwards. the best of the dry and bright weather is northern england, scotla nd bright weather is northern england, scotland and parts of northern ireland. the chance of a few showers on thursday afternoon. tebbutt is not as chilly as wednesday, nine or 10 degrees, a little below average. we start of good friday on a cool note but ince will turn mile through the easter weekend with a mix of rain at times but also some sunny spells. bye. this is business briefing. i'm sally bundock. uber is banned from testing its self—driving cars in arizona after last week's deadly accident raising fears the technology could be stopped in its tracks. millions of indian farmers demand government help with their debts as they struggle with poor infrastructure and harvests. uber has suffered another

blow in its quest to develop self—driving cars.