i'm rico hizon in singapore. the headlines: russia hits back. 60 us diplomats expelled in the row about a poisoned spy. china cuts beijing pollution by half this winter. so how have they managed it? i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: a year until brexit, theresa may says there's a bright future ahead with more cash for schools and hospitals. and lost and found — the amazing tale of the camera that survived two years in the sea. it's 7am in singapore, midnight in london, and 2am

in moscow where russia has formally retaliated in the row about the poisoning of a former spy in the uk. 60 us diplomats are to be expelled from the country — overall the number is expected to match that sent home by western governments , who blame russia for the attack. in a further ratcheting up of tensions, the us says it reserves the right to respond further. steve rosenberg reports. the diplomatic pressure has been unprecedented. russian diplomats expelled, foreign ambassadors recalled, after the salisbury attack. it was never a question of whether moscow would respond, but when. the announcements came in tonight. foreign minister sergei lavrov said russia was expelling 60 us diplomats for the 60 russians america had ordered out. it's also shutting the us

consulate in st petersburg. staff there given until saturday to vacate the building. and there will be other measures too. as i understand it russia plans to take the same unjustified actions against 28 other countries, countries that stood in solidarity with the uk. russia is further isolating itself following the brazen chemical attack. an attack that left sergei skripal and his daughter yulia fighting for their lives. earlier the us ambassador to moscow told me he was in no doubt who had targeted them. how certain are you that the russian state was behind the attack in salisbury? there's been enough there not only to convince the united states but about 25 other countries that have taken similar actions. there's enough evidence to believe that the russian state was behind this action in salisbury. moscow continues to insist that its innocent, that it had

nothing whatsoever to do with the salisbury poisoning. tonight's tit—for—tat was expected but it comes with a warning, that if there are further hostile steps against moscow, russia will take more measures against the west. some in moscow fear a spiralling diplomatic war with the west could end in military conflict. this is not the way for a solution, it is a way to hell. if you have not so many diplomats as you have, you have a lack of information, you have a lack of trust. you can react in the wrong way, from the wrong point of view and this is the way to hell. the west sent a strong message here over salisbury. moscow has its own message for the west. don't push russia. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. one of the two russians whose poisoning sparked this diplomatic row is now recovering in hospital. yulia skripal, the daughter

of the former russian spy sergei skripal, is now conscious and talking after being poisoned with a nerve agent. the british hospital where she is being treated says she has responded well to treatment. 0ur correspondent daniel sandford sent us this update. what we don't know is, of course, is whether she will be able to shed light on how she became contaminated. i understand it is her left hand that shows clear signs of contamination and it was her father, sergei skripal‘s right hand that showed clear signs of contamination. it adds weight to the theory that it was the front door handle of the house that was where this novichok nerve agent gel had been smeared. daniel sandford. also making news today, president trump has said he may hold up a trade agreement agreed this week with south korea until after a deal is reached with the north. "it's a very strong card", mr trump said in a speech in ohio. preparations are being made

for an historic meeting between the us and north korean leaders that washington hopes will lead to denuclearisation. britain's prime minister theresa may has been touring the uk to mark exactly a year before britain is due to leave the european union. she visited all four countries in the united kingdom, and said she was looking forward to the post—brexit future with optimism. i think there are real opportunities for the united kingdom. i think there are real opportunities forthe united kingdom. i i think there are real opportunities for the united kingdom. i think there is a bright future out there. and, yes, ithink there is a bright future out there. and, yes, i think brexit is going to deliver. 0ur and, yes, i think brexit is going to deliver. our country will be different, but i think there are real opportunities for us as an independent nation in the future. ajudge in california has ruled that starbucks and other coffee companies will have to put a cancer warning label on coffee products sold in the state. the ruling says there was a failure to show that the threat from a chemical compound produced when roasting coffee was insignificant.

the companies are expected to appeal. the nobel peace prize winner malala yousafzai has returned to pakistan for the first time since she was shot in the head by militants on her school bus. the campaigner for female education made a televised speech from the prime minister's residence in islamabad, saying it was her dream to live in pakistan in peace and without fear. the european space agency says it believes a chinese space station which is falling from orbit will crash back to earth at some point between midday gmt on the 31st of march and the afternoon of the it of april. it's thought that most of it will burn up on re—entry, posing almost no danger to life. now, we've brought you quite a lot of coverage of kim jong—un‘s visit to china this week on newsday, but here's a new look at the journey filmed inside his carriage. you can see how the train has been fitted with two rows of what appear to be purple leather armchairs — and mr kim greeting chinese officials on board.

these were the first television pictures shown on his visit on north korean tv. and as you can see, mr kim seemed to be enjoying himself. more now on our top story this hour — the rapidly developing diplomatic row between russia and the us. just a few hours ago, moscow announced it was expelling 60 american diplomats, and closing the consulate in st petersburg. that mirrors the steps taken by washington after claims russia was behind the poisoning of the former double agent sergei skripal and his daughter yulia. the us state department says it may now take more action of its own. 0ur correspondent in washington, chris buckler, gave me the latest. 60 officials of 460 officials. a

consulate closed for a consulate. it is very clear that russia is sending a message back to america after the us that enough is enough, we must ta ke us that enough is enough, we must take action. what is very clear from the state department today and from the state department today and from the briefings we have that, is that there continues to be this real feeling in washington that unless russia listens there is this potential of yet more response, yet more retaliation. just listen to the diplomatic langue which being used today "russia not interested in a dialogue." really saying that the actions they are taking are unjustified. again, you find yourself with this one situation in the uk, this poisoning of a former sky, that is leading to problems between america and russia that go beyond that ate spy. we have had reflection that there is concern about russian activity inside the united states as well. there is this potential that this could get worse. that things could become a lot

frosty between the two countries. the west state department says it could take more action. where is this going? —— the us state department. could it lead to a deterioration of diplomatic relations between us and russia? some senior officials in the un says this has the potential to deteriorate into a kind of situation saw during the cold war. i don't think we are anywhere near there yet. certainly, things are becoming colder, that is very clear. the big concern about all of this is not just what happened in the uk, not just what happened in the uk, not just these claims are spying that have taken place in america, but also what potentially could happen elsewhere. there are obviously disagreement and problems between america and russia on a range of different issues, ukraine, syria, and the questions about what happen internationally could ultimately lead into this. it is worth reflecting that russia has really sent out a message back to a america, but they are reserving

their right, here in washington, to send another message back. chris buckler earlier. we have much more on that story on our will website. china's rapid industrialisation has left it as one of the most polluted countries on the planet. but with toxic smog responsible for over a million premature deaths a year, one city has begun to do something about it. in beijing, pollution levels fell more than 50% this winter. much of that can be credited to an official crackdown on factories burning coal. john sudworth reports. beijing's skies are a strange colour plates, blue. in place of the usual toxic rate, this winter has brought prolonged bouts of days like these. and here, in part at least, is why. this factory is one of thousands that have been forced to close. they

used to make so ramik titles. —— so ramik. now the kilns that once belched acrid smoke stand idle. translation: it was all very sudden. there were no meetings or warnings, the inspection team just turned up and shut us down. beijing still sees plenty of days like this, but be average levels of pm 2.5, fell by 20% last year. and here is further evidence of the huge political will involved. new gas pipes. hundreds of villages surrounding beijing have been ordered to stop burning coal on such a scale that the price of gas on the international market doubled. beijing's ability to launch its

battle for blue skies is, it could be argued, down to its authoritarian advantage, forcing many thousands to switch energy supplies overnight and closing factories at the stroke of a pen. but it has also had something else on its side, a little bit of luck. here is a typical date last winter. that is beijing buried beneath a blanket of smoke, the reds and purples on the map. this winter though the city has been blessed with unusually strong northerly winds, bringing with them cleaner air, the blues, greens, and yellows. in the bigger picture though, china's wider continental sized pollution problem has not gone away. but even if the progress is limited, it is significant. china has begun to show that it can trade economic growth for the environment. john southworth, bbc news, beijing. you're watching newsday on the bbc.

still to come on the programme: the camera that went to sea. we'll hear from the woman who was reunited with her equipment two years after losing it under the waves. also coming up on the programme: rico's been filming a documentary about the amazing sights of his beloved philippines — we'll have a sneak preview of what he found. the accident that happened here was of the sort that can, at worse, produce a meltdown. in this case, the precautions worked but they didn't work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the safety features of these stations from resurfacing. the republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone lighting up in offices,

businesses, clubs or restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel where he had been addressing a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become a symbol of paris. a hundred years ago, many parisians wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's birthday is being marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: moscow says it is expelling 60 american diplomats in retaliation, after the us ordered a similar number of russians to leave in the row over the poisoning of a former spy. donald trump has suggested he may delay the trade agreement the us agreed with south korea until a deal is struck

with north korea over denuclearisation. and these pictures of a cheetah dropping in on a tourist on safari in tanzania are popular on bbc.com. one of the big catsjumped onto the car's bonnet, while the other actually climbed into the back. the passenger britton hayes, from america, said everyone stayed calm and eventually the cheetahs went away again without harming anyone. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. first the china daily, which highlights what it calls the positive global response to the talks between china and north korea's leaders. it says world leaders, as well as heads of major international organisations, have praised this week's meeting between president xi jinping and kimjong—un. the straits times reports that north and south korea will hold their first summit in more than an decade on 27 april.

the paper says the summit will take place at the border village of panmunjom, and that china has commended the two sides for their efforts to improve ties. and the japan times features a basketball—playing robot. the front—page photograph shows the robot called cue rehearsing for a game in tachikawa next week. the paper says the robot was created by engineers from toyota, and never misses a free throw. you were talking about a cheetah, andi you were talking about a cheetah, and i will tell you about a pig. yes, a school principal from newjersey has made a bit

of a name for himself online by kissing a pig. this is the west end memorial elementary school, where vincent myers had promised his students that if they read 10,000 books by april, he would kiss a pig. they did, and so this was his response. he said it was a great way of motivating his students, although one of them did tell reporters they were disappointed he only kissed a baby pig. this is no ordinary story of lost and found, but an extraordinary tale of luck and coincidence. japanese university student serina tsubakihara lost her camera in the sea when scuba diving with friends near the island of ishigaki, one of the southernmost tiny islands of japan. she thought she had lost it forever. but incredibly, two years later the camera was found, washed up on the beaches of taiwan, some 250km away. and even more incredibly, serina managed to get the camera back. serina tsubakihara told me how she came to lose the camera.

i went to the island two years ago with my friends for scuba—diving, and accidentally i lost my camera, and accidentally i lost my camera, andi and accidentally i lost my camera, and i thought it was never going to be found. but now, in taiwan, it was incredible to be found. so this is two years later, the camera appeared. so who found that? explained to us the process of who found it. so after two years there was a beach going event at the elementary school in taiwan, and the students, they accidentally found my camera, which is... seems to not be a camera, but they found it and they tried to open it, and the condition was perfect, and it was working stealth. wow, so they found the camera almost 300 kilometres away from where you had lost it, so the currents had moved it around, two yea rs currents had moved it around, two

years under the sea. they found this camera and they got access to the pictures. it is remarkable. yes, they tried to find the owner, which is me, by using some of my photos, and put it on facebook. and a lot of people share that, and it finally came to me. and it is notjust finally, because how long did it take? finally, because how long did it ta ke ? wa nts finally, because how long did it take? wants they shaded on facebook, how long did it take you to realise they were your pictures? it was less than two 12 hours, i heard. it was very quick —— less than 12 hours. what did it feel like, to see those pictures that you had taken with your camera, after such a long period of time. when i saw the picture on the facebook, the first time, it was super surprising. i couldn't believe it was happening, and it was three, almost two years ago. so it couldn'tjust believe it. what is your message to those children? because they could have just thrown this camera away, couldn't they? after all, it was

covered in barnacles, they had no idea what they were going to find inside. yes, i haven't talked to them yet, but i am planning to go to taiwan injune to meet them and to thank them. i am so excited to be there, and i just thank them. i am so excited to be there, and ijust want to thank them. i am so excited to be there, and i just want to thank you, there, and i just want to thank you, the wall of the people who shared the wall of the people who shared the page and tried to find me. —— to all of the people. most of us like to think we know our home country pretty well. but when i was invited to take part in a bbc programme looking at the rich culture and rare wildlife in the philippines, i was amazed atjust how much i didn't know, and places i hadn't been. well, my co—presenter on philippines island treasures joins me now — bbc wildlife presenter and explorer mike dilger. my my friend, it is good to see you, live from bristol. i miss you, sir. i miss you too, lord rico of hizon. good morning, singapore, and good

evening from bristol. it is so good to hear you, rico. long live mike pilger. so the philippines is a natural place for me to travel to and visit. there are 7000 islands there, i haven't even touched the surface. why did you want to go there and film is philippines documentary? well, as somebody who has been possessed with wildlife all my life, rico, philippines has long been on my bucket list to go to. it isa been on my bucket list to go to. it is a remote archipelago that has been evolving species were thousands of years. it is one of the most biologically diverse countries on the planet. there's thousands of species found they are and nowhere else in the world, for example, 194 endemic species of birds that i was desperate to see. huge amounts of animism of the plants, the reptiles, the amphibians, and also, as well, lots of people live in the philippines and the resources are

under threat, so much of that wildlife is really rare. so i wanted to see it while it was still there. that's true, and it was a wonderful journey that we had over three weeks last year. in one of the places i a lwa ys last year. in one of the places i always wanted to go to was the hanging coffins. i mean, cough and is hanging by the side of the mountains, it was creepy at amazing. let's ta ke mountains, it was creepy at amazing. let's take a look at this sequence from the programme. by meeting up with my bbc colleague rico hizon. i've always wanted to come to this place, but i have never had the chance. but look at these hanging coffins. wow. absolutely amazing. it isa coffins. wow. absolutely amazing. it is a tribal tradition of burying their dead, and it has been going on 110w their dead, and it has been going on now for 500 years. it is eerie, but fascinating, don't you think? is like a vertical churchyard. this is

the only location in the philippines this practice takes place. these hanging coffins of sagada are a great example of a diverse culture and traditions in the filipino community. i grew up here in the philippines, and i have never been here before. the hanging coffins of sagada, mike. what was the most special moment for you during your three—week stay in the philippines? was cuddling a crocodile and releasing it into the water? that was pretty high up there, actually. i got my hands on, rico, the rarest crocodile in the world, the philippine crocodile. it is critically endangered, it is in danger of going extinct and there is a wonderfulfoundation danger of going extinct and there is a wonderful foundation in the danger of going extinct and there is a wonderfulfoundation in the north where the people, tass and bernard, are trying to save the crocodiles by rare in the eggs in captivity,

hatching them out. youngsters are very vulnerable when they are young, and they are releasing them into the wild and i got the chance to get my hands on the rarest rockdale and let it free into the sierra madre mountains. it was beautiful. —— rarest crocodile. i can't wait to see the two programmes on bbc news. you have travelled around the world and seen so much wildlife and geology. what makes the philippines different? it isjust beautiful people, remote islands. it has been isolated for millions of years, and there is unique wildlife there. and also, as well, i had a terrific guide, a chap you may have heard of called rico hizon, who was the most wonderful company meant. so great people, brilliant wildlife, history, culture, it is a crossroad of so many diverse cultures. i want to go back. will you come with me?|j many diverse cultures. i want to go back. will you come with me? i will go with you. i mean, wejust

back. will you come with me? i will go with you. i mean, we just scratch the tip of the iceberg, mike, and i am looking forward to another journey with you in the philippines. thank you so much forjoining us live from your bristol studios in the uk. well, if you're interested in all that, why not watch my documentary about the philippines? that is philippines island treasures, with me, rico hizon, and mike dilger, on saturday 7 april at these times, and also sunday, as well. i hope you get to watch this programme. rico, it sounds absolutely amazing. and that programme on the seventh of april. and before we go, let's take a look at these pictures from tokyo, where the cherry trees are in full bloom. we will show you in the next edition of newsday.

hello. make no mistake, there is a lot of weather of varying types to come this easter weekend. some of it could cause some problems as well. there will be some rain around at times, and not just there will be some rain around at times, and notjust that, some snow. easter monday looks a troublemaker. we will see that at a moment. temperatures on the cool to cold side of average, but there will be some dry, sunny moments as well. the details of all of that is an outlook throughout the entire easter weekend, starting with good friday. there will be some snow showers affecting parts of northern scotland from the word go, recovering to some of the higher routes, an area of hill snow moving from north—east england across other parts of eastern scotland. heavy showers developing in southern england, reaching parts of wales, the midlands, east anglia, maybe with a rumble of thunder. single figure temperatures, colder still in easterly winds across the northern half of the uk. 0ne easterly winds across the northern half of the uk. one or two showers, sunny spells in northern ireland. the moisture with these showers start to feed at the bit further north into saturday morning, and

increasing chance of seeing a bit of snow into the tops of the welsh hills, maybe even the pennines going into saturday morning. these are your overnight temperatures. still some of the snow showers in the hills in the scotland as well. now, for saturday the reason we are seeing some rain and hill snow is this area of low pressure, but the idea it is going to edge its way eastwards but it is still going to get into parts of england and wales, some outbreaks of rain and hill snow in the pennines, so all of this has to slide a way eastwards during the day. some western parts may start to brighten up full stops still as wintry showers north, north—east scotland, south—east scotland getting along quite well although still quite cloudy. still chilly breeze across the coast towards the north—east. single figure temperatures once again. but look at this, is today, sunday. the winds are lighter, for a start. you may catch the odd shower, a frost to begina catch the odd shower, a frost to begin a few fog patches clearing. a few sunny spells around, most places are actually dry. rain and strengthening wind coming across south—east england later in the day. that is a sign of things to come for

easter monday. here comes another area of low pressure. certainly got some moisture associated with it, it is moving northwards. quite chilly airon is moving northwards. quite chilly air on easter monday, and that means rain, yes, but feeding into the cold air, the chance for some is no as it spreads further north as well. maybe not just spreads further north as well. maybe notjust on hills, some of that could be disruptive as well, but it is still a lot to play for. of course, easter monday is several days away. but just course, easter monday is several days away. butjust an early heads up days away. butjust an early heads up that if you are travelling on easter monday, you do need to keep a ross that forecast because of that risk of snow that would cause some disruption. and we will, of course, keep you updated over the next few days. that is your latest forecast. i'm kasia madera with bbc world news. our top story: russia is expelling 60 us diplomats and officials in retaliation for identical us measures announced earlier this week. the americans have been given a week to leave the country and the us consulate in st petersburg is to be shut down. one of the two russians whose poisoning sparked this diplomatic row is recovering in hospital.

yulia skripal is now conscious and talking, after being poisoned with a nerve agent. and this video is trending on bbc.com. it shows a cheetah dropping in on a tourist on safari in tanzania. one of the big catsjumped onto the car's bonnet, while the other actually climbed into the back. the passenger, britton hayes from america, said everyone stayed calm. that's all from me now. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news it's time for hardtalk.