this is bbc news. our top stories — a warning from the un — russia's blockade of ukraine could push tens of millions into severe hunger. democracies versus autocracies — the leaders of australia, us, japan and india reaffirm their common intrests in the indo—pacific region, aiming to counter china's influence. rescue workers in iran search for dozens of people still trapped in the rubble of a collapsed high—rise building. and new calls for british prime minister borisjohnson to resign as more photos emerge of lockdown gatherings at downing street.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. ukraine produces enough grain every year to feed 400 million people. along with russia, it exports one third of the world's entire wheat harvest. or at least it should. but russia's blockade of ukrainian ports means millions of tonnes of grain are going nowhere, prompting the head of the un's world food programme to call it a "declaration of war on global food security", that could push tens of millions of people into severe food shortages. our economics editor faisal islam reports. across the world, food and energy crises are hitting households, increasing social instability and hunger, and leading to whole countries going bust. sri lanka at first, but more are feared to be heading

in the same direction. from southeast asia to the middle east, and it's also affecting the uk, too. with russia's war in ukraine making these supply shocks much worse, the economic stakes are very high here, and across the world, according to one of britain's top bankers. many of the conversations here in davos have been what percentage likelihood you attach to a recession? i'll say 50—50. right now, thise emerging markets racked up debts understandably during the pandemic, and many, perhaps dozens, will go bust. is that how you see it? hopefully not dozens, but when you have political instability, cost of living crisis, also importing energy, it's going to be tough. part of the problem is that the natural response that should bring down energy orfood prices — producing more — isn't working because, for example, russia is blockading ukraine's food exports. if we don't open those ports, you're talking about a declaration of war on global food security. it'll have extraordinary consequences. we are already facing the worst food crisis since world war ii.

and when you take 400 million people that are fed by the food that comes out of ukraine, and you shut that off, and then you add on top of that fertiliser problems, droughts, food cost, fuel costs, we're looking at a hellstorm on earth. the world's biggest importers of wheat, the egyptians, told us they can cope for now, though prices are surging. the government is putting in place and utilising tools to limit that price increase, especially on the most vulnerable. we do have a high degree of resilience, in terms of our stocks of basic commodities, and we will continue to explore and to cooperate with our partners in alternative sources. this forum is normally about a combination of high finance and high politics. so far, it's been about the most basic of commodities — food — and the soaring prices affecting everywhere, including britain. and the fear of many

here is that this is not an accident — it's a conscious strategy — the weaponisation of famine by the kremlin. a standing ovation for president zelensky�*s video address. his deputy prime minister says the west needs to get ukraine's food exports past russia's ships. so, we need the assistance of our partners, international partners, to secure our exports through the seaports, so i mean from the defence point of view, to find a way to build a corridor, or another solution, how to give the opportunity to ukrainian vessels. some sort of safe passage? safe passage, yes. events in ukraine have already proven how horrific, but mountains of its grain, blocked from reaching the world's most hungry, could yet make that worse. faisal islam, bbc news in davos, switzerland. i asked peter ceretti, who is a senior analyst

at the eurasia group, how much of the current difficulties was down to russia's blockade of ukraine. i think the blockade is very significant. we see it as one of the main drivers of the rise in food prices that has happened over the last few weeks, but there are several others. we had covid—related disruptions that predate the war, rising fertiliser costs, rising energy costs and of course logistical issues related to sanctioning and self—sanctioning in tight shipping markets, so it is a confluence of factors that is driving the rise in food prices we are seeing. partly the blockade, but partly other issues. if the blockade were to be ended, if there were a way of getting the cargo outcome and there is a lot of it, clearly, how much of a difference will that make? i think the difference will be quite substantial. if we look at the estimates from the ukrainian minister of agriculture for the amount of plant that has been planted and fertilised for this year, it looks like production will be much better than we initially feared it

would be in early 2020. the problem of course is that grain is piling up in the silos, and it needs to leave, otherwise when the harvest comes in, injune, july, a lot of this year's production will be wasted because there will be nowhere for it to go. we really need to avert that worst—case scenario and get those ports unblocked so that we don't have a global food crisis. so what is the for that, then, for the grain that is currently in silos, how long can that be kept in suitable condition before it has to be used, and honestly i take your point, once the next harvest comes in, where are you going to put it? right, grains do have some shelf life, particularly if the conditions are right and the storage facilities are properly built, and it is nice and dry. but indeed these stocks need to leave the country. my understanding is that the overland transit routes are totally overwhelmed, and the average wait time at the ukrainian border for trains to leave the country with grain is something like 15 days right now, right, so having this build—up in the silos that might not be able to be cleared quickly is very concerning, with the harvest for the next market year coming in just a few weeks.

a court in ukraine has jailed a 21—year old russian tank commander for life for killing a civilian. it's the first war crimes trial since the invasion three months ago. the soldier — vadim shishimarin — was convicted of killing 62—year—old 0leksandr shelipov in a village in the sumy region. he admitted shooting mr shelipov but said he had been acting on orders and asked forgiveness of the man's widow. meanwhile, a russian diplomat has quit over his country's invasion of ukraine, calling it bloody, witless and absolutely needless. boris bondarev, a counsellor at russia's mission

to the united nations in geneva, said he's never been more ashamed of russia as when it sent its troops across the border. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg has more on the story. he not only resigned, but he basically stormed out. he launched a scathing attack on the kremlin, and he issued a statement on social media, saying he's never been so ashamed of his country, of the aggressive war unleashed by putin against ukraine, and against the entire western world. he said it was not only a crime against the ukrainian people, but also the people of russia. now, later i managed to get through to mr bondarev on the telephone, and he told me more about why he decided to resign from the russian foreign ministry. i strongly disagree and disapprove of what my government is doing, at least since february, and i don't want to be associated with it any longer. how difficult a decision was it?

you know, it wasn't a decision, like, to do or not to do, it was just to do, and when. so, i don't see any alternative. are you worried about your safety, after taking such a decision? well, i think you may say so. how shocked were you by what has happened after february the 24th by this offensive in ukraine? oh, i was shocked. as any normal person would have been. because, you know, the first news i got on the morning of february 21st, russian air force bombed kyiv, and kharkiv, and last time those cities were bombed, it was during the second world war, by germans, and now it was by us. any russian must be very

shocked, i think so. that was our russian editor steve rosenberg speaking to boris bondarev in an exclusive interview. it's democracies versus autocracies. that is how president biden characterised the status of the so—called quad countries, compared to the likes of russia and china, in his opening comments in tokyo. the quad is made up of australia, japan, india, as well as the us. ahead of the meeting, they all reaffirmed their commitment to the alliance. my government is committed to working with your countries, and we are committed to the quad. the new australian government's priorities align with the quad agenda. taking action on climate change

and building a stronger and more resilient indo pacific region, through better economic security, better cyber security, better cyber security, better cyber security, better energy security, better energy security and better environmental and health security. 0ur cooperation is built on the values that we share, a commitment to representative democracy, the rule of law and the right to live in peace. i was once asked by the leader of china — i was once asked by the leader of china why a cap talking about _ of china why a cap talking about being an indo pacific power, _ about being an indo pacific power, and i said because we are, — power, and i said because we are, we — power, and i said because we are, we share a pacific. it appears _ are, we share a pacific. it appears to me that putin is just— appears to me that putin is just trying to extinguish culture. he has not even aiming at military— culture. he has not even aiming at military targets anymore, he is taking — at military targets anymore, he is taking every school, every church, _ is taking every school, every church, every natural history museum. _ church, every natural history museum, as if to try to obliterate ukrainian culture, and the _ obliterate ukrainian culture, and the world has to deal with it, and the world has to deal with it. and — and the world has to deal with it. and we _ and the world has to deal with it, and we are. the global food crisis _ it, and we are. the global food crisis is — it, and we are. the global food crisis is made worse by

russia's_ crisis is made worse by russia's blocking ukraine from exporting its millions of tonnes— exporting its millions of tonnes of grain, and also as long — tonnes of grain, and also as long as _ tonnes of grain, and also as long as russia continues the war, _ long as russia continues the war. the _ long as russia continues the war, the united states will work— war, the united states will work with our partners to help be work with our partners to help he the — work with our partners to help be the global response. translation: the quad group has made an important place _ for itself— on the global stage in a very short time today. the scope of the quad. has increased, and also it is more influential. just giving you the back of the head of prime minister modi there at the quad summit taking place in tokyo. there at the quad summit taking place in tokyo. rescue workers in iran say that dozens of people are still trapped in the rubble of a ten—storey building that collapsed in the city of abadan. at least six people have been killed, and more than 25 people injured. the bbc�*s azadeh moshiri has this report. it is simply impossible to see through the smoke, after this

building collapsed in south—western iran. it was still under construction, and its lower floors were already open to shoppers, and located on one of abadan�*s busiest commercial streets, on one of abadan�*s busiest commercialstreets, it on one of abadan�*s busiest commercial streets, it is thought up to 150 people were inside when it crumbled. translation:— inside when it crumbled. translation: the building colla sed translation: the building collapsed suddenly - translation: the building collapsed suddenly full - translation: the building collapsed suddenly full stop this building had no strength at all. this this building had no strength at all. �* , , this building had no strength at all. . , , ., this building had no strength atall. at all. as news of the collapse troubled. _ at all. as news of the collapse troubled, 17 _ at all. as news of the collapse troubled, 17 rescue _ at all. as news of the collapse troubled, 17 rescue teams - troubled, i7 rescue teams rushed to the site. from abadan as well as nearby cities, according to the iranian red crescent. rescuers are still trying to find more survivors, as well as bodies. translation: more casualties are still the rubble. the risk is high because the rest of the surrounding buildings are also collapsing. surrounding buildings are also collapsing-— collapsing. officials say they still don't — collapsing. officials say they still don't know _ collapsing. officials say they still don't know how - collapsing. officials say they still don't know how this - collapsing. officials say they i still don't know how this could have happened, how this ten story building could have fallen apart so quickly, with its beams and concrete floors

crushing the cars beneath it. but for residents, the answer is clear. they filled the nearby streets, blaming local authorities, and are declaring it a day of mourning for the city. for now, the building �*s owner and its have both been arrested as police tried to piece together who was responsible. and in the meantime, the search through the building �*s ruins continues. as moshiri, bbc news. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come — the queen visits this year's chelsea flower show, using a buggy to view the array of gardens. in the biggest international sporting spectacle ever seen, up to 30 million people have taken part in sponsored athletic events to aid famine relief in africa. the first of what the makers of star wars hope will be thousands of queues

started forming at 7am. taunting which led to scuffles, scuffles to fighting, fighting to full—scale riot as the liverpool fans broke out of their area and into the juventus enclosure. the belgian police had lost control. the whole world will. mourn the tragic death of mr nehru today. he was the father of the indian people from the day— of independence. the oprah winfrey show comes to an end after 25 years and more than 11,500 episodes. the chat show has made her one of the richest people on the planet. geri halliwell, otherwise known as ginger spice, has announced she's left the spice girls. argh! i don't believe it! she's the one with the bounce, the go, girl power. not geri. why? this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: the un world food

programme is warning that russia's blockade of ukraine could push tens of millions into severe hunger. the leaders of the us, australia, japan, and india reaffirm their common interests in the indo—pacific region, aiming to counter china's influence. in the uk there's yet another twist in the so—called pa rtygate controversy, as new photographs have emerged of the prime minister, borisjohnson, drinking at a gathering in downing street during a coronavirus lockdown. the images, obtained by itv news, have sparked further accusations that the prime minister has been lying over his version of events, as our political editor chris mason reports. it's the 13th of november 2020, the country is in lockdown, and this is what was happening in downing street. look at these pictures, obtained by itv news. the prime minister raising a glass, holding forth, bottles littering a table

as a senior colleague is given a send—off. and the rules at the time — no person may leave or be outside of the place where they are living without reasonable excuse. we now know there were two gatherings in number 10 that night. borisjohnson was asked about one of them in the commons six months ago. will the prime minister tell the house whether there was a party in downing street on the 13th of november? prime minister. mr speaker, no, but i'm sure that whatever happened, - the guidance was followed i and the rules were followed at all times. we now know at least one person at the drinks do was fined, but the prime minister was not. this is clearly not a work meeting, this is clearly a gathering, a social gathering, that was clearly against the rules at the time. now, borisjohnson knows this and he knew this all along, and he's just tried to lie to the british public,

and it seems like he's laughing at them now. i think it's appalling. people will be disgusted by it, i'm pretty certain of that. remember, angela rayner and labour's leader, keir starmer, are themselves subject to a police investigation over an alleged covid rules breach. before the pictures of the downing street do were published this afternoon, the prime minister was on a school visit in orpington, in south—east london, this morning. 0h! come on, come to our party, love from... that's so nice of you, thank you. have you invited him to a party? thank you very much. that's wonderful, thank you. after this invite from a pupil, he was asked by a journalist about the imminent report into lockdown parties by the senior civil servant sue gray. i'm, with great respect, not going to comment or give any running commentary on her report until we get it. and i think that, to be frank, the moment is not very far off. it can't be long now before i'll be able to say something. in bristol, there's anger as people see the photos. it's just really annoying.

i'd like to think that while he was saying what he was saying, it was genuine and we were all doing what he was asking us to do. and, quite clearly, he's not doing what he said at the time. i don't think it's surprising. kind of the pictures i think everyone expected to come out off the back of what everyone had heard. he made the rules and he broke the rules. - and he says he didn't, so he lies. _ tonight, the liberal democrats are asking how the prime minister avoided another fixed penalty notice. i think millions of people will be sitting at home tonight thinking that if it was them or anybody else pictured in that party, they would have received a fine. so, unless the met police can provide an urgent clarification as to why borisjohnson wasn't fined, then the police watchdog needs to step in and restore some transparency and public trust in this process. in response to these pictures, downing street say the police and the civil service investigations into what went on had access to all the information they needed — including photographs.

chris mason reporting there. monkeypox is a viral illness which is normally found only in africa. it's a disease which can be passed from animals to humans, also on occasions from humans to humans. and now it is spreading among a number of countries in north america and europe, with more than a hundred cases reported so far. our medical editor fergus walsh explains how monkeypox has spread. more than a dozen countries in europe, north america and australia have reported cases of monkeypox, the biggest outbreak ever seen outside africa. but it is not another covid. experts stress the overall risk to the public is low. so, what is monkeypox? it's a virus found in animals, including monkeys and rats, in several african countries which occasionally infects people.

the first outbreak in humans was over 50 years ago. it usually causes a mild illness, though it can occasionally be fatal. we've seen a few cases in europe over the last five years, just in travellers, but this is the first time we're seeing cases across many countries at the same time in people who have not travelled to the endemic regions in africa. what are the symptoms of monkeypox? symptoms can take up to 21 days to appear after infection. key among them is a rash, often on the face or genitals. this develops into blisters and, finally, scabs. it can be mistaken for chickenpox. monkeypox usually resolves within two to four weeks. so, how do you catch it? monkeypox does not spread easily. it requires close contact, mainly skin to skin, and exposure to the blisters which contain the virus or contact with clothing or bedding of an infected person.

it can spread through coughs and sneezes, but is much harder to catch than covid. many of the current cases are in gay or bisexual men. it's very important not to stigmatise. infections don't choose people's characteristics. we are talking about a spread between people with close contact, and therefore anybody who has close contact with somebody else with monkeypox is potentially at risk of coming across it and acquiring the infection. the smallpox vaccine gives a high level of protection against monkeypox. they're from the same family of viruses. the uk has bought more doses, and some staff at sexual health clinics have already had the jab. in london, around ten staff from the chelsea and westminster hospital sexual health service are self—isolating at home purely as a precaution. clinics have now brought in stringent ppe requirements when dealing with the virus.

fergus walsh, bbc news. the queen has visited this year's chelsea flower show, using a buggy to view the array of gardens. the event, which has returned this year to its traditional spring slot, has floral tributes to honour her majesty's platinum jubilee. our correspondent helena wilkinson reports. driven by a member of the royal household, the queen visited some of the tributes celebrating her platinum jubilee year. she's missed several events recently, but this is one of her favourites. on her tour, she'll take in the main display in her honour, a four—metre—high floral portrait. we've got one tonne of steel as a frame, in the lovely platinum purple, and then it supports 70 terra—cotta pots — one for each year of her reign. within the centre, we have a silhouette, again, of her majesty, using gorgeous rosemary for remembrance and an assortment

of british trees. every garden here has been planned to perfection. —— the show has finally returned to its traditional late may slot. over the next week around hundred and 40,000 people are expected to wander through these spectacular gardens, each one planned to perfection and with its own story to tell. every garden he has been planned to perfection. this one has been made for children who have been treated at liverpool's alder hey hospital. it'll be transferred there once the show�*s finished. what's this one, betty? that one is mint. smell it. can you smell the mint? betty, who's four, spent months in intensive care after she was born prematurely. i think it's that opportunity to explore and to have those connections in the world that you don't get when you're stuck in hospital. before the gardens open to the public tomorrow, some well—known faces have been

enjoying the displays. got everything, actually. lemons on my lemon trees dropping off, which i pick every night for a gin and tonic. i planted a himalayan silver birch. it is absolutely beautiful. over the next week, thousands of visitors will be able to enjoy the gardens in all their spring glory. helena wilkinson, bbc news, at the chelsea flower show. lovely pictures there. we just want to take you to new york. we are coming to an end of an era. the last phone box in the city has now gone. there you go, is on its way. phone boxes are now a thing of the past there. the city began replacing them with wi—fi hotspots in 2015, which allows people to charge their devices and make free phone calls. this is the last one being taken away. it drew quite a crowd in the process as people

gather to capture a little moment of new york history. there we are. that is bbc news. thank you for being with us. don't forget the website. hello. after a wet night across parts of england and wales, keep the umbrellas handy wherever you are during tuesday. there will be some sunny spells. it won't be wet all the time, but you may never be too far away from a shower that could be heavy, possibly thundery. now, low pressure is beginning to edge away. we have a flow of air coming in from the west—northwest to the uk. it is unstable, so along with those sunny spells, there will be some big clouds building at times with those showers breaking out. away from central, southeast and eastern england, where it could still be quite wet first thing, quite a bit of dry weather early on, probably chillest across western scotland, a few spots in low single figures. just wait for the showers to break out. after the rain's cleared away from the eastern side of england, hints of brightness, and then the showers break out here as well, so you can see them coming through. they will be accompanied by gusty winds. as mentioned earlier, it doesn't mean it's going to be raining all

the time, we mayjust have a brief shower and then a lengthy dry and bright spell afterwards. temperatures i2 celsius in stornoway, 18 celsius in london. most around 14—17 celsius, not too far from average for the time of year, perhaps a little bit below. a lot of dry weather to end the day as the showers fade away, but then overnight and into wednesday, from west then pushing eastwards, there will be some cloud and outbreaks of rain, which means as wednesday begins, the lower temperatures mid single figures in a few spots where you have the clearer skies across the eastern side of england. so, this latest batch of wet weather will push on through, mainly during wednesday morning, not much rain, though, into the early afternoon into east anglia and southeast england, whereas elsewhere, it brightens up again, and it will be another afternoon of sunshine and scattered showers. temperatures pretty similar. wednesday is going to be a windier day, some gusts in excess of 40 mph, parts of scotland, northern england, perhaps the south coast of england as well. now, high pressure trying to build in for thursday, not having much success, as another weather front snakes its way in from the atlantic. it does mean there will be quite a bit of cloud around on thursday, some outbreaks of rain pushing in, some heavy showers in northern scotland. ahead of the system towards the southeast, although expected to cloud over, we mayjust see a few

sunny spells, enough to lift temperatures back in a few spots into the low 20s, whereas elsewhere, it's as you were. now, high pressure does move in friday, and at least into the start of the weekend, settling things down. although it is high pressure, though, that will not

this is bbc news, the headlines. the head of the world food programme has accused russia of having declared war on global food security. david beasley told business leaders at the world economic forum in switzerland that russia's blockade of ukraine's ports on the black sea threatened food supplies forfour hundred million people. a russian diplomat has resigned over his country's invasion of ukraine, calling it bloody, witless and absolutely needless. boris bondarev, a counsellor at russia's mission to the united nations in geneva, said he's never been more ashamed of russia as when it sent its troops across the border. the leaders ofjapan, the united states, india and australia are meeting in tokyo.

the quad — as they're called — are discussing how best