it continues to deny it was involved in the intended murder of sergei skripal and this daughter. however, the us isjust one of more skripal and this daughter. however, the us is just one of more than 20 countries who have taken formal action against russia and the british government has welcomed what it cold a strong international response to the brad blakeman is a republican strategist. he joins us from washington. this decision not direct the white house, it was automatically triggered once the state department decided that moscow had done this? that is correct. we needed the information verified by our intelligence services to present to the proper authorities to make sure that the sanctions were justified. now the president is comfortable that the sanctions are not only justified but are absolutely necessary. are necessary but they are automatic once the decision was taken. these draconian sanctions that will follow within 90 days, they seem to be dependent on reassu ra nces they seem to be dependent on reassurances from russia that it will no longer use chemical weapons and w

top stories: the us announces new sanctions on russia over the poisoning of former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter in the uk. will argentina vote to legalise abortion? the result of an historic vote in the senate is due within hours. a bbc investigation reveals new details about those behind the barcelona attacks last year, and what else they were planning. evacuations are ordered in portugal as wildfires spread through one of the country's most popular tourist regions. hello. the united states is to impose new sanctions on russia in response to the nerve agent attack in salisbury on the former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia. the state department and the cia have concluded that the russian government used chemical or biological weapons, in violation of american and international law. moscow denies any involvement in the attack. let's get more from our correspondent in washington, chris buckler. congress has been pushing for some months now to get a determination from the state department that russia had effectively breached international law by using biological

to place sanctions on russia in response to the poisoning of the former russian double agent sergei skripal and his daughter in the uk. the death toll rises in indonesia. at least 150 people are now known to have died in the lombok earthquake. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: total drought. the entire australian state of new south wales suffers its driest start to the year for five decades. remembering amiens. a ceremony is held to commemorate the campaign which helped bring about the end of the first world war. good morning. it is 8:00am in singapore, 1:00am in london, and 8:00pm in the evening in washington, where the state department has announced fresh sanctions on russia. it comes as the us says it has determined that it was russia which used the nerve agent novichok against former double agent sergei skripal and his daughter in the uk in march. the sanctions are to take effect on or around 22 august. britain has welcomed the sanctions, while russia has always strongly denied playing any role in the attack. chris buckler in washington has more. well, three months ago

that's when the former russian spy, sergei skripal, and his daughter yulia were poisoned. department and the cia say that the russian government broke us and international law by using chemical or biological weapons. moscow denies any involvement in the attack. let's get more from our correspondent in washington, chris buckler. the us state department has been in touch with the russian government to say that the sanctions will come in two weeks time on august 22. this was a somewhat delayed decision. there were due to make the assessment months ago and politicians here in washington have been putting on the pressure to try and geta been putting on the pressure to try and get a realist what happened amid concerns about russia to dig certainly the suggestion that they used a chemical weapon on foreign soil. an attack in the middle of england continues to have consequences for international relationships. and in imposing sanctions, america makes clear that it believes russia used novichok in an attempted assassination here on the streets of salisbury. in the aftermath of the

the us imposes new sanctions on russia, in the wake of the nerve agent attack on sergei and yulia skripala damning report says appalling sexual abuse took place for decades at two prestigious catholic private schools, on boys as young as seven. this is a very hard—hitting, very serious report that, as i say, over many years showed that the reputation of individuals and the reputation of the institution itself was far more important to people than the safety and protection of the children. and: cycling's coming home. thousands are expected to welcome geraint thomas back to cardiff, and to celebrate his tour de france victory. coming up in the sport later in the hour on bbc news: we'll have the latest from the european championships, as katarina johnson—thompson takes the lead in the heptathlon. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. a court has heard claims that the england cricketer ben stokes ‘could have killed' another man during an alleged fight. the all—rounder — who was arrested outside a nightclub in the city last september — has just started giving evidence in his defen

government violated international law by using lethal chemical or biological weapons against sergei skripal and his daughter. britain has welcomed the development. more than 150 people are now known to have died in the earthquake that struck indonesia on sunday. rescue efforts have been hindered by destroyed roads and bridges in the worst—hit areas on the island of lombok. and this video is trending on bbc.com: the 23—year—old who has become the world's most expensive goalkeeper. kepa arrizabalaga isjoining chelsea from athletic bilbao for a fee in the region of $us91 million. more on that at bbc.com. stay with bbc world news. and the top story in the uk: senior conservatives have strongly criticised former foreign secretary borisjohnson for his comments about muslim women wearing the burka. now on bbc news, live to singapore for asia business report. another day, another escalation in trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies. china announces further retaliatory ta riffs announces further retaliatory tariffs on the us. and ikea opens in india. we ask the boss how the swedish

united states has said it will impose sanctions on russia for what it believes are actions against sergei skripaln a drought. it isa has now been declared in a drought. it is a combination of poor rain for much of the last year and certainly a very dry couple of months just gone. the situation is that the weather fronts that they are the rain are going through to the south. further north, high pressure keeps things stubbornly dry. rain for melbourne for example on saturday, nothing as far north as sydney. for new zealand, after seeing weather fronts moving through in the week, welcome weather on sunday and monday. heading north towards japan, the typhoon is getting very close to honshu in the next few hours. it may praise the east coast, wet and windy weather to come before the moves to the east. meanwhile, we need to watch the one in the south across open waters which might hit eastern china. another area of low pressure that could show signs of development and is bringing high rain at the moment and could bring more in the next few days. more heavy rain for thailand on the way where flooding is

i think it is part of a fairly robust response by the us to the sergei skripal and yulia poisoning.g statement of condemnation against russia for orchestrating the attack in salisbury and this is really part of that response, the continuation of that response, the continuation of it. obviously, it takes time to make the assessment, a legal determination, the terms of the statute, the chemical and biological weapons statue, that it has been met. but the administration has followed through on it and imposed additional sanctions that will restrict exports of some items to russia. but really what matters is what happens next and now the statute has been triggered, in 90 days, if russia does not agree the commitments on chemical and biological weapons, if it does not agree to inspections by international inspectors, un or other, additional sanctions could go into effect, but it is true the administration has broad discretion on that, an open question what happens 90 days from now.|j on that, an open question what happens 90 days from now. i do not know if you were a betting man, but it i

government violated international law by using lethal chemical or biological weapons against sergei skripal and his daughter. britain has welcomed the development. more than 150 people are now known to have died in the earthquake that struck indonesia on sunday. rescue efforts have been hindered by destroyed roads and bridges in the worst—hit areas on the island of lombok. and this video is trending on bbc.com: the 23—year—old who has become the world's most expensive goalkeeper. kepa arrizabalaga isjoining chelsea from athletic bilbao for a fee in the region of $us91 million. more on that at bbc.com. now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. british prime minister theresa may is running out of time to avoid the brexit cliff edge. her proposals for a post—brexit trade deal with brussels got short shrift from the eu's chief negotiator. she seems to be hoping to get more joy from some of europe's national leaders. but with every passing day, the prospect for a no—deal, potentially chaotic brexit grows more real. my guest is the dutch mep sophie in ‘t veld, deputy to

in the aftermath of the poisoning of the former russian double agent, sergei skripal, and his daughter, the united states was one of many countries that did take action. it expelled dozens of russian diplomats from the us, including many from its embassy in washington. and since then, members of congress have been pushing for the state department to make a definitive statement that russia had broken international law by using a chemical or biological weapon. in making that determination, sanctions are being automatically imposed that will prevent the sale of some electronics and sensitive technologies to russia. that could put a strain on relationships at a time when donald trump appears to be trying to reach out to vladimir putin, particularly as a second wave of harsher sanctions will follow unless moscow gives reassurances that it won't use chemical weapons again and opens up some sites to inspectors within 90 days. the kremlin is likely to resist that. it continues to deny that it was involved in the attempted murder of sergei skripal and his daughter. however, the us isjust one of

headlines: the us says it will impose fresh sanctions on russia over the nerve agent attack on ex—spy sergei skripalnd his daughter in the english town of salisbury. the state department says it has determined that moscow used lethal chemical or biological weapons, violating international law. senators in argentina are debating whether to pass a bill allowing abortion during the first 1a weeks of pregnancy — an issue that has divided the predominantly catholic country. the law currently allows the procedure only in the case of rape or if the woman's life is endangered. evacuations continue in one of portugal's most popular tourist regions as wildfires blaze out of control. the fires have been burning for five days in the southern algarve region — more than 1000 firefighters and soldiers have been called in to try and stop the flames from spreading further. it's just gone half past two in the morning. you are up to date on the headlines. it is time now for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. my name sackur. for good or ill, donald trump dominates the american political landscape will stop he seems to reli

the former russian spy sergei skripal, and his daughter yulia, were poisoned in the city in march.g chemical or biological weapons. the kremlin has denied any involvement. our washington correspondent chris buckler reports. an attack in the middle of england continues to have consequences for international relationships, and in imposing sanctions, america is making clear that it believes russia used the nerve agent novichok in an intended assassination here on the streets of salisbury. in the aftermath of the poisoning of the former russian double agent sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia, the united states was one of many countries that did take action. it expelled dozens of russian diplomats from the us, including many from its embassy in washington. and since then, members of congress have been pushing for the state department to make a definitive statement that russia had broken international law by using a chemical or biological weapon. in making that determination, sanctions are being automatically imposed that will prevent the sale of some electronics and sensitive techno

in the aftermath of the poisoning of the former russian double agent, sergei skripal, and his daughtera, the united states was one of many countries that did take action. it expelled dozens of russian diplomats from the us, including many from its embassy in washington. and since then, members of congress have been pushing for the state department to make a definitive statement that russia had broken international law by using a chemical or biological weapon. in making that determination, sanctions are being automatically imposed that will prevent the sale of some electronics and sensitive technologies to russia. that could put a strain on relationships at a time when donald trump appears to be trying to reach out to vladimir putin, particularly as a second wave of harsher sanctions will follow unless moscow provides reassurance that it won't use chemical weapons again and opens up some sites to inspectors within 90 days. the kremlin is likely to resist. it continues to deny that it was involved in the attempted murder of sergei skripal and his daughter. however, the us isjust one of m

us is imposing fresh sanctions on russia over the nerve agent attack on the former russian spy sergei skripalalisbury. the state department and the cia have concluded that moscow used lethal chemical or biological weapons — violating american and international law. evacuations continue in one of portugal's most popular tourist regions as wildfires blaze out of control. the fires have been burning for five days in the southern algarve region. more than 1000 firefighters and soldiers have been called in to try and stop the flames from spreading further. the family of a murdered maltese journalist launch a formal request urging the government to properly investigate her death. it's time now to look at some of the stories that are making the headlines across the world. we begin with the times and the united states, which is going to impose new sanctions on russia, after concluding that it was responsible for the salisbury nerve agent attack. the gulf news says china has confirmed it will impose 25% tariffs on an additional $16 billion worth of imports from the us from august 23. the guardian lead

top stories: the us announces new sanctions on russia over the poisoning of former russian spy, sergei skripalt of an historic vote in the senate is due within hours. a bbc investigation reveals new details about those behind the barcelona attacks last year — and what else they were planning. evacuations ordered in portugal as wildfire spread through one of the most popular tourist regions. —— wildfires.

america will impose sanctions on russia for the novichok attack on sergei and yulia skripal in salisburyit's the worst dry spell in years — now the whole of new south wales in australia is experiencing drought. here at amiens cathedral in northern france 3000 people have gathered to mark the centenary of the battle of amiens. the prime minister and prince william came here and joints descendeds of those who fought in the battle that proved to be a turning point in world war i. coming up on sportsday on bbc news: chelsea agree to sell goalkeeper thibaut courtois to real madrid, subject to the player agreeing personal terms and passing a medical. good evening. several senior members of the conservative party have strongly criticised borisjohnson for his comments that moslem women wearing full face veils "look like letter boxes," and "bank robbers." the leader of the scottish conservatives, ruth davidson, said his words in a newspaper article were "gratuitously offensive," while the former attorney general dominic grieve said he'd quit the conservative party if mrjohnson ever became leader.

that congress have asked the administration to determine back in march after the poisoning of sergei skripalal agent novichok, we believe they used it during that poisoning. what has happened is that the state department has now decided that international law was breached by the russians in doing that. that triggers automatic sanctions under us law, and in particular the first wave will include things like sensitive electronic components. what we understand is that there will be a sort of blanket ban effectively on those which up until mile have been case—by—case. but it also triggers a three—month period where us law demands that russia ta kes where us law demands that russia takes certain steps to assure people it will not do the same again, but also potentially even open up some of its sites to inspections by the un. that seems very, very unlikely, but if those steps are not met under us law, that would trigger another wave of sanctions later ron in the year. so what's happened here is that effectively, the us domestic law has kicked in, and has led the administration to automatically imp

linked to theions sergei skripal affair. deports one of zimbabwe's main opposition leaders who fled wednesday in for asylum. tendai biti is being detained in what the u.s. is calling a serious violation of international law. the senate in argentina has voted against what would have been a landmark bill legalizing abortion. 38 to 31 and came after the end of a marathon debate that stretched late into the night. it was a major deception for abortion rights campaigners particularly as it came after the billll was passed in argentina's lolower house of parlrliament in june. debatateover 15 hours of the vote was called just before 3:00 in the morning. >> the votes in green are in favor. the votes in red are against. a final tally that rejected legalizing abortion in argentina in the first 14 weeks of urgegency. currently the procedure is only allowed in the cases of rape and risksk to woman's health. the former president -- for the the oututme wasnt the outcome was a shame. she said theivivisive issue is t just going to go a away

the former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter are believed to have been exposed to novichok, military grade or agent in the english town of salisbury back in march. they spent weeks recovering in the hospital. britain has accused russia of being behind the attack. the kremlin that humanly denies that. -- vehemently denies that. in july two others came across the poison and one died. for more on this i'm joined by our correspondent in washington. it is good to see you. tell me, what more do we know about these new sanctions. does the united states have new intelligence about this poison? >> well, i have to tell you, i just got a note. we just had a conference call with the state department in the background. what those sanctions are about, it basically comes down to a ban on granting licenses to export sensitive national security goods to russia. so, that's the sanction in effect right now. the president, i do not think there is new intelligence. i think the trump administration, it looks like this is now following suit on what congress in march, when this attack actually happ

the use of novichok in the assassination attempt of sergei skripal was a violation of violation of international law banning the use of chemical weapons. chemicals weapons specialist calls it a turning point. >> a hundred years on the chemical weapons has >> reporter: he says it only took a couple drops of novichok to shut down parts of salisbury for months. >> it can happen in salisbury, it can happen in baltimore or philadelphia. >> reporter: he now works for a company that has provided two million gas masks to the u.s. military as well as the n.y.p.d. and first responders. they've been supplying respirators like these to u.s. forces for years designed to a protect them against an attack and enable them to operate in a contaminated area. but lately there's been an se iease in interest in these, escape hoods. >> you rip it open and quite simply you just take this stuff out and put your hands in, and now you're safe. >> reporter: specifically designed for civilian use, they are cheaper and easier to use. 30 seconds to hold your breath, get it on and get away. >> what's happening is that-- >> rep

top stories: the us announces new sanctions on russia over the poisoning of former russian spy sergei skripalportugal as wildfires spread through one of the country's most popular tourist regions. will argentina vote to legalise abortion? the result of an historic vote in the senate is due within hours. a bbc investigation reveals new details about those behind the barcelona attacks last year and what else they were planning.

administration has imposed new sanctions russia response to the poisoning of former russian spy sergei skripal and hiitdaughter in n last march. the british government saidhe soviet-era nerve agent was used and imposed sanctions on moscow soon after. it comes as the president continues to rail against the special investigation into whether his campaign cooperated with russia. for more i spoke earlier with our north america editor jon sopel. what is the ate department saying about why it is imposing these sanctions now? a monter the attack on the skripals. jon: a month after america expelled 60 russian diplomats from the united states. you think, hang on, hasn't america already done this? o america has i legislation, the chemical biological weapons act that congress passed in the 1990's. frit requires a designatio the u.s. authorities about whether chemical weapons were used. that designation has come through and they say russia was in breach of international lawby in salisbury, when sick a skripal and his daught yulia poisoned. sancons will be introduced. these sanctions could be intensified i

the former russian spy sergei skripal, and his daughter yulia, were poisoned in the city in march.russia violated international law by using chemical or biological weapons, but the kremlin denies any involvement. steve rosenberg is in moscow. 0ne suspects the news of sanctions hasn't gone down too well. the reaction here addictively negative. 0ne russian senator said that america was behaving like a police state, dispensing justice in the worst traditions of a lynch mob. the language from the kremlin today a little less colourful, but it made the same point. president putin's spokesman said the new us sanctions we re spokesman said the new us sanctions were absolutely illegal and categorically unacceptable, and he insisted there was no connection between the russian state and the salisbury poisoning. the kremlin sounds increasingly confused by the mixed signals coming out of washington, the fact that, on one hand, there is a us president, donald trump, who says he wants better relations with moscow but, at the same time, the list of us sanctions against russia grows longer and long

the use of the russian nerve agent novichok and the assassination attempt of double agent sergei skripalonal law banning the use of chemical weapons. chemical weapons specialist hamish de bretton-gordon calls it a turning point. >> the 100-year taboo on the use of chemical weapons is completely broken. >> reporter: he says it only took a couple drops of novichok to shut down parts of salisbury for months. >> if it can happen in salisbury, it can happen in baltimore or philadelphia. >> reporter: he now works for a company that has provided 2 million gas masks to the u.s. military as well as the nypd and first responders. they've been supplying respirators like these to u.s. forces for years, designed to protect them against an attack and enable them to operate in a contaminated area. but lately, ths n escape hoods.yo tou and then put your hands in, and now you're safe. >> reporter: specifically designed for civilian use, they're cheaper and easier to use. 30 seconds to hold your breath, get it on, and get away. >> what's happening is that -- >> reporter: ayman dean, a former al qaeda memb

to place sanctions on russia in response to the poisoning of the former russian double agent sergei skripale lombok earthquake. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: total drought. the entire australian state of new south wales suffers its driest start to the year for five decades. remembering amiens. a ceremony is held to commemorate the campaign which helped bring about the end of the first world war.

announces new sanctions on russia over the poisoning of former spy sergei skripal and his daughter inote to legalize abortion? the result of an historic vote in the

it continues to deny that it was involved in the attempted murder of sergei skripal and his daughter. isjust one of more than 20 countries who've taken formal action against russia, and the british government has welcomed what it called the strong international response. chris buckler, bbc news. our correspondent steve rosenberg is in moscow. any reaction to the new sanctions from the us? we have not heard from the kremlin yet all the russian foreign ministry but we have heard from russian officials. the head of the foreign affairs committee of the upper house of the russian parliament branded america a police state, which is dispensing justice in the absence of a crime, in the worst traditions of lynching. the russian embassy in washington has reacted, two, saying the americans invented a pretext for these sanctions but provided no evidence to justify their decision. more than 20 countries have imposed sanctions on russia. how much pressure is moscow wonder? -- under. increasing pressure, the new wave of sanctions triggers two waves of sanctions and the first wave i think will have a

sanctions on russia, in response to the nerve agent attack in salisbury, on the former russian spy sergei skripalaughter yulia. the us state department says it's decided the russian government had used chemical or biological weapons, in violation of international law. moscow denies any involvement in the attack. our north america editorjon sopel has more from washington. it has come from the state department, and so far there has been no comment from the white house, no comment from donald trump. it is also surprising and some is that this has happened, because if you cast your mind back to when this originally occurred, america expeued originally occurred, america expelled 60 diplomats, but it has its own legislation and to the chemical and biological weapons at, and asa chemical and biological weapons at, and as a result, new sanctions are going to be opposed on russia. russia has 90 days to prove it has no chemical weapons programme. the spectre of american chemical whether us weapons spectre of american chemical whether us weapons inspectors going to moscow to look for weapons factory seems u

sergei skripal and his daughter yulia nearly died from exposure to the nerve agent novichok. which uk authorities have blamed on russia from the start. >>> there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this wednesday. chilling news. new developments about the 11 children rescued from a remote compound in the u.s. five suspects in court today, and what prosecutors have now revealed. what they say they were teaching the children to do. >>> also tonight, the young brother and sister reportedly on a flight, they were headed to orlando. the plane diverted. the parents say they were never told. well, tonight, the response just in from the airline. >>> and the harlem globetrotters known for their magic on the court, but look at this. we have never seen this, shot from a plane. how this ends. a lot more news ahead. a lot more news ahead. re news ahead. when it comes to g your type 2 diabetes, what matters to you? you got a1c, heart, diet, and exercise. slide 'em up or slide 'em down. so let's see. for most of you, it's lower a1c. but only a few of you are thinking about your

the man seen in this surveillance footage at a uk convenience store is sergei skripal, a ex-russian spyburiening glanld eight years ago after being repoliced from prison in moscow where he was convicted of selling secrets to britain's mi 6. in march xripal and his daughter julia were found unconscious on a shopping center bench in salisbury. police concluded that the pair had been poisoned with a military grade nerve agent and while both managed to survive, u.k. authorities place the blame squarely on one person. >> it is tragic that president putin has chosen to act in this way. >> putin shot back calling the accusations complete dribble and rubbish. pro kremlin tv went even further blaming the former double agent himself. [ speaking russian ] >> back to that night on the bridge, the allegation that's putin might have played a role in boris nemsov's murder may stem in part from the evidence that nemsov had been accumulating against president putin. >> he was about to reveal information that would prove russia's involvement in the conflict in ukraine. >> that ukraine report was released

the use of the agent novichok in the attempt of sergei skripal was a violation of international law banning chemical weapons. and chemical weapons specialist calls it a turning point. >> 100 years using the chemical weapon is completely broken. >> reporter: he says it only took a couple drops of novichok to shutdown parts of salisbury for mows a. >> it can happen in salisbury, it can happen in baltimore or philadelphia. >> reporter: he now works for a company that has provided 2 million gas masks to the u.s. military as well as the n.y.p.d. and first responders. they've been supplying respirators like these to u.s. forces for years, designed to protect them against an attack and enable them to operatea contaminated area. but lately there's been an increase in interest in these. escape hoods. >> you rip it open and quite simply, you take the stuff out and put your hands in and now you're safe. >> reporter: specifically designed for civilian use, they're cheaper and easier to use. 30 seconds to hold your breath, get it on, and get away. >> what's happening -- >> reporter: aimen dean says the

russian as draconian russia says there is little evidence that it was involved in the poisoning of sergei skripal. decided they were behind that nerve agent attack in the uk. the british government welcomed the move saying sanctions send a message that russia's conduct would not be tolerated the uk foreign secretary thanked the u.s. for standing firm on the issue. >>> and the ruble slumped against the dollar it hit its lowest level since late 2016. sanctions are expected to come into effect around august 22nd to talk about this, we are joined by the senior economist at danske bank we have a doubleheader here over the last 24 hours, in the only do we have the sanctions related to u.s. treaty operations when it comes to chemical weapons, we've seen details of what lindsey graham described as the sanctions bill from hell that seems to be the one that will have a greater impact on russia's economy what impact do you think it will have >> good morning. if the bill becomes law, we would see definitely lower levels in russian ruble and other russian assets the bill targets russian debt and there are man

back in march in england, former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent. within days of that attack, the u.s. joined european countries in publicly blamingmoscow, but president trump never issued a formal declaration tt would have triggered sanctions for the use of chemical weapons. secretary of state mike pompeo has now signed off on the proper paperwork. >>> tonight, the first member of congress to endorse donald trump forhe white house is out on bail and facing some serious legal jeopardy. new york republican congressman chris collins arrested today on insider trading charges. prosecutors say he gave his son a tiphat a sto was about to take a dive. ultimately sing several insiders more than $750,000. collins' attorney says he will be vindicated but this corruption scandal involves one of the president's most loyal political allies. just 90 days before the mis.erm electi blayne alexander is tracking this developing sto for us. hi, blayne. >> reporter: well, jim, he is set to speak about 25 minutes from now, but collins has alreadyade it very clear

former russian spy and double agent sergei skripal. the victim of a nerve agent attack in england.oris netsov, political opponent, gunned down near the kremlin. investigative reporter -- [ laughter ] >> jimmy: that is very unfortunate. and our thoughts go out to the whole fox news family. most of the rest of the fox news crew, you're not going to believe this, most of the fox news team was very supportive of the president's public depantsing. sean hannity thought he did a great job and he told him so right to his face. it's tough for these guys at fox because the president gives them so much, they don't want to be critical, and admit that he is an imbecile. imagine what they'd be saying if president obama had pulled a stunt like this. fortunately you don't have to imagine because this is the coverage obama got, and this is without a two-hour private meeting with putin in the fantasy suite. >> the russians are coming and want to influence our elections and putin wants to create chaos in the united states and around the world. so what did obama do? absolutely nothing. >> i would hope

placing sanctions on russia in response to the poisoning with the nerve agent, the former spy sergei skripalter, again this is something that president did not call out putin when he was with him in helsinki a couple weeks ago, let alone this happened a couple months ago, but still your response this today. >> well, it's certainly appropriate to enhance sanctions on russia for their very bad behavior. and after the helsinki summit, that was a debacle, it's important that the president step up and launch these sanctions against the russians, further sanctions. again, this is mystifying to so many in the country and in congress about why the president has such conciliatory language towards vladimir putin when putin's russia is doing everything it can to undermine american interest throughout the world and of course you just pointed out the poisoning of the individuals in the uk. so it's just further evidence of it. so these sanctions are appropriate. i'm glad the administration has stepped up and we'll see how congress reacts. >> good to see you, congressman charlie dent. good to see you, sir.

international ban on chemical weapons when it used a deadly nerve agent to attack former soviet spy sergei skripal and his daughter in britain earlier this year. the state department did not say why drew the conclusion now but under a 1991 u.s. law, the determination automatically triggers mandatory sanctions which covers a wide variety of goods that moscow imports to the u.s. experts say the sanctions could affect up to 70% of russia's economy and 40% of its workforce. congress has been pressing the trump administration to take this action's of march with critics saying it was another example of the president's reluctance to confront putin. g.o.p. congressman ed royce was among those critics but today he praised the administration quoting "the mandatory sanctions that followed this determination are key to increasing pressure on russia. vladimir putin must know we will not tolerate his deadly acts or his ongoing attacks on our democratic process." a russian ambassador promptly dismissed the sanctions. "the theater of absurd continues. no proof, no clue, no logic, no presumption of innocence, just

pompeo has signed off on a determination that russia violated international law by poisoning sergei skripaler back in march. the senior state department official says the new sanctions could cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in future exports to russia. a second, more painful round of sanctions, could kick in three months later unless russia provides reliable assurances it won't use chemical weapons in the future and agrees to on-site inspections by the u.n. n, conditions that are unlikely to be met. russia has denied any involvement in the uk poisonings. russian hackers allegedly penetrated some of florida's voter registration systems ahead of the upcoming elections. at a campaign event yesterday, senator bill nelson told ""the tampa bay times"" they've penetrated certain counties in the state and have free rein to move about. he refused to elaborate on similar comments he made earlier in the day, telling the newspaper, that is classified. florida's department of state says it has received zero information supporting the senator the's claims, and governor rick scott who is challengin

they're in response to moscow's use of a nervegent on a former russian double-agent, sergei skripal, and hisaughter. the attack occurred earlier this year in britain. russia has denied any involvement. daniel fried had a 40-year career in the foreign service. he served on the national security council staff for both republican and democrati presidents, and during the obama administration, he crafted u.s. sanctions against russia when it invaded ukraine.th welcome back tnews-hour. >> thanks for having me. >> brangham: so how big a deal with these new sanctions on russia? >> it's significant that we are making the russians pay a pri for their nerve gas attack in the sanctions themselves aren't huge. they're modest to moderate, and in the first rouwi. ther have to be a second round or probably a second round. d brangham: these are the ones that could eup being imposed right around our election day in november. >> yeah, the ay the la is written, the first round of nctions comes quckly, and then there is a three-month pause, and ifhe offending country has not stopped or given us assurance

the penalties are in response t nerve-agent attack on a former russian double-agent, sergei skripal, and his daughter, in england. today, touring the bering sea region, prime minister dmitry medvedev told washington not to go too far. >> ( translated ): if something like a ban on bank operations or currency use follows, it will amount to a declaration of economic war. and it will warrant a response with economic means, political means and, if necessary, other means. our american friends should understand that. >> brangham: those u.s. sanctions sent the russian ruble plummeting to a two-year low today. later, the state department said secretary of state mike pompeo spoke to the russian foreign minister in a phone call, and im the u.s. wants better relations. in gaza, a cease-fire appearedin to be hobetween israel and the palestinian militant group hamas.a it followerst of violence this week, when hamas fired rockets into israel, the israelis pounded gaza with air strikes. today, thousands of palestinian protesters gathered at the border. some burned tires and threw ros. gaza's health

sanctions against russia for the poisoning of sergei skripal and his daughter won't be coming officiallysome point later this month. but, russia appears to be more worried about what could potentially come down the line, at least 90 days from now in early november because the state department says that a potential second batch of sanctions could hit then and that could prohibit americans from making bank loans to certain russian entities. keep in mind as well, that there is also legislation bouncing around up on capitol hill that would target russian controlled banks. the number two inside russia, the prime minister there, dmitry medvedev saying today if that were to occur, that would essentially amount to what he described as economic war. the state department says the goal of sanctions is to change russia's actions on the world stage. >> we would like to have a better relationship with the russian government. recognizing that we have a lot of areas of mutual concern. it is a major country. we are a major country as well. and so whether you have that, you are forced to have to have conv

the targets were former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter. a state department spokeswoman said it agrees with british findings that moscowhind the attack. the kremlin has denied any volvement. there's new pushback against president trump's threat that those who do business with iran, will not do business with the u.s. the president re-imposed sanctions on iran yesterday, after pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal. but chinsaid today that its business with iran is "open andn transp reasonable, fair and lawful, not violating any united nations security council resolutions." and, turkey said it will continue to buy natural gas from stan, no matter what. immigration and s enforcement officials today led a federal raid of about 12 businesses in minnesota and nebraska. ths arrested 14 company own and managers suspected of hiring and mistreating immigrants who i entered the u.egally. more than 130 workers were also arrested. the new york city council voted today to freeze new censes for drivers working for uber and other ride-hailing companies. it's

department said: "following the use of a novichok nerve agent in an attempt to assassinate uk citizen sergei skripallia, the united states determined that russia has used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law." the kremlin denies any involvement and says there's no evidence it was behind the attack. but britain's foreign secretary is happy — he tweeted: if we are going to stop chemical and biological weapons — including nerve agents — becoming a new norm, states like russia need to know there is a price to pay. thank you usa. the announcement comes three weeks after this meeting in helsinki between donald trump and vladimir putin when the us president appeared very keen to improve relations. but moscow is now accusing america of persuing a path of harming bilateral relations. steve rosenberg has the reaction from moscow. the reaction here particularly negative. 0ne senator said that america was behaving like a police state, dispensing justice in the worst traditions of lynch mob. the language from the kremlin today as less colourful, but it made the same point, president p

announced it will impose new sections against russia over russia's alleged poisoning of russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter in salisbury, britain, in march. the sanctions are slated to take effect august 22. russia has slammed the u.s. sanctions and vowed to retaliate. the u.s. senate intelligence committee has asked julian assange to testify about russian interference in the 2016 u.s. election. his legal team says he is considering the request. virginia governor ralph northam and the city of charlottesville have declared states of emergency ahead of this weekend's one-year anniversary of the deadly white supremacist rally. white supremacists are planning to hold rallies in both charlottesville and washington, d.c., this weekend. antiracist, anti-fascist, demonstrators are planning counter-protests. in the democratic republic of congo, longtime leader joseph kabila has announced he will not run for reelection. kabila's term ended in 2016, but he has so far refused to step down, even as violence and insecurity has increased in the drc. kabila is now backing his close ally, interior minister

the victims, former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter were poisoned by november chak. controlled by the kremlin and u.s. and british investigators say there is clear evidence that russia was behind the attempted assassination. earlier today the u.k. foreign secretary tweeted if we're going to stop chemical and biological weapons, including nerve agents becoming a new and horrific 21st century norm, states like russia that use or condone their use need to know there is a price to pay. thank you u.s.a. for standing firm with us on this. of course, the attack happened on british soil. and the sanctions could cost the kremlin hundreds of millions of dollars. numerous russian agencies have reacted calling the new sanctions draconian, farfetched, absolutely unfriendly and absolutely illegal and also, as you mentioned, shep, a diplomatic set back but the trump administration says these sanctions are well-deserved and required and they actually could get worse in 90 days if russia doesn't agree to stop all use of chemical weapons. by the way, the president does have an event s