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 will allow on—site inspections by the un. you know that russia

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

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

against their will, about britain holding the skripals against theirwill, being about britain holdinghe skripals against their will, being involved in the attack, so it will probably make relations worse between the countries because russia will not play ball and it is in the constitution, it forbids citizens being deported to another state. russia has consistently refused to engage on these sorts of issues but it is important to note firstly that this is evidence of extremely fine intelligence work, that these two individuals have been tracked down and there is strong evidence that russia was involved which is an important point. i also think it is important point. i also think it is important to note that this is early stages. officials from the cps were believed to be drawing up papers but they say this is just one option and no final decision has been made about whether this is the only way to pursue it. russia has been in credit and on international relations, withdrawing from the icc after their final relations, withdrawing from the icc after theirfinal report relations, withdra

and yulia skripal. 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 becoming increasin

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

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 in 90 days if russia doesn't open up to inspectors to come and see whether there is a chemical weapons production site and the rest. hard to imagine that i.going to happ laura: and yet it persists, doesn't it, the idea that there is a gap between the president and his administration when it comes to russia policy. we learned that setor rand paul delivered a letter from the president to russia. jon: there is such a disjunction. si the letter that ra

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

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

russia over the salisbury novichok attack after concluding a lethal nerve agent was used against the skripals. a nine—year—old girl is killed after rocks fall from a cliff at a beach in north yorkshire. bad news for holidaymakers as the pound tumbles to its lowest value against the dollar in nearly a year. 2 it's another gold for adam peaty in glasgow and another european championship record as he wins the 50m breaststroke. a big row on giant's causeway. are some people paying to visit the world heritate site when they don't need to? good morning from rhs wisley in wokingham. you can see we've got some beautiful marigolds around me, that's because it's the year of the marigold. it is damp, though, and for many the forecast is sunshine and showers with heavy rain in the south—eastern quarter. i'll have more in 15 minutes. it's thursday the 9th of august. our top story: the united states has announced new sanctions on russia for its alleged role in the poisoning of the former spy sergie skripal and his daughter, yulia, in salisbury. the move was welcomed here by the home secretary, sajid javid,

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

restating the russian position they had nothing to do with the skripal poisoning. they characterized it as anti-russian witch hunt. they would not poison their own people on the streets of the british town of salisbury. it comes out of the political atmosphere in the united states where the pressure is building, particularly in the aftermath of the putin/trump summit in helsinki where he was seen as weak to the u.s. president. it comes out of the idea that pressure is building on the trump administration and others in the u.s. to take a tougher and firmer line against russia. so the expectation here is that we will see more sanctions in the weeks and months ahead. what will the russian response be? not much, but in the past they imposed counter sanctions. measures like that may be considered. christine. >> matthew chance for us in moscow. thank you. >>> firefighters in california starting to make head way in the fight against the mendocino complex fire. the largest fire in state history. the fire scorched 302,000 acres. more than 100 homes have been destroyed. the

heard from the united states that they are to impose sanctions on russia over the attack on the skripals used an air of agent against a former russian agent and his daughter, the skripals, in britain, and would soon impose sanctions against moscow. the statement says it determined is under the chemical and biological weapons control and warfare elimination act of 1991. it said these sanctions would take effect on or around august 22. more on that when we get it. jurors have been shown footage from the camera a policewoman was wearing, when she attended the fight outside a nightclub where england cricketer ben stokes was arrested. stokes is one of three men accused of being involved in a violent confrontation in bristol last september. all three deny a charge of affray. 0ur correspondentjon kay was at the court and sent us this update. mark speer was the first member of police staff on the scene that night in september last year. he was off duty but described what he saw as a scuffle and he went to intervene. he describes the man in a green t—shirt, seemingly ben stokes, that's what he wa

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 sanctions, from the us state department, are punishment for the nerve agent attack on the skripalspresident trump have yet to comment. steve rosenberg reports from moscow. in russia, there is one word that you hear and you see with increasing frequency. state television announces that america has launched yet another round of sanctions against moscow. this time, washington is limiting exports to russia of sensitive technologies, some electronics, oil and gas production equipment — a response to the nerve agent attack on sergei and yulia skripal, an attack america says violated international law. today, moscow dismissed the allegations. down at the russian foreign ministry, they denounced the sanctions and threatened retaliation. translation: whatever sanctions are taken against russia, the reprisal measures will be identical. and this less than a month after the helsinki summit, when donald trump told vladimir putin america and russia were destined for an extraordinary relationship. the kremlin doesn't blame donald trump personally for these sanctions. it knows he's under pressure

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

the united states to sanction russia over the skripal poisoning.ac yes. lots of people have views on the trump is german —— people have views on the trump is german -- yes. lots of people have views on the job and ministers. you are seeing a predictability. i think thatis are seeing a predictability. i think that is a good thing, i think it is healthy. being predictable isn't the healthiest thing in the world. described as a surprise and these actions are expected to relate to national security, technology and goods to russia. hundreds of million dollars, and will affect around 7% of russian economy. this is big, big stuff. i would just point out that i think it shows that president is sort of dealing with everyone in quite a fairand sort of dealing with everyone in quite a fair and harsh way, in terms of this america first approach. the idea that he is closing up to putin in russia, this would show different. it implies that it comes off the back of the state department concluding its own investigations of intelligence into what happened, and comi

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

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.

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

us sanctions against russia come in to force today following the poisoning of the skripals in the uk. what impact will this have on the russian economy? and have you heard of sorghum? a crop that's now in the firing line between the us and china as trade tariffs take hold. in our special series on trade, we'll explain all. a fresh set of us sanctions against russia are due to come into force today. they're the result of a former russian spy and his daughter being poisoned by a chemical agent in the uk earlier this year. under these terms, nothing can be sold that could have a potential national security purpose — so this includes things like gas turbines and certain electronics. these sanctions came after it was determined that chemical or biological weapons have been used, breaching international law and this has specific procedures that don't come into force with other economic deterrents. further and tougher sanctions could be put into place if russia doesn't allow external verification that it's no longer producer those sorts of weapons. and that seems unlikely. you may remember e

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

former spy sergei skripal and his daughter fell seriously ill after exposure to a nerve act. the kremlin denies any involvement. criticizing the recent arrest of women activists. just trudeau upheld his stance on human rights. saudi arabia has the backing of the g.c.c. and the backing of the arab league and the organization. saudi arabia is part of an arab league and a large islamic organization and canada must understand that its actions are unacceptable not just to saudi arabia, but to arab nations and the whole islamic world. >> canada will always stand up for our workers and our companies. we need to make sure that we're protecting canadian interests in any situation. we continue to engage with the government of saudi arabia. the minister of foreign affairs had a long conversation with their foreign minister yesterday and diplomatic talks continue. >> italy is ready to repeat the tough tactics it used to win concessions on migration. the deputy prime minister said the country's anti- establishment coalition wants enough flexibility to introduce a flat tax next year. he sa

russia over the salisbury novichok attack after concluding a lethal nerve agent was used against the skripalsf at a beach in north yorkshire. bad news for holidaymakers as the pound tumbles to its lowest value against the dollar in nearly a year. 2 it's another gold for adam peaty in glasgow and another european championship record as he wins the 50m breaststroke. a big row on giant's causeway. are some people paying to visit the world heritate site when they don't need to? good morning from rhs wisley in wokingham. you can see we've got

they had nothing to do with the skripal poisoning which took place with the novichok poisoning in britain in march. and you know that is the line i expect we will hear from the kremlin as well. whatever they are con -- whenever they are confronted with these allegations, they usually deny it. to some extent, sanctions from the u.s. based on anti-chemical weapons legislation was unexpected. it came out of the blue. there is a heightened expectation of sanctions from the u.s., but congressional sanctions to punish russia for the alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election. in that sense, these have come out of the blue. it all comes out of this feverish political atmosphere in the united states clearly after the performance of donald trump in helsinki with the summit with president putin where he is perceived as coming off weak compared to the russian leader. pressure is building in the united states to take a tougher line. christine. >> matthew chance in moscow. thanks. >>> firefighters making head way on the mendocino complex fire. the largest fire in state's history. the fire scor

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

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.

look, after the skripal attack, it took the united kingdom approximately 12 days to evict a bunch of russian diplomats. it took some of the rest of the european union countries just about three weeks to levy sanctions and evict diplomats. here we are nearly six months later, and the president is finally getting around to acting on the basis of that incident? that attempted assassination. what new evidence has come forward? what have they -- what took them six months to do what it took less than 12 days for the united kingdom to do? no, the truth of the matter is, this is probably a whole lot more about trying to head off some proposed bipartisan legislation in the united states senate and house called the deter act, which actually has some teeth in it in levying sanctions against russia if they do something bad in this year's election, which we now already have evidence that they may be doing. this isn't a serious attempt to levy sanctions. the president has resisted that at every turn since the day he raised his right hand and was sworn into office. >> i want you to put on your poli

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

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

a response to the nerve agent attack on sergei and yulia skripal, an atck that america says violated internationalaw. today, moscow dismissed the aldogations. at the russian foreign ministry, they denounced the sanctions and threatened retaliation. w tever sanctions are taken against russia, the reprisal measures will be identical.. prump: great to be with you. steve: and this less than a month after the helsinki summit, where donald trump told vladimir putin that america and russia were destined for an extraordinary relationship. the kremlin does not blame donald trump personally. u it knows he er pressure back home. it knows, too, that russia has few friends ght now in washington. there is a deep sense of disappointment here that the u.s. president who says he wants better relations with russia simply has not delivered russians are nervous. america is already threatening anctions in three months time. the ruble has tumbled.le peopre starting to feel economic pain. >> in general, the quality of life becomes lower and lower. this, of course, is worrying. steve: russians seem resigned

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

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.

us sanctions against russia come in to force today following the poisoning of the skripals in the uk.rghum? a crop that's now in the firing line between the us and china as trade tariffs take hold. in our special series on trade, we'll explain all.

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

concluded on wednesday that russia was behind the nerve agent attack on former spy sergei and yulia skripaln the english town of salisbury. now on bbc news, hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. for good or ill, donald trump dominates the american political landscape. he seems to relish conflict because it keeps him firmly and forever centre stage. so with vital congressional mid—term elections looming this autumn, how should democrats respond? well, my guest is jaime harrison, associate chair of the democratic national committee. not so long ago, his party was predicting a mid—term wave that would sweep away republican control of congress. but are the democrats underestimating the power of trumpian politics? jaime harrison in columbia, south carolina, welcome to hardtalk. thank you stephen. thank you for having me. just a few months back, one of the most senior democrats in the senate, charles chuck schumer, said this, he said "i smell a wave coming." and it did seem at that point that the democrats were absolutely convinced that they were going to sweep away the republicans i

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

a response to the nerve agent attack on sergei and yulia skripal, an attack america says violated internationaln ministry, they denounced the sanctions, and threatened retaliation. translation: whatever sanctions are taken against russia, reprisal measures will be identical. and this, less than a month after the helsinki summit, when donald trump told vladimir putin america and russia were destined for an extraordinary relationship. the kremlin doesn't blame donald trump personally for the sanctions. it knows he's under pressure back home. it knows, too, that russia has few friends right now in washington, but there was a deep sense of disappointment here that the us president who says he wants better relations with russia simply hasn't delivered. russians are nervous. america is already threatening more sanctions in three months' time. the ruble has tumbled. people are starting to feel economic pain. in general, the quality of life becomes lower and lower, and this of course is worrying. russians seem resigned to more sanctions. they are expecting a very bumpy journey. steve rosenberg, bbc new

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

a response to the nerve agent attack on sergei and yulia skripal, an attack america says violated internationaly, they denounced the sanctions, and threatened retaliation. translation: whatever sanctions are taken against russia, reprisal measures will be identical. and this, less than a month after the helsinki summit, when donald trump told vladimir putin america and russia were destined for an extraordinary relationship. the kremlin doesn't blame donald trump personally for the sanctions. it knows he's under pressure back home. it knows, too, that russia has few friends right now in washington, but there was a deep sense of disappointment here that the us president who says he wants better relations with russia simply hasn't delivered. russians are nervous. america is already threatening more sanctions in three months' time. the ruble has tumbled. people are starting to feel economic pain. in general, the quality of life becomes lower and lower, and this of course is worrying. russians seem resigned to more sanctions. they are expecting a very bumpy journey. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow