hello. this is the briefing. i'm david eades. our top story: the winter olympics in south korea are about to begin, and they seem to have triggered a drop in regional tension. but no games, though, for 47 russian athletes and coaches accused of doping. their appeals are rejected just hours before the opening ceremony. another us government shutdown has just begun, with congress arguing over hundreds of billions of dollars in spending. and coming up in the business briefing, global markets fall again, with more than 1000 points wiped off the dourfor another time with more than 1000 points wiped off the dour for another time this week. plus clean up or pay up: the uk's among nine eu countries on a final warning to tackle air pollution. we'll be getting the view from the business world. and a very warm welcome to the programme, briefing

you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. also, you can be part of the conversation. today we want to know what sports would you like to see in the olympics — winter or summer. they change a bit, but you might have some different views about what should be there. tell us what you think — just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. there are nowjust six hours to go until the opening ceremony of the winter olympics in pyeongchang, south korea. 47 russian athletes and coaches won't be there — their final appeal to the court of arbitration for sport was dismissed just hours ago,

a decision already welcomed by the 10c, which has already seen 28 russians have their life bans lifted by the court. one person who will be there though is kim yo—jong, the sister of the north korean leader. she'll be attending alongside choe hwi. he's a director from the propaganda department of the north korea working party and usually banned from travelling by the un. they have lifted that sanction temporarily following a request from the south. —— working. the games are being held in pyeongchang in south korea — the bbc‘s stephen mcdonell is there. we have two areas of discussion here as kim jong—un potluck sister arrives there. that is of is the big political picture. —— that is obviously a big political picture. absolutely. here, there is only a few hours to go to the opening ceremony in pyeongchang. people are excited about the prospect of seeing elite athletes performing, but you

get this feeling that there is a huge historic moment unfolding before us. the plan of officials has arrived in south korea. 0n before us. the plan of officials has arrived in south korea. on board the plane, the north korean leader's sister, kim yo—jong, as well as choe hwi. the leader's sister will dine with the south korean president, moonjae—in, so there is this feeling of enormous breakthrough between the two koreas after a long and frosty period for the last two yea rs. and frosty period for the last two years. obviously the ioc would love to see that, and hence in the credibility of what an olympic games can do. clearly, they are relieved

to hear that a good number of russians have a baby they could get in have been told quite categorically that they will not. —— good number of russians who still might have thought they could get in. it was a last ditch effort by those rushing to try getting. but they will not be competing. those russian athletes who will be allowed tojoin the russian athletes who will be allowed to join the olympics will be doing so to join the olympics will be doing so under the limbic flag, and if they win any events, then they will be hearing the olympic him playing. so doping is still, as has been the case in many 0lympic so doping is still, as has been the case in many olympic games in recent times, also looms large. —— 0lympic flag. thank you so much. we wait for the opening ceremony, as they say, just under six hours from now. some federal government departments in the united states have temporarily shut down after the senate failed to vote on a spending deal by midnight local time — that's just a few minutes ago.

lawmakers have been scrambling to gather enough votes to avoid what happened injanuary, and havejust resumed debating after a short recess. earlier this week it was thought a deal had been reached. but the intervention of republican senator rand paul appears to have delayed a vote in the senate. this is him at the start of proceedings earlier. iranfor i ran for office because i was very critical of president 0bama's trillion dollar deficits. now we have republicans hand—in—hand with democrats, offering us trillion dollar deficits. i can't, democrats, offering us trillion dollar deficits. ican‘t, in democrats, offering us trillion dollar deficits. i can't, in all good honesty, and all good faith, just look the other way because my party is now complicit in the deficits. but really, who is to blame? both parties. we have a 700 page bill that no one has read that was printed at midnight. no one will read this bill. nothing will be reformed. the west will continue,

and the government will keep taking your money irresponsibly and 83 $20 trillion that. —— the waste. let's talk to our north american correspondent peter bowes. it is late at night here. this will be resolved by the time americans wa ke be resolved by the time americans wake up in the morning. that is how short lived it could be. and that is a short lived many people are hoping it will be. rather different to last time. this was a bill that seemingly all sides had agreed on. at least in the senate. it was bipartisan in terms of the detail. but it has hit a roadblock in terms of rand paul, the lone senator, republican senator, standing against this, saying he wanted it cap on spending, that he didn't like the huge additional spending that was included in the detail of this bill on spending and some domestic projects, healthcare,

infrastructure, that sort of thing. he said he could not simply sit by and let that happen, because he objected to something very similar under president 0bama. so it still has not passed in the senate. the next hurdle will be the house of representatives, where there is a position on both sides. the democrats are angry that it does not include a measure to help those immigrants, those children who were brought to america without proper documentation, and they speak prospect of deportation. and fiscal conservatives are also upset by the level of spending. peter, we wait to see how this moves forward. thank you very much for the moment. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news around the world. american officials are saying syrian kurdish fighters have captured two british members of a notorious cell of the so—called islamic state group, linked to the beheading of western hostages. they have been named as alexanda kotey and el shafee elsheikh, from london.

they were the last of a group of four, who hostages nicknamed the beatles because of their british accents. rescue workers in taiwan are continuing to search for survivors in the eastern city of hualien after tuesday's 6.4 magnitude earthquake. the marshal hotel is still leaning precariously and some floors remain buried under ground as a result of the quake. the death toll has risen to ten, and rescue operations are at risk of continuing aftershocks. at least 60 people are still missing. a court in cambodia has granted bail to seven of the 10 foreign tourists charged last month with producing pornographic images. the group were arrested after a raucous pool party in siem reap. if convicted, they could face up to a year in a cambodian prison. let's turn to our top business story, for sure, because it's shaping up to be another gut—wrenching day for investors. asian stock markets are currently down sharply. that's after another plunge

in us share prices — the dow jones industrial average wiping out more than 1000 points for the second time this week, on those concerns interest rates could be rising a lot faster than expected. the main us indices are now all down over 10% from their record at the end of january — the official definition of a stock market correction. a fall of 10% there. this is the editor of the online news service. there is concerned this the same, that that this could continue. and that that this could continue. and that will send other shockwaves. —— online news service quartz. that is does seem to be an exact and point to this, but we will see when it

comes to monday whether it will be another bloodbath, basically. well, yes. there are those who will point towards the rise in the american budget, the proposal, at least, as well, and he discussed the donald trump is proposing that is actually adding fuel to the fire. absolutely. it comes at a time where there is a lot of things happening at the same time. we are seeing the us tax bill comes through. we are consummate the deficit. —— we have comments about the deficit. it is exacerbating a problem that the markets are having at the moment. is it fair to say, looking at the nikkei, the hang seng, pared down 3— 4% already. this is all because what is going on in the states? yes. rising interest rates is an issue across many key countries. we are even seeing it in the uk, where there is a concern for

that as well. so we should see this downward trend for a little bit longer. the moment, thank you very much. see you soon for a review of of the papers around the world. the un security council has failed to back an appeal from united nation's aid officials for a month—long humanitarian ceasefire in syria. four days of clashes have killed scores of civilians. russia's ambassador to the un dismissed the proposal as unrealistic. allahu akbar. it's been called "syria's 96 hours of hell". bringing four days of bombing and bloodshed rarely seen before, even in syria's brutal civil war. more than 200 dead since monday in scenes like this. the rush by rescue workers to help, always with the threat that more bombs might fall. just outside the capital, damascus, eastern ghouta is home to 400,000

people, now under siege. jisreen, to the east, attacked too. 58 civilians killed — it's thought — on thursday alone. supplies are short, medicine exhausted, doctors few. this week, the un called for a month—long ceasefire but the un security council has not backed that appeal — seen by some as impossible. we want to make sure that there is a cessation of hostilities in key parts of the country, so that we can better gain access for humanitarian aid, and so that we can evacuate people who are in desperate need of medical help. meanwhile, the syrian regime has accused america of war crimes after dozens of its fighters were killed in air strikes in the north—east of the country. the us says the washington backed syrian democratic forces were responding to

an unprovoked attack. we have the inherent right to defend ourselves, and we had seen a buildup for over a week. it was unprovoked. we are comfortable and the secretary's comfortable with the judgement of our commanders on the ground. there is normality here too or something like it, but civilians in parts of damascus have now seen shelling in areas previously untouched by fighting, as syria's seven year war shows no sign of ending. andrew plant, bbc news. well, you're watching the briefing. stay with us. we will bring you the first action from the winter 0lympics as the games get under way. big leaps on the ski jump. there's mr mandela. mr nelson mandela, a free man,

taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader ayatollah khomeini has said he's passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks for the ousting of their former president, 'baby doc' duvalier. because of his considerable value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a special secure box in the stud farm's central block. shergar was driven away in a horse box the thieves had brought with them. there stepped down from the plane a figure in mourning. elizabeth ii, queen of this realm and of all her other realms and territories. head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. you're watching the briefing.

with me, david eades. 0ur headlines: the american government is once again in shutdown, as congressional leaders struggle to overcome opposition to a spending deal. the story to the olympics opening ceremony is likely to take place —— going to take place in a few hours time in south korea. it seems to have eased tensions between the north and the south, for the moment at least. today's what topic is what sports would you like to see in the 0lympics, winter or summer. iselect darts coming in, a few of you suggesting snowball fighting. you're not going to see any of that this time round but the action has begun

ahead of the ceremony itself. the opening ceremony which takes place inafew opening ceremony which takes place in a few hours‘s time. let's take a look at what we have seen so far. switzerland were leading 5—4 against china when one of the players moved to see who was the closest. that had to see who was the closest. that had to be avoided and the match then led to be avoided and the match then led to an extra end with switzerland securing a 7—5 victory. they later beat finland. china were also back in action against south korea and the leading 6—1 until this stone and those koreans are massive six points. they had hired the much 7—7, but china then edged out 8—7. it was tied at 2—2 heading into the end. this stone from america gave the canadians a 5—2 lead in that to too

much of a deficit to make up. there was also ski jumping on thursday, with the qualifying round in the mend's kill competition. a german competitor ended in first place. the two—time 0lympic competitor ended in first place. the two—time olympic champion qualified in 10th place ahead of sunday's final. this saturday is going to see the world's fastest lugers go head—to—head in the winter olympics. amongst them is germany's felix loch — three—time olympic champion and fastest man ever on a luge. we caught up with him ahead of the competition, and he told us he's planning to go home with a medal. hi, my name is felix loch, two—time defending 0lympic hi, my name is felix loch, two—time defending olympic champion and luge is my sport. the drive 154 kilometres an hour, it is unbelievable. do you feel you have an airof unbelievable. do you feel you have an air of invincibility once you get

onto an olympic hill?|j an air of invincibility once you get onto an olympic hill? i have two gold medals and i would say so, maybe it is a silver, yeah, it is silver. i go to the olympics to win a medal and not to, silver. i go to the olympics to win a medaland not to, in german, we say to feel the past. just tell me about the kinds of things you have been doing to make that sled faster. we have also a really fast track and the aerodynamics is really important. we are looking for tiny things to be better, to make this lead better things to be better, to make this leadbetter or to build a better sled. you are a father now, has that changed you as a person and as an adult? yes, nowl changed you as a person and as an adult? yes, now i would say in first position, family, luge, and then the rest. i see every day, now he learns of walking and that is so cool to see the difference from one day to the other day and always again, and thatis the other day and always again, and that is unbelievable. it has been 12

months, we were talking and i was saying felix loch, being the three—time 0lympic saying felix loch, being the three—time olympic champion, what would that mean to you? three—time olympic champion, what would that mean to you ?|j three—time olympic champion, what would that mean to you? i would say call, and i have no words. yeah, i would say this. felix loch there at the olympics. a briefing on some of the key events happening later in the day. in brazil today: the annual rio carnival officially gets under way ahead of the famed sambodromo stadium parades, featuring over—the—top floats. at 1700 gmt, we're expecting to hear from serena williams ahead of her return to competitive tennis, as the us launches its defence of its fed cup title against the netherlands. and later, in johannesburg, south africa's rugby union is to choose a replacement for the ousted former springboks coach, allister coetzee. earlier this week, another former coach, peter de villiers, was appointed the new coach of zimbabwe. scientists have expressed deep

concern about the amount of plastic waste that is building up in the arctic sea. they found in higher concentrations than anywhere else in the world's oceans. howard porter reports from tromso in the norwegian app tick. —— arctic. —— harrabin reports. plastic pollution has reached the furthest corners of the planet. arctic sea ice is created when sea freezes. it looks pristine but it definitely is not. in fact, ice cores show sea ice contains more fragments of plastic per square metre than anywhere else in the open ocean, it's because sea ice freezes from the top and that's exactly where the plastic bits are floating. 0ne litre of melted sea ice contained 234 plastic fragments like these. it's a serious problem and you have a situation in the world now that there is nowhere that is so far

away that it's not affected by plastic waste. in the norwegian arctic, this local conservationist is trying forlornly to clear it up. here's what plastic does. this reindeer‘s antlers were trapped by a discarded fishing net. it died. this arctic tern met its death by starvation. this polar bear was tangled in another fishing net. we try to sell this as arctic and pristine and untouched. and it looks that way on pictures, but once you get here and you start to walk along the coastline, you get a completely other picture. the plastic is here with a vengeance. i've collected this waste in just a few seconds. some of the fragments may come from norway, some clearly don't — like this elaborate bottle for instance, or this butter tub from spain. norway can try as hard as it likes

to clean up the arctic, but unless all nations co—operate, it can't succeed. scientists blame fishing for most of the plastic pollution here. the crews say they have stopped dumping nets. we have, for years, for decades, been collecting all the garbage that we produce on board. into big waste bags, big bags, compressing it, and taking it all to shore. so where this comes from today, i'm not sure of. the fishermen say they've stopped dumping lengths of rope into the ocean. but look at that. it's clearly been deliberately cut. so's that. arctic scientists don't know yet whether the plastic tide will affect local fish stocks, but it is another human threat to a fragile environment already being transformed by man—made climate change. roger harrabin, bbc news, in the norwegian arctic. for the last few days,

paris has been the venue for an exhibition devoted to old motorcars. vintage classics, really. the retromobile show is marking its 43rd year. thousands of enthusiasts got the chance to look at hundreds of vehicles — some of which are truly legendary, as the bbc‘s tim allman reports. if you like vintage cars, then this must be like paradise — the sleek lines, the polished metal, vehicles both from the dawn of the motor age, and some a little more recent. translation: the retromobile show gives us the chance to rediscover the glories of the past. we should not forget that behind each car, there's a man, and it's always human adventure hiding underneath. some of these cars are nearly 100 years old. many of them broke records at legendary race tracks, like linas—montlhery and le mans. it really was another age —

shirtsleeves, open—top driving, little care for safety. a dangerous but elegant way to enjoy life at the highest of speeds. one of the star attractions is this aston martin db4 gt zagato. only 19 were ever produced, and it was raced at le mans by british driver, jim clark. it sort of epitomises everything that is so sort of great about britain and bespoke, handmade, beautiful quality, and then when you clothe the car in this italian zagato style, you get the best of both worlds. the aston martin will go on sale injuly and is expected to reach the price of more than $14 million — proof that some cars are truly timeless. tim allman, bbc news. and overpriced, it might said.

before we go, a quick look at this. conservation officers in newfoundland have had to rescue a moose, that was stranded in a lake. they went out, it managed to hurt him of the lake and then they have tranquillised him and got him back out there. the good news is he has since been released outside the city. do stay with us he won bbc news. i am going to back with the business briefing in a moment or two because we are going to have some more on the global market turmoil, the asian markets in particular. and that ultimatum from the eu on air pollution. the uk is one of them. stay with us. hello there.

we've got mixed fortunes to start the day today. cold with frost and a risk of ice across north—western areas, some snow showers around as well. whereas further east, we have got this band of rain that will be bringing with it some pretty wet weather and some gusty winds as well, but the rain and the cloud keeping temperatures up here for the early risers — it'll be around five or six degrees in the centre of london first thing friday morning. now, looking at the charts for friday, we've got our band of rain, our cold front, that's going to be pushing eastwards, bringing some disruptive snow to france, so anyone heading that way, bear that in mind. behind our cold front, the area will be getting colder and dragging in a number of snow showers across the north and west. so, for friday, rain clearing away from east anglia and south—east england fairly quickly in the morning, followed by wintry showers. it could bring a covering of snow, even potentially at low levels for a time on friday, and it may well stay quite cloudy towards those eastern coastal areas. the best of the sunshine for wales and western england. further north, for both northern ireland and scotland, watch out for the risk of some icy stretches first thing

in the morning. plenty of sunshine around but there will also be a number of showers, these falling as snow inland. perhaps around the coast, a bit more sleet and rain mixed in as well. temperatures between four and seven degrees, feeling quite cold in the wind. now, looking at the weather charts through friday evening and overnight, clear skies for a time so temperatures drop away. there will be a frost and the risk of some icy patches. and then, we get this atlantic front moving into that cold air. we'll see the rain turning to snow, potentially even at low levels in scotland — potentially quite heavy snow for a time as well — but ultimately, as we go through saturday, the winds will start to turn to more of a south—westerly direction, the snow will push higher and higher up the hills of northern england and scotland before turning back to rain. we'll be left with a soggy saturday, really, across england and wales. heavy outbreaks of rain, south—westerly wind, so turning milder — temperatures up to 11 in cardiff. but the cold air still with us, hanging on across northernmost parts of scotland. the potential for a windy spell of weather if we get a weather front developing, just putting a squeeze on those isobars

through saturday night. it's one to watch. it could turn very windy for a time. but by the time we get to sunday, we're looking at north—westerly winds being with us again. plenty of sunshine after a locally chilly start to the day and we'll see a number of snow showers — again, perhaps a bit of rain and sleet mixed in around coastal areas, but feeling quite chilly in the north—west. this is business briefing. i'm david eades. global stock markets plunge again as over a 1000 points are wiped off the dow for the second time this week. plus clean up or pay up: the uk and eight other countries have until the end of the day to come up with a plan to tackle air pollution orface eu fines. let's look at the market numbers. this is not a good look. larivee ago, they are down and down steeply. asia is the latest to follow that trend after the plunge on wall street. —— wherever you go.