this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top story, fighting for his life — a former russian spy is critically ill in a british hospital, apparently overcome by a mystery substance. multiple agencies are investigating. delegates from south korea meet officials in the north as kim jong—un says he wants to write a new history of national reunification. six months after hurricane irma damaged or destroyed more than 80% of the buildings on the british virgin islands. we see how the recovery is going. will president trump's proposed tariffs slam the brakes on europe's mighty car industry? that's the main concern as the geneva motor show gets on the road. in business briefing, we'll have the latest for you on the trump tariff plan that has got republicans on capitol hill worried.

a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. also in the programme, brits need to go on a diet! health officials will call for a strict calorie count to fight obesity. the food industry could face new laws. so what do you think? a necessary step or a "nanny state"? send your comments to #bbcthebriefing. police in the uk say they are keeping an open mind about how and why a former russian double agent became critically ill after apparently coming into contact with an unidentified substance.

sergei skripal and a woman found with him are being treated in hospital in salisbury. sergei skripal was given refuge in britain eight years ago after being involved in a spy swap. wiltshire police have declared a major incident after the two were taken ill in salisbury on sunday. leila nathoo has the latest. police are racing to establish just what happened here. last night, officers were examining the contents officers were examining the contents ofa bin officers were examining the contents of a bin near where a sergei skripal and a woman were found unconscious on sunday afternoon. the high street italian restaurant nearby was closed. the staff inside question. detectives are trying to piece together the events that led to the police being the city. there was an older guy and a younger girl, she was leaning on him, it looks at she was passed out. he was doing some strange hand

movements, looking to the sky. i felt anxious, i felt like movements, looking to the sky. i felt anxious, ifelt like i movements, looking to the sky. i felt anxious, i felt like i should step in. to be honest, they look so out of it, i wasn't sure how i could help. they remain in a critical condition in hospital. sergei skripal was a former russian secret service officer, convicted of treason in 2006 after he was accused of spying for britain. he was pardoned in russia in 2010 and handed over to the uk in a swap when he and three others were exchanged for russian spies in the us. police say they are keeping an open mind about this incident and don't let —— yet know whether a crime has taken place. given sergei skripal‘s background, it is likely to be a sensitive investigation. later, we will get an expert view on this story and what it means as well in terms of the uk russia relations. that is coming up in a few minutes. let's focus on the north korean

leader who says it is his firm will to write a new history of national reunification with south korea. 0n monday, he hosted delegates from seoul, the first time he had met officials from south korea since he came into power in 2011. let's speak to our correspondence. laura bickerjoins me now from seoul. this looks like progress. look how far we have come in just a few months. the route usually reclusive leader of north korea has met and shaken hands and had dinner with the ministers from south korea. that is something that would have been unthinkable, unimaginable just a few weeks ago. as for what they are both saying about the dinner, from north korea's perspective, it has been all over the front pages of these state—run newspaper. also we have heard from the paper that kim jong—un wants to further relations

with the south. here in seoul, they are being a little bit more cautious. we have heard that the meeting wasn't disappointing, if the exact meeting wasn't disappointing, if the exa ct q u ote meeting wasn't disappointing, if the exact quote we got from eight spokesperson. we heard the dinner was four hours long and they had a lot to discuss. we asked whether or not the subject of gay nuclearisation came up. we are told that it may have. it is expected to have. that is the key thing because the next challenge for the government here in seoul is to get pyongyang to talk to washington, and that will only happen if the are prepared to talk about getting rid of their nuclear weapons. that was about to be my next question. when the us may well decide it can get involved in this process. of course, denuclearisation is the key. that is on the agenda officially. denuclearisation is the key. that is on the agenda officiallylj denuclearisation is the key. that is on the agenda officially. i think pa rt on the agenda officially. i think part of the problem is there has been mixed messages coming from the trump administration. we heard from

the secretary of state rex tillerson that if they want well, we will talk. we have heard from the vice president of the us when he was at winter olympics. 0n president of the us when he was at winter olympics. on his way back on the plane, he said, if they want to talk, we will talk will stop at the same time, we hear they are on preconditions. they want to at least discuss or some indication from pyongyang that they are willing to discuss getting rid of their nuclear weapons. so far, north korea certainly at the weekend, they describe it as preposterous. it will be interesting to see just a few hours time exact or what is delegates from south korea comeback with, what message they bring back from kim jong—un. we with, what message they bring back from kimjong—un. we know he wants to further relations with the south, but the south believe that can only happen if pyongyang and washington start to discuss what happens next. and that is going to be interesting when we hear from them and that is going to be interesting when we hearfrom them injust and that is going to be interesting when we hear from them in just a few hours time. unicef has welcomed what it says is a significant drop

in child marriages globally. it believes that since 2008, 25 million under—age marriages have been prevented. unicef says south asian countries have seen the biggest reduction. brazil's superior court of justice, the highest legal body in the country, will rule on whether former president luiz inacio lula da silva can remain free until his last appeal isjudged. injanuary, a regional appeals court increased the corruption sentence against him to just over 12 years in prison. the former president says he remains determined to compete in elections in october. the northern ireland dup leader, arlene foster, is leading a delegation to meet the chief negotiator for the european commission, michel barnier, on tuesday. she wants to see a sensible brexit, which works for northern ireland and the whole region, with brussels officials showing greater flexibility on the issue of the border. president trump's threat to impose

tariffs on imports of european cars to the us is the main talking point at the geneva motor show, which opens today. but the eu is striking back. yesterday i spoke to the european commission trade commissioner and she was telling me that they are ready for retaliation, and some reports suggest they could be putting big tariffs on things like jeans et cetera. good morning. another angle on this, bbc online is leaving with the story that republicans are concerned about this. republicans are worried by their trump parrot —— tariff plan. give us your take on this and talk ofa give us your take on this and talk of a trade war. either it won't happen or it can't happen. i say it

won't happen because donald trump is a business man. he wants to extract something from the other side. you try and develop a credible threat. we know it is somewhat credible because it is in line with what he said. the reason i think it won't happen is exactly for the reason you just mentioned. i used to work in congress and the us. congress is the most easily penetrated major power body in any government in the world, and it is easy to penetrate the outside influences outside governments because it can be: individual congressman and say, you have factories which export to us and that will divide. you can divide and that will divide. you can divide and conquer the us. congress very easily, and that will be a blockage to any of the tariff movement. interestingly, we look at reduction of cars right now. this seems to be one of the issue that lay, there is importers and trade right across the world. the us steel industry is

nowhere near as strong and robust is that seen in asia, and yet, you put the likes of the speaker of the house say we are concerned about the impact onjobs. house say we are concerned about the impact on jobs. what would happen, and this is the unfortunate thing, people forget that steel is iconic asa gun, people forget that steel is iconic as a gun, and it tends to be the same people who care about guns tend to ca re same people who care about guns tend to care about steel. and it annoys them that if america can't make steel in the way an american can't carry a gun, it is part of their national identity. sadly, the way the economics works is tariffs are not an effective way in order for them to get more jobs and steel plants. it is not what will help them. thank you for now. he will return. he is going back to the green room to look at the stories we are covering later in this programme. we will be at the geneva motor show as well. all that still to come. now, there is talk about the fact that it is six months since

the fact that it is six months since the second most powerful hurricane in atlantic history struck. hurricane irma ploughed into the british virgin islands, bringing winds of around 185mph and torrential rains that caused bringing winds of around 185mph aid effort in helping to restore security. but those soldiers left after a few weeks. after that, we are told by the reduced governor hear about the uk has been working very ha rd hear about the uk has been working very hard behind the scenes to help restore power and most of this island does now have electricity well ahead of schedule. but that hasn't stopped the perception among many here on the british virgin islands, particularly when they look at the damage that remains on their roads and particularly their 0ur headlines: delegates from south korea are meeting officials in the north for talks. kim jong—un says he wants to write a new history of national reunification. a former russian spy is fighting for his life in a british hospital after being overcome by a mystery substance. the police and security agencies are investigating. let's stay with that now steve fish is politics professor at the university of california and hejoins us now from berkeley california. if this poisoning is ever proven, how will this affect relations? what will it do in terms of relations between russia, us comic uk? it is hard to see how relations

can get much worse but it will be detriment of two relations. this guy was given back from the spy swap. to come after somebody like this and poison him after it a spy swap was carried out is strange indeed. it will have a bad effect on relations. 0bviously will have a bad effect on relations. obviously this process will take some time and in the case of a former russian spy who died in london in 2006, the public enquiry took years and years but it did conclude that he is killing was possibly approved of by vladimir putin. as you say, the relations are difficult right now and russia is heading to an election very soon as well. how soon, if at all will this impact the situation in russia with regards to its relations, are they concerned at all? i think vladimir putin is losing his touch. this kind

of action is not something you would expect from a self—confident leader. he may feel that the robert mu investigation or accusations of what looks like donald trump's fall from power will end up touching him and all sorts of connections to his government which will be embarrassing for him. vladimir putin was certainly behind this, approved it or at least set the tone that made this kind of thing possible. a lot of people will talk about whether he ordered this or not, the fa ct whether he ordered this or not, the fact is that he did all he knew about it. this is really constant with what has been going on in russia itself, vladimir putin going after, increasingly using violent methods, to go after his opponents 01’ methods, to go after his opponents or anybody he perceives to be an opponent. this is not the kind of thing that a self—confident ruler does a bit what we are seeing here is his insecurity shelling and what

is his insecurity shelling and what is going on in the united states might have something to do with that. thank you forjoining us. apologies for the wine there. —— line. currently in hospital in britain, the investigation is under way as to what has happened, no allegations have been made as to what happened in his case. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. first up — brussels, where eu foreign ministers will meet to discuss defence and security issues, including the permanent structured cooperation and eu—nato cooperation. in geneva, war crimes investigators from un—backed commission of inquiry for syria release their latest report on alleged atrocities committed in the war—torn country. and on day two of his trip to washington, israeli prime minister netanyahu will address the american israel public affairs committee. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello and welcome to your

tuesday sport briefing consecutive year, having fallen well behind barcelona in the league. but while it's all to play for in paris, tuesday's other tie looks like it's already dead and buried. liverpool thrashed porto 5—0 on home soil thanks to goals from roberto firmino, mo salah and a hat—trick from sadio mane. and with the reds still undefeated at home in the premier league this season, it could be a long night for porto at anfield! you don't rotate to avoid something. you don't rotate to avoid something. you only use the players which are in the best shape and if there will bea in the best shape and if there will be a different line up to saturday, i don't know, but if it will be a different lineup than any because —— only because we want to win it's safe to say the houston rockets led byjames harden have been unstoppable of late in the nba. riding high on a 15—game winning streak, the rockets sit at the top of the western conference and look like the team to beat in the league. next up they're on the road in oklahoma. last time out, the thunder were beaten on their travels by the portland trailblazers. russell westbrook had 30 points and 11 rebounds for the thunder but it wasn't enough to turn things around. now to cricket and sri lanka know they're up against it in their forthcoming t20 tri—series

tournament with india and bangladesh in colombo. the hosts take on india in the first match on tuesday as the tournament marks the 70th anniversary of sri lanka's independence. in case you missed it nemanja matic scored a stoppage time winner from outside the penalty box as manchester united came from two the serbian fired home a wonderful goal off his left foot to grasp the match from palace who had led 2—0 three minutes into the second half and were on the verge of moving out of the relegation zone, but it'sjose mourinho's side who take all three points to move ahead of liverpool who they face at old trafford on saturday. i always believe, i will be like this until my last day. other times, some more than others but obviously with this morning, with chris smalling ‘s goal, i always thought

this was possible. now there's only one story that has been dominating on social media and that's the champions league. millions of you have been posting about the second leg of real madrid's tie with paris saint—germain and so have the players. real‘s stars were taking plenty of photos on their flight over to france from the spanish capital. lucas vasquez was one of them. so was cristiano ronaldo, who scored twice in the first leg. he simply put "lets go". while captain sergio ramos said he and defensive partner marcelo were ready for takeoff. that is handy, because they wouldn't make it otherwise. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, that's your tuesday sport briefing. the inventor of the wind—up radio, trevor baylis, has died after a long illness at the age of eighty. the british scientist invented more than 200 and 50 products, including a shoe that can charge a phone battery and a self weighing suitcase for airline passengers. lebo diseko looks back at his life that's how i wound it up...

it's the invention that sir trevor bayliss was perhaps best known for. he came up with the idea for the wind—up radio after watching a documentary about aids in africa. it said that health information was getting through to people because they couldn't afford the batteries for their radios. most people in africa didn't have electricity, and the only other form of electricity was in the form of batteries, which were horrendously expensive. i thought to myself, hang on, all those years ago i could see myself with an old—fashioned gramophone and i thought, we wind this ring up and that produces that volume of sound, so there must be enough energy in that spring to drive a small dynamo, which in turn would drive a small radio. at first he found it difficult to drum up interest in his radio,

but then it was featured in the bbc‘s tomorrow's world programme, it was then developed and produced by a south african company that employed disabled workers to make it. the device won him awards and honours, including a meeting nelson mandela. born in london in 1937, bayliss left school with little formal qualifications. he was an excellent swimmer and worked as a stuntman and an aquatic stuntman, even selling swimming pools at one point. but his true passion was inventing and from the more —— but his true passion was inventing and from the more whimsical contractions, like this one to help wheelchair users light a pipe while birdwatching, to the more practical, like this one, to charge a phone battery as you walk. it seemed there was one common theme, sir trevor bayliss wanted to help others. we asked you to get in touch about

this story about the fact that we will be told by public health england in the nearfuture how much we should be eating and portion sizes, as they try to tackle portion sizes, as they try to tackle portion sizes of. anthony... then tony says... we will discuss this in more detail in the next half—hour, see you a minute. hello there. as temperatures continue to slowly rise, increasingly we are seeing snow being confined to the high ground in scotland and that means communities that have been hard hit by the heavy snow — the snow is continuing to ease and thaw, but of course it is going to be a long road.

looking at the weather picture today we have got some rain pushing to the northern half of the uk and it is notjust rain, also some white mixed in across scotland. we are expecting more snow. what it will be over the hills. in the south, a few clearer spells, some mist and fog and patches of frost possible as we start off the morning in the countryside. a slippery start to the day again. looking at tuesday morning, this area of snow that could cause problems for scotland because we are going to see heavy snow mostly in the hills, above 200 metres elevation looking at 5—10cms towards the east coast and low down it is more likely to be rain that falls but that cause problems because the rain is going to be heavy and will act as a thaw of the snow already on the ground. some localised flooding is a possibility and perhaps the snow getting to lower levels in some of the deep highland valleys. a few showers across south—west england and wales, cold in the north but relatively mild in the south. highs of 12 degrees in london.

looking at the weather picture through tuesday night and wednesday, that snow will ease its way across from northern scotland but the weather front will sneak across the english channel and curl back into south—east england and east anglia, threatening a spell of morning rain on wednesday. quite a wet start but that rain will clear away, followed by some brighter skies and sunshine. some showers around, particularly western areas, some wintry across the high ground of scotland but temperatures continue to recover, looking at highs of six in edinburgh. thursday promises to be a quite a on a weather front, still a few showers knocking around and a more persistent area of rain running to the english channel, not far away from south england so that could come inland. 0therwise, quiet, some bright skies, bit of sunshine coming through and tmeperatu res between six and nine celsius. nothing severe for thursday. through to the end of the week and the weekend, quite cool for the northern half of the uk but relatively mild into the weekend in the south. this is business briefing.

i'm sally bundock. let's ta ke let's take a look at the main business stories. will president trump's proposed tariffs slam the brakes on europe's mighty car industry? that's the main concern aw the geneva autoshow gets —— as the geneva autoshow gets on the road. the chief executive of japan's third largest steel maker is expected to step down over a scandal involving falsified quality data. and on the share markets in asia, we are seeing a bounceback today — a stronger dollar is helping exporters injapan edge higher.