hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. on yesterday plasma programme we heard donald trump say he would tow truck —— he would do trade was the loving way. we will get a look of what that might be like. the eu says it has a long list of american imports that would be hit by terence if its steel and aluminium are targeted by america. the white house says announcement that just that will happen will come later in the week. the president is being sued by a pawn star over hush money. you pay... you heard that read. british police say a nerve agent was used in that attempt to murder a former russian spy attempt to murder a former russian spy in the uk. we will have the latest developments. lyse doucet on the saudi crown prince's visit to the uk and an american academic who looked into so—called sonic attacks on us diplomats in cuba. things are getting a little tense

between the eu and america. if you watched yesterday, you might remember this. the european union has been... particularly tough with the united states. they make it almost impossible for us to do business with them. well the eu's responded. this is trade commissioner cecilia malstrom earlier. she gave us detail on what will happen if america imposes tariffs on steel and aluminium. there are a long list of american products that can expect tariffs too. bluejeans, motorbikes, whisky, peanut butter — also cranberries, orange juice, — on and on it goes. not long after president trump tweeted — not a direct response — but on this issue. "from bush 1 to present, our country has lost more

than 55,000 factories, 6 million manufacturing jobs and accumulated trade deficits of more than $12 trillion. bad policies and leadership. must win again!" big theme of mr trump — it's not other countries‘ fault — it's america's for letting it happen. a white house spokesperson has confirmed these tariffs are coming by the end of this week. one interested observer of that will be whoever replaced gary cohen, who was the president's chief economic advisor. he's left the white house — that may not be unrelated to the fact that he's very pro—free trade. he is not a big enthusiastic terence. rash enthusiast of tariffs. here's jane o'brien with what we can expect next from the white house. we understand donald trump is

drawing upa we understand donald trump is drawing up a memo which will push these forward. in practical terms these forward. in practical terms these things take longer and there isa these things take longer and there is a question on whether tariffs will be confirmed and go ahead in any meaningful fashion. they could be overturned by the world trade organisation, which happened before when george w bush, the president then, tried to introduce something similar. there is still a lot of uncertainty but i think the bigger issueis uncertainty but i think the bigger issue is the political fallout. uncertainty but i think the bigger issue is the politicalfallout. you have a president of the united states going up against his own party, for whom free—trade runs in their lifeblood, saying he will com pletely their lifeblood, saying he will completely overrides their very stern advice against this and plough on regardless. and he is upsetting his allies around the world. but probably pleasing quite a lot of the people voting for him? there are some states that say they will benefit from this. the fact remains

that more people are employed in jobs in companies that make things from steel than are employed in producing steel. there is even a domestic imbalance in this. how that will play out, we will probably see in the mid—term elections when lots of republicans are going up for real action, as well as democrats, some of whom support this. we will be covering those midterms and 25 minutes live from texas. as well is threatening to introduce terror the white house seems deceptively be trying to renegotiate its nafta agreement with these ta riffs factored its nafta agreement with these tariffs factored in. mexico and canada are part of this north american free trade agreement. president trump's spokesperson says these countries might be exempt from these tariffs. that matters because canada is the biggest importer of

steel to the us. let me show you the announcement. we expect the president will sign something from the end of the week, there are potential car reds for canada and mexico based on national security, possibly other countries as well based on that protest. it's a measure of the trump presidency, that when we learn the president is being sued by a porn star — it's just one of many stories. it's alleged that mr trump had an affair with stormy daniels — and she was paid to sign a non—disclosure agreement. that is not new. but now stormy daniels says mr trump never signed it, so it's void. this is the lawsuit. you can find it online if you would like to read the whole thing. it says the contract was drawn up during the 2016 election campaign. it also alleges that the affair was in 2006, shortly after melania trump gave birth to barron trump. we know how much this deal cost. mr trump's lawyer michael cohen confirmed he privately paid

stormy daniels $130,000. we also now know that breaking the terms exposes her to $1 million in costs for each violation. here's her lawyer on why she's taking action. she wants to tell her story, because there is so much misinformation out there, so much misinformation that has been spread by mr cohn and others over the last few weeks on what happened, the circumstances of the agreement and the payment, she wa nts to the agreement and the payment, she wants to set the record straight, she wants to be heard and she wants to tell the public the true facts of what happened. various things to note here. one — mr trump's lawyer has previously denied any affair happened. there are also questions over whether the payment to stormy daniels broke federal law. here's jane again on where the law falls into this story.

—— here is californian democrat fa res. —— here is californian democrat fares. more evidence that candidate donald trump and michael current dutchman who conspired for this. he says he has been asking the fbi to investigate. here it is jane o'brien again on where the law fits into this story. if the payment was made in coordination with the trump campaign, that is against the law. there is also an issue over whether 01’ there is also an issue over whether or not it may come to the attention of special counsel robert muller, who is investigating any possible collusion with russia. although this is separate, if the situation arises where somebody lies to mr mole, that could land mr trimble, conceivably, in legal jeopardy. there could land mr trimble, conceivably, in legaljeopardy. there is an irony to all this because every indication is that had this been a straightforward six scandal, donald trump could probably have weathered it. but by getting into murky legal

grounds, this could put him on far more shaky territory, which could be far more politically dangerous for him than any alleged affair with a porn star. uk police say a nerve agent was used to poison a russian spy and his daughter. this afternoon they said they believe sergei and yulia skripal were targeted deliberately. here's a clip from the police briefing. this is being treated as a major incident involving attempted murder by administration of a nerve agent. as you know, this two people remain critically ill in hospital. sadly, in addition, a police officer who was one of the first to attend the scene and respond to the incident is now also in a serious condition in hospital. scientists at the porton down military research facility have been examining the nerve agent that was used. police would not confirm the exact substance they've identified. here's chemical weapons expert

professor alastair hay. it isa it is a fascinating clip from an interview he did on the bbc. i think the doctors probably had some guidance, given the signs the individuals would have displayed, the laboratory saying it was a nerve agent allows the doctors to administer some very specific treatment. there are treatment protocols for this type of chemical. nerve agents belong to a family of chemicals called organophosphates, which vary enormously in how toxic they are. the nerve agents are at an extreme end of the organophosphate family. they only have one purpose, thatis family. they only have one purpose, that is to kill people. that is what they were designed to do. they were designed to be used in warfare. this cctv footage has just been released. it shows sergei skripal buying a bottle of milk in a corner shop in the city where he lived. we think this is from february but it's the clearest recent image we have. tom symonds is at the scene where

the pair were found in salisbury. this is his latest update. as we heard from the statement, it is not just the two people who are in hospital, a police officer is in hospital, a police officer is in hospital, we understand in a serious condition. and before that several of emergency service workers had to be admitted to be looked at. this all took place in the area behind me. the tent covers the bench on which the couple, the pair, were sitting when this attempt on their lives, as the police now believe it was, took place. it will be a very complicated investigation. there are plenty of conflicting accounts of what the skripals were doing on sunday afternoon. they had lunch in a pizza restaurant not far away, which is cordoned off tonight and

has been the centre of its own emergency scare today. it is thought they had a drink at a bar not far away in that direction. police will be gathering cctv, talking to the staff in those two locations and trying to piece together what they we re trying to piece together what they were doing and who might have been watching, following them and attempting to use this fairly terrifying weapon against them. next, the latest brexit update. we have the eu's draft guidelines for negotiating its relationship with the uk after brexit. here they are — six pages of them, if you're keen. you can find them online. donald tusk is one of the most seniorfigures in the eu — he said the eu "does not want to build a wall," but that brexit means "we will be drifting apart". here's more of what we heard. our agreement will not make trade between the uk and the eu frictionless or smoother. it will make it more complicated and costly for all of us. this is the essence of brexit.

a pick and mix approach for a non—member state is out of the question. we are not going to sacrifice these principles, it's simply not in our interest. the words have changed. the message is the same. there mr tusk talked about a pick and mix approach — just another way of saying no cherry picking, no having your cake and eating it. it has been the same message since the day the uk voted out of the eu. either way, the uk continues to stress it wants what it calls a bespoke deal. today the chancellor, philip hammond, made the case that financial services need to be in a free trade agreement. that is not philip hammond, but this is! it's an important sector for the uk. let's listen to chris morris from bbc reality check. i think generally

if you talk to people in the city they think the bigger changer is that jobs would move they think the bigger changer is thatjobs would move to the far east or new york, you're talking about the global financial capitals. i think everyone in the eu knows the only globalfinancial think everyone in the eu knows the only global financial capital in europe is london. i think london will survive, come what may. the deregulation was going to destroy the city, the fire of london was going to destroy the city! london survives, i think london will survives, i think london will survive brexit but i think the sobering point for philip hammond but he was making the argument that financial services can and should be pa rt financial services can and should be part of a future free—trade agreement. the document put out by the eu does not mention financial services at all. it is considered ladylike, a nonstarter. if the french finance minister was in london yesterday, i went to a speech she gave coming he met philip hammond and his message was similar to that of donald tusk, financial

services, no. it is a starting position, but pretty firm. all the information on brexit you wa nt all the information on brexit you want is available online bbc news. any few moments we will turn our attention to a new theory as to why diplomats at the us embassy in cuba we re diplomats at the us embassy in cuba were saying that when they were at home they were suffering with problems with eight years. all to do with alleged sonic attacks. —— suffering with with thy ears. the leading deputy leader of far right group britain first have been jailed after being found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment. paul golding jayda fransen were sentenced for an apartment moments respectively after targeting muslims they believe are part of a gang rape trial taking place last may. the court heard that the pair posted offensive leaflets through the doors offensive leaflets through the doors of muslims in kent and filmed themselves confronting people in public. both were jailed folkestone

magistrates‘ court today. the fashion chain new look is the latest british high street name to fall into trouble. it will cut around 1000 jobs as part of a rescue plan and says it is planning to close 60 stores and reduce the rent on 400 others as part of a deal to balance the books. new look says the cuts are necessary to restore profitability. toys "r" us and map the last month announced they would go into administration, putting around 5500 jobs at risk. —— toys "r" us and maplin. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is the eu says it has a long list of american imports that will be hit by tariffs if its steel and aluminium are targeted by the us. the white house says that‘s going to happen this week. some of the main stories from bbc world service...

the last rebel—held enclave close to the syrian capital damascus has come under heavy bombardment amid fresh efforts at the un to stop the fighting. at least 20 people are said to have been killed in the bombardment in eastern ghouta. cape town will not have to turn off water supplies and should avoid a looming day of completely running out of water. the city is in the middle of drought and was facing what was called day zero. due to water saving efforts, that day has been pushed back from april to 27th august. lots of you have been watching this video of an orangutan in an indonesia zoo smoking. a visitor flicked a cigarette into the enclosure. that video was on the bbc news up. as you‘ve heard already, donald trump‘s top economic advisor —— the drug administration is

confirmed by canada and mexico might be given exemptions from planned ta riffs be given exemptions from planned tariffs on steel and aluminium. joe miller is in new york. this has become part of the broader negotiations between canada, mexico and the us? it has indeed. there was and the us? it has indeed. there was a real surprise in wall street when donald trump appeared to connect these tariffs with the nafta negotiations and talk about how there would not be any exemption for canada or mexico unless the nafta negotiations went the right way. by donor whether the howls of anguish from wall street reached the press briefing room that we have heard press secretary sarah sanders say there might be exemptions after all, which has come as a huge relief in new york. investors were worried that with gary cohen, one of the president‘s so—called globalist advisers, departing the white house. —— departing the waiters, we would see the harshest version of these

ta riffs across see the harshest version of these tariffs across the board. now there was some relief, perhaps, and exemptions for some of the us because my closest trading partners. but mrtrump is because my closest trading partners. but mr trump is still lining up with ta riffs but mr trump is still lining up with tariffs that the eu, china, other major players? yes, and the reason for that is the original, i suppose, instinct for imposing these tariffs has not gone away. donald trump‘s base, lots of whom were in former industrial heartlands, they really called for these tariffs and in the short term they will seize on benefit from them. we have seen an announcement by us steel, one of the last remaining big us steel companies, that it will reopen a plant in illinois and bring back 500 employees that it laid off last year. the good news will come to the places that donald trump wants to please most, that is why he will stick to these tariffs. the question is in what form, when we finally see

what the tariffs look like in detail, will it be the blanket across—the—board tariffs detail, will it be the blanket across—the—boa rd tariffs or will detail, will it be the blanket across—the—board tariffs or will it be what‘s on wall street call sensible exceptions for countries that perhaps the us does not want to start a trade war with, like canada and mexico? all will be revealed, the white house says it will give a statement later on that —— later in the week. the world‘s youngest self—made billionaire has told the bbc that he believes that president trump‘s anti—immigration rhetoric is deterring software developers from going to the us. john collison, the 27—year—old irish co—founder of the payments platform stripe, told us in an exclusive interview that the same may prove true for the uk because of brexit. people are less willing to move to the united states, they don‘t even wa nt to the united states, they don‘t even want to enter the bees are processed because of what they perceive to be the political climate and how welcoming the country is towards immigrants, soi welcoming the country is towards immigrants, so i think the perception will make recruitment harder and might be more difficult to get people to move. have you seen evidence about? we are seeing the

early stages in the us, we worry about seeing it in the uk. if recruitment gets harder, people are less willing to move to the uk, for example, what is the penalty? what happens? the ultimate risk we are talking about is does the uk have a vibrant tech sector talking about is does the uk have a vibra nt tech sector and talking about is does the uk have a vibrant tech sector and star club —— start—up vibrant tech sector and star club —— sta rt—u p ecosystem ? vibrant tech sector and star club —— start—up ecosystem ? i vibrant tech sector and star club —— start—up ecosystem? i think the uk will have a tech sector and started the ecosystem, but how successful will it be? there are degrees of success will it be? there are degrees of su ccess we will it be? there are degrees of success we can‘t talk about. if we do it wrong, we might be looking at a lower degree of success. simon jack was asking the questions. amazon has been forced to admit that it‘s smart assistant alexa has been playing up — and freaking out its users. here‘s what‘s been happening. @gavinhightower said "lying in bed about to fall asleep when alexa on my amazon echo dot lets out a very loud and creepy laugh." @taylorkatelynne said "so my mum and i arejust sitting in the living room, neither of us said a word and our alexa lit up and laughed for no reason.

she didn‘t even say anything, just laughed. we unplugged her." a user by the name of ca pthandlebar even filmed it. another guy says sir alex decided to laugh randomly when i was in the kitchen. one user filmed this happening. lx laughs. -- alexa laughs. happening. lx laughs. —— alexa laughs. you might remember this story. do you remember a row over alleged sonic attacks on us diplomatic staff living in havana? they said they heard strange noises — they developed symptoms like dizziness, headaches, hearing loss, nosebleeds, they even had trouble walking. this happened in one of cuba‘s most iconic hotels, the hotel nacional. you can see it on the satellite

here. the same thing happened a block away at the hotel capri. i was going to show you that, it is coming up. it also happened inside homes these diplomats were given by the cuban government. but there was one place it didn‘t happen — the us embassy, which is seen as secure. the map will not let me show you it but it is just across town. well, the us brought some of the staff home — it said they‘ve been victims of health attacks. there was even speculation some kind of sonic weapon had been used — even though it‘s not clear if sonic weapons exist. basically, it was a mystery. this though may be an explanation. recordings were made of the sounds. then a team at the university of michigan did this — they set up an experiment to try and recreate the sounds. working on a hunch that listening devices, bugs to you and me, might have been partly to blame. have a listen — and, don‘t worry, it‘s not going to do you any harm. sonic feedback.

not very pleasant, is it? imagine hearing that, all the time — not very nice. kevin fu is the computer scientist who did the research. here he is telling me exactly what causes those sounds. well, we don't know exactly what causes the sounds, but what we do believe is if there is ultrasound, the ultrasound in the aircan combine to is ultrasound, the ultrasound in the air can combine to create these audible sensations. in terms of what could have happened inside these hotels in cuba, what is your theory? our working theory is there may have been multiple ultrasonic signals that would unintentionally combine in the airand that would unintentionally combine in the air and produce what we call these audible by—products. you can hear things that don‘t really exist. in terms of what would be needed to recreate that, can you explain the different elements? sure, at least

one ultrasonic transmitter, transducer. this is an example of one. really, really tiny. it needs to produce a couple of tones. they produce in the air to create an audible sensation make humans can hear. that would be consistent with the symptoms of these americans experience? it is consistent with what we saw in the news in terms of the video and audio. it does not rule out other possibility is that make sense to us because it is so simple. given the americans were pulled out in quite significant numbers, i wonder if they have been in touch to talk through your theory? we have provided our results of state in the united states, i am sure they are chipping away at some of the maths and we will see what they do. isn't quite uncommon for listening devices of one type or another to emit sounds that we‘re

not aware of or to interfere other issues in the environment?” not aware of or to interfere other issues in the environment? i do not know the answer to that question but i know that one of our graduate stu d e nts i know that one of our graduate students and about five minutes was able to create this proof of concept eavesdropper that would spirit away information over and ultrasonic inaudible channel, but when this channel would have interference from a second ultrasonic tone, you would hear noises like you played earlier. thanks to kevin fu. after the break, we will hear about a letter that the north koreans have given the south koreans, and they want it delivered to the white house. see you in a minute. welcome to a look at the weather

away from the uk. making headlines, the storm that we had across the usa and canada late last week, this is a picture sent from massachusetts. we we re picture sent from massachusetts. we were inundated with the rainfall amounts comic huge, crashing waves due to the strength of the wind. and hot on the hills, the next storm. this linking back into an area of low pressure. that has already been giving considerable problems through the day, dumping snow fall quite widely. snow is more an issue on the system, 12 to 18 inches forecast before it clears. though the winds are not as strong they are strong enough to blow the snow around. still some severe storms for parts of florida, and virtually feel continues to the end of the working week. some respite from the rain. not for orlando, potentially. another weather system is moving further west. things have moved on but they are bringing in rain, hail

snow, strong winds and we might see rates for la. potential flash flooding. heading into asia, rather wet weather across southern parts of china, into hong kong and taiwan. a really nasty area of low pressure blooming across the korean peninsular and into japan. —— low— pressure peninsular and into japan. —— low—pressure brewing. snowfall across the korean peninsular as that system brings northerly air into parts of japan. after soaking system brings northerly air into parts ofjapan. after soaking rains, expect a real drop in temperature and snow to set in. tokyo largely escaped the snow but it stays u nsettled escaped the snow but it stays unsettled until midweek. some showers around, initially in beijing. this is the tropical cyclone joyce talked about, beijing. this is the tropical cyclonejoyce talked about, it is around vanuatu, it is intensifying. at the weekend it promises to bring wet and windy weather to parts of new zealand. a tropical low across the northern territories and in the desert states, here it could bring some very desert states, here it could bring some very wet weather indeed, up to

100 millimetres, causing flash flooding here. watch for a tropical site and in the coming few weeks. a very showery picture. across europe we have lost the bitter easterly winds that there are still warnings avalanches towards the north, heavy rains across parts of turkey and the balkans and we are watching this massive rain approaching the bay of biscay, which looks set to be quite a nasty storm for iberia into fronts, pushing weather fronts northwards towards the uk, bringing milder weather with it but nevertheless some quite nasty stormy weather through the bay of biscay. as for here in the uk, we will see ourfair share of biscay. as for here in the uk, we will see our fair share of sunshine and showers. a little bit of snow over the hills, ben will have much more in around half an hour. hello, i‘m ros atkins, this is outside source. these are the main stories here in the bbc newsroom. the eu says it has a long list of american imports that will be hit by tariffs if its steel and aluminium are targeted by the us. the white house says that‘s

going to happen this week. british police say a nerve agent was used in attempted murder a former russian spy in the uk. if you want to get in touch... #bbcos is the hashtag. ok, deep breath. let‘s start out coverage of the us mid—term elections. not for a few months... texas has held the first primaries of the midterm election season. in the coming months across the us, voters will vote on candidates for this election. the mid—terms will decide who controls congress, state legislatures and a number of key governorships. if you want detailed analysis,

the washington post has a good break down of today‘s results. a few takeaways... a lot more women won in primaries here. the turnout of democratic voters has surged. and high—profile republican ted cruz might have a fight on his hands. let‘s go live to austin, texas. anthony is there for us. you have gone home and working! a good combination! working out quite well! a very interesting primary in texas, ted cruz is going to have a legitimate opponent, a democratic member of congress from el paso, campaigning throughout the state and beat ted cruz in fundraising. he is no slouch himself. he will be his opponent. it would take a big wave,

this is a conservative state, but lots of people on a national level say this could be the upset, if democrats are doing as well as people think they are, with conventional wisdom at this point. people think they are, with conventional wisdom at this pointlj think of texas being a huge sea of republicans with a small island of democrats in austin. what is going on across the state? it is notjust austin, texas. lots of big cities have become increasingly blue, dallas, san antonio always democratic, houston and key congressional races, the house of representatives races that could decide who controls the house of representatives in november, some of the key races are in texas, there was a district in san antonio, will herd, second term republican, hillary clinton was carried by eight percentage points and several democrats think they have a good chance. there is a race in dallas,

and in houston, and a democratic race in houston is interesting because it highlights some of the divides within the democratic party, several establishment democrats running for that seat to go against culbertson, he is at risk, the incumbent republican, but the person in the top two, lauren mozer, supported by the grassroots bernie sanders weighing and the congressional democrats dropped information harmful to her before the election, thinking they could not provide because they think she is too liberal to win but she finished in the run—off and could be the nominee. that is assorted divide in the democrats people are worried about, are those progressives going to cause trouble in some of these races ? to cause trouble in some of these races? congress, as you have explained, the republicans hold both houses of congress, that makes donald trump‘s life easier but is there any possibility in the mid—terms but one of the houses could flip? there is a possibility,

people look at the house of representatives as the easier task because of the lay of the map in the senate, only a third of senate seats are up in this year‘s collections and a lot of those are democrats trying to defend states that donald trump carried. there are lots of seats were democrats get eight, nine, 10% bump over past years, they could win. hear in texas, suburban districts, california, florida, some of the midwest seats are filled to republicans over the past few years, everybody is looking at the house of representatives, the democrats would have to pick up about 20 seats to make this happen but in a wave election like 2006 with the democrats, and in those elections you can see 30 or 40 seat swings. thank you very much. live from austin with that incredible blue sky early afternoon in texas! saudi arabia‘s crown prince, mohammed bin salman, is meeting queen elizabeth today

at buckingham palace. he‘s in the uk for three days. he met theresa may, there they are at the front of number 10. we‘ve just see this statement from downing street that they‘ve agreed an ambition for around £65 billion of mutual trade. significant announcement, that will go down well with both parties and you may have noticed in london there has been a big pr push. these billboards have appeared around london. telling us about saudi arabia and mohammed bin salman, he is the centralfigure at mohammed bin salman, he is the central figure at the moment. now mohammed bin salman is behind a major push to liberalise the country. to be honest, it would have been hard to go in the other direction, given how the country‘s been run. he has made significant announcements. women have been allowed to go to football matches,

they will soon be able to drive and cinemas are opening after a 35 year ban was lifted in december. there‘s also a huge effort to stop the saudi economy being so oil dependent. let‘s remember, mohammed bin salman is also defence minister. he‘s overseeing a foreign policy that includes a significant involvement in the conflict in yemen, both with its use of air strikes and a blockade. to understand the importance of saudi arabia, i spoke with our chief international correspondent lyse doucet. in the middle east riyadh is the capital of capitals, one of the most important players in the region and are very important players in the region and are very close strategic partnership with president trump‘s administration and very much taking the lead whether it comes to intelligence cooperation, but will be high on the agenda in talks with theresa may, but in terms of trying to chart a strategy which says iran

is the main risk in the region and that plays out in neighbouring yemen. i would imagine theresa may's priority, what is the one parity for the saudis? for both it is to say this is an important strategic relationship with economic benefits for both, the saudi kingdom has money to invest and they want to continue to buy arms from the uk and the uk was to sell arms, were one of the uk was to sell arms, were one of the biggest arm sellers to the saudi kingdom and theresa may has this idea of becoming more global with brexit and mohammed bin salman helps selma agenda and britain was to say, we are good friends and because of that we can be very frank. britain has been putting pressure on saudi arabia for some time to say, you have to bring an end to this war, the reputational risk is too big and yes, the houthis are causing civilian casualties by indiscriminate bombing but the saudi

led coalition bombing is causing the greatest amount of casualties. that is why we have protests in london. this big pr push, saying we have changed and we are changing and saudi arabia is exciting. you meet a lot of the senior figures, you buy this? undeniably, i have been going there every six months and every timei there every six months and every time i go something is different, when it comes to social reform, opening up the economy, undeniably it is changing and it is the 32—year—old crown prince doing this along with his allies and friends, trying to drag the kingdom into the zist trying to drag the kingdom into the 21st century. it seems so banal to us 21st century. it seems so banal to us that women can drive and you have cinemas and women can go to sports stadiums and they can work. but that has been denied to saudi women for so long and that is changing so on social reform he is a reformer and the kingdom needs him. politically,

any suggestion of dissent is quickly suppressed. they have to do more when it comes to that front and on the economy he is trying to diversified the kingdom away from what he has described as this addiction to oil. it is a mixed picture which is why it is important for countries like britain to talk to the young prince because he is going to be there for a long time and he says he wants to reform, his kingdom is waiting. thank you very much. don‘t forget, you can get much more detail on our top stories on our website. one of our colleagues from the bbc russian service — farida rustamova — has accused a senior russian politician — of sexual harassment. she is the third journalist to openly make allegations against leonid slutsky, who has denied the accusations. this is farida. who has denied the accusations.

she says that last year, during an interview in his office, slutsky suggested they sleep together. he also allegedly stroked her groin area. bbc russian‘s nina naza rova has more. according to farida rustamova, in march last year when she went to check a comment from leonid slutsky, according to her words, mr slutsky unexpectedly change the conversation and offered for her to become his lover. when my colleague refused, he told her, drop by my office, i miss you and the unexpectedly approached. and then with his open palm, he touched her groin area and she protested and he told her not to worry because he was ready to help her. mr slutsky was recorded... mr slutsky was recorded saying,

"i don‘t feel people up". "well, ok, just a little". the story is on bbcrussian.com. it reports that the incident was recorded on a dictaphone. the bbc has this, but decided not to broadcast the audio. let‘s hear more from nina. we don‘t have laws here to cover sexual harassment, improper touching and offers other sexual nature. the law here condemns coercion of others into acts of a sexual nature, suggesting threats and blackmail so for my colleagues and others who have suffered from harassment, there is no point in even bothering the police. every day on the programme we try to take you to different parts of the world... in sierra leone more than 3 million people have been voting for a new president and parliament. this is president ernest bai koroma he is standing down after serving

two five—year terms. there are now 16 candidates vying for hisjob. some of the key election issues are... the economy, after the price of one of their major exports — iron ore — collapsed. also health, after the ebola crisis, and education. the bbc‘s umaru fofana has been following the day‘s developments in freetown. very long queues snaking their way throughout the capital of free time. voters pouring onto the streets, despite the presence of police and soldiers and with restrictions on the movement of vehicles. and some voters‘s enthusiasm is reinforced by the desire for basic services. voters‘s enthusiasm is reinforced by the desire for basic serviceslj voters‘s enthusiasm is reinforced by the desire for basic services. i am very excited, it is very good to exercise my rights as a citizen. for

the first time, we don't want the disappointment from our candidates. i expect much from the next leader. they should always try to satisfy our needs. education, social services. clean water, these are the priorities. from these policies. there has been no reports of major incidents and the initial reaction from observers gives this a clean bill of health, echoed by the observer group. but we're getting from some of our people is they are, we have about 60 observers around the country. what they are seeing is encouraging. this is not to say we don‘t expect the odd bump or two along the way but thus far, things are encouraging. at this polling

station there are complaints the process going on inside is pretty slow. people have been standing in this queue for more than five hours waiting to cast their ballot but they say they will remain patient until they can do just that. the results will be announced within one week and if none of the 16 candidates gets 55% of the vote, the top two will face off in a run—off, that second round taking place at the end of march. a horrific story from south africa at... mendy iguana, a south african try alan sugar triathlete attacked on the way to his early morning training session, this happened in durban. at the time his training partner said they were being robbed but the details are even more disturbing, we are told he was dragged from the road and i was sure you the account of the south african olympic triathlete, henry ‘s goodman, who said... there are many other ways of

describing this. we are told that gwa la describing this. we are told that gwala has been through surgery. this is dennis jackson from south africa‘s elite athletic programme, with more on his condition. we have been waiting all afternoon, there was quite a long surgery, close to seven hours, the doctors did say they were going to be meticulous about this and give him the bestjob possible and it seems they have done this, they have saved his leg, that was in the most danger of losing. we have some good news, which is great. i think it is too soon to say a thing about his career prospects. journey he has had an amazing last week, coming to where he is in terms of determination and strength so i would not put it past him to come

back, this will take some time, this has been a massive trauma to him and the news today, tonight, that he is coming through the surgery and everything has gone well, i would not put it past him for mhlengi gwa la not put it past him for mhlengi gwala to rise past this and come back. we wish him well. the head of recycling governing body is calling foran recycling governing body is calling for an investigation into team sky following the damning report by members of parliament earlier this week. david lappartient has told the bbc that the findings of enquiry into doping in sport were unacceptable and could affect the global credibility of cycling. the report accused team sky and sir bradley wiggins of having crossed an ethical line by using drugs allowed under anti—dumping rules to enhance performance instead of just under anti—dumping rules to enhance performance instead ofjust using them for medical purposes. from switzerland, here is dan roan. they may be the dominant force in cycling but the pressure is on team sky. today they tried to focus on their

latest race in italy. but it is the way they have one of the past that is under scrutiny. team sky have admitted mistakes following this week‘s damning report by a parliamentary committee but today there was powerful figure parliamentary committee but today there was powerfulfigure in parliamentary committee but today there was powerful figure in the sport told me that was not good enough. a mistake is something you have done without attention —— intention to being wrong. the report is different. it seems like it was organised. so it is maybe not a mistake. which is different. that could affect the credibility globally of our support and that is why i am concerned. the mps alleged sir bradley wiggins used asthma drugs to boost performance and not just from medical need when he rode for team sky, acclaim both they and he deny. do you feel an ethical line was crossed, as the mps suggest?m the report, what i read... when you

can see that substances were used, not for health problems but to increase their performance, then, yes, that is something unacceptable for me. if it is not breaking the rules, can it be cheating? if you are using substances to increase your performance, i think this is exactly what is cheating. despite the controversy, sir dave brailsford remains in charge of team sky but the party and told me he wants the anti—doping division to launch their own enquiry. i want them to investigate and to see if there is any violation of anti—doping rules. britain‘s top rider, chris froome, continues to compete despite an

adverse drugs test last year and the tea m adverse drugs test last year and the team sky star who defend his title in the tourde team sky star who defend his title in the tour de france this summer with the case still unresolved. what would be the effect of that? that would be the effect of that? that would be a disasterfor cycling, from a legal point of view he has a right to ride but for our sport that could be a disaster. the ucl president once chris froome to withdraw until either he clears his name or is banned. the road to reputational recovery could be a long one. dan is reporting on this story and that is essential, if you are story and that is essential, if you a re interested story and that is essential, if you are interested on following this on twitter for updates, as he are interested on following this on twitterfor updates, as he chases further developments... we keep learning more about the 48 hour visit by a south korean delegation to north korea. we already knew their two leaders may now meet. it‘s also emerged that the south koreans were given a letter from kim jong—un to the united states. that will be delivered to america when officials go

to washington next week. there have already been indications north korea may be willing to engage with the trump administration. up until now, dennis rodman, retired basketball star, is the highest profile american to meet kim jong—un. here‘s donald trump yesterday on the idea of a meeting. i think that they are sincere but i think they are also sincere because the sanctions and what we are doing with respect to north korea, including the great help we have been given from china, and they can do more, but i think they have done more than they certainly have done for our country before... america has imposed new sections on north korea. that is because it concluded pyongyang was behind the

assassination of a half—brother of kimjong—nam, you might remember this, killed last year by a chemical agent at kuala lumpur airport in malaysia. the russians are not keen on these sanctions. this and... translation: other sanctions, although motivated by the situation on the korean peninsula, are being imposed in addition to the existing sanctions. bypassing the un security council. the sanctions are illegitimate in our view. we know sections are hurting north korea, and that is why there is scepticism about this new approach from kim jong—un. this is the assessment of the south korean president... translation: i think we're at a very crucial moment regarding the peace and the neutralisation of the korean peninsula. we‘re only at the starting line and it is too early to be optimistic. that was a president, he are some other south koreans.

translation: until now north korea has always sought to negotiate when facing hard times. still, there have been so many cases where they would then make a slick move from behind. we really should not fall for this again, especially this time. dialogue is mrs rae. they need to talk and discuss measures, this is a short cut to unification, even if not arrived. —— even if not right away. i wonder if you have seen this video already on your phone... it has been shared a lot already. this is a video of a british diver swimming through a sea of plastic rubbish. instead, in this film you see plastic bags, straws and other rubbish floating all around. and they are a symptom of indonesia‘s plastic problem. it produces 130,000 tons of plastic waste every day and half reaches landfill. this film is from nusa penida island in indonesia — this is somewhere where you‘ll also

see manta rays and tropical fish. well, the diver is rich horner — he‘s spoken to the bbc. you can see the occasional cloud of this and it comes and go with the currents that was horrifying, that i mind. ithink currents that was horrifying, that i mind. i think all the stuff i have seen mind. i think all the stuff i have seen has been from indonesia but with the indonesian masters current we have dominating, it could come from further north, in the north and south east of asia. every single bottle just collects, they are not on the ground for a long and actively ship them back to the plant in bali and they are recycled but general plastic waste, i don‘t think thatis general plastic waste, i don‘t think that is collected enough so a lot of people do with that themselves. makes for a people do with that themselves. makes fora grim people do with that themselves. makes for a grim viewing. a reminder of the lead story, coming from

washington, donald trump and the white house telling us by the end of the week we should have details of the week we should have details of the of tariffs the president was to introduce on aluminium and steel, the eu has responded by saying if you do that, here is a long list of products imported into the european union which can also expect tariffs to be applied. they will have to see how that develops. another story relating to the president is today he has been sued by former adult starclaiming he has been sued by former adult star claiming they had an affair and a deal that he signed with her is void. see you tomorrow... in the depths of the cold spell last week you might have struggled to imagine that temperatures would ever climb above freezing, let alone double digits. but that is exactly what is going to happen as we head into the weekend. it will turn

increasingly mild, some rain at times and the snow is not completely done with yet. this weather system running across southern and central areas through the first part of thursday is likely to provide some snow for the hills of wales, the north midlands and northern england but maybe even lower levels for a time. largely rain elsewhere and in any case it will have cleared away to the east by lunchtime. the afternoon is largely dry with sunshine and a scattering of showers drifting from the west and temperatures already into double digits in the south, 10 degrees in london. friday, a lot of dry weather and spells of sunshine after any early mist patches have cleared and still showers across scotland, wintry over high ground and the south, this rain pushing across the channel islands into the far south—west by the end of friday. and that will be a big feature of the weather for the start of the weekend. this frontal system pushing northwards during friday night into saturday, taking the rain with it, low— pressure saturday, taking the rain with it, low—pressure taking up residence to

the south—west but the position of this is crucial because it will drag up this is crucial because it will drag up some pretty mild airfrom the south, many of us seeing a notable left in those temperatures but with that bit was see outbreaks of rain across wales, northern ireland and southern scotland, some of that heavy and perhaps turning to snow over high ground in the north. look at these temperatures, towards the south, 13 or maybe even 14 degrees. a long time since we have seen that. sunday, this band about weather a sliding northwards across scotland and even here most of that is rain by this stage as amanda eyre continues to progress northwards. further south, murky with mist and fog around and some rain into the south—east and many places into double digits, even further north, temperatures of 8 degrees in edinburgh. low—pressure dominating into the start of the new working week. a lot of uncertainty about where these individual web systems

will be at this stage, there will be spells of rain at times and generally a lot of cloud but some brighter glances coming through here and there. those temperatures maybe not quite as high as the weekend in the south but still 11 or 12 degrees, seven across northern and eastern scotland. what is going on? it is down to the jet stream, next week it will remain largely to the south of the uk but noticed this little tip in the jet stream that develops towards the end of the week. that could spend up a fairly deep area of low pressure, giving the potential for a windy weather. certainly the potential for wet weather, and as that low—pressure crypts further east, that could open the floodgates to some slightly colder air returning from the north by the end of the week. not as cold as last week but certainly a different feel after those double digits over the weekend. next week, rain at times, equally sunny spells also. it will sometimes be windy,

just the chance that it could turn culture later. but nothing like as cold as last week and before we get there, we will get to see some pretty high temperatures. tonight at 10, scotland yard reveals that a nerve agent was used to poison a former russian spy and his daughter in salisbury. a police officer is also in a serious condition. these are new images of sergei skripal. he and his daughter yulia are still critically ill after the attack on sunday. having established that a nerve agent is the cause of the symptoms, leading us to treat this as attempted murder, i can also confirm that we believe the two people who originally became unwell were targeted specifically. police are still searching tonight. there are hundreds of officers involved but they are not giving more details of the substance used. we‘ll have the latest on the investigation, as moscow complains of black propaganda being directed against russia. also tonight...

newly—released images of the teenager accused of planting a bomb on a london underground train last september.