hello. this is the briefing. i'm maryam moshiri. our top story: "horrific and unsubsta ntiated". russia once again denies any involvement in the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter. south korea's ousted president awaits her fate. a court is due to deliver its verdict on corruption charges. making history. why south african swimmer chad le clos is hoping to break records at the commonwealth games. and sweet teeth, beware. the uk's sugar tax hits soft drinks near you from today, in an effort to fight obesity. but critics say taxation is not the right way to change behaviour. i'll be speaking to the chief executive of the food and drink federation, ian wright, about that in business briefing. hello.

a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. you can be part of the conversation too. the introduction here in the uk of that sugar tax. would that make you buy less sugary drinks? and should it be the government's talk to tell us how to live? tell us what you think. tust use the hashtag, #bbcthebriefing. our top story. a dramatic session at the un security council in new york. russia's ambassador has made a strongly worded speech, describing claims that moscow was behind a nerve agent attack in the uk as "horrific and unsubsta ntiated". russia has accused the uk of poisoning its relations with other countries. chris buckler reports. the discovery of two people lying

unconscious on a bench in an english town has resulted in an international investigation and an increasingly bitter diplomatic dispute. the uk continues to claim that russia poisoned serb air and yulia skripal using the nerve agent novichok, an allegation moscow denies with increasing anger. translation: we have told a british colleagues, you are playing with fire and you will be sorry. they called a meeting of the un security council to create a global spotlight, to make threats and to create doubts about what britain has said. / is clear that there has been attem pts said. / is clear that there has been atte m pts to said. / is clear that there has been attempts to delegitimise russia. —— it is. there has also been a refusal to allow its officials to be

implicated in the substance used in the attack. in this particular instance, the arsonist wishes to investigate his own fire. the uk insist it has secret intelligence information that implicates russia in the attack and that is the conclusion that has international support from dozens of other countries. and at the un, russia insisted again that the uk has no real evidence. it denies even producing novichok, the nerve agent used. it was meant to muddy the waters, to distort and distracts, to put out alternative possibilities, to put the united kingdom on the defensive. to suggest that there are holes in the evidence and testimony the united kingdom is putting out there. amid what has become a propaganda battle, russian television played a recording of a television played a recording of a

television called alleged to be between it yulia skripal antepartum. both she and her father still recovering in salisbury. —— and her cousin. work to to decontaminate parts of the city is yet to get under way, but this will leave lasting damage to russia's relationship with the uk and much of the world. shortly, a court in seoul will sentence the former south korean president, park geun—hye, for her part in a corruption scandal which led to her being removed from office. she faces 18 charges, including bribery, abuse of power and coercion. the bbc‘s laura bicker joins us now from seoul. is outside the courtroom. just remind us exactly what the charges are and where they stem from. —— shears. well, park geun-hye is charged with using her presidential influence to brian has companies in

south korea. —— drive. —— bribe. she is thought to have taken millions it helped her old friend. prosecutors are seeking a 30 year sentence for park geun—hye, many are wondering what is hill sentence exactly wondering what is hill sentence exa ctly s he wondering what is hill sentence exactly she will get. you can probably hear behind me these are supporters of president park, they have been consistent in their protest at her imprisonment, her impeachment and the trial, and they are going to march, they say, to the centre of seoul. but it is also interesting to remember on the other side of this argument, those who believe that park geun—hye was

guilty, took to the street for 17 weeks. millions of people in the sweep of candlelight protest were the reason that she was impeached in the reason that she was impeached in the first place. it is seen as a victory for people power here in south korea, while in one hour's times the verdict will be televised ina way times the verdict will be televised in a way it to try to make this more transparent, to try to show people that justice will transparent, to try to show people thatjustice will be done and i think there will be a number of people tuning in just to see exactly what sentence you will get. and what are we expecting in terms of sentencing, and will the sentencing reflects perhaps public feeling? well, that will be the interesting thing. i mean when you speak to people who, politicians will tell you that they are both heartened and kind of worried by the latest protests. what they see is that people here in seoul are taking power into their own hands, they are no longer looking for an autocratic

rule, no longer in for autocratic rule. they want democracy and when it comes to this kind of transparency within the court system, within many of the corporations across the country, they want to see that something is being done. —— looking for. that is maybe why this whole verdict is being televised. also, they want to see changes in the future will stop changes and more transparency within the political system. already, this scandal has seen the samsung chairman jailed and the lote chairman jailed and the lote chairman gerald, although the samsung air has since been freed. i think that is what people will be looking for today. —— jailed. think that is what people will be looking for today. -- jailed. thank you very much. let's brief you on some of the other stories

making the news. south africa's recently deposed president, jacob zuma, is due in court to face charges of corruption relating to a government arms deal in the late 1990s. he's accused of taking thousands of pounds worth of bribes from a french defence manufacturer. scores of his followers have been holding an all night vigil ahead of the proceedings, singing songs in support of the former president. president trump has denied knowing that his lawyer paid the porn star stormy daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she says she had with mr trump in 2006. on board the presidentialjet, air force one, mr trump also told journalists he did not know where his lawyer, michael cohen, had obtained the money. one of bollywood's biggest stars, salman khan, has been sentenced to five years in prison for poaching rare blackbuck antelope. the case dates back to 1998. khan, who's 52, has appeared in more than 100 films. his lawyer has said they will appeal the sentence on friday.

now, from today, shoppers buying sugary drinks here in the uk face a hefty new tax. it's all in a bid to cut obesity rates and encourage healthier choices. jeremy cook is the chief economist of the payments company, world first. jeremy, i do not know how being chief economist at payments company will affect your sugary drinks habits that you are a human being like anyone else and ultimately, does this make sense healthwise? a lot of people arguing making you pay more for sugary drinks will not make people buy less. it is interesting, we are not the first country to do this. france has done this, mexico has done this, and while there was a year term deep in the year after the imposition of the tax as people thought 0k, imposition of the tax as people thought ok, that drink is now beta

596 thought ok, that drink is now beta 5% more expensive, it does not seem to work further forward. people are substituting other calories for sugary drinks's calories, and so the net result of what makes you fat will keane has not actually change that much. some are saying that a lot of companies have actually changed sugar content of their products in the wake of this tax. -- has not actually change that much. for a lot of members of society, they are getting it there calories a lot of sugary foodstuffs and if we are seeing cut already, then there may be taxing them a little bit after the fact. it is not only about obesity, is that? it is also about children and dental problems as well. we are seeing a huge amount of kids coming in the school already

obese, it is about the educational stance, not just within obese, it is about the educational stance, notjust within schools and teenagers, but getting into schools about very sugary soft drinks and juices for water. we will talk to again in about half an hourfor the paper review. hungary holds a parliamentary election on sunday with the governing fidesz party, led by la rger—than—life prime minister viktor 0rban, hoping for re—election. but a surprise by—election win for the opposition two months ago electrified the campaign, as nick thorpe reports from budapest. this is the man who put hungary on the map. viktor 0rban can still pull the map. viktor 0rban can still pull the crowd. at 5a he has been in politics all of his adult life and opinion polls suggest he could win his third victory in a row. he has based his campaign around a single theme, national sovereignty,

defending hungary and europe from the perils of globalisation and immigration. translation: there are those who wa nt translation: there are those who want us to hand our country over to foreigners, coming from other continents, who do not speak our language, who do not respect our culture, our laws or way of life. people who want to replace what is oui’s people who want to replace what is ours with what is theirs. viktor 0rban‘s fidesz party faces an extremely diverse opposition. the opposition can only win if they unite to defeat the fidesz party. peter marki—zay is the poster boy of the opposition, he scored a surprise victory in a by—election in february and now to as the country supporting independent candidate. am convinced that this election is about corruption and it is not about migration. migration is the european

history issue and the solution must be european solution. on the south of the country to the north, the leader ofjobbik, the strongest opposition party. —— is a european issue. he has stirred his far right party towards the centre of the hungarian vertical landscape. the inflation that the real stake in this election is not whether hungary becomes a far right country, it won't, but whether it remains a country for immigration. it viktor 0rban wins again, many will live with a heavy heart. you on the shores of the danube, the hungarian parliament awaits its new deputies. there are 199 seats to be filled. —— here. stay with us on the briefing. also on the programme: when sumo goes wrong.

why officials issued an apology to the women who were trying to administer emergency first aid. this funeral became a massive demonstration of black power, the power to influence. today is about the promise of a bright future, a day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past. i think that picasso's works were beautiful, they were intelligent, and it's a sad loss to everybody who loves art. you're watching the briefing.

0ur headlines: the russian ambassador to the un has warned britain it is "playing with fire" in accusing moscow of poisoning the former double agent, sergei skripal, and his daughter. a court in south korea is expected to deliver its verdict later on the former president, park geun—hye, who was forced from office in a corruption scandal last year. spain's foreign minister alfonso dastis has told the bbc he's hopeful that bilateral brexit negotiations between spain and the uk will lead to a deal over gibraltar by the summer, providing talks stay on track. the two sides have been negotiating since the start of the year. the minister said the biggest priority in brexit negotiations for spain will be ensuring that they can jointly manage gibraltar airport.

gavin lee spoke to the foreign minister. we are having very constructive conversations. we have made, i think —— met already, three orfour times. what we want is to solve some of the irritants that have plagued our relations in the last few years, such as lack of transparency in the tax system is in gibraltar, questions having to do with the controls at the border. one of the big issues is the airport. spain wa nts big issues is the airport. spain wantsjoint big issues is the airport. spain wants joint management of the airport. what does that mean? 50—50? i wouldn't go into exact figures. the problem, as you know, is that the airport is located in a piece of land that was not seated under the

treaty of utrecht. we cannot accept there is british jurisdiction treaty of utrecht. we cannot accept there is britishjurisdiction over that piece of land. but at the same time, we want to use the airport to the benefit of the population in gibraltar and the surrounding area. we think it will be best for all of us we think it will be best for all of us if we could manage itjointly. we think it will be best for all of us if we could manage it jointly. in everyday terms, does that mean potentially having gibraltar airport as an eu arrivals at airport or having a terminal which is partly spanish eu and a separate one for gibraltar? well, we will have to work out which exact terms will be. we have tried twice. 0nce work out which exact terms will be. we have tried twice. once it was rejected by the uk, the second time it was rejected like us. maybe third time lucky. and i think, yes, if we gotan time lucky. and i think, yes, if we got an agreement on the joint management of the airport, that will mean that the airport would be

included in the single european sky. so it would be used for flights towards europe and outside of europe. it is something that britain wa nts europe. it is something that britain wants and the eu wants a deal on brexit by october so it can be ratified by other governments. are you hopeful that it will be done perhaps away before then? —— way before. we definitely determined to defend our position, so i don't exclude anything. but we definitely working towards having an agreement with comic if all 0ctober, even possible by the summer. but we hope and we see that there is also from the british side also, a position that works towards it. —— before. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. in the coming hours, the trial of man accused

of killing irish tourist danielle mclaughlin in goa last year begins. the charges are murder, rape, robbery and disrupting evidence. the deadline is looming for lula, a judge has ordered the former brazilian president to hand himself in to police to begin his twelve year prison sentence for corruption. and later nasa will hold a media preview of its insight mission to mars which will probe the planets interior after launching in may. let's get the latest from the commonwealth games being held at australia's gold coast. the bbc‘s chris mitchell is there. chris, the swimmers will hit the pool tonight, and all eyes are on south africa's chad le clos? they certainly are on chad le clos. he is going in three finals this evening, it is a good job he is in the pool because it is a sweltering day on the gold coast too. everybody

will want to be in there. it is a beautiful venue, i say best of the venues on the gold coast. about the swimming, it really is the focus at the moment, the premier event. at today's papers in australians. i hope you can see that because what you see there are is big mac, that is mac horton, who won the first gold in the pool forced rally last night. what does this mean? it means he renders this to a little sidebar, sally pearson pulling out of the gains. here is the other one. it is mack and ease. it is all on the pool mack and ease. it is all on the pool, all on chad le clos tonight, he is going in three finals. that is not the half of it. you might remember, he is the south african who beat michael phelps in 2012 stop it he is going on seven events here

in australia and if he gets a medal in each of those, he is going to do something really really special as steve parry explained to me earlier. he would have to meddle in every event but he could leave, what gains as the most decorated athlete ever, which would be great to see. that said, he has a lot of connotations. james guy from england in the butterfly even. i don't think he will have it all his own way. there you go. that is steve parry, he got a bronze medal behind michael phelps at the olympics in 200a. can chad le clos do it? it is certainly something to talk about if he did. he isa something to talk about if he did. he is a real star, but he has had a real parable, tough few years since london 2012. rio didn't go very well, as he said himself, he can back with just two silver medals. his parents were both diagnosed with

cancer and he has had to move away from south africa because he found that his focus wasn't on slimming and he is training in turkey. he gets his campaign in the pool under way to night. so too, adam peaty, the british breast stroke of. he goesin the british breast stroke of. he goes in the 100 metres to night, he came to beat his own sensational world record that he set in rio, i have been speaking to the bbc‘s swimming commentator who said that in his heat he didn't look very good. he qualified fastest nonetheless. already we have had a medal this morning, it went to india, two gold medals for them, they are third. the defending champion from glasgow said afterwards it was a lot easier in glasgow, but i am happy i still one. that is all from me here, but remember, out there is the

commonwealth games, it is beautiful. so make sure you come back. you lucky man. the head of japan's sumo association has issued an apology after several women were ordered to leave the ring, despite administering emergency first aid. the incident happened at a local tournament near kyoto in western japan. caroline rigby has more. the moment two women rushed to help perform life—saving treatment, on a man who collapsed while giving a speech at. yet, over the loudspeaker they are repeatedly ordered to leave. under the sports coat, women are can “— leave. under the sports coat, women are can —— are considered ritually unclean. women have been considered impure because of multi— escalation, it is an extension of a shrine and thatis it is an extension of a shrine and

that is a god buried in the centre of the ring. to avoid defiling that. ‘s space, the females are not allowed in. sport of sumo is centuries old and still contains many ancient rituals, but some have accused it of failing to modernise. this latest incident unlikely to put an end to such criticism. the japan's sumo association has apologised, saying: this is an embarrassing episode for a sport that is already trying to rebuild its image in the wake of recent scandals, including mac fixing, gambling and various high—profile cases of assault. the mayor is recovering in hospital, in part, thanks to the actions of female medics who is dead to step into the ring. —— who bared. —— who dared. stay with me on bbc news, i'll be back with the business

briefing in just a few moments. and tell me what you think about our talking point today, the sugar tax introduced here in the uk. let us know your thoughts. use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. what you think about the sugar tax? you think it will stop you buying more sugary drinks or do you think it is just another way the government is getting involved in oui’ government is getting involved in our business and our daily health? join the conversation, on twitter. stay with us here on bbc news. so much more to come. hello. says they looked like it would be a

great day for the greater part of the british isles and our weather watch captured at. scotland down towards the south coast and across the irish sea and into northern ireland. length here, isuspect. that is rather crawl to show that picture and bring you the message, friday will be another decent day for most areas, because belfast and indeed of northern ireland it isn't going to be a fine day and you'll know that from the word go. more mild than some but certainly wetter than most. this is the big picture. a low pressure out in the atlantic and it is throwing this weather front in towards the northern and western parts of the british isles. the other crucial factor is that the brees is coming from the south. 0n the eastern flank of that area of low pressure we the eastern flank of that area of low pressure we are the eastern flank of that area of low pressure we are sucking up a bit of relatively mild air across france

and liberia towards the british isles. so if you can stay dry and you keep a bit of sunshine, many south—eastern part of the british isles will do, then your temperatures will respond. there is the getting away from the fact that northern and western parts of scotland, northern ireland until late in the day and maybe the western fringes of wales, you will all see brain. ‘sis western fringes of wales, you will all see brain. ‘s is the prospect as i take you out a friday and into saturday. pushing that area of rain for the most part away, north of scotland. —— see brain. in fact, there is a bit of a link back to what we suspect will happen across the greater part of england as we get on through saturday. don't take the area to literally but i think many parts of central and eastern england will at some point system rain during the course of the day. temperatures have a bit of brightness could be pushing to around 16— 17. but because of that

southerly flow, all of us will keep out averages double figures. again, some uncertainty about exactly where that rain is going to fall across south—eastern parts. elsewhere, a scattering of showers but again hello. this is business briefing. i'm maryam moshiri. our top stories: sweet teeth, beware. the uk's sugar tax hits soft drinks near you from today, in an effort to fight obesity. but critics say taxation is not the right way to change behaviour. and it's a whale of a tale. we take a closer look at the beluga. a super aircraft made to transport huge airplane parts, and now it's getting even bigger. who said size doesn't matter? and on the markets. asian stocks were choppy on friday morning as president trump warned of further tariffs on china.