hello. this is bbc news. i'm mariko oi. our top stories — brazil's former president lula fights his 12—yearjail sentence as his lawyers ask the supreme court to suspend his prison order. us shares slide after president trump threatens new tariffs on china. doctors say sergei skripal, the former russian spy poisoned with a nerve agent, is making a rapid recovery. police in new york charge martial arts fighter conor mcgregor with assault and criminal mischief. hello. the former president of brazil, luis inacio lula da silva, has defied a court deadline to surrender to police and start

a 12—year prison sentence for corruption. his lawyers are in negotiations with the authorities and have vote —— filed a motion to the supreme court. he was sentenced to 12 years for corruption but he says the charges are politically motivated. his supporters demanding no to jail for lula, and it seems brazilfor the former president is in no hurry to go. luis inacio lula da silva holed up in a union building in his hometown of sao bernardo do campo. hours after he was meant to surrender to police to start a 12 year prison term for corruption. his supporters say the conviction is political, dined to stop a man of the people who are running for

president in october. a poll that he was favourite to win. translation: is lula is arrested, it will be as if the underprivileged class was arrested as well. people will go in the street, people will go tomorrow and will not let anyone into to get him out. but the anti- lula voices arejust into to get him out. but the anti- lula voices are just as loud. outside the police headquarters, his detractors and a thief who belongs in prison. this isn't a carnival truck. instead, they are celebrating operation car wash, the huge anticorruption operation car wash, the huge anticorru ption investigation which led to his conviction. translation: i came herejust alli could see up close whether this crooked man, lula, goes to prison.

federal police have said they produced a special cell for lula in view of his importance. but with his legal team finding last—minute paperwork to keep out of reason, if and when he sees the inside of it remains to be seen. as fears of a trade war between the us and china escalate, stocks on wall street have ta ken another dive. the dowjones closed down 575 points, or 2.3 cents. —— just over 2%. president trump has threatened to slap an additional $100 billion of tariffs on chinese goods. the white house is putting the blame directly on beijing. this is something that china has created an president from these trying to fix it and we are moving forward in that process of trying to, we are going to continue putting pressure on china to stop any illegal and unfair trade practices

that they had continued in for decades. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent, chris buckler, in washington, and asked him if the markets were getting nervous. yeah, they don't like it, and there's talk of tariffs what may have once been looked on as threats is starting to result in real actions. would it have some suggestion that some of those ta riffs suggestion that some of those tariffs that china has suggested will be going into effect on monday. when you look at the range of being suggested, they cover a whole range of goods. they go from planes and pork to transport and technology, bourbon to beef. the reality is we have both america and china drawing up have both america and china drawing upa have both america and china drawing up a list in what is in real danger of becoming this tit—for—tat trade battle, and already there are some starting to let this be a trade war. talking tough as in all of this is president trump. he is the one that keeps on making these threats. there are others in the administration who are others in the administration who are trying to play this differently. we have had his economic adviser,

the treasury secretary vote out today saying, listen, there is still the potential for talk here, today saying, listen, there is still the potentialfor talk here, you wa nt to the potentialfor talk here, you want to talk to the chinese, we want to try and perhaps try and contain isa to try and perhaps try and contain is a little bit. these things suggested potentially could there be a deal here. but any deal could be complicated and certainly to spook the markets. supposedly, the ever so important meeting between president trump and kimjong—un takes important meeting between president trump and kim jong—un takes place next month, and china is of course a major player in all of that. yeah, you have to look at this in ways. there is diplomacy and there is economy. on the issue of economy, thatis economy. on the issue of economy, that is what president trump wants to particularly been to be tough. i think you are right when you say are pa rt think you are right when you say are part of that is about a domestic audience. he does want to be seen as tough on these issues, standing up for america. you hold —— heard all about america first rhetoric during the campaign and he had walked away from that. he also seems to

recognise that china is an important partner internationally and certainly he has talked in the past about his relationship with the president. you have these two men are very different approach is going on as faras are very different approach is going on as far as president trump is concerned, but also the administration, and it is worth mentioning that although this may play well with some voters, there are business leaders who are concerned about all of this. wall street, as we mentioned, it concern about all this, and although they have been playing down talk of a trade war, they really don't like that idea of mentioning a trade war, it has to be said that today whenever the treasury secretary was asks specifically about that, he said, we want to talk, but there is the potential of a trade war. that means both america and china has some thinking to do. at the moment, america seems to be talking more about tariffs and in response, you have china making very clear that they are quite prepared to take without a tory action yet again. ——

red halys three action. doctors treating the former russian spy who was attacked with a nerve agent in the uk say he's no longer in a critical condition. it's nearly five weeks since sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia, were found slumped on a park bench in salisbury. britain says russia is behind the poisonings, but moscow continues to deny any involvement. laila nathoo reports. they were targeted with a chemical weapon. sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia, seen here in newly released family photos taken in russia. they were hospitalised more than a month ago after being exposed to a nerve agent, a toxic chemical designed to shut down the human body. but they have been fighting its effects, and today, the hospital gave this update. as yulia herself says, her strength is growing daily, and she can look forward to the day when she's well enough to leave hospital. i also want to update you on the condition of her father, sergei skripal. he's responding well to treatment, improving rapidly, and is no longer in a critical condition.

it was on 4 march that the two were found incapacitated in the centre of salisbury. they were critically ill. a police officer, who was one of the first to respond to the incident, was also admitted to hospital. he was discharged a fortnight later. the skripals had been heavily sedated and unable to communicate. but last week, yulia regained consciousness. now herfather, too, appears to be making progress. it's fantastic news. somewhat unexpected, i think. we were concerned they were in a very serious state, but we heard earlier this week that yulia is getting better. but to hear that sergei skripal is also recovering well is also excellent news and i hope to hear more encouraging news in the weeks ahead. in a statement, a foreign office spokesperson said: yulia skripal is communicating.

yesterday, she put out a statement via the police, saying she was getting stronger daily. but it's not yet clear whether sergei skripal is recovering to the same extent. but how is it that either of them have been able to withstand the impact of such a deadly substance? there are so many variables that a poisoning from novichok might take. so you have the environmental conditions in which the poison might have been left and how they picked it up. the quantities that actually got into him. we hear that it's through the skin, which is a lot more of a protective barrier than, for example, if it was inhaled. so, overall, it's a pleasant surprise, good news for him and good news for the investigation. yulia, and perhaps herfather too, will now become crucial witnesses in the investigation, described by counterterror police as one of the largest and most complex they have ever carried out. leila nathoo, bbc news, salisbury. the united states has imposed sanctions on russian officials and companies accused of profiting

from president putin's efforts to undermine the west. the list includes oligarchs close to the president and a dozen companies they control. russia has vowed a ‘tough response'. our north america editor, jon sopel, has the details. i think it is important to say what these sanctions are not about. they are not about what has happened in salisbury and the response to that. we have already had 60 russian diplomats expelled because of that. it is about the annexation of crimea, the russian behaviour in theory are. make no mistake, these are aggressive moves, the most aggressive we have seen from the trump administration, and they are going to hit hardest those who are wealthiest and those who are closest to vladimir putin. i suppose the question that is legitimate to ask is why now given the events we are talking about is quite sometime ago.

it is as though donald trump didn't wa nt to it is as though donald trump didn't want to go down this path. he has made clear he wants to rebuild russia's relationship with the united states and so has congratulated that amir putin on his election victory, he has invited him to come here for talks at the white house. you have the administration introducing these very tough measures. it is as though we have gotan measures. it is as though we have got an administration that is trying to block both ways at once. palestinian officials say 10 people have died and hundreds more wounded during fresh protests along gaza's border with israel. the israeli army said it opened fire on people who tried to breach its frontier defences. the palestinians started holding demonstrations along the border a week ago, demanding refugees and their descendants be allowed to return to land which is now in israel. from gaza, yolande knell reports. billowing black smoke. young palestinians burn huge piles

of tyres as a smokescreen, as they hurl stones at israeli soldiers. who fire back with tear gas and bullets. this was another bloody friday on the gaza border. but ahmed, his son and grandsons came to peacefully protest and pray. as a toddler 70 years ago, ahmed lost nearly all his family and his village when the state of israel was created. i was one day expelled and deported from my original country of palestine, i want to return back again. i am here to tell them, i am, in a peaceful way, want to return back to my homeland. israel rejects the claims of palestinian refugees. its military says it's been acting here to stop mass infiltrations into israeli territory. it blames gaza's hamas leaders for stirring up violence. i've just come from the gaza border

and to my right are israeli homes, israeli communities, mothers and fathers trying to protect their children. and just a few football fields away are crowds gathering, who've made it clear that their intent is to wipe israel off the face of the map. the plan is to continue the border demonstration into the middle of next month. despite the obvious dangers, palestinians here say they'll keep up their protests, they'll keep pressing their demands and confronting israel. on the other side of the border, israel sees all of this as a huge provocation, and it's threatening a harsh response. stay with us on bbc news. still to come — a casual and cultural friday? the push to get more people wearing traditional kitenge dress in east africa. 55 years of hatred and rage have

come toppling down with the statues. this funeral became a massive demonstration of black power, of power to influence. today is about the promise of a bright future, the day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past. i think that picasso works are beautiful, they were intelligent, and it's a sad loss to everybody who loves art. this is bbc news.

our main headline: the legal team of brazil's former president lula asks the supreme court to suspend his 12—year jail sentence, hours after he was due to hand himself into police. let's get more on that story now. lula's holed up in a union building in his hometown of sao bernardo do campo. the bbc‘s katy watson is there. the deadline has been and gone, he has not handed himself in to the police. you can see people here are celebrating, they said it as a good thing, what happens now is very unknown. this is uncharted territory in brazil. brazil is a country known for its political drama. this is perhaps one of the most dramatic chapters in the soap opera. lula, lula!

lula is still supposedly holed up in the building behind me, he has been there since thursday night when the arrest warrant was issued. he has not actually come out and spoken, he has poked his head out from time to time, but he is still very much in there. and that is the issue, what happens now, will police come and arrest him, will his supporters stop those police from coming? the tension here in brazil this evening is high. katy watson in sao bernardo do campo. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. south korea's first female president, park geun—hye has been sentenced to 2a years prison after being found guilty of abuse of power, bribery and coercion. thejudge said ms park had conspired with a long—term friend to force some of south korea's biggest companies to hand over more than $20 million. ms park, who was not at the hearing, has denied any wrongdoing.

syrian activists say that heavy air strikes on the last rebel—held town in eastern ghouta have killed at least 32 civilians. the syrian observatory for human rights said dozens of air strikes had hit the town of douma. one of america's most influentialjazz pianists, cecil taylor, has died at the age of 89. born in new york and classically trained, cecil taylor developed his own style to become a leading exponent of avantgarde free jazz. mark zuckerberg, the boss of facebook, says the social media giant is tightening up its procedures for people wanting to place issue—based advertisements on the site. they will need to state who is paying or them. their identity will also be verified along with their location. is of the berg said he

wa nted location. is of the berg said he wanted to make it harderforfake news to be shared. —— mark zuckerberg said. our correspondent dave lee has this update from san francisco. one of these measures is to monitor the funding of advertising, to see where adverts that have been paid for by a campaign to be on facebook, to make sure that is completely clear. they want to make sure that anyone who is placing an advertisement and on facebook around political interests is being verified, and they will do that by making sure they are using a us government issued id, they will send an access code to a physical address in the us to prove that a person is based here, and only once they input that access code into facebook will they allowed to do any advertising. when it comes to large pages, they have many millions of followers, facebook will make some efforts to verify who is looking after those pages, to make sure they are who they say they are, because that was one thing russian interests did during the election campaign, they pretended to be americans running pages about american

politics, when in reality they were russian trolls, as has become known, operating out of st petersburg. two things facebook is hoping to do in order to make sure that this week used by russia perhaps cannot be used again. more than seven million companies, people use facebook advertising every single month, and so the idea that the company can go through each of those individually will be incredibly difficult. all of this comes ahead of some hearings next week in washington, mark zuckerberg himself is going to be in congress to answer questions on two separate days. i think many of these changes announced on friday here in california are going to be designed to make sure that mr zuckerberg can be in front of those senators and representatives saying that they are doing things, here are the measures they have put in place. whether those changes will be enough to keep politicians happy will remain to be seen, there is a lot of ground

that facebook has to make up before it can say they has the situation under control. but it does seem like things are going in the right direction. the mixed martial arts fighter conor mcgregor has been charged with assault and criminal mischief by police in new york. the former ufc champion, is accused of vandalising a bus containing rivalfighters. he's been released on bail as our sports correspondent richard conway reports. even in a sport where the hype comes as standard, conor mcgregor may have overplayed his hand. as the ultimate fighting championship, or ufc as it's known, held a media day in new york, mcgregor and his entourage stormed the backstage area, attacking a coach containing rivalfighters. video appears to show mcgregor throwing a metal trolley, while others rain objects towards the vehicle. with his privatejet grounded, the irishman turned

himself into police. and, after a night in the cells, was led to court today. a star of ufc, mcgregor‘s future in the sport now appears to be in jeopardy. it's disgusting. and i don't think anybody is going to be, you know, a huge conor mcgregor fan after this. ufc is hugely popular around the world. the company which organises and promotes the sport was sold two years ago for more than £3 billion. competitors use a combination of fists, knees, elbows and feet, in a mix of martial arts. chanting: we want conor! conor, the bbc, how are you? and within that world, there is no bigger attraction than mcgregor. supported by ufc, he turned to boxing last summer, taking on, but eventually losing to, floyd mayweatherjunior, in one of the most lucrative

pay—per—view bouts in history. as a master showman, he revels in creating a circus, courting controversy, and being outspoken. all publicity is said to be good publicity, especially for a man who has forged a career as a flamboyant outsider. but any criminal conviction could yet see conor mcgregor lose his right to work in america. richard conway, bbc news. dress down friday has become a part of corporate culture the world over. but how about a decree that you end your week in traditional african dress? it's actually not that new — over a decade ago, ghana did exactly that, to promote locally produced products. we sent our man—about—town, victor kenani, on a shopping trip in nairobi. the east african community recently

passed recommendations for its people to wear a kitenge on friday to represent the true culture of the people. welcome to the place where you can get different types of kitenge. we have something nigerian. we have from mali... what defines a kitenge? kitenge is an african print used in africa. for so many things. it is decoration for pillows and ta blecloths, it is decoration for pillows and tablecloths, it is also for fashion. for you, lets give you a pure cotton. i think ithinki i think i like it. it looks good. i think i like it. it looks goodlj am done with shopping and so i

should be expecting my suits in a day or so. the east african community thinks i look fabulous but what they don't tell you is that the kitenge does not have its roots in africa to begin with. the kitenge has its roots in indonesia where the weight print is known as arctic during the colonial era, the netherlands began to manufacture and trade them in africa with along the route back to indonesia. it is the next day and now the kitenge is ready. let's check it out. wow. a little colourful. i like it. but what do africans think? let's find out.

i also love wearing kitenge because it symbolises our originality as africans. you look gorgeous. so appealing. do look good. you look african. kitenge is classic. it rings out the africanism in new. and the colour matches. the verdict is out. more kitenge coming to you. hello once again.

i will update you on our latest thoughts about the weekend weather prospects in a second, but i think we need to mark friday as being the warmest day of the lot here in the heart of london. not the lot here in the heart of london. far behind in ti state, not far behind in the sunshine state, south wales but somebody had to have all the cloud and rain and initially that was northern ireland and then moved on into scotland. brame has captured dutifully here. the weekend, for the pessimists among you, cloudy damp and mild. will be some dry weather. this is how friday shaped up. the reason why we have the brightness down towards the south—east and the warmth was because the frontal system never actually made it down into the south—east and into the first part of saturday, the rain still drifting slowly towards the northern half of scotla nd slowly towards the northern half of scotland and then it arcs back from the north sea back down to a new area of cloud and rain in the

south—west. or that cloud means that the weekend will not start on a particular call now. that frontal system that i drew their straight—line, it will waive all over, particularly in the central and eastern parts of the british isles for a good part of the weekend. to its east, there is some relatively mild air to be had. as i say, we already have the temper to up. notfaroff say, we already have the temper to up. not far off the mark if we get a little brightness or perhaps further west, closer to that weather front, perhaps, the rain can be quite heavy for a perhaps, the rain can be quite heavy fora time, and perhaps, the rain can be quite heavy for a time, and as you see you've really only drifts slowly further north. eventually it could eventually end up in northern ireland or the scottish borders and eventually clear from the south to bea eventually clear from the south to be a bit of brightness here and that is where it could hit 16 or 17. here we go. from saturday on into sunday and that is the same weather front. one little wave on it there. a zone

of cloud, rather than a thin banner of cloud, rather than a thin banner of cloud, rather than a thin banner of cloud and, again, at its thickest it could be producing rain. at this distance my muggy is on the fact that could be across east anglia and the south—east. elsewhere, for the optimists, a lot of dry weather and sunshine that could be as far north as edinburgh. that should boost areas to 13 degrees. al quick peek at the start of next week. just when you thought this front was coming in to dominate the weather in fact a low pressure over france which eventually adjourned cloud and rain in from the east and south—east across the good part of england and wales if it is that the dry weather to the north. this is bbc news. the headlines — the legal team of brazil's former president, has asked the supreme court to suspend his 12—yearjail sentence for bribery. it comes just hours after he was due to hand himself into police. he has been holed up in the headquarters of a steelworkers union.

stocks on wall street have fallen sharply as president trump threatens an additional $100 billion worth of tariffs on chinese goods, fuelling worries of a trade war. the dow closed down 575 points. doctors treating the former russian spy who was attacked with a military grade nerve agent in the uk say he's no longer in a critical condition. sergei skripal and his daughter yulia were found slumped on a park bench in salisbury, nearly five weeks ago. britain says russia is behind the poisonings, but moscow continues to deny any involvement calling the accusations "horrific and unsubsta ntiated". now on bbc news, it's time for click.