this is the briefing. i'm maryam moshiri. our top story: inspectors head to syria and the site of a suspected chemical weapons attack, as donald trump appears to change his tone on military action. a donor conference takes place in geneva, aiming to ease a humanitarian catastrophe in the democratic republic of congo. two indian athletes are kicked out of the commonwealth games, after breaking the rules over the use of syringes. in the driver's seat, herbert diess takes over as the boss of german car giant, volkswagen. will his appointment draw a line under the dieselgate scandal once and for all? in the business briefing, i'll ask a leading auto industry expert if this means they can now draw a line under the dieselgate scandal. 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. tell us what you think. just use the hashtag, #bbcthebriefing. today we are talking about alcohol and what it means for your health. inspectors are on their way to the site of a suspected chemical weapons attack in douma, near damascus, and are expected to start work by saturday. there's also been a marked shift in tone from president trump over possible military action in syria in response to the attack. he's now saying he'll make his decision "fairly soon". the white house is still assessing intelligence and talking to allies — the uk and france. moscow — which backs the syrian government —

has warned any western airstrikes could start a war between russia and the us. andrew plant has the latest. a suspected attack using chlorine, a chemical weapon in the syrian town of douma last weekend. the syrian government accused of carrying out the attack. it has brought international condemnation and the likelihood of a western military response. donald trump tweeted on tuesday that missiles were becoming pa rt tuesday that missiles were becoming part on thursday said military action was still under discussion. we are looking very, very seriously, very closely that whole situation, and we will see what happens, folks, we will see what happens. it is too bad that the world puts us in a situation like that. britain and france are also likely to be involved. president macron said france had proof the syrian government was behind the chlorine

intake. translation: the president of the republic emmanuel macron has stated our red lines, these actions we re stated our red lines, these actions were carried out by the syrian regime. for humanitarian reasons, we must all ensure that chemical weapons are not used. and in a conversation with president trump late on thursday, britain's prime minister agreed the use of chemical weapons could not go unchallenged. so what form the military action taken what might be the targets? is thought they could be three sites in syria being used to produce chemical weapons. two syria being used to produce chemical weapons. two near syria being used to produce chemical weapons. two near damascus. senior figures from russia, which provides military support to the syrian regime have warned of a russian response to any western intervention. meanwhile, britain, france and the us have all said that no final decision has yet been made

on what exactly the military action will be. chris buckler is in washington for us. i suppose the feeling now is that there is going to be more talk at this point, rather than action. yeah, and if you look closely at that diplomatic discussion that has been had, you can see in the conversation there is an attempt to set out a justification for intervention, so the threat of military action has not gone away, it is still remaining. if you look at that conversation that president trump had the theresa mayjust a matter of a few hours ago, it in its, they were both saying that there needs to be deterrence, they need to try to do something to ensure that president assad has not use chemical weapons again but of course, both russia and syria denied that this was a chemical weapons attack and therefore, there are two things that are really putting pressure on the west you. one is a question of proof, and there are some us officials briefing that they

have got some evidence which comes in blood samples which were gathered in syria, and they say that indicate that chlorine and an unspecified nerve agent were used in douma but because of the way that they were gathered and because of the gathered second—hand and chaotic circumstances, they cannot be 100% certain of that evidence. —— because they were gathered in. secondly, they were gathered in. secondly, they have to try to work out a strategy here and how they approach syria and approach military strikes, that goes beyond just the strikes themselves. what are they actually doing in terms of syria? what are the objectives? these are all questions for the us, the uk and france today. and in the meantime, what is russia saying? well, russia continues to threaten retaliation and of course, that is something that the white house is having to consider and it will be some within the administration who will claim

that that is just talk by russia, an attempt to try and make people think twice, but it will have to be given some consideration and i think that is why we are seeing a different tone in terms of language, much less ofa gung tone in terms of language, much less of a gung ho response, much less of that talk of president trump saying about shining missiles being sent. instead, we are having diplomatic conversations and trying to work out what the approach should be. ok, thank you very much indeed. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news globally. the former fbi director, james comey, has described mr trump as unethical and untethered to the truth. mr comey, who was sacked by the president, is releasing a memoir next week. in it, he compares mr trump to a mafia boss — driven by ego and demanding absolute loyalty. the president fired him as he was investigating suspected russian meddling in the us election. the singer sir cliff richard is due to give evidence later at a high court trial in london. his lawyers have told the court that

bbc coverage of a police raid on his home was a "very serious invasion" of his privacy. sir cliff is suing the bbc, claiming breach of privacy and data protection. officers went into his berkshire home in 2014 following an allegation of an historic sexual assault. sir cliff denied any wrongdoing. he was not arrested and was not charged with any offence. the bbc argues its coverage was in the public interest. the head of the swedish academy, that awards the nobel literature prize, has resigned over a growing sexual abuse scandal which divided the institution. sara danius is the latest in a series of members to stand down. the organisation has been criticised for its handling of an investigation into the alleged sexual misconduct of a man married to one of its members. the volkswagen group's big boss matthias mueller has been replaced as part of

a management shake—up. tthe new head of the firm behind vw, audi, seat, lamborghini, bentley and porsche is hairbert deess, he's a former bmw executive known as a fierce cost—cutter who is unafraid to clash with labour unions. joel kibazo is partner atjk associates and a former director of communications at africa development bank and joins me now. good to have you on the programme. what is your view on this? not someone afraid to take on the unions, not someone afraid to make change. what i think your face is now at the company that has been so troubled by the dieselgate scandal? well, the key thing here is that the dieselgate scandal has continued to plague vw right through, this was 2015 scandal in which it was found that 11 million of the vw cars had,

the tests had been rigged so that it showed that there were less emissions than they actually were coming out of the car. it has struggled to keep out that, and to head up the company after that scandal broke, to try and steady the ship. however, ithink scandal broke, to try and steady the ship. however, i think that investors felt they needed somebody else, somebody who is a cost cutter. he comes from, although he was from bmw, hejoins vw he comes from, although he was from bmw, he joins vw but he was not tainted by this scandal. it is about the sort of perspective that is being put on it, being the confidence comments i think the feeling is he has proved himself over the last two years and will be able to release steady the ship and move things forward. ok, john, we are talking about this to you shortly and many other stories in our roofing. —— briefing. a donor conference to ease

what the un says is a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the democratic republic of congo is taking place in geneva. aid agencies say the country has the highest numbers of people displaced by violence in the world — worse, in fact, than syria. the drc government has refused to attend the conference, saying the situation is being blown out of proportion. the country has been hit by years of instability, with rival militias fighting for control of territory. catherine byaru hanga is at a refugee camp in western uganda hosting tens of thousands of congolese refugees. this baby is two years old but already fighting for her life. she is suffering from cholera, pneumonia, and is acutely malnourished. her mother is six months pregnant and overwhelmed. translation: even though i have been sick myself, i have been looking after my child because there was no one at home, i waited for her father

to return and that is when i was able to bring her here. she and her family are one story in a bigger crisis. this woman crossed over with her three—year—old just a few days ago. they had a lucky escape. translation: when we were attacked, they cut one man on the net, another man's legs were cut and spread apart. when we heard them shouting, we started running. ugandan refugee camps closed the border with the drc are quickly filling up. —— close to. more than half a million have been displaced because of fighting and hunger. yet this camp, it is a scramble for a fresh start. aid agencies were expecting about 20,000

congolese refugees, but received more than double that number in just a few. at the moment, they cannot provide them with some basic items, they are worried they will not be able to cope for much longer. —— they can. the un hopes to raise nearly $2 billion to deal with the humanitarian crisis in the drc. is almost forgotten crisis and you really need the attention of the international community to urgently respond to the crisis. some families are setting up for a new beginning. this is the second time this man has been a refugee. he was ten years of the first time, now he is a husband and father. this is his message to leaders in the drc. translation: people are dying, our children are dying. there are a lot of things happening, if they had a good heart,

they would stop doing all these bad things. even if we are poor and they have a lot, it does not mean they should kill as. back at the health centre, she is getting the treatment she needs. but there are many children in the dic who are not receiving the same help. —— drc. stay with us on the briefing. also on the programme: heading north. we'll tell you about the all women team trying to conquer the arctic. pol pot, one of the century's greatest mass murderers, is reported to have died of natural causes. he and the khmer rouge movement he led were responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million cambodians. there have been violent protests in indonesia, where playboy has gone on sale for the first time. traditionalist muslim leaders

have expressed disgust. the magazine's offices have been attacked, and its editorial staff have gone into hiding. it was clear that paula's only contest was with the clock, and as for a sporting legacy, paula radcliffe's competitors will be chasing her new world—best time for years to come. quite quietly, but quicker and quicker, she seemed just to slide away under the surface and disappear. you're watching the briefing. our headlines: a donor conference takes place in geneva — aiming to ease a humanitarian catastrophe in the democratic republic of congo. and our top story: inspectors head to syria and the site of a suspected chemical weapons attack, as donald trump appears to change

his tone on military action. let's stay with that story now, and the shift in tone in washington on possible military strikes in syria. richard weitz is a director and senior fellow at the center for political—military analysis at the hudson institute in washington. he joins me live from there. thank you forjoining us. a change in tone from president trump. one might almost call it backtracking. what has happened? who has he spoken to? itappears, what has happened? who has he spoken to? it appears, and what has happened? who has he spoken to? itappears, and it is a good thing, i would say, is here that he has been contemplating precisely what the us should do, how it should do it. what form the strikes should ta ke do it. what form the strikes should take if at all. he has been talking to the british, the french, other rabbis, and advises. i imagine some of the new people in will want to

review some of the analysis of the old team just make sure it is spot on. i would old team just make sure it is spot on. iwould not old team just make sure it is spot on. i would not necessarily think this is that he is thinking seriously about what would be a very seriously about what would be a very serious step. thinking about something does not necessarily mean it will not happen. if it did happen, how do you think it would look? i still think it is likely to occur. unlike the attack last year it will involve more than a single shot cruise missile. there may be multiple waves of missiles, they may be accompanied by airstrikes, it will probably involve notjust the us but also key nato allies. britain and france would be the most logical of those. it would be more extensive and ofa of those. it would be more extensive and of a longer duration and with a broader multinational construct than a strike last year. what about the timing of the international chemicals watchdog and the fact they

are due at any point to enter syria and to run tests on the alleged chemical attacks? it would not have an impact either we did it on one hand you would not want to attack and kill any of them so the syrian government may have a false sense of security while they are there so perhaps you could attack some other place. i would perhaps you could attack some other place. iwould not perhaps you could attack some other place. i would not think it would be a decisive consideration. i think that may be plain to the operational decision—making but i would not exclude an attack while they were there. russia was saying it could not it blew —— exclude the possibility of war. is a scary thing to say. one of the major constraints on decision—making as they want to make sure that if there is an attack it will minimise the number of russian casualties, if any. certainly we do not want to get into a war with russia over syria and so thatis a war with russia over syria and so that is probably the major factor that is probably the major factor

that will limit the strike or will be one of the major reasons why am i not occur. good to talk to you. thank you. —— why it may not occur. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. the myanmar water festival has kicked off five days of mass water and street parties. madrid, this danish prime minister will meet the danish prime minister will meet the danish prime minister to discuss open access to british fishing waters after uk leads the eu. later, in france, a third wave of rail strikes is planned across the country to protest against the president's reforms. he wants to shake up the debt written country's national estate over and railway company is parts of plan to modernise —— as part of a plan to

modernise —— as part of a plan to modernise the country. two athletes from india have been banned from the commonwealth games for a breach of the strict no needles policy designed to stop the use of performance enhancing drugs. only athletes with a registered medical condition are allowed to bring syringes into their accommodation. let's talk now to chris mitchell who is at the commonwealth games on the gold coast. what is the story, chris? it is another story that the games organising committee do not wa nt games organising committee do not want us to be telling. they want me to be telling you about the gold medals being won today and the sunshine and the fun that people are having on the gold coast. i cannot because i must tell you first of all that the two indian athletes were a race walker and another athlete. needles were found in their accommodation. a cleaner was cleaning up one of the rooms and found a needle in a cup. she alerted authorities. they came and checked the rooms and further needles were found. as you say, no needles are

allowed in the athlete village. is where they were found. you may remember before the games began in the indian team were in because needles were found with the boxing team. the boxing team had been giving their competitors vitamin e injection. was no doping infringement and nobody has mentioned anything about doping in this case either. i don't think we are talking about doping infringement. of the commonwealth games, as you say, have a no needles policy. they do not want any needles in the athletes' village at all and this is the second time they have found them. this time they acted swiftly a nd found them. this time they acted swiftly and send those two athletes home. embarrassments of the indian tea m home. embarrassments of the indian team who, a week ago, were telling us team who, a week ago, were telling us this would not happen again. it has happened again and the commonwealth games federation are taking a quite variously indeed. we have asked the commonwealth games association of india to ensure that both athletes depart australia on the first flight available. as we

have previously said, the commonwealth games has no tolerance approach and the commonwealth games federation shows that no tolerance means no tolerance. those athletes have been suspended. means no tolerance. those athletes have been suspendedlj means no tolerance. those athletes have been suspended. i can tell you about some good news for tom daley. you remember he pulled out of the individual diving event, the ten metre platform earlier this week. that was another disappointment for the organisers of the user headline act that he was fit enough to compete in the synchronised diving today where he won a gold we don't comment medal. you must wonder how bad the injury was for him. the events taking place right now on the track has katarina in the habitat on. she still leads and only a couple of events to go. the 800 metres couple of events to go. the 800 m etres to ps couple of events to go. the 800 metres tops that for her. her performance has been underwhelming, to say the least. that she is so far

out of in front of the others she will probably win a gold medal. . medal in big event tonight is caster semenya running. these people have been into the shop and they are here for the commonwealth games, i presume. are you having a good time? what have you come for? the track events. we saw the 1500 heats today. that was awesome, seeing the three australians making it into the final. how proud are you that the commonwealth games is here? is it significant for you? yes. we love it. it is our home and we love to see the tourist is here and showing off our beautiful city. although a lot of the locals have gone away and many of the tourist didn't turn up. there are still empty seats and you can still buy tickets if you would like one. thank you. i might have to pass, iam

like one. thank you. i might have to pass, i am a little faraway. an all—women team from europe and the middle east are attempting to trek to the north pole this week. they're hoping to improve understanding between the two different cultures, as well as inspire a younger generation of girls. bbc asian network's poonam taneja travelled to the arctic town on longyearbyan, in norway, as they made their final preparations. training in the arctic. these women from the west and the east are preparing to ski to the north pole. they are a long way from home. some have travelled from the deserts of the arabian peninsula, others from european cities. there seems to be this disconnect between, particularly, women in arabic and european cultures. so i wanted to put together this expedition to explore that a little bit. hopefully to provide some insight. the 10—day expedition is going to be tough. skiing forup to expedition is going to be tough. skiing for up to eight hours a day across sea ice and freezing temperatures and the threat of polar

bears. most have never tried anything like it. i knew that this was something i wanted to do. i wa nted was something i wanted to do. i wanted to get out of my comfort zone. i wanted to challenge myself when it comes to the cold weather and to see how far i could push myself. temperatures of -40, shifting pack isil it frozen water... these are the challenges and, also, putting up a tent on floating ice. —— shifting pack ice... a member of the qatari royal family as aldi businesswoman... they need to work together. —— a saudi business woman. being around these women has taught myself a lot about myself. the team have been preparing to this expedition for the last two yea rs. to this expedition for the last two years. meeting in the deserts of a mound and iglesias of iceland. learning not only how to survive in

harsh arctic conditions but also about each other‘s culture. harsh arctic conditions but also about each other's culture. it has been very interesting for me to ask them questions about how it is to live in their country. their religion, their culture... this expedition will be a memorable experience. even historic. as the arabian women will be the first women from their countries to trek to the top of the world. they hope other women will follow in their footsteps. stay with me on bbc news. i'll be back with the business briefing in just a few moments. we will be talking about this story. the new boss of vw. we will be talking to an expert who believes he will be forward thinking for the company. stay with us here on bbc news. so much more to come. well, thursday was a really disappointing day across so many parts of the country.

it was cold and drizzly and only five degrees in sheffield. seems like this across the country, this is one from leicester but further north in scotland it was beautiful. look at this stunning picture. the early hours of friday morning, still a lot of cloud out there with outbreaks of rain anywhere across central parts of the uk and whether you are in the south of the north of the uk, the temperature will be more or less the same give or take a few degrees. say around six or seven degrees. say around six or seven degrees across the south. let's have a look at friday's forecast. a lot of cloud across the uk. there could be somewhat weather a time across northern part of england and maybe western scotland is well. generally speaking for most of us it will be overcast and through the course of the afternoon it looks like skies will brighten up across southern areas of the uk. a little warmer and

in the north still chilly. that north sea coast remains nicki. the summery for the weekend if they will warm up and there will be some sunshine but we expect one or two heavy showers so by no means is the week and looking dry. there will be rain around that not everybody will get it. saturday looks quite bright for most of us. the morning may start of cloudy but eventually will brighten up notice, see these blobs of blue? that could be showers across the south of 17 expected in london and much warmer in newcastle. saturday night and into sunday will see low pressure swinging off the atlantic. that will increase the wind across western areas. on top of that we will see cloud and rain. possibly in the north—west of england as will as cardiff, belfast, glasgow, eastern areas should be brighter and drier. as we go into

next week, particularly the middle of next week ecb signed coming in it will turn hot in france and potentially even quite odd across southern parts of the uk. this is just a suggestion of some of the temperatures we may see. they may even be higher than that. even in the north temperatures will rise as well. hello. this is business briefing. i'm maryam moshiri. the headlines: in the driver's seat. hairbert deess takes over as the boss of german car giant, volkswagen. will his appointment draw a line under the dieselgate scandal once and for all? and how president trump's tariff war with china could hit his voter base in the agricultural sector. we have a special report from tennessee. and on the markets, the upcoming earnings season and the positive news that it could bring helped lift the markets out of negative territory, particularly in america and japan.