this is business briefing. i'm sally bundock. an abrupt exit for an advertising giant — sir martin sorrell steps down as the boss of wpp after 33 years. and does your office have bean bags and free food? if it doesn't, maybe it should. we get the lowdown on the pleasures and perils of the modern work place. and on the markets: a mixed session so far as investors weigh up the military action in syria. oil prices are falling. in just a few hours we'll get to see what markets make of the news that the founder and head of the world's largest advertising agency wpp, sir martin sorrell, has resigned. the announcement comes less than two

weeks after the company announced he was being investigated for misconduct. 73—year—old sir martin had run the ftse 100 company for 33 years since he took control of wire and plastic products, which at the time made shopping baskets. sir martin has stepped down after an investigation into allegations of personal misconduct. few details have been released but wpp did say "the allegation did not involve amounts that are material." sir martin denies any wrongdoing. he built it into an advertising giant with over 200,000 staff around the world. last year it made a profit ofjust over $3bn but sir martin it was "not a pretty yea r". since last april share price has fallen about a third as the company struggles to compete with digital rivals like google and facebook. here is mr sorrell talking to the bbc last month

about those issues. what we have is this long—term structural issue around technological disruption, and the impact it is having on our clients, and the short—term pressures which have exacerbated. you can't moan about it. you can try and analyse it and understand it. we have to try to find the areas, the geographic areas and the functional areas, where we can have growth. because the economy. . . can have growth. because the economy... the paradox is that the economies of the world are growing at around 3— 4%. last year it was closer to 3%, this year it is closer to 4%. the world is not a bad place at the moment. yet we are not seeing the growth. it is notjust us. we used to see 3% plus across the industry. sometime last year it started to degrade. that was sir

martin sorrell, speaking to the bbc just a month ago. with me is the advertising consultant bob wootton. what you make of his sudden departure? i would start by saying he has done a remarkable thing in these 33 years. he has built the biggest advertising company in the world, a british company, ranked about 35 on the ftse. he has probably done the right thing. even if there is nothing to confess to. his statement yesterday was a very focused on the company, his life's work, and on its clients, its staff, and its continuation. it would have been a difficult decision for him. i mean, he seems to have boundless amounts of energy. i have met him many times, i have interviewed him, i spoke to him at davos this year at the world economic forum. and when i interviewed him it is always five o'clock in the morning. he'sjust got loads of energy and so much passion for what he does. so

difficult to him to make that choice. interestingly, it would seem that the deal he has brokered with wpp does not exclude him from starting something brand—new as soon as he likes. not at all. it will have been agonising theme, and you are right about his energy and his passion. his competitors feared his ability to be anywhere in the world, almost simon tony eastley, seeing and invariably pitching for one of their clients. —— almost simultaneously. maybe could quite work out how he performs that magic. as you say, he has an unusual contract. he has no severance package. he is free to operate elsewhere. also, it is reported today that he continues to benefit from the long—term executive remuneration plan. and for my money, why not? he was not without controversy, of course. 2015, it was the big headlines, his pay deal which was over £70 million, which was way beyond anybody else's, and the shareholders revolted against

it, the government revolted against it. these most recent allegations, as well, you know. to what extent does wpp have to sort of say it was about him, it was his leadership, he started and began the company and turned it into what it is today? two things there. the first is restarted, with his pay. his pay was legendary. it was amongst the highest ever. that is going to store up highest ever. that is going to store up some bad world. bad will amongst clients, amongst employees, amongst his board. there is some stored energy and it is not good energy there. at the same time, i go back to my thread that what he did was so remarkable, he will this company, he assembled this company. i think that is important. because in building and dissembling, usually —— unusually for somebody in that position, he got to know it very well. he understood every piece of

it very well, all his employees, all the territories it operated in. the challenge for anybody succeeding him as they have to do that from a standing start. they don't have 32 yea rs standing start. they don't have 32 years to get to know the principles of the businesses they have acquired and how they work and how they tick. it isa and how they work and how they tick. it is a big challenge. it is. the current chairman is at the helm. bob, thank you for your analysis. there is lots more on our website about the history of it, and what the future holds for wpp. many people are talking about the company being broken up now. do take a look at that. in the meantime, let's brief you on other stories. the latest round of brexit talks will get underway in brussels later today. officials from the uk and the eu will discuss issues left over from the first phase of negotiations and have their first discussion about the future relationship. the uk will formally cease to be an eu member in march 2019. a chinese social media platform, one of the world's most pure by number

of the world's most pure by number of active users, has begun censoring 93v of active users, has begun censoring gay content. weibo, which now has more users than twitter, says posts relating to have a sexuality are being deleted in order to promote a harmonious internet environment. china decriminalise homosexuality more than 20 years ago but gay people still face widespread discrimination. this week leaders of the commonwealth, which accounts for a third of the world's population, gather in london for an annual summit. the uk's prime minister theresa may is scheduled to speak at the opening business forum on monday and the group claims that intra—commonwealth trade could almost double to $1 trillion by 2020. washington is preparing to impose more sanctions against russian companies with ties to the syrian president, basharalassad. the american ambassador to the united nations, nikki haley, said the new measures related to the syrian government's alleged use of chemical weapons would be disclosed by the treasury secretary on monday japanese prime minister shinzo abe

is in some serious hot water at the moment. allegations that he was involved in the sale of government land at below market price have seen his poll numbers tumble. let's go to our asia business hub where rico hizon is following the story. what's going on? well, sally, the japanese leader is being accused of cronyism and cover—ups. these allegations are taking their toll on mr abe's popularity. if you look at public support it is currently waning. it fell to 26% in a survey bya waning. it fell to 26% in a survey by a private broadcaster nippon tv. it is the lowest since he took office in december 2012. his sliding ratings are now raising doubts as to whether he can indeed win a third three—year term as ruling party

leader this september, and pursue further his economic reform, also known as avionics, which has revived the stuttering japanese economy. —— abenomics. he has so far denied issuing instructions which would have benefited his friends campaign. he has also repeatedly denied that he or his wife intervened in the heavily discounted sale of state—owned land. there are even some corners calling for his resignation. this comes ahead of his summit this week with us president trump, where he faces a tough agenda, including north korea's nuclear and missile threat. you also have the sticky trade issues. sally. thank you. good to see you. an interesting story developing in japan. let's now move on. foosball tables, bean bags and free food. those three items are now regularly found in offices looking to emulate the creative success of tech giants like google and facebook. but does the design of an work space really create happier, more productive staff?

and how does the bbc stack up? leisha santorelli took one expert on an tour of our singapore office to find out. so, tell me what you think? so, it is great to see that you have an open plan office. everybody can communicate. at of course it can make things noisy and it can create more stress. —— but of course. you have these islands where people can talk face—to—face but they are all the same. you don't have the flexibility that you sometimes need. but you do have a fantastic view. let's ta ke but you do have a fantastic view. let's take a look at some of the other officers you have worked on for really big companies. and grab a coffee. what have you done here? this is when we help to vodafone

move their office from london to dublin. we had to get everybody comfortable, everybody ready to start a new adventure. but this doesn't look like the offices of a major telco. exactly. what we wanted to do was, we wanted it to feel like home. and so we created a kitchen at the centre, and then we created all the centre, and then we created all the different experiences around it. so many different ways to work, so many different ways to be engaged, creative, energetic, and to feel like you are part of a brand, part of the family. which company is this? this example is very different. this is what we created for infosys. we needed to create a place where people could engage with the future and with the technology infosys was creating. it is surprising there are no infosys logos anywhere. that is right. it is not about the logo, it is about what you do. and that matters, and that is what we really need to show in this space. what the possibilities

are. ifi this space. what the possibilities are. if i were to take one design suggestion and bring it to my boss, what should it be? i think a really creative space that you can own yourselves, that you can customise. this is where you spend so much of yourtime. ithink this is where you spend so much of your time. i think that will really give everybody a boost in the office. great, i will ask give everybody a boost in the office. great, iwill ask the give everybody a boost in the office. great, i will ask the boss. interesting, isn't it? up next, news briefing. before we focus on the key stories in the media today, let's bring you this report. the first family of rohingya muslims who fled violence in myanmar have returned home. the myanmar government says this is the first rohingya family to cross back over the border from bangladesh into rakhine state. the un has not confirmed their story, but here they are met by immigration officers

who check their papers and begin their voluntary repatriation. in this reception centre, they're fingerprinted, their photos taken and they are given a medical checkup. at the end, they are also given a national verification card, a small piece of id that many rohingya are refusing because their citizenship is still in question. hundreds of thousands of rohingya muslims fled this area into neighbouring bangladesh. the united nations has called the reported killings, rapes and arson ethnic cleansing, a claim the country denies, calling it instead a legitimate counterinsurgency operation. last week, myanmar‘s minister of social welfare and resettlement visited a camp in cox's bazar, where he was met with rohingya refugees concerned about their

status and persecution if they returned home. the most important thing is to start the repatriation process as soon as possible. so we've got to overcome all the difficulties. do they say that they want citizenship? yeah, yeah, we're trying to help the citizenship. for now, it's up to the families to decide if that pledge is enough. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: james comey — the man sacked as director of the fbi — has said he believes donald trump is morally unfit to be president. more fallout after the air strikes on syria,

as the us threatens new sanctions against russia over its support for president assad. a drive—by shooting outside a church in pakistan has left two dead and seven more injured. the islamic state group says it was behind the attack. let's have a look at the stories that are making the headlines in media across the world. directorjames comey.