this is the briefing. i'm maryam moshiri. our top story: leaders from commonwealth nations around the world are expected to debate the queen's request that prince charles should succeed her as the organisation's figurehead. remembering warsaw's resistance fighters: commemorations to mark the 75th anniversary of the ghetto uprising. critical notes which james comey has kept of his encounters with donald trump are published. in business, rebooting nafta: mexico, canada, and the us battle to save their trade pa ct the us battle to save their trade pact under donald trump's threats to pull the plug. we'll be hearing from the mexican finance minister. and why private jets are more affordable than you think. a warm welcome to the programme,

briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business, and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. orrin hatch has become the first us senator to give birth in office — her io—day—old baby made history by becoming the first infant to enter the senate chamber. should babies be allowed into the workplace? would it be easier for you if your employer allowed you to bring your child into work? tell us what you think — just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. leaders from the commonwealth will begin private discussions at windsor castle in england this morning to decide its direction going forward. the 53 member countries are expected to debate queen elizabeth's request that her son — and heir to the british throne — prince charles should succeed her as the organisation's figurehead. they will also discuss

economic opportunities, with commonwealth nations projected to command more than $985 billion of trade by 2020. here'sjonny dymond. there is nothing quite like it in any global organisation. a day at windsor: no advisers or civil serva nts windsor: no advisers or civil servants present, just the leaders of the 53 members of the commonwealth, talking to each other about whatever they want. but yesterday at buckingham palace, who succeeds the queen as head of the commonwealth was made the central topic by the queen herself. commonwealth was made the central topic by the queen herselfm commonwealth was made the central topic by the queen herself. it is my sincere wish that the commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations will stop and will decide that one day be prince of wales should carry

on the important work started by my father in 1949. by continuing to treasure and reinvigorate our associations and activities, i believe we will secure a secure, safer, more prosperous and sustainable world for those who follow us. there will have been agreement in principle from the member states already, but the final decision remains there is. there is also the meetings core agenda to thrash out: cybercrime, a charter for the oceans, and how to bring the commonwealth close together. behind the walls of windsor castle, there is much to discuss. jonny dymond, bbc news. the south african president, cyril ramaphosa, is cutting short his visit to the commonwealth summit in britain to deal with violent protests back home. mr ramaphosa has used the visit — his first such summit since taking over from jacob zuma in february — to try to encourage more investment in south africa.

but the clashes have worsened over two days in north west province. protestors are demanding jobs and housing as well as an end to corruption. mr ramaphosa has called for calm and ordered police to exercise restraint. now, the notes which james comey kept of his encounters with donald trump have been published. they were lea ked trump have been published. they were leaked hours after thejustice department agreed to give the former fbi director's memos to congress. this prodded a tweet from donald trump in which he said... —— prompted. let's like to washington and our correspondants chris buckler. took us through what we found out from these notes. about 15

pages of memos were kept. conversations that were held in trump tower, the oval office, during that private dinner in the white house between james that private dinner in the white house betweenjames comey that private dinner in the white house between james comey and that private dinner in the white house betweenjames comey and donald trump. and in many ways they are consistent with the details that he has published inside his book, a higher loyalty, in which he repeats his allegations. he said that donald trump may have tried to obstruct justice, in his view, by asking james comey to look the other way in the investigation into michael flynn. but there is a lot of gossip in it, and i suspect that is some of what the american league will focus uponin what the american league will focus upon in the days to come. for example, it alleges that donald trump floated the idea of putting reporters injail. such was his frustration with the organisation

and elsewhere in washington. —— some of what the american media will focus. one of the other things he talks about at length was about how donald trump was talking to james comey, denying that he was in the hotel room with prostitutes, as was alleged in a dossier. but he does say that one day, bloody good and, according to donald trump himself, boasted that russia had some of the was beautiful prostitutes in the world. what you think will -- would you think this will mean for donald trump? will this damage and? i think most of these allegations are out there and it is no secret by now that james comey does not like donald trump. -- will this damage him? there were more allegations on the bbc news programmes in the last

24 the bbc news programmes in the last 2a hours in which he said that he steamed all of those around him. the key thing here is that we still have an investigation taking place by the special accounts, robert mueller, into allegations that russia interfered in the us presidential election, and claims that there was collusion in it. the key thing here is that these memos will be examined and have been examined by the special counsel, and that makes up a pa rt special counsel, and that makes up a part of this. that is why that donald trump weed is it important thing to mention. as you mentioned, there, he mentioned no pollution, no pollution, will the witch—hunt continue? —— donald trump tweet. in the past 2a hours, we have found out that rudy giuliani, the former new york mayor, is now part of his legatee. rudy giuliani said one of his mainjobs would be legatee. rudy giuliani said one of his main jobs would be to try to negotiate the end of the robert mueller investigation. every indication we have two this point is

that the investigation is widening and widening. chris buckler, thank you for talking to us. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. cuba's new president, miguel diaz—canel, has said that under his leadership, there will be no space for those who want a return to capitalism. in his first speech as the new head of state, he vowed to defend the communist revolution begun by fidel castro six decades ago. work is underway in salisbury to put up hoardings around the areas contaminated by the nerve agent attack last month on the former russian spy, sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia. work to fully decontaminate several sites in and around the city is expected to start in the next few days but they've warned that the process could take up to eight weeks. the disgraced cyclist lance armstrong is reported to have settled a federal fraud case over his use of performance—enhancing drugs at the tour de france. he was due to face a trial next month over claims that he defrauded the us government when he doped while racing for his united states postal service—sponsored team. now that let's into our top is a

story. leaders from the us, canada, and mexico, are in washington, tried to save the north american free trade agreement, or nafta. this amid threats from donald trump to pull out. he says that it is costing the us of millions of dollars. you have been following this story very closely. he says that it is costing usjobs, but is closely. he says that it is costing us jobs, but is that really the case? as only the us president says, manyjobs are involved. but this job has been in place for many years. they are refreshing it. when we talk about deals on trade deals, there is one view that comes from potentially the us president. from a lot of the

ministers that a revolt. yesterday there was good news from the canadians, who said there was progress, particularly on the sticking point that the us had been talking about, the tariff on automobiles. the issue is that the us was pushing for paris to put on vehicles that were less than 85% built in the countries in the deal. —— the us was pushing for tariffs to be put on. so a significant increase now that it is 95%. if they do not meet that, there would be an additional 2.5% tariff. you can understand the motor industry and many considering this is a challenge. there has been the real discussion. this is the manifestation of the america first redirector donald trump's presidency has been seen coming through. there does need to be some softening, here. i think the main issue for the deal is that the mexican elections that are due to happen injuly, the

beginning ofjuly. they do want to beginning ofjuly. they do want to be contaminated by discussion of this particular deal. kulveer ranger, i know that you will be back to talk through some of the stories with the papers later. the american government says it has information that syrian and russian forces are trying to sanitise the site of the suspected chemical weapons attack near damascus. it's now almost two weeks since the reports of chlorine gas first emerged — but international inspectors have still not been able to visit the area. and as bill hayton reports, the regime appears increasingly confident of victory against rebels on the ground. this is the syrian government's view of the civil war: another town returning to its control. a few hours before this flag was raised, around 5000 rebel fighters and theirfamilies had been evacuated from a former enclave of douma, north—east of damascus. other rebel enclaves are coming under attack. this area, south of the capital, is still held by the islamic state group. but for how much longer? speaking from saudi arabia,

the internationally recognised opposition said it was past the time for talking. translation: the regime pushes on with a military solution and continues with his military strategy without any seriousness as regards to negotiations or arriving at a political settlement. meanwhile, efforts to uncover the truth about the alleged use of chemical weapons by the syrian government have stalled. international inspectors are holed up in a luxury hotel in damascus, waiting to visit the site. the united states say they are being delayed for a reason. we believe that it is an effort to conduct their own state investigation. russian officials have worked with the syrian regime, we believe, to sanitise the locations of the suspected attacks, and remove incriminating evidence of chemical weapons use.

the syrian government appears increasingly confident of riding out the controversy, broadcasting these new pictures of attacks on islamist rebels overnight. the message seems clear: for the time being, it prefers fighting to talking. bill hayton, bbc news. do stay with us on the briefing, because also on the programme... the bravest of the brave: remembering the hundreds ofjewish men and women who took part in warsaw's armed insurrection against the nazis. the stars and stripes at half—mast outside columbine high, the school sealed off and the bodies of the dead still inside. i never thought that they would actually go through with it. some places and have already had nearly as much rain

as they'd normally expect in an entire year. for millions of americans, the death of richard nixon in a new york hospital has meant conflicting emotions. a national day of mourning next wednesday sitting somehow uneasily with the abiding memories of the shame of watergate. and lift—off of the space shuttle discovery with the hubble space telescope, our window on the universe. you're watching the briefing. our headlines: the queen welcomes commonwealth heads of government to buckingham palace, as she looks to the future of the organisation, after her reign. former fbi director, james comey tells the bbc he'd think

twice about sharing sensitive information with president trump. overfive years ago, a young female student was brutally raped and killed in the indian capital delhi. it was a case that prompted a national debate about sexual violence and attitudes towards women. but how much has changed? this week the indian prime minister, visiting london as part of the commonwealth summit, described the incidence of rape as a matter of shame for his country. our correspondent rajini viadyanathan has been to the state of madhya pradesh, where british police are working with local authorities to help vulnerable women. she was just 12 when she was raped on three separate occasions by the same man. but for months, she was too afraid to tell anyone. translation: whenever you speak the truth, nobody believes you.

instead, they question your character. it was only after she fell pregnant with her attacker‘s baby that she summoned the courage to speak up. what was the reaction from the community around you? translation: when people found out, they told my brother to kill me, to set me on fire. it's been five years since a student was brutally gang raped and murdered while she was travelling on this bus in the capital delhi. it started a much needed conversation about attitudes towards women in this patriarchal society. but in recent years, the number of reported rapes has risen. many argue that's because it's easier for women to come forward. i've had enough, says this lady who's lodging a complaint of domestic violence. she's visiting this newly opened

one—stop centre in madhya pradesh. away from the town's police station, it offers women a safe place to get counselling, medical support, and talk to officers. it is modelled on a rape crisis centre—back in leicester. this centre, from what i've seen, is fantastic. for the past few years, a partnership between sheffield hallam university and leicestershire police has helped train more female police officers. but the focus is also on changing male attitudes. there's a lot of work to do in terms of training and challenging some of the mindsets that male officers have. for example, saying women can get compensation for coming forward and saying they've been sexually assaulted, or that certain women in situations have asked to be raped. it's a whole, almost like an institutional mindset shift that needs to happen. at a time when women around the world are speaking out about sexual violence, it's important to know what has happened here in india, five years on from the delhi rape. laws have changed, there's more

support on offer and, crucially, more women have the confidence to speak out. this survivor is now 15 years old. she had her rapist‘s baby and gave it up for adoption. he was sent to prison after his case went through one of the country's newly created fast—track courts for crimes against women. but even with these changes, only a quarter of rape cases end in a conviction. for every women that does getjustice in india, there are still too many who don't. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. first up, berlin, where the discovery of an unexploded world war ii bomb is forcing a mass evacuation of buildings, including several ministries and the capital's main train station. then to moscow, where the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov will be holding talks with united nation's syria peace envoy, staffan de mistura.

and finally to new york, where daniel craig's personal aston martin, with the number plate 007, goes up for auction. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. coming up in your friday sport briefing: rafa nadal is continues his bid at the monte carlo masters. southampton remain in trouble and be careful when reversing a fan, if cyclists are about. the world number one rafa nadal will be back on court later in the quarter—finals of the monte later in the quarter—finals of the m o nte carlo later in the quarter—finals of the monte carlo masters, as his return from injury continues. years on course for record extending 11th title but next up will be his toughest challenge, dominic thiem. he booked his place in the quarter—finals with a comfortable

straight sets win. grigor dimitrov is also in action in the quarter—finals of. the numberfive seed faces david goffin after coming from behind to win in three sets on thursday. the first round of the nba play—offs is really starting to heat up play—offs is really starting to heat up and there are three more games to come on friday evening. the milwaukee bucks are in trouble as they trail the boston celtics 2—0. celtics coach brad stevens taking anything from granted. —— isn't taking. if we don't play with and ange, we will lose by 30. we have to be competitive, tough, cannot let go of that. can have a chance if you don't do that, that is who we have been and why we have got very good players, very versatile players. very confident players, we kept out the game and each other. first and

foremost the game and each other. first and fore m ost we the game and each other. first and foremost we are really competitive guys. —— we have. foremost we are really competitive guys. -- we have. in case you missed it, victor moses scored the winning goalfor it, victor moses scored the winning goal for chelsea as they won 2—1 to burnley. chelsea closed the gap on totte n ha m to burnley. chelsea closed the gap on tottenham to points with four games remaining, while burnley missed the chance to move ahead of arsenal. southampton is heading for the drop as they are currently four points from safety after marcuse's side played out a goalless jaw at leicester city. —— draw. played out a goalless jaw at leicester city. -- draw. i have sensed a little bit of frustration, obviously the guys and as individuals, they have got punished. that is where the frustration lies. it will continue in the same vein andi it will continue in the same vein and i have no doubt that we will get points on the board. fans at this year ‘s world cup will see replays reviewed. is the first time a var

will come to a world cup, despite criticisms. this year, the crowd will be told when a vision —— decision is being reviewed. inside the ground, they will only see it after the referee has made a call. on thursday, and oblivious white van reversed in front of the leading packin reversed in front of the leading pack in croatia. ending up finishing last, forced to dodge the vehicle to avoid a bizarre crash, it was clear he wasn't best pleased with the driver. you get all the latest sports news on oui’ driver. you get all the latest sports news on our website. from me, thatis sports news on our website. from me, that is your friday sport briefing. commemorations have taken place in poland to mark the 75th anniversary of the warsaw ghetto uprising. thousands of jews were killed during german occupation “119113. the polish president paid tribute to those who'd died, but again stressed that his country

was in no way responsible for the holocaust. the bbc‘s tim allman reports. 75 years on and the fires still burn for the heroes of warsaw. at noon, sirens rang out at the city's memorial, a moment to pay tribute to all those who fought against the nazis. translation: today, all of us are bowing our heads low to the heroism of the warsaw ghetto insurgents, to their courage, to their determination and to their bravery. the warsaw uprising was the first of its kind in nazi—occupied europe. hundreds of young men and women fought for weeks, the largest act of armed resistance byjews during the war. the exact death toll remains unknown, but it's assumed thousands lost their lives. most of those that survived were shipped out to concentration camps. the ghetto itself was then

demolished block by block. we need each other today like never before. jews, catholics, poles, americans, all free people. we must stand together now to make sure that our children and grandchildren never know the true horrors that took place right here. the day's events ended with a concert featuring the works of beethoven. a similar event had been planned byjewish musicians during the war, but it never took place. another legacy of the warsaw uprising. tim allman, bbc news. we are going to look at one of our

top stories and in the papers later, about the story in america where a us senator recently brought her baby into the us senate to vote. her name was tammy duckworth and she made political history by being the first sitting senator to give birth and when the baby was ten days old she brought her daughter in to the senate to do a vote. we have asked viewers and tweeters to tell us whether you believe people should bring their kids or babies to work and whether it would make your life easier. mickey from durham says it is not virtue signalling at its finest. a ten—day—old child at any workplace wouldn't make life easier. jenny donaldson says no, too much distraction if they are there for extended periods. it has worked tomorrow, today. stay with me on bbc news. i'll be back with the business briefing in just a few moments. we'll have more on. hello again.

yesterday proved to be a real scorcher. temperatures got up to 29.1 celsius in london's stjames's park, making it the warmest april day for nearly 70 years. you have to go all the way back to 19119 to find a warmer april day. and for many of us, we had clear blue sunny skies like this pretty much all day. for the early risers this morning, some mist and fog patches to watch out for, particularly western wales and running through the bristol channel as well. there will be some changes in our weather today because the area of high pressure is still there that it's drifting a little bit further eastwards. the warmest air still across east anglia and south—east england but otherwise the air is increasingly blowing in off the atlantic and that will bring some cooler conditions to the uk. now, weatherwise, the early morning mist and fog patches should clear out of the way widely and most areas should see lots of sunshine again. there will, though, be a few showers for western scotland but most of these will be across the western highlands and really for the northern half of the uk,

temperatures a few degrees down. still feeling pleasant if you're out and about in the sunshine but the warmest air more limited to east anglia and south—east england. highs of 27 in london but i wouldn't mind betting that somewhere like in gravesend, it could even get warmer than that, 28 or maybe even a 29. friday night, we do it all again. a cold and hard half of the country with a step which is dropping down to 4— six celsius. cabbages to double figures. the weekend sees further changes with our weather, generally turning more and settled. can produce continuing to ease back and although there will be warm sunshine, we will suck isn't thundery showers breaking out. the first batch of showers works to the south—west and those perhaps not having too heavy rain, although the drops will be big. as a day goes by,

the showers get heavier, some such —— thunderstorms around and there to riches continue to ease back. boost showers and thunderstorms become quite widespread saturday evening and overnight. into sunday, a band of rain follows the showers through and it is this band of rain that is going to bringing in a cool and fresh there. by sunday, maximum temperatures around 20 degrees or so. hello. this is business briefing. i'm maryam moshiri. rebooting nafta: mexico, canada and the us battle to save their trillion dollar trade pact — amid president trump's threats to pull the plug. plus — joining the high flyers: why private planes aren't just for billionaires. we take a trip with the boss of netjets and on the markets tech stocks have taken a hit in asia — we'll hear more from babita in singapore in a moment.