hello. this is the briefing from bbc news. i'm sally bundock. our top stories: facing bankruptcy. the company at the heart of the facebook data scandal, cambridge analytica, announces it's closing. donald trump suggests north korea could soon release three detained americans. it's reported the us citizens have been moved from a labour camp to a hotel. we have a special report from iraq, where elite security forces are now focusing on gang violence, corruption and drugs in basra. this is the elite force that goes out every night to try and crack down on organised crime in this city. draining the batteries. more huge losses for electric car maker, tesla. but ceo elon musk insists they're well on the road to profitability. also in business briefing, we'll be live to china, where team trump has arrived in a bid to head off a damaging trade war.

a warm welcome to the programme, in this hour, we'll brief you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. as the maverick billionaire boss of tesla, elon musk, called analysts questions boring and "not cool" as they tried to grill him about his company's earnings. he's also said if you're in a bad meeting at work, you should just walk out. what do you make of his style? is it refreshing or rude? send us your comments. just use the hashtag, #bbcthebriefing. let's get started.

in a notice on its website, cambridge analytica has confirmed it's ceasing operations worldwide and is filing for insolvency. the political consultancy has been at the centre of a scandal over the misuse of facebook data. the british firm says it's been vilified for practices that are legal and standard in online advertising, and that virtually all its customers have been driven away by the media coverage. our media editor amol rajan reports. it sold itself as the pioneer of a new kind of digital marketing, able to give companies and political campaigns unprecedented control over their message. but cambridge analytica bowed to the inevitable. the company, which denies any wrongdoing, received the data of some 87 million users via an app developer. it was the harvesting of that data which ultimately caused its undoing. in recent months, scrutiny of the company's practices

has been remorseless. the london offices were raided by the information commissioner. people see the work that we did in a negative light... erstwhile ceo alexander nix stepped down not long after a grilling by the culture, media and sports select committee. the committee's chairman said this wasn't the end of the matter. we've got to make sure that this is not an attempt to run and hide, that these companies aren't closing down to try and avoid being vigorously investigated for the allegations made against them, the misuse of data, the ethics and legality of their practices. those investigations have to continue, we have to know what happened. in a statement, cambridge analytica said the scandal had driven away virtually all customers and suppliers, leaving the comp no longer viable and now entereing administration. fallout from the controversy is global and ongoing. the founder and ceo of facebook, mark zuckerberg, apologised in washington last month for his company's failure to control the british firm. we didn't take a broad enough view

of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. and it was my mistake, and i'm sorry. many analysts believe this scandal will have a long—lasting impact. this whole affair has changed people's perceptions of social media. we've drifted into the way that we use these tools without really a clear understanding of how that data is used, and how it's targeted by advertisers. we have had to be much more mindful and it's making people more mindful of what they share. the company says it will honour its obligations to staff, but many think the company still has questions to answer. we will discuss that in more detail later in the programme. president trump has suggested in a tweet that the three americans being held in north korea could be on the brink of being released.

mike pompeo became the 70th secretary of state in a ceremony of political theatre a shot of pomp for a beleaguered department that for the past year has struggled with morale and direction. i want the state department to get its swagger back. we need our men and women out at the front lines, executing american diplomacy with great vigour and energy, and to represent the finest nation in the history of civilisation, we should be proud of that and i'm counting on you all to help communicate in every corner of the world. and true to type, mr pompeo got straight down to business. we are committed to the permanent, verifiable, irreversible dismantling of north korea's weapons of mass destruction programme and to do so without delay.

even before he was confirmed as america's top diplomat, mike pompeo made a secret visit to north korea over easter. he met with kimjong—un himself in a bid to pave the way for the highly anticipated summit with president trump in the coming month. the trip caught most people by surprise, like much of us foreign policy itself, and the president hinted at more to come. and you'll be doing things that you don't even know about. right now, they're not even a glimmer in your eye. but... and we have a couple going, mike, right now, that a lot of people don't know about, that are very, very encouraging. mr pompeo's predecessor, rex tillerson, was often at odds with the president, who frequently contradicted him in public, before unceremoniously firing him by tweet. i think rex will be much happier now, but i really appreciate his service. thank you. mr pompeo is clearly more in tune with mr trump — at least for now. less clear is whether that

will translate into a more coherent foreign policy, particularly on contentious issues such as syria, iran and north korea. jane o'brien, bbc news, washington. let's brief you on other stories in the news. one of donald trump's lawyers has contradicted him over a payment to a porn actress to keep her silent during the 2016 election campaign. the us president denies having an affair with stormy daniels and that his lawyer, michael cohen, paid her $130,000. rudy giuliani — the former new york mayor who's now on trump's legal team — said the president had personally repaid mr cohen. but insisted the transaction was legal and the money had not come from campaign funds. anti—government protests in armenia have been suspended after the governing party indicated it would be willing to back the opposition leader, nikol pashinyan, as the next prime

minister during a vote in parliament next week. tens of thousands of his supporters have been out on the streets of the capital. our top business story today is the electric car maker, tesla. its vehicles may not burn any fuel, but the company is burning through cash at quiet an alarming rate. $6500 a minute, according to bloomberg. that's beginning to try the patience of once loyal investors. on wednesday, elon musk, its chief executive, promised that the firm will finally be profitable in the second half of this year, despite another quarter of huge losses. tesla lostjust under $710 million in the first three months of the year — its biggest ever quarterly loss. we have jane foley, senior fx strategist at rabobank with us. nice to see you. good morning. you

have been looking at what tesla had to say, a lot of this is about the model three, the mass—market car which is much more affordable. many wa nt to which is much more affordable. many want to get their hands on it but they are struggling to get at there, are they? yes. they have stuck to their target to try to produce 5000 model three is a week byjune, but of course people have been sceptical of course people have been sceptical of this because of the issues they have had with reduction. elon musk says this has to do with a software issue and that no other car companies are good at relating to softwa re companies are good at relating to software problems as them, so they will get it done. all other car manufacturers are catching up with him, if you like, in terms of their effo rts him, if you like, in terms of their efforts to produce electric vehicles. and tesla is extraordinary in the sense that its market cap is bigger than the other big carmakers in the world and yet, it has not made a profit yet, it is eating the

cash and many are actually now is this company really viable on a purely financial terms? is the most shorted stock on wall street right now. right now, it is and investors are getting it sceptical. i think the fact that so many retail investors invested in it, put down their deposits for the model three, it just goes to their deposits for the model three, itjust goes to show how much demand there is at there for this kind of product. whatever happens to tesla now, it has had a huge legacy and really turning around the motor industry and changing the big manufacturers's direction towards electric vehicles. here is quite a maverick and his style is quite different, we will talk later in business briefing about his style. we'll move on to that later, but let's talk about cambridge analytica the now because it is our top story today. they are now moving into insolvency, clients are running. they are. they said is the media's fault, the clients have gone, and thatis

fault, the clients have gone, and that is why they shutting up. i think it comes at an interesting time because we do have new laws coming in that involve shakeup of privacy, and i think this really highlights what we are having that shakeup highlights what we are having that sha keup relating to highlights what we are having that shakeup relating to privacy laws. thank you. she will return for the news briefing late in this programme, we will dig deep into those stories. for the meantime, let's focus on elections that are due to take place in a barn next week. —— iraq. the current prime minister haider al—abadi is facing a number of problems while trying to win another term. while the nation has been battling the so—called islamic state group — the country's oil capital basra has become a breeding ground for drugs and criminals. yalda hakim sent this report. is no in the basra, the time of day when a new war, a fight against

criminal drugs and gangs takes over the streets. this is the elite force that goes out every night on raids to try and crack down on organised crime in this city. in the passed two years, police say they have made more than 2000 drug—related arrests. but with youth unemployment at almost 50%, the swat team has something new to hunt every night. basra was spared from occupation by the so—called islamic state group, but the richest city in iraq has other problems. after years of war, occupation and insurgency, the locals he had hoped their city would become the next you buy, but there are no skyscrapers here, just high unemployment, crime and corruption. oil money for basra seems to never benefit basra. the people here italy complained. their young people are

faced with hard choices, many end up here ina faced with hard choices, many end up here in a prison. what are the issues you face it? —— here. under the saddam hussein regime, drug dealers and these are often put to death. now, they linger in cells like this. i mean, the conditions are like this. i mean, the conditions a re really like this. i mean, the conditions are really bad. yeah, very bad, no choice. there are two sides of basra. the city and the desert, run by the tribes. the tribal leaders have long—standing grievances against the government in baghdad. they say their land was taken for the oil companies, while their children got nothing. and prime minister haider al—abadi, they say, can no longer afford to ignore them.

at the cafe back in the city, young man on play dominoes and charts. they have no jobs to get up for in the morning. they tell me people in power alleging drugs ruined their city. —— are letting. in the upcoming elections, the

baghdad government must finally listened to the people in basra, locals warn, or risk them turning closer towards iran for their future. you can watch yalda hakim's documentary in full, iraq's war on meth, on bbc world news at various times. for viewers in the uk, you can watch it on the bbc iplayer and bbc news channel. stay with us on the briefing. also on the programme: all the sports news, including more on liverpool's progress to the final of the champions league, where they'll face real madrid in kiev. nothing, it seems, was too big to withstand the force of the tornado. the extent of the devastation

will lead to renewed calls for government help to build better housing. internationally, there have already been protests. sweden says it received no warning of the accident. indeed, the russians at first denied anything had gone wrong. only when radioactive levels started to increase outside russia were they forced to admit the accident. for the mujahideen, the mood here is of great celebration. this is the end of a 12—year war for them. they've taken the capital, which they have fighting for for so long. it was 7:00am in the morning, the day when power began to pass from the minority to the majority, when africa, after 300 years, reclaimed its last white colony. you are watching the briefing. our headlines:

the company at the heart of the facebook data scandal, cambridge analytica, says it can't stay in business anymore, and is to close down. america's new top diplomat is sworn in. mike pompeo pledges to change the course of history on the korean peninsula. it is 36 years since the british toddler katrice lee disappeared in germany during a trip to a supermarket with her mum. since then, detectives have failed to establish what happened to her. but today, they are due to start digging up a riverbank in the german town of paderborn, close to the british army base where she lived with her family. jenny hill reports. on the banks of the german river, the slow, painful search begins. under the mud, clues perhaps to a

case which has baffled detectives for decades. katrice lee disappeared during a supermarket trip with her mother. it was her second birthday. the family lived on the nearby british army base. despite the huge search, soldiers, police, volunteers, she was neverfound. search, soldiers, police, volunteers, she was never foundm reality, what the family has got is a shadow, or a damocles sword, hanging over the family for five weeks. i am sat here talking to you andi weeks. i am sat here talking to you and i am hoping that they find nothing, but belief does not change. iam100% nothing, but belief does not change. i am 100% certain that katrice was abducted. over the years, havas' impressions of a girl growing up. police say it is possible katrice is alive are unaware of her background. this is, they think, what she would look like today. the police admit they made mistakes during their original investigation. they have now reanalysed original investigation. they have now rea nalysed old original investigation. they have now reanalysed old evidence, and it

is that, they say, which has led them right here to this spot. and to a search which opens old wounds, but aims finally to expose the truth. here is our briefing on some of the key events happening later. first up: staff from air france begin another a two—day strike, the latest in a series of industrial action pushing for a pay rise. then, in brussels, belgium prime minister charles michel will address the european parliament. this is part of a series in which the leaders of european union member states present their vision for the future of europe. today is world press freedom day, with events organised by unesco to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom and assess the state of press freedom throughout the world. and, later in paris, a 1939 tintin illustration by the artist herge is up for auction at christie's. its estimated price is between 500,000 and 600,000 euros. now it is time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre.

hello, i'm azi farni, with your thursday sport briefing. after 22 years as manager of arsenal, arsene wenger is looking to leave the club on a high, and winning the europa league to guarantee champions league football next season would make sure he does. but his side have it all to do if they are to make the final. after throwing away a one—goal lead, they need to beat atletico madrid on home turf later on thursday. i would like to finish well myjob, and i believe as well a man has to give his best, as long as he's somewhere, with the whole commitment and energy.

i would like to walk out of arsenal one day and think, i have focused on arsenal. and when myjob is finished, we go from there. i want to finish with this love story well. translation: we need an explosive stadium, thrilled and full of positive energy, passionate, because thatis positive energy, passionate, because that is what we are. we want passionate people with us. we want people full of excitement. we need to have a communion between us and the fans. we are obviously fighting a dangerous rival with great players. it will be a beautiful game for those who watch it. the nba's eastern conference semi—finals resume later on thursday, and philadelphia are looking for a big reaction. the 76ers, who won 16 games in a row at the end of the regular season, were soundly beaten in game one, 117—101, by the boston celtics, and it has left philly with plenty to work on. i thought it was one of our poorer

defensive games that we have played ina defensive games that we have played in a while. you know, the 3—point shot is what we are all speaking about, and the rotation is behind that. there is some truth to that. i think that some of it was some missed assignments. some of it i give them credit for, but it sure was a big part of the difference. in case you missed it... liverpool have booked their place in the champions league final, despite losing to roma in italy. the reds brought a 5—2 lead from the first leg, and went 1—0 up on the night thanks to sadio mane. after an own—goal from james milner made it 1—1, gini wijnaldum restored liverpool's four—goal aggregate lead. but, after edin dzeko made it 2—2, radja nainggolan gave the home side hope with two late strikes, including a stoppage—time penalty. it wasn't enough, though. liverpool won the tie 7—6. so now it was 7—6 on aggregate, which sounds crazy because

it is crazy. we came into the competition and as a qualifier, and are now in the final. and i'm really, really happy for the boys, and really happy for the club and really happy for fans. it was a fantastic ride so far, and yes, now we'll go to kiev. a town in canada's western province of british columbia has an unlikely menace stalking its streets. it is being overrun by wild peacocks. the large birds have invaded backyards, and can even be seen knocking on people's windows. as virginia langeberg reports, locals are not exactly rolling out the welcome mat for their feathered neighbours. they are often admired for their majestic appearance, but when these residents of sullivan heights moved m, residents of sullivan heights moved in, it is likely most locals had no idea what they were in for. any time

they are disturbed, they start screaming. and it sounds a lot like a crying baby. i have gone into my kids room, thinking they are crying at night, and it turns out to be a peacock. around 150 of the large exotic birds now freely roam the streets, undisturbed, and they have well and truly made themselves at home. i can't send kids into the backyard to play. my kids never play in the backyard, because our patio is full of poop. sometimes my neighbours have scratches on their ca rs. neighbours have scratches on their cars. the neighbourhood is located in surrey, british columbia, where peacocks fall outside the scope of animal control. and just where did they come from, you ask? well, it is rumoured they were on a rural property in the area a decade ago, but now it seems anyone's backyard can bea but now it seems anyone's backyard can be a new nest. one resident has taken matters can be a new nest. one resident has ta ken matters into can be a new nest. one resident has taken matters into their own hands, cutting down a healthy tree on his property where peacocks were nesting. the homeowner now faces a

$1000 fine and potential for much more. we will continue with our investigations, looking into further legal actions and fines into the homeowner and the individual who cut the tree down. the city says it plans to hold community meetings to educate residents on how best to deal with the birds. and tell me what you think about our talking point today. the maverick billionaire boss of tesla, elon musk, called analysts' questions boring and not cool, as they grilled him about his company's earnings. many of you have been in touch, some saying he is arrogant and rude. quite a few have had that opinion. others say he is a billionaire owner ofa others say he is a billionaire owner of a company who will get a lot of flak. i will see you said.

-- i will —— i will see you soon. hello. there's warmer weather on the way for the bank holiday weekend. for most of us, it's looking dry, as well, with increasing sunshine as the weekend goes on. we're not quite there yet, though. even from the word go, a bit of patchy rainfall parts of northern ireland and western scotland. for many, though, it willjust be a clear and chilly start to the day with a touch of frost on the ground in some spots. some outbreaks of rain, though, for northern ireland running in the western parts of scotland. at least some showers heading in the north—west england, a bit of that range us fringing on the pa rt bit of that range us fringing on the part of wales as well. and after that sunnis start through many southern and eastern parts of the uk, you can expect in cloud to build. but many of us will stay dry. there will still be some sunny spells into the afternoon. quite a brisk trees across the northern half of the uk, around ten to 1a degrees for most of us but as high as 10 degrees in south—east england —— 17 degrees. on through thursday night

and into friday morning, a fair amount of cloud around. the fairest weather in east anglia and the south—east of england, not as chilly as it will be on thursday morning so for most of us friday starts on a mild note with a lot of cloud around, a bit misty and murky places. still some outbreaks of rain, especially the northern and western parts of scotland. still with a chance of a few showers here to go through the day. for much of the uk, though, friday will be a dry day. there will be a few breaks in the cloud, and noticed those temperatures are just coming up a few degrees. the sun when it is out is going to feel warmer as a result. and as we go on friday and into the weekend, we are going to see high pressure building. still some weather fronts will create far north—west of the uk, especially in the north—west scotland. it is not going to be as warm here as it is elsewhere, but the most places that we will offer plenty of dry weather. increasing amount of sunshine, and it is going to feel warmer. this is how saturday is shaping up. it could well be quite cloudy, misty and

murky to begin the day, but then we get to see some sunny spells around. more cloud, though, for northern ireland and the western scotland. here we will start to see a bit of patchy rain moving into north—west scotland. and for some here on sunday morning there will be some thick cloud and outbreaks of rain, whereas for england and wales there will be plenty of sunshine around on sunday. in most places the temperatures getting into the low 20s, and that sunshine will be more widespread in the bank holiday, along with the warmer weather. this is your business briefing. i'm sally bundock. draining the batteries. more huge losses for electric car maker, tesla. but the boss, elon musk, insists they're well on the road to profitability. plus, showdown in beijing. team trump fly in as the us and china try to head off a looming trade war. and on the financial markets today, japan and again for a public

holiday. that is wednesday's trading session per right now in hong kong, we are seeing losses down 1.6%. we will talk you through the losses later.