this is the briefing. i'm david eades. our top story: new revelations about the russian spy poisoned in the uk. his doctor tells the bbc he didn't think sergei skripal or his daughter would survive. italy's two main populist parties call for peaceful protests, after an unelected, pro—eu technocrat is chosen as prime minister. who should own the land in south africa? the governing anc is under pressure to confiscate white property and hand it over to the black majority. with all that political turmoil in italy, the euro tumbles to a near 6.5 month low as another new prime minister tries to form a government. and in the business briefing, our very own theo leggitt sets off to solve paris‘ air pollution problem. hello. a warm welcome to the programme — as we brief you on all you need

to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. we're asking today if you've started reducing your dependency on plastics, cotton buds, cutlery, straws, you name it. the european commission's looking at a ban on all those products. are you ahead of the curve? if so, what lengths are you going to to save the planet? just use the hashtag, #bbcthebriefing. a consultant who treated poisoned russian ex—spy sergei skripal and his daughter yulia has revealed he did not think the pair would survive. both have been released from hospital now, but medics told bbc newsnight about the extraordinary situation they faced when the skripals were rushed into their care after being found unconscious from the effects of the military nerve agent novichok on a bench in the area on march 4th. is just before 5pm on the fourth of

march. we were just told that there was two patients down the emergency department who were on well and they would be coming up to the unit. department who were on well and they would be coming up to the unitm was very quickly established that the victims were yulia skripal and her father, the victims were yulia skripal and herfather, one—time the victims were yulia skripal and her father, one—time russian the victims were yulia skripal and herfather, one—time russian spy sergei skripal, and that the police regarded it as suspicious. sergei skripal, and that the police regarded it as suspiciouslj sergei skripal, and that the police regarded it as suspicious. i made the phone call and i spoke to the nurse in charge had been on call that night and it was a conversation that night and it was a conversation that i really could never have imagined in my wildest imagination is having with anyone. at first, an opioid overdose was suspected, but as the skripals fought for their lives, the diagnosis changed the nerve agent poisoning. when we first we re

nerve agent poisoning. when we first were aware this was the nerve agent, were aware this was the nerve agent, we we re were aware this was the nerve agent, we were expecting them not to survive. we will try all about therapies, we would insure the best clinical care, not all the evidence was there that they would not survive. when a policeman also fell ill, hospital staff started to wonder whether they too might be in danger. i suppose the key marker for me was when the pc was admitted with symptoms, there was the real concern as to how big could this get? at first, it was simply a matter of keeping the skripals alive, heavily sedated. both of them were given heavy doses of drugs to protect them from the effects of the poison and help restart their body's production ofa help restart their body's production of a key enzyme, and the human factor was vital too. excellent teamwork by the dock is, fantastic ca re teamwork by the dock is, fantastic care and dedication by our nurses, and supported and supplemented a great deal by some input from really

well informed national experts. it is very fortunate some of whom happen to another doorstep at porton down. that laboratory, known for its chemical weapons expertise, processed tests and offered advice on the best therapies. yulia was discharged in april and last week made a statement thanking the hospital, but it took several more weeks before sergei skripal could follow her out of salisbury district. he spent his whole stay in a room at on the intensive care ward because that is where police wanted to secure him. they have been brought back from the brink of death but questions remain about the longer term. we have a total world experience of treating three patients for the effects of novichok poisoning, and i think it is safe to say that we are still learning. in salisbury district hospital, the

formal review of the skripal affair is only just starting formal review of the skripal affair is onlyjust starting but formal review of the skripal affair is only just starting but for those involved, it was a remarkable episode crowned with success. and you can watch bbc newsnight on bbc two in the uk on tuesday may 29 at 10.30pm. now, the political crisis in italy — which is europe's fourth biggest economy — is intensifying with the nomination of an unelected economist as caretaker prime minister. italy's two main anti—establishment parties, though, have promised to block carlo cottarelli. if that happens, there will be fresh elections.a major obstacle —— if that happens, there will be fresh elections. a major obstacle in creating a government has been italy's commitment to the single european currency, as james reynolds reports. this is italy's newest prime minister—designate. carlo cottarelli is a pro—euro economist and a non—populist.

the president has picked him to maintain italy's current relationship with the european union. translation: it's essential to defend our interests in europe and be constructive. italy is a founding country. our role is essential, as is our continued participation in the euro. grazie. but the populists, led here by the league's matteo salvini, have the numbers to reject the president's choice and force early elections. mr salvini, who's been going up in the polls, wants the freedom to govern his way. translation: if the president of the republic tells us, "do as you want, but don't touch the european rules," we have a problem with democracy, because i think in italy, the people are sovereign and don't depend entirely on european markets and bureaucracies. wherever you look here, there are signs of italy's six decade—long partnership with europe.

but this country has begun to shift. this is the country that helped to found the european union. why are the populist parties turning against it? because people think that germany rules all europe and germany rules italy. and they want to control italy and the agreements on european union is an advantage for germany and a disadvantage for italy. italy is used to changing prime ministers, but this is much more serious than that. an election later this year may become an unofficial referendum on italy's membership of the euro and on its place in the european union, that this country helped to create. james reynolds, bbc news, rome. what to make of it?

justin urquhart stewart from seven investment management joins me now. good to see you. carlo cottarelli, another name we should probably not consign the memory banks for too long as the new prime minister.m remarkable, isn't it, when you actually think about what has happened here? here have an election that has thrown up the possibility for a government with two parties on the opposite extreme in this world, and despite their voting power, they cannot actually get a leader approved. mind you, it is probably just as well because i think it is fascinating to see, italy functions well despite its politicians, not because of its politicians, so it can carry on in this way for some time. i suppose that is going to be the worry of the markets as well, it is uncertain. obviously, the situation is reflected immediately by the markets and it is about one. it is indeed, it looked at the bond rates have actually gone up. it is

astonishing when you look at europe, you have the us bond rate of 2.4% and yet you have the euro at barely 196, and yet you have the euro at barely i%, and it is quite remarkable. so it is covering up all the problems that a lot of these economies have. iam afraid that a lot of these economies have. i am afraid we are living in a rather false world at the moment because the economic issues will italy are really very significant indeed. we're going to have a little bit more on italy a little later in the review of the media, so we will catch up on that as well. the thank you very much indeed for coming in. —— but. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. the hungarian government is due to submit to parliament in budapest today a new package of laws and a constitutional amendment, targeting civil rights groups which help asylum seekers. it's the latest move in a three year campaign by prime minister viktor orban against illegal migration, which he says can and should be stopped. the russian billionaire and owner of chelsea football club, roman abramovich, has been granted

israeli citizenship under the law of return — which allowsjews to become citizens of israel. he's been unable to extend his british visa following growing diplomatic tension between london and moscow, he was unable to watch chelsea's fa cup final victory against manchester united earlier in the month. tributes are being paid to one of the giants of french industry, serge dassault, who has died at the age of 93. president macron said that mr dassault — billed by forbes as france's third richest person — had dedicated his life to developing an industrial jewel. a second day of talks has taken place between north korean and us officials in this race to lay the groundwork for a summit between president trump and kimjung—un. plenty of talk around at the moment. our correspondent rupert wingfield hayes joins us from the south korean capital, seoul. rupert, it does feel suddenly as if

it isa rupert, it does feel suddenly as if it is a race against time. yeah, it absolutely is a race against time if they are going to succeed in arranging a summit for during the 12 in singapore, as president trump appears to want, because there is just so little time left. but things are moving rapidly, not only are their talks going on here, actually we learned today that they did not ta ke we learned today that they did not take place yesterday, they took place on sunday. nothing yesterday, may be on again today at the demilitarised zone between senior us and north korean officials at we have also just heard that a very senior north korean official is, has been spotted at beijing airport, heading for the united states. he is considered by many to be kim jong—un's right—hand man on south korean affairs and on the united states. he is effectively north korea's spy chief. he accompanied

kim jong—un on both korea's spy chief. he accompanied kimjong—un on both of his recent trips to china, and also he accompanied kim jong—un's sister when she came here to south korea for the winter olympics. so the fact that he has been spotted heading for the united states suggest there may be talks planned there as well. so all relatively at this stage at the for the moment. rupert, thank you very much indeed. stay with us here on the briefing. also on the programme... we'll have a round—up of the sport, including an upset at the french open. former champion stan wawrinka crashes out of the first round. in the biggest international sporting spectacle ever seen, up to 30 million people have taken part in sponsored athletics events to aid famine relief in africa. the first of what the makers of star wars hope will be thousands of queues started forming at 7am.

taunting which led to scuffles, scuffles to fighting, fighting to full—scale riot, as the liverpool fans broke out of their area and into the juve ntus enclosure. the belgian police had lost control. the whole world will mourn the tragic death of mr nehru today. he was the father of the indian people from the day of independence. the oprah winfrey show comes to an end after 25 years and more than 4,500 episodes. the chat show has made her one of the richest people on the planet. geri halliwell, otherwise known as ginger spice, has announced she's left the spice girls. argh! i don't believe it! she's the one with the bounce, the go, the girl power. not geri — why? you're watching the briefing. our headlines: new revelations about the russian spy poisoned in the uk — his doctor tells the bbc he didn't think sergei skripal

or his daughter would survive. italy's two main populist parties call for peaceful protests after an unelected, pro—eu technocrat is chosen as prime minister. subtropical storm alberto, the first named atlantic storm of 2018, has made landfall in the united states on the north west coast of the southern state of florida. it's now weakened to a subtropical depression but is still expected to bring heavy rains and flash flooding to more of the south as it makes its way through alabama and georgia, bringing some dangerously high water. caroline rigby has more. not the memorial day weather they'd been hoping for. barbecues on the beach abandoned due to blustery conditions and dangerous surf. hurricane season hasn't formally started here, but despite what the calendar says, the stormy weather has already begun.

it is very unusual to have an early named storm in may, the hurricane season about to start, first ofjune. there's been 14 named storm since 1951, so it's very unusual. having picked up strength to the gulf of mexico, alberto made landfall in the florida panhandle on monday afternoon with winds of more than 150km an hour. as it travels inland, it will lose energy. the key threat heavy rain and flooding with up to 30 centimetres forecast as it moves north. residents spent much of the weekend preparing for the worst, swapping the memorial day celebrations for sandbags. this is a reminder that we live in an area that is affected by hurricane, and rain is a big factor when it comes to tropical systems, so you need to be prepared. this storm comes just a day after another caused flash flooding in maryland.

and in cuba, the cleanup is under way after alberto dumped 10cm of rain in less than eight hours. so with hurricane season yet to begin, residents across the us and the caribbean will be hoping this early visitor isn't a sign of things to come. caroline rigby, bbc news. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. first to geneva, where syria is to take up the rotating presidency of the united nations conference on disarmament. in gaza city, palestinian activists plan to launch boats from gaza in a bid to break the israeli—imposed ii—year blockade. also this morning, in strasbourg, the european court of human rights gives rulings on two cases involving secret cia prisons reportedly run in lithuania and romania. and in the united states, starbucks is closing more than 8,000 of its coffee shops across the country for a four—hour, anti—bias training session.

that's after outrage over arrest of two black men in one of its cafes. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, i'm marc edwards and this is your tuesday sport briefing. coming up we'll take a look at an alternative sticker album for those of you collecting ahead of the world cup in russia and standby for a shock for stan wawrinka at the french open tennis. all around the world teams are preparing for the football world cup in russia. germany are the defending champions having famously won the tournament in brazilfour years ago. they've been training at their italian base ahead of warm—up games against austria and saudi arabia injune. we caught up with chelsea defender antonio rudiger who has been praising his club coach antonio conte despite the fact he's widely expected to leave stamford bridge in the coming weeks.

i think everyone knows he is a very good coach. tactically very good. in its first year he won the league. in the second year, the fa cup. he has shown that he is a coach that can win titles and this is what i am about. i want to win titles. if he stays or maybe goes, to me, it is the same situation. the king of clay, rafa nadal, has got his title defence at the french open underway but his match with lucky loser simone bolelli was suspended due to rain. it will now be completed on tuesday. nadal‘s opening match in his title defence was proving to be a challenge. bolelli pushed the spaniard all the way in the first couple of sets. but despite nadal being two sets up when the rain hit bolellis is three games to love up in the third. intriguingly poised. that match should end on tuesday as long as the weather behaves itself. serena williams returns to herjob at the highest level of tennis in paris on tuesday — this time as a 36—year—old mother. her opponent first round is czech player

kristyna pliskova, who's currently ranked at number 70 in the world. pliskova has said she is delighted particularly since she has never played williams. it's the american's first grand slam match since winning the australian open last year. shock of the day in paris was reserved for poor old stan wawrinka. last year's runner—up suffered a surprise defeat to 34—year—old guillermo garcia—lopez in the first round. the swiss player won the title back in 2015 however, he crashed out at the first time of asking this time around in five sets. the three—time major winner will now drop outside the world's top 250 following an injury plagued season. petra kvitova survived a tough test to book her spot in the second round. the eighth seed dropped the first set against veronica cepede royg of paraguay — but the double wimbledon winner cruised through the second, before taking the decider by seven games to five. now something that's caught our eye on social media ahead

of the world cup in russia. swiss football magazine tschutti—heftli have released an alternative world cup sticker album that includes somewhat different images of footballers designed by artists from around the world. does your old world cup sticker album carry the same charm it used to? well a total of 7.5 million of these alternative stickers have been printed. some of the money raised will help a network of organisations who work for the rights of children. i literally need every single one of these. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, marc edwards, and the rest of the sport team, that's your tuesday sport briefing. in south africa, there's been a surge in so—called "land invasions" — with poor communities illegally occupying empty properties.

the governing anc is under pressure to put more land in the hands of the black majority — and it's now considering confiscating land without paying compensation. that's causing alarm among some white farmers, who fear echoes of the violence and intimidation that occurred in neighbouring zimbabwe under robert mugabe. from johannesburg, our correspondent andrew harding reports. on the edge ofjohannesburg, an empty field is proving too much of a temptation. dozens of families have begun marking out plots for themselves. it's 20 feet, up to here, and from here, it's 15 to that stick over there. can you see that stick over there? yes. standing. they know land grabbing is illegal, but still... you just want a piece of land? just a piece of land. not so big, just a piece of land where i can put my family, build a house — live. within hours, the police arrive, and tempers flare. you will see the blood

flowing like a river! this isn't some isolated incident, it's a pattern that's now spreading across south africa. we need our land back, that's it, and we are going to grab it by force. they have to kill us. that sort of rhetoric is growing, along with a focus on the country's powerful white minority. it's so painful to us, man. if you can stand in my shoes and be emphatic enough, you'll understand the situation i'm living in, and you'll never be able to stand for it. you must be able to talk to our brothers and sisters who are white and exploiting us, man. that frustration may be understandable in a country where blacks still own just 8% of all farmland. now, under growing pressure, the governing anc is talking about changing the constitution, to enable it to seize white owned land. we can take the land, we should take the land using legal processes and being

formal as a government — a responsible, democratic government. but quick. but quick, and also not be told, "go there", "don't go there". that kind of talk makes some south africans nervous. to the north ofjohannesburg, white landowners are on patrol. have you had security problems before? plenty. they cut our fence two weeks ago and also, last week they chopped it. some fear a repeat of the chaotic land grabs that crippled zimbabwe, but others believe it's time to embrace reform. well, i think this, this moment politically, is an enormous opportunity. we haven't seen this kind of opening up of debate around land, property relations for the past 20 years. and here's how it can work.

south of johannesburg, this 26—year—old has taken over an abandoned farm with help from government. now it's thriving, an example for others. i am confident. and convinced there's not going to be a zimbabwe style mess? i doubt it, i doubt it. like, i doubt it, seriously, i do. i just think that we, as people, we just need a little bit of a push there and there, getting a little bit of finance and start our productions. i don't think we'll fail. but there is still plenty that could go wrong here. after dithering for years on land reform, the government here insists it is now going to act urgently, but what if it fails? poor south africans may not be patient for much longer. some are already being pushed to the brink. this was another illegal settlement. we arrived just hours after it had been bulldozed by the authorities. we found a community in shock. where will you stay tonight? i don't know.

let them come and talk to us, as humans! we are humans over here! that's our country. our country, but not our land — that is the dilemma that south africa needs to confront, fast. andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. no hiding the emotions there in south africa. stay with me on bbc news, i'll be back with the business briefing in just a few moments — we'll have more on all that political turmoil in italy. hello there. monday was the warmest day so far across england and

scotland. apart from one or two storms, most places were dry and sunny. a different sort of problem for some north sea coasts. here in durham, for example, a bit misty. that is coming back in on the north—easterly is due to the high pressured the north and low pressure to the south. that will introduce a more storms from the near continent, particularly across southern parts of the uk, in the next few days, but these will head further north. one oi’ these will head further north. one or two showers in the morning across southern counties. the low cloud and grey start phoning back to the coast. some showers that it was the midlands, even into wales later in the day. further north, likely to be dry. sunniest skies for northern ireland scotland. temperatures vary in the mid—20s also. showers into the evening across southern parts of england and wales. they may fade for a while another batch is continued

later in the night. further north, more problems with mist fog, and low cloud of the north sea. that will retract to the north coasts, but the weather weather will be on the move. heavy rain and potentially thundery rain will push westwards into wales. the south—west looks drier and conditions should improve in the south—east in the afternoon. again, scotla nd south—east in the afternoon. again, scotland and northern ireland largely dry and sunny. this is where it will be warmest of all. pressure is is lowering. maybe the weather weather will transfer for the north into northern ireland in south—west scotland, but some more downpours will come into the south—east, spilling to wales, england, and south—west scotland. friday we end the week with the wettest of the

weather heading northwards into northern ireland, northern england, perhaps into scotland prices is only a bit drier at last across southern pa rt a bit drier at last across southern part of england and wales, where it will be warm and humid, with temperatures widely into the low 20s. hello. this is business briefing. i'm david eades. carlo cottarelli, a leading italian economist, has agreed to lead an interim government. but italy's two biggest anti—establishment parties are already saying they'll block him. driving cars off the streets. we look at how paris is tackling the problem of rising levels of air pollution. and let's have a look at the markets for you. the dowjones, forget it. that is on friday. they had a day off yesterday as well. as for the hang seng and the nikkei, down a little bit. perhaps as much a reflection of what is going on in europe, as much as anywhere else.