this is the briefing. i'm samantha simmonds. our top story: a first round of talks in new york between the us and north korea. the americans say it went well. ukraine faces criticism over the fake murder of a russian journalist in kiev. what will brexit mean for the arts in britain? some already fear it won't be good news. as one big rating agency puts a dozen italian banks and several major companies on negative ratings watch, it's populist parties are in talks to try to find some fresh way to form a government. 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. tell us what you think

about all the stories we're covering — just use #bbcthebriefing. one of north korea's highest—ranking officials is in new york for talks aimed at finalising plans for an historic summit next month between his country's leader, kim jong—un, and president trump. a second round of talks is due later on thursday between general kim yong—chol and the us secretary of state, mike pompeo. prospects for a summit in singapore appear to have improved since mr trump briefly cancelled it last week in response to some harsh rhetoric from north korea. joining me now is our correspondent in seoul, hywel griffith. welcome to you. we know some details are emerging about this meeting, not least, what they had for dinner. what else do we know? we know far more about the food than the actual outcome of this initial discussion.

mike pompeo tweeting that they enjoy some steak, corn, and cheese, not saying what they have agreed so far. the key point they have to agree on is the meaning of denuclearisation. the us and mike pompeo —— pompeo have been very clear that what do us expects to come out of any summit is a total, verifiable, denuclearisation. what north korea might want would be something far less tha n might want would be something far less than that, maybe a step towards ora plan less than that, maybe a step towards or a plan for long—term denuclearisation. so the meeting in new york is about trying to get those two such close together so they have enough common ground to go to singapore. it is not the only active conversation going on. meanwhile, on the korean peninsula, in the denuclearisation, there are talks between the us and north korea happening. there they will be looking far more at the details of any agreement if singapore is going to happen. it is a very dynamic situation. we know more about the

menu that actually whether the summit is on offer. probably not a surprise that those other details are emerging. a lot more going around this. we also have sergey lavrov heading over to the region, haven't we? i think we need to remember that while everyone is focused on the relationship between north korea and the us, north korea normally does its business with china and with russia, its neighbours. if it is not surprising that sergey lavrov would want to come in and see what north korea's thinking is. we understand that he was due to land today. we don't know much about his presence, who exactly will be talking to, whether he will speak to kim jong—un directly, however it is something that russia will want a close candelon, because well beyond singapore, if that happens, russia's relationship will go on. it is difficult to get information out of north korea. do we know if any of these talks are being reported there? take a look at

today's daily newspaper, the front page is dominated with news of a breach being completed for a rally on the eastern coast in north korea. it isa on the eastern coast in north korea. it is a vote is —— photo special for the first two pages. go through all six pages, no mention at all of the talks going on in new york or in the demilitarised zone. so the people in north korea, and the limited access they have to information, not being told about these negotiations that the rest of the world is focused on. there was mentioning is a's paper about sergey lavrov‘s arrival, but he was relegated to the bottom of the fourth page, so, again, possibly ina the fourth page, so, again, possibly in a situation the people in north korea may be the last to know what the potential outcome would be. that said, the paper and the state media been wanting to show the negotiations and the meetings between kim jong—un and mike negotiations and the meetings between kimjong—un and mike pompeo when he came to north korea. so in its time the state—run media will tell the people what is going on,

but obviously the version it wants them to you. 0k. thank you. much of the world has been watching the extraordinary turn of events in ukraine where a russian journalist, who was reported to have been assassinated, appeared alive and well at a news conference in kiev. the journalist arkady babchenko, who is a critic of the russian government, was said to have been shot dead at his home. but on wednesday we learnt that the incident had been staged by the ukrainian security service to expose russian agents operating in ukraine. caroline rigby reports. alive and well, the russian journalist and prominent kremlin critic, arkady babchenko, appearing at a press conference into his own death nearly 20 hours after he had been reported to have been shot and killed. these were his colleagues at the ukrainian tv channel where he worked. translation: first, i would like to apologise for what all of you had to experience, and what you had

to get through. i have buried friends and colleagues many times and i know this sickening feeling. i'm sorry you had to experience it, but there was no other way. in an astonishing turn of events, it soon emerged mr babchenko had been a willing participant in the security service sting, that we are told aimed to foil a russian plot to kill him and up to 30 other people. one person has now been arrested. but as mr babchenko met ukraine's president, relief that he was alive had already turned to debate about the ethics of the operation. i think that our security services have worked very specifically under their mandate and they have carried out their responsibilities professionally. also, we have to understand that when we are trying to paint the picture, it is not always black and white. russia's foreign ministry called the staged murder

"an anti—russian provocation". it accused ukraine of deceiving the entire international community. ukrainian authorities say the plot was justified, but as a country that claims to be on the frontline in fighting what it sees as russia's war of disinformation, many question whether this fake news assassination will have a lasting impact on the country's credibility and even that of its western allies. caroline rigby, bbc news. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. the disgraced film producer harvey weinstein has been indicted by a grand jury in new york. according to a statement released by the manhattan district attorney, weinstein has been indicted for rape in the first and third degrees, and criminal sexual act in the first degree. he denies the charges against him. the reality tv star kim kardashian west has met president trump at the white house for talks about prison reform and sentencing. the president tweeted this picture to say they had a great meeting.

it's understood mrs kardashian west raised the case of a 62—year—old woman who was jailed for life, for a first—time drugs offence, for whom she's seeking a pardon. president trump has weighed in over the scandal surrounding roseanne barr. her hit tv show has been cancelled by abc after the star published a racist tweet about an advisor to former president obama. the tv network apologised, but president trump has accused abc of hypocrisy, because, he says, nobody on the channel has ever apologised to him over what he claims is false reporting. authorities in algeria have seized more than 700 kilogrammes of cocaine aboard a container ship. the liberia—registered vessel was due to offload its cargo in the algerian port of 0ran, but the captain mysteriously refused to dock for three days. acting on a tip—off, the algerian coastguard boats forced the ship into port. the drugs were found in boxes marked as "halal meat". italy's populist parties are in talks to see if they can find

some fresh way to form a government. their initial attempt was scuppered earlier this week, when the president rejected their nomination of a eurosceptic economy minister. nina trentmann, a journalist at the wall streetjournal joins me now. good morning to you. thank you for being with us on bbc world this morning. we are still in a period of uncertainty, aren't we? we don't know what will happen with politics, but it seems these two parties are trying to move and find a way forward that would prevent early elections that people are talking about, which could be even more damaging circulate the expectation is that they will be an attempt in italy to form a government based on that outcome of the election and may be to agree on a finance minister thatis be to agree on a finance minister that is palatable to both sides. the markets will be watching this closely given we saw quite a sell—off on tuesday.

closely given we saw quite a sell-off on tuesday. we saw the market is coming down a bit on wednesday. because, of course, it is raising these concerns about how secure is italy and has it moved on from the depth of the economic crisis we have seen in other parts of europe in 2011, 2012, which remains to be seen, but we have seen a lot of people saying and commenting that unions, the economics in italy and other european countries are better these days so we should not be that much ofa days so we should not be that much of a concern. is that markets could study on wednesday, but moody ‘s has placed a dozen italian banks on rail —— negative ratings. it is still a concern. you have —— negative ratings. it is still a concern. you have a —— negative ratings. it is still a concern. you have a lot of unresolved issues, especially in the italian system. contrary to spain, where a lot of banks and the overall economy is in better shape, italy has been the slowest in moving back to growth and addressing some of the problems in the banking sector. we have seen quite a lot of banks come

back to health last year, but we saw a rescue of a couple of banks in italy. so we have the question of what happens if there is renewed market turmoil and how does that lead to putting pressure on italian banks and other italian businesses that are maybe not initiate there should be in. again. thank you. we will see you later for the news briefing. from adele to james bond, from david hockney to harry potter, the uk's creative talent is admired around the globe. and the creative industries are one of the uk's fastest growing sectors, growing at twice the rate of the overall economy. but some people are worried that brexit will be bad news for the arts, as david sillito explains. what you are looking at is the work ofa what you are looking at is the work of a british company called jellyfish. as you can see, it makes visual effects. they are one of the, if not the leading centre for doing

visual effects, animation, in the world. this has become very big business. there are more people making special effects in the uk these days than work in the coal industry. but what is really striking is how international workforce is. everyone is busily working away. this fellow is from spain, poland, ireland, belgium, sweden. if we can really show you what it is like you, we have to get eve ryo ne what it is like you, we have to get everyone together. here they all are. if you take away the workers from other european union countries, you begin to see how much this like these rely on access to european talent. and it is all about the people, because this firm does not have any computer hardware, it is all in the cloud. this one in particular has no computers. it is rare in our industry. it gives us the ability to pick it up and move

it to wear the challenges. and we will do that if we have to, and many of us are already doing that. —— where the challenges. but what of other parts of the circle creative industries? this is the city birmingham symphony orchestra. collette is from holland. her orchestral life began in the eu's youth 0rchestra, which was based in the uk and is now moving to italy. you feel part of one big european family. it feels very sad that this is now ripped apart. but for the moment leaving the eu is all about practicalities will stop much of their income comes from europe. practicalities will stop much of their income comes from europem we had to go and sort out visits to embassies, visas, work permits, all of that, just to go to germany, france, or the netherlands conversed has become non—viable. it is a problem because we rely on that income and the reputation. paperwork

for every instrument crossing every frontier is not what they want. so there are many questions. the big issue though is how can we continue to grow our creative exports and it is possible the new trade deals we do with the rest of the world will assist that. but there is a caveat. it is really about selling digital packages around the world. you don't need a lot of rules and regulations and standards for that. and we don't wa nt and standards for that. and we don't want the new trade deals we do to say you should run yourself differently. so there are hopes that brexit could help unlock new global trade deals, but there is clearly still much to resolve. stay with us on the briefing. also on the programme: sprinterfor hire. usain bolt is training in norway and looking for a job in the beautiful game. 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 11,500 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. 0ur headlines: top officials from the united states and north korea have ended a first round of talks in new york to finalise plans for the historic summit injune between their country 's leaders are. there will be more talks later on thursday. moscow and several international organisations have criticised ukraine after it admitted taking a stake murder of a russian journalist in gm. admitted taking a stake murder of a russianjournalist in gm. —— kiev. the world's largest known freshwater pearl is going on sale in the netherlands. the pearl is renowned for its irregular shape and 300—or—so—year history, during which it changed hands between colonial merchants, noblejewellers and european royals. it's thought it could earn in the region of half a million dollars. anna holligan reports. it weighs 120 g, a little more than

a barof soap it weighs 120 g, a little more than a bar of soap and is almost seven centimetres long, but those statistics only tell part of this story. this extraordinary duel is thought to have been formed in chinese waters in the first half of the 18th century during the qing dynasties. why is it special? first of all it is extremely large to begin with. secondly, it is a natural pearls. most pearls we see today are generated. the third thing is it is not from saltwater at freshwater. somewhere -- sometime around 7065 it was moved to jakarta ona around 7065 it was moved to jakarta on a dutch merchant. it was then shipped across to europe, probably violating a banned by the chinese emperor on the export of large pearls. when the merchant passed

away it was auctioned in amsterdam and acquired via catherine the great. in the turbulent times that followed her death, the sleeping lion vanished and reappeared over the years until almost two centuries later, it was picked up by the amsterdam pearl society. why am i able to sell the pearl? a private collector left a letter, that it have to be displayed in a public institute. the public had to see it. not for long. for soon, this the sleeping lion's epicjourney continues. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. first up in madrid, spain's parliament will debate, ahead of a vote of no confidence, in spanish prime minister mariano rajoy. mr rajoy‘s ruling party has been hit

by several corruption scandals. next we head to strassbourg, where the european court of human rights will meet to issue a ruling on a suspected cia prison in lithuania. and a little later in london, the ivor novello awards for excellence in british and irish songwriting and composing are awarded. stormzy, ed sheeran and elbow are among the nominees. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. this is your thursday sport briefing. coming up coal and french open fashion with serena williams. south africa make a historic rugby appointment and we hang out with a russian artistic gymnast. so, if the play—offs are anything to go by, basketball fa ns play—offs are anything to go by, basketball fans are in for a real treat so began one of the nbn —— nba finals take. the golden state

warriors face cleveland. both teams won their series in a deciding game seven. two of the best—known players in the sports will go head to head. lebronjames in the sports will go head to head. lebron james for the cavaliers in the sports will go head to head. lebronjames for the cavaliers and steph curry for the warriors. now, it is ten months since hurricane irma caused widespread damage in the karrabin. it back at a number of islands and recoup reduced buildings to rubble. in the coming hours, the west indies will take on an international cricket council world 1110 to raise money. they will be captained by carlos brathwaite. 0nto tennis. it is fair to say that more has been made around serena williams‘s outfits than her form at the french open. the three—time champion grabbed everyone's attention with this catsuit. she said it made herfeel like a

superhero. i knew, could play in madrid and rome, but i knew that i had a goal to make it to hear and i was able to meet my goal. there was a point where i wasn't sure, maybe just 20% unsure, but i was new that i would have a great chance to make it here. novak djokovic is through to the third round at roland garros for the 2016 champion said he was satisfied after overcoming his opponent. nevertheless it was a straight sets victory for the former world number one. his spanish opponent made a game of it. djokovic is still struggling to rediscover his best form following elbow surgery. his best form following elbow surgery. with period from this man

next. for 127 year south african by next. for 127 year south african rugby teams having skippered by white captains until now. that would have six old says he wants to be an inspiration to the whole country as being named as the first black man to name the team. south africa is one of the toughest to make. that is all i was thinking about this topic when i heard my name called out i was really happy at the start and i a lwa ys was really happy at the start and i always said i wish i was springbok captain. all you want to do is be proud of this theme. —— team. captain. all you want to do is be proud of this theme. -- team. just time for going social. week —— what we are about to show it is a brilliant display of strength and control. it will make you feel a tad lazy. this is a russian artistic gymnast showing one of his training sessions with his followers at the

two—time would pick medallist makes it look very easy. and so he should. he won a silver medal in the ten final and he won a silver medal in the ten finaland a he won a silver medal in the ten final and a bronze medal on parallel bars that it would be 16 olympics. he is also a five—time european champion and is putting us all to shame. that is it. the latest sports news at our website. the olympic legend usain bolt is spending a week training with a norwegian football team. he says he wants to take up the game professionally. the record—breaking athlete has already trained with the german side borussia dortmund and says his ultimate ambition is to play for manchester united. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. he is arguably the greatest 0lympian and perhaps the greatest athlete of all time. usain bolt won countless races, countless golds in an illustrious career. but his heart has always belonged to the beautiful game. applause

and this was the reception he got from the players and coaches at stromsgodset as he joined the side for training. for me i don't think i can teach them anything when it comes to football. for me it's to learn movement, touches, get better at my vision and stuff like that, so i'm just here to open my mind and to learn as much as possible. bolt says he has serious ambitions to be a professional footballer. this is not a joke. a few days' training will help him improve his fitness ahead of a couple of upcoming friendly matches, including a charity game in the uk. but bolt is nearly 32, that's quite an age to start a career in football. translation: i don't know what his plans are and what football background he has, but he can come a long way with his speed.

and the shirt number he was given? 9.58 — his record time in the 100 metres. they do say pace is vital in the modern game. tim allman, bbc news. stay with me on bbc news. i'll be back with the business briefing in just a few moments, we'll have more on the financial fallout from italy's political crisis. and tell me what you think about all our stories today. you think it is a good idea that usain bolt tries to move his career into the footballing world or should he stay with the glory on the track? let us know your thoughts — use #bbcthebriefing. stay with us here on bbc news so much more to come. hello there.

the weather once again looks in turbulent mood through the day ahead, because while there will be some spells of warm sunshine, there will also be some vicious thunderstorms, torrential downpours, which could lead to localised flooding and certainly the risk of some travel disruption, especially across central and southern parts of the uk. now, the earlier satellite picture shows that these showers and storms have been gathering across continental europe. they are drifting their way northwards at the moment, and these showers are going to start to show their hands during the first part of thursday. not a bad start for many, but with a lot of mist and murk and low cloud, few showers up towards the north—west, but it's these heavy downpours down towards the south—east that we'll be keeping a close eye on. it's really hard to predict exactly where the worst of the weather will be but right across the south—east, east anglia and eventually into the midlands, wales and the south—west,

there's there risk of some really intense, thundery downpours that could give enough rain to cause some flash flooding. across northern england, here we could see one or two showers breaking out through the day, once the cloud breaks up through the morning across northern ireland and scotland and the sun comes out, again there's the potential we'll see one or two isolated heavy showers, but the heaviest downpours always likely to be found in southern areas. a very warm and muggy day as well, 21 degrees in edinburgh, 21 in belfast and perhaps 23 in london if you get some sunshine. now, some of these showers and storms will continue to rumble through the evening and overnight as they drift westwards, but they will tend we suspect to fizzle away to some extent. a lot of cloud, some mist and murk around, and temperatures not dropping very far, 12 to 15 degrees, quite a muggy start to friday. friday will start off with a lot of cloud, misty, murky conditions in places. we'll see sunshine developing but a scattering of showers and thunderstorms again in western parts this time through wales, northern ireland, north—west england and scotland for the most part. very slow—moving, heavy downpours,

which again could cause issues with flooding. a risk of showers to the north—west, fewer showers more in the way of sunshine. wherever you are across the country, some real warmth to be had. as we go into sunday and monday, continuing that seems to be not as many showers, some spells of sunshine and still feeling warm. welcome back. this is business briefing. i'm sally bundock. as one big rating agency puts a dozen italian banks and several major companies on negative ratings watch, it's populist parties are in talks to try to find some fresh way to form a government. and is india still the world's fastest growing economy? we'll find out later today. a quick look at the markets. they are allup as a quick look at the markets. they are all up as you can see. shrugging off those fears of what is happening in italy.