this is the briefing, i'm david eades. our top story: the trade tariffs hit now. the us measures are coming into effect, with europe, canada, and mexico saying they will hit back. a double take for italy. after weeks of political stalemate, the preferred candidate of the big two populist parties for prime minister looks set, finally, to be allowed to govern. a personal message from one leader to the other is on its way. a north korean diplomat prepares to hand—deliver a letter from kimjong—un to donald trump. and, in our business briefing, we will look at the options on the table for the eu to counter those huge steel tariffs from the us. i will be speaking to a leading trade lawyer in brussels. 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 are covering. just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. the opening shots in a possible global trade war have just been fired. the decision by washington to impose 25% tariffs on steel and 10% tariffs on aluminium imports has come into force, and key allies of the united states say they now have no option but to retaliate. the eu, canada and mexico have all condemned president trump's decision. expect everyday products used by american consumers, from orange juice to jeans, to be targeted. russell trott reports. ifa if a trade war is looming, it will

be fought on many fronts. the trump ta riffs be fought on many fronts. the trump tariffs on steel and aluminium imports are designed, he says, to protect americanjobs imports are designed, he says, to protect american jobs and american workers‘ wages, and amount to 25% on steel and a 10% tax on aluminium. they have been met with a barrage of criticism accusing the us of launching an attack as unprovoked as it is unnecessary. these tariffs are totally u na cce pta ble. it is unnecessary. these tariffs are totally unacceptable. we sent steel totally unacceptable. we sent steel to the united states that is vital for their businesses, and their defence industry. it is patently absurd. it is totally unacceptable that a country is imposing unilateral measures. translation: it is totally inadequate. we reject it completely. we think it will damage consumers, not the industry. translation: it is a brutal and u na cce pta ble translation: it is a brutal and unacceptable decision. it is the law of the strongest, but international

relations don't fall under the law of the strongest. translation: today's decision is wrong. it is harmful for europe, but also for the us itself. friday's deadline and two—month long exemption from the ta riffs two—month long exemption from the tariffs has now expired. commerce secretary wilbur ross said a lack of progress in recent talks left the us with little choice. well, there is overproduction of steel and there is overca pacity overproduction of steel and there is overcapacity throughout the world, and so we have needed to deal with it in and so we have needed to deal with itina and so we have needed to deal with it in a very global manner. we can‘t just deal with it dealing with one country. with stock markets down and europe‘s leaders now about to unleash their retaliatory forces on a battleground they had wanted to avoid, how to respond to the us salvos in a potential trans— atla ntic salvos in a potential trans— atlantic trade war, a war in which many observers say no one can win.

let‘s discuss the tariffs in more detail now. lawrence gosling is the editor—in—chief of what investment, and hejoins me now. good to see you this morning. let‘s just touch on the markets, first of all. it is all a bit muted. you might have thought something dramatic would be doing on. so we sort of started the week with a lot of concern about political instability in italy, that has been solved with a new coalition announced last night and now we have the next round of trade wars, the us trade tariffs coming through, this time obviously with canada, mexico and the eu, having almost partially settled some of that with china a couple of days ago. so it has sort of balanced itself up. it is interesting, because some countries have settled with the us, haven‘t they, as well. and they are not small markets, south korea, for example, brazil, argentina,

australia, they have all done deals. and it is interesting, in a sense, the way these trade negotiations are going is almost like the way mr trump is to run his business empire. slightly ha rd—nosed, and trump is to run his business empire. slightly hard—nosed, and with countries like argentina and brazil, they really need the trade deals because of the overall state of their economy. a different state with the eu, actually. well, the response so far, whether it is from jean—claude juncker or macron, the french president, is you can‘t play that game with us, there will be retaliation. you can‘t say let‘s negotiate further. and on the tit—for—tat, there have been low level products, be theyjeans or candles, in canada, for example, and pizzas even, we are seeing that to start with. it will be interesting to see whether it progresses the more significant parts of the economy. obviously we have seen steel, but steel is not a massive export market for the eu at the moment. no, and there are up the

potential for eu member states, moment. no, and there are up the potentialfor eu member states, with 28 of them... in potentialfor eu member states, with 28 of them. .. in france potentialfor eu member states, with 28 of them... in france and potentialfor eu member states, with 28 of them. .. in france and germany don‘t agree on these very much. now to italy, where they are going to get a government, finally. giuseppe conte, a law professor and political novice, who seemed to have missed his chance to become prime ministerjust a week ago, will now be sworn in later on friday, at the helm of a new populist cabinet. the one concession — the populist parties have changed their choice of economy minister to someone less opposed to the single currency and the eu. the populists have raised voters‘ expectations, but can they deliver on their promises? james reynolds reports from rome. the apprentices at this care academy in rome know what their country‘s new prime minister must be feeling. starting a newjob with no experience can be nerve racking. this woman comes here twice a week.

she trusts both her hair and now her country to newcomers. she trusts both her hair and now her country to newcomerslj she trusts both her hair and now her country to newcomers. i hope. i trust him. you trust new prime minister? yes. you don't know him, you don‘t know him. minister? yes. you don't know him, you don't know him. what he has been suggested by people who have experience, so yes, he is good—looking. experience, so yes, he is good-looking. he is good-looking? he is good—looking, he seems a nice person. so what advice do these apprentices have for their fellow novice, prime minister giuseppe co nte 7 novice, prime minister giuseppe conte? translation: i hope they give more opportunities to young people to gain entry into the workplace. because it is not easy. we can get very discouraged. the trainee cooks at the italian chef academy in rome had some simply for their country‘s new leader. they told me that no one really enjoys being thrown in at the deep end. translation: a bit of

anxiety and uncertainty on the first day. i thought i wouldn‘t manage to ove rco m e day. i thought i wouldn‘t manage to overcome some of obstacles. but if you have the commitment and the passion, you can easily overcome them. these trainees have time to learn the craft. the prime minister does not. well, as italy‘s political crisis abates, its mediterranean neighbour spain becomes embroiled in one. members of parliament there will vote later on a motion of no confidence against prime minister mariano rajoy. it follows a corruption scandal involving the governing party. the motion, called by the socialist party, is expected to topple the prime minister and the government. our europe reporter gavin lee explains from madrid. spain is in the middle of a national political crisis. in the hours to

come, prime minister mariano rajoy could be out of a job, and his government could fall with him. in congress, the mps are voting on a no—confidence motion, and the moment it looks like it will go against him, brought about by a long—running corruption scandal. the socialist party say they will take over and then call snap elections. they say enough is enough. translation: i am going to ask you a question, mr rajoy. are you ready to resign today, here, right now? resign, mr rajoy, and everything will be over. translation: what moral authority do you have? translation: what moral authority do you have ? are translation: what moral authority do you have? are you by any chance mother teresa of calcutta? i acknowledge once again that in the pp there have been corrupt people. yes, i accept it. pp there have been corrupt people. yes, iaccept it. but pp there have been corrupt people. yes, i accept it. but the pp is not

a corrupt party. at the heart of this crisis is the culmination of a long—running corruption case. more than a dozen ex— members of the governing pp party have been sentenced for their part in taking bribes were giving out government contract. it happened more than a decade ago but the full implications are in the coming to light. the popular party had created systemic corruption and an institutionalised level, and even questioned the testimony given by mariano rajoy, and it has caused shockwaves here. translation: i think there are reasons other than the corruption for them to be out of government a long time ago. translation: i think they should go or resign or whatever, but it is a party that is corrupt. and there should be elections straightaway. for mariano rajoy to be ousted, there needs to

be 176 mps that vote against him for the socialist party to take over. and right now, if you add together some of the major parties, and the smaller ones, the catala ns some of the major parties, and the smaller ones, the catalans and the basque nationalists, they have the numbers to remove him. and mariano rajoy says this will create a frank and sudden movement unleashing all sorts of political monsters. remember, the prime minister has already survived a vote of no confidence before, but this time he has never looked so fragile. gavin lee reporting from madrid. the vote expected around 12:00pm gmt. stay with us on the briefing. also on the programme: all hail stormzy. the british grime star is one of the big winners at this year‘s ivor novello awards. the queen and her husband and their royal procession. tributes have been paid around

the world to muhammed ali who has died at the age of 7a. outspoken but rarely outfought, he transcended the sport of boxing of which he was three times world champion. ali was a fighter and he fought all the way to the end. even through his illness. yes, he did. uefa imposes an indefinite ban on english clubs playing in europe. today is the 20th anniversary of the release of the beatles‘ sergeant pepper‘s lonely hearts club band lp, a record described as the album of the century. you‘re watching the briefing. our headlines: new trade tariffs imposed by the united states have

come into effect. europe, canada, and mexico say they will hit back. weeks of political stalemate appear to be over. two populist parties reach a new agreement to govern italy. after a bbc investigation showed the extent of codeine addiction in nigeria in april, three pharmaceutical companies were forced to shut down. but codeine is not the only opioid scourge spreading across west african. another painkiller, tramadol, is fuelling widespread addiction. and, as the bbc‘s stephanie hegarty found out, it may even be fuelling war in the north—east of nigeria. the latest frontier in the war on opioid addiction. thousands of young people in west africa are addicted to the painkiller tramadol. translation macro i feel very

strong. i feel like i translation macro i feel very strong. ifeel like i will translation macro i feel very strong. i feel like i will be able to push a tree like my body is a mind because of the strengths of the tramadol. it also makes him angry and confused. i think it has taken too much. he cannot get work because of his addiction. the stuff lives in north—east nigeria at the centre of the against boko haram. he volunteered as a vigilante fighter. translation: when i go into the bush, even the way i roam, the way i walk is different, it gives me strength to fight the insurgents. the drug is making warriors out of ordinary young man. and boko haram are on the too. the dasha they tell us are on the too. the dasha they tell us when you take it you would be less afraid. it will make you strong and courageous. when you are going into battle, you will be given at the tate. here, a generation of

opioid addicts is being made. we had cause over time to talk to people during counselling and they said what else can we do? we just want to get out of the wall. we want to escape the reality of this trauma. they find themselves just falling back on the opiates. tramadol and all of this. it isn'tjust in the north—east. tramadol is only legal by prescription in nigeria at illegal supplies are flooding into the country. the nigerian drug authorities have just seized this container full of tramadol pills and we are told is up to 20 million pills in this container line and it is part of a haul of six, at a street value of $600,000. the tramadol was hidden behind this legal drug at the front and we are told it came from india. the rhino international restrictions on the drug which makes it harder to

control. that is because the world health organization says it has a lot of potential for abuse. but it is reviewing the classification later this year. opioids are vital first up in pain but without more control, they could be doing a lot to cause it. kim jong—un has told the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov in pyongyang that he‘s committed to the denuclearisation of the korean peninsula, but the north korean leader said he hoped it would be done in a phased manner. it comes as his top aide, kim yong—chol, prepares to hand—deliver a letter to president trump. and a short while ago, north and south korea held another round of high level talks on the common border. joining me now is our correspondent hywel griffith, who is near the border separating north and south korea. can you feel the diplomatic wheels turning ina can you feel the diplomatic wheels turning in a rather more traditional way and was a couple of weeks ago, i guess. are the latest talks helping

to fuel that sense of a coming together of positions?” to fuel that sense of a coming together of positions? i think so. people will list on this side of the border are hopeful that all of this diplomacy, the wheels turning furiously at times, will eventually come, ina furiously at times, will eventually come, in a concrete conclusion that potentially, the route to friendship with the north is becoming clearer. now no one really knows what will be in the letter from kim jong—un to president trump. they hope of course it will be an agreement to a summit in singapore and that could bring some element of denuclearisation but the talks happening in the dmc behind me are about what the detail of denuclearisation would be. when it is an american and american rapperfor north it is an american and american rapper for north korean delegation going through line by line as to what agreement could be. and also north and south korea are talking about their relationships it is a dynamic situation still got this side of the border, people are

hopeful there is progress. the message is coming from the us that they want an agreement to, quite, com plete they want an agreement to, quite, complete a pliable and irreversible end to the nuclear programme. —— quote. it is still the total package, it isjust quote. it is still the total package, it is just the way presumably it is delivered? and are very different definition to the one we heard from kim jong—un, very different definition to the one we heard from kimjong—un, the very different definition to the one we heard from kim jong—un, the stage by stage did nuclearisation. he spoke about it when he met with sergei lavrov. it‘s interesting of course that russia has come into the party, that wants to be seen to be speaking to kim jong—un, party, that wants to be seen to be speaking to kimjong—un, extended an invitation for him to come to moscow later this year. it is clearly given the‘s some power in his position in discussions with the us, it means he has another option if things don‘t happen in singapore, thinking can go back to his more traditional friends and neighbour of course russia is already speaking regularly to china which is probably its most important

partner. so the weight denuclearisation happens may not ultimately fit the american definition, it made have to be stage by stage, given how much weight he has behind him now from this additional ally. thank you indeed. here‘s our briefing on some of the key events happening later. in geneva, the international labour organization‘s main annual conference is continuing. colombia‘s president and nobel peace prize winner juan manuel santos is due to address delegates. and in france, the country‘s far—right national front will be meeting later on. its leader marine le pen will announce whether the party is changing its name to the national rally. and finally, social groups in argentina will convene in front of the national congress in buenos aires for an anti—poverty march known as ‘bread and work‘. the rally aims to address anger over an emergency food law that hasn‘t been passed yet. now it‘s time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, good to see you.

i‘m ben mundy, this is friday‘s sport briefing. on the way, england‘s cricketers prepare for another pakistan probe. nadal‘s clay cruising continues. and get ready for a rather tasty table tennis trick shot. let‘s take a look. ok, so the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world is now less than two weeks away. we‘re talking the world cup in russia. and 1998 winners france will face italy later as they fine—tune their preparation. didier deschamps was captain all those years ago. he‘s now got untiljune 16 to get his team ready for their opening match against australia. france also play peru and denmark in group c. italy won‘t be there — they failed to qualify for the first time in 60 years. to cricket, and england have some work to do to restore their reputation. captainjoe root leads his team in the second test against pakistan later. the home side were heavily

beaten at lord‘s, slumping to a nine—wicket defeat. their batsmen need form, and fast — england have lost 13 of their past 22 tests. now, at 31, novak djokovic is still a young man. trust me! but some tennis fans will tell you his best years are behind him. the 2016 french open champion plays roberto bautista—agut for a place in the last 16 later. djokovic has been far from satisfied with his form so far and says he needs to rediscover the hunger he had when he first started playing. i feel like i need ifeel like i need to i feel like i need to go ifeel like i need to go back i feel like i need to go back to those days when i started playing tennis and why i started playing tennis, to remind myself and to get inspired and to get motivation from that source, you know. what i‘m getting from my younger self is smile and remember why you started playing it. yeah, let‘s stay with the french open, because while djokovic

struggles to find form, rafael nadal has plenty. he‘s cruising on clay. the defending champion put in another near faultless performance on thursday to beat argentina‘s guido pella in straight sets. nadal making it through to the third round injust over two hours. i played a solid match and during the match, i improve my level. beforehand —— the forehander think especially after the first set sta rts especially after the first set starts to go quicker and the right spots were found, playing more inside the court and hitting many more winners so in general terms, i have to be happy now. of course, a great result, 6—1, 6—1. right, get your application in. the top job at real madrid‘s up for grabs. they‘re looking for their fourth boss in five years. that‘s because this man has quit. zinedine zidane‘s decision comes

just five days after real won a third consecutive champions league title. zidane says the club now needs "a different voice". and just time for going social — a look at what‘s been trending and catching the eye of sports fans online. well, take a look at this, because to play a sport at the highest level, you need skill. lots of skill. it takes a lot of practice, of course, and this is mudit dani doing just that. it took him a few goes to complete the around—the—net trick shot, but he got there in the end. let‘s see a replay. in a couple of weeks, the indian star will compete in ultimate table tennis, india‘s first professional league. wouldn‘t want to be his opponent! there‘s more at the website — bbc.com/sport. that‘s it from me and the rest of the sport team. goodbye. the prestigious ivor novello awards have been taking place in london. they recognise excellence in british and irish songwriting. ed sheeran was the biggest winner, being named songwriter of the year for a second time.

but this year‘s awards had a distinctly political tone to them, as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. stormzy is notjust a rapper, he is a phenomenon. his debut, gang signs and prayer, had picked up a brit award and now, the album has been named album of the year at the ivor novellos. he has been a fierce critic of the uk government, particularly the handling of the aftermath at grenfell tower. similar sentiments were expressed by fellow rapper dave. his single question time won the best contemporary song. i would say that i am pleased. (unintelligible).

among the other winners, elbow, who received the award for best song, musically and lyrically, for magnificent. a group of our peers decided that our song was the best song. how can you not be affected by that? how can you not be touched? it is the most beautiful statue. two more statu ettes going to ed sheeran, one for songwriter of the year. it doesn‘t all have to be about politics. well said. i‘ll be back with the business briefing in just a few moments. hello there. yesterday‘s thunderstorms do well to

get going but once they did, lots of lightning and some localised flooding as well. it started off around sussex before spreading across central and southern england, wales and the south—west. we had a few reports of problems around bristol that arguably the worst of it was around sussex where we had some flooding problems around haywards heath and nearby, in with the agreement wasn‘t cricket with floodwaters were the cricket boundary should be. the met office and the warning remains in place until six o‘clock in the morning so we could see one or two issues, the lion‘s share of heavy showers across wales and otherwise, largely dry but with extensive low cloud around, east and fog patches around as well, not just east and fog patches around as well, notjust in the coast but in the hills so murky start, the low cloud will be slow to thin, gradually brightening up in the late morning, the afternoon sees sunshine but it

will trigger no showers. the risk of showers is further north in the afternoon so for scotland, northern ireland, north—west england and northern wales this is where we are likely to see the thundery downpours, it could bring 30 millimetres in the space of an hour but if you‘re unlucky there could be a few communities that the 50 or 60 millimetres over several hours where we see those storms lining up. it is the kind of rainfall we will see over the last 2a hours in the worst of its we could be some further flooding problems. mudgee, low 20s to mid 20s in terms of celsius. —— mudgee. showers to start the weekend, sunday is probably the better of the two. we will start the weekend with a murky skies, missed and fog patches around coast and hills, most of the showers will be across scotland, northern england and northern ireland are a saturday afternoon and further the fewest hours, more in the way of fun trying, warmer given that they will be less cloud around, quite a mighty

filling air. for sunday, many of us will have a dry day, the broncos will have a dry day, the broncos will feelings of scotland —— muggy—feeling. showers not too far away from south—west england as well. for most of us it is dry, the best of the sunshine in the afternoon and high as 25. but the weather. —— that‘s your weather. this is business briefing, i‘m david eades. a trade war in the making: us commerce secretary wilbur ross announce that massive us tariffs on eu steel imports came into force today. the australian bank anz denies claims made by australian authorities that it is involved in criminal cartel activities. and on the markets: they are down a bit. the dow was down, the nikkei and the hang seng are bumping around the middle ground, which might come as a bit of

a surprise given what we have seen with us tariffs being announced. there was positive news coming out of asia for some trade and the italian situation seems