this is business briefing. i'm sally bundock. the fox, the mouse and the telecoms giant. the battle to take over 21st century fox heats up with comcast and disney outbidding each other. danger ahead! how brazil enlists technology to combat an epidemic of crime against its huge fleet of cargo trucks. and on the financial markets in asia, traders are taking a breath from the global trade—off we saw on tuesday, sparked by fears of trade tension between the united states and china. 21st century fox's board meets today to discuss who's the best beast to buy its business. the firm is the target of a multibillion—dollar bidding

war — the largest in media history — between disney and comcast that's set to shape the way we consume entertainment. let's just remind you. 21st century fox is a force in entertainment — its studios controls everything from the simpsons to the x—men and deadpool. it owns networks star tv and has stakes in sky, endemol shine and streaming firm hulu. last week, comcast launched a $65 billion cash bid for fox's assets — a bid 19% higher than a rival offerfrom disney. but disney, home to pixar, star wars and marvel, has already agreed to buy fox's assets for $52.4 billion in stock. it's thought disney may now boost its bid with cash. consumers are shunning traditional cable operators for streaming services such as netflix, amazon and hulu, so offering movies, tv and content on tap is key. disney aims to launch its own

streaming service in 2019, one that's cheaper than netflix. so the pressure is on to make or buy original content. netflix plans to spend some $8 billion in 2018 on programming, including 700 original tv shows and movies. with me is greg swenson, partner, brigg macadam limited. good to see you again. the board meeting today, what will be discussed? is the first stage today. just considering whether to consider the bid from comcast. it is 19% higher and it is cash which is better than a stock bid. so let's

talk about the rupert murdoch influenced. he has been keen on an alignment with disney. they have an over 40% share of 21st century fox. to what extent can they swing this? who knows what to expect? they will definitely have an influence that it they have major tax implications so they have major tax implications so they prefer a stock bid ‘cause of tax issue. there is also a bigger role for the murdoch family in a disney merger than with a comcast merger where they would have no role at all. it is hard to say but remember there are also shareholders. it is not all up to the murdochs. the shareholders would wa nt the murdochs. the shareholders would want the comcast bid but it depends on what happens after this first round. write—down of its 65 and 55 but i think those numbers will go up and that is important. and that is why i think 2ist and that is important. and that is why i think 21st century fox will consider the bid. we have been seen

for some time that this is going on in the media industry because of this rock is like netflix. how we now choose to consume media as well, thatis now choose to consume media as well, that is radically different. it is the cutting of the cord. remember, from an anti—trust perspective it is not that big a deal that you see cable and that sort of traditional distribution merged because it is a shrinking business. 79% of consumers in the united states used cable or satellite, the traditional distribution. it was 88% nine years ago. that business is shrinking. it is about content. but for consumers it is great in one sense, we get new and original content that we love to see from independent production companies. absolutely. that is a big pa rt companies. absolutely. that is a big part of the new media landscape. but traditional content in providers are important as well. there is a combination between disney and 21st

century fox that will be 40% of the music coming movie business. the regulators will take a hard look at that. —— regulators will take a hard look at that. -- 40% regulators will take a hard look at that. —— 40% of the movie business. the australian telecommunications com pa ny telstra has announced plans to cut 8,000 jobs apparently in order to streamline the business. let‘s go to our asia business hub where rico hizon is following the story. that‘s an awful lot ofjobs, rico. tell us more. telstra is a very big employer in australia. that is 25% of the telecommunication‘s giant total work force. management says the layoffs are part of a strategy to simplify the business and to stay competitive. it is part of a major shakeup competitive. it is part of a major sha keup targeting competitive. it is part of a major shakeup targeting an extra $750 million in cost—cutting over the next four years. sally, the position

that will be made redundant will be largely drawn from management with one infour largely drawn from management with one in four executives and middle management positions to go. telstra‘s chief executive, andy penn said the firm had to take drastic action to stay on top in an increasingly commit a competitive market. these cuts come less than a month after telstra warned that this year‘s earnings would likely be at the bottom of its guidance range. if you have a look at the stock price, basically it was disappointed. the market. investors remain concerned with falling profits so the shares today on the stock exchange fell to a fresh seven—year low. the question now is whether these changes are the right ones. thank you very much. we shall keep an eye on that story. last month lorry drivers in brazil proved how powerful they are by bringing

the economy to halt during their strike. more than 60% of brazil‘s cargo is transported through lorries in the country‘s vast network of roads. but brazilian truckers face challenging conditions as brazil is in the top 10 list of most dangerous countries for cargo transport, alongside war—torn nations like syria, afghanistan and south sudan. from sao paulo, the bbc‘s daniel gallas reports. it is quick, violence and it happens once every three hours in brazil. armed robbers attacking a driver, seizing the truck and driving off. later they take all the material, usually medication and electronics, and resell them on the black market. dozens of drivers and security personnel have lost lives. almost $2 billion worth of goods were stolen in five years. it should be nearly

impossible to rob one of these lorries. there is plenty of technology involved. electric wires in the windows. a panic button. microchips inside the cargo that i tracked by satellite. if anyone tries to break in, this happens. this company has 300 cameras and thousands of transponders monitoring their cargo. even they are struggling with thieves becoming more sophisticated. for the last five years, brazil has seen an incredible 75% surge in the number of robberies. another company is developing drones to follow lorries and stream live images. that technology is still a few years away. so far, cargo theft has been minimised bya away. so far, cargo theft has been minimised by a employing machine learning. information from the past to predict the future and it says

that if you move this type of equipment or this type of good into this region of the country at this time of the year it is very likely it will be robbed. sometimes we deployed helicopters with armed security on—board. deployed helicopters with armed security on-board. is only a matter of time before burglars —— robbers adapt again. meanwhile, contraband can be purchased for almost 10% of their original price in brazil, consumers on the black market helping to finance country‘s billion—dollar cargo theft industry. now let‘s brief you some other business stories. the us conglomerate general electric is to be dropped from america‘s most famous stock index, the dow jones industrial average. ge — which was started by thomas edison and known for its many innovations — will be replaced by the pharmacy chain walgreens boots alliance on the 26th ofjune. the switch reflects declines in ge‘s fortunes and the changing nature of the us economy. the commonwealth bank of australia says the federal court

had approved a settlement agreement to civil proceedings related to money laundering charges. the company said it will recognise a $518 million expense in its financial statements for the full year to end june. malaysia is expected to bring charges of embezzlement here‘s a scary story. britain could run out of beer and soft drinks! at least if we are to believe the i newspaper. it‘s all because of a shortage of c02 — carbon dioxide — that‘s the stuff inside the bubbles in our drinks. 0ne brewer interviewed by the papers says they may have to stop production next week. with the world cup going on, where will it end? that is your business briefing. see you ina that is your business briefing. see you in a moment. shortly we will did

deeper into key media stories from today but first, an interesting story. it‘s an area which has been linked to the legend of king arthur, and now an ancient piece of writing has been discovered at tintagel in cornwall, which suggests it really could have been an important royal site. claire woodling has been finding out why it‘s so significant. is tintagel was a royal site then this black velvet throw seemed appropriate for the reveal. at a distance it is unremarkable. under closer scrutiny it is a glimpse into seven century lion at life in cornwall. bestial symbols, ladder and greek letter are inscribed into the surface of the slate. and ancient example of a high level of literacy and so rare. we used to call this period the dark ages. the

early mediaeval period where we have so early mediaeval period where we have so little writing and to have something like this is absolutely fantastic and special. so special that the discovery has garnered interest from across the globe. that the discovery has garnered interest from across the globelj that the discovery has garnered interest from across the globe. i am overwhelmed to see a piece of artwork, for lack of a better word. i think it is marvellous to find things that are, you know, primary sources, so things that are, you know, primary sources, so to speak. it is incredible. you could so easily discard a piece of stone, looking at it and saying that somebody had graffiti do it. the writing supports the theory that tintagel was a high status settlement that may have been the seat of kings. it is notjust a piece of rock. it is notjust a bit of foundation stone. suddenly you think that somebody sat here and wrote this. that sends shivers up my spine when i think about it because that puts us in touch with our a ncestors. that puts us in touch with our ancestors. and we may even know

their names. title and beauty are inscribed on the slate. this is your briefing from bbc news. ringing you the headlines. —— bringing you the headlines. donald trump has met with lawmakers to discuss his controversial plans of separating migrant children from their parents. the us has quit the united nations‘ human rights council, saying it‘s a "cesspool of political bias". thousands of rohingya muslims who fled myanmar are now facing landslides and flooding in bangladesh refugee camps, as the monsoon season approaches. let‘s look at some of those stories in more detail and others in the media today. we begin with the irish times and president donald trump, who is facing mounting criticism from within his own party

about the policy of separating children from their parents at the us southern border. meanwhile, the ft says the eu is also considering taking a tougher approach against migrants with some leaders considering plans to send those rescued at sea to"disembarkation platforms" in countries outside the bloc. usa today online reports on the announcement by the us that it was pulling out of the united nations‘ human rights council. us ambassador to the un, nikki haley, accused the organisation of protecting countries after they commit human rights abuses. in the business standard, like many other papers, alarm bells are ringing across global markets as trade tensions between the united states and china continue to escalate. the yuan has hit a five—month low after president trump threatened to impose a 10% tariff on another $200 billion worth of chinese goods. and finally, the telegraph leads with the uk culture secretary matt

hancock calling on head teachers to confiscate pupils mobile phones at the start of the school day. he warned the devices are having a "real impact" on academic achievement as well as exposing children to cyber bullying via social media. with me is andrew tuck who‘s editor of monocle, a global news and business magazine. let us get stuck in, andrew. i would imagine monocle all week you have been discussing this story, and we have been discussing it, this policy in usa came to the fore with the separation of parents and children. it has been going on for some months but is in the