hello. this is the briefing. i'm victoria fritz. our top story today: back on the road. president trump rallies his base and hits back at critics, who claim his leadership of the white house is chaotic. as support for an anti—migrant, nationalist party grows, how will sweden's ruling democrats fare as the country goes to the polls? and fears grow of a humanitarian catastrophe as syrian troops prepare to attack rebel fighters, but can talks between iran, russia and turkey provide hope for the people of idlib? coming up in the business briefing... cryptocurrency crackdown. europe weighs in on tougher rules on the likes of bitcoin bitcoin and ethereum. their value continues to plunge. also in business — markets awaiting the next move in the us—china trade war. hello.

a very warm welcome to the programme — briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. you can, of course, be part of the conversation. as news emerges of a theft of customer data from british airways‘ website and mobile app, how confident do you feel entering your personal and financial data online? tell us what you think. just use the hashtag, #bbcthebriefing. one by one, many of president trump's closest aides have been publicly denying authorship of the anonymous editorial in the new york times. it paints a damning picture of the trump white house. the writer — described by the times as "a senior official" —

describes an "erratic, impulsive, amoral" president, whose "misguided impulses" — it claims — need to be controlled or blocked by his senior staff for the good of the country. chris buckler reports from washington. ata at a rally in montana, donald trump was surrounded by supporters, people who believe in him. but this has been a week of persistent claims of many —— that many working in the white house had no such faith in their presidents, and mr trump is well aware that many of those damning allegations have apparently come from one of his own senior official. anonymous, really, anonymous, gutless coward, you just look. he was, nobody knows who the hell he is, or she, they could heave probably that is a little disguise, that means it is she. but for the sake of our national security, the

new york times should publish his name at once. the new york times insists it was a trump insider, who wrote of the resistance inside the white house. individuals who are a p pa re ntly white house. individuals who are apparently working diligently to frustrate part of the president's agenda, painting his impetuous, adversarial, petty, ineffective and antidemocratic. the feverish guessing game to try to identify the author has quickly become a hunt and lead to official after official being forced to deny it was then. lead to official after official being forced to deny it was thenlj think in yourtime being forced to deny it was thenlj think in your time should be ashamed andi think in your time should be ashamed and i think whoever wrote this anonymous editorial should also be ashamed as well stop them i find the media's efforts in this regard to undermine this administration incredibly discouraging. -- i find the media's and i will answer your question directly because i know someone question directly because i know someone will say gosh, you did not answer the question. it is not mine. the fact that so many have felt the need to say that they were not responsible for the article has only

added to its credibility and fuelled conspiracy theories about who could have written is. washington is a city that prides on political drama and there is plenty of intrigue in the capital at the moment. —— written it. in a tweet, donald trump even appeared to ask the investigative reporters at the new york times to investigate themselves, with a simple question, who is the anonymous letter writer? but after such a damaging article, there are serious questions about there are serious questions about the president and what is happening inside his white house. sweden — a country long associated with liberal values — goes to the polls this weekend. europe's leaders will be watching closely because support foran anti—migrant, nationalist party has grown. polls suggest that the sweden democrats could even threaten the ruling party. jenny hill reports from the southern city of trelleborg. upsetting a long, liberal tradition.

sweden democrats, nationals, anti migrant —— are nationals to anti migrant —— are nationals to anti migrantand migrant —— are nationals to anti migrant and they would like a referendum on leaving the eu. their leader, jimmy ochres, has cleaned up what was a chaotic party. he admits he might lose his seat as may of this town. —— akesson. he might lose his seat as may of this town. -- akesson. it is a measure of the world we're living m, measure of the world we're living in, where people feel and secure about the future of rapid change of different types of that we live in, maybe technology or refugees or whatever it may be. —— times. —— jimmie akesson. so people feel a little uncertain about the future and apparently, we do not —— classical parties like we, we do not provide a vision of the future which is really attractive, so there is something, we are doing something wrong. it sounds to me, you're

sitting there saying you do not know what the answers are, but isn't that your responsibility as sweden's ruling party to come up with answers to people's concerns about immigration? well, it might be, but you have to stick to your values as well, as i mean you can'tjust, you can't just sit down well, as i mean you can'tjust, you can'tjust sit down and give up. you have to be there to stand up for your values as well, so it is a balance to walk there. it is a thin line, i would say, as well. and it sounds as though one in five voters in sweden do not espouse, do not agree with your values. as sweden, is sweden changing as a country? well, perhaps not more than other countries, i would say. maybe we are turning to be more like a normal european countries. there are the election issues, healthcare, crime, climate change. but politically, migration dominates. it is three yea rs migration dominates. it is three years since hundreds of thousands of

people began to arrive here on sweden's shores, seeking asylum. the migrant crisis may be over, but it could yet fundamentally affect this country's political landscape. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. the remains of 166 mexicans have been found in a mass grave in the gulf state of veracruz. the state prosecutor, jorge winckler, said the bodies were found after a tip—off. he said that they'd been buried at least two years ago. mr winckler called on relatives of missing people to supply dna samples to help them identify the bodies. twitter has permanently banned the conspiracy theorist alexjones and his infowars website for violating its policy on abusive behaviour. youtube and facebook deleted his content last month, citing hate speech. he was seen this week berating senators and journalists in congress, and is being sued for claiming the sandy hook school shooting was staged and the bereaved

families were actors. now, you'll have heard of bitcoin — and possibly even ethereum or ripple — but there are now over 1600 different crytocurrencies in use around the world. to some, they are the future of money, to others, little more than a scam. later today, european finance ministers are beginning talks in the austrian capital of vienna to discuss whether — and how — to regulate cryptocurrencies. lawrence gosling, editor—in—chief of what investment joins me now. where do you stand on this? good morning to you. good morning. it is gammell is that the future, or is it somewhere in betweeni think it is somewhere in betweeni think it is somewhere in betweeni think it is somewhere in between. —— is it a scam. we are seeing these currencies

being issued nearly every day, they have become mainstream. they nearly ten yea rs have become mainstream. they nearly ten years old now, so that says something about the credibility. at the same time, they are also outside the same time, they are also outside the traditional banking system. the traditional banking system is expensive in the current world, and if you think about the way we have all got used to the likes of paypal or apple pay, other ways of paying for things that are cheaper, quicker, that is where cryptocurrency is coming in and the traditional banking system is under some kind of threat and challenge. what is the situation here, because we've got a currency or a whole basket of currencies are not being regulated? that basket of currencies are not being regulated ? that sounds basket of currencies are not being regulated? that sounds incredibly dangerous and therefore they should be more liable to manipulation and forward. yeah, and we have seen pockets of cases where there have

been sort of frauds. so the kind of a nswer been sort of frauds. so the kind of answer your question, should they be regulated? well, answer your question, should they be regulated ? well, they answer your question, should they be regulated? well, they are designed to be outside of the traditional central banking system, so in a sense the central banks have kind of miss the growth of them and they are trying to play catch up. i think to probably legitimise cryptocurrency more, it does need to be regulated in the way that traditional currency systems are. we heard from goldman sachs for example that they have decided not to start trading in this. how significant is that? what do they know that we don't?” this. how significant is that? what do they know that we don't? i think they are probably sort of saying we area bit they are probably sort of saying we are a bit uncomfortable, we do not have enough demand. goldman sachs, like most investment banks, want to make a profit. they probably feel there's not enough profit in it to justify the potential reputational risks to the at the moment, but other big investment banks are doing it. citing goldman sachs is probably partly accou nta ble for it. citing goldman sachs is probably partly accountable for the fallback in the price we saw yesterday. —— so

i think, longer term, in the price we saw yesterday. —— so ithink, longerterm, i in the price we saw yesterday. —— so i think, longer term, i think it is probably not that significant in terms of their long—term development. thank you very much, we are going to leave it there. and lawrence will be back in about half an hour to review the main stories being covered by the global media. so we will see him a bit later on. let's not talk about brazil. —— now. one of the front—runners in brazil's presidential election has undergone surgery after being stabbed while campaigning. the incident happened at a rally in minas gerais in the south east of the country. a warning — this report by katy watson contains shocking images. out on the campaign trail and working the crowds, we just a few weeks ago before the elections, far right presidential candidate jair bolsano was in his elements, but the celebrations came to a sudden end. mrjair bolsano suddenly gripped his chest in pain after being stabbed. the politician was rushed to the crowd hospital. initially his son

reported on twitter that the wound was only superficial, but that soon change. unfortunately, he said later, it was more serious than we had expected. he lost a lot of blood and arrived at the hospital almost dead, but his condition is merely stable, please pray for him. mrjair bolsonaro is a controversial politician in brazil. his talk of restricting immigration has helped propel him to the top of the race. the latest polls show it is expected the former president is banned from running because of his —— if the former president is banned from running because of his conviction for corruption, jair bolsonaro would win. his opponents have been condemning the attack. whoever did this has to pay, whoever did this cannot stay unpunished. this cannot happen. a democratic country, which

respects itself, that wants to be democratic, cannot allow the stabbing of any presidential candidate. police have since released a photo of the suspect who was arrested. ‘s elections are the most uncertain this country has seen in decades. this stabbing, tensions are now running even higher. —— with this stabbing. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: tributes for an icon — we look back at the work of legendary film star burt reynolds, who's died at the age of 82. freedom itself was attacked this morning, and freedom will be defended. the united states will hunt down and punish those responsible. bishop tutu now becomes the spiritual leader of 100,000 anglicans here, of the blacks in soweto township as well as the whites in their rich suburbs.

we say to you today, in a loud and a clear voice, enough of blood and tears. enough! translation: the difficult decision we reached together was one that required great and exceptional courage. it's an exodus of up to 60,000 people, caused by the uneven pace of political change in eastern europe. iam free! you are watching the briefing. our headlines: back on the road, president trump rallies his base, as critics claim his leadership and policy making in the white house is out of control.

support for an anti—migrant nationalist party grows in sweden, and the ruling party face a significant challenge as the country goes to the polls. on friday, iranian president hassan rouhani will host his turkish and russian counterparts for a summit on syria. it comes as the un warns of a major humanitarian catastrophe if syrian and russian forces launch their expected offensive on the rebel—held region of idlib. our correspondents in moscow, istanbul and anjar, on the syrian border, look at what is at stake for all involved. well, it is nearly three years since moscow launched its military operation in syria, and in that time, russia has achieved pretty much what it wanted to. it has managed to keep a key ally,

president assad, in power. it has cemented its own influence in syria, the russians now have military bases there, and russia has become a key player in the middle east. while now, at the summit in iran, the kremlin says it wants to discuss what it is calling long—term normalisation of syria, that is how to rebuild a devastated country, how to rebuild a devastated country, how to bring back refugees and internally displaced persons, and the russians say that it's in everyone's interests, but the un has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if pro— russian forces launch an all—out assault. the summit could decide idlib's fate. now onto turkey. my colleague mark lowe. turkey. my colleague mark lowe. turkey is the odd one out in a trio with russia and iran. while it supports the syrian rebels, moscow and to run back the assad regime, and to run back the assad regime, and so while all three are cooperating closely, it is awkward for president erdogan. he wants the regime and its supporters to hold back on the idlib offensive, warning

ofa back on the idlib offensive, warning of a potential massacre. he is worried about some 2.5 million syrian refugees are trying to flee to turkey, in addition to the 3.5 million already here. turkey's resources a re million already here. turkey's resources are stretched. it is facing financial problems than most turks want the syrians here to return. tom bateman is in neighbouring lebanon. there are hundreds of thousands of refugees here in the valley, and many remain terrified about the fate of loved ones who are still in idlib province. lebanon itself has suffered from huge destabilising effects from having a war across its border, as has much of this region. everyone wanted to end, but at what cost? beyond these hills as western syria. the motorway runs north into idlib province from there, so it seems that there is little doubt that military action will take place in the days following the day's summit. the question i think is all about its scale, and so all eyes will be on the turks in the russians to see if they can do a deal to try and limit the scale of a military offensive. if not, the united

nations has warned that idlib could become a battle more cruel than any other in this, it says, the cruellest war in a generation. bbc correspondents there on friday's summit on the future of syria. other news events taking place over the next 2a hours: the german chancellor, angela merkel, will meet french president emmanuel macron in marseille. discussions are likely to include brexit, immigration and the eurozone. in washington later, george papadopoulos, a trump foreign policy advisor in the 2016 presididential election, will be sentenced for lying about his contacts with russians. and in brazil, it is the beginning of the arts biennale of sao paolo, sadly overshadowed by last week's devastating fire at the national museum in rio. now it is time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, i'm tulsen tollett. coming up in your friday sport

briefing: alastair cook heads out in an england cricket shirt for the last time when the fifth test against india gets underway at the oval. novak djokovic heads into us open semi—final action in the men's, while serena williams is through to the women's final, as she bids for a record—equalling 24th grand slam title. this man, alastair cook, will walk out as an international cricketer for the final time later on friday. the former england captain announced his retirement earlier this week, after accomplishing all he intended to in the game. england have already won their five—match series against india, with the final match to come at the oval, and captainjoe root is hoping cook can go out on a high. it's would seem fitting, wouldn't it, for him to go out on a real high, ona it, for him to go out on a real high, on a personal note, notjust asa team. high, on a personal note, notjust as a team. and hopefully he can soak up as a team. and hopefully he can soak up everything else that comes with this week, and go out and deliver on the field. it would be nice to start

and finish, wouldn't it, with a century. so you never know, it might be written in the stars for him. two i think credit to him. the way he handled his batting, his technique, and all the pressure from you guys, i think, since ashes to now you guys have been putting him under pressure. but i think he has been fantastic, and i would like to wish him all the best in his post cricketing career. the line—up for the men's final at the us open will be confirmed on friday evening in new york. world number one rafael nadal takes onjuan martin del potro, while novak djokovic faces japan's kei nishikori. djokovic got the better ofjohn millman in the last round, the man who beat roger federer. but it wasn't just the australian djokovic was battling against, but also the heat on court. i asked the chair umpire whether they are using some form of ventilation or air—conditioning down at the court level side, and he says that he is not aware of it, that

only what comes through the hallway, type of thing. i think that this tournament needs to address this. it was whether it is neither a day, we just don't have a down there. it feels like a sauna. —— don't have air. well, we heard about the men there, and in case you missed it, serena williams has cruised through to the us open final with a straight—sets, 6—3, 6—0 win over latvian anastasija sevastova. the 36—year—old, a six—time winner at flushing meadows, started the match slowly, going 2—0 down, before she exploded into action and made a real statement, as she moves within one win of a record equalling 24th grand slam title. the first batch of matches in the inaugural uefa nations league were played on thursday, including world champions france, who were in munich to play former champions germany. it was france's first match since lifting the world cup in moscow, and the league a group 1 game failed to deliver any goals. but it did see a wonderful string of second—half saves from third—choice french goalkeeper alphonse areola. germany went out at the group stage in russia, their earliest exit for 80 years, with the next match

in the group to be france against the netherlands, to be played in paris on sunday. well, we've all seen england and tottenham hotspur midfielder dele alli's challenges that have been trending on social media in the last few weeks. well, now his england team mate kyle walker has had some fun of his own. here is the manchester city fullback nutmegging dele in the gym, to the enjoyment of his england team mates. # hello, darkness, my old friend... you can get all the latest sports news at our website. that is bbc.com/sport. but from me, tulsen tollett, and the rest of the team, that is your friday sport briefing. the hollywood actor burt reynolds has died at the age of 82. he shot to fame in deliverance, and starred in films like smokey and the bandit, boogie nights

and the cannonball run. he died in hospital in florida after suffering a heart attack. his family described him as a generous, passionate and sensitive man. from los angeles, james cook reports. burt reynolds in deliverance, taking on the wilderness and its murderous inhabitants, the embodiment of the macho american. reynolds made his name in westerns like navajojoe, which played on his own reputed... you're a navajo, aren't you? ..and disputed cherokee roots. what's your name? joe. he became a hollywood heartthrob. what do you do besides drive fast? smokey and the bandit was classic reynolds — one long car—chase. but drinking, womanising and spending took a toll on his reputation and his fortune, and by 1996, he was bankrupt.

you come into my house, my party, to tell me about the future? boogie nights revived his reputation, with an oscar nomination for his role as a porn film director, although he hated making the movie. well, career—high was that i got nominated for that film, and the career low was when i couldn't get a job. and that was not too long before that. i was having a rough time. burt reynolds said he regretted not taking more serious roles, but perhaps it didn't matter. his memoir ended with the line, "nobody had more fun than i did." stay with me on bbc news. i will be back with the business

briefing in just a few moments. lots on crypto currency and how we go about regulating them. we have some tweets coming in about that british airway ‘s story. lots of financial data ta ken over the british airway ‘s story. lots of financial data taken over the course ofa financial data taken over the course of a few weeks —— ba. one saying ba should not have been allowed to sack all of its staff and move development to india to save money. and a tweet from india saying online transactions save lots of valuable time and effort. one or two isolated incidents like this brings more awareness for safety measures. biometrics could be used for lots of different ways to authenticate purchases. i will have that business briefing injust a moment. hello, good morning.

details for the weekend continue to chop and change it. things should be a bit more straightforward, though, for today, where it is going to be a bright and day. there will still be a bit of rain towards northern and some eastern parts of the uk, but the most part it will be dry. the rain is coming closer to that area of low pressure which is filled sitting there in the north sea. we've got a very weak weather front in the far south—west, it's just a bit of cloud here. so we've still got some rain around, perhaps across northern scotland, eastern scotland or the north—east of england, maybe a little bit heading towards the wash, but the tendency is for most of that to head out offshore during the afternoon. patchy fair weather cloud doubling up elsewhere, small risk of a shower in that westerly breeze, which will be stronger. it will be cool across southern part of the uk but with sunshine further north, temperatures a bit higher than they were yesterday. as we head into the evening, clear skies for most of that cloud tends to melt away, but there is more cloud coming in from the atlantic. this is a major uncertainty, how far north or

south this rain is going to get. it does mean that overnight into the start of the weekend it should be quite as chilly. we got this spell of cloud and rain that is mainly coming across england and wales. but it could affect southern parts of northern ireland and southern scotla nd northern ireland and southern scotland for a while. it looks more likely now that southern counties of england may mist most if not all of that rain. still temperatures only 19 degrees here. 17 in central and northern scotland, where it should be largely dry with some sunshine. the complications arise because this weather front has got various kings in itand weather front has got various kings in it and it is a case of how far north and south that rain is going to get. overnight and into sunday, it is properly going to be more northern parts of the uk that is going to have the rain. the tendency for most of the uk, even here, is for most of the uk, even here, is for it to fade away. the showers continuing in the far north of scotland. and it may be that temperatures are a little bit higher across england and wales, in particular, maybe 21 or 22 degrees, and that is a trend that may continue into next week there is a

strong jetstream propagating across the atlantic earlier next week. it is going to pick up areas of low pressure and drive them our way. it looks like it is going to be mainly the north and north—west of the uk that will see most of that rain. one or two showers ahead of it, but perhaps some sunshine as well. with a slight continental drift, those temperatures could get up to 23 or 24 temperatures could get up to 23 or 2a in the south—east. hello. this is the business briefing. i'm victoria fritz. cryptocurrency crackdown. europe weighs in on tougher rules on the likes of bitcoin and ethereum, as their value continues to plunge. plus, hacked off. another it fail for british airways, as thousands of customers have their card details stolen. hello. we start with the volatile world of cryptocurrencies. you'll have heard of bitcoin,

possibly even ethereum