this is the briefing. i'm ben bland. our top stories: were there high—level discussions to remove president trump? a top republican vows to investigate allegations made by a former acting fbi director. fighting fake news: british mps call for a new code of conduct for social media giants online. the parents of a british girl who ran away to join islamic state call on the uk government to bring her and her new baby home. paul air regional uk airline flybmi colla pses paul air regional uk airline flybmi collapses and councils all flights, leaving thousands of outages stranded across europe. and i will find out why raising taxes is back in favour among american democrats. 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. as british mps call for facebook and other social media to be urgently regulated more strictly, what do you think? can they ever be effectively regulated? or should we, as users, be more clever at spotting disinformation and fake news? tell us what you think. just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. we start in the us, where the chairman of the senatejudiciary committee says his panel will investigate allegations that the deputy us attorney—general, rod rosenstein, considered constitutional measures to remove president trump from office in 2017. lindsey graham described the allegations by the former acting director of the fbi andrew mccabe as "beyond stunning." jon ironmonger reports. calls for impeachment have dogged

the us president, it now allegations have returned of a high—level scheme to bring him down. speaking on cbs news, the former acting head of the fbi, andrew mccabe, claims rod rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, thought about removing donald trump by invoking the 25th amendment. rod raised the issue and discussed it with me in the context of thinking about how many other cabinet officials might support such an effort. it was really something that he kind of throughout in a very frenzied, chaotic conversation about where we were and what we needed to do next. —— threw out. where we were and what we needed to do next. -- threw out. what seems to be coursing through the mind of the deputy attorney general was getting good of the president of the united states. i can't confirm that, but

what i can say is that the deputy attorney general was definitely very concerned about the president, about his capacity and about his intent at that point in time. mr rose has seen has already denied that he discussed getting rid of trump and secretly recording his conversation with the president. —— mr rose and steam. but the president of the senate judiciary committee has promised to get to the bottom of the allegations. we will have a hearing about who is telling the truth, what actually happened. mr mccabe, you will remember, was dismissed from the fbi for leaking information to the fbi for leaking information to the press, so you've got to remember the press, so you've got to remember the saucy. mr mccabe took over the fbi after the president fired his predecessor, james comey. the reaction in the investigation into collusion between his campaign team and russia. and on sunday trump took to twitter once again to claim he was the bit of a witch—hunt and calling mccabe a disgrace. threats to the presidency are many, but while trump on peers —— appears

u nsettled, while trump on peers —— appears unsettled, it will take more to unseat him. a british parliamentary committee has called for a compulsory code of ethics to regulate facebook and other big social media companies to help limit fake news and other harmful content. it said this should be overseen by an independent regulator, and funded by a levy on tech companies. the committee's report into fake news and disinformation was particularly scathing towards facebook, accusing it of intentionally violating data privacy and anti—competition laws. here's our media editor, amol rajan. it is totally fake news, it is just fake. the term fake news has entered the mainstream in recent years. in america there has been grave concern that the election of donald trump may have owed something to the interference by russia in the presidential election. an investigation by former fbi director robert mueller is looking into the invest —— the allegations. the nearest thing to that in britain is the culture select committee's report on fake news and

disinformation. its findings, published this morning, a scathing about technology companies and the legal and regular trip framework in which they operate. the committee says facebook intentionally violated data or the sea laws and anti— condition laws. it says a new code of conduct overseen by an independent regulator should be set up. and it claims current electoral law is not fit for purpose. facebook say they have taken extensive steps to weed out all harmful content on their platform, including fake news. but coming so soon over the outcry over molly russell, a 14—year—old who committed suicide after seeing pictures of self harm on facebook and instagram, it shows that technology companies and those who legislate against them are entering a new era. kulveer ranger, senior vice president of strategy and communication at atos, joins me now. i know you are not feeling great, so thanks forjoining us at this hour. that's all right. this issue about regulating facebook and social media giants more tightly, more strictly,

this is what the mps would like to see, but can it ever actually be done, though? it is going to be an uphill struggle, it has to be said. facebook and other social media platforms have got international reach. they are global organisations. for specific countries and parliaments, and the trouble that parliament has had, even getting mark zuckerberg to come to this committee and give evidence, which they failed to do, and they do cite that, they are quite angry about this, it demonstrates facebook‘s power far exceeds that of an independent country and a parliament. so the question is, how will international governments band together to help meet this challenge? because at the moment we are seeing the concern around fake news, the harm that information, the abuse online, the ability to manipulate populations in key elections, and all of this stuff is having a key impact on government. at the question will be, when will bodies such as the united nations and other international bodies, come

together to say, what should they do about these global payments? some people will say, as the horse gallops off into the far distance, that they are trying to bolt the sta ble that they are trying to bolt the stable doorfar that they are trying to bolt the stable door far too late. well, you could say that. i think the challenge at the moment is that there was a case of, would self—regulation work? can people do wa nt to self—regulation work? can people do want to allow these great successes, social media has been a success of its time, it has given more power, freedom and commerce to people, and we need to see what we can do to ensure that still remains, once we protect people to help enhance its capability. thank you very much indeed. i'd have a hot drink and we will go through the papers later on. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. at least four indian soldiers have been killed in a gunfight with rebels in indian—administered kashmir. the clash happened about a0 kilometers from srinagar, in pulwama district, where a0 troopers were killed by a suicide bomber on thursday. the australian prime minister scott morrison says the country's major

political parties were the subject of a cyber attack. australia's security agencies believe a "sophisticated state actor" was responsible for the hack earlier this month, which also breached pa rliament‘s computer systems. mr morrison says australia has acted decisively to protect its national interests, and there's no evidence of electoral interference. the venezuelan opposition leader, juan guaido, says he hopes to enlist a million volunteers by next saturday to distribute the humanitarian aid supplied by the us and other countries which is currently stuck in colombia. food and medicine has been arriving in us military transport planes at the border town of cucuta. mr guaido says he wants a "humanitarian avalanche" and "caravans" to deliver the aid, but president nicolas maduro is refusing to allow it in, saying the operation is a cover for a us invasion. the family of a british teenager who ran away from home

when she was 15 to join the islamic state group, have asked the british government to help bring her home, after hearing that she's given birth to a boy. shamima begum, now 19 is living in a refugee camp in northern syria, after fleeing the last is stronghold in the eastern part of the country. colin campbell reports. showers the schoolgirl who ran away tojoin islamic showers the schoolgirl who ran away to join islamic state, showers the schoolgirl who ran away tojoin islamic state, but showers the schoolgirl who ran away to join islamic state, but who showers the schoolgirl who ran away tojoin islamic state, but who is now asking to return to the uk. pictured in today's newspapers in a syrian refugee camp with her newborn sun, shamima begum is appealing for public sympathy. her family are asking the british government to show compassion and help them get her home. they would like the government to recognise its responsibility to her and her one —day—old child, and to extend every help that can be given to have that child repatriated to the united kingdom. she travelled from east london to syria with vote schoolfriends in 2015, but fled

fighting a fortnight ago. the government has said it wants to prevent people who went to join a terrorist group returning to written. but ministers concede that people like shamima begum who have only british nationality may ultimately be allowed to come back. if you are dealing with a british citizen who wants to return to this country, and they are not a dual citizen, so there only citizenship is british citizenship, then we are obliged at some stage police to take them back. that doesn't mean that we can't put in place the necessary security measures to monitor their activities and make sure they are not misbehaving. but to get back to the uk from syria, shamima begum will require travel documents. her family are requesting them from the british government and say they understand if she makes it home she is likely to face police investigation and possibly a criminal trial. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, going out with a bang — the world war ii bomb that took 75 years to explode. nine years and 15,000 deaths

after going into afghanistan, the last soviet troops were finally coming home. the withdrawal completed in good order, but the army defeated in the task it had been sent to perform. malcolm has been murdered. it has a terrible effect on the morale of the people, i'm terrified of the repercussions in the streets. one wonders who is next. as the airlift got under way, there was no let—up in the eruption itself. lava streams from a vent low in the crater flowed down to the sea on the east of the island, away from the town for the time being, but it could start flowing again at any time.

the russians heralded their new generation space station with a spectacular night launch. they've called it mir, russian for peace. you're watching the briefing. 0ur headlines: british mps have called for a compulsory code of ethics to regulate facebook and other big social media companies to help limit fake news and other harmful content. and our top story: the former acting director of the fbi says the deputy us attorney—general considered measures to remove president trump from office. lets stay with that now. thomas mann is resident scholar at the institute of governmental studies at university of california berkeley. he's there now. good to see you. what do you make of

these claims? are we to take the matter serious consideration? 0r these claims? are we to take the matter serious consideration? or was it idle chitchat? i think was neither. i think it was a sort of measured part of a larger in internal conversation about what in the world was going on and what the degree of risk they might be with donald trump's presidency. but no—one took any actions as best as we can towel. the conversation among leaders within thejustice department... as best we can tell. with the 25th amendment, explain how it works. if they did want to invoke it, what would they need to do? the

justice department officials can't doa justice department officials can't do a thing to initiate it. this is a process that really requires members of the cabinet, including the vice president, to determine on their own that the president is disabled in some way, mentally or physically, from facing the responsibilities of hisjob and from facing the responsibilities of his job and nothing from facing the responsibilities of hisjob and nothing like from facing the responsibilities of his job and nothing like that, from facing the responsibilities of hisjob and nothing like that, as best as we can towel, has transpired. ——as best as we can towel. —— tell. people whether welded and appalled by the president's statements in public and

in private. as best as we know, it amounted to nothing and it would have been futile if they did because the cabinet is hardly a place to find a strong oversight and discipline of the president. they are hand—picked by the president. and do you think this will do anything damaging at all to the president's standing in the views of his supporters all were ——or will they just dismiss this his supporters all were ——or will theyjust dismiss this nothing will diminish among his base. much of this has been reported already against more credence from a key member of the justice department. the acting head of the fbi at that time, writing and speaking about it.

perhaps more important is what we learned at the end of this interview and 60 minutes, that he, like james comey, then director of the fbi, notes and conversations turned over to the special counsel. thank you very much. with the us—led coalition close to announcing the defeat of islamic state militants in syria, the government — backed by russia and iran — has already recaptured most of the country. across the middle east, 5.5 million syrian refugees are considering whether to go home. the un expects a quarter of a million to head back this year. as yolande knell reports, sincejordan reopened a border crossing with syria last october, there've been thousands of returns. this is the border with syria. and after yea rs of this is the border with syria. and after years of people fleeing a brutal civil war, everyday now there

isa brutal civil war, everyday now there is a long queue to enter the country. so all these people are syrians who have been staying in jordan but they have now decided to go home and it's not an easy decision at all to go back because they are going to be giving up all of their rights as refugees. marianne spends two years in a refugee camp. translation: we want to go back to oui’ translation: we want to go back to our country, to our house. there is nothing better. when we left, we hoped for calm and now what has calmed everything. since government forces retook areas last you, there has been thousands of returns. all the time now people have been able to hear back from relatives of improved security, we start to see an interest of refugees to go back. at the syrian embassy, refugees way to sort out the paperwork they need

to sort out the paperwork they need to go home. it is costly. this man has saved up $170 to register his daughter's berth in jordan. has saved up $170 to register his daughter's berth injordan. she is one of a million refugee babies born during the war. soon her father plans to take her and all his family back to where syria's uprising began. that after all the turmoil, he is glad president assad wasn't overthrown. is islamic state group lose our front and all those other fronts and factions had their way, syria would have been divided into 1000 pieces. instead, president bashar al—assad preserved the united syria. back at the border, mauceri and head home. fighting has devastated much of the country that people are desperate to rebuild their lives. —— more people are

heading home. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. the so—called air cocaine trial begins in the coming hours in france's provence region. 1a people including two pilots face charges of involvement in the attempted smuggling of almost three quarters of a ton of cocaine from the dominican republic. in brussels a short time later, the partner of murdered journalist jamal khashoggi will be at the european parliament campaigning for lawmakers to put more pressure on the saudis to explain what happened when he was murdered in the saudi arabian embassy in istanbul. and later in florida, president trump will make a speech supporting venezuela's oppositon leaderjuan guaido who promises to bring in us aid that's being blocked by president maduro. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. the talk of potential retirement

might have gone out with a bang after he took gold on the slalom to claim a record seven world titles. the austrian recovered from illness earlier in the week to clock the quickest times on both runs in order, sweden. —— marcel hirscher, who teased us with talk of potential retirement might have gone out with one heck of a bang after he took gold in the men's slalom on the final day to claim a record equalling seven world titles. the austrian recovered from illness earlier in the week to clock the quickest times on both runs in ora, sweden. it's his third slalom title following victories in 2013 and 2017. a great day for him and his country as austria claimed the first clean sweep on a men's podium since 1987. finally good to have another gold medal. real madrid missed the chance to regain second place in la liga. they lost at home to 2—1 girona on sunday and to top things off their captain sergio ramos only went and picked up his 25th career red card. naughty, naughty.

that was in spain, while over in italy 3rd—placed inter milan beat sampdoria 2—1 ivan perisic setting up danilo d'ambrosio for inter‘s opening goal. two minutes later manolo gabbiadini equalised for the visitors, before radja nainggolan drilled home from the edge of the penalty area to win it for inter. they're now four points clear of their city rivals milan. to the daytona 500 which threw up a huge crash with just nine laps of the race remaining. you can see it there. but probably bestjust to let the images do the talking. i will say incredibly no one was hurt but 18 ars were involved. here it is in slo mo. denny hamlin was the eventual winner, claiming the second daytona 500 crown of his career. when it comes to tasty ties fa cup matches don't get much more mouth—watering than this: holders chelsea host manchester united later in the pick of the 5th round matchups. it's a repeat of last years final which chelsea won 1—0. the blues have had a torrid run of form recently though — culminating in their 6—0 defeat to manchester city last week. united — by contrast — have collected 25 league points from a possible 27 since ole gunnar solskjaer replaced jose

mourinho. the landmark case of caster semenya will face a crucial moment on monday at the court of arbitration for sport. the olympic 800m champion is challenging athletics‘ world governing body over its bid to restrict the levels of testosterone in female runners. under the ruling, female athletes with naturally high testosterone levels would have to race against men or change events unless they took medication to reduce it. finally, picture this. the majority of a football squad goes on strike over unpaid wages. you're left with the bare bones, and by bare bones i mean just seven players, and by players i mean your massage therapist, six teenagers, and a 19—year—old listed as the team's coach for the game. what do we think happens? well, the inevitable. you get absolutely hammered.

pro piacenza, who are bottom of the italian third tier, could only rustle up those 7 players. they lost 20—0 to cuneo. it was a real fill your boots moment for the opposition though, 4 players bagging hattricks. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. eurostar services in and out of paris are expected to return to normal today — after major problems on sunday. the cause was a little unusual — not industrial or bad weather — but a huge unexploded bomb from the second world war. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. the heart of paris turned into a ghost town. hundreds of people, some preparing for a longer trip than others, leaving their homes. police going door to door, making sure everyone was safely out of the way. the1,000—pound bomb, initially thought to be harmless,

was discovered in the french capital last month. it was found by workmen at a building site at porte de la chapelle, just north of gare du nord, the train station where the eurostar operates. translation: the last bomb was found in the early 2000s in the seine. there is a risk we're likely to find others. raf lancasters of bomber command fly through a curtain of heavy flank to blast the equipment depot near paris. it's estimated more than 1,500 french cities and towns were targeted by the allies during the second world war. officials believe this was an american bomb dropped by an raf lancaster in april 19114. for safety reasons, tons of sand was piled on top before a controlled detonation could be carried out. mission finally accomplished

for the bomb that took 75 years to explode. tim allman, bbc news. stay with us here on bbc news — so much more to come. —— before we go, the idea from british mps that facebook and social media giant should be regulated more strictly. loads have been in touch. people say it is just the modern equivalent of the telephone. the rub regulations for not using the phone for anything illegal or nasty but nobody expects the telephone companies to be liable for everything their users say. it could lead to political censorship. in the last few days, we have had exceptionally mild weather.

temperatures got up to 16, 17 celsius in quite a few areas. monday looking a little cooler. in fact, the first half of the week will bring a lot more cloud, the temperatures will ease back down again, but by thursday, they'll be creeping once more up towards the dizzying heights of the mid or even the high teens. now, in the short term, some showers and the forecast there. they're heading to scotland, northern ireland, there's showers in western areas as well of england and wales. very mild further south. look at that — 9 degrees first thing in the morning on monday. that's actually the average temperature during the day. monday itself will bring a lot of fine weather to england and wales bar a few showers there briefly in the south. most of the showers will affect northern ireland and scotland. here, they could be brief and heavy. there could be some hail and thunder as well. nothing overall, just a lot more cloud around on monday, and of course, as a result,

it'll be cooler. now, on tuesday, we are in between weather fronts, one moving away towards the east, another one approaching us. but ahead of this weather front, the wind is blowing out of the south—west. you can see these south—westerlies here. so, yes, it's going to cloud over, yes, the rain will arrive. it'll probably reach northern ireland and western scotland. we're pretty sure the rain will go in this direction here. but the further south and east you are, the drier it will be. here, temperatures will be still around 10, 12 degrees, which is higher than normal. now, as we head through the course of wednesday, this is wednesday's picture, we still have that mild air drifting in from the south, so on wednesday, i think we'll see those temperatures starting to recover at least in some areas once the rain, the weather front clears away, there will be some sunshine developing. top temperatures probably around about 13, maybe squeezing out a 1k. but notice that around 12 degrees, even 13 expected in northern ireland by wednesday as well. thursday and friday, we start to see that much milder weather spreading nationwide,

so notjust the south of the country, but way towards the north as well. even in scotland, it could be as high as 16 degrees. and then friday into the weekend, temperatures could actually hit 18 degrees with this southerlyjet stream drawing up mild air. this is the business briefing. i'm ben bland. hard landing! regional uk airline flybmi collapses and cancels all flights leaving thousands of passengers stranded across europe. and why proposing tax rises is no longer taboo among democratic presidential candidates. and on the markets, asian stocks have rallied strongly as they start the week, with optimism about those trade talks in beijing between the us and china. we should discover the outcome soon.