this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. stocks prices jump on the news that president trump has delayed further trade tariffs on chinese goods saying "substa ntial progress" has been made. this is the briefing, i'm sally bundock. our top story: and the counting continues in nigeria as the financial community eagerly awaits the results pulling off an oscars upset — green book is named best picture at this year's academy awards. of this weekend's election. venezuelan soldiers who defected to colombia tell the bbc they're this is the scene now in asia, worried about the safety with shanghai seeing shares rising on the hope of progress of theirfamilies. between the us and china. seeking sanctuary, but is botswana a bit ofa a bit of a glitch at the end of my the safe refuge for elephants that screen, it should be the friday's some have claimed? close for the towel. the progress between the us and china is resting coming up in the business briefing, "substa ntial progress" — markets for now. —— boosting. that's how us president donald trump describes negotiations with beijing as he delays further trade tariffs.

a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and the oscars, of course. this is billy porter on the red carpet his outfit is grabbing the headlines, but is this iconic awards ceremony still grabbing the viewers? last year's live audience was the lowest in oscars history. so has it lost its appeal? are you tuning in? get in touch — #bbcthebriefing. let's discuss in detail the biggest night of the year in hollywood. the oscars awards ceremony has just ended with a film about segregation in the southern united states,

green book, winning best picture. alfonso cuaron won best director for the black and white mexican film roma. british actress olivia colman won best actress for her performance as queen anne in the favourite and rami malek won best actor for his portrayal of freddie mercury in bohemian rhapsody. danjohnson is in hollywood. you are at the vanity fair party. have the stars arrived yet? people are starting to arrive here. there we re are starting to arrive here. there were some people who turned up early because they came here to actually watch the ceremony itself and that has just finished across the way in hollywood the people are starting to come here to the real after party, the real celebration and jeff goldblum is just here, the real celebration and jeff goldblum isjust here, lots the real celebration and jeff goldblum is just here, lots of people here, lots of smart suit and fa ncy people here, lots of smart suit and fancy frocks and plots to celebrate, it has been an interesting night and

perhaps surprisingly good hasn't been one big standout, single film that has won loads of awards, the awards tonight seem to have been spread around quite a bit so best pick went to green book, that is a road trip through the racially segregated south america that in the 19605, segregated south america that in the 1960s, the story of a friendship between a black musician who was touring the south, a difficult place touring the south, a difficult place to go at that time, and his friendship with his white bodyguard, a film starring viggo mortensen and commercial are lee, he also won best supporting actor bringing richard e. grant in that category so a lot of success grant in that category so a lot of success the green book tonight, that has taken home best picture and two other oscars, we should also talk about olivia colman because she has been one of the real surprises of this evening, everybody thought this was glenn close's year to win best actress, glenn close has been nominated seven times for an oscar 110w nominated seven times for an oscar now and tonight unfortunately for her it was the unlucky number seven, even though she seems to win every

other board in hollywood in the last couple of months in the run—up to the oscars, she was picked up the post with a last—minute olivia colman who made an absolutely fantastic speech, thanking everyone she could think of. she certainly had not written a speech, it was clear she was making it up off the top of her head, she thanked her mum and dad and kids who she said were back at home watching and she then thanked lady gaga who was sat right in the front row in front of her. lady gaga herself having won one award tonight for best song, the best song in her picture a star is born, just seeing ifjeff goldblum will move down the line any time soon. looks like he is caught up there, talking to other people. difficult to see who is coming and who within the crowd but hopefully we will get some reaction to deny‘s oscars which was unconventional, a different flow to the show, no single host, a lot of musical performances, starting with queen who won stage with a medley of their

greatest hits right at the start, a successful storming opening and theirfilm bohemian successful storming opening and their film bohemian rhapsody successful storming opening and theirfilm bohemian rhapsody has won four awards tonight including best actorfor rami four awards tonight including best actor for rami malek was four awards tonight including best actorfor rami malek was playing freddie mercury, a stunning performance and some successful bohemian rhapsody and four roma, a mexican black and white film subtitled, produced by netflix, not your usual oscar—winning, it is a real truth and netflix to succeed with a film like that so lots to talk about tonight, lots of different winners and i think a sense that the oscars have this he had done a betterjob of reflecting the rich diversity of hollywood, thatis the rich diversity of hollywood, that is a challenge they have been set over the last two years or so. we will leave you for now, down, we can tell you it is a real rugby scrum where you are and i know you don't want to miss the ones that will let you go and google talk to him later. he has a realjob on his hands tonight talking to us live, broadcasting to the world over the same time trying to keep an eye on who is coming and going and not miss any one, we will talk to him later. you'll find much more

about the oscars on the bbc news website, including this — how two black panther crew members made oscar history. for this and more news and analyses of our top stories, just go to bbc.com/news. you can also download the bbc news app. many of you have been in touch already with your views on the oscar, stalking microphone talking about whether it still has the same kind of rubber tiles that it used to. —— gravitas. venezuelan soldiers who defected to colombia have told the bbc they are concerned for the family members they've left behind. colombian immigration officials say 100 venezuelan soldiers have entered their territory. the power struggle between president nicolas maduro and the opposition leader juan guaido will be discussed at a regional summit in colombia on monday. our international correspondent orla guerin reports now from the border area. embers still smouldering on a bridge

that became a battleground. desperately needed aid went up in smoke here when venezuelan troops blocked an opposition convoy on the orders of president nicolas maduro. but some have broken ranks. this weekend, foot soldiers have been deserting. it's over 100 now and counting. we managed to speak to a group of them sheltering in a church in the border town of cucuta. they fear for their families back home in venezuela, so we are concealing their identities. translation: there will be a domino effect. there are many professional troops who want to do this. they realise this is their moment to leave this dictatorship and to free venezuela. we cannot remain a slave. we are freeing ourselves. the men told us they had deserted for the sake of their loved ones and their homeland. they say nicolas maduro has divided the nation.

translation: there is already a civil war in venezuela. i saw it yesterday at the bridge. venezuelans were attacking each other with rocks and the armed forces were shooting at their own people. among those who have laid down their weapons, a sergeant major and a lieutenant, both mothers now parted from their children. they say they could not obey orders to attack. translation: it was tense. i was thinking i could not harm my own people. that was against my principles, my values and professional ethics. i felt i was not doing the right thing. we want a better venezuela. this woman says that many troops and officers want change, but anyone who speaks out can disappear, like one of her colleagues. translation: she made a comment on whatsapp and has been missing for more than a month.

they went to her apartment. she had a baby. they left it with a neighbour, as if the baby were a dog. the soldiers told us that the military leadership is still bound to nicolas maduro by corruption and they believe the president will fight to stay in power. at mass here, this former general was among the congregation. he abandoned nicolas maduro a few months ago. prayers were offered for venezuela, a nation that has suffered so much and now faces an uncertain future. orla guerin, bbc news, on the colombia—venezuela border. at least five people have been killed in indian—administered —— us president donald trump says "substantial progress" has been made in trade negotiations with beijing and that he will delay imposing further trade tariffs on chinese goods. import duties were due to rise for chinese goods from the 1st of march.

however, trump now says he wants to meet with chinese president xijinping to thrash out a trade deal. nina trentmann from the wall street journaljoins me now. good morning, nice to see you. not a big surprise, we did think actually that this march one deadline may be postponed. the financial markets today in asia are celebrating this news. give us your take. from a financial market point of view it is good news, we can see the chinese currency rise and the australian dollar rise, all was a sign of saying few, it did not happen, but it may still happen, and that is the second part of it, we need to watch closely the question of how it will develop until the negotiators really agree on these issues that the us government wants the chinese government wants the chinese government to change like subsidies to many sectors in the chinese

economy, full strength of technology, issues like protection for ip that have been discussed for some time and in the end it is a big ask that the us government has the chinese government in both of course a domestic audience is that they need to please with the us and taringa primary season later this year so it is not really an easy task. it isn't, and president trump seems to be pushing, pushing, to see a breakthrough, something he can claim asa a breakthrough, something he can claim as a victory on the part of the us. he is calling for the two leaders to get together at mar—a—lago, his preferred location in florida, at the end of march, to sort finalise a deal. he wants to be seen sort finalise a deal. he wants to be seen as sort finalise a deal. he wants to be seen as the big deal maker, doesn't he? yes, he has been trying to betray himself as that before but one of the concerns within his administration is actually he may be too willing to strike a deal that may then be not merely covering all of the issues that the us has had an

issue within the past and of course this is a one—time chance to research this relationship between the world's biggest economies and they are concerns in the us administration that trump will tough enough so it remains to be seen in these coming weeks. thank you for now, nina, it will be back for our news briefing a little later. we will have more stories to discuss them. —— discuss then. botswana has a reputation for being one of the last great elephant sanctuaries in africa, but is also has a significant elephant poaching problem, according to a wildlife report seen by the bbc. our africa correspondent alastair leithead set out to try and verify the report's findings. he found clear evidence of poaching near the world —famous okavango delta. you may find some of the images and descriptions in his report upsetting. botswa na botswana is home to one third of africa's remaining elephants,

130,000 of them, roaming the wilderness. at a new report warns they have a problem. mike chase is a scientist who has carried out aerial surveys a cross scientist who has carried out aerial surveys across africa and during his recent survey of more than botswana, he saw something that alarmed him. ca rcasses. he saw something that alarmed him. carcasses. this particular area is approaching metaphor is a poaching hotspot and within 1000 approaching metaphor is a poaching hotspot and within1000 kilometre area, there are 88 which elephants. but he says the government ignored his warnings so he went public. the response level his observations" false and misleading" and his licence was withdrawn. with the aerial survey was done in this area, they identified a large number of elephant carcasses with evidence of poaching will stop we have come out here in the helicopter to verify those results. i was here in september, four months ago, and at that time, this carcass was fresh. they sold. you can see clear evidence of poaching, half of its cranium has been chopped a very

sharp axe or machete. this elephant was still alive when they chopped his tasks out of his skull. how do you know? so rather than using another bullet and avoiding shock protection, they would have severed his spinal cord, rendering him paralysed and defenceless while they chopped his tasks. we saw more than 60 carcasses in two days. the final report which the government has not yet released details of six times more fresh or recent carcasses in the last survey four years ago, calling it a significant elephant poaching problem. nine international experts review the findings that the government still questions the figures. nobody can deny that elephants are being killed, just like nobody can deny that there is poaching elsewhere in this continent. but we are denying that 87 elephants would have killed next

toa 87 elephants would have killed next to a wildlife sanctuary in northern botswa na to a wildlife sanctuary in northern botswana because we went there and we could not find 87 carcasses. these figures are small compared to botswa na's elephant population these figures are small compared to botswana's elephant population but some high end safari operators believes everyone needs to fight this together, now, before it gets out of control. i think the government has been hiding it for a while and now that it has been brought out in the open, we are now realising how serious the problem is and these big poachers have actually infiltrated further than we expected them to be. the government does have them to be. the government does have the resources to act but the poaching issue is caught up in a battle between two political heavyweights — and you have that wonderful a new president and his predecessor that is clouding the debate. alastair leithead, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, the big freeze — why the search for the world's oldest ice could transform our understanding of climate change.

prince charles has chosen his bride. the prince proposed to lady diana spencer three weeks ago. she accepted, she says, without hesitation. as revolutions go, this had its fair share of bullets. a climax in the night outside the gates of mr marcos's sanctuary, malacanang — the name itself symbolizing one of the cruellest regimes of modern asia. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly using a cell from another sheep. citizens are trying to come to grips with their new freedom. though there is joy and relief today, the scars are everywhere. not for 20 years have locusts been seen in such numbers in this part of africa. some of the swarms have been ten miles long. this is the last time the public will see this pope. very soon, for the sake of the credibilty and authority of the next pope, benedict xvi will, in his own words,

"be hidden from the world for the rest of his life." you're watching the briefing. our headlines: green book has been named best picture at this year's oscars. olivia colman and rami malek won the awards for best actress and actor. in france, they're calling it the grand debat — the grand debate. across the country thousands of assemblies are being held, where people are coming together to discuss the future of the country. it's part of president emmanuel macron's response to the so—called "yellow vests" — the grassroots protest movement that's so shaken his presidency. hugh schofield has been to the small town of neulise, near st etienne in central france, to see the grand debate in action.

neulise in central france is not the big smoke, nor is it the sticks. it is part of the nation's grand debate. about 70 people have come, among them a fair few yellow vests, the idea is president macron's, to get those people who say there voices are never heard to speak and speu voices are never heard to speak and spell out what it is they want. what we offer them is a space where they can debate important subjects that concerned their daily life, like taxes, purchasing power, ecology, public services. so how can we reconstruct an offer that corresponds to their expectations. through discussion, ideas emerge, on tax, public services, referendums. these will be collated and passed up the chain to government. an exercise in mass listening. across the country there are literally thousands of debates like this taking place in small towns and

villages. the question everyone wa nts to villages. the question everyone wants to know the answer to, is is this the club —— clever way of eyeing off or coming down the yellow vest movement, or is it the beginning of a new style of consultative democracy? resident macron has been leading debate, personally taking part in a series of mammoth sessions. it is what he is good at and supporters say it has helped him reconnect after the drama of the yellow vest. the president said that he had gone wrong, that he had gone astray. and i think he is idea to re—establish a dialogue was fundamentally right. what will come out of it? only god knows. but there is still scepticism. this yellow vest has come to the neulise debate to air her many grievances. translation: i have tried everything. as yellow vests we have

put up roadblocks and demonstrations, but nothing changes, nobody listens. now they offer us the grand debate, fine, we will give itago the grand debate, fine, we will give it a go but personally i'm not very convinced. and what if the grievances go up to government and nothing changes? translation: civil war. and if you ask me that is what macron is looking for. the grand debat, france's debate in popular democracy that seems to be working fine now. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, i'm chetan pathak with your monday sport briefing. there was drama in the english league cup final which everyone's talking about — i'll have more on that in a moment. but in terms of the result, manchester city are celebrating winning their first piece of silverware this season. they beat chelsea 11—3 on penalties after the match finished goalless after extra time. city are chasing an unprecendented four trophies this season.

this competition demanding a lot, and we are going to suffer now for the next competition, for the cup, for the champions league and the premier league so, but, of course, winning the title, we will help us for our loot and go—forward. well city don'tjust have winning the league cup to be happy about — they've also seen their premier league title rivals drop more points as liverpool were held to a 0—0 draw at manchester united. the game had few chances and was disrupted by injuries — united needed to make all three of their subsitutions in the first half. liverpool couldn't take advantage — but the draw does take jurgen klopp's side a point clear of city at the top. in italy, juventus are 13 points clear at the top of serie a after a 1—0 win at bologna. it wasn't altogether convincing from juve, who only had two shots on target, but they got the job done. paulo dybala steering the ball home midway through the second half

to ensure his side bounced back from their mid—week champions league defeat. in tennis, roger federer is heading into the dubai championships, which start on monday, chasing a record 100th career title with victory. it'll be tough though with croatia's marin cilic and japan's kei nishikori amongst the other contenders. never thought it was possible to reach 99 titles, or now going for 100. it is a great number that sounds extremely exciting and i need to draw motivation from everywhere i can. soi to draw motivation from everywhere i can. so i will give it all i have here in dubai, if i can reach my eighth title here, that will also be my hundred 80 b title —— atp title in my career. i would love that to happen here in dubai, no doubt about

it. social media is full of reaction to that bit of drama i mentioned in the english league cup final. chelsea goalkeeper kepa arrizabalaga refused to come off the pitch when his manager maurizio sarri wanted to substitute him ahead of the penalty shoot—out. sarri appeared furious and even stormed down the tunnel before returning. some are calling it a mutiny at chelsea. sarri has since said it was a misunderstanding. and kepa has taken to social media to deliver that same message, adding that: "at no time has it been my intention to disobey the coach or any of his decisions." it's safe to say not everyone's seeing it that way. you can get all the latest sports news at our website, that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, chetan pathak, and the rest of the sport team, goodbye. that is indeed come a thank you to the sports teams about. researchers in antarctica are searching for the world's

oldest ice. scientists hope it'll enable them to better understand past climate change — and predict future variations. caroline rigby has more. it may be the coldest region on earth, but scientists believe this vast frozen continent is key to understanding global warming. antarctica holds many secrets from the past which, if unearthed, could help us understand climate change and better predict the planet's future. researchers from norway are the latest to join the international race to find the world's oldest ice, which was formed more than 1.5 million years ago. the ice can tell us the relation between the earth's atmosphere and the natural concentration of greenhouse gases, to understand potential future scenarios in the change of the climate, we need to understand the natural variations. their mission involves scanning the surface of antarctica for a suitable location to get the best possible sample to study. but the treasure they seek lies deep below.

it is likely to take around four years to drill down the almost three kilometres needed to extract the intact ice core, yet these researchers are confident that the scientific understanding it could yield is more than worth the wait. stay with me on bbc news, i'll be back with the business briefing in just a few moments. we will discuss a substantial progress in trade talks between china and the us, and the other big business stories, but also we are talking about the oscars, green look getting best teacher, olivia colman a surprise winner but her speech was fantastic. viewing figures last year we re fantastic. viewing figures last year were record lows, we do know about this year, so we have heard from many of you. keith says "i have never watched the oscars, it is a

night out for the luvvies to pat each other on the back". many other people in touch to say you are quite pleased with the winners so far. monday will get off to a chilly start to many of us, are frosty and foggy start for some. those two bridges will head up once again through the day ahead. still bringing in the airfrom the through the day ahead. still bringing in the air from the south where it is coming from all weekend which brings us some exceptional temperatures. sunday afternoon in west wales, we got to 19.1 degrees. that is and you record to wales in february. —— a new record. more to come in the next few days, with frosty nights and foggy mornings but later in the week it does look like things are going to turn a bit more u nsettled. things are going to turn a bit more unsettled. not just yet, things are going to turn a bit more unsettled. notjust yet, but as i mentioned pretty chilly out there to

start off the day, especially down towards the south, some spots well below freezing in the towns and cities, hovering around zero. not as cold across north—west scotland, some patchy rain and the potential forfog some patchy rain and the potential for fog patches just about anywhere they could be some misty nest, but most especially the fog affecting yorkshire and up to north—east england, some of those fog patches could be dense and slow to clear, but most of us the day ahead brings blue skies and sunshine, apart from the north of scotland where there will be outbreaks of rain, eventually becoming confined to the northern isles. to bridges on monday afternoon between 15—18 quite widely, but somewhere we are likely to get up to 19 degrees. it is all because high pressure is still with us, it has been holding firm for many days, light winds to take us into tuesday morning so it will be quite chilly, one—week weather fronts across the far north—west, mostly western scotland really, bringing the odd by of rain through eastern scotland, northern ireland into england and wales, which it sees sunny into england and wales, which it sees sunny skies but the afternoon,

temperatures 13—18, 12 spots up to 19. on wednesday morning it does look more likely we will see some mist and fog patches, these could lingerfor mist and fog patches, these could linger for a mist and fog patches, these could lingerfor a good part of mist and fog patches, these could linger for a good part of the day, clad in to the north—west once that early fog has cleared, most of us should cease and sunshine. bridges may be down a little bit at this stage, but as we get into thursday we see more of a change, one—week weather system trying to push on from the south, and the frontal system moving from the north, there is the potential for rain system moving from the north, there is the potentialfor rain in system moving from the north, there is the potential for rain in some places on thursday and as we head towards the weekend we will cease and rain at times, it will turn breezy and also a bit cooler.