this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. i'm sally bundock. our top stories: how to inject economic growth? that's what delegates who are gathered in beijing will hear at china's annual parliament, with more tax cuts on the agenda. tornados in the us state of alabama have killed at least 22 people and left dozens seriously injured, there's a warning of more extreme australia's property slump. new numbers out today are likely weather to come. to show the country's real estate downturn is deepening. the men who claim they were tortured and we'll be live to rico by russian police because they are in singapore shortly for the latest jehovah's witnesses. the bbc investigates in siberia on what's moving asian markets higher with talk of a trade deal between the us and china coming soon. we'll be in hungary to see out how prime minister vicktor orban's anti—migrant platform is affecting european policy. looking to new horizons — how the residents of one seaside town in the uk feel about brexit now. australia's property slump. new numbers out today are likely to show the country's real estate downturn is deepening.

a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. also, do you live in a social bubble? are your friends just like you, or do opposites attract in your world? we'd like to hear your story as we begin our "crossing divides" series on the bbc. there's a special quiz on our website. so do get in touch. just use the #bbcthebriefing, and we'll have more on that later. several tornadoes in the us states of alabama and georgia have killed

at least 22 people and left many injured. over 20,000 homes are still without power. kim gittleson has more. it was the deadliest day for tornadoes in nearly two years. after storms touched down in the us states of alabama and georgia, cutting a path of destruction over 400 metres wide, destroying homes, downing power lines, and shutting parts of a major highway. right up there, around 38, this whole area right here is pretty muchjust gone, you know? in addition to several deaths, many others were being treated at a local hospitals, with officials cautioning the death toll could rise. the damage is significant. i would predict in the category of catastrophic, based on the destruction of the homes we have seen. “— destruction of the homes we have

seen. —— put it in the category. destruction of the homes we have seen. -- put it in the category. the governor of alabama wrote that her heart went out to be victims of the storms, adding that emergency officials were continuing to conduct rescue efforts. earlier, rescuers had been hampered after the storm's destruction made several roads impassable. the deadly tornadoes we re impassable. the deadly tornadoes were pa rt of impassable. the deadly tornadoes were part of a system that is expected to bring severe winter weather to the rest of the us this week. a state of emergency is now in place in alabama, and officials urge continued caution for residents in the region. and we have more detail of what is going on there on our website. do take a look. in northern russia, seven men have come forward to claim they were tortured by police because of their religious views. the men are alljehovah's witnesses. their organisation was banned by russia's supreme court in 2017 as extremist and dozens of jehovah's witnesses have since been detained across the country. officials in surgut initially denied the reports of torture, but now say they will investigate. even president putin has called the prosecution

of jehovah's witnesses "utter nonsense" and asked the supreme court for clarification on how the law is applied. sarah rainsford reports from surgut in siberia. translation: of ae electrocuted me. —— of 80 elected you did me. translation: of ae electrocuted me. -- of 80 elected you did me. they beat the head and side, yevgeny says. they shocked my calves, legs and buttocks. these men are jehovah's witnesses, three of seven who say they were tortured by russian security forces. one described being questioned by investigators for over 12 hours. he told me he was led away twice by many in masks who he claims beat him and used a stun gun. translation:

many in masks who he claims beat him and used a stun gun. translationzlj thought they would kill me because they were threatening me and my family, and when they were suffocating and shocking me and i couldn't breathe, they said, will you talk? i said, yes, couldn't breathe, they said, will you talk? isaid, yes, because couldn't breathe, they said, will you talk? i said, yes, because i thought a couple more times and i will die here. we have seen doctors' reports for some of the seven. they document injuries including bruising, marks from blows, and burns, possibly consistent with electric shock. artom was detained ina electric shock. artom was detained in a dawn raid on his flat, one of dozens in a dawn raid on his flat, one of d oze ns of in a dawn raid on his flat, one of dozens of jehovah's witnesses targeted across the city. police we re targeted across the city. police were searching for evidence of extremism. the jehovah's were searching for evidence of extremism. thejehovah's witnesses as an organisation are banned in russia, but the line between organised and personal faith russia, but the line between organised and personalfaith is blurred. this is where thejehovah's witnesses were brought, and there are accounts of what happened inside here, which are very detailed and very consistent. they talk of eating, of suffocation, and of electric shock. and all of this, as

they were interrogated about their religion. ten days later the man who allege torture came back. it was a nervous return, call to report their claims to the local official for human rights. as they left, we took the chance to get in and put our own questions. the jehovah's the chance to get in and put our own questions. thejehovah's witnesses say the room where they were abused is at the end of this corridor. the ombudsman admitted she was shocked by the allegations. translation: what they told me will be looked into by the investigative committee and the prosecutors' office. i will send documents on each case and request a thorough investigation of powerful and credible that information is. when i tried to question the chief investigator himself he told me to wait. then his deputy showed us the door. the investigative committee in moscow still has not progressed —— responded to our request for

comment. so artom and his friends are gathering further medical reports, had been to back up their testimony. they claimed that they we re testimony. they claimed that they were tortured because of their religion. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news: president trump and his aides are being investigated for possible obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power. thejudiciary committee of the us house of representatives said it had asked for information from more than 60 people. the venezuelan opposition leader, juan guaido, says he is returning to his country after a week—long tour of south america to amass support for his attempt to remove president nicolas maduro from power. mr guaido said he would lead anti—government marches throughout venezuela on monday and tuesday. french president emmanuel macron has called on france and italy to

ove i’co m e called on france and italy to overcome recent tensions and worked together for the good of europe. speaking on italian state television, mr macron warned against the dangers of nationalism. his government has been involved in a series of diplomatic clashes with italy's populist coalition, particularly over the issue of migration. the nationalist prime minister of hungary has built his campaign for the european parliament elections in may entirely on opposing immigration to the european union. as part of our season "crossing divides," the bbc‘s stephen sackur looks at the implications of viktor orban‘s "illiberal democracy." hungary's prime minister, viktor orban, the most powerful populist politician in europe. opposition to immigration is his defining issue. backin immigration is his defining issue. back in 2015, hungary became an unwilling waystation for hundreds of

thousands of migrants desperate to get into the eu. today that would be impossible. donald trump talks about fortified borders. victor organ builds them. hungary now allows only a handful of asylum seekers to cross the serbian border. they are detained in discount. human rights groups say the orban government is flouting international norms. but in southern hungary, they claim they are preserving their nation's identity. you are making it plain that, for you, this is about culture. it isn't just about security. yes, you're right, because i think we need to defend our culture. you know, i respect, for example, the islam in saudi arabia. but hungary is a christian country. the government's propaganda invariably features george soros, the american billionaire financier

of hungarian jewish origin. the american billionaire financier of hungarianjewish origin. this latest ad claims saw ross is conspiring with the eu commission president to villa immigrants to hungary. —— soros. the government campaign against soros reaches deep into civil society. these students at the soros funded central european university will be studying in vienna next year. the university says it has been hounded out of budapest. victor one is next to mr macron and mrs merkel as the most influential politician in europe. he is perfecting a new style of politics, which leads, i think, to the consolidation of what i would call single party rule. victor organ is nowjoining forces with anti—immigration pop with leaders in italy and poland. —— viktor orban stop they see european elections this spring as a chance to seize power in brussels. we see that the

past three years, especially since the migration crisis, there is a turn. and that is, the ever—growing gap between the leftist liberal political elite in europe and the electorate in the member states, it has to be closed. if it is growing further, then it is going to ruin the european union. 30 years ago hungary was emerging from the darkness of the soviet empire. today, it is in the grip of a strongman leader who wants to see his brand of illiberal democracy flow right across europe. head to our website for more on the bbc‘s special season on bringing people together across divides. that's all at bbc.com/crossing divides. you can also download the bbc news app. a £1.6 billion fund is being

launched by the uk government to boost less well—off towns after brexit. more than half the money will go to the north of england and the midlands to bring jobs and increase economic activity. with me in the studio isjoseph sternberg, columnist with the wall streetjournal. good morning. you have been looking at this new pot of money available to those in the north of england, in the midlands. give us your take? right, well, the politics is interesting. these were areas that really voted in favour of leaving the eu in the referendum in 2016. i mean, the political purpose of this money is for prime minister theresa may to try to now get this error is to fall behind her proposed that rural agreement with the european union. but it also highlights the economic divides that the brexit referendum exposed. i think one big question is, is spending money in a ford you need other economic

policies that will trigger a revival in some of these areas? absolutely. thank you for now, joseph also more details our website, including which parts of the uk will get how much money. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: going for gold — laura muir completes another european indoors double in the 1500 metres in glasgow. first, the plates slid gently off the restaurant tables. then suddenly, the tables, the chairs and people crashed sideways and downwards, and it was just a matter of seconds as the ferry lurched onto her side. the hydrogen bomb. on a remote pacific atoll, the americans had successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i had heard the news earlier, and so my heart went bang, bang, bang!

the constitutional rights of these marchers are their rights as citizens of the united states, and they should be protected even in the right to test them out, so that they don't get their heads broken and are sent to hospital. this religious controversy — i know you don't want to say too much about it — but does it worry you it's going to boil up when you get to the states? well, it worries me, yeah. i hope everything will be all right in the end, as they say. you're watching the briefing. our headlines: tornados in the us state of alabama have killed at least 22 people and left dozens seriously injured — there's a warning of more extreme weather to come. a number of men have told the bbc that they were tortured by russian police because they are jehovah's witnesses.

officials initially denied the claims, but have now said they will investigate. as we heard earlier there's still a lot of confusion surrounding britain's withdrawal from the eu. politicians have so far been unable to decide what type of brexit they want. so how does all this uncertainty affect people across the uk? geeta guru—murthy is on a tour — finding out what people think. she begins herjourney in the seaside town of margate in kent — the region closest to mainland europe — an area which voted in favour of leaving the eu. the skies here are the loveliest in all europe, so thought the artist turner who loved margate for its cnn skies. the kent coast is the gateway to europe, and voted largely in favour of brexit. —— c and skies. what do they think now? it was a

better country before we... we are not our own country now, are we? we are being ruled by the common market. how do they tell us what to do in ourown market. how do they tell us what to do in our own country?” market. how do they tell us what to do in our own country? i voted for brexit to go out. and to be on our own, yeah. ithink brexit to go out. and to be on our own, yeah. i think we will succeed. i would go no deal, get on with it, move away, we will get there. it may ta ke move away, we will get there. it may take a couple of years, we will get there. we are british, for goodness sake. holidaymakers have been coming here for over 200 years. but in the 19705, here for over 200 years. but in the 1970s, low—cost flights to mainland europe crippled tourism. housing became so cheap that other parts of the uk sent theirjobless and asylum seekers here. but margate is on the move again. big money is being spent for instance at this hotel which at the part listed ts eliot, charlie chaplin and semitic —— sir nick

jagger. the owner, a remain, is not worried about the effect of brexit. margate was the jewel in the crown of british seaside resorts back on the day, even in the worst scenario is, people talk about the pound sinking, confidence diving, that will mean people either spend more time in the uk already is cheaper to over “— time in the uk already is cheaper to over —— overseas tourist coming up. leading the regeneration has been the turner gallery. it has some eu funds and its director fears rates it could not only ten kent into a lorry park but could recover costs. iam lorry park but could recover costs. i am worried about what happens with the pound versus the euro because obviously our costs are quite considerable in terms of moving works of art. brexit will end freedom of movement, and some say that has driven europeans here back home already. the owner of this shop says it could prove fatal to his business, so he might follow.|j says it could prove fatal to his business, so he might follow. i hope stay with europe or get good deal with europe. i don't know exactly

what wrecks it —— what brexit is for. is it about foreign people or is it the economy? as the sunsets potentially on the brexit deadline, what clear here in margate is that brexit is not just what clear here in margate is that brexit is notjust about politics or ideology, it is about real people's jobs, homes and future. that is what is at stake. a senior executive of the chinese tech company huawei is suing the canadian authorities in relation to her arrest at vancouver airport last year. lawyers for meng wanzhou say she was unlawfully detained. let's get the latest from lee carter in toronto. tell us this latest twist in this ongoing saga? so this civil claim was filed in the provincial supreme court against the canadian government, the police and border agents. the allegations really go

right tack to her initial arrest at vancouver airport on the first of december. meng wa nzhou's vancouver airport on the first of december. meng wanzhou's lawyer says that instead of immediately arresting her, water guards detained her, during which time they confiscated her electronic devices are made her give up her passwords, search her luggage and interrogated her, all before issuing an arrest warrant or informing her of her rights, and all without a lawyer present. and that, the documents say, violated her rights under canada's constitution, say, violated her rights under ca nada's constitution, and say, violated her rights under canada's constitution, and caused her mental distress. the us wants to try mark one double back try meng wanzhou on try mark one double back try meng wa nzhou on charges try mark one double back try meng wanzhou on charges of violating international sanctions against iran. she will appear in court again on wednesday, when this extradition process will start to get under way. it will take a pretty long time. thank you so much, more details in

oui’ thank you so much, more details in our business briefing shortly. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, this is your monday sport briefing, where we start with the news that liverpool managerjurgen klopp questioned journalists after his side's goalless draw with everton. the german was asked why his team wasn't more attacking, despite the fact they had several good opportunities to win the match. the result means they trail reigning champions manchester city by a point with nine matches remaining. we don't play playstation. do you think we did not take enough risks today? is that what you want to ask? that is a really disappointing question, i have to say. because that means that it is so easy, i tell the boys we take more risks, come on, boys, we go for it. can you imagine? any draw we didn't try to win? what is that? juventus won a controversial serie a match at napoli that saw both sides reduced to ten men. cristiano ronaldo, despite being a doubt to play, was in the thick of the action as napoli found themsleves having to use the substitute goalkeeper following this incident 25 minutes

in, that saw alex merret handed a straight red card. and later on napoli had a chance to level the game when lorenze insigne's penalty hit the post, but the result meansjuve are 16 points clear with 12 to play. laura muir struck gold for the second time when she won 1500m event on the final day of the european indoor athletics championships in glasgow. home favourite muir dominated, leading from start to finish to add that title to the 3000m she won on friday making it successive european indoor championships where she's done the double. people see that race but there's so much that goes on behind the scenes, just day after day and on the track as well. there's a huge support team behind me, my coach, andy, my therapist, all my friends and family. my family are here today. it's such a big support network behind me, it's not an individual sport, it's for them as well.

netherlands topped the medal standings after the final day of competition at the cycling track world championships in poland. harrie lavreysen won gold and compatriotjeffrey hoogland took silver in the men's sprint final taking their country's medal tally to 11, six of them gold. scotland must beat iceland later if they want to finish second in group a of the algarve cup. shelley kerr's side lost their opening game to canada after conceding a late penalty and the canadian‘s have already qualified top of the group and kerr realises the challenege is in front of goal. we just need to go over that final hurdle. it is all very well tactically set up to defend and win the ball back and keep possession, the ball back and keep possession, the we also need to score against teams that a higher rank than us, and certainly that is a work in

progress. you and certainly that is a work in progress. you can and certainly that is a work in progress. you can see there is really evidence of a team that is moving the time, but you need to recover and we need to do it again against iceland. after putting marseille in front against saint—ettienne with a wonderful overhead kick, mario balotelli collected his phone from a cameraman and filmed his celebrations before uploading them to social media. marseille won 2—0 — balotelli's goal is the former manchester city and liverpool striker‘s fourth in six games sincejoining from nice injanuary. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me and the rest of the team, that is your monday sport briefing. thousands of dancers have taken to the streets of rio dejaneiro, for the annual samba competition — a highlight of the city's carnival celebrations. 14 samba schools are

participating in this year's festivities, hoping their choreography, costu mes a nd extravaga nt floats will earn them the top award from judges. the performances are all themed, with some paying tribute to key figures who have fought for the country's marginalised black and indigenous communities. carnival lasts until ash wednesday, when lent begins. as you have been hearing we have started a new series at the bbc called crossing divides. if you go to the bbc news apple, you can see there is an interactive quiz which you should have a go at full top do you should have a go at full top do you live in a social bubble? are your friends like you ought to opposites attract in your world? we have had one keen viewer who has a ready done the quiz, he says it is interesting set of questions, he says would seem i am in a bit of a

bubble, that is the conclusion for his quiz. i have not had a chance to do it yet, i will do it later when i am not on television. lots of viewers have been in touch you've asked their opinions on this. some are saying that of course there are many divides for us to cross. chris says we all need boundaries that we set ourselves. cotchin can determine how and where they are set. those limits are set quite early and we keepin limits are set quite early and we keep in our comfort zones for most of our lives, so we hand —— tend to hang out with people who are similar to ourselves. we have another viewer who says "because of my travel and myjob and living in the us i have a wonderful mixture of friends from all over the world. also because of facebook and social media i can keep in contact with them, which is absolutely marvellous." in contact with them, which is absolutely marvellous. " thank in contact with them, which is absolutely marvellous." thank you for your views so far and your opinions. keep in touch with the conversation, i will be back with

the business briefing in a moment, looking at the chinese economy, a big week for china this week. we have predictions on its gross for the year ahead. i will see you send. -- 's the year ahead. i will see you send. —— ‘s growth. hello again. we had a stormy end to the weekend. and storm freya is still with us. so for the next few hours, we will continue to see some very lively gusts of wind, which could fell trees, and indeed not only do we have heavy rain, but snow as well. the cold air is digging in. you can see behind this storm system it is turning that rain to snow. still a few more hours of nasty weather out and about. there are met office warnings on the website. those strong, gusty winds with us in southern areas, and the rain as well. the cold air is turning the rain to snow over the hills in particular, but once it does clear it's chilly outside. frost around in northern ireland, scotland and northern england. otherwise quite a promising start to our monday. plenty of sunshine. there will be showers, wuite a lot of showers,

right from early on across the northern parts. they will take a long time to get going across mainland scotland, but they will come along, as they will for northern ireland. a decent start to the day but you can see them gathering. just a hint we will see something wintry over the hills as they push their way along those fairly brisk winds eastwards. certainly some hail and thunder. they do not ease away as we go through monday night into tuesday. there could be further snow at quite low levels, 200 or 300 feet, or metres, rather. it will be chilly, two or three degrees. a cold start to our tuesday morning. tuesday looks like they are driven by low pressure and therefore showers, but you may have noticed low pressure as well, looming large towards the south. so, yes, a spell of rain across potentially parts of scotland, snow over the hills, perhaps in northern england as well. elsewhere, sunshine and showers.

winds beginning to ease ahead of this next low pressure system. it looks dominant, that will get across iberia and into the western side of europe, pushing further north. rain and strong winds and again the risk of snow. it comes into that cold air. again, you can see it's indicative of some fairly heavy falls of snow, over the hills in particular, with lots of showers following in the mile there behind. we will have quite an interesting day on wednesday. it certainly looks like the wettest and windiest day of the week, of course, following storm freya which we begin this week and which could give us hazardous travel conditions. the warnings are on the website.