this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top stories: a guard of honourfor the north korean leader as he arrives in russia. the first ever summit between kim jong—un and vladimir putin is underway. top sri lankan officials lose theirjobs over the intelligence failures before sunday's attacks as new details emerge about the bombers. prince william takes part in anzac day commemorations in auckland as new zealand, australia and turkey honour their fallen. in business — ‘liked' by wall street again. facebook shrugs off privacy concerns as earnings surge

despite a multi—billion dollar hit from us regulators. a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. also in the programme: tourists are flattening tulips in the netherlands as they attempt to get the perfect selfie. tulip growers have now launched an ad campaign and erected barriers to stop the damage. so, we like to hear about selfish selfies — what's the worst you've witnessed? get in touch, just use the #bbcthebriefing.

let's get started. the russian president, vladimir putin, is meeting the leader of north korea, kimjong—un, on an island near the city of vladivostok. the leaders are holding their first ever meeting summit on a university campus. the meeting in the far eastern russian city is an opportunity for pyongyang to show that its economic future does not depend solely on the united states. it also gives russia the chance to show it's an important player on the korean peninsula. let's speak to our correspondence covering the story. we have sarah ra i nsfo rd covering the story. we have sarah rainsford and laura bicker. sarah, ifi rainsford and laura bicker. sarah, if i begin with you, tell us about the day so far in the meetings of these two leaders? so far the meeting hasn't actually begun yet.

what we've seen today, this morning, was vladimir, landing nearthis campus where i am now. the college campus where i am now. the college campus where i am now. the college campus where the summit will take place in the sports halljust behind me. we've also seen mr putin drive his car to the venue itself and go into the building. kim jong—un hasn't yet arrived. we think he might have stayed on campus here himself, or on the island. the whole summitappears to himself, or on the island. the whole summit appears to be somewhat delayed. we are expecting him very soon to drive up to meet later at putin. of course, as you are saying, the focus of these dogs is very much the focus of these dogs is very much the future of north korea's nuclear programme and whether or not russia can assert itself does not insert itself into diplomacy and a different way perhaps to resolve the crisis. this is all taking place two months after the talks between kim jong—un and donald trump broke down in hanoi. so, vladimir putin has

essentially step into the fray, perhaps he is coming to this with a new approach, perhaps he is hoping he can reinvigorate that process. laura, ifi he can reinvigorate that process. laura, if i bring you in at this point, how is the summit being interpreted where you are, given how critical south korea has been in previous summits organised between the usa north korea for example? the south koreans haven't said sumo too far does my current said too much so far does my current said too much so far —— hasn't said too much so far, but they are watching with interest. this gives kim jong—un but they are watching with interest. this gives kimjong—un more diplomatic options. it does come after the collapse of talks in hanol after the collapse of talks in hanoi, and that doesn't seem that there is any movement despite the fa ct there is any movement despite the fact that the president moonjae—in went to dissuade from to move his position slightly. where we are is this: the us would like north korea

to give up all of its weapons first of all and then eventually receive sanctions really. north koreans want the opposite. they won't sanctions relieved —— they want sanctions relieved —— they want sanctions relieved step—by—step as they give up relieved step—by—step as they give up their programme. that's the problem. the deal at hanoi — both sides do not like what was on offer. when it comes to who was hoping to broker a deal, president moonjae—in hoped he would be the one to help both sides move forward, now he has to watch from the sidelines as putin steps in. from north korea's point of view, they will be looking for a number of things, not just so that they have diplomatic options. north korea at home will want to show that kim jong—un is really a korea at home will want to show that kimjong—un is really a player on the diplomatic stage, especially after the collapse of those talks in hanol after the collapse of those talks in hanoi. thank you very much. laura bicker in seoul and sarah rainsford is in vladivostok.

that meeting has been delayed so we will talk to sarah a little later when we do see those two meet in vladivostok. these pictures are coming to us now, actually. you can see a car arriving on someone there to open the door. this meeting will be happening shortly, of course, between the russian president and kim jong—un. you can see between the russian president and kimjong—un. you can see him there now coming out of the car as he has arrived. you can see the red carpet is out there for him and there you have it. this is the meeting, they are shaking hands. russian president for the first time, these two leaders are meeting, a very critical time for both russia and north korea, of course as they discuss the future and the situation on the korean peninsula, so they are shaking hands now and walking in to these university buildings where

they will be having their talks. laura, we aren't expecting to hear very much about what their discussions will actually involve? yeah, we've been told not to expect a joint press conference, not to expect any kind of agreement or any kind of signing. i think the fact that these thoughts are taking place at all is what is newsworthy. a member, this time last year, kim jong—un had hardly been anywhere. he visited president moon one time and was planning to meet again at an inter— career summit. —— moon. was planning to meet again at an inter— careersummit. —— moon. —— korea. the fact that he is visiting other countries, that is what is surprising to other —— all the people here in korea as they watch what is happening in russia very carefully. there could also be a few things to considerfrom carefully. there could also be a few things to consider from putin's side. first, if vladimir putin is prepared to help perhaps pressure washington in easing sanctions. it's

been no secret that north korea is not happy with the current so—called maximum pressure that is coming from the united states. strict economic sanctions that they are under, and it was those sanctions are they ask to be lifted at the hanoi summit. it may well be that president union and kim jong—un may come to some agreement whereby putin further pressures washington to ease those sanctions in return for some action from north korea. also, there is a matter of thousands of north korean workers based in russia, there are around 8000 workers by the russian foreign ministry‘ count, that‘s a large revenue stream for north korea but sanctions mean that number has been decreasing and they have to leave by the end of december due to international sanctions. so it may well be that there might be some discussions about that on the table. but as for what can be said in

public, that is a completely different matter. thank you very much, laura bicker, talking about some of the key issues. we can see live pictures now. president putin there are north korea‘s leader tim donlon. the welcoming party there as it were, this on an island of that of stock —— kim jong—un. it were, this on an island of that of stock —— kimjong—un. —— is out of stock —— kimjong—un. —— is out of stock, the two are going into a private discussion having done the official meeting —— the out of stock, so we will return to events there are later when we do hear more about that meeting. let‘s discuss sri lanka. the government has acknowledged a "major intelligence la bs acknowledged a "major intelligence labs over the easter summer though bombings" does make easter summer bombings. the president has asked his defence secretary and police chief to resign over the failure to pass on warnings. in the last few hours, the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, has said there is "every indication"

the attacks were planned by so—called islamic state. ramzan karmali reports. sri lanka. a country in a state of shock, despair and utter confusion. there is also anger. anger at how an indian intelligence warning from the beginning of the month wasn‘t properly shared. the president has stuck the defence secretary and the inspector general of police. but, sri lankans are finding it hard to comprehend. however little—known islamists group, and kilograms —— n t] islamists group, and kilograms —— ntj was able to co—ordinate only to the carnage of easter sunday. eight of the nine bombers have been identified including one woman who studied both in the uk and australia. 60 suspect have been arrested. the government says they doubt the attacks would have been successful without the help of an international network. it is

investigating whether the islamic state group, which has already claimed responsibility, was involved in the attacks. what we have seen is that they have grown in strength. this is an example of that, a group thatis this is an example of that, a group that is far from the core of isis —— core of isis‘ group could carry out perhaps one of the deadliest isis based attacks in history. after the attack in syria, —— su—ling goh, it seems that the —— after the attack in sri lanka, it seems that the group‘s demise is not as total as was once thought. let‘s take you back to eastern russia where you can see kim jong—un with president putin who were talking to the press before

they go to their private discussions. the first time these two lea d e rs discussions. the first time these two leaders met, certainly for one—on—one meetings comes along deadlocked global diplomacy when it comes to the nuclear programme of north korea. am sure you will remember the summit the twin president trump —— between, and kim jong—un ended abruptly without much progress at all. this is a chance to raise moscow‘s profile as it were, in the region and gain more leveraged with washingtonsome might argue. kim jong—un arrived yesterday aboard an armoured train. he told russian state—owned media that he was hoping for a successful and useful visit and would like to use this visit with president putin for a settlement of the situation in the korean peninsula. as well as

bilateral ties with russia, that is what some are saying the expectation on the part of kim jong—un is. what some are saying the expectation on the part of kimjong—un is. so, it‘s quite interesting to see these two together and how they act together. their body language. i wa nt to together. their body language. i want to introduce made yesterday on the briefing. it‘s good to see you. cornelia meyerjoins me now. what do you think of this? we had china, north korea, and the sale, all of the vicinity around korea and the koreans, so i see this as a sort of getting a more multilateral framework again, so it does make, to does make sense having followed the

issue all day. so that‘s the first thing i thought and i thought that the six party talks, obviously they are trying to get a good position on these national stage as is kim jong—un. but when you look at it, it does make sense to have china — they we re does make sense to have china — they were on the margins, always there, as was japan. so were on the margins, always there, as wasjapan. so in were on the margins, always there, as was japan. so in that sense, it‘s probably a good development. for kim jong—un, of course he wants to see amelioration of the international sanctions this, the talks between him and president trump didn‘t lead to the breakthrough that many, many had hoped for. there was concern that those talks didn‘t and well earlier this year. yeah, well, you saw how these thoughts were prepared, you look at how generally how these talks were prepared, both

korean summits were, you know, they raised scanty preparation and the first summit — actually nothing was decided and they both claimed victory. at some stage, something had to give and something had to fall down. we didn't know much about the summit at all, we just heard about it a couple of days ago and his arrived just now. i'm sure it was in the works a lot longer, because putin is someone who does prepared rings. —— does prepare things. he is known for being an old, wise man, so i am sure that was well prepared and it does make sense. they have sanctions — obviously, if you are kim, you want to do something against the sanctions, they are really crippling. we will see where it goes.

of course, north korea looks at russia and china is probably its closest allies but most —— amicable allies on the international stage. even before then, before the summit, it was, kim hill song, he was the master at playing china against russia and optimising his position in the world. if you talk about some body having gotten the concept, it was kim il—sung. body having gotten the concept, it was kim il-sung. the trump administration in russia will be watching closely but from china‘s spec? this is nothing to be feared for them. they have gotten a lot closer with russia over the last few yea rs. closer with russia over the last few years. i wasn't assuming there would be fearful, just watching with great interest. what inroads can russia make? i think at this point, the

current leader won‘t be able to play russia against china, they will give china a bear hug. in terms of bilateral ties, what does north korea need? russia can offer oil. russia can offer grain, russia can offer agriculture, russia has oil, russia has other natural resources so russia has quite a bit to offer. because what‘s difficult to understand about north korea, before we get any comprehensive information. we get bits and pieces information, what life is like there, the difficulty within the economy and the understanding we haveis economy and the understanding we have is that it‘s extremely tough.

of course, tightly, tightly controlled. there is a 2- tier system, a circle around the leadership. there is the matter —— masses of people for whom food is worse “— masses of people for whom food is worse —— scarce. the winters in north korea are extremely harsh. we will return to that story as well as it develops today in vladivostok. but now let‘s talk about what the duke of cambridge has been up to in new zealand. he is therefore a 2— day visit to meet survivors of last month‘s terror attack in christchurch in which 50 people were killed. he has already attended an anzac day service to mark the anniversary of the gallipoli landing during the first world war. remembering the fallen of every

generation. the anzac day service marks the anniversary of the gallipoli landing, the first world warcampaign in which gallipoli landing, the first world war campaign in which thousands of soldiers from australia, new zealand we re soldiers from australia, new zealand were killed. the prince laid a wreath on behalf of the queen. earlier, services were held across the country at dawn. new zealand‘s prime minister said the day should focus on what those soldiers were fighting. as we come together on this day to remember, to commemorate, to give thanks to others, let us also recommit. let us recommit to those simple values of freedom, democracy and peace. last month‘s terror attack in christchurch challenged that sense of harmony. heavy security was in place for the city‘s remembrance service. some of the survivors of last month‘s shooting came to pay their respect. during his time here,

their respect. during his time here, the principal meet some of the survivors of the christchurch attack and the emergency response teams who tried to help them. it will be similarto tried to help them. it will be similar to his visit here eight yea rs similar to his visit here eight years ago in the way of the earthquake which devastated parts of the city and killed 185 people. now, as then, this is a city scarred by trauma, looking to honour those it has lost. hywel griffith, bbc news, christchurch. 0ther has lost. hywel griffith, bbc news, christchurch. other key events taking place, washington, former price residentjoe biden is expected to announce a run for president for the 2020 elections. a little later in london, the title and cast of the new bond film will be announced, it will be the 25th movie in the

series. and finally, in colombo, sri lanka‘s president will meet with the country‘s religious leaders less than a week after a series of bomb blasts killed more than 350 people. don‘t forget, we have lots of details on all those other stories and what else is happening around the world on our website. let‘s return to vladivostok and our correspondence there, sarah ra i nsfo rd. correspondence there, sarah rainsford. sarah, we have seen the pictures of the two leaders meeting, shaking hands, meeting officials, talking it would seem to the press for a little while so are they now in private discussions? well, that's right. it‘s the first meeting abroad ina right. it‘s the first meeting abroad in a narrow focus between the two leaders. you mentioned, that warm greeting between the two leaders. this meeting was a little late getting under way but it is under way now in the sports hall here behind me on this college campus. we

have heard a few words between the two men. first of all, vladimir putin recalling his first visit to north korea 18 years ago and meeting kimjong in‘s north korea 18 years ago and meeting kim jong in‘s father, saying north korea 18 years ago and meeting kimjong in‘s father, saying he hopes the visit now by kim jong and himself will help bilateral relations. he said that whatever russia could do to help with that, it would. then kim jong—un spoke, acknowledging it is thousands of kilometres to the far east of russia to meet him and said he too hope this meeting would strengthen their relationships which he said had deep routes. he said the two men would exchange opinions and how they could work together to resolve the various issues. as they now get down to the

business of the summit. in the sports hall on this college campus, of the far eastern coast of russia. i also note that kim jong—un has said he is in leadership for seven yea rs said he is in leadership for seven years in the first time he has managed to visit russia. what will that lead to, in terms of actual commitments, decisions made between them? we've been warned not to expect a major break was a big state m e nts expect a major break was a big statements coming out of this meeting. a lot of this is about the meeting. a lot of this is about the meeting taking place. the fact it had taken him seven years to get her to russia. moscow has been inviting him here for the past year. an official invitation went outlast may. the russian leader in the north

korean leader. because of the north korean leader. because of the north korea nuclear talks, the fact that donald trump and kim jong—un could not agree on a way forward. now kim jong—un has come here to russia looking for another powerful ally and that‘s precisely what he is finding in vladimir putin who is, i think, and advocate for easing sanctions on north korea as way out of this crisis. that‘s not what america wants, it talks about maximum pressure. ithink america wants, it talks about maximum pressure. i think russia may be prepared to lobby for a slightly different approach and as far as kim jong—un is concerned, that is certainly what he wants to get out of this if that is at all possible. thank you so much, sarah rainsford in vladivostok. 0ne thank you so much, sarah rainsford in vladivostok. one more word on this from laura bicker in seoul. it looks like a warm greeting. it‘s interesting to watch these two

together, given we have seen kim jong—un and president trump together in very similar circumstances but it and well. i've been watching kim jong—un with the presidents of south korea and the us and now he is here with vladimir putin. he said with the world‘s attention on the korean peninsula, he hoped he could have fruitful discussions with vladimir putin. it ensures that the world‘s attention is indeed on north korea. it will also be aware that the reason the attention is on his state is because he has nuclear weapons. it's is because he has nuclear weapons. it‘s because of those nuclear weapons. it also means he is unlikely to give them a very easily. the business briefing is coming up

next. facebook‘s results and what they had to put away to pay a fine two regulators in the us. i will see you soon. hello again. full uk forecast in a moment but first, mozambique and a weather—related disaster on the way again. this is cyclone kenneth strengthening, making landfall on thursday afternoon and running you through five days of forecast, you can see the problem easily. it stops moving when it makes landfall and torrential rain will be falling day after day. we could see getting on for a metre of rain, storm surge 2— metres high. it looks like we are going to see another round of devastating flooding. here in the

uk, the weather has changed. cooler with renal forecast in the next few days. we have seen a change to cooler conditions. a windy spell of weather on the way as well. before weather on the way as well. before we get there, it‘s an ok start to the day on thursday. showers across england and wales. that will push northwards. a bit of hail mixed in. lengthy spells of rain for some, turning brighter in the south later in the day but it‘s a cooler kind of day. brisk winds as well. thursday evening and overnight, clearing away from scotland but further showers working to the south—west of scotland, and more general rain for northern ireland into the early hours of friday morning. friday probably the best of the weather the eastern areas but the showers push

west in most areas. quite a bit of cloud around. again, fairly brisk winds. 1a, 15 degrees at best. this area of low pressure dives with tightly packed isoba rs. area of low pressure dives with tightly packed isobars. we could get gusts of wind, 60, 65 miles per hour as well as those strong winds, we have outbreaks of rain. some of them could be heavy and persistent. temperatures, saturday, 10— 12 degrees. that is your weather.

this is the business briefing. i‘m sally bundock. ‘liked‘ by wall street again, facebook shrugs off privacy concerns as earnings surge despite a multi—billion dollar hit from us regulators. plus, fears grow for sri lanka‘s tourism industry — vital to its fragile economy — we hear from one of the country‘s top hotel bosses. and on the markets, asian markets slip on concerns about a slowing global economy. wall street drifts lower at the close, but still around record highs on strong corporate earnings. we will also be live to tokyo in a moment to