this is the briefing, i'm sally bundock. our top story: confusion and tension — iran's supreme leader rules out war with the us, but the pentagon raises the threat level in the middle east. back to parliament — 10 downing street says mps will have to decide what happens to the brexit withdrawal deal in a vote in earlyjune. we have a special report from estonia, where political activists are trying to stop the rise of far—right parties. and turning off the cameras — why san francisco is banning the use of facial recognition technology by police and local agencies. oil prices continue to climb after saudi arabia claims two of its crucial oil stations were attacked by drones.

a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. also what do you make of san franciscos decision to become the first us city to ban facial recognition? are you concerned about this new tech or do you think this is putting people's safety at risk? get in touch, just use #bbcthebriefing. both iran and the us have said that they do not want to go to war, yet america has raised the threat level in the middle east, saying the danger comes

from iranian—backed forces in the region. but there seem to be conflicting signals, with a british general contradicting us assessments of the risk. peter bowes has more. an escalation in activities by iran is how the usjustified its military buildup in the middle east, sending a warship and b—52 bombers to the region. but now a different view of the threat from the british general christopher ghika, who is a deputy commander with the coalition‘s operation inherent resolve. during a press briefing at the pentagon he said he wasn't concerned by the danger of iranians backed forces. there's been no increased threat from iranian backed forces in iraq and syria. we are aware of their presence clearly, and we monitor them along with a whole range of

others. he insisted his assessment was not at odds with the us government, pointing out that coalition forces we re pointing out that coalition forces were not operating against iran and that he was referring only to the threat of iranian backed militias. the next step is unclear. donald trump has denied a report that the pentagon has drawn up a plan that calls for up to 120,000 troops to be deployed to the middle east. i think it's fake news, 0k? would i do that? absolutely, but we've not planned for that, hopefully we don't have too plan for that and if we did we would send a lot more troops than that. speaking in russia, us secretary of state mike pompeo said the united states wasn't seeking a war with iran but would respond if its interests were attacked. peter bowes, bbc news. when it comes to what's going on in the middle east... oil, the black stuff, is always an issue and a factor in these middle east intentions.

oil prices continue to fall lower after the world's second biggest producer, saudi arabia, announced two of its oil pumping stations were attacked by drones on tuesday. the kingdom hasn't confirmed who was behind the attack, but called the act cowardly. this follows hot on the heels of four oil tankers that were damaged in the strait of hormuz, one of the main shipping areas within the middle east that ships out oil and energy. two of those were saudi arabian oil tankers. i'm nowjoined in the studio by james hughes, who's the chief market analyst at axi trader. i say oil prices continuing to fall lower, are they falling? i would assume they would go up if there we re assume they would go up if there were attacks? anything disrupting pipelines or supply does tend to push up the price and we will probably see a mixture. there is the worry... when you have a worry of

conflict, like we have these rumblings of us iranians conflict at the moment, that has an effect on potential supply. that does tend to push the price higher. ever since the us have added the tariffs or the tariff exemptions back onto countries which import iranians oil, there has been a real escalation in this tension and the oil price, the oil market in general, we know is a lwa ys oil market in general, we know is always a very political one but at the moment there's a lot of tension around that at the moment. looking at global markets as a whole, the us is dominating these areas with china, with a potential iranians conflict, which of course seems a long way away at the moment but it's a huge story around especially oil. as you say, you cannot have them all in different compartments when it comes to these elements in the story, the politics going on between the us and iran and also its relationship with saudi arabia, the

other neighbours in that region, the uk and their interpretation of what's happening. what's going on with these tankers being damaged, drone attacks on saudi pipelines? it's an interesting scenario unfolding and we're not clear who is behind it. that's the next big thing that comes out of this, to find out who is behind it. the finger immediately gets pointed out iran? i guess, because of the tensions but you have a situation where saudi arabia is opaque basically, it's the largest pa rt arabia is opaque basically, it's the largest part of the oil cartel, opec, largest part of the oil cartel, 0pec, dominating the market so anything targeted at sadie arabia has the biggest effect we can get on the oil price. we could had have other areas, even with the us and iran, there is an oil aspect but the amount of oil isn't necessarily a big issue but when it comes to saudi arabia, that's the largest amount of oil and that's the largest amount of oil and that causes the biggest issue for the oil price.

thank you, james is returning later for the news briefing. in business briefing we will get another view from an oil analyst to speak about the situation with saudi arabia and iran. let's turn to uk politics now, because british mps will get another chance to vote at the beginning ofjune on theresa may's deal to leave the european union. it follows talks last night between the prime minister and the leader of the labour opposition, jeremy corbyn. political correspondent iain watson gave us this update at the end of their meeting. jeremy corbyn and theresa may met face—to—face. but they didn't necessarily see eye to eye. a labour spokesman after the talks said jeremy corbyn had raised doubts about the ability of theresa may to deliver on a compromise agreement given that she was getting pushed for a, if you like, sell by date from her own mps, many of them are saying they want a timetable for her to stand down. jeremy corbyn was saying can't you deliver a deal in any case? but he also wanted to see further movement from theresa may toward labour's position, especially on the issue of a customs union.

from her point of view, she wanted to make clear that she didn't want to see the dog with the opposition run on and on. she wants britain to leave the european union injuly at the latest. so, therefore, there was, to some extent, an attempt to put a kind of timescale on that as well. she said she would bring forward the necessary legislation in the first week injune. there will be that vote again for mps, key brexit legislation. at the moment, it's hard to see how she would get that through parliament. i think what downing street is thinking is this, that is that legislation is brought forward injune that will be about ten days after the euro elections. if both the main parties take a pasting in those elections it might concentrate the minds of labour and conservative mps, try to get them at that point to do a deal and then get the brexit legislation over the line. as iain mentioned, there's not long until the european elections and a new alliance of far—right parties is rallying to challenge the status quo and shake up the eu.

the bbc‘sjean mackenzie is travelling across the continent, meeting the people behind nationalist movements. this week, she's in estonia, where in a surprising election result, the far—right party ekre has landed a place in the government coalition. trapped under soviet rule for decades, this tiny country is now flourishing. its economy booming, its liberal values well—established. yet ina its liberal values well—established. yet in a surprising election, the far—right party ekre has triumph. we head out to one of the most rural parts of the country where ekre picked up the most votes. it's so quiet, it couldn't feel more different to booming tallinn. we are here to meet a fisherman who voted for them.

ekre campaigned to end same—sex marriage and state funded abortions. they've attacked doctors, immigrants, judges and journalists. their election success has just and then a place in the country's new coalition government, and as their leaders are sworn into power, they give the white nationalist salute. like other populist parties, they 110w like other populist parties, they now want to take power from the eu. are you concerned about the direction they will take estonia in within the european union? yellow yes, i'm concerned. we area yes, i'm concerned. we are a small country and with that geographic opposition we have with a

neighbour like this, it is vital we have good allies outside. estonians have always been wary of their neighbour russia, but ekre has turned on the large russian community here calling them u ntrustworthy, community here calling them untrustworthy, parasites, pushing for russian schools to be closed. we've come to the city of nava where nearly everyone is ethnically russian. how did you feel when you learned that the ekre party would be entering into government? so russia is just so russia isjust right so russia is just right there. so russia isjust right there. you can see why attempts to attack this community, isolate this community feel to some like a dangerous game.

0na sunny on a sunny sunday, estonians hold a concert to protest against the far—right, desperate to heal some of the divisions created recently. do you worry that some of the extreme language, more extreme policies, could be divisive and dangerous for estonia ? this doesn't feel like a country where extreme views are now widespread. in many cases, this was a protest by those who felt they had nowhere else to turn. jean mackenzie, bbc news. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news: sudan's military rulers and protest leaders have agreed on a three—year transition period for handing over power to a full civilian administration. there were violent protests in the capital khartoum on monday, which left four people

dead and dozens injured. sudan has been ruled by the council since president 0mar al—bashir was toppled last month. alabama's state senate has approved a bill that would outlaw nearly all abortions. the only exemptions allowed under the bill are for safeguarding the health of the mother. the legislation has already been passed by the republican—dominated alabama house of representatives. it now goes to the governor to be signed. un officials say houthi forces have pulled out of three key ports on the west coast of yemen, partly implementing the peace deal agreed six months ago. the un is urging all parties to put into effect the next stage of the deal. it was agreed in december between the yemeni government, backed by a coalition of arab countries, the us and the uk, and the houthi rebels, backed by iran.

san francisco is set to become the first city in the united states to ban facial recognition technology following a vote by its board of supervisors. this is the conversation we're having today with you. public agencies such as the police force and transport authority will not be allowed to use the emerging technology. opponents of the measure warn it could compromise safety. dave lee reports from san francisco. this is a promotional video from amazon, holding the capabilities of its facial recognition software. but, in san francisco, the use of innovations has now been outlawed thanks to new rules passed overwhelmingly by city supervisors. the landmark ruling will make it

illegal for the landmark ruling will make it illegalfor any the landmark ruling will make it illegal for any public agency, including law enforcement, to use facial recognition software and, any purchase of surveillance equipment of any purchase of surveillance equipment ofany kind, purchase of surveillance equipment of any kind, such as a camera, must be approved by city administrators. the ban will not apply to san francisco's air or sea ports as they're operated by federal agencies rather than local. the move was enthusiastically backed by local civil liberties groups. this is a system that is too dangerous to deploy because it allows the government to track who we are, where we go and even who we associate with. there's also concerns that the technology is unreliable, particularly when actively recognising women or people of colour. those against the measure say they recognise these flaws but said... it's of course highly symbolic that

this decision was made in the heart of the us technology industry, but this is a city that increasingly sees itself as the starting point for some incredibly important conversations about the future of invasive technology. dave lee, bbc news, in san francisco. so what do you think about that? get in touch. we will mention the comments you have sent in later. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: serving under arm, but not underhand. the latest from the rome masters and all the world's sports news. the pope was shot, the pope will live. that was the essence of the appalling news from rome this afternoon, that, as an italian television commentator put it, terrorism has come to the vatican. the man they called the butcher of lyon, klaus barbie, went on trial today in the french town where he was the gestapo chief in the second world war.

winnie mandela never looked like a woman just sentenced to six years injail. the judge told mrs mandela there was no indication she felt even the slightest remorse. the chinese government has called for an all—out effort to help the victims of a powerful earthquake, the worst to hit the country for 30 years. the computer deep blue has tonight triumphed over the world chess champion, garry kasparov. it is the first time a machine has defeated a reigning world champion in a classical chess match. america's first legal same—sex marriages have been taking place in massachusetts. god bless america! you're watching the briefing. 0ur headlines: as iran's supreme leader rules out going to war with the united states. with the united states,

the pentagon raises its threat level assesment. 10 downing street says mps will have to decide what happens to the brexit deal in another round of votes injune. world leaders and chiefs of technology companies get together in paris today to discuss ways of keeping terrorists off the internet. the gathering is co—chaired by french president emmanuel macron and new zealand prime ministerjacinda ardern. you may remember, ms ardern has denounced the use of social media in the shootings at two christchurch mosques in march, and the live streaming of the massacre on facebook. she will ask the other participants to sign the so—called "christchurch call", a pledge to eliminate violent and extremist content online. joining me now is laurence dodds, us tech reporter in silicon valley in california.

take bosses attending this but mark zuckerberg is on, nick clegg, the communications achieve is sent instead, but facebook announcement that they have a new action. facebook is tightening its rules and making them more consistent because what hate groups on line are good is when you clamp down on one element of the operation, they find a new way. they go to instagram, they find something else. if you're live streaming privileges would be revoked for a broader range of things, it is looking at a loophole. which is a good thing. what do you make about what is being done about

this? a huge amount of attention since what happens in new zealand and sri lanka. jacinda adern very vocal about the fact that there needs to be tough action from both government and companies but when it comes to what has changed, not a lot has? in some ways quite a lot has, actually. companies have come a long way. there has been a voluntary code of removing hate speech in europe that has seen good results in the quickness of removing things from on line. they are now saying we want to do this, we want politicians to do this. they want to be regulated more. this is a significant moment but it is a voluntary code. there are certain aspects of violent and

extremist material spread on that this will not cover. the spread, the way it is taken down, the resourcing, speed and moderating will improve and continue to improve and companies are working together. there is a broad consensus across the developed world. but it does not tackle deeper reasons why the content is the spread so far. it is a way that the companies depend on algorithms and the way that information is a spread between people. that is a deeper problem and something i am not sure that this summit can address. we will keep across that gathering in paris which ta kes pla ce across that gathering in paris which takes place today. hello, i'm tulsen tollett and this is your wednesday sport briefing where we start with the news that

antoine griezmann has announced that he won't be playing for atletico madrid next season. the french striker released a video on social media saying, "it's been an incredible five years" with barcelona understood to be willing to pay the $135 million buyout fee required to take him to camp nou. he will be happy to leave atletico madrid by the end of the season. the big surprise is he decided it today because it is supposed to change july one so why has it happened now? probably because atletico madrid has to make a move if they want to sign a good replacement for him. we'll stay in italy then, and nick krygios is into the second round of the italian 0pen, but the australian ruffled a few feathers again. he beat the 12th seed daniil medvedev but produced underarm serves several times, which some see as a lack of respect. krygios finished the match with four aces, and will play norway's

casper ruud next. in the women's draw, two—time defending champion elina svitolina is out though. she lost to azarenka. despite being 5—2 up in the third set and holding a match point the ukrainian couldn't convert it and was broken three times in a row, with the belarussian wild card and former world number one later on wednesday, ajax should win their 34th dutch league title but first in five years. the champions league semi—finalists made sure of that on sunday when they beat utrecht 4—1. that took them three points clear of second placed psv and gave them a goal difference better by 1a. in the final round of fixtures they make the 90 minute trip to play at relegated de graafschap. lazio take on atalanta in the coppa italia final at the stadio 0limpico later. lazio last won this six years ago and, while both sides harbour hopes of a champions league spot for next season, victory in rome would secure

at least a place in the europa league. atalanta have only won the cup once in their history, back in 1963, but they'll be feeling confident having already beaten lazio twice this season in the league. they'll be hoping to avoid anymore big crashes like these when stage five of the giro d'italia gets underway later. ecuador‘s richard carapaz sprinted to victory in the stage four of the year's first grand tour on tuesday. slovenia's primoz roglic kept the overall lead with wednesday's stage a flat 140km course from frascati to terracina. this is doing the rounds on social media — a toddler came close to getting trampled by grown men playing aussie rules, after somehow wandering on to the pitch. two—year—old pippa snuck onto the field, in the game between amateur sides st bernards and old melburnians in melbourne. but luckily she was seen by one of the players and carried off, just before the ball

was thrown in her direction! great peripheral vision. you can get all the latest sports news at our website. but from me, tulsen tullott and the rest of the team that is your wednesday sport briefing. we have heard from you on the story of the day which is a san francisco has banned facial recognition across the city, apart from areas run on a federal line. one viewer saying western countries are in a total dilemma. they do not want intrusion into their privacy but want intrusion on other people to try and prevent crime. keith says i wonder if facebook and other social media

sites should be subscription only. this is about the other story on hate crime ongoing on social media. thank you for your thoughts. i will see you soon with the business stories. hello again. we've got another fine and sunny day coming up on wednesday before the weather begins to change. now, we've had glorious sunshine over the last 2a hours, up and down the country, really, but the warmest spot again was in scotland. drumnadrochit, on the shores of loch ness, getting to 2a degrees. but the weather is going to be turning both cooler and cloudier over the next few days and, by friday, the end of the week, we'll be looking at highs of at best 18, although many places will see temperatures quite a bit lower than that. after a warmer kind of day, those temperatures are falling slower so it's not quite as chilly as it has been. that said, it's still quite cool for parts of east anglia to start the day on wednesday. but our area of high—pressure is still holding firm and that means we've got more dry and sunny weather to come throughout the day

on wednesday, really. the high—pressure starts to drift a little bit further northwards. the isobars start pulling apart a little bit so the winds not quite as brisk across east anglia and south—east england as those winds that kept the coastline a little bit cooler during tuesday. for wednesday, the winds still on shore but not quite as brisk so probably feeling a little bit warmer if you're out and about. there will though be plenty of sunshine and with winds coming around our area of high pressure in a clockwise sense, again it's across the north and west of the uk that we will see the day's highs temperatures and again peaking at around 2a degrees. most of us keeping sunshine all day. just a little bit of patchy cloud going up across the hills of scotland and also over the pennines as well. well, that's wednesday's forecast but on into thursday, we start to see signs of change. 0ur area of high—pressure moves further northwards. low pressure in central europe starts to drift closer. the isobars squeeze together. easterly breeze starts to pick up. and it is a combination really on the thursday of those easterly winds strengthening along with more cloud being able to develop in the atmosphere, that will make things feel cooler as

we go through the day. and although many areas will stay dry, there is a risk of a few showers towards the north and west. the temperatures then — highs for most of us between around 15 and 18 degrees celsius, so we don't have those 20s on the charts anymore and that trend of cooler weather continues on into friday. you can see there's still quite a bit of cloud around. a few showers, particularly across england and wales. probably the best of the dry weather across scotland but it's the temperatures really starting to come down with highs of around 14—16 degrees celsius. it looks like it is going to stay pretty cloudy into the weekend.

this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. talking tech — chinese giants alibaba and tencent announce their financial results we take a look at how the trade war is impacting their bottom line. and oil prices slide lower after saudi arabia announces two of its crucial oil stations are attacked by drones. let's look and financial markets. it's a mixed trading day in asia as investors are not sure which way to turn with the latest data from china showing its economy lost steam in april.