this is the briefing, i'm sally bundock. our top story: the house of representatives votes to condemn president trump's racist tweets, as emotions run high on capitol hill. after days of wrangling, germany's ursula von der leyen is elected to lead the european commission, iama i am a proud naturalised citizen born in india. a proud patriot, a proud person who belongs in this country and this is not the first time i've heard go back to your own country but it's the first time i've heard it coming from the white house. after days of wrangling, germany's ursula von der leyen is elected to lead the european commission, the eu's topjob. and more on the the story of safa and marwa from pakistan, born joined at the head, as doctors in london succesfully separate them.

then, in business briefing, christine lagarde steps down as the head of the international monetary fund. but, after a succesful eight—year reign, who will replace her? a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. also in the programme: love them or hate them, it is world emoji day. to mark the event, apple has released previews of 20 new ones. so we would like to know, are you a fan of emojis? are they are useful communication tool, or do they cause misunderstanding? which one do you use the most? get in touch. just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing.

the us house of representatives has voted to condemn as racist president trump's attack on four congresswomen. it is a symbolic resolution in a chamber controlled by the opposition democrats, and has no force in law, but it is unprecedented. earlier, mr trump renewed his attack on the politicians, all from minority backgrounds and us citizens, but insisted he doesn't have a racist bone in his body. he told them to go back to their countries, and accused them of being anti—israel, anti—usa and pro—terrorist. our washington correspondent david willis has more. a david willis has more. row that started in cyberspa became a row that started in cyberspace became all the more human, not to mention personal, on the floor of the nation's capital after the

president was accused of racism. the comments from the white house are disgraceful and disgusting, and these comments are racist. on sunday, president donald trump urged these four congresswomen of colour, who are critics of his administration, to go back to where they came from. senior republicans have since been doing their best to defend him. do you feel enough republicans have spoken up against the president? absolutely not. what message does that send? the normalisation of it. the fact that it's against our core american values and their choosing him overour american values and their choosing him over our country. i would ask the speaker of the house if you would like to rephrase her comment. republicans sought to have nancy pelosi's racist allegations struck from the record. i make a point of order that they should be taken down. whereupon the old tempered partisan brawling that ensued proved too much

for the acting house chairman. we wa nt for the acting house chairman. we want to just fight. i abandon the chair. the house voted to allow nancy pelosi to call the president a racist and lawmakers lined up to tell of the effect racism had had on them. i know racism when i see it. i know racism when i feel it. and at the highest level of government, there is no room for racism. telling four members of this body to go home because of where you believe they are from is racist. there is racism coming out of the white house. and make no mistake, when people tell me to go back to where i came from, that is a racist insult because it is based on race. iama because it is based on race. i am a proud naturalised citizen born in india, a proud patriot, a

proud person who belongs in this country and this is not the first time i've heard go back to your country but it's the first time i've heard it coming from the white house. the president has said he doesn't have a racist bone in his body, but ina have a racist bone in his body, but in a virtually unprecedented move, the house voted nonetheless to condemn his original tweet. yet far from settling the matter, the debate served to underline how combustible an issue race has become in 21st—ce ntu ry an issue race has become in 21st—century america. david willis, bbc news, washington. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. prosecutors in new york have announced that no police officers will face federal criminal charges over the death of eric garner five years ago. he was detained, accused of selling loose cigarettes, and died after being held in a police chokehold. his death contributed to the rise of the black lives matter movement. the united states has announced sanctions on four of myanmar‘s top generals, accusing them of gross human rights violations against rohingya muslims.

those targeted include the country's commander in chief. the measures mean neither the generals, nor their immediate families, can travel to the us. the dutch prime minister mark rutte willjoin hundreds of relatives at an event in the netherlands today to mark the fifth anniversary of the mhi7 air disaster. the malaysia airlines passengerjet was carrying 298 people. it was shot out of the sky by a russian made missile over eastern ukraine. no—one survived. the german defence minister ursula von der leyen has been elected president of the european commission despite stiff opposition. she's the first woman to hold the european union's topjob. thanking the european parliament in strasbourg, she said she was honoured and overwhelmed and that the task ahead humbled her. with more details, gareth barlow reports.

asmile, a a smile, a side and a standing ovation as ursula von der leyen was announced as the next president of the european commission. the german defence minister, an ally of the chancellor angela merkel, was narrowly elected following a secret valet among meps. i thank you for the trust you placed in me. the trust you placed in me is confidence you placed in europe, your confidence in a united and strong europe from east to west, from south to north. the political path forjean—claude juncker‘s replacement won't be easy. with just nine votes to spare, the strength of her appointment and her clout will be far weaker than hoped. ocean ofan clout will be far weaker than hoped. ocean of an lion is new face of europe. the first woman to lead the commission machine is a mum of seven, trained as a gynaecologist before entering politics. it took

european leaders days to agree her nomination and the european parliament only just approved nomination and the european parliament onlyjust approved her appointment. the first job, parliament onlyjust approved her appointment. the firstjob, then, for the new president when she takes office in november will be to bring unity to an organisation which is increasingly politically fractured. the former defence minister hasn't avoided criticism of her own, with her management style attacked and the readiness of the german armed forces frequently questioned. perhaps then ursula von der leyen will want to keep the body armour close when, in a few months‘ time, she'll close when, in a few months‘ time, she‘ll have to navigate the minefield of european politics. thank you very much. gareth barlow, bbc news. well, as one woman takes on a senior position, another announces she‘s moving. christine lagarde is stepping down as the head of the international montary fund, after being nominated to replace mario draghi as head of the european central bank. lagarde will be remembered for playing a major role in the bailouts of greece and argentina. now investors are asking,

who will replace her? michaela bergman from the asian infrastructure investment bankjoins me now. lovely to see you. she always pops in when she‘s in london. christine lagarde, eight years at the helm of the imf. she‘s done a heck of a lot, hasn‘t she? the imf. she‘s done a heck of a lot, hasn't she? she's known as the rockstar of international finance. she‘s brought a different perspective to international finance, promoted inclusive growth and the empowerment of women and she‘s put the empowerment of women very much on the agenda, both at the imf itself and in the work that the imf itself and in the work that the imf does. it's interesting, because when she took over at the imf, known as the lender of last resort, like the world bank, there were lots of questions about its relevance but

with the eurozone debt crisis after the global financial crisis, the with the eurozone debt crisis after the globalfinancial crisis, the imf was right there in the middle of it all with angela merkel and the european central bank bailing out greece, portugal, ireland... and she‘s carved out a real position for herself. she‘s one of the ten most powerful women in the world. everyone knows who she is and i think she has tried... she has softened the image a bit of the imf. she may well go to the european central bank now, more than likely, which in some ways would be her cutting a new cloth because she‘d be the first woman to do that. she is not an commonest, which some say is a big deal, but i‘m sure she will prove her worth for sure —— economist. who will replace her at the imf? it's economist. who will replace her at the imf? it‘s always been a european. there's mark carney... he‘s not said he wants the job but many are arguing he will get it. and then there‘s mario draghi wanting it. george osborne even. i heard that rumour as well. what about

christine, she is bold aryan, she is chief executive of the world bank at the moment dashed old aryan. a very impressive woman —— bold bulgarian. she might be looking for a newjob. there will be a political exchange, it will be an appointment, it will bea it will be an appointment, it will be a lot of bargaining around the back... in the back doors. g7, let‘s see. it would be very interesting. she might want to move because she‘s been running the world bank since kim departed. she might be looking for a newjob. kim departed. she might be looking for a new job. thanks, kim departed. she might be looking fora newjob. thanks, michaela. we will speak you later in the news briefing in around a0 minutes‘ time. a norwegian pensioner recently sentenced to ia years in russia for espionage has

requested a formal pardon from president putin in a case that‘s plunged relations between russia and the west to a new low. accused of gathering information on the russian navy, frode berg pron fredder beg has admitted delivering envelopes for norwegian intelligence, though he says he didn‘t know what was inside. sarah rainsford reports from kirkenes in northeastern norway. any term burgh is a woman battering to stay strong but she‘s devastated —— anita burgh. she tells me how in december 2017 she saw her husband off to moscow to see friends, then he vanished. three frantic days later, anita learned he‘d been arrested for espionage. frode berg eventually confessed he‘d been delivering envelopes of cash and instructions to a russian contact for norwegian military intelligence. he was sentenced to 1a years.

translation: they should have used their own people, but they took him and they destroyed him and they also destroyed an entire family and lots of things in our community. that community is up in norway‘s rugged north, right where russia and nato meet. frode berg worked here in the border commission for most of his life. a well—known fan of friendly relations with norway‘s neighbour. it was after he retired that he agreed to run secret missions to moscow. but he confided in this friend that he‘d felt under pressure to be a patriot as hostility between russia and the west began to grow. he had told them he didn‘t want to but they had really let hi m he didn‘t want to but they had really let him understand that it was important, and they had asked him several times if he did not want

to bea him several times if he did not want to be a good norwegian. people should not be asked to do these favours exactly because we are on the bridge to russia. in kill knesset, the street signs are in russian. this is such a small, close—knit community that it‘s been really shocked by this spy story, not just because it‘s really shocked by this spy story, notjust because it‘s one of their own that‘s been caught up in an espionage drama but because it‘s a man who‘s been very much involved in what this place is all about, promoting better ties with russia just across the border. and in this area land of the midnight sun, more secrets have since come to light. others who claim they too were approached to spy on russia. norwegian military intelligence has refused to answer any of my questions. but the cultural diplomacy hasn‘t stopped. up here, that‘s how they call concerts like this, bringing russian reggae to a norwegian nightclub. musicians

trying to drown out the hostility of their capitals. norway‘s government saying very little, only that it wa nts to saying very little, only that it wants to see frode berg back home. so anita is waiting and worrying. translation: the government should do everything, everything they can, and they should do it fast. her greatest hope is that russia‘s president will pardon her husband, but she knows in this climate, doing political deals won‘t be easy. sarah ra i nsfo rd , political deals won‘t be easy. sarah rainsford, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: bornjoined at the head, the twins separated at last thanks to the extraordinary skill of surgeons in london. after months of talks and missed deadlines, a deal has been struck to keep greece within the eurozone. the immediate prospect of greece going bust,

in the worst crisis to hit the eurozone, has been averted. emergency services across central europe are stepping up their efforts to contain the worse floods this century. nearly 100 people have been killed. broadway is traditionally called the great white way by americans, but tonight it's completely blacked out. it's a timely reminder to all americans of the problems that the energy crisis has brought to them. leaders meet in paris for a summit on pollution, inflation and third world debt. this morning, theyjoined the revolution celebrations for a show of military might on the champs—elysees. finally, wildlife officials in australia have been coping with a penguin problem. fairy penguins have been staggering ashore and collapsing after gorging themselves on a huge shoal of their favourite food — pilchards. some had eaten so much they could barely stand. you are watching the briefing.

our headlines: in washington, the house of representatives has voted to condemn president trump‘s racist tweets. four republicans backed the motion. after days of wrangling, germany‘s ursula von der leyen has been elected to lead the european commission, the eu‘s topjob. this week we‘ve been bringing you the remarkable story of twins safa and marwa from pakistan, who were born joined at the head. a huge team of surgeons in london managed to separate the sisters over the course of three major operations, which lasted more than 50 hours. our medical correspondent fergus walsh and producer rachael buchanan were given exclusive access to the family and surgeons for nearly a year. safa and marwa share a single skull. the two—year—olds have already undergone two complex operations

at great ormond street hospital to prepare them for separation. now, finally, that day has come. two whole brains laid out... their brains, locked together since birth, are eased apart. after seven hours, the final connection of bone and tissue are severed. fantastic! at last, after three major operations, the twins are no longerjoined. what was the moment like when they were separate for the first time? what did that feel like? it‘s a very emotional moment. we‘ve been working a long time to get them here, they‘ve been through so many operations, and now it‘s worked! so you‘ve still got, what, four or five hours to do? yeah, we have to put them together now. so we've taken them apart, and we have to reconstruct their heads. marwa is still in the operating

theatre through here, while safa has been moved just next door. for the first time, the survival of each of the twins is not dependent on the other. and that will make it easier for the two surgical teams to regulate their heart rate, blood pressure, and other vital signs. this means both teams can begin reconstruction. the patchwork of skull pieces are shared between theatres. piece for me, piece for you. to have enough to cover their heads, they have to divide each bit in two. hi. everything is good. at 1:30am in the morning, the surgeons bring the good news to the girls‘ family. # hello, safa! # hello, marwa! # how are you today?# then begins the long road to recovery. the twins have daily physiotherapy.

this will help them reach some basic milestones — learning to roll, sit, and hold their heads up. five months after separation, nearly a year since they were admitted to hospital, the girls are leaving great ormond street. time to say goodbye to doctors and nurses who have become friends and to move to a new home. the twins are likely to have some learning difficulties, but their mum is overjoyed at the freedom separation has brought. whatever hurdles safa and marwa may face in years to come, they will at least do that as separate, independent girls. twins still, but conjoined no more.

fergus walsh, bbc news. it has been fascinating and so moving to follow their story. and in our final report tomorrow, we will meet another set of twins once joined at the head who were separated by the same surgical team. now it‘s time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, i‘m gavin ramjaun, and this is your wedsnesday sport briefing. tiger woods has admitted his game isn‘t where he would like it to be as we count down to the open championship in royal portrush in northern ireland. woods won his 15th major earlier this year, but has played just ten competitive rounds since. the american is a three—time open winner, but his last victory in this tournament came in 2006.

it‘s not quite — not quite as sharp as i‘d like to have it right now. i still need to get the shape of the golf ball a little better than i haveit golf ball a little better than i have it right now, especially with the weather coming in, and the winds are going to be changing. manny pacquiao‘s publicist has denied that a deal has been agreed to fight amir khan. the british boxer claims that terms have been signed off and done to face pacquiao in saudi arabia in november. but pacquiao‘s spokesperson fred sternberg told bbc sport manny has not signed any contract. khan won the wbc international welterweight title with a fourth—round stoppage of billy dib injeddah on saturday night. manchester united‘s pre—season

continues in australia with a match against old rivals leeds later. speculation over the future of a couple of key players continues. romelu lukaku is reported to be of interest to italian side inter, while paul pogba has been linked with a move away from old trafford. united manager ole gunnar solskjaer says it is nothing more than rumour. you know, the other day we started the league. i‘m sure everyone who is here will give absolutely everything. we are going to have a strong team with players who want to give everything. and yes, there‘s a lwa ys give everything. and yes, there‘s always rumours, speculation about man united players, but when the league starts we batten the hatches down and stick together as a team. fast bowlerjofra archer could be included in england‘s test squad for the first time on wednesday. it follows a brilliant cricket world cup during which he took 20 wickets. born in barbados, he only qualified to play for england just before the tournament began, after a change of eligibility rules. former england captain

andrew strauss says that archer has what it takes to step up to test cricket. if he‘s fit enough to get through a test match, he plays, really. he‘s a point of difference player, he gives us something we wouldn‘t otherwise have. he‘s so good and so calm and so composed. i‘m struggling to think of another player that‘s had the impact he‘s had in such a short period of time. now, it‘s one thing to be the nba‘s most valuable player, but when giannis antetokounmpo tried his hand at baseball at the new york yankees, there were mixed results. the 2a—year—old from greece said he had never even touched a baseball, and it showed, as he tried his hand in the batting cage beneath the stands before the yankees faced the tampa bay rays. the 6—foot—11 forward got some coaching, which enabled him to hit a stationary ball.

you can get all the latest sports news at our website. that is bbc.com/sport. but from me, gavin ramjaun, and the rest of the sport team, that is your wednesday sport briefing. our thanks to gavin and the team. it is world emoji day, and apple has given us a preview of the new emojis, many representing people with disability, someone pointing to the fact they are hard of hearing, a guide dog. we have asked you whether you are a fan of emojis and whether you are a fan of emojis and whether you can use them. neville says they are so you can use them. neville says they are so small i can‘t always understand what they mean and if i wa nt to understand what they mean and if i want to compliment someone i would rather use words. quite a few are

not really that keen. in terms of your favourite emoji, we not really that keen. in terms of yourfavourite emoji, we have heard from love who says the heart is his favourite. we will be back with all the business stories in a moment. hello again. well, it‘s true to say that weather doesn‘t just stop at a country‘s border. if we take a look at what happened on sunday here in the uk, south—east england we had some rather grey, boring skies. a bit of rain around, we had some cold air brought in by the jetstream that reactivated an old weather front to bring that wet weather. a day later, that area of cold air had reached the warm waters of the mediterranean, generating thunderstorms and a waterspout in bastia in corsica. we recorded 163 millimetres of rain in the space of a day. that‘s 13 times the amount of rain they would normally see in the whole month ofjuly falling in one day. right now, severe thunderstorms

battering parts of greece. red weather warnings in force for much of the country, damaging wind gusts and large hail and risk of flash flooding lasting well into wednesday. here in the uk with got outbreaks of rain spreading into western scotland at the moment. but otherwise, it‘s a dry start to the day. should be a nice sunrise for some, but for northern ireland are rather 5°99y but for northern ireland are rather soggy start to the day and through the rest of wednesday that rain will creep ever closer to western fringes of england and wales, western parts of england and wales, western parts of scotla nd of england and wales, western parts of scotland turning increasingly wet as well. it will stay dry and sunny across east anglia and south—east england. across the south—east we will have some of the highest temperatures, claiming to 26 celsius. from there, the rain through wednesday night will continue its journey eastwards, through wednesday night will continue itsjourney eastwards, so good news for gardeners, especially where it has been dry over recent weeks. we should see at least a little bit of rain from this weather front although perhaps not too much across east anglia and south—east

england. that rain could be slow to clear from eastern england england. that rain could be slow to clearfrom eastern england but eventually it will. sunshine follows for england and wales, scotland and northern ireland having heavy showers and as we head towards the end of the week another area of low pressure will bring another bout of rain. this rain could be rather more across parts of england and wales, so some across parts of england and wales, so some welcome across parts of england and wales, so some welcome wet across parts of england and wales, so some welcome wet weather here. further northwards we have some rain pushing its way across northern ireland, perhaps into southern scotland, maybe northeast scotland staying dry and bright with some sunshine, north—east england also not doing too badly. into the weekend, it looks like it stays quite unsettled, with showers or potentially some lengthy spells of rain at times. that‘s your weather.

political deals won‘t be easy. sarah rainsford, bbc news.

this is the business briefing, i‘m sally bundock. christine lagarde steps down as the head of the international monetary fund, but with big shoes to fill, who will replace her? talking tech — finance ministers from the world‘s biggest economies meet in france to thrash out a deal on taxing tech giants. and facebook is called delusional over its crypto—currency plans, with some us politicians warning the firm can‘t be trusted. and financial markets look like this. investors are beginning to wobble again as trump says he could impose additional tariffs on chinese imports.