this is the briefing — i'm sally bundock. our top story: international condemnation as turkey invades kurdish—controlled areas of north—east syria. with just a week until the eu summit, the british and irish prime ministers are to meet again to argue over border rules. the difference that thirty years make — hungary's viktor orban was once moscow's enemy, but now he's russia's best friend in europe. in business — tense times for global trade — as the us and china meet for talks — ahead of a new wave of tariffs next week.

a warm welcome to the programme — briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation, today we're looking at the suggestion that families need help to make healthier choices according to the uk's top doctor. snacking should be banned on public transport, extra taxes on unhealthy foods, is this the way to tackle childhood obesity? tell us what you think — just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. turkey has launched a ground offensive in northern syria, hours after its militaryjets and artillery began hitting

territory held by kurdish—led forces. just days ago president trump ordered american troops withdrawn from the border area, a decision that's been widely condemned, at home and abroad. president recep tayyip erdogan said the operation was to create a "safe zone" cleared of kurdish militias which will also house syrian refugees. chris buckler has the latest all of this area. whatever it takes. ankara says it won't allow this strip of land, corridor of terabit the fear of many in international community is that this new conflict could further destabilise the middle east and withdrawing troops from

here, the american government stands accused of abandoning its allies, the kurdish forces, who fought alongside them against the islamic state group. the us has given turkey a green light. let'sjust false. the united states didn't give turkey a green light. will continue to be in a position to do what we need to do to keep the american people as safe as with possibly can but it's not only in syria, it emanates from barack, there are a dozen other countries with the threat from radical islamic terrorism continues to exist. several towns and villages have already been badly damaged and some people have chosen to flee their homes, not that many of them thought they had much choice. there has been widespread condemnation but so has been widespread condemnation but so far, the un and many governments have only been able to sit and watch events unfold from afar. the secretary general believes there is no military solution to the syrian comp. he reiterates that only an

inclusive and credible political process pursuant to security council resolution 2254 can bring a long—term solution to the conflict. there are indications that the white house was taken by surprise by the scope of this invasion by turkey following a phone call to president trump on the weekend, putting him under pressure to explain why he's not done more to defend his kurdish allies. the kurds are fighting for the land, so you understand, they are fighting for their land and somebody wrote in a very powerful article today, they didn't help us in the silken world war, they didn't help us with normandy, for example, they mention different battles but they mention different battles but they are there to help us with their land. those kind of comments will be uncomfortable the many european governments. even as turkey tries to clear the so—called safe zone of kurdish forces. with me is aylin yazan from the bbc

turkish service. what more can you tell us about what has been going on? there are no been updates from the turkish side. the last weed from the defence ministry was about mid night and it set our commandos continuing their advance in east syria and we haven't heard more from the turkish authorities. and talk as to the timing of this, why action was taken by erdogan. he was given the green light by donald trump but he'd been asking for his consent for months and we have to realise that erdogan was kind of losing his popularity inside turkey recently and it is two main reasons. one is the syrian refugee crisis is turkey hosts almost 3.5 million syrian refugees and it started

causing disturbance in turkish society and the second is economic woes. it's a way for him to kind of boost his support inside turkey as well. inside turkey, public opinion seems to be split about this. it's very divided. some people say that we didn't need another conflict. there was not an imminent threat from eastern syria to turkey but also, it's really hard to hear this opinion in turkish media and also in social media because 80 people with turkish police issued an arrest warrant for 80 people just because of their tweets and social media m essa 9 es of their tweets and social media messages so people are scared. the media is under the influence of the

turkish government. it's hard to hear the other side of the story and turkey. we will be looking at what the turkish media is saying later. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. the us military has taken custody of two british men who fought for is and were accused of executing western hostages in syria. the pair were part of a notorious group that became known as the beatles. president trump said that particularly dangerous members of the islamic state group who were held by kurdish forces, were taken by the us ahead of turkey's invasion of syria. in germany at least 2 people have been killed and 2 others severely wounded in a shooting near a synagogue in the east german city of halle. one person has been arrested. witnesses describe a gunman wearing a military—style outfit and carrying several weapons.

the former us vice president, joe biden, has made his most direct call so far for the impeachment of president trump. addressing supporters in new hampshire, the democratic presidential hopeful said mr trump had already indicted himself by obstructing justice. the white house is refusing to co—operate with the impeachment inquiry. rolling blackouts have begun in northern california, affecting up to 800,000 customers, as pacific gas & electric switches off power supplies because of hot windy weather that raises the risk of wildfires. the company is trying to prevent a repeat of last november, when sparks from its power lines started california's deadliest wildfire. 85 people died. in a few hours the winners of the 2018 and 2019 nobel prize

in ecuador, protesters against austerity moves by the government have been met by police action. in a few hours the winners of the 2018 and 2019 nobel prize of literature will be announced. the swedish academy, which oversees the prestigious award, suspended last year's award to make changes to its processes after it was engulfed in a sexual assault scandal. the british prime minister boris johnson will meet his irish counterpart leo va radkar today, in an attempt to find enough common ground to reach a brexit deal. mrjohnson will meet the taoiseach in the north west of england at lunchtime. downing street said the meeting was to allow "detailed discussions" on the process of securing a deal. with me is oliver cornock, editor—in—chief at the oxford business group.

asa as a very important meeting because theissue as a very important meeting because the issue of how to manage the border between northern ireland and the republic is the real problem. this has been a sticking point time and again. it is interesting that the stance are different, taking place in the north—west of england. a p pa re ntly place in the north—west of england. apparently in a neutral area, behind closed doors, no press allowed, and to try and get some sort of rake through because the irish taoiseach has been firm in saying this is not negotiable. the eu keep ringing up the irish backstop issue. it's one of boris johnson's the irish backstop issue. it's one of borisjohnson‘s great the irish backstop issue. it's one of boris johnson's great sticking points. it really is a thorn in the side of these negotiations. it will be interesting to see what happens. from the eu side, some negative posturing going on. from the uk side yesterday, borisjohnson said he was cautiously optimistic. i said this

before, this uncertainty is not good for anybody. who knows what is going to happen, the election looming in the politics i'm looking good. investment is suffering, british business needs to get this done and i would argue european business needs to get this done. businesses are saying the same thing. they are saying, we need to know what this looks like. uk leaving the european union and what means for us but it's very important that they get this particular aspect right. the good friday agreement and the peace there in that part of europe is key. you andi in that part of europe is key. you and i grew up with those headlines of bombings. sinn fein politicians muted and dubbed out. young people don't remember that. but there are only four options. no deal, and

extension, the relocation of article for you. extension, the relocation of article foryou. or extension, the relocation of article for you. or another referendum. extension, the relocation of article foryou. oranother referendum. it does seem to me we're getting down to the line. but borisjohnson has his hands tied, to try and prevent no deal so it's few days. we have said that and we will again. oliver will be back later so we will be looking at turkey and what the turkish media says about that situation. stay with us on the briefing. still to come. moscow's best friend in europe. why is hungary's viktor orban turning towards russia 7 this was a celebration by people who were relishing their freedom. they believe everything's going to be different from now on. they think their country will be respected in the world once more as it used to be before

slobodan milosevic took power. this the dalai lama, the exiled spiritual leader of tibet, has won this year's nobel peace prize. as the parade was reaching its climax, two grenades exploded and a group of soldiers jumped from a military truck taking part in the parade, and ran towards the president, firing from kalashnikov automatic rifles. after 437 years, the skeleton ribs of henry viii's tragic warship emerged. but, even as divers worked to buoy her up, the mary rose went through another heart—stopping drama. i want to be the people's governor. i want to represent everybody. i believe in the people of california. you're watching the briefing. our headlines: the british prime minister boris johnson is due to meet his irish counterpart leo varadkar today in an attempt

to find enough common ground to arrive at a brexit deal. and our top story, there has been international criticism of turkey's military assault against kurdish—led forces in north—east syria. france, germany and britain have requested a meeting of the un security council. let's stay with that story now. aykan erdemir is a senior fellow for the foundation for defense of democracies and a former opposition member of the turkish parliament from 2011 to 2015. he joins me from washington. thank you for being with us today. firstly, can we have your reaction to the action on behalf the part of president erdogan yesterday. what are the ramifications? president erdogan has strong support back in turkey but there is also a strong push back around the world including

in the united states. although president trump initially gave a green light to erdogan during a phone call, following strong pushback from establishment in washington he took a step back but it was too late to stop this incursion. today there was a bipartisan initiative in the us senate to initiate strong sanctions against the entire turkish government and defence and energy sector and this shows that in the united states there is a growing reaction to this incursion into northeast syria. if the sanctions we re northeast syria. if the sanctions were to come into effect, what impact would that have on turkey? so far, the united states has often come out with strong rhetoric against turkey but failed to impose sanctions in earlier crisis moments including turkey ‘s purchase of the

differential and system from russia. so ankara is probably sceptical that washington would pursue these sanctions but nevertheless we see, you know, growing opposition from the eu and the human rights community around the world, the concerns mainly are firstly the humanitarian crisis, especially the prospect of ethnic and religious minorities, the kurds, christians and your cds. and of course, the status of islamic state militants in detention facilities who could flee and regroup leading to a resurgence of islamic state in the area. of course, the refugee rights community is raising questions about president erdogan ‘s plans to resettle up to 3 million syrian asylum seekers in this newly conquered area and the

problem there is that this area is not necessarily considered to be a safe zone for the return of refugees. so this would lead to the reef element of the rights and freedoms of asylum seekers. so this isa freedoms of asylum seekers. so this is a complex set of problems and as the operation continues i think we will see growing opposition across the spectrum. we will keep a close eye. thank you for your perspective on the story which is extremely difficult, as mentioned. it's 30 years since the tumultuous events of 1989, when the berlin wall fell, the iron curtain lifted, and the soviet empire began to crumble. this week our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, has been looking at how russia views 1989. for the final in his series of special reports, steve travelled to hungary to witness russia's attempts to restore influence

in eastern europe. a momentous event can change a country. but change never stops. and hungary has been changing since the iron curtain fell. this was border pest 30 years ago. a giant crowd. moving speeches. this activist spoke out against moscow. this changed quite a lot. that activist was victor orban. he criticises eu sanctions now on russia. but why? orban reads russia

asa russia. but why? orban reads russia as a model country in terms of if you want to govern for a long time, you want to govern for a long time, you have to reduce the independence of the media, prosecutors office. you have to reduce the independence of opposition parties and so on. there is something else building closer ties between hungary and russia. and that is to do with energy. around two—thirds of all the oil refined here comes from russia. hungary is heavily dependent on russian energy, oil and gas. and although there is talk about the need to diversify, the need for alternative sources, right now this reliance on russian foreign —— fossil fuel is reliance on russian foreign —— fossilfuel is a reliance on russian foreign —— fossil fuel is a factor in shaping relations between moscow and budapest. they say don't accuse economic pragmatism for protest. accusing them of having pro moscow sentiment is ridiculous to you

cannot have a more specialised relationship with russia because they are confined by rules. but moscow does spy opportunities here. this man is next soviet diplomat with connections at the heart of russian government. he has a development bank that is just relocated from moscow to budapest. critics of your bank call it vladimir putin ‘s trojan horse. a tool for moscow to spread spies and agents. is there any truth in that? absolutely not. it is allegations and obfuscation is and even though it has been repeated hundreds of times already they have nothing to do with it. can you understand whether suspicion comes from. apologies for being personal but you, yourself, from a family of

soviet spies and anyone can think, right, your father was the soviet spies and anyone can think, right, yourfather was the head of the kgb here in budapest. that is how i began to like the city many yea rs how i began to like the city many years ago. and your mother was a soviet agent as well. that is an over exaggeration. my mother will worked in the first department of the kgb but she died back in 1953. when the iron curtain was torn down, hungary turned away from moscow. but relations are being rebuilt. it is not a repeat of the past but it does give russia an ally and influence in the centre of europe. officials at the rugby world cup have confirmed that two games — england versus france and new zealand versus italy — have been cancelled because of the threat posed by typhoon hagibis. other games — including scotland's match on sunday against the hosts

japan — are still under threat. that match could decide who qualifies for the quarter—finals. officials said they had no choice in making this decision. as you can imagine, the decision to cancel the matches was not taken lightly. it has been made with the best interest of team, public, tournament and volunteer safety. that is our priority. based on expert advice and detailed information we have available. the risks are too challenging to enable us risks are too challenging to enable us to deliver a fair and consistent contingency approach for all teams and participants. and, importantly, to provide confidence in the safety of spectators. chrisjones is the bbc rugby union correspondent and was in that press conference where the announcement was made. everyone is extremely disappointed.

our weekend viewing has completely changed now. but as was said at the press c0 nfe re nce , changed now. but as was said at the press conference, safety must come first. absolutely. and this is important to keep in perspective. it is the biggest and most destructive if typhoon to hit this area in 2019 so there will be an effect on human life, not just on so there will be an effect on human life, notjust on rugby. and while it is highly disappointing for a tournament to lose two matches, we must also look at the bigger picture and hopefully from a rugby point of view, the games on sunday can go ahead. the typhoon will wreak havoc on saturday and it should pass through the area in time for sunday and we will then have to see whether there is any possibility that rugby can be played for the safety of all involved at a priority. two games are definitely off. sunday games are still in up near the organisers hope they can go ahead but we won't have a firm decision until we see the effect the typhoon course on sunday

morning. and presumably they are yet to say when the two cancelled matches may take place. no. they will not take place. they have been cancelled and will not be rearranged. this was laid out and even though the organisation will long and hard for a contingency plan, to see if they could move the game toa plan, to see if they could move the game to a different area ofjapan, if it could be delayed by 2448 hrs, thatis if it could be delayed by 2448 hrs, that is just not been practical. they have been determined to keep it consistent because if they can't rearrange one game and not the other. so those two matches will not ta ke other. so those two matches will not take place. england and france have qualified. so it is disappointing for italy but many would argue they probably would not have gotten through either way and would not have eaten new zealand. when it comes to pool c, the material impact has not been too keenly felt from that point of view but the game on saturday, on sunday, really, between scotla nd saturday, on sunday, really, between scotland and japan are so important

for the tournament and everybody wa nts for the tournament and everybody wants that want to go ahead because it does have a bearing on who qualifies from pool a. but we must keep stressing that safety comes first in the organisers will not do anything that puts people at risk on sunday. thank you very much, chris. that is our rugby correspondent covering that huge event for us. we will move onto the isms briefing shortly but in the meantime ijust wa nt to shortly but in the meantime ijust want to discuss some of the comments about the story we are unpacking. we are talking about the top doctor in the uk who suggest that more action needs to be taken to tackle childhood obesity. so taxing unhealthy food more and actually stopping, perhaps, eating on public transport. so we have been asking for what you think about this. we have many of you in touch. one person says the taxing cheap food to discourage poor people from purchasing cheap food seems to

ignore the basics of what it means to be poor. just make healthy food cheaper. another of your picked up on that point as well. grace says to bring down the price of healthier choices of food. that should be reduced. maybe that is a better idea. hello there. the week up until now has been standard with sunshine and showers, mostly showers across the west. but the story is turning more complicated now at the end of the week thanks to more complex weather fronts pushing on of the atlantic which could bring quite a band of rain in some places. thursday will be another breezy and windy day and we will start to see the first of these more complicated weather fronts pushing through later in the day. this is the low that has brought showers in last few days. new low will send a weather front across parts of the north—west into the afternoon. book we start thursday dry and bright with sunshine around. cloud tends to building from the west over all

areas and the weather front will bring rain in northern ireland and then push into scotland and parts of northern england. someone could be heavy and persistent leading to surface water and flooding problems across scotland. further south, cloud and a few showers in the west but also some dry weather we could see a high of 17 degrees in the south—east. and then through thursday night it stays blustery. further showers or even longer spells of rain across the north—west with signs of longer spells of rain starting to push into parts of england and wales by the end of the night. and also mile there. 12— 14 degrees in england and wales and nines and tens for scotland and northern ireland. nowhere is particularly cold. this weather front comes into play for friday and into the weekend, it looks like it will park itself along england and wales with a lot of rainfall. this is the picture for friday. a lot of cloud, outbreaks of rain through central portions of the uk. a lot of rain falling across the hills of

wales and into the north midlands and also the pete district in the southern pennines. there could be looking at 50—70 millimetres of rain falling in the wet spots in this will cause some problems. atrocious conditions on the road. the far south—east may see some brightness and mild to the south of the weather front. 18 degrees. 15 or 16 on the front. 18 degrees. 15 or 16 on the front. scotland and northern ireland with cooler air and the highs of 13 or 14 degrees. into the weekend, we must hold the set up with england and wales seeing more cloud and outbreaks of rain, some of which could be heavy and, again, because surface water flooding in could be heavy and, again, because surface waterflooding in places but further north scotland and northern ireland will be in the cool air with sunshine and showers, some of which may be heavy.

this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. tense times for global trade — as the us and china meet for talks — ahead of a new wave of tariffs next week. plus — billion—dollar breakdown. general motors faces its biggest labour dispute in more than a decade as a strike by $50,000 workers heads for a fourth week. and for financial markets there's only one story in town — the trade talks in washington — stock brokers worldwide will not be taking any coffee breaks as they try and profit from every