the dutch foreign minister halbe zijlstra resigns after admitting he lied about a meeting with russia's president putin. braving the balkans winter. why hundreds of people arrive in serbia every month, their gateway to the european union. the eu's $16 billion problem. that's the hole that will be left in the 27—nation block after the uk leaves the union. so how are they going to fill it? i'll be speaking to paul hofheinz, the president of the brussels based think—tank the lisbon council. a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business, and sport. are and you can be part of the conversation. it's that time of year when thoughts turn to love and romance, as people celebrate valentine's day. is it something you mark or do you think it's over commercialised? tell us what you think, just use #bbcthebriefing. in her israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has confirmed that police are recommending that he be charged with corruption offences. they say there's evidence he gave bribes to get positive media coverage, and helped rich friends afte

today halbe zijlstra apologised and he said the netherlands describes a foreign minister who was beyondke of his political career. initially the dutch prime minister mark rutte had stuck by his man, saying minister mark rutte had stuck by his man, saying that although he shouldn't have claimed to have been somewhere he was the crux of his comments were true. and then a former shell executive e—mailed a dutch newspaper to say he had been at the meeting, which halbe zijlstra had not attended, and that actually these comments were made in an historical context. halbe zijlstra was supposed to be travelling to moscow this week to meet his russian counterpart, sergey lavrov, to discuss amongst other things the downing of flight mh17 which left 298 people dead, but his position despite his attempts to hang on by the political skin of his teeth clearly has become untenable and thatis clearly has become untenable and that is why we have now see them stand down as the netherlands foreign minister. thank you. stay with us on outside source — still to come... waging a war on waste — we'll take a lo

the dutch foreign minister halbe zijlstra resigns after admitting he lied about a meeting with russia'slkans winter. why hundreds of people arrive in serbia every month, their gateway to the european union. the eu's $16 billion problem. that's the hole that will be left in the 27—nation block after the uk leaves the union. so how are they going to fill it? i'll be speaking to paul hofheinz, the president of the brussels based think—tank the lisbon council.

halbe zijlstra had said he had heard mr putin outline expansionist ambitions.ormation was second hand, yet his source then later refuted the content. police in portugal have detained a man at lisbon‘s international airport accused of carrying one kilogram of cocaine in fake buttocks. it's reported the man was a brazilian citizen who'd arrived on a flight from belem, in northern brazil. police say the quantity of the drug seized would have been enough to make 5,000 individual doses. in south africa, the ruling african national congress has asked presidentjacob zuma to resign. the anc says he's agreed to stand down, but only after a transition period of three to six months which the party rejected. mr zuma has come under mounting pressure to leave his post, following a series of corruption scandals. 0ur africa editor fergal keane reports from johannesburg. not quite the night of the long knives, but still the party moving definitively to be rid of a defiant president. late last night the convoy of the anc leader cyril ramaphosa coming to tell his executive that a

a former shell executive e—mailed a dutch newspaper to say he had been at the meeting, which halbe zijlstra were made in an historical context. the russian embassy in the eight released a statement expressing frustration at what it described as unfounded claims —— —— in the hague. instead, his words have put pressure on the country ‘s relationship, and his own government. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the prince and the pony. harry and meghan markle meet one of the armed forces' smallest recruits — a royal marines mascot. there's mr mandela. mr nelson mandela, a free man, taking his first steps into a new south africa. iran's spiritual leader, ayatollah khomeini, has said he's passed a death sentence on salman rushdie, the british author of a book which many muslims say is blasphemous. the people of haiti have flocked to church to give thanks for the ousting of their former president, 'baby doc' duvalier. because of his considerable value as a stallion, shergar was kept in a special secure box in the stud farm's central block. shergar was driven away in a horse box the thieves ha