steve rosenberg, bbc news, southern russia.firmed that the director of the cia, mike pompeo, travelled to north korea last week to hold secret talks with the country's leader, kim jong—un. the meeting, the highest—level contact between the united states and north korea since 2000, took place after mr pompeo was nominated as us secretary of state, but he has still not been formally confirmed in that post. president trump says he plans to hold a face—to—face meeting kimjong—un in the coming months. the rate of inflation in the uk slowed last month, meaning an expected rise in interest rates could be delayed. experts say it is further evidence that the long squeeze on pay might be coming to an end. inflation as measured by the consumer prices index dropped from 2.7% in february, after recent rises, to 2.5% last month. that is the lowest rate in a year. wages have also risen, increasing at a rate similar to prices, by 2.8%. if the trend continues, it would confirm the pattern of rising wages and lower inflation. a man who deliberat

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. stay with us on bbc news.uld you like frogs‘ legs with that? these chefs are making the burger uniquely french. 55 years of hatred and rage, as theyjump up on the statue. this funeral became a massive demonstration of black power, the power to influence. today is about the promise of a bright future, a day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past. i think that picasso's works were beautiful, they were intelligent, and it's a sad loss to everybody who loves art. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: commemorations have been taking place in the united states to mark the assassination, 50 years ago, of the civil rights leader martin luther king. facebook has disclosed that the data of as many as 87 million people — many more than previously admitted — may have been misused by british—based political consultants. now, if anyone thought china would take donald trump's protectionist threats lying down, think again. beijing has announced huge tariffs against us products, day 3 of growing trade tension

from moscow, our correspondent steve rosenberg. the matinee in moscow seemed an odd choice.oud and clear — that russia is a military superpower and is determined to stand up to the west. when he took the stand, russia's foreign intelligence chief accused the british and american secret services of a grotesque provocation over the salisbury poisoning. the west, he said, was building a new iron curtain. translation: washington has become fixated with the fight against the nonexistent so—called russian threat. this has reached such an absurd level that it's possible to speak of a return to the dark days of the cold war. east west tension has been building for some time, but the diplomatic war over the nerve agent attack has deepened the divide. this is a situation that is really poisoning our relations, and this is something that we should jointly find an antidote to. the british are good at creating antidotes, aren't they? and what are the russians creating? chaos, says the west. moscow disagrees. the world according to moscow is a very different world from the one seen throug

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.uth—east london has been arrested on suspicion of murder, after a suspected burglar was fatally stabbed at his house. police are questioning the 78—year—old man about the incident, which happened shortly after midnight. from lewisham, our correspondent jessica parker reports. residents watch on as emergency crews attend to an injured man in the early hours of this morning. the 38—year—old, along with another man, is suspected of burgling a house nearby, but was stabbed after a struggle with a 78—year—old homeowner. the arrested pensioner has been named locally as richard osborne brooks. the neighbour who filmed the footage says she saw one suspect flee the scene in a van, leaving the other injured man behind. we ran over to him, and he wasjust staring at us going... and i knew he was going to go because his pupils. they were dilating. i thought he was going to go. and then the police turned up. a frightening experience? yeah, very. very. i'll not forget that, because he was staring rig

steve rosenberg is there. what is the latest response from the kremlin?s made its position crystal clear. it has belted out in today's edition of the russian government paper which said that russia reserves the right to shoot down planes and sink ships acting aggressively in syria. that sounds like a direct warning to the united states and allies not to launch a military strike on syria. are the russians bluffing ? military strike on syria. are the russians bluffing? is this simply bluster, empty sabre rattling? possibly, but to dismiss it as such is very risky. we're talking high—stakes is very risky. we're talking high—sta kes geopolitical poker. russia is a nuclear power which has been pursuing an increasingly aggressive foreign policy, and relations with the west have grown increasingly strained. one more thing i would add, neither moscow nor washington wants the war in syria to move into a war between russia and the united states, but the problem is when you have a surfeit of rhetoric and sabre rattling, as there is on both sides, and you add the def

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.uch a part the american landscape as the rocky mountains until their business empire started to crumble. the company's ceo said last week that it was fighting to survive after a merger with rival kmart failed to spark a turnaround. what's happened instead is a tale of an icon in decline, as mat morrison reports. advertisement: put an end to traffic fears, it's very easy to get to sears. sears' appliance spectacular. sears, where america shops for value. it was the american retailer for much of the 20th century, an amazon for its age, sears sold everything under the sun, from homegoods to actual houses. at one time, it was the world's largest retailer in terms of sales, profit and employees. largest retailer in terms of sales, it was the number — fourth employer in this company. starting as a mail—order watch company, sears branched out to brick and mortar stores — hundreds of them. the heyday of sears occurred right after world war two, that's a period of post—war optimism in this coun

leila nathoo, steve rosenberg, and jon sopel for us there.'s quickly round up some of the other main news for you. brazil's former president has until friday afternoon to turn himself into police and begin serving a i2—yearjail term for corruption. ajudge has ruled that luiz inacio lula da silva cannot stay free while he goes through further appeals. he is still hoping to register as a candidate and compete in october's presidential election from prison. he has long been favourite to win. a court in germany has released the ousted catalan leader carles puigdemont on bail, saying it cannot send him back to spain to face rebellion charges. it will still consider returning him to face corruption charges. spain accuses mr puigdemont of encouraging rebellion when he led catalonia's push for independence last year. president trump has denied knowing that his lawyer paid the pawn star stormy daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she says she had with mr trump in 2006. on board the presidentialjet air force one, mr trump also told j

steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.tical correspondent, alex forsyth, is in westminster. alex, after today's claims and counter claims, where do we stand? well, huw, what happened today on the domestic political front doesn't seem so the domestic political front doesn't seem so far to have dented the support the uk is getting from its western allies. it hasn't changed the government's position. it is still clear that in its view the only plausible explanation is russian involvement in this attack. until now the government has seemed pretty sure footed in the handling of this affair. we had the deleted tweet from the foreign office and state m e nts tweet from the foreign office and statements of clarity. it allowed labour to ask serious questions about boris johnson and labour to ask serious questions about borisjohnson and we've had strongly worded statements from the foreign secretary. jeremy corbyn‘s supporters are suggesting all of this validates his more cautious approach to the whole affair. it might not have dama

steve rosenberg, bbc news, southern russia.t the director of the cia mike pompeo travelled to north korea last week to hold secret talks with the country's leader, kim jong—un. the meeting — the highest—level contact between the united states and north korea since 2000 — took place after mr pompeo was nominated as us secretary of state. but he's still not been formally confirmed in that post, as our north america editor jon sopel reports. president trump is in florida, hosting the japanese prime minister, but it's one other country that concerning them most,‘s north korea and the plans for an improbable meeting between the us president and kim jong—un. are there lines of communication open? oh, yes, says the president. we've also started talking to north korea directly. we have had direct talks at very high levels, extremely high levels, with north korea and i really believe there is a lot of goodwill, a lot of good things are happening. we will see what happens. as i always say, we'll see what happens. but what no one knew or

steve rosenberg in moscow, thank you.palace says the duke of edinburgh has had a successful hip replacement operation today and is in good spirits. 96—year—old prince phillip is likely to remain in hospital for a number of days. our royal correspondent sarah campbell is at the king edward vii hospital in london. sophie, that is right. prince philip was admitted here yesterday. we were told it was for a planned operation on his hip. in the last hour, buckingham palace released a statement saying that it was indeed a hip replacement operation. the statement says that he is progressing satisfactorily and is co mforta ble progressing satisfactorily and is comfortable and in good spirits. prince philip retired from royal duties last august. but he was expected to attend and accompany the queen to three recent events. he did not appear. it subsequently emerged that he had been suffering with problems with his hip for the last month or so. hip replacements are a common procedure, more than 800 of them were carried out on people

steve, thank you, steve rosenberg in moscow. thank you too to leila nathoo in salisbury.rs have been arrested after an 18 year—old man was stabbed to death in east london last night. a 53—year—old man also died at a bookmaker‘s in london following reports of an assault. it brings the total number of murders in the capital to over 50 so far this year. the government says it's looking at new laws to deal with offensive and dangerous weapons. adina campbell reports. the latest victim of violent crime in london —18—year—old israel 0gunsola died last night after being stabbed in hackney. this is where his body was found, and other white tent with a police cordon, and other stark reminder of this week's violence in the capital. and just a couple of miles away, a man in his 50s also died last night after being assaulted. wake up, man. this stuff needs to end, seriously. like, i'm coming from someone who's actually felt that kind of pain. 23-year-old yolanda has posted this video on facebook. she personally knew some of this week's victims and has lost family and friends through

here's steve rosenberg again.n this geopolitical playground, britain says russia started it, russia says britain started. neither side seems prepared to finish it and ease the tension. donald trump has made it clear that he's opposed to legalising the status of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the united states as children. the so—called dreamers. fox & friends featured this debate, take a look. we need to get serious about this, we look at these people and have compassion, but it doesn't mean laws don't matter. that is where the left gets it wrong every time, they talk about humanitarianism, they talk about humanitarianism, they talk about being good people and gracious to these people, but they have to remember that laws matter and americans conversed in our own country. again, let me say, build that wall. the caravan they're talking about is a group of around 1000 people — mostly honduran migrants — travelling through mexico. they're thought to be in a big group to try to pro

our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg has this assessment of the kremlin‘s position.de its position crystal clear, really and spell that out in today's edition of the russian government paper which said this. russia reserves the right to shoot down planes and to sink ships that are aggressively in syria. that sounds like a direct warning to the united states and her allies do not launch a military strike on syria. are the russians bluffing? is this bluster? sabre rattling? possibly. but to dismiss it as such is risky. this is a high—stakes geopolitical poco. —— poker. russia is a nuclear power and one that has been pursuing an increasingly aggressive foreign policy and relations with the west have been growing increasingly strained. one more thing. of course neither moscow nor washington want the war in syria to morph into a war between russia and the united states. the problem is when you have a surfeit of rhetoric and sabre rattling as there is now on both sides and you add a deficit of trust, that is a very dangerous combination. for more on possible action in syri

journalist in moscow steve rosenberg he interviewed someone. who claims that he made novacek probably that that same portion that almost killed the screen falls in london but says in that interview you will never prove it well that's useful for the b.b.c. that you'll never prove it but somehow you spread it all over his hand when he made it and he just clicked it quickly poured it into some kind of this it i think it was it was basically sent hydrochloric acid and all impurity magically went away so the good thing is that i think it's hated with too but not again it is democracy or with democrats you have even different laws of came history than into toilet terry and societyis like the russian one under democracy chemistry doesn't walk because you get infested with a deadly nerve agent but you don't die and that's don't work because you know a bomb or said that russian economy is in tempus actually of the russian agriculture and food industry added up but since mass don't walk in a totalitarian society of course we all should believe obama ok y

our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg has this assessment of russia's reaction to the latest developmentsunited nations. here in moscow they saw the un security council meeting as an important platform for airing their views and for deflecting criticism and undermining britain's accusations. we've seen a russia doing a lot of that in recent days, publicly promoting its narrative that the russian state is the victim, not the perpetrator. certainly the view from moscow tonight is that the russians have the british authorities on the back foot. for example, they point to political infighting in the uk over salisbury and with all the conspiracy theories bubbling up originating here, certainly the feeling is that russia is determined to keep denying culpability. our correspondent in washington, chris buckler, has more on the significance of thursday's un security council meeting. moscow had called for this meeting because they wanted to take this opportunity not just to make threats but also to raise questions and fundamentally, plant doubts in the minds of other countries that russia was invo

our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, explains the kremlin‘s reaction. assad's biggest backer, the russians were never going to mince their words about a us—led strike on syria. that's why the words we have been hearing today in moscow have been so strong. we heard about vladimir putin talk about an act of aggression. unlawful, unacceptable, said sergei lavrov, the foreign minister. we heard a senior russian senator saying that america was acting like a school bully. so in this geopolitical school playground, there's lots of shouting and shadowboxing behind the bicycle sheds but crucially, it hasn't come to a fight between russia and america. neither want to go to war over syria and we know because the us ambassador in moscow said so today that before the strike, the two sides took measures to try to keep out of each other‘s way during the strike. of course, syria is a crowded theatre of war and the danger of this conflict spreading and growing still exists. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. a militant attack in the malian c

we'll get the latest from jon in washington shortly, but first steve rosenberg is in moscow.e might expect, strong reactions and rhetoric from there? yes, and since moscow is president asset's biggest backer, it's hardly surprising that the language coming out of moscow today has been tough and uncompromising. for example, vladimir putin described the us—led strike an act of aggression, unlawful and unacceptable said the prime minister, and we heard a senior russian senator accused america of behaving like a school bully. in the geopolitical school playground, lots of shouting and some shadow—boxing behind the bicycle sheds, but no fight yet between russia and america. neither wa nt to between russia and america. neither want to go to war, really, over syria. and we know, because the us ambassador to moscow said that they that, before the strike, both sides took measures to ensure that they stayed apart, but there was no clash. but for how long can this continue? when will the next situation arise which puts russia and america, two nuclear powers, on and america, two nuclear

un security council for its condemnation of those missile strikes. 0ur moscow correspondent, steve rosenbergeaction. since moscow is president assad's bigas bacca they were never going to miss their words about the us led strike on syria. that is why the words we have been hearing had been so words we have been hearing had been so strong. we had vladimir putin took about an act of aggression. we heard the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov saying it was unlawful, unacceptable. we heard a russian senator accusing america of behaving like a school bully. lots and lots of rhetoric but of course, no sign of any military response from moscow or any retaliation. neither want to go to war over syria. we know because the us ambassador in moscow centre today. before the stripy two sides took measures to try to keep out of each other‘s way during the strike —— before the strike. syria is a crowded theatre of war. the danger of this conflict spreading and growing, it still exists. us vice president mike pence has said that washington will not stand by idly as venezuela crumbles. speaking to leaders

in a moment, we'll get the view from the united nations, but first to steve rosenberg in moscow and whats saying. well, if donald trump's arim via twitter is to sow chaos and confusion about his intentions, that's working in moscow because the russians are completely confused. i was watching a live talkshow earlier on russian state television, when the news came in that president trump had tweeted that an attack on syria could happen very soon or not soon at all. and a bemused presenter looked into the camera and said one word in russian, which means incredible. also, a special communications link which had been set up before by the us and russian militaries to prevent an accidental clash between russia and america in syria, that that line was still functioning and still being used. that suggests that conversations are taking place behind the scenes to prevent a us military strike from sparking an accidental conflict between russia and the united states. it's the words of the russian ambassador that are reverberating at the united nations tonight, and his refusal to rule out the possibil

russia‘s perspective on the allied attack on targets in syria, here‘s our moscow correspondent, steve rosenbergt is not surprising that the language coming out of moscow was pretty harsh and uncompromising, so we heard vladimir putin talking about an act of aggression having been committed. we heard the foreign minister saying that this attack was basically on lawful and unacceptable. we had a senator saying that america was behaving like a bully at school. the language was very tough. a lot of rhetoric but what there was not was this military response from russia, there was not retaliation and in fa ct there was not retaliation and in fact the russians went out of their way make it clear that russian air defence systems in syria have not been used to target incoming missiles. it is clear that russia does not want to go to war with america over syria, but we were hearing about donald trump 0ther place red lights, the russians have read lines as well and moscow had made it clear, that if the lives of russian servicemen in syria were put in danger, then the russians would target us missiles and e

our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, explained just how deep the rhetoric was getting from thed's biggest backer, they were never going to mince their words about a us led strike on syria. that is why the words we have been hearing today have been strong. vladimir putin talking about an act of aggression. sergey lavrov said it was unacceptable. we had a senior russian is a saying that the us was acting like a school rulli. so in this geopolitical school playground there is a lot of shouting behind there is a lot of shouting behind the bicycle sheds, but crucially it has not come to a fight between russia and america —— bully. neither wa nt to russia and america —— bully. neither want to go to war over syria. and we know because the us ambassador in moscow said so today. before the strike two sides took measures to keep out of each other‘s weight during this strike. of course, syria isa during this strike. of course, syria is a crowded theatre of war. in the danger of this conflict spreading and growing, it still exists. stay with us on bbc news, or coming up stay with us on bbc

steve rosenberg in moscow and before that, jon sopel in washington. is a senior fellow with the center for global policy in washington. i asked him what the white house is weighing up when considering a response to the alleged chemical attack in douma. two broad situations that the trump administration is closely looking at in preparation for the air strikes. number one is, what will be russia's response? how will they deal with russia? number two, to finally calibrate between a symbolic air strike, like the one they did last april and avoiding going too far. those are the two issues which are centre stage in the thinking of the trump administration as they prepare to these air strikes. i just want to pick up on something interesting. the way you just spoke about it, in your mind, it seems as though it is a given that some form of air strike will happen. what are you basing that on? well, i mean, the administration has made no secret of its intentions to do that. it is just weighing up its various options in terms of the actual military operation of w

if chemical weapons are used again against innocent men, women and children. 0ur correspondent steve rosenbergw — i asked him how russia has reacted to the air strikes: with a good deal of anger. the language coming out of moscow today, putin said their strike was an act of aggression. we heard the russian foreign minister say it was unlawful and unexpected —— unacceptable. lots and unexpected —— unacceptable. lots and lots of rhetoric but of course, no sign of any military response from moscow and any retaliation. in fa ct, from moscow and any retaliation. in fact, the russians went out of their way to make the point that russian air defence systems had not been used to target incoming missiles and it is clear that russia does not wa nt to it is clear that russia does not want to go to war with america over syria just like america does not wa nt to syria just like america does not want to go to war with russia over syria. you can see the limited ambition and scope of the action that was taken. they was a debate over the past week in washington about how wide ranging and prolonged the attacks

in a moment, we'll get the view from the united nations, but first to steve rosenberg in moscow, andlin is saying. well, if donald trump's came via twitter is well, if donald trump's came via twitter is to well, if donald trump's came via twitter is to sow well, if donald trump's came via twitter is to sow chaos well, if donald trump's came via twitter is to sow chaos and confusion about his intentions, that is working in moscow because the russians are completely confused. i was watching a live clinical talkshow earlier on russian state television when the news came in that president trump had tweeted that president trump had tweeted that an attack on syria could happen very soon or not that an attack on syria could happen very soon or not soon and at bemused presenter looked into the camera and said that one russian word, which means incredible. also, an organisation that had been set up by the us and russian military is to prevent an accidental clash between russia and america in syria, that was still functioning and still being used. —— communications line. that suggests that con

let's cross to moscow to join our correspondent steve rosenberg.lot of angry statements coming from moscow to date but is it also mixed with some relief that the strikes were more limited than they could have been? i think so. more limited than they could have been? ithink so. it is more limited than they could have been? i think so. it is quite interesting. moscow is the biggest backer of president assad so it is not surprising that the language coming out of moscow was pretty hard and on, rising so we heard vladimir putin talking about maximum aggression having been committed, we heard foreign minister sergei lavrov saying that this was unlawful and unacceptable. we had a russian senators saying america was behaving like a bully at school. the language was very like a bully at school. the language was very tough. a lot of rhetoric but what there wasn't a chorus was a military response from russia, there wasn't a retaliation and in fact the russians went out of their way to make it clear that russian air defence systems in syria had not been used

for more on the reaction to the latest developments at the united nations, our correspondents steve rosenberg, leila nathoo in salisbury, and jon sopel in washington have this analysis. the russians had a straightforward agenda, where there was clear water, money, where there was clean air blow smoke. the russian ambassador used ridicule and sarcasm to pick holes in the british case and said where it was the evidence? he also portrayed russia as a victim in all of this. he said it was part of a conspiracy to discredit moscow. from the british ambassador it was a less the british ambassador it was a less the ethical performance. a recitation of the facts, if you like. russia has said it is not going to accept the conclusions, because they are not part of the investigating team, to which the british ambassador said that would be like asking an arsonist to investigate his own fire. the agenda for the russians can be summarised in two words today — so doubt. for the russians can be summarised in two words today - so doubt. here at an moscow they saw the un security council meeting as an important

our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, explained just how deep the rhetoric was getting from thein. moscow is the biggest backer of president assad so it is not surprising that the language coming out of moscow was pretty hard they were not going to mince their words. they have been so strong. vladimir putin was talking about an act of aggression, unlawful, unacceptable said sergei lavrov the own minister and a senior russian to said america was acting like a school bully. in this geopolitical school bully. in this geopolitical school playground there is lots of shouting and shadow—boxing behind the bicycle sheds but crucially it does not come to a fight between russia and america. neither want to go to war over syria and we know because the us ambassador in moscow said said today that before the strike the two sides took measures to try to keep out of each other‘s way during this strike. of course syria is a crowded theatre of war and the danger of this conflict spreading and growing still exists. the prime minister theresa may says the raids sent a clear signal that the use of

to get more on today's developments, we will talk in a moment to steve rosenberg in moscow, and to leilain salisbury, but first to our north america editorjon sopel in washington. it was a stormy session at the un? yes, and the russians have ready straightforward agenda, broadly, weather was clean water, muddy yet, when i was clean air, blow as much quantity of industrial smokers you can. the russian ambassador a mixture of sarcasm to pick holes in the case. he said, where was the evidence. he betrayed russia as a victim in this, part of the conspiracy to discredit moscow, he said. on the british ambassador it was a much less theatrical performance, a recitation of the fa cts , performance, a recitation of the facts, if you like, and she said she was happy to leave it to the office for the prohibition of chemical weapons to do their investigation. russia has said it's not going to accept the conclusions because they are not part of the investigating team, what to which the british ambassador said that would rather be like asking an arsonist to investigate his own fire. the agenda from th

and steve rosenberg in moscow, what is the feeling there, how worried are they about the increasing tensionsecisely because they are worried that we have been hearing all these accusations and strong words. you know, the phrase war of words. you know, the phrase war of words is something we hear very often to describe relations between russia and the west, but if you listen to the words russia has been using today, you can see just how wide the gulf is now between russia and the west. the words of the russian un ambassador today, claiming that america's irresponsible behaviour was unworthy ofa irresponsible behaviour was unworthy of a prominent member of the un security council. the words of the russian defence ministry, claiming that the alleged chemical weapons attack in syria was a provocation by britain. what if words are replaced by weapons? what if america and her allies launch an attack on syria? how will russia respond? moscow has made it clear that if the lives of russian servicemen in syria are put in danger, the russian military will target incoming missiles and launch sites. than

in a moment we'll speak to nick bryant in new york, but first to steve rosenberg in moscow.down where you are? well, if donald trump ‘s aim via twitter is to sow chaos and confusion about his intentions, that's working in moscow, because the russians are completely confused. i was watching a live political talk show earlier on russian state television, when the news came in that president trump and tweeted that an attack on syria could happen very soon, or not soon at all, and a bemused presenter looked into the camera and said one word in russian which means incredible. also today, the kremlin said that a special crisis communications link which had been set up before by the us and russian military is to prevent an accidental clash between russia and america in syria, that that line was still functioning, it was still being used, and that suggests that conversations are taking place behind the scenes to prevent a us military strike from sparking an accidental conflict between russia and the united states. nick, at the united nations in new york, the military are clearly sti

we‘ll get the latest from jon in washington shortly but first steve rosenberg is in moscow, and stevehe russians we re assad‘s biggest backer, the russians were never going to mince their words about a us—led strike on syria, that‘s why the words we‘ve been hearing today in moscow have been hearing today in moscow have been so strong. we heard vladimir putin talk about an act of aggression. unlawful and unacceptable said sergey lavrov. we heard a senior russian senators say america was acting like a school bully. in this geopolitical school playground, there is lots of shouting and shadow—boxing behind the bicycle sheds, but crucially it hasn‘t come to a fight between russia and america. neither want to go to war over syria. and we know because the us ambassador in moscow said so today, that before the strike the two sides took measures to try to keep out of each other‘s way during this strike. of course syria is a crowded theatre of war and the danger of this conflict spreading and growing, it still exists. thank you, steve. and jon from washington — is that it — is the operation ove

and our correspondent, steve rosenberg, is following developments in moscow. done to harm an already fragile situation. that is with the kremlin is saying but i think there are two main messages coming at a moscow. the first is that there was no chemical weapons attack by the syrian government and the reports of such an attack, moscow says, is a provocation in a fabrication by the syrian rebels. the second message is that, a warning, and wanted to donald trump, and wanted to america, and to the west, warning printed in russian government newspaper and went like this, russia reserves the right to shoot down planes and sink ships, active aggressively in syria. in other words, america, keep your new smart missiles to yourself. don't launch a strike on syria. moscow or washington do not want the war to spot a consultant to a war between russia and america, but the problem is when you have this surface of rattling and rhetoric on both sides, a complete deficit in trust, that is a very dangerous combination. a retired catholic priest has been jailed for nine years,

our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg has been explaining how the authorities there have reacted tos that british scientists have not said that the nerve agent, used in the salisbury attack , came from russia. the russians have seized on those comments by porton yesterday that was it was unable to verify the isis source of the nerve agent. the kremlin spokesman was quick to say that theresa may and boris johnson should apologise to moscow. —— unable to verify the source of the nerve agent. what we heard from russia today reminds me of the national symbol of this country, the double headed eagle, two heads looking into different directions. one of those heads was vladimir putin. he sounded conciliatory, talking about opening that common sense would prevail, not only in this case but in international relations generally. the other had, that belonged collectively to russia's top security chiefs. they launched a blistering attack today on britain and on the west, so we heard the head of russia's foreign intelligence service accusing the west opening up a new iron curtain and of starting

steve hall. also "new york times" matthew rosenberg. he and steve are cnn national security analysts. as well former trump campaign deputy communications director brian lands. steve, i want to start with you here. when you hear a kremlin-linked attorney acknowledge she is a russian government informant, what kind of light does it shed for you now on what that trump tower meeting was about? >> well, john, you have to be careful not to sort of impose our western rule of law view on this. there's a lot of titles, informant, things being thrown around. the fact of the matter is vladimir putin runs an autocracy. when vladimir putin says, i want something done, it gets done. it doesn't matter what your title is. what matters is when he looks around, who can he see to help him? so in this particular case he used the prosecutor general and said, do you have anybody you can send in to see whether there's an avenue here into the trump campaign? and sure enough, there was. i think if you step back and say, okay, what do we know for sure? we already know for sure the russian government was intent

steve liesman. >>> for more on the markets, let's bring in david rosenberg from luskin chef you heard what steve said. what do you think? >> look, i think that it's one thing to talk to the economists about down side macro risks to the gdp forecast but the equity market is always going to be susceptible to not just what earnings are going to be doing which is part of gdp but also the market multiple so that's really what we're seeing this year is reverse of last year. it wasn't really such an earnings story, it was a hope story imbedded in a point and a half increase in the market multiple and what is happening now, whether you're taking a look at -- it's not just about tariffs and trade. it's also about ballooning fiscal deficits which most people weren't talking about last year. we're expecting it to be a revenue neutral corporate tax reform plan. we end up getting mountains of deficits and tighter fed policies so all these things are really affecting. markets all at once. i'm not saying it's just the trade soide. there were a lot of stocks down that have nothing to do with trade. they're taking th

rosenberg, former u.s. attorney, former senior fbi official, now lucky for us an msnbc contributor. and steve schmidt is back with us today. courtney, let me start with you on your reporting, and i think this is a development since your story broke. i'm sure prompted by the incredible detail in this account. but i understand that the much now expulsion of russian diplomats didn't have anything to do with the number of russian diplomats in this country at all. the head count could very much remain the same. it seems like another data point in the picture you paste -- you paint of a very conflicted donald trump when it comes to russia policy and russia p.r. >> that's right. so he was presented last week with -- president trump was presented with three different options and he ended up going with the middle one, the one that was in the middle of a lighter option against vladimir putin and the one that was the harshest, and that included expelling the diplomats from the united states. what we found here was president trump has to be really pushed along when it comes to doing things -- when it com

steve rosenberg and jon sopel.ay and her ministers have gathered at a special cabinet meeting to discuss britain's response to events in syria.