A spectacular war of words has broken out between donald trump and his former chief strategist steve bannon. Bannon is quoted in a new book accusing the president s son donald, jr of treason, for meeting during the Election Campaign with a group of russians whod promised him damaging material on hillary clinton. The president has responded that steve bannon had notjust lost his job at the white house he lost his mind as well. This from our north america correspondent peter bowes. They were once as thick as thieves. Steve bannon helped to shape the America First campaign that elected donald trump. In the white house he was a key player. He had the ear of the president. But his job as chief strategist was short lived and he returned to his previous position as the head of rightwing outlet breitbart news. He promised to be the president s wingman outside but this book reveals a different story. The most damaging claim is that steve bannon watched a meeting between donald trump junior and
The beginning of the year is a time for reflecting on the past and plotting a betterfuture. In britain, the focus is on where brexit is taking the nation. How will leaving the eu will affect the uks sense of itself and its International Standing . My guest is a distinguished political veteran, lord david owen, a former labour foreign secretary who tried and failed to change the face of british politics by launching a new party on the centre left. Does the uk currently have a clue where it is going . Lord owen, welcome to hardtalk. Nice to be here. Lets begin with brexit. 2018 must be the year a deal is done. An agreement reached between britain and the eu 27 on the shape of brexit. If it is not done this year, there will be no time to ratify it before 2019. Do you believe a deal will be done . It can be done and i think it will be done. I am more optimistic now that we have a transition period which many people called for and i think it is essential. Alighted immediately, you have, upo
Whipping across most of Northern Europe one el of a storm. Two people were killed in spain while a skier died in the french alps. The guardian front page leads with Windsor Council leaders demands that police use law to clear the area of Homeless People ahead of the Royal Wedding of prince harry and Meghan Markle. The Financial Times pages look at the rise of green car sales and how norway has become the first country in the world where more than half of all new cars sold are hybrid or electric. And, finally, the gulf news has some bad news for people with a sweet tooth it warns chocolate could be extinct by 2050 due to climate change. Cacao trees, which need heavy rainfall for growth, are under threat as rising temperatures is sucking moisture from the soils where the trees grow. Many of you i can hear are very concerned about that. With me is richard griffiths, who is Corporate Communications director at the global pr firm, ketchum. Am very worried. Lets start wit the i am very worri
Briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. And you can be part of the conversation. Tell us what you think. Just use the hashtag bbcthebriefing. Donald trump has abandoned his plans to visit britain next month. The us president had been expected to open the new American Embassy in london. British sources have expressed disappointment, but say other options are being looked at later in the year. Dan johnson reports. After nearly 60 years flying above Londons Grosvenor square, the stars and stripes were lowered this week ready for the opening of the new us embassy. It is a 1 billion building on the southbank, and donald trump was due to officially open it next month. Now, we know he wont. Some sources say the president did not wa nt to sources say the president did not want to be associated with 0bama period project, late and over budget. 0thers suggest he just didnt fancy the long journey. What about the so called special relationship . Theresa may was the
With the biggest gambling losses. A warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. And, as the likes of facebook, twitter, google are grilled about extreme content on their platforms, were asking how should these Companies Police the web, or should they be regulated . Join in the conversation, send your comments to hashtag bbc the briefing. The Catalan Parliament opens today for the First Time Since the regional separatist government was dismissed in october last year for attempting to break away from spain. Three separatist parties are now attempting to re form a Coalition Government following the snap elections in december. On the eve of the scheduled opening session, thousands of people attended a rally in barcelonas city centre in support ofjailed catalan separatists. Our europe reporter gavin lee reports from barcelona. The Catalan Parliament where the only official business for the last two months has been clearing the cobw