this is bbc news. the headlines at four. an ‘unprecedented solution‘ for the border between northern ireland and the republic after brexit, is promised by the government. donald trump faces criticism after again blaming both sides for violence in charlottesville — theresa may condemns the far right. i see no equivalence between those who compound fascist views and those who compound fascist views and those who oppose them. it is important for all of those in positions of responsibility to condemn far right views were ever we hear them. unemployment falls to the lowest level since 1975 — but real wages also drop. at least 600 people are still missing after the sierra leone mudlslide — the country's president says entire communities have been wiped out. robbers escape on mopeds after using hammers to smash displays in a central london jewellers. also — the royal navy's new flagship arrives home.

the 280 metre—long hms queen elizabeth — the navy‘s biggest ever warship — sails into her new berth in portsmouth. and, to bong or not to bong? mps will look again at plans to silence big ben for four years. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the government says there must be an "unprecedented solution" for the border between northern ireland and the republic after brexit, as it published its proposals on the future relationship with ireland. they've called for a "seamless" border, so that people and goods can continue to move across it

freely — and which protects the good friday agreement. the irish government says the paper is "timely and helpful", but critics say the plans lack credible detail. our ireland correspondent chris buckler reports. more than 300 miles, crossing fields, bridges, roads and rivers. there is a political dividing line on the island of ireland. but it is a border that cannot be seen and many want it to stay that way. soft toys and cushions are the latest protest against a hard brexit. they have been placed here between belcoo in northern ireland and blackline in the republic by people who don't want their towns divided by barriers once one is inside the eu and the other is outside. i crossed this border quite easily 15, 20 times a day, moving goods sometimes, sometimes just to manage staff, carry out, meet different people, whatever is involved in your daily work. if there's any sort of checks that slow that down or anything else, it is definitely going to create a lot of logistical difficulties.

customs posts were once a feature of the irish border. but these huts lie derelict now and the british government has made clear it wants them to stay that way. its position paper calls for no new buildings or barriers at the border. and repeats calls for a temporary customs union with the eu. followed by a deal that would avoid the need for customs checks for the billions of pounds in trade carried up and down these roads every year. as we look forward to brexit of course we do want to ensure that we do not see a return to the borders of the past. we do not see a return to a hard border and we are able to ensure that the crucial flow of goods and people between northern ireland and the republic of ireland is able to continue in the future. today's document also calls for the protection of the common travel area. which allows people to travel between the uk and ireland without passport control. crossing time today is two hours and 25 minutes. and the government says it has ruled out the idea of a customs border being placed between the islands

of ireland and britain as unconstitutional and not economically viable. this position paper repeats phrases that have been used by government ministers countless times in recent months. like "there should be no return to the borders of the past, there "should be a frictionless and seamless border. " but there remain real questions about how that can happen, particularly as some within the eu have described the idea of an invisible border as fantasy. i think it is important to say this, this is welcome today, we have more clarity than we had yesterday in relation to the british government approach towards brexit as it relates to northern ireland and ireland. but there are still unanswered questions. and we will be constructive, in terms of trying to find answers to those questions. but we will also be firm. there is a will to find solutions, because tied up with the politics and practicalities are concerns about the potential impact to peace

and prosperity at this, what is currently the softest of borders. chris buckler, bbc news. we can cross to westminster now and talk to our political correspondent alex forsyth. how does the government say it will maintain this frictionless border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland post brexit? lots of people in response to this paper are saying they want more detail. this paper in some ways was a response to those calls for more detail was at the government trying to provide some clarity on its thinking. there have been critics who claim they have been confused in not offering enough detail to this point. this is meant to be a finalised, technical blueprint. it would not be sensible to go into this with every aspect worked out. it is more about broad principles

and showing its commitment to the key ideas of no hard order and protecting the peace process, maintaining the common travel area. there are some ideas in this paper about how they might do that. when it comes to customs, they are talking about exempting small and medium businesses from the customs regime, which means they would be no checks. they are talking about a trusted trader status for bigger companies. when it comes to food standards, they are suggesting that the uk could align with the food and agricultural standards of the eu. all of this comes with its own set of questions. if the uk were to adopt the eu food standards, would it stop it going off and doing trade deals with other countries like the us, which does not necessarily comply with the uk's food standards? also immigration. the paper says there should be no new border checks for people travelling from the republic to northern ireland and

potentially from the eu to the uk customer had as it marry with the new system ? customer had as it marry with the new system? more detail in the autumn. part of the problem is, when you get a paper on an individual aspect of brexit policy, it quite often these bigger questions. will it require the response from the eu that the uk government says is required to make this work? the use of the word unprecedented as interesting in its own right. the uk is the first country to lead the european union and, specifically when it comes to the northern ireland and republic of ireland order question, there are specific considerations. the uk is saying we need to be creative in thinking about ways to try to manage the border. what they are keen to address if they are in the same place as the european union about the big thoughts behind it and that

is trying to keep it as frictionless and visible as possible by making that a priority. they say they are prepared to go some way to do so. from the other side there will be plenty across the european union saying if the uk does one frictionless trade, does not won any borders, but if the uk wants to lead the customs union and the single market, there is likely to be a price that the uk wants to pay. —— leave the customs union. donald trump is facing a fresh wave of criticism after he again blamed both sides for the violence in charlottesville, virginia, which left one protester dead and others injured. in a carefully scripted statement on monday, he had condemned white supremacists and far right groups. but last night he said left—wing protestors were also to blame. richard galpin reports. this was the biggest protest by white supremacists, including the ku klux klan, in a decade. it soon turned into a violent confrontation with those opposed to them.

an antiracism campaigner was killed. since then, donald trump, whose supporters include members of the far right, has caused further outrage, first arguing both sides are equally responsible for the violence, and then, two days later, after coming under pressure, finally condemning the white supremacists. last night, at yet another news conference, he was asked why he had waited so long. i wanted to make sure, unlike most politicians, that what i said was correct. not make a quick statement. the statement i made on saturday, the first statement, was a fine statement. honestly, if the press were not fake and if it was honest, the press would have said what i said was very nice. unlike you... excuse me, unlike you and unlike the media, before i make a statement, i like to know the facts. the president then repeated his much criticised statement, that responsibility for the violence in charlottesville also lay with

those protesting against the far right extremists. i watched those much more closely than you people watched it and you had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent, and nobody wants to say that but i will say it right now. do you think that what you call the alt—left is the same as neo—nazis? all those people... excuse me, i have condemned neo—nazis. i have condemned many different groups. but not all of those people were neo—nazis, believe me. not all those people were white supremacists, by any stretch. all this is sparking more condemnation. senior republican politician paul ryan tweeted... but from the white supremacists who had been at the protests,

a very different response — praise for what the former leader of the ku klux klan described as "mr trump's honesty and courage to tell the truth "about charlottesville." well, this is what the prime minister theresa may had to say about the violence in charlottesville. following the horrendous scenes we saw in cha rlottesville, following the horrendous scenes we saw in charlottesville, i absolutely appalled the racism, the hatred and the violence we have seen portrayed by these groups. the united kingdom has taken action to ban far wide groups here. there is no equivalence. i see no equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them. i think it is important for all of those in positions of responsibility to condemn far right views were ever

we hear them. jeremy corbyn has given his reaction to the comments of donald trump and theissue to the comments of donald trump and the issue of northern ireland. there seems to be a lot of questions u na nswered seems to be a lot of questions unanswered in leaving the european union. there will be a problem. no one wants a hard border between northern ireland and the republic. we certainly don't i hope they can now be negotiations to make sure there is a continuation of absolute free movement between the republic and northern ireland. the government says it is committed to that. with labour face the same position question what you have not committed to staying in the customs union. 0nce to staying in the customs union. once you leave, all of the problems. what we have committed serious tariff free trade. we have committed toa tariff free trade. we have committed to a close economic relationship with them at this stage in negotiations you cannot rule anything in or out. in which case,

knowing or out, there could be a ha rd knowing or out, there could be a hard border between northern ireland and the republic? no, we are quite clear. there must be no hard border. there never has been a hard, physical border although there have been controls in the past. no one wa nts to been controls in the past. no one wants to see return to that. we have discussed these issues at length. the point was made that the northern ireland peace process was an historic achievement and must not be undermined. is set achievable outside of the customs union? we will have to make it achievable. donald trump, in his latest press conference cracking initially said there were faults on both sides. he then condemned the far right protesters in virginia. he has now said once again he believes there we re said once again he believes there were faults on both sides and

condemned the violence of left—wing protesters. would you say to his current statement about this? what happened was, a group of far right people turned up in the town, in charlottesville, people turned up in the town, in cha rlottesville, ku people turned up in the town, in charlottesville, ku klux klan supporters. white supremacists in order to cause trouble. a group of people objected to their presence. there was no equivalence between both sides. i think everyone has to condemn the whole idea you can have a return to white supremacist rule anywhere in the united states. what was the civil rights movement all about question what is the life of martin luther king is all about? what was the achievements of the kennedy administration all about and thejohnson kennedy administration all about and the johnson administration in bringing about the civil rights act? there can be no return to the days ofjim crow. eye—macro what does the latest set of statements by donald trump say about his fitness to get a state visit to the uk? i don't think

there is a state visit any time soon coming along. i think when racism raises its head, in any place, any form, anywhere, it is up to all the last two condemn it and call out for what it is. west midlands police have arrested the brother of the man already arrested in connection with the kidnapping of the model chloe ayling. michal konrad herba will appear at westminster magistrates court tomorrow. here is the brother of the man being held by italian police. the government has said it does not wa nt the government has said it does not want any border post between northern ireland and the republic of ireland of its new position paper on brexit. donald trump faces criticism from within his own party after one small blaming both sides for violence in charlottesville during which one person was killed. unemployment in the uk fell by

57,000 in the three months tojune, official figures 57,000 in the three months tojune, officialfigures show, bringing 57,000 in the three months tojune, official figures show, bringing the jobless rate down to 4.4%. real wages have also fallen. celtic are bidding to breach the group stages of the champions league tonight as brendan rodgers side play astana in the qualifying leg at celtic park. they knocked the kazakhstan on champions out in qualifying last season. champions out in qualifying last season. in cricket, mark stamen is the only change to the cricket team to face the west indies in the first day/ night test at edgbaston tomorrow for that jay pavey wants to defend her european 10,000 metres title in a month before her 45th birthday she missed the world championship ‘s in london through injury but says she has no plans to retire. more on those stories just after half past. the number of people out of work is now its lowest since 1975. uk unemployment fell slightly in the three months tojune — bringing the jobless rate

down to 4.4%. the office for national statistics also reported a slight rise in average earnings. but there was a slowdown in the number of foreign—born workers joining the british workforce. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. for eight years, the british economy has been a job creation machine, and today's figures show little sign that it is slowing down. low unemployment means a tight labour market, meaning it is harderfor companies like this motorcycle manufacturer in donington to get the staff they need, especially those with the right skills. the upside for workers is that pay rises may improve, as they have slightly in the second quarter of the year. the downside is that companies with big order books cannot grow as fast as they like. at the moment, we cannot drive the growth as fast as we are able not because of finance, or orders, but people. it is frustrating that we cannot get the skilled staff to come in and take advantage of the orders

that we have and prototype design work for the next orders. very low unemployment makes economists worry that workers will bid up their pay, and wage inflation. so far, that view is far from being realised. we hope that means that we can run this economy permanently with lower unemployment, and let's hope unemployment keeps falling, which i think it will, until wage inflation starts picking up. in a sense, that is healthy, but it has mystified us economists. today's figures tell us something interesting about the supply of workers from abroad. over the last 20 years, this line shows you the number of workers from abroad from outside the eu. the blue line is the number of workers from within the eu, so it has sharply increased over the last seven years. have a look at this number, the increase in non—uk nationals working here. in the first quarter, it was up. in the second quarter of the year, it was up by much less. that is a sharp slowdown.

until the financial crisis, investment in skills and machinery meant that each year, each worker could produce more per hour. that growth in productivity meant companies could afford bigger pay rises. but today, we learn that productivity fell again for the second quarter in a row. inflation beating pay rises may take some time to return. let's go back now to the condemnation of the comments by donald trump at a news conference in which he blamed both sides for the violence in charlottesville over the weekend. i am joined violence in charlottesville over the weekend. iamjoined by violence in charlottesville over the weekend. i am joined by a senior fellow at the policy centre and the

senior contributor for the web magazine, the federalist. welcome to both of you. thank you forjoining us both of you. thank you forjoining us here at bbc news. if i can begin with you first of all. were you surprised that donald trump repeated what he had been criticised for in the first instance, namely comparing 01’ the first instance, namely comparing or drawing and equivalence between the far right protesters in cha rlottesville the far right protesters in charlottesville and those who were opposing that protest?|j charlottesville and those who were opposing that protest? i was not surprised at all. donald trump is donald trump. what you saw on monday when the words were more measured looked like a hostage video. what you saw yesterday was donald trump and plugged. a person of deep moral confusion. at first. it did not surprise me at all. the thing that general kelly, the chief of staff,

and of ru na round general kelly, the chief of staff, and of runaround donald trump is learning something should have learned a long time ago for the best man is uncontrollable and uncontainable. he is transgressive personality. they can try as they might to keep him contained but it won't work because ultimately historic and ugly sentiments and passions and heart come out. let me bring in dc for that you were shaking your head when you heard people say this was donald trump unplugged. he does have a reputation for his advisors telling them this is what you ought to take as he goes off message and says his own thing. it really does not matter. i would like to talk about his response to the events that happen. what does the events that happen. what does the matter is, just to be clear? let me tell you what happened. you have neo—nazis protesting in charlottesville. neo—nazis protesting in cha rlottesville. a very neo—nazis protesting in charlottesville. a very bad, nasty gi’oup charlottesville. a very bad, nasty group and they are evil was that they knew had another group showing

up they knew had another group showing up called the antifascist. they have been around for decades was that they came with masks and clubs and violently attacked the neo—nazis. both very bad groups commit both with a history of violence. both have been going at each other since the 1920s. we are talking about brownshirts and red shirts going at each other. two very violent groups. if you know anything about the antifascist group and you're honest with yourself, they are everywhere. they are in europe, russia, the uk. they are in europe, russia, the uk. they are in europe, russia, the uk. they are of violent group that say they stand for something good but use violent means to get across their message. these two groups were in cha rlottesville their message. these two groups were in charlottesville for that they have nothing to do with donald trump 01’ have nothing to do with donald trump or the conservatives or gop. they we re or the conservatives or gop. they were fighting for decades. donald trump comes out and says, i condemn the violence of both these groups. 0h, the violence of both these groups. oh, the horror of that! aghast. he

is horrible. he condemned the violence that was happening with two groups on both sides. then he came back and clarified who the two groups were. neo—nazis on the other side. they don't want to hear the truth. the outrage, ifi may side. they don't want to hear the truth. the outrage, if i may ask you, was because it was the far right protesters who had brought guns, who had made denigrating comments againstjewish people are black people, one of their number who drove the car into the crowd killing one of the protesters on the opposite side. the outrage has come, i guess, because donald trump seemed to be laying the blame equally on both sides, whereas the majority of people, it does seem, the majority people, it does seem, the majority people it does seem are blaming the kkk, the white supremacists. people it does seem are blaming the kkk, the white supremacistslj people it does seem are blaming the kkk, the white supremacists. i am sorry. i am kkk, the white supremacists. i am sorry. iam not kkk, the white supremacists. i am sorry. i am not going to let you do that. there are two groups who are

fighting each other and they are both to blame. the neo—nazis were saying a whole bunch of nasty stuff. we all know they are horrible. in america we have is free speech was that that means you have to put up with people saying awful things. —— we have free speech. we do have free speech here in england as well. she says, in england, you have free speech and have to put up the people saying awful things. what is your response? of course we have free speech was that he was primarily responsible? 0ne speech was that he was primarily responsible? one thing she has not said in all of this talk about moral equivalence, she has failed to point out the one person who died in this incident was killed by though white nationalists and racists. that goes on commented upon. the other thing you have to keep in mind is this thing was organised by neo—nazis and white supremacists and was meant to provoke passions, hate and anger and they got what they wanted. the point

about donald trump. you know full well, as does everyone defending him, if he had been a person of the muslim faith committing this crime can he would have torched them immediately. they would not have been any moral equivalence. this is a man whose entire political history has been based in large part on stoking racial hatred and racial sentiment. he began his political career sentiment. he began his political career with a racial lie which barack 0bama was not born in this country, on his birth certificate. he was morally ambiguous. he is now. this is a dark moment. to see these people on the right feel so compelled, so morally compelled to try to defend donald trump and push the argument about moral equivalence tells you how much donald trump is dragging people down and destroying

their moral sensibilities. it is a sad thing to say. with the passage of time they will rue the day that they did this. if i can ask you... you are angry at the criticism levelled against president trump. when seniorfigures levelled against president trump. when senior figures within donald trump's republican party are criticising him, when the former leader of the ku klux klan is praising the president's courage and honesty, in his words, to tell the truth about charlottesville, isn't something off kilter? surely, the american president as to rise above all of this, to be truly american, to be presidential. if people within his own party are criticising him, isn't he doing something wrong?” his own party are criticising him, isn't he doing something wrong? i am not angry because you are criticising the president. i'm angry because the truth is not being told. i hear because the truth is not being told. iheara because the truth is not being told. i hear a lot of propaganda and a lot

of —— and not the truth and that makes me angry. people in the republican party have been at donald trump since the beginning. there has been a war. we have reported that. we have been reporting from the start. there are people who despise donald trump and jump on every single thing to do digital input that there is a war going on within the republican party. it should not surprise you that some republicans come out and condemn him. republicans are scared to death of being labelled a racist. right now, when i get off this programme i will be called a racist sympathiser or neo—nazi because i'm trying to give the truth about two violent sides clashed in cha rlottesville the truth about two violent sides clashed in charlottesville for the lack is all i am doing put be called a racist. republicans do not want to be called that, so they will run as far away from it as possible. as far

as the kkk saying, well done for what the president said. hillary clinton was praised byjihadists. is she responsible for the fact that man went to vote for her? the black panthers supported ba rack man went to vote for her? the black panthers supported barack 0bama. let me allow people to come in in response to that and then i will come back to you. the reason that all the white nationalists are thrilled with what donald trump said is because they got what they wanted, which was they have been emboldened and helped. they know and donald trump knows it. as i said, this is going on within a particular context, which is donald trump has been stoking the embers of racism throughout his campaign. this is not ha rd throughout his campaign. this is not hard for that you have the white nationalists thrilled with donald trump and the republicans who have an investment in donald trump succeeding and criticising him for w

haveis succeeding and criticising him for w have is a small pockets of people, for reasons that are hard to discern, who feel compelled defend donald trump. the moral equivalence argument isa donald trump. the moral equivalence argument is a moral defence. in this particular case, given the facts and circumstances, given the people who kill the innocent woman, which again that trump supporters seem very resistant and reluctant to mention. it tells you the state of the american right. it is not a pretty sight. ijust american right. it is not a pretty sight. i just want to let american right. it is not a pretty sight. ijust want to let both of you here stamen which has just come in from former president george hw bush and george w bush was that they say this... america must always reject racial bigotry to anti—semitism and hatred in all forms. as we pray for cha rlottesville forms. as we pray for charlottesville we are reminded of the fundamental truth recorded by that city bus map those prominent city in the declaration of independence. we are all created equal. we know these truths to be

everlasting because we have seen the decency and greatness of our country. it is pretty unusual to have not won a crib at two former presidents come and make a statement about the situation in charlottesville. —— one but two former presidents. it seems to be in contrast to the sort of thing in that donald trump has made in which he had accused, once again, the news media of peddling fake reports. it is not unusual for these two presidents to come out and speak out against donald trump, because they did that during the election. there isa war did that during the election. there is a war that is continuing through the republican party. 0n on that point, if i may ask you, they have a republican president in they have a republican president in the white house. they have control of both houses of congress, surely they do want him to succeed because

they do want him to succeed because they want republican laws to get through congress, but that is not happening and isn't the common factor their donald trump? you are not understanding the two factions within the republican party that have been at war with each other since back to the t party. you need to understand that war to understand what the republicans are doing right now. you are not speaking about the opposing group here. why argue speaking about the anti—fascists that were attacking? we need to have free speech. part of that is not bowing to the totalitarian regime, which is what the counter protesters have been representing. they have been fighting for years even before donald trump came on the scene. these two groups been fighting even before donald trump came on the same but this is his fault. he stands up

for border control and the immigration laws, but he has been called a racist for that. if there was so much encouragement for donald trump from the neo— nasties nazis, why didn't we see this going on during barack 0bama's eight years? let me put that to our other guests. do you think donald trump's presidency is bald men in white supremacy and you think we will see more of a push from the branch of the republican party which pc has been saying has been out to get him from the start? have caught the white supremacists have been

emboldened. they have as president thatis emboldened. they have as president that is giving them support. in terms of whether the republican party will get rid of donald trump, not unless there is compelling evidence to do so. and may well be but we will have to let the investigation go forward. i want to go back to the statement from the two former presidents. pc has been factually wrong on a number of things here. george w bush didn't speak out against donald trump during the campaign. he has been known to be quiet with barack 0bama and donald trump. for these two men toissue and donald trump. for these two men to issue the statement tells you something. it is in contradistinction to what donald trump said. what the two former

presidents have said, and they worked in the white house, they are both honourable men and i wish we had somebody in the white house today like that. we need to make a way to this difficult and ugly moment. we will have to leave it there. thank you both very much for your time today. some breaking news coming in. sarah champion has offered to resign from her role as shadow secretary of state for women and qualities. jeremy corbyn has accepted the resignation. this follows what calls her extremely bad choice of words in an article in the sun newspaper on friday. let's crossed in westminster and talk to our political correspondence, emma va rdy. and talk to our political correspondence, emma vardy. sarah champion received criticism from this article that she had written in the sun. it came following her

reaction to the conviction of a group of men in newcastle for grooming and abusing young girls. she made a number of comments following vacuous. this article that she wrote in the sun but she talked about british pakistani men drew a number of criticisms and she began to try to defend those comments. she has distanced herself from that article, saying it had been edited and stripped of nuance. that right has intensified and we have heard that she is offered to resign from her role as shadow secretary of state. in a statement she said i apologise for the offence caused by the extremely bad choice of words in the extremely bad choice of words in the sun article on friday. i'm concerned that my continued position in the shadow cabinet would distract from the issue such as child protection, which i have campaigned

on. it is with regret i tender resignation as shadow secretary of state. there has been discussion around some cases where there has been that of the people have been afraid to speak out because they would deemed to be saying something was politically incorrect. it seems that she has fallen foul of all of this. yes, this is exactly the point she was trying to address. following a succession of cases, grooming cases, where men of british pakistani origin have been convicted of grooming and abusing young girls, this has been a subject that a number of politicians, number of authority figures have addressed, that it had to be done very sensitively. a number of people have

made the point and criticise the police and social services for saying that race became a barrier to seeking truth. she is not the only person to have talked about this subject, but the terms on which she did so were particularly strong. some people felt they were particularly distasteful in the sun and that is what has left of this. she did try to say that her comments in the sun were taken out of context and did not provide the details she would have liked. nonetheless, it has done enough to upset people to the point that she felt she had to resign and has apologised in her statement for doing so. emma, thank you. now the sport. celtic are bidding to reach the group stages

of the champions league, when they host astana in their first leg qualifier tonight. brendan rodgers' side knocked the kazakhstan champions out in qualifying last season and are on a great run, unbeaten in 50 games domestically and are just two games away from another lucrative place in the group stage of europe's premier club competition. if you think too much of the consequence of that then, of course, you may not sleep and you may not eat, but you have to approach it as if it is another game. there is a huge consequence on the game, but the only way you can get through it is by staying focused. stay really very much in the present, which is what we have to do. arsenal manager arsene wenger says the club haven't made any progress yet on a new contract for alexis sanchez. the chile international, who has less than a year to go on his contract, has been linked with a move away from the club. however, wenger insists sanchez is not for sale and wants him to see out his current deal, even if that means he walks away for free at the end of the season. we have to make a choice between

efficiency on the field and financial interests and most of the time you can find a good compromise it is better, but in this case i think i prioritise the fact that he will be useful on the sporting side. stoke have signed spanish striker jese rodriguez on a season—long loan from paris saint—germain. a two—time champions league winner with real madrid, jese failed to establish himself in paris and spent the second half of the season on loan at las palmas. the ligue 1 side have left the option open for a return and haven't included a clause to make the move permanent once the loan spell is over. the 2a year—old is stoke's sixth signing of the season and will replace fellow spaniard joselu, who agreed a deal to join newcastle earlier today. england captainjoe root has confirmed that toby roland—jones will keep his place in the england side for the first test against west indies which begins at edgbaston tomorrow.

chris woakes is sidelined with a side strain and mason crane also misses out. 0pening batsman mark stoneman will make his england debut replacing keatonjennings for the historic day—night test. captainjoe root has been talking about playing under the lights for the first time in the uk. it is happening across the world. obviously, it gets a lot darker elsewhere. that might not have as much of an impact as early as it did in australia with the light being around longer. obviously, the temperature being slightly different as well, whether the ball performs slightly differently. but it is interesting. it's great that we are giving it an opportunity to work here in england and it will be interesting to see how it is viewed from fans across the country. kei nishikori has become the latest leading tennis player to announce he will miss the rest of the season because of injury. the world number nine withdrew from this week's masters event in cincinnati with a wrist problem and scans have revealed a tear in one of the tendons.

he joins novak djokovic and stan wawrinka in sitting out the rest of the year. jo pavey says she's looking to defend her ten thousand metre title at the european championships in germany next year, just a month before her 45th birthday. pavey became the oldest woman to claim european gold when she won in zurich three years ago, aged a0. the british five—time 0lympian missed the athletics world championships in london with a heel injury and has ruled out competing at the commonwealth games in australia next year, but pavey insists she has no plans to retire. that's all sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. the government has been outlining its hopes for a post—brexit border between northern ireland and the republic through which people and goods can move freely. the prime minister said she wanted to see no return to security

the government's proposals promise to uphold the good friday agreement in full and to maintain the common travel area, which allows irish and uk citizens in ireland to travel freely, but the determination to avoid a hard border after brexit is at the heart of the matter. that's because when brexit happens, the uk will suddenly have a major land border with the eu. here it is, between northern ireland and the republic of ireland, running for 310 miles. during the troubles, with tensions on the border there were just 20 official crossings between northern ireland and the republic. the british army shut down, spiked or cratered the rest. but following the good friday agreement, there has been considerable change and now there are more than 260 public roads that cross the border. the centre for cross border studies has estimated that between 23 and 30,000 people cross the border daily for work. while, each month, around 170,000 lorries and 1.85 million cars are recorded crossing the border, which means that every year 31% of northern ireland's exports go to the republic, and 27% of its imports come from the republic. so there's a lot at stake. delays could lead to huge costs

for business, plus there's the risk of tax evasion and various types of smuggling, both of goods and people. but above and beyond that, there are massive political issues. creating any kind of hard border would be incredibly sensitive politically and could do serious damage to the peace process. so what are the possible solutions? remember, in an ideal world for the uk government there would still be no customs border at all, even after brexit. but if the eu won't agree to that, part of the proposal argues for a wide—ranging exemption under which small and medium—sized businesses will not have to comply with any new customs tariffs, along with a new pre—cleared ‘trusted trader‘ arrangement for larger companies. at least 600 people are still believed to be missing after a mudslide engulfed dozens of homes on the outskirts of the capital of sierra leone, freetown.

the country‘s president has declared seven days of mourning and said entire communities have been wiped out. the united nations is preparing to deal with the outbreak of diseases such as cholera and typhoid. martin patience sent this update from freetown. the families of those that have been buried by the mudslide have gathered here at the main mortuary in freetown. since we‘ve been here, a fleet of ambulances have arrived. the stench of corpses is overpowering. workers in the mortuary say there are too many bodies, they need to bury them as quickly as possible. there‘s concerns about a possible outbreak of typhoid or cholera. there is a real sense of grief as well as tension. people want more to be done. they feel that the authorities haven‘t been quick enough in terms of the rescue operation. this is a nation in mourning. they‘ve declared a week of national mourning here in sierra leone. there has been a lot of criticism of the authorities because many families believe that this was a preventable disaster.

police are investigating a robbery at the tools, the jewellers this morning. in footage, at the tools, the jewellers this morning. infootage, smoke at the tools, the jewellers this morning. in footage, smoke can be seen emerging from the shop before the thieves make off on mopeds. poodles, which specialises in diamonds, says no one was hurt the robbery. house of commons authorities say they‘ll look again at plans to silence the bongs of big ben for four years. the bell is to be dismantled — except for special occasions — to allow repairs to the surrounding elizabeth tower. parliament said it had to protect workers carrying out the renovations. but theresa may said "it can‘t be right" that the famous bongs will not be heard again until 2021.

0ur political correspondent, leila nathoo, has more. there seems to be two reasons why the bells will not ring. 0ne there seems to be two reasons why the bells will not ring. one is that the bells will not ring. one is that the clock mechanism needs repairs and attention. they will be dismantled and ta ken and attention. they will be dismantled and taken away from restoration and cleaning. the whole tower itself does need some renovation and improvement. the idea that the workmen carrying out the retina —— carrying ) versions can‘t be subjected to the regular ringing. they will be able to put the mechanisms back together for certain special occasions, for things like new year‘s eve and remembrance sunday. the commons authorities are insisting it is not practical to keep putting it together and taking it apart keep putting it together and taking itapart again. keep putting it together and taking it apart again. some mps after digesting why can‘t theyjust bring in the evenings once the workers are finished, but the commons authorities saying that is not a workable solution. the idea is to

perhaps my review the four—year period initially planned. in a moment, a look at how the financial markets in europe closed the day, but first, the headlines on bbc news. the government has said it does not want any border posts between northern ireland and the republic of ireland in its new position paper on brexit. donald trump faces criticism from within his own party after once more blaming both sides for violence in cha rlottesville, during which one person was killed. unemployment in the uk fell by 57,000 in the three months to june, official figures show, bringing the jobless rate down to 4.4%, but real wages have also fallen. hello. now a look at how the markets in europe have ended the trading session. it has been a mixed couple of days for global markets. we saw falls when tensions over north korea were high, gains as those concerns eased. today, us markets are waiting for the latest federal reserve meeting minutes. in europe, there‘s growing optimism

over the region‘s economy. in the uk today, figures showed that wages are growing at 2.1%, about 0.5% slower than prices are rising. that means consumers continue to be squeezed, but actually that 2.1% figure was slightly better than expected and unemployment fell again, by another 57,000 in the three months to june. those figures gave a bit of a boost to sterling on the currency markets today after it fell on the back of the inflation figures yesterday. looking at companies, it was a tough trading day for admiral. shares are down around 5% despite pre—tax profits rising 2% to £193 million in the six months to the end ofjune 2017. customer numbers were up, but the insurer said the rising cost of personal injury claims hit profits. 0n the flip side, it was a good day for uk construction

firm balfour beatty. its shares are up 5% after a strong set of results implied its turnaround plans are on track. let‘s get more on this from michael hewson, chief market analyst at cmc markets. starting with balfour beatty, where had they been going wrong and does their success reflect on the wider uk construction market? good evening. i think of this was a template for a turnaround plan, then i would suggest that progress is fairly good. what temp have been focusing on is getting rid of the low margin business, getting rid of their non—core assets in indonesia and the middle east and focusing on higher margin work, so anything that has a higher margin work, so anything that hasa margin higher margin work, so anything that has a margin of between 3% up to 5%. asa has a margin of between 3% up to 5%. as a template, it is something that

carillon could well take a look at. if you were called two years ago, balfour beatty fought off a takeover approach from carillon, and look where carillon are now. wage growth is still inflation, why is that?l couple of factors at play here. wage growth is better than it was, but there is a factor of labour costs thatis there is a factor of labour costs that is coming into this particular equation. wage growth is being held under the fact that it is costing employers more to take on people because of this pension provision, this auto enrolment from the automated pension enrolment. that is adding between 1% and 2% a year to each employer‘s costs. that means there is less money available for increasing wages. so although average earnings are writing beneath inflation, the cost to employers is

rising 1% up to 2% a year per employee per year. let's talk about the insurance company admiral. they are having to pay more for personal injury claims. why is that and is just inevitable that we will end up covering those costs in our premiums? yes, it is inevitable we will pay more. this is as a result of changes to the way in which personal injury claims are calculated. in the past, for every £1000 in compensation for the insurance companies have to pay £975 of that. under these changes, they to pay £1007 50. their costs are going up £32 50 for every thousand pounds of compensation they make. that will have their bottom line. the only way to recoup that is to increase premiums. competition may play a part in keeping dad died, but

there will be a trickle—down effect. michaeljamieson, thank you for your time. —— michael hewson. at quick look at the us markets now and the federal reserve is due to release the minutes of itsjuly meeting injust over an hour. analysts will be looking for any clues about when the much anticipated third interest rate of the year might come. that‘s all from me. the biggest warship ever built for the royal navy — the aircraft carrier, hms queen elizabeth — has sailed into her home port of portsmouth for the first time after sea trials. she weighs 65 thousand tonnes and cost more than three billion pounds. huge crowds started gathering before sunrise to watch the queen elizabeth arrive. duncan kennedy told us more from on board. you can only get an idea of the scale of this vessel by stepping

on board. it is 65,000 tonnes. this is the runway, three football pitches long, 900 feet. when the aircraft are on board, it is the most powerful navy ship ever built. portsmouth dockyard has seen many ships through the years. this one dwa rfs ships through the years. this one dwarfs those. this deck is 11.5 acres, twice size the of the deck of the previous aircraft carriers. we have been below deck to have a bit ofa have been below deck to have a bit of a lift to get an idea what is going on below. it is brand—new. the crew are still getting used it. they have just got from two months of sea trials. we arejoined by have just got from two months of sea trials. we are joined by the captain. thank you very much for joining us. it is an honour to meet you. you are in charge of an historic day and an historic ship for the navy. it is a great day. to

be here at portsmouth, the home of the royal navy, it is brilliant. how i perceive child is going? going well. she is the bigger ship we have ever taken into service, and she is a 21st—century ship, so packed full of innovation and technology. we have been testing the engines and all the other bits and pieces that allowed people to live on board, so from the galleys, air conditioning. we are very pleased. the prime minister was on board today. £3.1 billion, the defence budget under pressure, can this bejustified? every department has to live within its means and we need to have the right equipment to do ourjob. the british people expect us to be able

to do yourjob. we are an insurance policy. against what threat? you see a whole raft of strategic worries, whether southeast asia, all sorts of things. we are not able to predict the next war. it is important that we have a balanced response across the armed forces. this isjust part of that. £100 million each for the strike aircraft that will be on board. do we need so much firepower to deliver this message that britain isa to deliver this message that britain is a serious nation? yes, this is all about power projection. we have obligations around the world for security. we are an outward facing, global britain so it is important that we have a royal navy that can be across the seven seas doing the job for britain, protecting our interests at home and abroad. is the

money worth that? absolutely. captain, thank you very much for your time. this is the fourth aircraft carrier that the captain has commanded. there have been critics. the captain says that they can critics. the captain says that they ca n afford critics. the captain says that they can afford it, but the minister says yes, other critics may say maybe not. the ship will become operational in roughly two years. time now for a look at the weather. we have seen some big contrasts in the weather across the uk during today. it is across england we about the best of the sunshine that further west we have had this cloud in bringing outbreaks of rain. the heaviest rain has been across

northern ireland and scotland. the cloud has been more patchy in western wheels and parts of western england, bringing a few spots of rain. during this evening the room we re rain. during this evening the room were gather and push its way eastwards overnight. it will turn heavier over the midlands and eastern counties of england. temperatures in the towns and cities overnight tonight between 12 and 16 degrees. thursday, this band are bred to be slow to clear away from eastern and southern counties of england. it may stay cloudy for a time. further north and west, an improvement in the weather with sunny spells and showers. in the sunshine, it will feel warmer in scotla nd sunshine, it will feel warmer in scotland and northern ireland with temperatures into the low 20s. thursday evening sees some showers working in across northern ireland and scotland, some of which will be heavy and prolonged and the winds will be brisk. through friday, again a mixture of sunshine and showers. the showers were likely over north—western areas. a cold and

blustery north westerly winds setting in, so the temperature is coming back down in scotland and northern ireland. the cooler air reaches norton england, too. 0ver the weekend, the blustery wind continues to bring blustery showers m, continues to bring blustery showers in, most of them in the north—west. it will not feel too bad in the south—east of england. so for the weekend, sunshine and showers to start, but in the second half of the weekend that will see some heavy rain working in. the rain is tied in with what is going in on the other side of the atlantic. hurricane girt and this area of the pressure to the north of it. these two systems will combine. what we will be left with is low pressure bringing heavy rain into the north—west of the british isles in the second—half of the weekend. a bit of uncertainty over weather heaviest rain will be, but

it looks most likely across the north—west of the united kingdom, so northern ireland, west of scotland, north—western england, but weather reinforce it is likely to be intense. we will keep a close eye on where the remnants of that hurricane will go over the second—half of the coming weekend. today at 5. an "unprecedented solution" for the border between northern ireland and the republic after brexit is proposed by the government. ministers publish a position paper — it emphasises the need to avoid a hard border, and protect the good friday agreement and common travel area. we‘ll have the latest, with reaction from the irish border and from brussels — and we‘ll talk to the centre for cross—border studies. the other main stories on bbc news at 5. theresa may criticises donald trump for failing to single out white supremacists for criticism, following the violence in virginia at the weekend. we‘ve proscribed certain far right groups here in the united kingdom. and there‘s no equivalence, i see no equivalence,

between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them. and i think it is important for all those in positions of responsibility to condemn far right views wherever we hear them.