you're watching beyond 100 hundred days. is there a deal or not? that's the question everyone is asking after president trump's dinner with the democrats. conflicting reports create confusion, but mr trump says no bargain has been struck yet on immigration. both parties are seeking a fix for the young immigrants brought to the us illegally. but did the president blink over the funding he'd demanded for the border wall? ultimately, we have to have the wall. if we don't have the wall, we're doing nothing. mr trump's comments come during a trip to florida where communities are still assessing the damage caused by hurricane irma. also on the programme: russia kicks off a week of massive war games. should nato and the west have reason to be nervous? pity the british holidaymaker who is feeling a little lighter in the pocket. the value of the pound has taken a battering. though not everyone is feeling bruised. there's always a cost for excess baggage,

but one russian airline was fining its flight attendants, for the extra pounds around their waist, until a court intervened. hello and welcome, i'm christian fraser in london. michelle fleury is in for katty today in new york. a chinese banquet at the white house. the invited guests on wednesday night were the top two democrats in congress. and the takeaway — well, you might call it sweet and sour. after dinner the white house told us discussions had gone very well. but what exactly did president trump agree to and did he betray his base? after dinner the two democrats, nancy pelosi and chuck schumer, put out statements. they'd discussed they said a plan for tighter border security and new legislation to protect 800,000 young people brought to the united states illegally as children. the undocumented migrants are known as the dreamers.

there was no discussion, they said, of funding mr trump's proposed wall along the mexican border. the republicans reacted with fury. here's three tweets to give you a flavour. steve king, the republican representative for iowa tweeted and a tweet from laura ingraham, a conservative political commentator. and american talk show host, sean hannity, didn't seem too happy either. this morning arriving in fort meyers, florida this was the president's response. we have a very, very good relationship with a lot of people. a lot of people want this to happen, they expect it to happen

and we'll see if it happens. but we'll only do it if we get extreme security. if we get, not only surveillance, but everything that goes along with surveillance. ultimately, we have to have the wall. if we don't have the wall, we're doing nothing. well, he still wants that wall but nancy pelosi seems to think mr trump will deliver on protecting young immigrants. yes, i do trust that the president is sincere in understanding that the public supports that overwhelmingly, the public supports not sending these young people back. so what exactly is going on? to help us make sense of it all, we're joined now from washington by ron christie, who worked as a special advisor to george w bush. my my head is spinning from the conflicting signals. can you help us make sense. what is going on right

now? well good afternoon to you, michelle. this is the art of the deal. i spent eight years working on capitol hill before four years in in the white house. both sides are feeling out where the other one might be willing to compromise. the house republicans have been adamant they don't want a pathway to citizenship or amnesty. they recognise that the public is very much in favour of keeping these dreamers here. they are trying to emcoo the president's feet to the fire and not give up and concede too much. at the same time, a lot of republicans who i've subpoena spoken to this week are dismayed that president trump, in their view, may have sold them out and portrayed the conservative republican position. you talk about art of the deal, is this a question of trump seeing the success this a question of trump seeing the success he had the other week with the spending deal with teaming up with democrats, is he repeating it again. is it a temporary thing or a

bigger pivot? a warning shout on the bouugh of the republicans. he was upset that they weren't delivering. he said — you know what, if you don't deal well me i will deal with chuck and nanc yes y the senate and house of representatives leaders. it's a warning shot — if you don't work with me to get legislation i will sign i will go to democrats who will. i get all of that, what you say about the art of the deal. paul ryan and mitch are the leaders of the republican majority. have you to go through them. it's good having something with the minority they don't get a say on what gets on to the floor they sure don't. the house rules really restrictive. the can

senate leader is the same. while the president can cut deals he has to find a way to get a majority vote in the house and find a way to get at least 60 votes in the senate to deal with parliament teary antics to get it over the finish line. he can't do it over the finish line. he can't do it with democrats. he has to thread the needle with republicans. what are republicans really saying? two meetings with the democrats. chuck is saying he's the most powerful man in washington right now. what do they make of it all given it's family hour in the uk i won't tell you what i heard this morning. #50i6' heard some saucy language about what they really think about the president cutting a budget deal with the democrats last week and him having dinnerand with the democrats last week and him having dinner and continuing to talk to the democrats this week. the president, in my view, needs to sit down with the entire republican caucus, over 240 members down with the entire republican caucus, over240 members in

down with the entire republican caucus, over 240 members in the house. 52 the senate he needs to sit down with them in the white house, air it out and let everybody say what needs to be said. if they don't have this coming together meeting it will be a very, very difficult fall here in washington for the president, for republicans and it gives the democrats an opening to try to retake the house and to really tip the balance of power here in washington in 2018. good to see you. it might sound like inside baseball, huge implications for the legislative programme of this administration. well now that we've heard the republican perspective, what do democrats think about striking deals with donald trump? a brief time ago i spoke with texas congressmanjoaquin castro from capitol hill. thank you forjoining us on the programme. i want to ask about na ns pelosi.

about nans pelosi. do you feel the same way if congress is able to reach an agreement which protects 800,000 dreamers in the united states it would be the first time in a generation that congress has passed anything having to do with immigration reform. that would be a win, not only for those 800,000 people, but for the country. even if it's tied to border restrictions that be would all right with you. many be in your base have said they wa nt many be in your base have said they want a many be in your base have said they wa nt a clea n many be in your base have said they want a clean bill passed ed? we would prefer a clean bill. we said the senate bill that passed had border provisions in it. it depends what they are asking for. many of us

in the hispanic caucus and have been clear we won't trade the futures of 8 un00,000 young people for a wall across the united states of america. that is not who the united states is. if you listen to donald trump today, when he got off the plane in florida, one of the things he said was — there is no deal without a wall. the president again, you know, i've said before that on any controversial issue you will get four or five different answers depending on who you talk to at the white house and sometimes two or three of those will come from the president. so there will be a point here if the negotiation is serious, oi'i here if the negotiation is serious, on the part of the white house, where there will be something on paper, in front of us, that we will consider. until then, you paper, in front of us, that we will consider. untilthen, you may paper, in front of us, that we will consider. until then, you may get conflicting statements from the president, from one day to the next. that's how he has been on every big issue so far. given that, you think it's worth the risk, it sounds like, to come to the table at least to negotiate? well, i think that for

the sake of those 800,000 dreamers, that we absolutely have to be willing to, you know, reach out to the other side and entertain the negotiations. remember democrats are not in the majority. we don't have a democratic president. because we are in the minority party somebody else is driving the bus. we have to be able at least be willing to sit down and listen to what they have to offer. i mean, do you think a can be done given you've got paul rye app coming out, just a short while ago saying there is no deal. you have the white house sending out mixed signals. it it make it is hard in this environment to get the trust going that's needed for negotiations? no, it certainly has. iremain negotiations? no, it certainly has. i remain hopeful because i want to be hopeful. iwant i remain hopeful because i want to be hopeful. i want to believe there isa be hopeful. i want to believe there is a way that this congress can make sure that these hard—working young folks are able to stay in this country and live and work here. all

of us are going to keep pressing as ha rd of us are going to keep pressing as hard as we can, pushing for a solution to this. that includes this negotiation. even though there may be mixed signals coming out of the white house, we can't control that part. the part we can control is negotiate in earnest and do everything we can for these folks. coming to the table. thank you very much forjoining us on the programme. thank you. you get the impression the democrats are willing to deal if not entirely palatable. let us show people the front page of the newspapers today. they are not happy with with a they are seeing. what do you make of it can donald

trump afford to lose points from his base to get a deal, any deal done?|j mean, it goes back to what ron said earlier. this is about the art of the deal. he's clearly thinking he can make progress here. that is what we're seeing. his base are not liking this at all. i would argue this, if you look at his base, they have stuck with him through a lot already. whether it's charlottesville, already. whether it's cha rlottesville, the already. whether it's charlottesville, the access hollywood tape. they have still stayed with him. you could argue that they will stay with him now. fascinating, isn't it? we will keep a close eye on that on the days ahead. a south florida nursing home is now facing a criminal investigation after eight patients died in sweltering conditions. the deaths happened after the facility lost air conditioning during hurricane irma. rescue crews had to evacuate 150 elderly patients who were stranded in near 90 degrees heat.

meanwhile donald trump has been on the ground in florida today meeting those affected by the severe weather. the cost of the two hurricanes that have battered the southern states in recent weeks is put at over $200 billion. still some three million homes and businesses in florida without power. let's get the latest from naples now and mola lenghi from cbs news is there for us. let us talk about this story at the old people's home. the tragedy was it was 15 feet away from a hospital that had full air conditioning across the road? yeah. that's right. a fully functioning hospital, it seems like it could have taken care of these folks could have prevented this tragedy from happening. this tragedy is really a product of the overall devastation and the recovery effort that we are seeing here. the power outages are still lingering. that nursing home was affected by that. when the storm passed through

it knocked out about 12—14 million — knocked out power to 14 million people and businesses. progress has been made in restoring power, down to three million. those are three million people without power, without air conditioning. florida never loses its summer. it's about 90 degrees. 32 celsius. sweltering heat. you are talking about elderly folks, a lot who are maybe not in the greatest health to begin with, services are being laking, air conditioning, electricity. a very difficult situation, notjust conditioning, electricity. a very difficult situation, not just for the elderly folks, but the entire state of florida. the president has been on the ground, he is going to the us virgin islands and puerto rico. they are trying to find a balloons on this. they didn't want to go to houston too early or go to

florida too early. has he the balance about right, do you think? well, you know, it's a difficult thing for a president, if nothing else, logistically to visit these disasters. when the president travels an entire team of secret service has to travel. you are talking about visiting areas that may not be completely secure. these sort of things are nightmares for secret service and for authorities and the people who protect the president to plan. a lot of times thatis president to plan. a lot of times that is the most difficult part. then there is the trying to be there at the right moment, not wanting to get in the way. not wanting to be the story because the story always has to be the victims. whether it is this president or any president it's a lwa ys this president or any president it's always a challenge for a us president to visit the devastated areas and visit difficult situations. hi doesn't want to take attention away from the folks who need it most. some of the folks we

spoke to are glad the president is here, regardless of their politics. when the american president shows up it means he sees you, he sees and feels your pain and devastation. that is, if nothing else, symbolic. it means something. it makes maybe not a tangible impact. maybe he is not a tangible impact. maybe he is not picking up trees or clearing roads himself it makes an impact when he says — ifeel your pain and we're going to do something about it. we will talk more in the future about the logistics of the recovery. you are saying it meant a lot to the people to see their president? absolutely. the folks we talked to we re absolutely. the folks we talked to were happy to see that the president was on the ground. were happy to see he is here visiting. that isjust was on the ground. were happy to see he is here visiting. that is just a momentary thing. as the president leaves their focus will be back on their recovery process. really, there isn't anyone in the state of florida who has not been impacted. folks have lost their homes to

flooding, wind damage, trees down in their yards. there is that impact. there is a broader, there are folks who have been impacted indirectly. there are fuel shortages here. there are cities. we mention the power outages. you drive through intersections and many of them don't have power signals. they don't have the traffic signals running. even if folks weren't directly impacted, their homes, lives or personal property there is an indirect trickling down effect that is impacting the entire state. thank you very much. so it goes without saying there is now enormous pressure on the the federal emergency management agency here in the us. let's speak to richard serino, he's a former fema deputy administrator and joins us from boston. when you look at hurricane irma, hurricane harvey in quick

succession, how much pressure has that put on the recovery effort, on the organisations involved in this? well, i think one thing that is important to realise is that it's notjust one important to realise is that it's not just one organisation, important to realise is that it's notjust one organisation, it's fema, the whole of government and the whole of the community, the whole community comes together during this time of disasters. after hurricane harvey we saw an outpouring of the entire community to help during the response. the same thing happened in florida, in the us virgin islands and the british virgin islands and puerto rico. that is important when we are heading toward the recovery stage. how much do you try to help people on the ground? certainly, when i've beenin on the ground? certainly, when i've been in houston recently, you see a lot of local community organisations helping their neighbours and helping friends, people they know. how do

you get aid to them? is that the best way, or do you need the scale ofan best way, or do you need the scale of an organisation like fema to deal with something like this you need the entirely community and fema. fema can give you assistance. everyone in florida, puerto rico, texas and the us require yen i lance should register for help. that's the first step. once they registered they can get into the system and find help for the survivors. we call them survivors not victims, victims are those who passed away. the survivors can help themselves and see neighbours helping neighbours. i think that's important to realise that then you see the faith based community that can come in and help, the nonprofit agencies, the red cross, the salvation army and seeing how the business community come in and help. after the first 100 days thatis and help. after the first 100 days that is when it will become more

challenging for folks. after that people start to get out of the their routines and trying to accept that new normal and adjust to the new normal is difficult. just simple things like how they used to drive has changed. how they did their daily routine has changed. that puts stresses on families and stresses on individuals. we actually see an increase over a period of time in domestic abuse. we see an increase in child abuse. an increase in suicides. what we encourage people to do is one of the most important services they can get is some counselling and the ability to talk to somebody, whether it's family, whether it's church or whether it's counselling from professionals or just somebody giving a listening ear. it's extremely stressful time. having that aid through the whole community will help rebuild these communities over a period of time. thank you forjoining us on the

programme. thank you. at least 50 people have been killed and eighty wounded in twin attacks in southern iraq. in the first, an attacker detonated his explosive vest inside a restaurant near nassariya while gunmen opened fire on people inside. a short time later, a car bomb exploded at a nearby checkpoint. the so—called islamic state group says it was behind the attacks. at least 23 students and teachers have died in a fire at a religious school in malaysia's capital, kuala lumpur. the fire broke out in the early hours of thursday morning. the victims are thought to been trapped in their dormitory because windows were barred with metal grilles. theresa may is to travel to florence to unveil further details of her vision for britain's future outside the european union. the speech on 22nd september is likely to be seen as a bid

to break the deadlock in brexit negotiations, which resume in brussels three days later. after nearly 20 years in space and thirteen years orbiting and mapping saturn with stunning images sent back to earth, the cassini probe is preparing to send back a final set of pictures before ditching itself in the planet's atmosphere. the mission, which has made some extraordinary discoveries, is being terminated because it has all but run out of fuel. and you can get more on cassini's extraordinary journey on our website. there you'll find a special compilation of cassini's discoveries and the story of this very special satellite, as told by the people who helped make it happen. that's ‘0ur saturn years' on the bbc website, or download the bbc news app. i want to talk about a story i saw on twitter. the us treasury secretary steve mnuchin is a former goldman sachs banker, said to be worth around $300 million. he is now responsible for the safekeeping of the taxpayer's money.

news emerges that the treasury department requested a government jet for the secretary's european honeymoon in scotland, france and italy which, had it been granted, would have cost the taxpayers roughly $25,000 an hour to operate. in the end the request was withdrawn. get away! but this is not the first time the moochin mnuchins, as one headline put it, have courted controversy. three weeks ago the pair travelled to kentucky aboard a military plane to watch the eclipse at fort knox. steve mnuchin's wife, louise linton, posted a picture on instagram of the plane with the caption. "great #daytrip to #kentucky!"

and added hashtags for the designer gear she was wearing "#roland mouret," "#hermes scarf," "#tom ford" and "#valentino. " a woman criticised her. she was forced to apologise. the treasury secretary said they were going to investigate the use of the plane in that instance. here we are talking about planes. 0h, that instance. here we are talking about planes. oh, dear. it had a story of its own. when they landed in kentucky, she got into a huge row. it has come back with this story about the honeymoon. she hash tagged it "day trip" there is not a way out of it. it comes back to draining the swamp. clear out the swamp that he was talking about all along. in the midst of his cabinet are these goldman sachs people. when you are talking of someone of a network of 300 million they can

afford the odd ryanair trip. maybe not up to their standards. maybe not with the luggage and the posh luggage she carries, maybe they need to go business class, not on a government—sponsored jet. this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — the forgotten island — cuba cries out for help after hurricane irma but is the west listening? and sexism in the skies — the russian airline taken to court over linking flight attendant pay to dress size. that's still to come. sunshine and showers for most of the

uk today. there are plenty of showers out there. they move through in minutes and you are back into the dry and sunny weather. if you catch a shower it could be on the heavy side. a few of those this evening. 0ver side. a few of those this evening. overnight side. a few of those this evening. over night they are confined to coastal parts with exception of this line here working out of scotland and northern ireland. they move into england and wales as the night goes on. if you are dry and clear it will be on the chilly side. temperatures into single figures away from the largest towns and city centres. some of us four or five degrees, many will start tomorrow with sunshine. from that line of showers working across england and wales will be some from the word go to parts of wales, south—west england, midland, lyn con shire and east yorkshire.

much of northern england will start with fine into southern scotland through the central belt. showers into northern ireland and running into northern ireland and running into northern scotland on quite a brisk wind here. some of those will be pro longed and heavy downpours into parts of the north and north—east of scotland as we go on through friday they will run into northern ireland. this line of showers working southwards through south—east england. showers popping up south—east england. showers popping up elsewhere as well. by mid afternoon we are in the same boat, sunshine, scattered showers, chilly feel to things as the showers move through. two showers in the day could be ten minutes of wet weather and the rest of the day will be dry. as we look at the picture for friday night into saturday morning, similar story. the showers will fade away. some continue around coastal parts, another line edging southwards through england and wales as the night goes on. the big picture, start of the weekend. high pressure to the west of us. it's around that we get this northerly flow into the uk. that chilly feel to things, maybe winds not so strong on

saturday. still with sunshine and a scattering of showers. anywhere will be wet all day long. temperatures just into the mid teens. cold on saturday night. some of us may get a touch of frost as the winds ease. lighter winds on sunday. few showers, a few scattered about england. this is beyond 0ne hundred days, with me, christian fraser, in london. michelle fleury is in new york. our top stories: president trump says he's fairly close to reaching a deal with senior democrats to stop young undocumented migrants being deported from the united states — he says he also wants a deal on his border wall. donald trump made the comments during a trip to florida, where communities are still assessing the damage caused by hurricane irma. coming up in the next half hour: russia kicks off a week of massive war games on europe's doorstep. it's made nato nervous, but should they be? and as cuba deals with the aftermath of hurricane irma, the caribbean

country's isolation on the world stage leaves it going it alone. russia has begun military exercises on its eastern border. zapad 2017, as the war games are known, have unnerved nato commanders and many of the eastern european countries — and when i show you the map you will understand why. there are reports that russia has transported thousands of men and an untold amount equipment directly into belarus for the exercise. the commander of the us army forces in europe, lieutenant general ben hodges, has expressed his fear that the exercises will be a "trojan horse" designed to leave russian forces behind in belarus, on europe's border. nato's military observers have not been invited. for more on this,

general mark kimmitt — who formerly served as assistant secretary of state for political—military affairs — is in our washington studio. thank you forjoining us. if you listen to the kremlin, they have said that the west is getting too upset over this — do they have a point? i don't think they have a point. you might expect that the soviet broadcaster would make the same point, but when you have thousands of soldiers on the border, obviously with the capability of doing what they did in georgia in 2008 and in the crimea in 2014, it is prudent to be concerned about what is on the other side. at the same time, nato was doing tests. they are increasing the number of troops on the ground. is there an

increased risk of an accident happening when you have this many exercises going on, that many people, that much machinery involved? the risk of miscalculation is, i would say, involved? the risk of miscalculation is, iwould say, moderate. i don't think there's any chance that the russians would suggest that the allied forces, the nato forces, had any intent on taking them on. there won't be miscalculation if there is an armed conflict, it will be a deliberate attempt by the russians to take that area. it is obviously an issue of trust after what happened in crimea and ukraine. this isa happened in crimea and ukraine. this is a sensitive neighbourhood. explain what the rules are when it comes to these war games, because i understand there is the vienna convention, whereby if there were over 12,000 troops, nato observers would have to be invited. that's exactly right, and to go back to your earlier point about miscalculation, that's why the observers would be on the ground

making sure there is no excessive artillery or ammunition on the ground that would give the capability. and the fact that the russians are not permitting observers on the ground, when clearly the numbers will exceed 12,000, means that they are trying to make this not only a military threat, that i don't believe they are going to carry out, but a propaganda victory for their own country as well. i have seen reports that there might be as many as 25,000 troops on the ground. the one thing we can say about this forces that it thing we can say about this forces thatitis thing we can say about this forces that it is much more like a conventional force of the size and capability of the nato forces, perhaps much more so than the russian army had when they invaded georgia. i agree, but i don't think we can underestimate their capabilities. the russians aren't simply going to fight in a conventional method. they will be using a type of hybrid warfare. as we saw in the ukraine, they will use the little green men, a significant

amount of cyber attacks, and they would use conventional forces. i don't think we could necessarily look at the equipment and numbers they have on the ground to truly understand what the russians could do if they truly wanted to attack. we will have to leave at there, but thank you forjoining us. the united states will be a "steadfast ally" to the united kingdom during the brexit process. that was the commitment given today by the secretary of state rex tillerson. he was in london for talks with the british foreign secretary borisjohnson who has just returned from the british virgin islands. the talks covered a wide range of issues including hurricane irma, libya, the situation in myanmar and the north korean crisis. 0n the subject of brexit, tillerson promised that the us would continue to help the uk after britain left the european union. while brexit does present unique challenges to the british people, please know that you

have a steadfast ally in the united states and we will stand by our ally as brexit continues to take shape. and we look forward to continuing this long relationship. speaking on the situation in myanmar, where rohingya muslims have been fleeing alleged attacks by security forces, mrjohnson said it was time for the myanmar leader aung san suu kyi — who he praised last weekend as "one of the most inspiring figures of our age" — to protect the rohingya refugees. it is vital for her now to make clear that this is an abomination and that those people will be allowed — that those people will be allowed back to burma and that preparation is being made, and that the abuse of their human rights and that the killings — hundreds, perhaps even thousands — that the killings will stop. to tell us what this all means is our diplomatic correspondent, james landale — he's in our westminster studio.

this will be music to the ears of the prime minister. she's going to florence next week to set out her thoughts on brexit, but here is the us, foursquare behind her. this is the united states position, to say that they support britain through this period. they have described brexit is challenging, which is a euphemism, to say the least. the crucial point is this: when it comes to negotiating with the us in any kind of trade deal that an independent united kingdom might do with the us, that is where diplomats will see the colour of their money. when you talk to the americans, i heard the us ambassador to london earlier this week saying that the uk will be front of the line, to use the american phrase come up front in line for what? how good would any trade deal with the us after brexit really be? we won't know that for some time. james, i wanted to pick

up some time. james, i wanted to pick up on that sound bite from boris johnson, where he was talking about the rohingya refugees — is this a precursor of what we are likely to hear more of next week, when many of the leaders come to new york for the un general assembly?” the leaders come to new york for the un generalassembly? i think this is certainly a toughening of the position by the uk, certainly boris johnson. he was criticised a week ago for being fairly mild in his criticism of what has taken place, and for his continued praise of aung san suu kyi, the burmese leader. he has stepped up the language. because the calculation within western capitals has changed, they did not wa nt to capitals has changed, they did not want to be critical of aung san suu kyi for fear of want to be critical of aung san suu kyi forfear of being at want to be critical of aung san suu kyi for fear of being at undermining of her position. and that could open the door to the military taking back full control in myanmar, which they don't want. at the same time, i think the scale of what is happening, by the myanmar army, and the failure of aung san suu kyi to

condemn what has taken place now has changed the calculus now, and the scale of criticism within the international community that has been levelled against has reached a point where other countries who have been defending her now feel that they can't hold the line, so they are putting greater pressure on her to act. plenty more going to be said at the un general assembly on tuesday in new york. james, thank you very much. let's get more on the devastation caused by hurricane irma. the caribbean was hit incredibly hard, and while many islands look to their european or american partners, cuba is finding itself isolated. the country has fewer friends to rely on, with its strongest socialist ally, venezuela, experiencing deep economic problems of its own. as our cuba correspondent will grant reports, the island is going it alone. days after irma struck cuba, some

are still clearing up the water. the ferocious storm flooded whole swathes of havana, contaminating water systems with sea water. now, house by house, they must be empty. this poor neighbourhood was one of the worst affected, right next to the worst affected, right next to the sea wall. today, the floodwaters receded, but a mark has been left, in every sense. local resident alexander took me around his damaged neighbourhood. hava na's alexander took me around his damaged neighbourhood. havana's iconic waterfront is battered and broken, devoid of its usual hordes of tourists. buildings and homes which we re tourists. buildings and homes which were already precarious before irma came past come on now in danger of com plete came past come on now in danger of complete collapse. some are being demolished before they crumble. translation: we have to help ourselves. there is no help coming. aid from the state takes time, but we have to have faith and hope. the

flooding may be gone from the streets, but for many, the aftermath is almost as bad, with thousands still without power or clean drinking water. the longer this crisis goes on, the more cuba may need some help of its own from abroad. the cuban state is tackling the initial clean—up largely unaided, and is even sending doctors to assist other parts of the caribbean. close socialist ally then as well as donated ten tonnes of emergency supplies, but with no wealthy benefactor to turn to, the rebuild will be long and costly for the communist — run island. alexander takes me to visit a neighbour whose home was one of those underwater. raul is trying to salvage what he can, but the flood has washed away nearly everything, even the photos of his children. translation: no help us, at all, none. i don't know if they're going to other houses first. —— no help has come at all. i know there were

other people affected in the neighbourhood, so we have to wait to see if they come. maybe tomorrow. as cu ba ns see if they come. maybe tomorrow. as cubans dry out their homes and possessions, this is now a final test raul castro's presidency. in past crises, the state has traditionally acted quickly, but this time, there is a sense that cuba has almost no one else to turn to, and unlike other nations affected by irma, must rely entirely on themselves. will grant, bbc news, havana. for aeroflot it was an attempt at an image makeover that went wrong. when russia's national airline decided to link the pay of its flight attendants to their dress size, many people were outraged. i'm lost for words by this story! one of them was flight attendant evgenia magurina — and for her, justice has prevailed as thejudge declared their policy illegal. 0ur moscow correspondent sarah rainsford has been to meet her. at aeroflot slim is in.

this is the look russia's national airline wants to present. but when it linked flight attendants' pay to their dress size, it came unstuck. evgenia tells me aeroflot first stopped issuing bigger uniforms. so you had to add this bit? it's my little secret. this is to make it big enough. then she realised it wasn't just her dress that had shrunk, it was her salary. translation: i was in shock at first. it made no sense. how could they cut your pay because of your dress size? but an aeroflot document said the success of a stewardess depended on her size. of course, that really offended me. this job was a childhood dream for evgenia but it's gone sour. aeroflot denies discrimination. but she says hundreds of women had their pay cut and were moved to lower paid domestic flights. judged, as they say themselves, too old, too fat, or too ugly.

sexual equality is a principle soviet russia once prided itself upon. but years later russian women are once again battling discrimination. they are not onlyjudged on the way they look, they are also barred from almost 500 professions just for being female. that's why svetla na tells me she was banned from captaining a boat. russian law supposedly protects women's reproductive health. but the list ofjobs judged too dangerous includes driving trucks and trains, and even carpentry. svetlana is now fighting the ban in court. translation: i don't think there's equality in russia. it's a very patriarchal country. maybe they name women to some state positions but this list speaks for itself. evgenia took aeroflot to court too. there, its lawyers tried to defend the pay cut, saying every extra kilo of weight costs more fuel. but the judge ruled against them.

and evgenia notched up one victory in a much bigger battle for equal rights. sarah rainsford, bbc news, moscow. well done, her. thank goodness they don't do that here. this desk hides a lot of secrets! this is beyond 100 days. still to come: who are the winners and losers from the battering the british pound has been taking as the sterling struggles. here in england, the public inquiry into the grenfell tower fire, which killed at least 80 people injune, has opened with a minute's silence to remember the victims. the man leading the inquiry, sir martin moore—bick, said he acknowledges ‘the great sense of anger and betrayal‘ felt by survivors, and he wants to provide answers about how the disaster could have happened in 21st century london. i'm well aware that the past few

months have turned the world of those who live in north kensington upside down, and that former residents of the tower and other local people feel a great sense of anger and betrayal. that is entirely natural and understandable. but if the enquiry is to get to the truth of what happened, it must seek out all the relevant evidence and examine it calmly and rationally. the solicitors acting for the enquiry will approach the task in that way, as i hope will be legal representatives of the various core participants. in that way, they will help us all discover where the truth really lies. i should also remind eve ryo ne really lies. i should also remind everyone that section two of the enquiries act 2005 prohibits me from

ruling on or determining anyone's civil or criminal liability. however, the same section also expressly provides that i am not to be inhibited by the likelihood of liability being inferred from any findings or recommendations that i may make. i shall therefore not shrink from making any findings or recommendations that are justified by the evidence simply because someone may by the evidence simply because someone may at a later date consider that they form the basis of civil or criminal liability. if you are watching here in the uk and you have just returned from your travels in europe, then you might have had the same sobering experienced i had this week, when i opened the monthly credit card bill. it was bigger than i expected.

what has happened to the exchange rate? on some days it was practically 1 pound for! euro. eating out in the uk is looking a lot better for eating out in the uk is looking a lot betterfor me. eating out in the uk is looking a lot better for me. you are quids in! yes, the british pound has taken a bit of a hit in recent months. it is getting more expensive for brits. simon gompertz has been taking a look at who is winning — and who's losing — from the lower price of sterling. who is celebrating the plunge in the pound? who is celebrating the plunge in the pound ? well, who is celebrating the plunge in the pound? well, visitors to the uk are. it is unimaginably better. definitely an improvement. more spending money, right? british manufacturers like it because it makes their goods look cheap, but imports are more expensive for brits, and so are foreign holidays. go back to the years just after the second world war, and £1 sterling would have bought you four us

dollars, and then we had the valuations, so the green pound note of the 1960s, that was worth $2.80. still, something. and the pound coins, first, the round one, that never got higher than $2. and the new pound coin, that is worth just around $1.30. the pound is notorious for shocks. today has been an extremely difficult and tabular day. it crashed out of the european exchange rate mechanism under chancellor norman lamont, whose wife said he sang in the bath afterwards, exactly 25 years ago. stock markets have fallen here and around the world as one of america's oldest and biggest banks files for bankruptcy. it plunged after the financial crisis. now, the brexit vote has left the pound down 11% against the dollar, and 15% against the euro.

it's the uncertainty which makes people worry about the pounds future value. also, ultralow interest rates set by the bank of england, and faltering economic growth. big players had been betting against the pound — hedge funds which thrive on market upsets, but also pension schemes trying to protect investments against losses. and they like the euro, because economies using it are recovering. the pound fell, but has it reached the bottom? the pound fell, but has it reached the bottom ? it the pound fell, but has it reached the bottom? it has become a victory at —— victim of fear and rumour, and only when the uk's future is clear is it likely to settle down. well i've been speaking to lordjim o'neill — former chairman of goldman sachs and a government minister — for his take on the plunging pound trend. after brexit, the pound has suffered some really wild swings in value. we have had a flash crash, movement up and down with every bit of political

news, but where do you think is the level? where will the pound settle eventually? i thought i had got out of the world of answering stuff like that four years ago. i don't know. neither does anybody. and i think i know a lot about the ins and outs of foreign exchange. but i don't know. that is the reality of the foreign exchange market. there are also so many different variables here. that said, what intrigues me, from my now distance, is that ever since the prime minister called the election that she probably regrets, the pound has traded more strongly, in general. when we get bad days, something stupid about brexit, it doesn't go down as much as it should, and on good days, it goes up a lot. so, it feels like the trend might have changed. trying to figure out why is hard. its leading me to the temptation of thinking that somehow the markets have figured out, we are going to have a more sensible brexit than was the case

before. that could be complete nonsense. it is all speculation. of course. there are people making a lot of money from this. you guys always talk about a lot of people making money out of this. most people who trade distaff usually lose. there are only a few people who make a lot of money. it is not easy to be a good investor. let's say it settled roughly where it is now, does that shape the future economy of the country? do we turn into any export economy? —— an export economy? the pound is a lot weaker than export economy? the pound is a lot weakerthana year export economy? the pound is a lot weaker than a year ago. the two big consequences, weaker than a year ago. the two big consequences, one of weaker than a year ago. the two big consequences, one of which we are seeing, are — this is the source of all our higher consumer prices — if the pound starts falling, that will give confidence to the view that the rise in consumer prices isjust temporary. the weakness in the economy we temporary. the weakness in the economy we have seen temporary. the weakness in the economy we have seen in the last six

months is all related to that. oddly, if the pound were to stop falling, it might help consumer spending recover, and certainly helped real income growth, because consumer prices would come back down ata time consumer prices would come back down at a time when wages are probably picking up a little bit. on the other side of the coin, in theory, it should make is hugely more competitive, but it is not the first time the pound has fallen a lot and that theory never worked. there are rumours of big inward investment because companies are cheap. that is another part — the cheaper the pound goes, for those that are attracted to british companies, irrelevant of what the brexit situation is, they find the uk cheaper to do business with than before. it might also apply to property investors, of course. let me tap into your brexit knowledge. i know you were ray remainer. not a table thumping one. —— you remainer. not a table thumping one. “ you were a remainer. not a table thumping one. —— you were a remain. the thing we could organise a quick trade deal

with india, china and the rest of them —— with india, china and the rest of them -- do you think we could organise a quick trade deal?‘ them -- do you think we could organise a quick trade deal? a lot of people talk about it, and i laughed because i find it upsetting and a bit almost pathetic that a lot of those involved in all of this spend all this time talking about trade deals with new zealand and these kind of places, and as beautiful as new zealand is, you know, it is smaller than greece. if we know, it is smaller than greece. if we want to be serious about big trade deals making a difference, we should have three ministers almost permanently camped in beijing and delhi. now. rediscovering the golden relationship, which seems to have become a little less golden in the past few months. he has some good thoughts on brexit. we will have him back on the programme. we should talk about the new £10 note which is in circulation today. it is

important because it brings a woman back onto one of the british banknotes. we lost a woman with the disappearance of elizabeth fry on the £5 note, replaced by winston churchill. aside from the queen, we get another. there is the old £10 note. that has charles dickens on the back. charles darwin, sorry! and this is the new note. i will hold it up. there we go. and this is is the new polymer note, the plastic note. and there is the english authorjane austin. as endurable as this note. how many women are on american notes, michelle? we were due to have harriet todman on, but we don't know if it will happen or not because the new treasury secretary has been a bit vague about that and said it is not a priority. look at this. there is benjamin franklin, one of their

founding fathers. if you press the magic button, look at that. i will call this the fleury. i don't think you could spend it on fifth ave! thanks for being with us, michelle. we will be back at the same time next week. thanks for watching. hello, it looks like something less cold will come to the weather next week. until then, actually feel. a mixture of sunshine and showers. that covered it for much of the uk and will for the next couple of days. plenty of showers out there, but some of them moved through in a matter of minutes, then back into the dry unfairly sunny weather. if you catch a shallow, it could be heavy. still a few of those this evening, though they become confined to coastal parts. this line working out of scotland and northern ireland, moving into parts of england and wales as the night goes

on. it will be chilly if you are dry and clear, temperatures down into single figures away from town and city centres. many of us start the day tomorrow on a fine oak with sunshine. showers working across england and wales will be there from the word go. some move across the midlands and towards lincolnshire and east yorkshire. to the south—east of that, you start with sunshine. you will get those showers heading through later in the day. much of northern england will start fine, into southern scotland, the central belt, a few showers in northern ireland, and in north—west scotland, some prolonged and heavy downpours. they will be running into northern ireland. the showers moving into the south—east. by mid—afternoon, we are all in the same boat, really — sunshine, scattered showers, a chilli fields of things, especially when the showers moved through. even if you

have two showers in the day, that might be ten minutes of wet weather, and the rest of the day is dry. friday night into saturday morning, a similar story — many showers fade away, some continuing coastal parts. another line of them gradually edging south through england and wales as the night goes on. at the start of the weekend, high—pressure to the west. that is giving us a northerly flow coming into the uk, making it chilly. still a scattering of showers on saturday. i don't think anywhere will be wet all day long. quite cold on saturday night, some of us getting a touch of frost. lighter winds on sunday, and it will feel less cold. still a few showers scattered around england. with this is bbc news. the headlines: a public inquiry opens into the grenfell tower fire with a minute's silence to remember

the victims. the chairman says he understands the survivors. they can and will provide a nswe rs survivors. they can and will provide a nswers to survivors. they can and will provide answers to the pressing nations allow a disaster this kind could occur in 21st—century london. interest rates hold for now, but arise may not be far—off if the economy grows. a man who's spent eleven years in prison, despite only being sentenced to ten months, is set to be released. donald trump says he's close to agreeing a deal on allowing young immigrants to stay in the us. also this hour — no longer an endangered species.