who said what about themselves — can you remember? who is the national disgrace? of course. and i can guess pernickety. excuse me, i can disagree, it would just prove your point. something no one — someone just prove your point. something no one — someone nothing interesting would ever happen to. that is me again. well we have got an hour together, are we going to cheer up? we could swap over. we have not rehearsed for that. other reasons to be cheerful, as football fans — gareth southgate announced england's world cup squad. always a place for optimism, english

football in the summer. well i was disappointed not to get the call—up myself. it is so early, what do you wa nt myself. it is so early, what do you want me to say. i think that we're going to win the world cup. another reason to be cheerful x mac. and another squad has been picked today — the page boys and bridesmaids for the royal wedding. were either of you ever forced into page boy duties? are you taking the make? have you question mark never. best man? that is the thing when you have a friend and they ask you, not really me. best man at my wedding and also the bride and groom. a busy day for me. well, we're not sure how prince george and princess charlotte feel about being page boy and bridesmaid — but we know there'll be plenty of you out

there who felt a bit embarrassed doing it. remember this poor girl from kate and will's wedding? in order, order. order! housemaster tom george. the house must come to order. isn't it extraordinary that the prime minister of his country can't even urges party to support his own position? weak, weak, weak. you're watching beyond 100 days. just when it was all going so remarkably well, north korea throws a spanner in negotiations. pyongyang suspends talks with south korea and says it may not attend the nuclear summit injune. the white house says that's ok — president trump is ready to go or not go, depending on the north's behaviour. we haven't seen anything, we haven't heard anything. we will see what happens. meghan markle's mother flies in from la for the royal wedding — will she now be the one the historic moment between the leaders of north and south korea is now so cherished that hundreds are queueing up to recreate it on a fake film set. but hopes for peace are now on hold as this diplomatic drama has taken a more hostile turn. pyongyang's threatening to withdraw from talks if the us pushes them into a corner of abandoning nuclear weapons. they've partly been angered by this annual military drill, dubbed operation max thunder.

it involves 100 warplanes, and pyongyang described it as a deliberate provocation. they also object to the idea that they should follow the example of gaddafi, who voluntarily gave up his weapons 15 years ago. his regime was overthrown and he was killed in 2011. and they take aim at donald trump's hawkish advisor. they described him as repugnant. pyongyang may feel it's making concessions, such as returning the three us detainees, and getting very little back. they're irritated by the trump administration's boasts that the president brought kimjong—un to the negotiating table. but there is still hope for a deal, if the us is willing to listen. the korean statement did not say "we refuse to denuclearise". it said "we're not going to denuclearise "if it's you holding a gun to our head". it was "there's a way we're willing to do this, and it has to be reciprocal". the root of the problem is the definition of denuclearisation. to the us, it means north korea should give up all of its weapons over a set period of time and then, only then, will they receive economic benefits. to pyongyang, it means denuclearising the entire peninsula. that means the us has to act too, perhaps getting rid of some troops here in south korea, or getting rid of the nuclear protection it places over the peninsula. regardless of how far all sides have come in such a short time, the last 2a hours have been a reminder that this decades—old

problem will have no quick or easy solution. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. well, donald trump was asked about the summit — but he didn't have much to say. have a listen. we haven't seen anything, we haven't heard anything. we will see what happens. lets cross tojohn park, who directs the korea working group at harvard kennedy school. he joins us from boston. was this an inevitable wrinkle, or is ita was this an inevitable wrinkle, or is it a major hitch before this summit, john? i think it is a bit of the latter, in terms of clearly a surprise, but this idea that this kind of event, where there would be some aspects of misunderstandings is something that many people were anticipating, but if you look very closely at the north korean statement, it is conditional. basically saying that because of us insistence on this libyan nuclear abandonment model, the north koreans would have to reconsider the

upcoming summit in singapore. so they are leaving some room for the us to recalibrate, and already we have seen a little bit of that, the white house press secretary basically stating that the security adviser's emphasis on this libyan model is not fully part of the official game plan. john bolton was on fox radio today and said he thinks the odds are still in favour of the summit but also said america is not backing away from the final objective of this meeting, the com plete objective of this meeting, the complete a reversible denuclearisation of north korea. does that change the equation? clearly the north koreans are now bidding on the table the idea that the americans might have to look at their presence in south korea? well, thatis their presence in south korea? well, that is a big part of what is anticipated. this overall game plan, the denuclearisation mechanism, and what that will entail. the details still need to be hammered out but the goals related to denuclearise issue, that is where we are expecting the announcement at this plan summit between president trump and chairman kim in singapore, but

in terms of overall details i think we need to look through the lens of these military exercises. between these military exercises. between the us and south korean air forces, max thunder was meant to take place, but wasn't really announced, kept quiet. the striking difference this time around, it will be strategic asset. it hasn't happened but, you know, the planned use of b—52 bombers as well, obviously contentious for the koreans. john bolton mentioned specifically in the statement and they are referring back to interview she gave a couple of weeks ago where he said the model was the libyan model, which we said at the time on our programme wasn't at the time on our programme wasn't a particularly good way to describe how the negotiations were going, because of course colonel gaddafi ended up in a ditch with a bullet in his head? that was a specific reference, christian, in terms of what the north koreans have stated in this most recent announcement by

the first foreign minister. he basically mentioned two points of the libyan model not being applicable, firstly that the libyan programme was in very early stage, whereas north korea is a nuclear state power. also, the fate of the libyan leader, clearly something the north koreans are looking to avoid. but the main point here, when there is reference to the libya model, this is something where that is something very closely tied into the words of the national security adviser bolton, but is very separate in terms of what is being stated by the secretary of state pompeo, who is the one who has met kim jong—un twice, and this is an area where they will want to make sure what was discussed and agreed to with the secretary mike pompeo is doctor. —— stuck to. thank you kiss my joining us. stuck to. thank you kiss my joining us. it is pretty clear that they don't know what happened overnight in pyongyang. there are still waiting for information. it does

call into question whether there will be the summit or whether this is just the north will be the summit or whether this isjust the north koreans before that doing some negotiating. president trump can't go there and lose. he has to be able to say he has come back with a win, so that is setup that there is no no—go shenzhen to be had and north koreans are saying, unless you get out of south korea or at least pa rt get out of south korea or at least part of your clips to, we will not do nuclides, it is hard to see as a victory. the most intriguing part of the statement, there will be no unilateral disarmament, which tells you, and we have seen it from their public statements in the last week, they are going into this with flawed expectations. the americans are saying disarmed then we give you the money, and the north koreans are saying, no, we don't give something for nothing. and that is the dangerous part, that if you don't know what you're going into and what the objective is, how can you possibly have more than a photo opportunity? by the way, this maybe the problem with calling summit is very fast before having all of your foot soldiers do the legwork because you get problems this. today a us senate committee released more than 2,500

pages of documents related to the russia investigation. specifically, into thatjune meeting in 2016 between top trump aides — including donald trumpjr — and a delegation of russians who promised to help the campaign. donjr is the closest figure to the president who is a focus for the investigation. the documents show that six months after that initial meeting an intermediary contacted the president's son again asking for a follow up which never happened. donjr says the documents prove he answered every question while being candid and forthright. wedding news now. we should be focusing today on the forthcoming nuptials of the royal couple. but three days from the wedding we still don't know who's going to walk meghan markle down the aisle. pity the bride, who faces the biggest day of her life, without her father, while also dealing with the worry about his obvious ill health. by all accounts thomas markle is in hospital with a stress induced heart condition and was due to undergo surgery today. if that is true then it is highly likely it will be doria ragland, the bride's mother —

who arrived in the uk today — that will be escorting her daughter down the aisle. the bbc‘s royal correspondent nicholas witchell has the latest. on her way to her daughter's wedding. meghan markle's mother doria ragland letter home in california for the flight to london. good luck with the wedding! conspicuously not travelling was markle's father thomas, who according to reports is in hospital in mexico — possibly undergoing surgery, probably not attending the wedding. though kensington palace has still said nothing officially. leading the page boys and bridesmaids on saturday will be prince george and princess charlotte, who played the roles at pippa middleton's wedding last year. harry and meghan will have ten young attendants — six bridesmaids and four page boys — ranging in age from two to seven. and while the leading players prepare, so too does the supporting cast. the harmlessly fixated, who attend all major royal events, have already bagged their places just outside windsor castle, to the fascination of foreign broadcasters. is this level of interest representative of the country as a whole?

well, of course it's not. indeed, according to some polls, among a good many people there is, well, polite indifference to it all. but not here in windsor, a town whose identity is aligned with royalty, whose rooftops have been commandeered by international broadcasters, and from where this saturday this royal wedding, with its international twist, will be broadcast to audiences around the world. nicholas witchell, bbc news, windsor. now, when prince harry and meghan markle visited school children in nottingham as part of their first royal engagement, the meeting left a lasting impression on both the students and the royal couple, so much so that they invited one of them along to the wedding. yes, among the 600 guests expected to attend the happy occasion in windsor on saturday will be 13—year—old leonora ncomanzi, whom i'm delighted to sayjoins us now from nottingham. it's a great pleasure to see you.

you must be very excited. what do you know about the day and how it will unfold? i know that i'll be watching everyone go in, and seeing kate and harry going into the whole —— seeing madam deputy —— seeing meghan and harry. i saw them on the private visit as well is coming to the school.|j them on the private visit as well is coming to the school. i will ask you the most important question kristian wouldn't think to ask, what will you be wearing on saturday? a beautiful red dress with diamonds around the waist, and! red dress with diamonds around the waist, and i am going to getjulie and things like that.|j waist, and i am going to getjulie and things like that. i think you will hopefully send us photograph of

that —— will hopefully send us photograph of that -- i will hopefully send us photograph of that —— i am going to getjewellery and things like that. and most excited about seeing meghan and beautiful dress. you have been quite close to prince harry for some time, member of the mentoring group. what difference has that made the new? the group if it helps us a lot because they're always there to speak to us and things like that. when meghan came in decemberfor the first time to your school, did you speak to her about her acting career, because i understand you are a budding actress? yes, we spoke about getting advice and things like that and also ourjourneys and what to do in the future. what do you think about meghan markle? does she

feel good role model for you, your age group? to you and your friends like? we really do. she is an amazing woman. very beautiful, inside and out, and she is very caring. what you mean by beautiful inside as well? she has a very nice personality, and she is very interested in what we were doing and things like that. have you got some confetti? don't you need to take confetti? don't you need to take confetti to a wedding?” confetti? don't you need to take confetti to a wedding? i don't know about that. i will look out for your saturday because i want to see you throwing confetti. and don't forget to send us a picture of your dress and you at the wedding, ok, leonora? have a wonderful day, i hope it is a wonderful experience. and looking ahead to our special coverage, we will be live in windsor from thursday, building up to the big day on saturday. but let's have a look at some of the day's other news. israel and turkey are engaged in an increasingly bitter row over the violence in gaza, with both countries expelling diplomats.

the israeli government criticised turkey's treatment of its ambassador, who was filmed while being searched by security as he left the country. it has since ordered the turkish consul to leave jerusalem. protesters targeted the israeli consulate in istanbul yesterday. malaysian reformist politician anwar ibrahim has hailed a "new dawn" for his country on his release from prison. mr anwar was jailed three years ago for sodomy — charges that were widely seen as politically motivated. malaysia's newly elected prime minister mahathir mohamed secured a royal pardon for his former rival and said he'll make way for mr anwar in two years. british mps have blamed the directors of carillion for the costly collapse of the uk's second—largest construction company. two parliamentary committees said the directors oversaw a "rotten corporate culture" at the company and called for regulators to bar board members from director positions at other businesses. mps also attacked the big four audit firms for approving carillion's accounts. japan hopes to attract more women into politics with a change in the law.

the country's parliament has passed legislation urging political parties to field equal numbers of male and female candidates — but there are no penalties or incentives to do so. 90% of elected politicians injapan's lower house are men. the japanese parliament has passed legislation aimed at encouraging more women to stand for election. —— women. i have been there and it is so difficult because there is a many late—night drinking sessions, and the women feel uncomfortable. and they have a labour shortage in japan. yes and that is why prime minister abe is trying that, and he is also encouraging companies to get more women into the workforce. a lot of documentation showing that japan's economy would actually grow more than any other western country, because there are so few women in the workplace at the moment. they have to overcome this cultural issue of women... have to overcome this cultural issue

of women. .. 47, of 465 members of parliament. it i guess, behind myanmar and gambia parliament. it i guess, behind myanmarand gambia in parliament. it i guess, behind myanmar and gambia in terms of representation. —— myanmar and gambia in terms of representation. -- yes, and it is behind myanmar and gambia in terms of representation. things will change. there are many things people hate about modern day politics. in britain they often refer to prime minister's questions. half an hour in the weekly parliamentary calendar when the prime minister stands at the despatch box to face questions on every aspect of government policy. pmq's as it's known is noisy, combative, and not for the faint hearted. tony blair once said, "from the first to the last, i never stopped fearing it, that tingling apprehension at three minutes to 12," but it is important for every prime minister. if you can show your troops you can win the argument, and see off the opposition, it does wonders for party morale and discipline. the reverse is also true. order, order. order! the house must come to order. isn't it extraordinary that the prime minister of our country can't even urge his party to support his own position?

weak, weak, weak. calm down, dear, calm down. calm down. listen to the doctor. calm down and listen to the doctor. and maybe even a boss to exploit the rules to further his own career... remind him of anybody? mr speaker, when the prime minister wrote at the weekend that she wanted as little friction as possible, washing talking about eu trade or the next cabinet meeting? —— was she speaking about. our next guest knows a lot about the yahs and the boos of pmqs. ayesha hazarika was special adviser to gordon brown and harriet harman; and she is the author of punch & judy politics: an insiders' guide

to prime minister's questions. thanks for having me on. lots of people what to do away with pmqs. why do you make the case for the defence? many people argue it is childish and makes a primary school playground look positively mature, however we think it still has an important function. we have a unique democratic function were once a week the most powerful person in the land can come and take questions on any mp across the land on any topic, and it is noisy and slightly boisterous, but it means they can't sort of hide from expecting to be held to account. and it's a very unique part of british democracy. i have many friends in america, for example, to say right now we would love our president... yes, a big following of pmqs on television are there.” think if we sanitised it and made it very well behaved and docile it would remove an important part of that accountability and we don't

wa nt that accountability and we don't want our parliament to be docile and cowed. i think it is part of british tradition that we have a healthy disrespect for authority, we want to challenge and probe and ask those questions. i think it is also very important for apolitical leader to show that he or she can do business. ibe show that he or she can do business. i be the best person to make the best argument for their party? can they say, as you said in your intro, sock it to the other side and show their own backbenchers in the country they are top dog?” their own backbenchers in the country they are top dog? i have counter argument, from some women, saying it is all a bit gladiatorial, a bit bloke—ish, that it does no more favours than women and is not a format in which some women shine? well, some of the women who have re ce ntly well, some of the women who have recently been at the dispatch box have to act shone the brightest. for example, harriet harman, who i work for, she was the first woman to go there since margaret thatcher answered questions and she was seen to be absolutely be brilliant at it.

margaret thatcher was formidable... but it was a woman who changed the rules as well. didn't the prime minister used to send these questions to their various departments, and she wanted to centralise it and answer questions on it. correct. margaret thatcher exactly the mother of modern prime minister's questions as we know it. when she came in in 1979 she said she would answer all the questions herself, as prime minister, that she would take responsibility. that also gave her great power across departments because she could say, look, i'm the person answering for your department, so you need to give me all the information, and as we all know in politics knowledge is power. you mentioned the point about lots of americans who would love to haveit lots of americans who would love to have it now i have been for four residencies and they say, oh, if we could only have had george bush in pmqs it would have been great. would it work with american presidents, though? is there one in modern history you could imagine standing up history you could imagine standing up at the dispatch box and answering questions like that?”

up at the dispatch box and answering questions like that? i think obama would have handled himself very well at the dispatch box, obviously, because i think he was a very gifted communicator, he could handle a lot of subjects. he was good at distilling contributed things into simple lines, but the trick of being good at pmqs is notjust coming along with a sound bite. you have to have a good are the —— complicated things into simple lines. that clip with tony blair famously saying weak, weak, weak tojohn major, only three lines, but it was devastating because it got to the truth at the time thatjohn major was because it got to the truth at the time that john major was very divided and very weak on europe. prime minister's questions allows you, the wit and a little sound bit, it is the icing, the cherry on the top of the cake, but underneath there needs to be quite a lot of intellect and strategic thought and proper argument. you prepped ed miliband. can you give us an insight into how he responded before he went |n, into how he responded before he went in, what his worries were? to be fair, as you said, all prime

ministers and leaders hated it. ed would get quite nervous, i have to say, because david cameron was quite rude to him at the dispatch box and we once had an occasion where we we re we once had an occasion where we were asking questions about the badger cull, and ed had this sort of hero that was dark with a little silver in it, and just before he we nt silver in it, and just before he went into the chamber, he grabbed me by the lapels and said, am i a badger? —— he had this sort of hair that was dark with a little sobering it. laughter it is not just laughter it is notjust coming with argument on the facts, but you also need to bea on the facts, but you also need to be a great performer with a great sense of humour. yes, someone who was excellent with that, william hague, the shone at the dispatch box. he told a great story of how he used prime minister's questions because he was a witty and such a good performer, and the tories had been smashed in 1997 and it was only little bit of dignity he could give them back in the house of commons. you are right, humour, being quick on your feet, having a nice turn of phrase, they are all the things...

at the end of the day, it is a stage, the house of commons, and it is very theatrical. lots of high ideas, but people want a bit of theatre as well. i come in... every single night! laughter we arejust laughter we are just showing pictures of theresa may and jeremy corbyn and it is ironic that your book it now, and i hate to see it, —— see it, but are we seeing the two weakest performers at the dispatch box?” we seeing the two weakest performers at the dispatch box? i would agree. i think people feel the quality and calibre of prime minister's questions has significantly nosedived, and both are actually equally matched because neither are very strong performers. they clearly don't like it, and they don't put that much effort into it. what corbyn's team does effectively is the use of prime minister's questions to get clips for social media, so doesn't matter if corbyn loses at prime minister's questions, the clips to his fans will show that he has won, so they are using it in

a slightly different, modern, digital way. it is interesting, he brings out these messages from harry... imagine this, barack obama against margaret thatcher, act pmq ‘s against margaret thatcher, act pmq ns __ against margaret thatcher, act pmq ‘s —— at pmqs. against margaret thatcher, act pmq 's -- at pmqs. what is this, top trumps? laughter even better, barack obama gets donald trump. you wouldn't get a word in! this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — with friends like trump, who needs enemies? donald tusk‘s take on the state of european—american relations. and media en masse — the world watches windsor as foreign news crews arrive to cover the wedding of the year. that's still to come.

good evening. plenty of fine dry weather in the forecast and often it will be sunny to, certainly sunny skies here for a weather watcher in the far north of scotland. it was like that everywhere. more cloud further south than that shows up on satellite picture. this code associated with the weather front, limping south and east word. behind that, yes, some sunshine, but also behind that front we are getting into some relatively cool air. during the night temperatures will dip away, particularly where we have clear, starry skies, and even this cloud in the south will tend to break up. let's look at the temperature profile in the thursday morning. you can see these green and blue colours across north wales, the north midlands, north words, showing temperatures very close to freezing. that could give a touch of brass frost in places to start off tomorrow morning. after a chilly

start we are looking at the bright day with large amounts of sunshine. yes, patchy fairweather cloud developing as the day wears on, but a nice enough theyjust about wherever you are. still keen breeze close to some of these north sea and it will be generally cool. remember we will have that in place but temperatures nudging a degree or so higher than today. in the friday, still fine weather across england and wales, and much of scotland staying fine, particularly towards the east with some sunshine. just some thicker cloud in the north—west scotla nd some thicker cloud in the north—west scotland and certainly northern ireland, maybe the odd spot of rain and those temperatures again just a degree or so higher. into the weekend, important of course with the royal wedding, and high—pressure looks set to dominate. weather never too far away from the but certainly in windsor it should be dry on saturday with some spells of sunshine, temperatures eventually getting up to 20 or 21 degrees. you can see for the vast majority are lovely looking day on saturday with

patchy cloud and sunny spells. a bit more of a breeze and northern ireland and west of scotland. maybe some extra cloud here. those temperatures doing quite nicely, around 16—21 degrees. in the sunday, france likely to bring rain across the north west of scotland and certainly northern ireland but certainly northern ireland but certainly south and east holding onto that sunshine —— weather fronts likely to bring rain. temperatures up likely to bring rain. temperatures up to 22 23 degrees. —— 22 or 23 degrees. this is beyond one hundred days with me, katty kay, and christian fraser in london. our top stories: donald trump has questioned whether the summit with the north korean leader, kimjong—un, will go ahead, saying he'd insist on full denuclearisation. starring roles for prince george and princess charlotte at the royal wedding, but it's still not clear whether meghan's father will be there.

more on both of those stories in a moment. also coming up in the next half hour: with friends like that, who needs enemies? the european council president launches a scathing attack on president trump for abandoning the iran nuclear deal and imposing trade tariffs. lama i am a ginger haired royal fan in the uk. the other transatlantic duo — their podcast on why they're just wild about harry and meghan. let us know your thoughts by using the hashtag #beyond100days. north korea threatening to cancel the summit with donald trump if the us insists it give up its nuclear weapons seems to have caught the white house by surprise. the president today could only say he's heard nothing yet from pyongyang. apparently the regime

was angered by comments from the national security advisor, john bolton, suggesting they could follow a libya model. but the white house has been playing down the latest rhetoric from pyongyang. joining us now from new york is ron christie, who served as an advisor to george w bush. i'm tempted to say to you we wish you were here, which we fiercely do. let's move onto this summit. the way you hold a summit like this is you do the footwork beforehand, i about all of the wrinkles, try to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen to catch you by surprise. that was the problem with this being called so hastily. good afternoon. no question about it. in events like this, this is a highly choreographed, scripted event. when the summit takes place, the only thing you need is the two principals to show up. everything has a ready

been agreed. many have some thing like this where everything is being pulled together at the last second, anything can happen. here we have jon bolton sayings of thing that provoked the north koreans and leaving them saying, we're not sure we wa nt leaving them saying, we're not sure we want to do this. once again, this is what happens if you don't take a deliberate pause to make sure you ban it out properly. we did say at the top of the programme that we shouldn't be surprised because if you look back at the history of these negotiations, back to 1994, this is what they do. this is what they do. this is exactly what they do. what they have wanted to do for the last 25 years become a player on the last 25 years become a player on the world stage. how do they do that? they offer a dangling branches of peace, offer to tone down the rhetoric. they seem to get what they wa nt rhetoric. they seem to get what they want and then they retreat back behind the shell they have been the thing under. this doesn't surprise me at all. we have seen kim jong—un

meet with his counterpart in south korea. you had highly publicised events coming up with the president of the united states. as far as the north koreans are concerned, they have already won. how can you go into something like this and say you are winning with the dictator of a brutal regime? you need to know what concessions we will get. you need to know what we will get from this summit that we would not otherwise have got. i think the united states should stand firm and have a firm list of concessions. this is what you get when you don't plan for an advance was not thank you for your thoughts. i know you willjoin us later in the programme. but before

that, some of the rest of the day's news. the bank of england's deputy governor has apologised for saying the uk economy is entering a "menopausal" era. ben broadbent used to phrase in a newspaper interview to describe economies that he said were "past their peak and no longer so potent". he later said sorry for his choice of words and the offence caused. i tweeted out he probably doesn't have a menopausal wife because otherwise he would know not to say that kind of thing. i'm just... for the first time ever since we have been doing this programme, christian is now speechless. i will ta ke christian is now speechless. i will take up his time. how ridiculous! were busy to say, that i passed my

best, in decline? twilight era. you are going to say something just very quietly indeed. a media frenzy has descended on the usually sedate royal borough of windsor. with just three days to go until the wedding of prince harry and meghan markle at st george's chapel, reporters and camera crews have been arriving from around the world. there is particular excitement amongst the american networks, as david sillito reports. the royal wedding drama. who wants to attend a royal wedding? this is our converted bathroom. every spare inch of space has been taken over by tv. this is our set/. cbs have even taken up the windows here. tv. this is our set/. cbs have even taken up the windows harem tv. this is our set/. cbs have even taken up the windows here. if you come in here, we have the toilet,

which is our second position. we are converting the shower into an audio booth. across the town, it is a sea of technology and white canvas. it is like a siege cap of white tents has grown up around the castle. 76 international broadcasters, 42 us affiliates and a number of accredited media. accredited access on the day has now topped 5000. pause for a second on the high street and you can end up on portuguese tv. you the uk? bbc news. and for america meghan markle is a game changer. it is a beautiful love story. an american in the royal family. that makes it even more interesting for the americans, one

person saying we now have skin in the game. if this looks like media madness, remember we are still three days away from the main event. what brings together an asian—american woman from minnesota and a red—haired brit who grew up from a sleepy english seaside town? the answer — the royals. kristen meinzer and james barr's love of britain's most talked about family spurred them to launch a transatlantic podcast about the upcoming wedding. the pair met through a mutual friend, and are now drawing listeners the world over. we'll be speaking to them injust a moment. first, a few clips of them in action. i'mjames, a ginger royal loving harry fan i'mjames, a ginger royal loving harryfan in i'mjames, a ginger royal loving harry fan in the uk. i'm christian, and anglophile in the us of a. a behind—the—scenes story of two very well— known people. a behind—the—scenes story of two

very well—known people. kate middleton has brown hair, and so does this actress, but they actually look like they operate well cast. to hell with tradition! we've nailed it, right? and kristenjoins us now from new york, james in london. we echo you two guys, so we love what you do. why the royals? what get you so excited about them?” what you do. why the royals? what get you so excited about them? i am a huge fan of both of them. it is the greatest love story that ever told, it crosses international boundaries and class lines. we have an american woman of colour who is finally going to be a part of this royal family. it is the greatest reality tv show that has ever existed. the royal family has been in the spotlight for 1300 years, and a real tv star isjoining them. i love everything about this story.

describe how you met. you sort of talk about the royal family? you thought it would be a good idea for a podcast? similar to megan and harry, we were introduced through a mutual friend harry, we were introduced through a mutualfriend in london. we headed off and decided we would do a podcast together to share our love and a great eight saves space for those around the world feeling this great fairy tale. is there a clash of cultures between you? i listen to the podcast this morning and it seems you are very british and kristin has a very american take on it. sometimes there are words we don't understand, as i'm sure you have the same problem. we will often hit a moment where i wonder what they are talking about.” hit a moment where i wonder what they are talking about. i do that almost every day! i never know what he's talking about, honestly. you look amazing, and that whole

menopause thing is complete rubbish. i can't believe you didn't step up at that moment. you need to step up. cani at that moment. you need to step up. can i ask something about her acting career. both you and james are fans of her acting career. are you disappointed she had to give that up tojoin the royal disappointed she had to give that up to join the royal family? disappointed she had to give that up to join the royalfamily? of disappointed she had to give that up to join the royal family? of course it isa to join the royal family? of course it is a huge disappointment to all of her tv it is a huge disappointment to all of hertv fans, it is a huge disappointment to all of her tv fans, but this is a gift she is giving the world. she will be an eight larger international stage where what she does affect the humanitarian causes she cares about. what she will be doing now will be bigger than being on a scripted show, which is not to say it is not important, but she will be able to bring all of that and ash and polish and skills, or that photogenic... this to the world, and it will be

for good reasons and courses. photogenic deliciousness, that is how i describe christian. you two super indie just parker ‘s wedding and this couple. is there. just one tiny thing you would not wa nt to just one tiny thing you would not want to change? in their relationship or...? want to change? in their relationship or. . . ? anything! we made a prediction awhile back on our podcast that gloria would walk megan down the aisle. and that could be true. i am down the aisle. and that could be true. iam really down the aisle. and that could be true. i am really excited about that prospect. you also predicted the first song they will dance to. do you want to share what that will be? it is whitney houston, i want to dance with somebody. we are lucky, because christian was about to dance. we sing all that all the time

to each other. we know he is a dancer. you are coming over, though? absolutely, i am on a flight first thing tomorrow. i have my fascinator 's and by dresses ready. christian has got his as well. we need to coordinate outfits. that enough! we have to move on. we have run out of time. thank you forjoining us. no fascinator ‘s or dresses on christian. this is beyond one hundred days. still to come, what don't you know about the royal wedding? stick around for another of christian's fun facts. can't wait. here, the east coast mainline is heading back into public hands for the third time in a decade. from next month, the london to edinburgh services

will temporarily be taken over by the department of transport. simonjones reports. it is the end of the line for virgin trains east coast. services will be brought back under public control. they will terminate virgin's east coast contract. i plan to use a period of last resort control to maintain the line. we will recreate one of the iconic lines. it has been run as a one of the iconic lines. it has been run asajoint one of the iconic lines. it has been run as a joint venture between stagecoach and virgin. the government says the company ‘s have

got their numbers wrong and have lost almost £200 million. it is the third time injust over a decade that it has been forced to call a halt to the east coast franchise. dn er restrict of it and another later. it is another monumental misjudgement to add to a growing list of miscalculations by this secretary of state. stagecoach said it was surprised and disappointed after failing to negotiate a new deal. the website for its successor is already up and running. it aims to reassure passengers that their journeys will not be affected. the government release a longer term the way forward is a partnership between the public and private sectors. what many want to know after so many failures is who can make a success of this line both financially and for travellers. you're watching beyond one hundred days.

never in the field of british politics has so much happened with so little progress. we're not sure what winston churchill would make of the brexit negotiations but it's clear to everyone we are still a long way from a deal. this week the pm split her cabinet into two groups to hammer out their differences on the future of the customs union. in brussels, michel barnier, the eu's chief negotiator says he thinks neither option the government is considering is viable, and has questioned the point in debating them at all. but we are going to debate them, with labour's seema mulhotra and the conservative nigel evans. and, thanks to their maximum facilitation, they are with us in the studio. we normally only ever see you in boxes. it is great to see you in the studio. you have been at a ten, presumably part of the group that went in there. i think there were

five groups. i don't know where she gets her resilience from. which option ayew plumping for? the partnership deal, which is collecting tariffs on behalf of the eu, or is it maximum facilitation?” prefer the second one rather that the first. i don't see why we should be collecting taxes for the 27. we can use new technology, number plate recognition. people are clearly using computers for the time to say what is on the back of their lorries. we have seen it between canada and the usa. it is not as though talking about technology that has not been invented. on the goods coming into southampton, for instance, from outside the european union, only 1% is ever looked at. we're not talking about 26 miles of ca rs we're not talking about 26 miles of cars and lorries blocking the roads. that is get hectic this. -- that is

scare tactics. i hope that they will see the light of day. this is what nigel hasjust said, see the light of day. this is what nigel has just said, clearly that is the leader option, as borisjohnson has so eloquently described in his outbursts recently. it is extraordinary that he has taken the opportunity to publicly criticise the customs partnership. the first option. both options are not viable, even the hmo see is challenging whether or not these options are viable, not just the whether or not these options are viable, notjust the eu. the difficulty is that both have problems. the first one would mean that we would have two track any goods coming into the uk that may be subject to a different tariff to the eu. that means it will have other costs a nd eu. that means it will have other costs and barriers for businesses. the big criticism of the second

option is that it is very likely, almost inevitable, that it would lead to a hard border in ireland. i think that when you look at the irish question and what we need to do to make sure we don't go down that road, you cannot have a situation where you have on the one hand there will not be any of the structure at the border and then on the other hand you say that you need it. there is so much negativity. she should be wearing black because she is still in mourning... the final point to make is that there was agreement in the commons to night, say it, is that will. féizfii we all i lead to a longer transition. we all know that a second referendum and a longer transition will make.” thought the whole exit... sorry, i

have been in america for a while, so i don't really know. it is starting to look like me that you should not have had a referendum purely on the customs union, because that is what eve ryo ne customs union, because that is what everyone is talking about. the interesting thing today at prime minister ‘s questions is thatjeremy corbyn brilliantly cornered theresa may when he said, is the fridge in the straight she most worried about between the uk and the eu or between both sides of her party? she was watching a different match to the one i was watching. five different groups going to the pm! as she says, neither of them might be acceptable to the eu in the end. she has —— theresa may has said that no deal is better than a bad deal. we have got

to be bullish about it. it is about showing your hand. nobody is saying to europe, show is your hand. shall we segue? these discriminative tween london and brussels... disagreements between london and brussels are being matched by tensions between brussels and washington. we're about to show something some of you might find offensive. this was the front cover of german magazine der spiegel this week, which needs no interpretation. and today the president of the european council, donald tusk, weighed in with some equally uncompromising language. looking at the latest decisions of

president trump, someone could even think with friends like that, who needs enemies? but, frankly speaking, europe should be grateful for president trump because, thanks to him, we have got rid of all the illusions. he has made us realise that if you need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of your arm. how much does that reflect the views of london as well at the moment?” think if you take this week and the provocative way in which double trump moved to the us embassy over tojerusalem trump moved to the us embassy over to jerusalem and trump moved to the us embassy over tojerusalem and what has happened asa tojerusalem and what has happened as a result of that, there is a real question about in whose interest he is making these decisions. the most

important thing i would say is that the relationship between the eu and the relationship between the eu and the usa has got to go beyond one president. we have a strong and important history together, and our economies are closely intertwined. if you take many of the debates we have been having in parliament, in quite a serious week, they come down to our prosperity and security. that is fundamentally what we are focused on. the reason we showed that magazine colour is because it shows the tenor of the conversation at the moment. is there a danger that a relationship with the usa will sour? all i remember is that we had an election in the usa where he scored millions of votes. i don't remember

who voted for donald tusk. he said he will do a trade deal with the united kingdom and i'm keen to get that happening. there is a lot of protectionism on both sides. we need to dismantle all of these particular problems that really prevent us from trading freely. frictionless trade! we may have just got them agreeing. there we go. time to leave it. thank you very much, both of you, for joining us. now to my favourite part of the programme, and katty‘s least favourite. it's time to play fun royal wedding facts. i've got the state trumpeters now over that graphic. extra money in the ten today and they have put some trumpets on it.

on thursday and friday, i will be on the long walk — the approach road that runs south from windsor castle — where thousands of people will wait to see the couple on saturday. it is 2.65 miles long. it was laid by king charles ii and planted with trees on either side by william of orange. today it is crossed by the albert road, which is where the couple will turn into long walk on saturday. as you look to the great park, you will see the imposing statue at the end — known as the copper horse. it has george iii on it. do you want my fact of the day? can we get it over with. 25 tonnes of cannons were used to forge this was. it doesn't have stirrups because in roman times they didn't have stirrups. the sculptor roman times they didn't have stirru ps. the sculptor committed suicide, although that may not have been the case after all.

what are you thinking about the wedding? i am sad i am not there with you. i will take a long walk from my bedroom to the television and have a glass of champagne. do you feel like one of the americans that we saw earlier in the programme, that you have skin in the game now in terms of the royal family? of course i do. she is great, i love her, i love watching that television show. frankly, we get a biracial american who will join the royal family. get a biracial american who will join the royalfamily. this is the story. i love it. that is why we love you. thank you forjoining us. getting us out of more fun facts. more of them, i fear, getting us out of more fun facts. more of them, ifear, tomorrow. and we will be in windsor. join us for that. good evening. plenty of fine, dry

weather in the forecast for the next few days and often it will be sunny as well. certainly some sunny skies here in the far north of scotland. it wasn't like that everywhere. more cloud further south, which up nicely on the satellite photo. cloud associated with a weather front moving south and east. behind that, some sunshine, but also we are getting into some relatively cool air. during tonight, temperatures willdip air. during tonight, temperatures will dip away. particularly well we have clear skies. even the cloud in the south will break up. looking at the south will break up. looking at the temperature profile into the morning, green and blue weathers across parts of north wales and northwards. temperatures down very close to freezing, perhaps giving us some grass frost in places to start tomorrow. after a chilly start, we

looking at a bright day with large amounts of sunshine. yes, we could see some patchy fair weather cloud developing as the day wears on, what a nice enough day. still eight keen breeze towards the north seacoast. cool air breeze towards the north seacoast. coolair in place, breeze towards the north seacoast. cool air in place, but temperatures will nudge a degree or so higher than today. into friday, fine weather across england and wales. much of scotland staying fine, especially towards the east. some thicker cloud into the west of scotla nd thicker cloud into the west of scotland and northern ireland. temperatures again a degree or so higher. an important weekend with the royal wedding and high pressure looks set to dominate the scene. weather systems never too far away from the north—west. temperatures eventually reach around 20 or 21 degrees. you can see for the vast

majority a lovely looking day on saturday with patchy cloud and sunny spells. more of a breeze into northern ireland and western scotland, maybe some more cloud here. temperatures are doing nicely, between 16 and 21 degrees. into sunday, a weather front brings some rain across western scotland and northern ireland. the south holding onto that sunshine, with some warmth to be had with temperatures up to 22 or 23 degrees. this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at eight the government brings rail services on the troubled east coast main line from london to edinburgh back under public control. i think it's a good idea, the people who have run and in the past have been pretty useless. all people really wa nt been pretty useless. all people really want is good service and that things are a corporate culture gone rotten, mps deliver withering criticism of the collapsed construction giant carillion. donald trump says he doesn't know if his planned summit with kim jong—un will go ahead. north korea has threatened to pull out over us pressure to give

up its nuclear weapons. also in the next hour, new pages are discovered from the diary of anne frank, the schoolgirl who hid from the nazis in an attic in amsterdam. anne hid the pages, which contain some of her thoughts on sex, underneath gummed brown paper.