rain, this is bbc news. the headlines. ahead of a crucial eu summit next week, senior cabinet ministers have met with the prime minister to discuss progress in the brexit talks conducting an extremely tough negotiation, the prime minister doing two astronauts survive an emergency landing after their russian soyuz rocket malfunctions soon after launch, russian officials say they've begun a criminal investigation a transgender prisoner who sexually assaulted two inmates at a women's jail and had previously raped two other women is given a life sentence. fashion retailer coast collapses into administration with the immediate closure of 2a outlets — putting 300 jobs at risk and, the man who tackled a london bridge terrorist armed only with his skateboard posthumously receives the george medal for bravery — his parents

collected his award from the queen theresa may has met a group of senior cabinet ministers this evening to discuss brexit negotiations ahead of a crucial summit in brussels next week. ministers, including the foreign secretaryjeremy hunt and the defence secretary gavin williamson, left downing street in the past hour, without revealing the details of the discussions to reporters. the prime minister is under increasing pressure from the democratic unionist party who are threatening to withdraw support for the government if it's not happy with the final brexit deal. the president of the european council donald tusk has previously said this month is the "moment of truth" for the eu and uk to reach agreement. oui’

our political correspondent is there and a lot of people are saying that this is the prime minister telling the senior cabinet figures that a deal is close. that is the speculation that people are feeling we are going in. yes, it does feel thatis we are going in. yes, it does feel that is where the momentum is. abb need progress at the european council next week in brussels, they wa nt council next week in brussels, they want the green light to be given than for a final brexit summit in november. and this whole thing to be signed off on and we get into the business of trying to get the withdrawal deal and the outline of the future partnership signed off compartment. that would be the end of this process of course. the key sticking point clearly still remains the question of the irish backstop,

what to do in the long term. and thatis what to do in the long term. and that is what there is so much energy and argument has been so far, it happened, they're and argument has been so far, it happened, they‘ re about and argument has been so far, it happened, they're about a dozen cabinet members and the senior chief said this. we are conducting an extremely difficult investigation. the chief, this was not a cabinet discussion, an informal one to decide matters really. i think it was in update the ministers on what was in update the ministers on what was going on regarding the backstop question. we know what, that we want northern ireland to remain as part of the customs union, and number ten insists that the only backstop us to

apply to the whole of the united kingdom. and that is the great concerned of the du pe. they have made it clear that they will not stomach any sort of backstop arrangement that will put northern ireland ina arrangement that will put northern ireland in a separate customs territory to the rest of the united kingdom and wreck the spokesman stressed this point earlier today. the backstop being proposed were northern ireland would be left inside the single market, subject to all of the eu regulations and laws, never late to the single market, excluded from trade deals which the uk made with other companies in the future and subject to the european court ofjustice, it is totally unacceptable, and will exactly what the prime minister said which is break up the united kingdom. as prime minister, honouryour

break up the united kingdom. as prime minister, honour your promise that you give time and time again to the people of ireland, to the people publicly, we will stand by the agreement we have with you, break that promise in the agreement no longer stands. very tight-lipped about the discussion that happened this evening, we think that it is very much about the way the backstop for northern ireland might work. and we know that the uk has been pushing with the eu, the idea that the customs territory i will be a part of the backstop should apply to the whole of the uk, but is a very critical question on how long that backstop should remain in place, whether it should be time limited or not. a russian space rocket has made a emergency landing in the desert in kazakhstan, after suffering an engine problem shortly after blasting off. the soyuz spacecraft was taking a russian and an american to the international space station, when one of the booster rockets failed.

the two crew members landed safely, as our correspondent sarah rainsford reports from moscow. liftoff. and there is liftoff of the soyuz. it looked at first like a routine launch, a burst of fire and noise as a soyuz rocket lifted its russian and american crew into orbit. then this. less than three minutes into the flight, commander alexey ovchinin reports an emergency with the booster system. behind the translator, you can hear his calm voice, quipping that it was a quick flight. moments later, though, the astronauts are hurtling back to earth. rescue teams were poised to rush to the landing site. the crew did train for exactly this type of scenario, the gruelling g force their bodies have to endure, but russia's soyuz rocket hasn't failed on launch for 35 years. this is a major blow to its space programme. for american nick hague,

it's also an abrupt end to his first ever mission. he's been training for years to spend six months on the international space station. currently russian rockets are the only way to reach it. now all flights have been suspended as an investigation is launched. we are working together for the international space station with our american colleagues, with russia, with japan and canada, and the europeans. and of course, this mishap of today is not a very good thing for us, because we need the transportation to the international space station for our astronauts. the crew are looking remarkably well after their ordeal. russian space officials, though, face tough questions over what went wrong here. we'll get more on that story at around 8.30 when we'll be joined by space journalist and author sarah

cruddas. clothing chain coast has collapsed into administration, leaving 300 jobs at risk. all of its 18 uk outlets are to close immediately including stores at oxford street and westfield in london. pricewaterhousecoopers has been appointed as administrators. its numerous concessions in department stores including house of fraser, debenhams and john lewis will continue to trade. and we hope to bring you more on that story before nine o'clock here on bbc news. the work and pensions secretary esther mcvey has said that some people could be worse off under the government's plans to roll out universal credit — but she's argued that the system encourages people in to work. it comes as the former conservative prime minister, sirjohn major warned that universal credit — which consolidates 6 benefits for working—age people into one — could cause "deep political trouble", comparing it to the poll tax of the 1980s. 0ur deputy political editor john pienaar reports from bath. no problem finding milk

for a cupper anyway, fridge always seems to be empty. soon millions on benefit will be getting universal credit and each has their own tale to tell. the problem, hers sounds familiar. how is this benefit working after you? it's really tough, it took five weeks of the first payment to come through, so it took out a loan, which i haven't really ever caught up from. well they said this benefit is supposed to encourage you and other people to work. the money that i do earn, any part—time work is completely taken off the benefit, so it's very hard to gain momentum. it's really tough. the money that i do get, pretty much just covers the rent and nothing else. they started phasing in universal credit here in bath in a few other areas. next year it will be replacing six benefits across the country. reports see more than 3 million houses will lose over £2000 a year.

now there is worry in the tory party at a senior—level. in order to introduce something like universal credit, you need to look at those people who are, in the short term but are going to lose and protect them, or you'll run into the sort of problems that the conservative party ran into with poll tax in the late 1980s. so the principal has a great deal to commend it but it is not workable if there aren't the resources to introduce it properly. numbers forced to use food banks rose sharply in areas piloting universal credit, according to one study, delays in payment made hardship worse. the government insists most claimants are satisfied, but not all. some people could be worse off. on this benefit. but what we also know is that a thousand people, each and every day, since 2010, each and every day, 1000 people have gone into work. jeremy corbyn was out and about in bristol today, promising something

fairer, more generous. essentially, our benchmarks will be nobody should be worse off and nobody should have their homes put at risk because of universal credit. with the budget statement weeks away, there will be pressure on the chancellor to head up the tax like that, not easy with the treasury so strapped for cash. theresa may is also saying austerity is the most over, her words it is the most over, her words a dose of optimism. so many the pitfalls in the path of ms may and her ministers and no clear way through. people living in some areas of england are finding it hard to access good health and social care services, according to the independent regulator the care quality commission. it's pointed to what it's calling a growing care injustice, saying a lack of collaboration between health and social care is putting pressure on a&e departments, with 41 per cent of them needing improvement. its latest report, says that while quality in the system has

largely been maintained, patients' experiences vary hugely — depending on where they live. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt reports. a visit from local schoolchildren is a lwa ys a visit from local schoolchildren is always a highlight in the nursing home in scarborough. hello. a civic ca re home in scarborough. hello. a civic care here is good, but the care quality commission is requiring improvement. the hospital also needs to do better. today's report says that the pressures that some areas facing the comes to the support people need. homes like this for most of the residence are paid for by the local council said they face an increasingly difficultjuggling act. residents of more complex

needs, higher standards that are operating and underfunded care system. the expectations are high. we rightly applied high standards, but with staffing, children and nurses, care staff and it is all having an impact on us. in his families that feel that impact. he simply could not find a care company able to visit her parents and her own home. after her dad ended up in hospital, the only options for the couple to move to a residential home. i've lived in the same village and environment for the last 91 years, he's ever anywhere else. so it was, it would have been preferable for them to have stayed at home with care in the home. the ctc talks about emergency departments as the most obvious indication of failures in the system. 0ut indication of failures in the

system. out in the community, and it wa nts system. out in the community, and it wants more money will have to be put in to council funded care. if we do not adjust the funding challenge, will find the £20 billion will be spent on hospital care for people that don't need to be there and when they are there, they're there for much longer. because they can't get out of hospital and they social care. the report calls for more integration like you're in wakefield where community services ranging from health care to housing are based together. when you contacted somebody from the opposite desk were previously it my bit in a couple of days of phone calls to get the person that you really need to move that case forward to give you a call back. we are in a totally different situation. a testament to the health and care staff that must support people get is good. and it is putting more money into social care to ease pressures this winter. and to find out how your local

services are performing, you can use the bbc‘s nhs tracker on our website the headlines on bbc news. senior cabinet ministers are briefed by the prime minister on the state of the brexit talks, ahead of an eu summit next week two astronauts survive an emergency landing after their russian soyuz rocket malfunctions on its way to the international space station a transgender prisoner who sexually assaulted two inmates at a women's jail and had previously raped two other women is given a life sentence. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's will perry. let's start by bringing you up to date with tonight's

football, there's live nations league action as we speak. these are latest scores and you can see scotland lead by a goal to nil against israelm in haifa, celtic‘s charlie mulgrew with a first half penalty. alex mclesih‘s side looking to make to two wins from two after their opening group win against albania. n0 christiano ronaldo for portugal again tonight, and poland are up 1—0. russia sweden kicks off in half an hour's time there areinternational friendlies being played tonight as well. ryan giggs is watching his wales side trail spain by two goals to nil at the principality stadium. paco al—cather scored the first goal, and sergio ramos got the second. it's goalless between the world champions france and iceland england play croatia in ree—eka in their second nations league match tomorrrow after a opening group defeat against spain. whilst croatia have already named their starting line—up, gareth southgate feels any team he names will be more than capable of matching the world cup finallists nobody in the squad and we are not

thinking about putting in the team, it is players we believe in. players that whatever the cases are, relatively inexperienced at the highest level, we have players that we have enjoyed working with and it showed in training this week that they can handle this level and we will pick than we think is the best one win the game. the football association held a "healthy discussion" today about the proposed sale of wembley stadium to american billionaire shahid khan. the deal, worth around 900 million pounds, will go to a vote of the fa council on the 24th of october — with around a two thirds majority needed for the sale to proceed. bbc sport understands the proposal is very much in the balance with councillors wanting further information and reassurance on how the cash will be spent and administered. we talked about, two or three hours,

a lot more information and thinking to do. if they're concerned about how the money is spent? how the money is spent is always going to be not just a money is spent is always going to be notjust a concern but it is an absolute fact in making a decision. tommie smith, the former american athlete who produced the black power salute on the podium at the 1968 summer olympics, says he cried when he saw colin kapernick take a knee in protest at racial injustice. the player, then with the san francisco 49ers chose not to stand during the national anthem and faced critcism for disrespecting the american flag choosing to make his own protestjust as smith did fifty years ago. i wanted to meet him as much as he wa nted i wanted to meet him as much as he wanted to meet me. i wanted to meet him had he not taken any, but because he recognised the fact that these guys did the same thing. i wonder what they were thinking, and the sacrificial stance that he took

revealed his upbringing, the need to be better socially. and not for the sake of money. same thing, 50 years later. billyjoe saunderswilll relinquish he wbo world middleweight title with a heavy heart, according to promoter frank warren, after being refused a boxing license for his next defence. after returning an adverse finding in a voluntary anti doping association test in august, saunders was denied a license to fight demetrius andrade. warren said the boxer will give up his belt because of the "mental anguish but plans to challenge the decision in court. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc dot c0 dot uk slash sport that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in sportsday at 10.30 the british couple

killed in flash flooding in majorca were from moffat in the south of scotland. antony and delia green, who were both in their 70s, were on holiday on the island. at least 10 people are believed to have died after torrential rainstorms hit the area on tuesday night. the family said antony and delia green were a loving, kind and caring couple. two people have died after the third—strongest storm in recorded history hit the us mainland. storm michael made landfall near mexico beach in florida, at around 6pm yesterday. it brought storm surges nearly ten feet high to florida, and 155 mile an hour winds. hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses have been left without electricity in florida, alabama and georgia. the wife of a british academic being held in solitary confinement in the united arab emirates has said her husband was not spying and was only there for research purposes. matthew hedges is a phd student at durham university. he was arrested at dubai airport in may after a research trip to interview sources

about the country's security policies. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, has been speaking to his counterpart in the uae about the matter. the president of turkey has urged saudi arabia to release images to prove that a missing saudi journalist left its consulate in istanbul. jamal khashog—ji was last seen entering the consulate last week, and turkey believes he was murdered while in the embassy. saudi arabia strongly denies this. mr khashog—ji has been living in self—imposed exile in the us and has been writing opinion pieces for the washington post before his disappearance. earlier president trump addressed the case in the oval office and had this to say about the prospect of stopping us arms sales to saudi arabia. we are looking at it very strongly,

will live a report out soon. we are working with saudi arabia, what happened is a terrible thing, assuming it happened and maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised, but somehow i tend to doubt it. and we take it very seriously. a transgender prisoner who sexually assaulted two inmates at a women's jail and had previously raped two other women has been given a life sentence. 52 year old karen white was born male and now identifies as a woman. 7 she is still in the process of transistioning from male to female. karen — once known as stephen wood — was described in court as a "predator" who was a "danger to women". she had ended up in the female new hall prison at wakefield on remand after a number of sexual offences, including rape. it was while she was in new hall she sexually assaulted two inmates who she had befriended. but facing questions about how someone who'd raped women and who claimed to be transgender ended up in a female jail — the ministry ofjustice has now apologised — saying a transgender case board should have considered

white's previous offences. karen white is tonight in armleyjail — the mens' prison in leeds — and will serve a minimum of nine years in prison. (pres) let's speak to richard garside who is the director let's speak to richard garside who is the director of the centre for crime and justice studies. he joins us via webcam from south east london. they differjoining us this evening. there will be many people looking at this case, wondering how it could've happened. at this prisoner could've ended up in a female prison. you like it happened simply because the policy allows for the illinois the reality is, the to be transferred to women's prison. and i believe that is an entirely

unacceptable situation. those identify as women need to feel safe in prison and the other the art respected, but i do not think that you be at the expense of... the transgendered prisoner being put in a male prison might feel themselves incredibly unsafe and that is what they have been considering. exactly, prisons are not safe places. two people or week or so killed themselves in prison in the near self harm. and many people with mental health problems. so it is a real problem, there's no doubt about that and the male prison is certainly a difficult situation right now. but more than half of women imprisoned for life experienced sexual or other gross violence by men and their being asked to share their space with other prisoners that they would consider to be male. i do not think

thatis consider to be male. i do not think that is an acceptable situation to be in. his solution is to be found, the only view is that the prison service needs to provide alternative accommodation for transgendered prisoners so they can be respected and not be in the woman's estate. this is a very rare case, how may we'll be talking about? a separate prison —— how many people would we be talking about? we do not exactly know, because there's a difference between whether you have prisoners with a gender recognition certificate and who do not, and many of them will probably remain in the prison of their sex because maybe they are in for a short period but do not wish to be transferred to an alternative prison. thank you very much for speaking to us this evening. ajudge in new york has dismissed one of the six criminal

charges against film producer harvey weinstein. the dismissed charge concerns an alleged sexual assault of an aspiring actress in 200a. harvey weinstein still faces five other charges, involving alleged assaults of two other women. he has denied all allegations of non—consensual sex and remains released oni million dollar bail. the parents of a spanish man killed when he confronted the london bridge terrorists spoke of their pride today, as they collected their son's posthumous george medal for bravery from the queen. ignasio echeveriya used his skateboard to try to hit one of the attackers. three police officers were also honoured for their bravery on the night of the attack, in june last year. sophie long reports from buckingham palace. few of those who have been enjoying their saturday night out around the market in june last year will ever forget the horrific scenes they witnessed.

but as the attackers unleashed terror, killing eight peoplem injuring dozens more, they were confronted by selfless people, injuring dozens more, they were confronted by selfless acts of hero was him. he used to skateboard to fend off an attacker, he died trying to save a woman who was being stabbed. today, his parents received their son's george medal, his dad told me how proud he was of the way son lived and the way he died. translation: he would be tremendously happy, he was someone who really made the most of his life, both professionally and with life in general. and he would be really surprised. pc‘s charlie and wayne, both sustained severe injuries as they tried to protect the public. each were rewarded the george medal. and pc macleod was given the queens medalfor

gallantry. i'm glad that they can see me today. enjoy the lovely day at buckingham palace. proud smiles from three men whose heroic acts save the lives and changed theirs forever. the rapper — ye, formerly known as kanye west, has met donald trump in the oval office to discuss a number of subjects, including criminaljustice reform, jobs and gang violence in his home town of chicago. he wore a make america great again cap as he spoke to the president in front of reporters, telling them to help him do good. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello, storm callum is on its way to the uk, with the spell of strong, potentially destructive

winds from the western parts of the uk by the end of the night and into tomorrow. clear skies ahead on storm callum's rain, into the shower you are no i've mentioned the wind in south wales, 18 mm, amassing more ofa in south wales, 18 mm, amassing more of a south facing hills. in the uk tomorrow getting the strongest winds out, mainly into the north and west, parts of eastern england which will stay dry throughout the day and a taste of these winds will be in exposure to western parts, about 17 mph, it is still technically mild but for some very wet. hello this is bbc news.

the headlines: senior members of the cabinet have met the prime minister to discuss progress in the brexit talks, ahead of a critical eu summit next week. ministers left the meeting this evening without giving any details to reporters. two astronauts have escaped unharmed after their soyuz spacecraft was forced to make an emergency high speed landing in kazakstan shortly after launch. the rocket malfunctioned on its way to the international space station. a transgender prisoner who sexually assaulted two inmates

at a women's jail and had previously raped two other women has been given a life sentence. karen white — who is transitioning — was described as a predator who was a danger to women and children. the fashion retailer coast has collapsed into administration with the immediate closure of its 18 uk outlets. 300 jobs are at risk — the compa ny‘s concessions in department stores will continue trading. russian officials are investigating the cause of a booster rocket problem that forced a soyuz spacecraft to make an emergency landing shortly after launch. the two crew members — a russian cosmonaut and an american — are said to be in a good condition. they were heading for a six—month mission on the international space station when their flight was aborted. the director general of the european space agency, says although a full investigation

will be made he is confident the safety measures of the launcher are satisfactory right now we depend 100% on the transport by the russian soyuz, and they have a very good record with this. and one has to say that even today this was a safe system because the rescue worked, so the safety measures of this launcher are very good and the two astronauts are well. they are in good shape, so therefore i think we should investigate the case and as soon as possible fly again. i'm joined now by space journalist and author sarah cruddas. thank you for communion speaking to us. thank you for communion speaking to us. to start off with, can you explain why this malfunction? what went wrong? do they know yet? we don't know. we know it is to do with the boosters, you have the first phase of the rocket bequette two above the severe end of the big heavy lifting and the boosters

boosting into orbit and get you into space. we think, what we know at that point where the boosters fire there was a major malfunction. and there was a major malfunction. and there was a major malfunction. and there was an abort, we don't know whether that was caused by the mission control on the ground or whether it was an automatic abort, but i think this is a positive news story today because the last time we had a major malfunction of this type during launch was the challenger disaster in 1986 and what we saw todayis disaster in 1986 and what we saw today is the escape system worked, the soyuz rocket is usually reliable. it was a ballistic reentry which is the almost dropped like a stone to the earth but the parachutes will be down so not particularly pleasant for the ash not particularly pleasant for the ashen nods story because the safety systems have worked. it must have been totally petrifying. they would not have know how it would end, they must have thought the worst would be about to happen. i disagreed because astronauts train and train and i think if you're eye rake what else was going to space it would be bad to find that these people are more likely to be frustrated they having

gone to spain than this have happened because they have trained for everything —— haven't gone to space. when you get situations like that you look at the video footage and it's terrifying and two humans walked away from that and i think thatis walked away from that and i think that is testament to the fact that even the machines fail and things go wrong we are able to walk away and save to astronauts lives today. they won't be able to go to the space station. what are the repercussions that there will be? we don't know just yet because when a rocket fails it's never going to be something simple. an investigation is beginning now, but at the moment the only way humans can get to the international space station is by the soyuz rocket. america stopped watching back in july the soyuz rocket. america stopped watching back injuly 2011, the commercial launch vehicles in base have not come into play yet in china does not work within the international space station so we could see the crew on the international space station spending a lot longer in space because if they return to earth that we will see a situation where the international space station is on crude and we don't want to see that.

so, the ones who are there, how long can they stay there? is not all stations cannot go there. missions without crew can still fly there, they have a lot of food, they have a lot of provisions. again, this crew will have trained for a situation like this. the crew onboard the international space station will be working with the authorities to work out what to do next, but at the moment everybody safe. thank you. employers could be forced to reveal the difference between what they pay ethnic minority staff and other employees, under new proposals unveiled by the government. a consultation has been launched into whether mandatory reporting will help address the significant gaps in pay, and promotion opportunities, that were revealed in a race disparity audit last year, as our business correspondent emma simpson explains. it's a diverse workplace, this big accountancy firm is one of the few companies that have already reported

the difference in pay between its white employees and its black asian and minority staff. there is an average pay gap year of nearly 13%. ijust average pay gap year of nearly 13%. i just wanted to average pay gap year of nearly 13%. ijust wanted to know average pay gap year of nearly 13%. i just wanted to know what you thought about the ethnicity pay gap? down in the camp team the answers from these workers was clear. having those results published is very important, and it makes our company transparent and think if everybody can see the result we can see where we stand. it was something that will be read and we'll be happy that they're publishing it because once we know how severe the issue is we can start putting solutions in place. it starts the conversation, because some people would say i'm not really comfortable talking about such a thing. they sure are now. here at pwc the gap is driven by the lack of ethnicity staff at the top.

we know we need to do more to level the playing field and by publishing the playing field and by publishing the pay gap we can shine a spotlight on some of the challenges, have conversation and dialogue and that will mean we'll be fark quicker and better equipped to close the gap. thousands of businesses have already been forced to publish their gender pay gap, exposing some big, uncomfortable differences in pay between the sexes. doing the same ethnic minorities would be even more sensitive, and complex. it's a huge group and the completed groups to one of the things we are going to have to watch that businesses don't do is say it is too complicated to get people to report their ethnicities, so we are going to lump all the black and ethnic minority groups into one and the only ethnicity pay gap we're going to report are the bme versus the white because that would be a huge disaster and they might as well not do anything if they're going to that. the prime minister wants to hear from employers on that. the prime minister wants to hearfrom employers on how that. the prime minister wants to hear from employers on how to best

gather ethnicity pay data. she's made it her mission to create a fairer, more diverse workplace, but this is just fairer, more diverse workplace, but this isjust a consultation fairer, more diverse workplace, but this is just a consultation for now. naomi kellman is from a recruitment company that focus specifically on helping bame people get into career paths. they‘ re currently under—represented in. shejoins me now via webcam from south london. to start off with, can you remind us of what the issue is? there was a finding, wasn't there, that there is a pay finding, wasn't there, that there is 3 pay gap- finding, wasn't there, that there is a pay gap. how big and wide and how big a problem is it? it is showing to bea big a problem is it? it is showing to be a problem in a number of areas. for black male graduates when they go into work they are earning 17% less than their white counterparts, and the nhs has been shown to pay doctors with black and minority that counts less than their white counterparts so it is because

of him —— a number of industry that the problem. do you think there is a suggestion that firms need to publish more details about what's going on in their companies, that the good idea? we have seen it being pushed forward for gender inequality in pay, do you think it will make a difference? definitely. by gathering this data and investigating it, firms have to look at why the problem is fair and what is causing it, andi problem is fair and what is causing it, and i think by starting the conversation they need to be able to start solving those problems, they will not solve it on its own publishing the data but it will mean they have to think about the difficult questions of why these gaps exist. and you alluded to it there but i suppose the next more complicated question is how you start to solve it. are there companies that are already addressing this where people can maybe learn from their best practice as to what actually works, and what actually helps people get propelled into those kind of careers? yes, i think the practice is looking at which particular groups are not managing to progress at the same

rate as others and putting in place programmes to support them. often in firms in onejoining is something that helps people get on but the problem is you often mentor informally people who are like you. if someone is from an ethnic minority group they may not be getting that informal mental ring so mentoring programmes ensure everyone has access to details or when information is coming out what the process is for pay rises, level a playing field and makes them more transparent. would you say that it is sometimes a matter of people from the ame backgrounds not applying for this kind ofjobs because they might look and think there is no one who looks like me, is putting people on or is it more than that?” looks like me, is putting people on or is it more than that? i think it may make people wonder can a progress here and i want to, and i think it is really important that if there are any firms acknowledge and put in place for them to show people how they progress. thank you very

much forjoining us this evening. the way schools in england are judged by inspectors is to change — with more emphasis being placed on what's taught, rather than exam results. the chief inspector of 0sted, amanda spielman, says the focus on performance data has narrowed the curriculum in some schools. 0ur education editor branwen jeffreys reports from darlington. three times a day they come together, to get ready to learn to praise hard work. it feels calm and peace. it lets people know how well other people are getting on in the lessons. four years ago this school was failing. boys, are you all right? yes. yeah, do you know what you are doing? just 4% of pupils taught english and maths, this year well over half passed the gcse‘s.

it's in a community with lots of challenges, but still isn't rated good by 0fsted. to teach to the test all the time if taking out the beauty and the love and the passion of education. wrong, very, very wrong, but it doesn't mean you don't strive to meet your targets because of course you do. they culture and climate that there is a legacy within the area they live, the geography of what the school is, what their parents have experience. they might have had a poor experience of school and education that we don't need it. a daily reading challenge is helping english. from next year inspectors are meant to look beyond results, making what children learn more important. schools have faced relentless pressure to focus just on exam results, and today 0fsted has admitted it's been part of the problem. but there are still real questions about whether the inspections get at the heart of what makes us cool good.

-- what makes a school good. in darlington market, i asked parents. good behaviour. iam allfor i am all for that. that one is a major one. that is really important, good behaviour in schools. they have had five inspections in two years. now, schools like this hope they will get more recognition. a?junior? minister in the indian government is facing calls to resign over allegations of harassment and sexual assault. he's yet to respond, but the claims come as india is in the midst of a #metoo storm. in recent days several women have used social media to air accounts of alleged sexual harassment in the workplace. yogita limaye reports from mumbai. just some of the hundreds of stories india's women have shared over the past few days. on twitter and facebook there's been a torrent of

allegations made against men from the media and entertainment industries. many have even been named. the most high—profile, india's junior foreign minister and a former newspaper editor. he's not responded so far. there are serious allegations leveled against him. his boss, india's foreign minister, chose not to comment when asked about the issue. the harassment reached such an extreme point that... but the whole movement started with this woman, a former actor, she recently spoke out again about the sexual harassment she allegedly faced on a movie set ten years ago. she says she filed a police complaint back in 2008 but she got nojustice, and it forced her to leave the profession. this is something that i loved. i loved. i loved dancing, i love movies, i love

acting. it was just taken away from me. i had movie offers all of these years, but every time a movie offer would come i would break into a sweat. my heart would start racing, and i would figure out some excuse to not find the form. the the actor she has accused has denied the allegations, saying there were dozens of people on set. he's also said he will see what legal options he has. india consistently ranks among the worst countries in the world to be a woman, so it's hardly surprising the kind of stories we are hearing, but for the first time, not only are women choosing to name their alleged harassers, but we are also seeing action being taken. inquiries being initiated, some people being forced to resign, entertainment shows being dropped and contracts being cancelled. she is one of the lawyers whose offer legal counsel to the women who have come out with their stories. the response has been overwhelming, to be honest. they don't just want to have the social media platform, they want to take it forward, file complaints and see a logical end to this. on an average,

i would say i get about 8—10 women who contact me everyday. in recent years, tough sexual harassment laws have been introduced in the country, but many are hoping that this will be the moment that makes india's workplaces a bit more safe for its women. the headlines on bbc news: senior cabinet ministers are briefed by the prime minister on the state of the brexit talks, ahead of a crucial eu summit next week. two astronauts survive an emergency landing after their russian soyuz rocket malfunctions on its way to the international space station. a transgender prisoner who sexually assaulted two inmates at a women's jail and had previously raped two other women is given a life sentence. an update now on the case of the missing saudi journalist who was last seen leaving the saudi

consulate in istanbul last week. turkey believes he was murdered while in the embassy. saudi arabia strongly denies this. in the past few minutes our diplomatic correspondent james robbins has asked the saudi ambassador to the uk about the case: the foreign secretary said today that people cannot see him anywhere. where a is he the foreign secretary asked. where is the ambassador? we are concerned. there is an ongoing investigation and it would be premature for me to comment until we see the final result of the investigation. the foreign secretary says this is a very, very serious issue and it can't be overestimated as underestimated it blew no as underestimated and we made it very clear and we have to wait on the investigation. you cannot produce any evidence he is alive and safe?

it is premature for me to comment on the. windy you think we will have an a nswer the. windy you think we will have an answer quiz blue hopefully soon. thank you. james robbins reporting there. we're getting some information out of that cabinet meeting that took place this afternoon in downing street where theresa may gathered some of her most senior cabinet colleagues to give them an update on brexit negotiations. we're getting information from political editor laura saying that some cabinet ministers expressed their concern about the potential compromises with that you in the brexit talks. it has been a lot of speculation that theresa may is about to offer what will be seen as a concession to that you on the thorny issue of the backstop you on the thorny issue of the ba cksto p to you on the thorny issue of the backstop to abort a hard order between northern ireland and ireland and it is understood the eu is prepared to accept the idea of keeping the whole uk in the customs union, but this of course is not going down well with some brexit ministers and backers, and it does

seem ministers and backers, and it does seem that some of them have voiced their concern in this meeting. according to laura, several cabinet ministers including liam fox, michael gove and dominic robert and the foreign secretaryjeremy hunt have expressed their concerns at the meeting about agreeing this backstop, but without a time limit. that is the crucial issue that there will not be a time limit on it and some are very concerned it could end up some are very concerned it could end up being the default position going ahead for many months, if not years. that is coming out of that meeting this evening, although of course there has been no official comment from the government tonight. clothing chain coast has gone into administration, leaving 300 jobs at risk. all of its 18 uk outlets are to close immediately including stores at oxford street and westfield in london. pricewaterhousecoopers has been appointed as administrators. its numerous concessions in department stores including house of fraser, debenhams and john lewis will continue to trade. we can speak now to retail analyst miya knights.

she is with me now. we don't know much about what's going on here, but it does seem that coast has run into trouble, like so many others. do we know any reason why there have been particularly asked why they have been particularly hit?|j particularly asked why they have been particularly hit? i know that only this were part of a larger private equity owned group called the aurora group, part of a group that included warehouse for example, and as of last year i know that the private equity owners were looking to exit that group and break the group up to exit that group and break the group up and find buyers for all of the groups. as about december last year they have been unsuccessful in finding a buyer, and so i think we can put a lease is going into administration up to a complement of events that are affecting all retailers in terms of dwindling

football and —— football and more harderfought football and —— football and more harder fought discretionary consumer spend, but also the fact that there might have been underlying business issues in terms of making all the businesses within the aurora group pay their way. so if a private equity investor doesn't see that there is an opportunity to make money out of company like always as they will try to divest and they cannot divest then unfortunately i think given that that was in december of last year they must have been the last year trying to struggling through, trying to make sure they were going to make ends meet and make margin and sure they were going to make ends meetand make margin and make sure they were going to make ends meet and make margin and make a little but a prophet, and if coming into christmas which is a crucial trading period they conceded —— they can see that was not going to happen i think eventually they would have no choice but to call the administrators and. it does feel like it's a pretty bleak picture on the high street. is that the case? 0r the high street. is that the case? or is it not as bad as it may be

looks? it feels like so many names have been running into trouble, some of them pretty big names. absolutely, i totally agree with you. i think if you are absolutely clear on what your brand dna is and what your point of customer differentiation is, you are going to struggle. i think if you want to pile it high and sell it cheap and bea pile it high and sell it cheap and be a discounter and offer best value best price, then be absolutely clear on that. if you want to be higher quality, less quantity, may be higher priced, be completely clear on that, but being middle—of—the—road with no clear differentiation is going to mean you run into trouble and also key point there is to make sure that my presence and brand dna is translated online so that customs can find you as customers can find you online and decide i too may to store and try on a just before they buy because they have seen it online. that is the point. do people still want to shop in that weight was not going into the store, trying things on rather than doing it online which of course

the many people do people still want to shop in that weight was not going into the store, trying things on rather than doing it online which of course the many people he wanted to because it's so convenient.” com pletely because it's so convenient.” completely agree. i think there's a little bit more doom and gloom around this, to sound a note of pragmatism and maybe realism on the back of research we have done, consumers recently, a thousand uk consumers recently, a thousand uk consumers said that they actually prefer consumers said that they actually p refer to consumers said that they actually prefer to shop online for research, prepurchase, because they get the speed, convenience, relevance, choice, even some personalization in terms of their search results. but actually we went on to ask them where do you prefer to complete your purchase, and they still say the majority will still say they prefer to purchase in the store, so i think the good news, taking on board what isaid the good news, taking on board what i said about being well—differentiated, is if you have got a properly integrated online to off—line presence, that incentivizes people to come into your stores because you are going to get great customer service, be able to try before you buy, you'll get sensory

experience that you cannot get that's tangible online. you are giving people a reason to come into your store and you are driving that football, sustaining it. i totally agree with you that split ball and co nversa nt agree with you that split ball and conversant in store is usually under threat, hugely pressured, but i do see that a properly integrated online to off—line proposition can still maintain those footfall level and keep the well—differentiated retailer in business. you mention briefly about christmas season coming up, i have to say. how important is that going to be for the high street this year? absolutely crucial. if you are seasonally focused retailer, you can be looking to make up that 30%, third of your revenue in that 6—8 week period. the post—christmas trading statements that your large

high street retailers bring out our huge bellwether to how they will perform throughout the rest of the year. if they cannot capture audiences and drive customers into their store over christmas they are going to struggle to do so throughout the rest of the year. thank you very much indeed. how is this for a way to deal with protesters ? the ethiopian prime minister ordered soldiers marching on the capital addis ababa protesting against poor pay to do 10 pressups. he then surprised everyone byjoining in. the move obviously worked as the soldiers dispersed with the promise their salary would be reviewed. that is one way to deal with protesters. now it's time for a look at the weather. we can with nick miller and. imagine if i

had to do it whenever someone was not happy with the forecast. it is quieterfor not happy with the forecast. it is quieter for a not happy with the forecast. it is quieterfor a time not happy with the forecast. it is quieter for a time overnight before the weather action gets going late into the night and into tomorrow. storm kallum comes into the uk, the third named storm of the season, the steep area lopressor. the sender will pass to northwest but the closer to you are to that particularly across western parts of the chance of seeing destructive winds through friday, rain that continues into saturday leading to a met office amber warning in south wales as we get well under with well over 100 mm on south facing health and flooding as a result. this is the area of quieter weather overnight. the rain from the storm coming in, the wind strengthening in the west as well, overnight temperatures for many holding on into double figures. what this friday bring? the first pulse of rain moving north from kallum, not much in eastern england, clearing from northern ireland but the winds very strong during the morning rush hour this is a flavour of some of

the wind gust you'll be seeing, some exposure across western parts of england, wales, northern ireland, western scotland when could well see what —— over 60 miles an hour in place of the widely deal across the north and west of the uk and again outbreaks of rain to start the day. going east from northern ireland and scotland, and keep some running into parts of wales, northern england and running back is the eastern side of northern ireland and scotland during the day but avoiding much of eastern england while still being fairly warm sunny england while still being fairly warm sunny spells to be had into the low 20s and it still a slow, very mild aircoming in low 20s and it still a slow, very mild air coming in from the south but clearly we have gales and rain and it's not going to feel too special. whether clearing for a time, northern ireland and scotland on through friday bring some showery rain affected parts of england and wales. we're not done with the wrinkling into saturday either from what is left of this weather front of kallum. the both of that feeling north a wider day, saturday in northern ireland more rain feeding it to scotland, southern western parts of england, wales, especially

in the south could well seek disruptive rain as with this and the risk of flooding began especially south wales. eastern england seeing some warm sunshine on saturday, mid 20s could be yours, all change on sunday, but last of kallum's wet weather clearing away. sunny spells following on behind. the wind now westerly a nd following on behind. the wind now westerly and feeling much cooler by the end of the weekend. weather warnings —— poor weather warnings, browse those online —— for the weather warnings from the met office. germany and populism is making hello, i'm ros atkins, this is 0utside source. finishing our week looking at populism in europe. we'll start here in germany. asago

as a go through the programme, because these are really worth watching, they will offers a lot of clues about the ip layer two of the national government and. the bavarian election is this weekend. it'll will offer many clues about the popularity of of angela merkel‘s ruling coalition — and about the ability of her allies to fend off the challenge of the far right afd. the subject of migration is a topic in every country. in every european country. and it is always about the question of whether you like