this is bbc news. i'm carole walker. the headlines at eight. theresa may has told mps she believes a deal with the eu is achievable despite differences over how to handle the irish border. we cannot let this disagreement derail the prospect of a good deal and leave us with a no deal outcome that nobody wants. meghan and harry will become parents in the spring. the royal couple announce they're expecting their first child. as police arrive at the saudi consulate in istanbul, the diplomatic pressure increases on the saudi leaders to explain what's happened to missing journalist jamal khashoggi. after scientists warned last week of the potentially devastating effects of climate change, president trump says he thinks it may be real, but he isn't sure if it's man—made. and the tiny faroe islands are pushing to be allowed to compete as an independent nation at the olympics.

good evening and welcome to bbc news. the prime minister has insisted that a brexit deal is still achievable — despite negotiations stalling again just days before an eu summit. the sticking point remains the issue of the irish border. hopes of a breakthrough were raised but then dashed after the brexit secretary made an unscheduled trip to brussels yesterday. theresa may has called for cool, calm heads to prevail and said disagreements over the irish border shouldn't leave the two sides facing a no—deal outcome which no—one wants. meanwhile, the european council president donald tusk has this evening warned in a letter that

although the eu mustn't give up yet, it has to now be prepared for "no—deal". here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg. making deals, not cups of tea, are what counts right now. brexit talks broke up yesterday with no agreement. the prime minister dropped into a project that helps those feeling lonely today. she must know what that feels like — with foes, not friends, around her. is there any way out, prime minister? there has been progress, but as she went to tell mps negotiations faltered again over the irish border. this is the time for cool, calm heads to prevail, and it's the time... and it is the time for a clear focus on the few remaining but critical issues still to be agreed. we cannot let this disagreement derail the prospects of a good deal and leave us with a no deal outcome

no one wants. i continue to believe a negotiated deal is the best outcome for the uk and the european union. i continue to believe such a deal is achievable. the prime minister, mr speaker, faces a simple and inescapable choice — be buffeted this way and that way by the chaos of her own party, or back a deal that can win the support of parliament and the people of this country. eight times she was asked about a time limit to her proposal for the so—called irish backstop, and eight time answer came there none. the backstop is the plan is to avoid a hard border in ireland if a trade arrangement can't be reached. the brexit secretary's jaguar swept in and out of brussels without a deal because the eu and the uk don't see eye to eye. they agree the uk could stick to the same customs rules as the continent, but the eu

is refusing to allow a time—limit on that. there was precious little support for the prime minister in there. this place is alive with what—ifs — what if there can't be a compromise on ireland? what if a deal can't be done? what if a deal that's done then can't make it through parliament? there are plenty of people around with answers for theresa may, perhaps none of which she really wants to hear. the leader of sinn fein, in westminster, telling the prime minister she must do whatever it takes to avoid a hard border. the consequences of getting it wrong for ireland are far too serious, and any responsible person in british politics, and particularly the british prime minister, has to understand that. northern ireland's unionists pulling the other way. we need to see that the whole of the uk leaves the eu together, and there aren't any differences made between northern ireland

or any other parts of the uk, and that is what it means. and the snp with its own set of instructions for number ten... it is probably the case that the only option with any chance of commanding a parliamentary majority is single market and customs union membership. it actually might well be the only option which is not completely impossible at this stage. and tory brexiteers who are pushing her to ditch her policy have this persistent warning. the cabinet have been treated a bit like mushrooms, to use an old army expression, being kept consistently in the dark and fed something unpleasant. so now i think is the time for the cabinet to take the opportunity to assert itself, on behalf of the british people who voted to leave the european union. it's an open question as to whether the cabinet will come in behind the prime minister. they will meet tomorrow. more than a handful have fears about her plans. with unhappy friends,

it's notjust her enemies theresa may needs to bear in mind. let's speak to our correspondent nick eardley at westminster. nick, the prime minister this afternoon trying to reassure all sides, but a lot of mps are very unhappy that they didn't get the specific answers that they were seeking over this key issue of the irish border. absolutely. brexiteers are worried. some are angry that there has not been an explicit guarantee that that backstop would have a time limit. so the uk would have a time limit. so the uk would have a time limit. so the uk would have a certain date on which it stop having similar or the same customs arrangements as the european union. and those discussions continue to go on in the building behind me tonight. there are some tory mps who

think, by not having a deal to take to cabinet tomorrow, the prime minister might have bought herself a bit of time, so she can go to europe and try to negotiate something with other heads of state, come back, and sell that to her cabinet and to a wider party and of course to parliament, but there are others who quite frankly don't buy that, they think this is all political theatre and that the prime minister is setting herself up to come back with something which she can portray as a victory. brexiteers are resisting that, and urging each other to stand firm tonight. so there was a real sense at westminster of uncertainty, about whether the prime minister firstly will come up with a deal or something that takes her closer towards a deal in the coming days, but also whether she can convince enough of a party to go further in the first place. tomorrow, the prime minister is summoning her cabinet. we know that some groups there are

also meeting this evening, to try to decide where they should stand. there are doubts even as to whether the prime minister is going to go into that key summit with the support of your own cabinet. lots of informal meetings going on tonight, some over pizza, some at supper clu bs were some over pizza, some at supper clubs were mps discuss their strategies, and there is a sense within some in the cabinet that they are not happy with that lack of a guarantee that we just spoke about about the customs arrangements, about the customs arrangements, about when the uk would eventually leave. a lot of attention will be paid to any comments they make perhaps tonight or after that cabinet meeting tomorrow, because the last thing theresa may wants is resignations on the eve of going to brussels, to try and persuade other european leaders that she has enough backing to get whatever they agreed through parliament. you heard donald tuskin through parliament. you heard donald tusk in laura's peace, saying, look,

a dealer still possible, let's not give up, but in what no deal is more likely tonight than it has ever been, that's according to the man who oversees those talks between european leaders this week. that probably reflects a similar atmosphere to what we are seeing domestically in westminster. that uncertainty, there is a lot of fear and a lot of mistrust, and a lot of confusion about what happens next. and we've had a lot of crunch moments in this whole brexit process , moments in this whole brexit process, but it does really feel as if these next few days are pretty perilous for the prime minister. absolutely. for a couple of reasons. firstly, because her own party, if the suggestion is that some in the cabinet are not going to sign up to this deal, her party might become more outspoken in its criticism, perhaps to the point at which the prime minister is facing quite a major rebellion, notjust the usual

characters who have been clear in their displeasure over her proposals, but wider in the party. that is dangerous for the prime minister, but also secondly because she needs to go to brussels with some sort of suggestion for european leaders that she has backing, that they are not negotiating for no reason, that, if she manages to persuade them to give a bit of brown and she gives a bit of brown, if they come to some sort of compromise, she's going to bring that back to london and get approval for it. you also heard in laura's report that she is urging mps no matter what, if it doesn't meet what they want, to vote down the prime minister's deal when it comes back. a lot of mps are discussing that option and the combination of all of those things, as you say, means perhaps more than ever, this is a perilous time for theresa may.l

real drama unfolding. thank you, nick. the irish border issue has been one of the main sticking points throughtout these negotiations. chris morris, from the bbc‘s reality check team, has been looking at why it has proved so difficult to solve. the brexit debate has an awful lot to do with lines on the map, and what negotiators call the backstop is a guarantee that after brexit there will be no hard border, no new border checks, between the republic of ireland and the eu, and northern ireland in the uk, under all circumstances. keeping the border open is a crucial part of the northern ireland peace process, and both sides hope a new trade agreement can keep everything running as smoothly as it does now. but if they can't do that deal, or it's not ready in time, the backstop would kick in automatically. the currant dispute is over what exactly the legal text of this backstop should say. to begin with, the eu suggested northern ireland would have to stay in the eu customs union — no customs checks — and in most

parts of the single market. the idea — to avoid any checks at the irish land border. not acceptable, said the uk — that would, in effect, split up the country. so a compromise is being worked on that focuses broadly on two things. northern ireland would be treated differently from the rest of the uk for a while, in terms of single market regulations. that means there would be some checks within the uk between great britain and northern ireland, on things like product standards, and certainly on food and animals. but the government's allies in northern ireland, the dup, really don't like that. secondly, notjust northern ireland but the whole of the uk would remain in a temporary customs union or arrangement with the eu. many tory mps really don't like that, because it wouldn't allow the uk to strike new trade deals around the world. they want any temporary arrangement to have a precise end date, otherwise it could drift on for years. and the eu rejects that, arguing that if there is a precise

end date then it's not a backstop "under all circumstances". so there's deadlock and something will have to give, because with no backstop deal there'd be no withdrawal agreement, and there'd be no transition period after brexit — something which is supposed to give both sides some time to try to sort out all the complexities of their future relationship. chris morris, bbc news. the duchess of sussex is pregnant, and is due to give birth next spring. kensington palace made the announcement as meghan and prince harry arrived in sydney, at the start of a 16—day tour of australia and new zealand. their baby will be seventh in line to the throne. our royal correspondentjonny dymond report from sydney. a low—key entrance to a high—profile tour. the duchess doesn't normally carry her own stationery,

an attempt perhaps to keep prying eyes away. a few hours later, the announcement on social media — a modern medium for a modern couple. the congratulations came from the top down. it's wonderful news, very happy for them. there is a cheeky side to prince harry that has always got on with children. they speak the same language. he's made no secret of his desire for children of his own. one step at a time, and hopefully we will start a family in the near future. it was at princess eugenie's wedding on friday that the couple told his family. slightly curious timing perhaps, but with the tour coming up maybe the best opportunity to catch everyone face—to—face. her mother, the palace said, is very happy and looking forward to her first grandchild. it's five months almost

to the day since the couple were married at windsor. a wedding that captured the imagination of many. that day saw harry shrug off the image of a party prince. now he is to be a father. this seems to me to be a natural continuation of his character. he loves playing with the little children of his brother, he loves being with them, so he obviously wants his own as well. the duke and duchess's four—country tour starts tomorrow here in australia, where the news was greeted warmly by locals and visitors alike. i think it's very special as well that they've chosen to announce it when they are in sydney so it's great news. very exciting. very exciting news. a little royal baby! we are americans — i think it's great! there was already excitement about the duke and duchess coming to australia — with today's news,

the place will be buzzing. and for the duke and duchess, what a place to be together as they prepare for their first child. jonny dymond, bbc news, sydney. the headlines on bbc news: theresa may has told mps she believes a deal with the eu is achievable despite differences over how to handle the irish border. meghan and harry will become parents in the spring as the royal couple announce they're expecting their first child. as police arrive at the saudi consulate in istanbul, the diplomatic pressure increases on the saudi leaders to explain what's happened to misisng journalist jamal khashoggi. sport now, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here'sjohn watson. england are leading spain and

nations league match in seville. it was raheem sterling who opened the scoring for england. that put them on top. then it was a great goal from marcus rashford put through by harry kane to give them a 2—0 lead in seville at the moment. northern ireland have lost, they are in bosnia against bosnia—herzegovina, and they are behind as things stand. a goalfrom edin dzeko giving the home side the advantage. aaron ramsey will be missing for wales in tomorrow's nations league game against the republic of ireland in dublin. he's been allowed to withdraw from the squad as his wife gave birth to twins. manager ryan giggs has called up swa nsea's daniel james from the under—21 squad. giggs is already without gareth bale, who missed thursday's defeat by spain and has returned to his club real madrid for treatment on a groin problem. new aston villa head coach dean smith says he doesn't feel intimidated byjohn terry's presence

as his assistant. i should warn you some there's flash photography coming up. smith left brentford last week to join villa. also alongside him is his former number two richard o'kelly. terry played for villa last season before announcing his retirement. it's the former england captain's first senior coaching role. i'm flattered thatjohn wants to come and work, with someone as esteemed as him in the game to come and work and learn from myself and richard, but he wants to be a coach, and the conversation we had was that he wants to learn and develop from myself and richard, and i want to tap into what he knows as well, working with some of the top players and coaches in the game. billy vunipola is out of next month's england rugby union test series. the number 8 broke his left arm playing for saracens this weekend. he'll have an operation tomorrow that will rule him out until around christmas. vunipola's absence adds to head coach eddiejones problems. billy's brother mako picked up a calf strain in the same match, while second row maro itoje broke his nose in the same game. england are already without joe launchbury,

anthony watson and sam simmonds for the upcoming tests. jones names his test squad later this week. england spinner liam dawson will miss the rest of the one—day series in sri lanka. he's been in the first two starting elevens but sat out training today with a side strain. the squad is in kandy for their next match on wednesday with chris woakes enjoying the opportunity to open the bowling again. i don't always see it as the leader of the attack. obviously some guys have good days and some guys have bad days and sometimes you have a bad days and sometimes you have a bad days and sometimes you have a bad day and someone has to step up, but i certainly like the idea of bowling the tough overs in this format. you get good rewards from it. sometimes it can be tough like i mentioned but the rewards are there if you do well. afghanistan's hazratullah zazai has joined a very elite club — only the third batsman to hit six sixes in an over, in a twenty20 match.

he managed to knock every ball over the boundary making 37 runs off the over because there was a wide as well. zazai raced to his 50 off 12 balls, equalling the record for the fastest t20 half—century. it was an ariel huge hitting as he cleared the roads each time. he joins the likes of sir garfield sobers, herschelle gibbs and yuvraj singh to achieve the feat in all forms of the game. but his side still lost the match. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in sportsday at half past ten. the house of commons has allowed a culture to develop in which bullying and harassment of staff has been able to thrive according to a new report. the inquiry — which was commissioned after a bbc investigation earlier this year — referred to "urgent and serious problems" in procedures for dealing with complaints and said cultural change was needed to restore

the confidence of staff. a car towing a caravan and driving the wrong way on the mao in oxfordshire has been involved in a crash with another vehicle. it was travelling south on the motorway‘s northbound carriageway, which is still closed between junction 6 for wallington and junction 8a for oxford. the accident happened at about lipm, thames valley police said. the air ambulance has been dispatched by south central ambulance service, but no details of any injuries have been released. a british man has been charged by prosecutors in the uae with posing as an academic researcher to spy for a foreign government. 31—year—old matthew hedges, who is studying for a phd at durham university, was arrested at dubai airport five months ago and has been held in solitary confinement. his case has now been referred to the country's court of appeal, where he is due to appear next wednesday. president trump has suggested that "rogue killers" could be behind

the disappearance of the saudi journalist jamal khashoggi. a joint team of turkish and saudi officials have been searching the consulate in istanbul. president trump said saudia arabia's king salman has denied any knowlededge of the journalist's disappearance, but he is sending his secretary of state mike pompeo to saudi arabia. we are going to leave nothing uncovered. with that said the king firmly denied any knowledge of it. i don't want to get into his side but that sounded to me like maybe he is going to blame rogue killers, who knows? we are going to try to get to the bottom of it very soon, but his was a flat denial. diplomatic pressure has been growing

on riyadh to provide a fuller explanation. the bbc‘s state department correspondent barbara plett usher has been explaining hgow the saudi leadership has reacted. this is the first time that king salman has stepped in, to weigh in on this crisis that has been building for more than a week now. it hit a high note yesterday with the first signs of public tension between the president himself and the saudi kingdom. the president said that the saudis would face "severe punishment" if it was proven, or that there was evidence that jamal khashoggi had been killed in the saudi consulate and they hit back with a reply saying, well, if there is punishment, we will retaliate. after that, the president called up mr pompeop and said, i think it would be a good idea if you could head off quickly to saudi arabia and speak to the saudi leadership, there. since then, as you were reporting, it seems like the tension dialled down somewhat, with a call between king salman and mr trump and mr trump putting out the statement that perhaps it was rogue killers.

but, yes, it is interesting to see what mr pompeo will be able to come up with in this trip. he's going to try to get the saudis to produce evidence, i think, to back up their claim that mr khashoggi left the consulate. he's going to press them on the investigation, which is what mr trump has called for. but it is a very difficult time at the moment and mr trump, although he was quite severe yesterday, he does seem to have stepped back from that and taken a more cautious tone. the energy firm, cuadrilla has begun fracking for shale gas in lancashire again. it's the first time fracking has taken place in the uk since 2011 when it caused two small earthquakes near blackpool. the work involves pumping liquid underground at high pressure to fracture rocks and release natural gas. dozens of protestors gathered near the site as the work got underway. danny savage reports. waving placards, embedding arms

into lumps of concrete, refusing to come down from scaffolding on top of a van which they chained themselves to. the fracking may have started again, but the protests haven't stopped. we have to stop using fossil fuels, and we need to stop now. i'm an old granny, right? but i have to be here because it's going to affect our grandchildren, and we have to stop it. pamela sloan taught geography locally for more than a0 years, and has spent many days here. kids in lancashire are now adults, and they know that global warming, climate change, is real, and this is part of it, and we've got to keep these fossil fuels in the ground. within this site, deep underground, drilling and pumping for gas is now under way. fracking here involves drilling first vertically, then for the first time in the uk, horizontally. water, sand and chemicals are pumped at high pressure into shale rock,

which has gas trapped inside it. when the rock fractures, gas is released and brought to the surface. objectors don't like the method. they worry it's not safe or green, but the company involved says it's important for our future energy needs. growth in renewables has been welcome, but it's been confined to the electricity sector, and we still use pretty much gas for all of our heating, so people want to heat their homes, and a lot of people cook their food with gas, we're going to need it for many decades to come. after two minor earthquakes seven years ago in lancashire were linked to fracking, the work here will be closely monitored. if it's viable, the industry has its eye on plenty of other locations. expect protests there too. danny savage, bbc news, lancashire. president trump has admitted that he no longer believes that climate change is a hoax. last week the world's top climate scientists issued their starkest warning yet about rising global temperatures and the impact it'll have on the planet by the end of this century.

but president trump did accuse scientists of having a "political agenda" and he cast doubt on their claims that humans are responsible for the earth's rising temperatures. here's our science editor david shukman. hurricane michael tonge into florida a few days ago. because global warming has raised sea levels, the floods were more serious. the us government's own scientists are warning of worse to come. their president disagrees. warning of worse to come. their president disagreeslj warning of worse to come. their president disagrees. i think something is happening, something is changing and it will change back again. i don't think it is a hoax, there's probably a difference but i don't know that it is man—made. i will say this. i don't want to give trillions and trillions of dollars, i don't want to lose millions of jobs. the reality in america is that more people now work in solar power

than in the coal industry. clean energy is creating jobs. this comes as climate scientists say that is urgently needed. what donald trump is saying about climate change lies in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence that the gases given off by traffic and power stations and other sources are heating up the planet. only last week the un climate panel said the world had worn by one celsius since preindustrial times, because human activity. but we are on course for a rise of three degrees by the end of the century and to avoid the dangers of that, we need to cut the gases causing the warming by 45%, by 2030. making that cut will be all the harder as america needs the only global agreement on climate change. the head of the un wants to see it coming back in. you need to understand that when you see the cities and the business community is

in some states, they are very solid in their commitment to climate action. so governments are really those that are lagging behind. we see society is moving faster and thatis see society is moving faster and that is a very good thing. here, the government is considering a tougher target for cutting greenhouse gases, as we have heard. but it is also reducing subsidies for electric ca rs. reducing subsidies for electric cars. and it is allowing fracking to start for shale gas. tackling climate change is never going to be easy. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. the weather remained slow—moving and has been a lovely day. you can see the extent of the cloud in the south east, a lot of the rain has been petering out over the last few hours. this band of low cloud and

misty weather, with summer rain and drizzle will continue northwards into wales, northern england, at into wales, northern england, at into scotland overnight. we will see clear skies into the south—east and some mist and fog. chilly for scotla nd some mist and fog. chilly for scotland and northern ireland, where there will be some breaks in the cloud, but not as cold as it was last night. there will be gales in the north—west, particularly tomorrow morning. this band of rain will push on from the north—west as well. the rain will become like and patchy. that grace. will lift and we will get some sunshine in the south—east and across east anglia. temperatures could be up to 22 or 23 celsius. on the whole, temperatures should be higher than they were today. hello this is bbc news with carole walker. the headlines this evening: theresa may has told mps she believes a deal with the eu is achievable despite differences over how to handle the irish border. we cannot let this disagreement derail the prospect of a good deal and leave us with a no deal outcome.

the duchess of sussex is expecting her first child in spring next year. kensington palace said she and prince harry were "delighted" to share their news. as police arrive at the saudi consulate in istanbul, the us secretary of state is travelling to saudi arabia for urgent talks on the disappearance of the journalist, jamal khashoggi. after scientists warned last week of the potentially devastating effects of climate change, president trump says he thinks it may be real, but he isn't sure if it's man—made. let's return to our top story, the prime minister has insisted that a brexit deal is still achievable — just days before an eu summit. it comes after talks on sunday stalled again, over the need for a back—up plan — known as the backstop — to avoid a hard border on the island of ireland.

speaking to mps a little earlier, theresa may sought to reassure critics of her brexit approach that the uk would not end up in a "permanent limbo", tied to eu customs rules. i need to be able to look the british people in the eye and say this backstop as a temporary solution. people are rightly concerned that what is only meant to be temporary could become a permanent limbo, with no new relationship between the uk and the eu ever agreed. i'm clear we are not going to be trapped permanently in a single customs territory, unable to do meaningful trade deals. so it must be the case, first, that the backstop should not need to come into force, second, that if it does, it must be temporary and third, well i do not believe this will be the case, if the eu were not to cooperate on ourfuture relationship, we must be able to ensure that we cannot be kept in this backstop arrangement

indefinitely. the latest stand—off with the eu comes as theresa may also faces mounting domestic political pressure over her brexit approach. on our brexitcast podcast, our political editor laura kuenssberg describes a conversation she had with a cabinet minister about all of this today. people in governmentjust don't know what's going to happen next, they really don't know. and as things stand, i've just taken a call from a minister normally pretty loyal to theresa may, i picked up the phone and said, hello, how you doing? they just said, endgame. i said, what do you mean? and basically said, i can't see how we will get a deal, i can't see how theresa may can stay if she breaks one of her promises, because at the end of the day, we've talked about her so many times and she's made promises that she can't keep often. they are mutually exclusive. right, they are mutually exclusive, even if you have the cleverest drafting in the world, and there may well be the cleverest drafting on paper, but the political problems right now seem to be insoluble.

and the other thing i know that's happening today is that brexiteer tory mps are trying to stiffen the nerve of brexiteer cabinet ministers to go into cabinet tomorrow morning and to tell theresa may to change course. if that doesn't happen... with neither side wanting a hard irish border, the 300 mile dividing line is the key to the future of brexit. our ireland correspondent chris page has been finding out how two companies might be affected. northern ireland is on the brexit frontline. it's caught between the uk's only land border and the irish sea. the question is, if checks on goods don't take place at one of these locations, will be have to happen at the other? it's an issue that affects all sorts of items on supermarket shelves. take these baby snacks, for example. before they're sent to shops, they've already had a long journey to this warehouse.

we bring in about 18 different products from about six different factories, mainly in mainland europe, western europe. in the european union? in the european union, yeah. and from here, what's the distribution network from this warehouse? yeah, from this warehouse we service the whole of northern ireland and the whole of the republic of ireland. the firm, which trades across ireland, britain and beyond, says new checkpoints would hit business. delays at borders for ourselves could mean that we don't deliver on time to our customers, so there could be time delays. that would result in our product maybe not being in the supermarket, and ultimately if someone is in the supermarket wanting to buy a baby snack and our product isn't on the shelf, they will move to a competitor product. james and shauna are a husband—and—wife team here based in county tyrone just a few miles from the land border. they cross it often. three or four times every month we'll be down doing store vists, checking on stock in the stores and down meeting customers. there's no visible presence

on the border, which was totally different to what i remember years ago. there was a very, very, very visual border here. no—one involved in the brexit talks wants a visual border to return, but there isn't agreement on how to avoid it. the fallback position proposed by the eu is that northern ireland would basically continue to follow european trading rules, but that would raise the prospect of checks between here and the rest of the uk. businesses are concerned by that possibility too. dale farm is a dairy firm with more than 1,000 workers. it sends most of its products across the irish sea. the whole process from the farm to the kitchen table needs to be speedy. one can't go to the cows and say we're going to take a break here for a few weeks and not take milk, so there's a constant flow of milk coming at us, so it's essential we have frictionless trade from our operations into our markets. if there were what people have describe as light—touch checks, perhaps away from ports somewhere in the supply chain,

is that something you could work with if you had to? we'd want to understand the detail behind that. however, there is the concept of motorised economic operators, almost akin to a trustatrader, which means there's basically checks on our supply chain but it's not at port, and that's a concept we would be willing to facilitate. companies in this part of the uk don't want any barriers to trading with england, scotland and wales or with the irish republic. cracking that conundrum will be vitalfor a brexit deal. chris page, bbc news, belfast. let's speak now to mark hennessy, who's the news editor at the the irish times. hejoins me from dublin. the prime ministerfaced a lot of hostile questions from her own aside this afternoon. was there anything that will be

reassuring people in ireland? the tone was better than might have been expected, there was a fear that she had gone into the commons and spoken in terms of red blood lines. thankfully, that did not happen. nevertheless, the key issues still remain, we are looking at the removable object and as it has been said, it is difficult to see how an agreement will be reached. nobody in dublin in recent times expected that there would be an agreement in october, but there is no doubt that going into the brussels summit on wednesday, the mood is worse than expected. island has been alongside the rest of the eu in insisting that there has to be some backstop in order to prevent a hard border between ireland and northern ireland after brexit. the prime minister is

insisting today that any arrangements will be temporary. is there some way that that could be possibly accepted by people there in ireland, that they could put pressure on the eu to find their way out of the impasse? it must be remembered by britain that dublin is not an enemy of london and would prefer not an enemy of london and would p refer to not an enemy of london and would prefer to see the uk is getting a softer deal from brexits than other countries on the continent. having said that, the irish foreign minister made the point that there was an agreement in december, the british knew what they were signing up british knew what they were signing upforand british knew what they were signing up for and people are attempting to resile from that. there is no political support to any threat to the establishment of any type of border on the island of ireland and if we ended up in a situation where we had a temporary agreement, the difficulty is that london, which has tried to use a border as part of its

negotiating hand to improve its future trading relationship, would attempt to ensure that that was used asa attempt to ensure that that was used as a poker hand that is the latter end of the negotiations. even if we started off without a border, that is what we would end up with overtime. particularly in a situation where if london is as ambitious as it claims to be, in terms of winning international trading agreements and international trade deals, the more ambitious your trading deal with non—eu countries, the more likely there would have to bea the more likely there would have to be a hard border on the island of ireland. the dublin government will not accept that and neither will irish public opinion. donald tusk has said he thinks they know deal brexit is more likely than ever before. given that both sides have said that there won't be a hard border, what do you think will happen on that border is indeed there is... brexit goes ahead and there is... brexit goes ahead and there isn't a deal? you are going to

have difficulties. i don't want to overstate the threat to the peace process and other issues, but if you pass the border at the moment and you see road signs that say welcome to northern ireland, you will find very few that don't have a few bullet holes in them. if you're going to end up with any forms of custom infrastructure, that will attract attention that nobody on these islands wants to see happening again. but both sides are insisting they won't impose these checks? that's fine at the moment, but going back to the earlier point, if the uk agrees unambitious trade deal with the usa, one that would be heavily dependent upon access to the uk food market, that will almost certainly ensure that there would have to be a ha rd ensure that there would have to be a hard border. there are far more circumstances where a hard border is going to be likely than their aunt. the only way that we end up with a

situation where there won't be a ha rd situation where there won't be a hard border in a situation where there is no agreement as if the uk never agrees a trade deal with anyone. thank you forjoining us. an investigation by the bbc has shed new light on the scale of use of chemical weapons in the war in syria. bbc arabic and the panorama programme have determined there is enough evidence to be confident that at least 106 chemical attacks have taken place in the country since september 2013. as nawal al magafi reports, it appears these attacks have been crucial to president assad's victory in the conflict. a warning that her report contains distressing images. another air strike hits khan sheikhoun. this attack told the world that not all of syria's chemical weapons had been destroyed. abdul hamid youssef witnessed it. translation: i heard the planes, i woke up, the first bomb was at 6:30am.

he left the house with his wife and twins, unaware of what was about to unfold. translation: this is where i left them, i ran to help people over there. it was a chemical attack. sarin is 26 times more deadly than cyanide. abdul‘s neighbours were dying in the streets. more than 80 people were killed and almost 300 wounded. abdul was taken to hospital after losing consciousness. translation: when i woke up, people asked me where the twins and my wife were. 15 minutes later, they brought them to me, dead. president assad had this denied responsibility, but evidence gathered by international investigators would prove the chemical used belonged to the government. the bbc looked at 164 reports of chemical attacks, we wanted to find the truth,

we cross checked each report with the help of experts and specialist researchers. we were left with 106 chemical attacks we are confident did take place. 51 of them launched from the air. there is no evidence the opposition has capacity to carry out air attacks. so it appears the government must be responsible. aleppo — a chlorine strike over the city. the battle here lasted four years. recapturing the city was a turning point in the war for the syrian government. the bbc‘s research shows there were 11 chlorine attacks in the final month of the government's offensive. five of them in the last two days of the siege. all of them came from the air. translation: when we told people to go up because chlorine sinks down, they were confused. if they go up, they get bombed, if they go down, they get

killed by chlorine. the people were hysterical. the pattern that we are witnessing is that the regime uses chemical weapons in areas that it regards as strategic, areas that it had besieged for a while and the final stage of taking these areas back seems to be using chemical weapons to make the local population flee. aleppo's an example of the strategy. in the last weeks of the assault, over 120,000 civilians left, many to a different city. the final rebel stronghold, there are now 3 million people here. a truce holds for now, but it could break at any minute. translation: we made the shelter in 2012 when the regime began bombing. the tunnel is a shelter from conventional bombs, but not from a chemical attack. translation: i am fearful

for women and children, so i make these masks. we are scared of chemical attacks by the regime. our research shows beyond reasonable doubt that president assad has fought a chemical war against his own people, one that so far, the west has failed to prevent. the headlines on bbc news: theresa may has told mps she believes a deal with the eu is achievable despite differences over how to handle the irish border. meghan and harry will become parents in the spring, the royal couple announce they're expecting their first child. as police arrive at the saudi consulate in istanbul, the diplomatic pressure increases on the saudi leaders to explain what's happened to misisng journalist jamal khashoggi. let's return to a story making headlines across

the world this evening. the duke and duchess of sussex are expecting their first baby in the spring. kensington palace announced the news as prince harry and meghan began a tour of australia and new zealand. their child will be the first biracial american baby in line to the british throne. let's speak now to sean mandell, reporter at the american entertainment news site tmz. thank you forjoining us. tell us a bit about what reaction there has beenin bit about what reaction there has been in the united states. been ecstatic. i woke up this morning very early to some friends of mine tipping me off to the news that was about to be broken and then i got some early—morning about to be broken and then i got some ea rly—morning texts about to be broken and then i got some early—morning texts from friends who don't necessarily get up early. it is fair to say that the news has caught people here in the

states and it has got then excited. a lot of people... it was one of the biggest items we saw on social media and on google here in the states, so it's been a busy day. we have heard from meghan's month saying she is happy about the news, looking forward to welcoming her first grandchild. —— meghan's mother. any words from meghan's father? he has been quiet. he had a lot of media controversy when he continued to speak to the press and got a lot of fla k speak to the press and got a lot of flak for that from the public. people criticised him for coming and telling his side of things to the media, rather than working things out with his daughter. it seems to be that he is trying to stay out of the limelight at the moment, to try and win back his daughter's trust

and win back his daughter's trust and to really solidify that relationship, since it has been strained over the last few months. meghan seems to have really helped to bring a whole new amount of interest and support for the royal family in the united states. it is extraordinary how she seems to have ca ptu red extraordinary how she seems to have captured the public imagination there in a country which likes its own royal family. in there in a country which likes its own royalfamily. in america, we have always been fascinated by the british royalfamily, have always been fascinated by the british royal family, because have always been fascinated by the british royalfamily, because we don't have something similar ourselves here. so it's a bit of a fun diversion, but stephanie having meghan at their as an american... she is still an american citizen, it will take some time for her to become british and her children will become british and her children will be able to be american citizens if they wish, if she keeps her american passport. this means that we could

have some americans in line for the british throne. this is a fun and development for us. that is a fascinating thought. the new baby won't be officially a prince or princess, unless the queen decides to grant them such a title. nonetheless, a big amount of royal excitement there at the other side of the pond. absolutely. people were a lwa ys of the pond. absolutely. people were always speculating about when they would have their first pregnancy. obviously harry has said before, backin obviously harry has said before, back in 2015, how he wanted to have a large family in their engagement interview. they both said they were eager to start a family. it was on everybody‘s mind and now it is happening for real, everyone here is quite thrilled. thank you very much for joining quite thrilled. thank you very much forjoining us. here, a major clean up operation has begun in parts of wales,

as residents survey the extent of the damage caused by storm callum. a 21—year—old man was killed after a landslip and many homes and businesses were flooded as south wales bore the brunt of the storm on friday and over the weekend. one of the immediate responses to the trail of destruction was from the environmental watchdog natural resources wales which has ordered a review into flood defences. craig duggan reports. storm callum left its mark on rivers and roads, on homes, businesses and livestock. from east to west, communities across wales felt the force of the storm. the cellar of this pub was flooded and the water was a foot deep in the bar. but despite the damage, the landlord was philosophical. there's probably people a lot worse off than us today. as you know and have been reporting through wales, you know there are people who have real disasters. this is our little disaster.

here, furniture is outside in gardens as homeowners can't the cost and experts are called in to help with the difficult clean—up. the clean—up operation involves removing items that are beyond repair from the property, we are salvaging what we can. for example, we may be able to get away with cleaning the sofas, sanitising them. but because there it was potentially raw sewage, we have two decontaminate the property as well. here, the cellar of this family home had three feet of water in it. try and get dehumidifiers and do the clean—up and just get rid of the smell. it's normally a picture postcard view, but this scene here was different on saturday. nine boats were sunk by the force of the river that washed whole trees into the harbour. i've been here eight years, i've never seen it, but a lot of the boys who've lived here and were born and bred here, all say that they've never seen anything like it, it was the sheer debris that was coming down the harbour that took the boats out. and businesses in ceredigion suffered, too. extensive damage was done to this canoe and outdoor centre. equipment was washed away as all their buildings flooded.

the water was rising before we knew what was going on, we didn't have a chance to move a lot of the things that we would have liked to have moved out of the way. we had trailers and all our boats down by the lake. and that was the water level unfortunately right through the building, through the stores, showroom and the workshop as well. and here, this business was hit again come for the second time this year. the whole building, since january, has been drying out. we started refurbishment work, which had onlyjust started and unfortunately, we find ourselves back in the same situation again as we did back injanuary. the clear—up continues in communities across wales, but there is concern about the damage the storm has done to roads and bridges. survey work is ongoing and natural resources wales says they will review flood defences, with the first minister pledging money will be available where needed. the tiny faroe islands are pushing

to be allowed to compete as an independent nation at the olympics. their athletes take part in eight international sports, including football, as the faroes, but in the olympics, they're forced to compete under the flag of denmark. now they want that to change, as our sports correspondent, alex ca pstick reports. stunning scenery in a land miles from anywhere and with isolation comes a strong sense of national identity. the faroe islands is facing an uphill struggle for sporting independence. football already offers a chance to express patrick chisholm as this is allowed by fifa. we never get that feeling,

because we can represent the country and flag. this girl is 17 years old and flag. this girl is 17 years old and is on track to achieve the olympic qualifying standard for tokyo 2020. under the current rules, her only route to the games is by applying for a place in the danish team. i feel i missed applying for a place in the danish team. i feeli missed them applying for a place in the danish team. i feel i missed them are like everyone else around the world and i also have worked for that goal for a long time. it feels like that is the only thing holding me back to reach my biggest dream and under our flag. the faroe my biggest dream and under our flag. the fa roe islands my biggest dream and under our flag. the faroe islands is unique in many ways, not least its landscape, but it's remarked location in the north atlantic. people here are fiercely independent. as far as the olympic committee are concerned, it is still a region in denmark. although it is self—governing, it is not enough for a place in the olympics. in response, we were given a statement, saying: the prime minister told me it

doesn't make sense. it's not logical, as i told you, we are a self—governing country and we have membership in lots of international organisations, so it is a broken dream fora organisations, so it is a broken dream for a lot of our young people if they cannot compete at the olympic games. this woman won at two medals in the summing pool in the 1988 paralympics in seoul. her country continues to be barred from the olympics. this one is the world championships in malta and the reason i am showing it to you is that on the back it says, in pursuit of equality. now we are fighting the other way round. we are fighting for

a the ones who are able—bodied. other way round. we are fighting for a the ones who are able-bodied. the faroe islands a the ones who are able-bodied. the fa roe islands invest a the ones who are able-bodied. the faroe islands invest heavily in sport, but without olympic medals to aim for, the fear is that future generations won't reach the heights of theirfull generations won't reach the heights of their full potential. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren. it's been a lovely day, but a struggle for england and wales with some rain and low cloud. as you can see, most of the rain has faded away over the last few hours. we still had a zone of low cloud, there it is. it will produce a little dizzy overnight and will work its way upwards to scotland, not far from northern ireland. summer mist and fog the breeze will pick up behind that. it won't be as cold in scotla nd that. it won't be as cold in scotland and northern ireland as it was last night. still pretty mild further south. for many of us, quite

a great start to tomorrow. any drizzle will fade away and as the breeze picks up, we should see the sky is brightening and some sunshine will come through in some areas. we will come through in some areas. we will see some rain and cloud coming into the north—west, not much rain, but some strong winds in the north—west of scotland. temperatures similarto north—west of scotland. temperatures similar to those of today, but it could be a little warmer in england and wales. with the sunshine, temperatures could be up to 22 celsius. hello, i'm ros atkins. this is outside source. a bbc investigation reveals more than 100 chemical weapon attacks in syria — most carried out by president assad's forces. as the eu says a no—deal on brexit is more likely than ever before,theresa may insists she's still confident a deal can be reached, even though the irish border isn't yet resolved. and 13 days after a saudi journalist disappeared, investigators are finally allowed inside the saudi consulate in istanbul.

we will hear from bbc turkish service. this is what donald trump has said.