temperatures up to around 2a celsius. still some showers amount on thursday especially in the north of england and eastern scotland. goodbye. you're watching beyond one hundred days. tonight, democrats stage their second round of debates. for some it will be make or break. there are still 20 candidates in the race — after these debates that number is likely fall. the big stars tonight are elizabeth warren and bernie sanders — the liberal lions of the pack. the prime minister appears to be playing chicken with brussels as borisjohnson insists the ball is in the eu's court. we are not aiming for a no—deal brexit. it is very much up to our friends and partners across the channel. also on the programme. the british pound continues to fall amid fears of a no deal brexit. bad news for holidaymakers heading abroad.

everything is so much more expensive than what we thought it was. the met office has invited the british public to name next year's big storms. the last big public naming competition gave us boaty mcboatface. heaven help us. hello and welcome — i'm katty kay in washington and christian fraser is in london. donald trump says he is the least racist person in the world and african americans are very happy with his performance. christ his remarks come after more presidential twitter attacks on black politicians. and just hours ahead of democrats holding their second round of debates to try to determine which of them is best equipped to take on this combative president. all 20 democrats who'll be on stage in detroit know that beating donald trump won't be easy. the president is consistently under 50% in his approval ratings

but he could still be re—elected. the eventual democratic candidate has to offer both a positive alternative vision — while also responding to mr trump's incendiary rhetoric. today the president sounded happy with his strategy. iamof i am of the least racist person that is anywhere in the world. what i have done for african americans, no president i would say has done. i would say this, they are so happy because i get the calls. they are so happy at what i have been able to do. those comments have prompted quite a backlash year. let's go live now to detroit and speak to our correspondent barbara plett usher. to what extent is all of this overshadowing what is happening at detroit as the democrats prepared to ta ke detroit as the democrats prepared to take the stage in a few hours? detroit as the democrats prepared to take the stage in a few hour57m will influence what happens because they will feel compelled to respond to what president trump has been tweeting and saying over the past couple of weeks about democrats in

c0 ng ress couple of weeks about democrats in congress people of colour, and so i think you will probably see attacks on donald trump for racism, you will see racism, in other ways as it has in this debate, but there are other things which are fuelling the debates and these are more internal democratic issues because it is really a party trying to figure out outside entity and what kind of face that will put forward for the person to try to beat donald trump. will that person be quite far to the left and have bold and sweeping policies oi’ and have bold and sweeping policies or will the person be more of a moderate and tried to defeat donald trump by returning to what is seen asa trump by returning to what is seen as a period that more americans would like to see, so those are the kinds of things you will see on stage, and also candidates will be asked about impeachment because you had that hearing last week with the former special counsel robert mueller and that issue is quite hot in the democratic party, whether or not to impeach him. but it is the

matchup between bernie sanders and elizabeth warren that we will be watching most closely tonight because they are on the stage together for the first time and really a raft of the same group of supporters? -- are after. that is the big match tonight, because as you said, they have sort of the same constituency. the party's to top progressive candidates, offering sweeping policies for economic inequality and universal health care and so on, but voters have to decide which one to choose so how did they do that? do the attack each other? probably not because they are allies and friends, but how do they differentiate themselves for the voters ? differentiate themselves for the voters? ms warren defines herself as a capitalist and bernie sanders as a democratic socialist, so you might find answers along those lines but he will also see a lot of attacks on bernie sanders from moderates on the stage worrying that he is pulling

the party too far to the left to be electable. the biggest question for democrats this week is how their front runnerjoe biden performs. he was seen to have a weak first debate in june when senator kamala harris chastised him on the issue of race. you also worked with them to oppose busing. and there was a little girl in california who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bussed to schools, and she was bussed to school every day, and that little girl was me. to some mischaracterisation of my position the board. afterwards mr biden was asked in an interview whether he'd be more robust if donald trump went after him in a debate. he starts making fun of your age, your mental state. he starts going after you in ways that mac i'd say come on, donald. come on, man. how many push—ups they want to do here?

run with me. that should do it. i am not sure. and joining us now from boston is the democratic strategist mary anne marsh and here in washington, the former advisor to president george w bush, ron christie. whatever you might think of the strategy of doing push—ups on stage in response to donald trump, he is still 19 points ahead. 36% forjoe biden, 15 for warren, joe biden significantly ahead of the pack.” don't think that's the greatest sign forjoe biden. kamala harris revealed in the last debate what a fragile frontrunner he is. he is shored up right now largely by african—american voters and african—american voters and african—american women voters and they are the most pragmatic voters of all. he needs to have a much

better debate performance tomorrow night than in the last debate, but he has never been a good presidential candidate. this is his third run and he hasn't had a good run this time. he has yet to be able to address the criticisms of his a0 year positions in any form let alone in debate so he is going to get a lot of attacks tomorrow night. not just from kamala harris. cory booker and kirsten gillibrand arejoining m, and kirsten gillibrand arejoining in, so he's going to have to perform because if he doesn't the bottom is going to fall out. you did a lot of debate prep when you are at the george w bush white house. a big night for the outsiders. probably about ten candidates who are really in danger of not qualifying for the september debate. it is difficult because you don't get much time in these debates. you certainly don't. particularly when i was working with governor keith nick and mitt romney with their presidential bids, when you're starting off and you're low

in the polls, you try to find a way of what can i say, how can i get my candidate to get more time and attention on the camera to introduce themselves to the american people, so themselves to the american people, sol themselves to the american people, so i would expect some of the people you have mentioned, who are the lower tier, to try to punch up and engage the front runner so they will get more interaction and more airtime. i want you to have a listen to this, there is an advert running either side of the debate paid for by the american philanthropist tom sayer. and what about total exoneration? that you actually totally exonerate the president? no. is it fair to say that his answers weren't always truthful? generally. do you believe you can charge united states president with obstruction of justice after he leaves office? yes. the campaign welcomed russian help and then lied to cover it up? generally, that is true. it is

noticeable that all the candidates have tried to steer away from impeachment. what do they do tonight if they are asked about it? except elizabeth warren, who came out very early and endorsed impeachment. i think what you have seen since the hearing last week as the inexorable march towards an impeachment enquiry and you're starting to see senators come along as well so i think tonight you will see candidates embracing the impeachment enquiry because that is the only way to get the unsealed indictments on the evidence in there and the full evidence in there and the full evidence revealed. while they say they haven't been asked about it on they haven't been asked about it on the campaign trail, you are seeing more and more peoplejoining in and endorsing impeachment. you have senators doing the same. they will not benefit from this ad tonight, it isa not benefit from this ad tonight, it is a fixed race, a four person race andi is a fixed race, a four person race and i don't think anybody else will

be able to break into it. it isjoe biden, bernie sanders, warren and harris and the nomination fight will be between warren and harris. everything else is atmospherics. be between warren and harris. everything else is atmosphericsm it important then for the democratic party, if you're naming those poor people up at the top, is it important that after this round of debates, we are now injuly, that we are actually seeing this field whittled down for democrats? how much does the party need to get that number down from 20 to something more manageable now, ten, for example? i think that is naturally going to happen because a lot of people won't qualify for the fall debate but voters have already pared the field themselves. looking at the polls, it is a consistent tear. harris catapulted herself up in that last debate, but the fact is voters are making their opinions known and i don't think anyone else is going to be able to break in and the one who seems to be moving up in a methodicalfashion is

who seems to be moving up in a methodical fashion is elizabeth warren whose gains have come at bernie sanders's expense. harris has taken some points out of biden and because of her performance in the last debate but i think we are in a pretty fixed race right now and the trend forjoe biden and bernie sanders has been downward and for warren a steady increase and harris a little more mercurial so we will see how she performs this week but she made her point and put herself on the map in the last debate. she may do the same thing tomorrow night. so some 15 million people tuned into the last debate every night, they may be tuning in again, to see not just night, they may be tuning in again, to see notjust how democrats perform in this debate but the question in their minds, how did they perform against donald trump? what do these top tier candidates need to do to persuade democratic primary voters that they are the candidates who can beat donald trump specifically on a debate stage like we are going to see tonight. good afternoon. as i always say, politics is about addition, nuts obstruction,

so is about addition, nuts obstruction, so they need to add more to their constituency. how can they take away vote rs constituency. how can they take away voters from a donald trump who will make them stand out? they need to talk about the issues and health care. don't they also need to talk about donald trump?” care. don't they also need to talk about donald trump? i think they have to do and we will go back to the impeachment question. everyone has to get their position on impeachment and i think that is something that a majority of democratic voters are in favour of but not a majority of the american people, so how do you straddle the line on impeachment, and talk about issues and yet emerge against a president who i think we'll still be formidable for re—election with theories on the economy is doing as well as it is. have you heard anything about steve bull, for example, the governor of montana, he is the only one who has won in a trump state. he won montana by four points and donald trump to get from hillary clinton by 20 points so he is the one who can win in a trump state ?

is the one who can win in a trump state? historically governors have done well in presidential races and certainly bill clinton was an example in the democratic side who did very well, but i think we overestimate and overa nalyse did very well, but i think we overestimate and overanalyse the trump voter performance in 2016. i would give donald trump the advantage today only because we don't have secure elections and a secure election system and robert miller made that clear last week, he made it clear in his report and it has been cleared by a lot of media reporting including the front page of the new york times and much more to come on that. the cry for impeachment goes up the more people learn about what is in the miller report and the evidence in the unsealed indictments. for him and eve ryo ne unsealed indictments. for him and everyone else it is too late to be in this race and make a mark, i would be stunned if anyone at this point can crack the top tier.|j don't think it will happen. thank you so much, both of you forjoining us.

who is watching tonight? it isjuly, we are a year and a half from the election! go to the beach! you would think so! if we judge by thejune debates, 15 million people tuned in approximately both nights, 30 million overall watching the debates. a lot of interest in this country around the election. i know it is so far away but there is interest in the democratic field because the democrats are so focused on the single issue of which of these candidates can beat donald trump. as they have been saying there are issues of the economy and impeachment, but the overriding issue for democrats, which of you quys issue for democrats, which of you guys on the stage can take on donald trump? 0ne tonight and one tomorrow. the british prime minister was putting the ball firmly in the eu's court today. on a visit to wales he said the decision as to whether the uk leaves, with or without a deal in october, rests entirely with brussels — and whether they are willing to re—open the withdrawal agreement. he made the comments after speaking, for the first time, with irish taoiseach leo varadkar.

borisjohnson said he had made it clear on the call that any new brexit deal cannot include the backstop. and in turn mr varadkar told mrjohnson the eu was united, the backstop cannot be scrapped and the withdrawal agreement cannot be reopened. here's mrjohnson speaking earlier. three times the house of commons has thrown out that backstop. there is i'io thrown out that backstop. there is no way we can get it through. we have to have that backstop out of the deal. we cannot go on with the withdrawal agreement as it currently is and everyone understands it is dead. we have to get that message across to our friends. if they understand that we will be at the races. if they can't compromise, if they really can't do it, then clearly we have to get ready for a i'io clearly we have to get ready for a no deal exit. 0ur political correspondentjess parker is in westminster. some stuff in the irish media today that the taoiseach was under a bit of pressure, maybe not everybody on

board with his brexit strategy and keeping the backstop in place but at the moment there is no sign he is getting way so it seems to be a bit ofa getting way so it seems to be a bit of a mexican stand—off? getting way so it seems to be a bit of a mexican stand-off? absolutely. broadly it is regarded that leo varadkar has had the support of other politicians and the irish public in his approach to the backstop. the great anxiety, understandably, for the republic of ireland and northern ireland is to make sure that whatever happens that border remains free and flowing and there are no checks but you're quite right to say that there is something ofa right to say that there is something of a stand—off going on here and what seems to be borisjohnson‘s tactic is to say, look, the backstop needs to be abolished and basically downing street more or less hinting that they don't think there is any point in talking until the eu shows they are willing to compromise. it is quite notable that borisjohnson has been invited to meet emmanuel macron, invited to meet angela merkel, and indeed leo varadkar invited the prime minister to dublin

during their phone conversations today, but it doesn't seem as if donald trump is about to hotfoot it off to any of those european capitals. downing street really trying to emphasise that message that they don't want to sit down with the eu and go through the same old discussion which is we don't like the backstop in the eu saying, tough. so what is the timetable and all of this? we know from boris johnson's leadership campaign that this is what he was going to do. he was going to play hardball on the idea of no deal as a negotiating tactic if nothing else. at what stage to be get a sign from europe as to which side is blinking? we are heading into august and perhaps not so heading into august and perhaps not so much happens then. you are right to ask the question but it is very difficult to say. there is an upcoming summit, a g7 summit i think we are maybe these issues will be discussed, but potentially events like that don't change anything, so it is difficult to say. we seem to

be in it is difficult to say. we seem to beina it is difficult to say. we seem to be in a game of chicken at the moment and whether borisjohnson will eventually blink, whether the eu blinks or whether neither side will blink, we can't possibly say. the pressure will ramp up on boris johnson that nothing has changed towards the end of august, because parliament comes back in early septemberfor a parliament comes back in early september for a couple of weeks before the conference season begins in all the parties go for various party conferences and i think mps at that point will want answers and wa nt that point will want answers and want some sign of progress as we head towards that 31st october date. enjoy your holiday while you can get it! thank you very much. the prospect of a no—deal brexit is driving down the value of the british pound — the currency has just hit a two year low against the dollar. prime ministerjohnson said he'll go the extra thousand miles to reach a deal with the eu — but‘s he's also toughened the government's stance on leaving without a deal on october 31st. that plan was highlighted by michael gove in an article he wrote for the sunday times in which he said the government was now working on the assumption of a no—deal brexit. it is going to make things more

expensive for brits heading abroad for the summer holidays. here's how some were reacting in paris today. i can't buy certain stuff because i don't want to spend that much money, and it is just really annoying. the whole thing relates to brexit and i just want this mess to be over. whole thing relates to brexit and i just want this mess to be ovenm is significantly more expensive for this trip than when i was here last year for business. we have done the whole trip through europe and we have found everything is so much more expensive than what we thought it was. i think maybe you can't enjoy yourself as much as you would like to because you are penny—pinching. sterling has steadied a little against the euro and the dollar this afternoon. our business editor simonjack is with us. a bit ofa a bit of a phoney war going on with stirling over the last six months but now they seem to be bedding into

this idea that the prime minister is serious? i think the weather has changed since boris johnson serious? i think the weather has changed since borisjohnson has become prime minister, and this is a person who said only a few years weeks ago, the chances of leaving with no deal is only one in a million but his deputy said this is now the government's working assumption, so the flip—flopping between one and a million and working assumption has released book market so we are seeing the new normal. i don't think we are at the point where they are saying, he definitely means that, it will definitely means that, it will definitely happen, but if we end up on first november leaving without a deal the pound sterling has a lot to fall. they are talking about £1 ten, even parity between the pound and dollar. and it is interesting to think about the currency as like the share price of a country. it reflects confidence and its economic prospects, and most readers, i have yet to find one who think leaving without a deal is good or makes them

more confident in britain's economic outlook. it will make it more difficult and expensive to trade with its biggest trading partner. the markets just getting a little bit worried, does he mean this? maybe he does and maybe we are going to get there. parity with the dollar would be something. i think we all learned in 2016 that using financial markets as an accurate barometer of what we people are going to vote is a fools errand because the toucan diverged. the fact that sterling is falling and financial markets seem to worry about no deal, does it tell us to worry about no deal, does it tell us much about the politics of the situation and whether that is going to happen? it is quite interesting, there was an audible softening of boris johnson's stance there was an audible softening of borisjohnson‘s stance as the pound sterling made that big fall. it is a big moment and particularly at this time of year, the moment of the year when consumers and tourists really notice what is going on in the currency markets so it doesn't leak

through. there are some people who see it is precisely what we need, a lower pound so we can be competitive on international markets, but for countries who import more than they export, like the uk and the us, then iam afraid export, like the uk and the us, then i am afraid that both consumers and tourists get a little bit poorer every time the currency fall so it will be very interesting in the coming days whether we have found a flaw, whether this is the new normal, but nobody is under any doubt that the currency is trying to find a way from which it can lurch very violently either way on if a deal looks more likely you can see it, and if it is looking less and less likely it could fall very sharply as well. butjust less likely it could fall very sharply as well. but just to less likely it could fall very sharply as well. butjust to put this into perspective because people tweet and say it is only dropping a few cents and we put things out of proportion, when i went to paris as a correspondent in 2010 it was 1 euro ten and it is 1 euro nine today, so not vastly different, and

the euro against the dollar is also generally falling and that is about the strength of the dollar so how much of this is the world economic cycle a nd much of this is the world economic cycle and how much is traders gambling a little bit? the point is, when you were talking about the period you are over there, the eurozone was much better place than it is now because the economy has softened. i think if you want to get a broader perspective. if you look at the pound against a basket of all world currencies, notjust the dollar and the euro, we are at the lowest level since 200a, since before the financial crisis. so you can say that the rest of the world, whatever is going on in the uk and the political debate about whether we are better in or out, the rest of the world thinks that the uk economy would be worse off as a result of no—deal brexit what everyone thinks has become much more likely in the last week. that does put into perspective. less sangria for you on your holiday! i am afraid so, i will

have to beg, borrow and steal. since 1953, the united states has been naming its storms. they think it is easier to follow the progress of a weather system if it has a name. it also ends any confusion when you have two or more tropical storms occuring at the same time. but in britain it is a relatively new concept. the met office has only been naming its storms from 2015. this so what will they be called in 2020? well, that depends on the imagination of the great british public. you may remember they opened up a competition to name our new polar research vessel, which is officially called boaty mcboatface. what could possible go wrong? quite a lot as it happens. gail is a popular entry — particularly when it comes with a picture of — wait for it — gail from the popular british soap coronation street. stormzy. stormy daniels.

windy miller. and the cricket commentator henry blofeld — more commonly known as blowers. oi’ or perhaps given the chaotic state of the moment, just call them donald and boris. could be a hurricane blowing and that the ashes at the end of this week. hoping for good weather next week, i will be on holiday for three weeks while the ashesis holiday for three weeks while the ashes is on. less sangria perhaps. we will be manning the fort. don't worry. this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — donald trump visits jamestown to mark a00 years since america's democracy was born — and he's met with protests. and borisjohnson visits wales to show support for farmers — telling them he'll take steps to support their income —

if necessary. that's still to come. stay with us. good afternoon. the heat last week feels but a distant memory for many of us today. not raining everywhere but in plenty of places it is and this is how it looks very weather watcher on the pembrokeshire coast earlier on. the cause of all this wet weather, an area of low pressure and you can see this swirl of cloud on our satellite picture. this is driving some heavy downpours and thunderstorms. around lunchtime we saw some particularly intense thunderstorms across parts of north—west england and north wales. as we go through the rest of the afternoon we keep a scattering of showers and thunderstorms and gusty winds. the black wind arrows show where we have gusts in excess of a0 mph. also inland parts of east

anglia. that is quite unusual for this time of year. a bit of sunshine to end the day, those early temperatures. through this evening, an area of low pressure moving slowly north eastwards taking the showers with it so drying up towards the south—west of the uk but lots of showers continuing across parts of northern england and south—east scotland. the temperature between 1a and 16, a fairly warm and muggy feel particularly close to the area of low pressure which will still be spinning around through tomorrow, not quite as windy as today but still fairly blustery and some shower here and there. should be a drier day tomorrow across the south—west, south wales as well we we re south—west, south wales as well we were have had a lot of rain so far today. a bit of extra cloud into the midlands but many spots try with the odd shower and the focus of the heavy showers and thunderstorms across northern england but also across northern england but also across the western side of scotland. some of these, with the wind is very light will be quite slow—moving so they could dump a lot of rain in one

oi’ they could dump a lot of rain in one or two locations. move out of wednesday into thursday and this is what is left of the area of low pressure. by this point really weakening so the shower activity sta rts weakening so the shower activity starts to decline towards the end of the week. still some around on thursday towards northern and eastern parts. fewer showers and more dry weather and the wind is easing by the stage and the wind climbing, 25 in london. looking towards the weekend, the showers continuing to fade through friday and saturday, some returning on sunday but some spells of sunshine as well.

this is beyond one hundred days with me katty kay in washington, christian fraser is in london. our top stories. the stage is set for the next round of democratic debates — 10 contenders are on stage tonight — highlighted by bernie sanders and elizabeth warren. borisjohnson visits wales to rally farmers' support for his brexit plans and says it's up to the eu if the uk leaves without a deal. if they really cannot compromise then clearly we have to get ready for a no deal exit. leading irish americans organize to protect ireland's good friday agreement from brexit — we'll hear from former senator chris dodd about his involvement.

and the trial that strained relations between the united states and sweden. the opening of a court case in stockholm. a00 years ago democracy was born in america in the town of jamestown, virginia. today the commemoration of that historic moment was marked by protest — a mass boycott by black lawmakers who said they wouldn't attend the ceremony because of the presence of donald trump. indeed he was heckled as he spoke a couple of hours ago. african americans pointed to the inherent conflict of a president who's been using race to stoke divisions and the principal of democratic inclusion. the bbc‘s chris buckler is in jamestown. jamestown is regarded as a place where the foundations were laid for what would become america. the first legislative assembly met here a00 years ago in what was then the colony of virginia.

right here in virginia your predecessors... virginia is our home! yet four centuries on, an invitation to the current head of national government to come and commemorate that moment led to protests. he said, you cannot send us back. a reference to recent comments by president trump that led some to refuse invitations to this event. in the posts on twitter he told several black and ethnic minority members of congress that they should return to the crime infested places they came from. it angered me. because i don't feel he was just talking to those four women. he was talking to me. it says something about modern america that some democrats are choosing to boycott an event here at what is regarded as the birthplace of this country's democracy. because it is being attended by the elected president of the united states. i'm the least racist person

there is anywhere in the world. what i have done for african americans into two and a half years, no president has been able to do anything like it. but allegations of racism are particularly sensitive in jamestown. because this summer also marks for hundred years since the first documented africans arrived on what is now american soil, brought here as slaves. many remembering that difficult history felt it was appropriate for the president to be here. even if they were critical of his recent words and attacks. just because someone is coming does not mean you can boycott, you are still celebrating the birthplace of everything and it is good to come here and support just jamestown itself and the community. and democracy. on the other hand we can certainly understand the passionate feelings that he is not representing what this country was founded on. and the ideals that we hold dear to ourselves. it is exclusive and it is racist. and to be able to as a leader

of a free country, you should do things that bring our country together. fire! injamestown you are given a glimpse of the past and in that history of people and democracy there may be lessons for america today. chris buckler, bbc news, jamestown in virginia. the president in virginia and some breaking news in california, we are told he would be ineligible for the californian primary ballot next year u nless californian primary ballot next year unless he discloses his tax returns under a new state law that immediately took effect on tuesday. it was signed by the governor gavin newsome and it is requiring all presidential candidates to submit five years of income tax filings and they must do so by late november in order to secure a spot on that primary ballot. and the white house lawyers have already fired back saying see you in court on this one,

they say this is a fight they can win. the uk prime minister has been in wales today reassuring farmers that the uk government will support them in the event of a no—deal brexit. so lets have a quick look at how much of their meat currently goes to markets overseas. if you take lamb — around a0% of welsh lamb is exported outside the uk. and of that — 92% is destined for the eu. for beef exports it's even higher — 93% goes to the eu, although wales exports less beef than lamb over all. if the uk were to leave the eu without a deal it would mean tariffs of between a0—90% on uk red meat — depending on factors like the size of the cut. speaking today in wales the prime minister said that the uk government would supplement farmers' incomes if necessary in a no—deal scenario. we will make sure they have the support they need, but if there are markets that will be tricky but we help them find new markets. we have interventions, aim to support them

and their income. let's speak now to hefinjones — he's a welsh cattle farmer who joins us from carmarthen. good to have you with us. what does it mean for you in terms of planning because three months does not give you much time. certainly not and as a primary producer you are co nsta ntly a primary producer you are constantly thinking to a three years ahead so this uncertainty hanging over us ahead so this uncertainty hanging over us for a period of two or three yea rs over us for a period of two or three years now when he makes life difficult in terms of thinking ahead and looking at what you intend to produce, can you produce it as a prophet, it brings serious thought and consideration. why is the national farmers' union not against a no—deal brexit, it seems to straddle two sides of the farming community, once i'm seems enthused by it and you are setting up the other side so why such a division in the farming community? well you can recommit their position is that we

share the prime minister's aspirations to access new markets here at home and abroad but we must remember how much of a cornerstone of our trade with the european union is. you heard those figures as to how much of our produce is exported to the eu and the greater part of the third and drink product that leaves wales is destined to find its home in the european union. to take that from underneath our feet in a guillotine fashion really would not be conducive to a prosperous industry and as an industry in wales we wish to be forward—thinking and outward —looking and progressive but we need the fundamental support behind us to do so. let's talk about the practicalities, what are you doing or indeed not doing because that now is an increased prospect of no deal? speaking for myself and from conversations i've had with fellow farmers a number are

considering how many cattle they will look to breed in the forthcoming season. you plan ahead in terms of the crops you need to cultivate, you plan ahead in terms of the number of livestock you intend to breed are purchased to rear and to take through to finishing. so now is the time when we would be thinking about next year and after, how many animals we will breed, what crops we need to cultivate and bring a primary producer it is not a matter of bringing some components together, to assemble and sell but to a three yea rs of to assemble and sell but to a three years of planning continuously. how much support do you now get from the common agriculture policy in terms of subsidy, the prime minister today is saint you will get help but of a state that is over and above presumably the support you would get to replace the common agricultural policy? our position has always been to adhere to the promises made in the initial stages of the brexit

that wales does not lose penny of the support that we will lose to the common agriculture policy. many farmers vary in their reliance on that support but the position is we should not lose a single penny as welsh farmers and would intervention the prime minister plans i do hope they will adhere to that promise that wales will not lose a single penny of what we currently receive. that is quite a commitment, thank you for that. so lets get the wider view from gwynn howells, he is the chief executive of meat promotion wales — the body responsible for marketing welsh red—meat internationally. we could be heading for no deal, i'll be doing enough to find those new markets for meat?|j i'll be doing enough to find those new markets for meat? i think a lot of work is being carried out in the last few years in terms of finding new markets beyond the european

union. i think we must balance optimism with practicalities and trade deals and agreements between countries take weeks, months and yea rs countries take weeks, months and years and years in terms of finding access to places like china and countries in the middle east and north america. we have 100 days until the brexit deadline and if we are to leave with no deal we would then be forced to trade on wto terms which would mean tariffs and barriers to trade which is a big change from where we are now. it will lead undoubtedly to devastation for the industry. let me just ask more about what we spoke about earlier, the prime minister sang today he will make sure that brexit works for british farmers. 80% of welsh farmers income comes from eu subsidies, something like $300

million, £200 million i guess a year. is it possible for the government to make that up, that the uk government can step in and combine with any potential loss of markets to make sure welsh farmers are not suffering financially? i'm sure it is possible and i was glad to hear that reassurance today in terms of looking after the farming industry. i think the intervention in terms of supporting farmers is an important notion but also in terms of the loss of the market we have. over 90% of exports go to the european markets. if there is a tariff post brexit with a no deal it means a0, 90% tax on exports and that would render the industry in a position where they would be no exports into the european union because we will not be competitive. that then leads to an oversupply on

the uk market and given that lamb is a seasonal product, brexit on the 3ist a seasonal product, brexit on the 31st of october, that would land in the middle of peak season and therefore supply would massively outstrip demand in october and therefore it will be very chaotic time if we have a no deal. let's hope we can negotiate a deal and therefore it would be a win—win for therefore it would be a win—win for the industry and economy generally because do not forget there is a multiplayer effect in terms of farming and the role of community. and that affects a lot of businesses in rural communities across the uk. good to talk to you. president trump has talked up a trade deal with the uk, negotiations are already ongoing he said. but it is congress that signs off any trade deals and the house speaker nancy pelosi has warned they will not be signing off any deal that undermines the good friday agreement.

now a group of prominent irish—americans has written to the newly appointed secretary of state for northern ireland julian smith echoing some of those same concerns. the ‘ad hoc committee to protect the good friday agreement‘ is made up of a0 well—known irish—american politicians. one of them is the former senator chris dodds. what is it americans on capitol hill, politicians, are so exercised about what is happening on the other side of the atlantic on the brexit negotiations and good friday agreement? we're not a position on brexit, the committee is concerned about protecting the good friday accord is 20 years ago, michael event led by george mitchell and others that put that together produced incredible results. as a golfer i loved watching the british open in northern ireland with a winnerfrom the open in northern ireland with a winner from the republic and open in northern ireland with a winnerfrom the republic and his caddie from the north. only a few

yea rs caddie from the north. only a few years ago you would not have thought that possible. i think there was real engagement from the americans in that process which is sparking this now. the new appointment of julian smith now, we think this offers opportunities and the issue offers opportunities and the issue of having a hard border instead of a sea mless of having a hard border instead of a seamless border is critically important. and many people who follow events in ireland very closely and they are worried that they are seeing some signs, we hope that mr smith will also call for the restoration of the devolved government at stormont. these are critical issues. i'm told he will come to washington soon and the group has asked to meet with him and talk about these issues. when you have someone like richie neilfrom massachusetts who is the chair of the ways and means committee and committee through which all trading agreements would have to go has been outspoken about keeping the border open. to what you have to do on

brexit, they do not take a position on the issue. because closing that border is the new prime minister seems to indicate will create serious problems. on agricultural issues as you said, one of the markets could be north america but that would not go through conquest if you have a hard border. are you putting the same pressure on the irish taoiseach, it is a democratic decision and no government would sign up to an indefinite backstop and get the taoiseach seems to be wedded to that. are you putting as much pressure on the irish side to say you need to find a solution to keep the good friday agreement alive? i think the taoiseach is working on that. today he said he was sticking with the backstop. we will keep the pressure on as well but i think is a general commitment to this the idea of the open border is one we feel strongly about. to this the idea of the open border is one we feel strongly aboutm to this the idea of the open border is one we feel strongly about. if it came to it though, so it came back to congress and there was no

solution found, presumably congress would not want the uk to sign a trade deal with china before signing one with the united states? again let me tell you what the ad hoc committee said, richie neil who is an active member pointed out some a0 members of the diplomatic corps, five ambassadors, members of congress, this is not a minor organisation when it comes to these issues and as long as we feel strongly about the open border and the results produced in the island of ireland, the good news and how well it has progressed, the great u pta kes of well it has progressed, the great upta kes of things well it has progressed, the great uptakes of things working very well, to watch that deteriorate i think would be a huge mistake and that is how strongly we feel and the speaker of the house also agrees with that. thank you very much for coming in. i guess that is the point, the nancy

pelosi in a position of power and people on the ways and means committee, because trade treaties must go through conquest. and this could be something that will president trump wants to do they may have to deal with congress. it is stuck in the house. this is beyond one hundred days. still to come — ukraine tries to win the charm offensive by starting a channel to broadcast into russia. in russian. ethiopia has planted more than 350 million trees injust 12 hours — in what officials there say is a new world record. it's the government's answer to deforestation and climate change — and in the uk, the government is encouraging a similar move to help tackle climate change. david gregory—kuma reports. in warwickshire, not far from stratford—upon—avon, a walk in a new wood.

when dave harding's teenage son asked him what he was doing to improve the environment, he decided to plant avon wood. hundreds of new trees planted on newly purchased land by the river avon and part funded by a government grant. now a bbc investigation has revealed big variations in who gets tree—pla nting money, and it seems our towns and cities are missing out. just five council areas, including stratford—upon—avon, are responsible for planting more than a quarter of all the new trees in england. joining stratford—upon—avon, northumberland, eden, carlisle and county durham, typical of the rural areas that benefited from the government's cash for trees scheme. meanwhile, liverpool, bristol, croydon and leicester were amongst the urban areas which didn't get any cash or trees from this scheme at all. the problem seems to be the way the fund was set up did not appeal to urban landowners, and campaigners argue urban trees are just as important as their countryside counterparts.

but perhaps things might be changing because since we started this investigation, the government seems to have changed its position. so, since we made our discovery, the government has announced another scheme specifically for urban tree—pla nting. they are going to release £10 million to plant about 130,000 trees, specifically in big cities. and if it wants to hit that target of 1.5 billion new trees by 2050, the government will need to plant trees anywhere it can. david gregory—kumar, bbc news, near stratford—upon—avon. the ukrainian government has announced plans to launch a russian language channel to win the hearts and minds of russians living in the east of the country. the new president promised to end the

conflict between ukrainian troops and russian backed separatist forces. fighting between the sides has gone on since 201a. in that time crashes have led to the deaths of 10,000 people including more than 3000 civilians. let's talk about this more. this channel is fascinating, i was slightly surprised we did not already have a russian channel broadcast from kiev but it seems to me that this could bea but it seems to me that this could be a real challenge to vladimir putin. the ukrainian leadership understand they are on the front line of this hybrid war with russia where information is used as a weapon against ukrainians. so this is quite an assessor response saying that we have the treasure, which is the russian language, ukrainian journalists with russian language knowledge and we can go beyond the

borders of ukraine. right now the government in ukraine has infinite capacity, they were quite successful in selling that television product in russia. and they can create both entertainment and news and going actually beyond russia to russian speaking countries such as moldova, kazakhstan, belarus. and russian compatriots living in western europe who might now get all the information from the russian state—controlled it which is propaganda. i cannot believe that that putin is not going to try to block that. it is going to be a struggle, it will not be an open door policy but i think what ukrainians can and should be doing is basically having its own voice in the region because ukrainian

experience in transition and making the country more european like is interesting. look at the protest in russia, they want to say in who governs russia, they will be looking at how ukraine is decentralising because russian federal regents do not have authority similar to the ukrainian regions right now and this could be the power of attraction if ukraine is successful economically. that is something the president has got to deliver otherwise it may look like anti—propaganda. got to deliver otherwise it may look like anti-propaganda. at the moment you have russian speakers in the east of ukraine, where do they get their news from, it seems almost like the old—fashioned the idea that people still get their news primarily from television. i'm assuming they have access to whatever they want on their phones or computers anyway? they would get access to the internet of course, internet websites but still in the ukraine 90% of people watch television and a lot of them, around

70%, get their news from television. in the occupied territories they get their news from russian television because ukraine's transmission capacity to those territories is blocked by russia. ukraine needs to invest in new infrastructure and new transmitters to be able to reach those territories. so they do live in the information bubble and on the other hand they project ukrainian information because they feel hostile and they like to be in their own like—minded tribe and this is something that we all face, people living in those bubbles. but ukraine is trying to offer them an alternative if they do decide, they should be able to get ukrainian news which is not the case at the moment. that is fascinating. people still getting their news from television. maybe we should move there! rocky has pleaded not guilty to assault

the start of his trial in stockholm for that he is accused of assaulting a 19—year—old afghan refugee months ago. tempted rocky to others claimed that they were acting in self defence. assault of this nature carries a two—year sentence in sweden, how is it looking after the first hearing for asap rocky? so much evidence to go through in court, prosecutors put together 552 pages which they submitted before the trial got under way and on the first day of proceedings both sides use some of the evidence to try to make their case. the victim's lawyer argued photos of his injuries suggested he had been hit with a glass bottle but the lawyers for asap rocky are good the lawyers for asap rocky are good the rapper acted in self defence and

he said he would be presenting fresh evidence at the next hearing on thursday which proved the glass bottle had not been used in the way prosecutors suggested. he used text m essa g es prosecutors suggested. he used text messages between some of tempted tea m messages between some of tempted team and their friends to suggest that they felt scared and threatened when the fight took place and that is why they had acted in self—defence. they said they thought the victim was on drugs at the time and have been the crew for a while before the fight happened. —— had been following. if you were to step inside rochester cathedral, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were on the fairway to heaven. the central aisle — known as the nave — has been transformed into a crazy golf course. the idea is to ensure a wedge isn't driven between the church and its potential congregation.

some are calling it a stroke of genius, but others say it's the wrong way to get people interested in god, and could putt some people off. there has been some sunshine around today but we have had some very gusty winds bringing some trees down. the main concentration of showers overnight is across the midlands, north wales and the north of england. still some torrential rain and thunderand of england. still some torrential rain and thunder and lightning sell some flooding could be likely. really quite muggy night with temperatures not much lower than around 1a celsius. this low pressure

is responsible for these heavy showers that are still with us through wednesday. it has shifted north and east across the midlands, north wales, the north of england and slowly pushing towards scotland. not so many showers for northern ireland and those showers using all the time across wales, central and southern england. still some strong gusts of wind and they will turn quite gusty in and around those showers. those showers will merge to give longer spells of rain sell some flooding could be likely and we have some warnings in place for the rain and also those thunderstorms through wednesday evening. by thursday we have low pressure pulling away into the north sea but still close to the uk so we still have showers in the forecast. probably not as frequent

or as thundery but eastern coast of england and in particular north in england and in particular north in england and in particular north in england and across scotland they are more likely to see these. northern ireland at this stage mainly dry but with a lot of cloud, the best of the sunshine across wales, east anglia, around 2a degrees in the sunshine. by around 2a degrees in the sunshine. by friday must should be mainly dry. the wind lighter as well sell feeling a bit warmer. goodbye.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 8... the prime minister tries to reassure welsh farmers about their future amid mounting fears of a no—deal brexit. we will make sure that they get the help that they need that if there are markets that are going to be tricky we help them to get new markets. we need to know now what he's going to do if there's no deal it's too late on the 315t. brexit means bad news for holiday—makers heading abroad as the pound continues to fall. flash flooding after more site and thunderstorms and torrential rain. president trump faces a boycott by black lawmakers as he marks the a00th anniversary of us democracy but says