this is the briefing. i'm samantha simmonds. our top story: talks on prime minister boris johnson's brexit plan continue as critics in europe and dublin say they fall short in a number of aspects. what next for the people in ireland and northern ireland? we take a special look at what cross—border relations could look like after brexit. democrats hit back as president trump calls on beijing to launch an inquiry into political rivaljoe biden and his son. tribal politics and animal instincts. british street artist banksy‘s political statement is sold for $12 million. a shifting world. uber launches an app to match freelance workers and jobs to cash in on the $4 trillion gig economy.

a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. today we hear from a new survey that finds people who quit facebook has become less repressed and more productive, so has ditching facebook made you more happy and. using it would make you better with money? that's what the survey said. tell us what you think, just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. boris johnson's eu envoy is preparing for another round of talks in brussels on the latest brexit proposals put forward by the uk. central to the plan is the idea that the whole of the uk leaves

the eu's customs territory but that northern ireland stays in the eu's single market. but the bloc‘s leaders say the proposals fall short of what's required to get a deal. our europe correspondent, adam fleming, reports. david frost is facing a barrage of questions about the uk proposals. they foresee northern ireland following eu rules on agriculture and goods, without it being part of the eu customs union. that will require a new system for monitoring trade with ireland. the eu chief negotiator, michel barnier, told european diplomats at the next few days of talks would be about testing the uk's room for manoeuvre, a tacit head admission that the ideas need a lot of work. brussels negotiators are concerned about the british plan to give sole power to trigger or leave the arrangement to the stormont assembly alone, and they're worried about making a pledge to never introduce checks on the european side of the irish border

without guarantees of the checks the uk would carry out on goods arriving in northern ireland stop being there will be an enormous infrastructure created, not on the border but in ireland, northern ireland, in britain, customs infrastructure, and that will increase dramatically the chance for smuggling... the risk for smuggling, the risk also for criminal activities. so we don't see it as a serious alternative for the backstop. if there is no progress by the end of next week, the eu's focus will shift to an internal discussion about what to do if there's a request to extend the brexit process beyond the 31st of october. leading democrats in the us have again accused president trump of betraying his oath of office, after he publicly called on china to investigate his possible election rival, joe biden.

mr trump also repeated his demand that ukraine look into business dealings by mr biden‘s son, hunter. china should start an investigation into the bidens, because what happened in china isjust about into the bidens, because what happened in china is just about as bad as what happened with... with ukraine. soi bad as what happened with... with ukraine. so i would say that president zelenskiy, if it were me, i would recommend that they start an investigation into the bidens, because nobody has any doubt that they weren't crooked. that was a crooked deal, 100%. our correspondent in washington, chris buckler, has more on the president's new comments. it feels like donald trump is trying to make normal what the democrats say is simply extraordinary: a us president essentially asking a foreign government, or as it is now to foreign governments, for help in digging dirt on a political opponent, and that is how democrats see it. and president donald trump

is trying with their strategy to say, "well, i'm doing nothing wrong, the questions should all be about joe biden and his son, hunter", but actually what he's doing here is throw a lot of dirt at the bidens and the reality of it is none of it is substantiated, is not provided any evidence, he simply putting out any evidence, he simply putting out a lot of allegations and encouraging other governments to look into their actions. and as a result you have got president donald trump in some ways looking at times angry and u nsettled, ways looking at times angry and unsettled, but it's a great change of strategy if you consider only a matter of 2a hours ago he was awkwardly trying to avoid questions about what he said to the ukrainian president. now he's getting out there and saying, "yeah, i asked the question. yeah, iasked him to investigate. so what?" ultimately it will feed into those calls for impeachment from the democrats. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. us health authorities say at least 18 people

across the country are now known to have died from lung problems linked to vaping e—cigarettes. they say more than 1,000 cases of probable lung injury had been reported across the country. the french authorities are investigating why a member of staff at the police headquarters in paris attacked his colleagues with a knife, killing four people. the 45—year—old technology worker was shot dead at the scene. french police say he'd recently converted to islam. the government in hong kong is expected later on friday to announce a ban on the wearing of face masks during public gatherings as the city struggles to curb four months of anti—government protests. chief executive carrie lam will hold a special cabinet meeting to consider implementing the ban using colonial—era emergency legislation. the president of ecuador has declared a state of emergency after a day of protests against planned cuts to fuel subsidies. lenin moreno has criticised the violence of some of the demonstrations and confirmed that the measures would be implemented.

let's turn to our top business story now — taxi giant uber is launching an app that puts casual workers in touch with employers. uber works will allow say a waiter or a cleaner to compare pay rates and conditions and sign up for shifts. it's designed to cash in on the massive growth in freelance working via digital platforms, known as the gig economy, thought to be worth trillions of dollars a year globally. simoney kyriakou is editor of the financial adviser section at the financial times. welcome and good to have you with us. welcome and good to have you with us. first time, good to have you with us. tell us about this and how it will work? a very interesting initiative by uber, showing their company can be innovative in trying to expand its remit. the idea is it will help the gig economy workers compare their pay rates, may sign up for shifts, pair up businesses looking to plug short—term gaps with

qualified and appropriate workers nearby. it's being trialled in chicago at the moment and the idea is if it takes off, perhaps it will be rolled out more widely across american cities and maybe even be replicated in the uk or elsewhere where uber has a very strong presence. we've seen various countries increased their legislation to protect workers' rights here. a la vaugney has done it and we see new rules in the eu so how will that work, especially as uber has its own issues with employee rights for drivers? there's been a big case in california and a lot of people in the uk have brought measures saying lot of people in the uk have brought measures saying uber and companies like that don't allow for sick pay oi’ like that don't allow for sick pay or holiday pay. they don't have enough workers' rights. there's no limit on the hours. it's quite important you protect workers' rights but also on the flipside people choose the gig economy because they like the flexibility and sometimes it suits someone's

family life to have the flexibility and may be they would be prepared to give upa and may be they would be prepared to give up a workplace pension arrangement in order to have a job with uber perhaps on the side or in addition to what they already do, or allow them to work nights where they need to look after children at home. so there can be a quick progrowth here. uber has made some steps, particularly in america, where this seminal court case has found against uber, to improve workers' rights and give them some sort of stability but at the same time you can't do that too much without taking away the flexibility people really enjoy. interesting, and we will talk more about this later in our business programme. but for now, simoney, thank you. the united kingdom and the united states have signed what both countries are calling an historic agreement on sharing data. it's intended to dramatically speed up investigations into criminals‘ online activity. the reciprocal arrangement means law enforcement bodies could demand

terrorists‘ and child abusers' electronic data directly from technology companies based in either country. the uk home secretary priti patel announced the agreement along with the us attorney general william barr after a meeting in washington. this will effectively leave callous criminals who exploit the internet with nowhere to hide. 0ur law—enforcement agencies will be finally able to get a mind to the data they need from internet giants to bring people who abuse children and terrorists to justice, and i would like to give my particular thanks to the attorney general and to all of those, many of whom are here today, you have made this momentous occasion possible. the philippines is struggling to cope with the worst outbreak of dengue fever for seven years. around 1,000 people have died in what's being treated as a national epidemic, with young children particularly vulnerable to the mosquito—borne disease. philippines correspondent howard johnson has visited the worst—affected part of the country, western visayas,

and sent this report. the lush, green paddy fields of pototan, in iloilo. harvests are so good here, they call the town the rice granary of the island. but in the stagnant pools of surface water, a deadly virus is lurking — dengue. numbers affected by the mosquito—borne tropical disease have spiked here in recent months. during the peak lastjuly, we had an overflowing number of patients. the patients are in the alley, in the corridor, in the folding beds. it's the worst dengue outbreak i've ever seen. in 2018, there were 1,100 dengue cases and four deaths recorded in iloilo. but this year, up to september, there have been more than 16,000 cases and more than 70 deaths. emergency tents were set up to cope with the overflow of patients.

barangay igang is one of the hardest—hit communities in potota n. leovy leonaro lives in this seven—house compound with her extended family. 16 people contracted dengue here in july, including her three sons. so ijust put him here, just to remember. her eldest, 11—year—old rynard, didn't survive. even though he shows he's well, he's good, deep inside, the dengue was affecting his liver. leovy said her local community had sprayed her compound with pesticides during the outbreak, but it had done little to reduce the number of mosquitos there. and the viable options to tackle the virus are limited. in 2016, the philippine government cancelled a nationwide dengue

vaccination programme after the makers of the dengvaxia, sanofi pasteur, said that the vaccine could increase health risks in cases where the patient hadn't suffered from the virus before. -- 2017. in the absence of a universal dengue vaccination programme, the government and charities like the philippine red cross are urging local communities to check their areas for potential mosquito breeding grounds. you can see these children here checking plastic bottles. during the rainy season, they can fill up with water, and mosquitoes can breed and multiply there. for now, efforts at tackling the crisis have focused on prevention, but leovy says she feels helpless to protect her family against a silent killer that no—one knows when or where it will strike next. howard johnson, bbc news, iloilo. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: 12 million seahorses illegally trawled and destined for markets abroad are seized. peru says it's a crime against the environment.

in all russia's turmoil, it has never quite come to this. president yeltsin said the day would decide the nation's destiny. the nightmare that so many people have feared for so long is playing out its final act here. russians are killing russians in front of a grandstand audience. it was his humility which produced affection from catholics throughout the world. but his departure is a tragedy for the catholic church. this man, israel's right—winger ariel sharon, visited the religious compound and that started the trouble. he wants israel alone to have sovereignty over the holy sites, an idea that's unthinkable to palestinians. after 45 years of division, germany is one. in berlin, a million germans celebrate the rebirth of europe's biggest and richest nation.

you're watching the briefing. 0ur headlines: talks on prime minister boris johnson's brexit plan continue as critics in europe and ireland say they "fall short in a number of aspects." president trump has urged another foreign country, china, to launch an investigation into his democrat rivaljoe biden, and his son. with just two weeks before the eu summit and a looming deadline for the prime minister to seal a deal, today the bbc is looking at the whole island of ireland and attitudes to brexit, the backstop and the political future for both sides of the border. 0ur correspondent chris page takes a look at what cross—border relations could look like after brexit. the border has been used as a

political football, and it's the border has been used as a politicalfootball, and it's not doing anyone any good in the island of ireland. boating on the border is the essence of tranquillity. but the simplicity of life in the water also shows the complexity of the issue which has stalled brexit. here, and at other parts of the border, it's just unbelievable, a hard border is unworkable, whatever they say. and they can put whatever agreement they wa nt they can put whatever agreement they want in place, but it's not going to be possible. how can you believe is a hard border here? it's not going to be possible. in some places, it's ha rd to to be possible. in some places, it's hard to know where the border is at all, but here we do know where it is because this stretch of the waterway actually marks the frontier. 0ver there, it's northern ireland, this bank is the irish republic. the canal has become a symbol of the peace process. canal has become a symbol of the eace rocess. it's canal has become a symbol of the peace process. it's a gateway to both countries, which shows how much has changed. when it opened 25 years

ago, the conflict wasn't over, and still overshadowed everything. now, the waterway is an artery for this area's lifeblood, tourism. visitors often start their journey area's lifeblood, tourism. visitors often start theirjourney on the longest river in the republic, on the challenge, business people want brexit to be settled. it would definitely be great if we could get this thing over the line and out of the way by the end of october. a deal is the best possible solution for irish tourism. about halfway to northern ireland, the canal curves through the town of balta more. people here feel they are at pivot point. gail gets her garden supplies from across the border and hope there won't be any complications. we area there won't be any complications. we are a small family business, myself

and a few part—time workers. so we can't really afford to be taking on an extra administrative layer within the business. our time is very tight, but there are also so many other things to do. the closer you get to the frontier, the more real brexit feels. also long, so many have thought so little about crossing the border. and plenty who live just on the northern side think the irish government is navigating a better course than britain.|j the irish government is navigating a better course than britain. i don't think the british government had done anything in protecting our interests they haven't understood the contacts properly. they say the border is the same as finchley in london, they don't understand the context at all. i think the european union and the irish government have reacted to try and protect the needs and desires of people in northern ireland much better. brexit has sent ripples through politics, business and identity. in ireland, what people seem to want most is come

this —— come amidst the uncertainty. peruvian authorities have intercepted a huge shipment of dried seahorses fished illegally from the pacific and due to be sold in asia. the seizure, weighing more than a ton, highlights the growth in wildlife smuggling around the world. andy beatt reports. dried, boxed, and ready for export. 12 million pacific seahorses packed onto a ship in callao, peru's biggest and busiest port. evidence of an environmental crime. translation: we have seized 55 boxes of dried seahorses weighing more than 1000 kilos. the capture and trade of the species are strictly prohibited anywhere along the peruvian coast. the contra band cargo was destined to be sold abroad. in traditional chinese medicine, seahorses are believed to help with ailments as diverse as infertility, baldness, and asthma. this huge haul likely to be worth millions of dollars on the black market. conservationists say the illicit trade, fuelled by organised crime, is one of the gravest threats to wildlife across south america and beyond. four crewmembers, three

peruvians and a venezuelan, have been detained by police. if found guilty they face 3—5 years injail. andy beatt, bbc news. here is our briefing on some of the key events happening later on. jeff koons will unveil his the of two... culture. —— here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. we begin in paris where artistjeff koons will unveils his ‘bouquet of tulips' sculpture in memory of the victims of the 2015 terror bataclan attack. after that in washington, the latest figures for us job

creation and unemployment data for the month of september will be released. and later in mexico city there will be a mass karaoke tribute to the late music superstarjose jose. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, i'm ben croucher with your friday sport briefing. we'll start at the world athletics championship in doha, where we witnessed one of the most astonishing races in the women's 400 metres. bahrain's salwa eid naser won gold with the third—fastest time in history. many fancied olympic champion shaunae miller—uibo for the title but despite running the sixth fastest time ever, there was no catching naser out front. the top five all ran personal bests. i feel so happy and ifeel so happy and i'm so i feel so happy and i'm so excited and we have been supported by the whole bahrain federation. their support really means a lot, there was really ha rd support really means a lot, there was really hard work put into this and they contributed to it. arsenal made it two wins from two in the europa league,

brushing standard liege aside at the emirates stadium. two goals in three minutes from teenager gabriel martinelli set them on their way. they're now top of group f. manchester united, meanwhile, couldn't even manage a shot on target as they drew 0—0 with alkmaar. all the results can be found on the bbc sport website. ireland recovered from their rugby world cup defeat to japan by beating russia 35—0. tries from rob kearney, peter 0'mahony and rhys ruddock gave them a first half—lead. andrew conway then secured the bonus point in the 62nd minute. a bonus point win next against samoa will be enough for them to reach the knockouts. south africa face italy on friday knowing that another defeat will almost certainly end their hopes of reaching the quarterfinals. the springboks lost to defending champions new zealand, but bounced back to inflict a heavy defeat on namibia. italy top pool b at the minute

but have only ever beaten south africa once in their history. former world number one andy murray plays dominic thiem at the china open shortly. it's murray's first tour quarterfinal since hip surgery. it'll be murray's toughest test since his comeback from injury too. he has never lost to theim on hard courts, though. murray saw off matteo berrettini and cam norrie to make it this far. in the women's event, the pick of the last eight matches sees two grand slam winners from this year meet. aussie open champion naomi 0saka meets us open champ bianca andreescu. defending champion caroline wozniacki and world number one ashley barty are also in action. now, you might have heard about american grant holloway winning the 110 metre hurdles at the world athletics championships. you may not have seen how his win was greeted back home. there was quite a gathering at his old haunt, grassfield high school in virginia.

one of the teachers said school spirit was off the charts after this win. cheering fantastic scenes. if anybody from my old school is watching this. hello! i dare say they probably won't have the same reaction. you can find lots more on our website bbc.com/sport. this has been your friday sport briefing. goodbye. now a painting by the mysterious british street artist banksy has sold for a record amount for one of his works. it depicts the british parliament filled with chimpanzees. it sold for five times its pre— option estimate. —— auction. gareth barlow has more. the uk parliament, but not as you know it. cheering politicians replaced by a troupe of chimpanzees, howling, instead of "hear, hear." painted a decade ago, the artwork could be considered particularly pertinent in an increasingly polarised political world.

this, one of our oldest democracies, and within it we see the regression towards tribal, animalistic behaviour — that regardless of which side you stand on the brexit debate, there's no question that over the last few weeks we've seen incredible behaviour here in the house of commons in the uk. at four metres wide, the painting is banksy‘s largest piece, and now commands the highest price. his reaction to the record figure — shame i didn't still own it. gareth barlow, bbc news. people who quit facebook to come less depressed and more productive, thatis less depressed and more productive, that is according to a new survey, at least. so has ditching facebook make you —— make you happier? we have heard that before, but this

survey says it also makes you better with money. let us know if you think thatis with money. let us know if you think that is the case. let us know your thoughts. use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. we will be back in a few minutes with business briefing in a moment. hello. at one stage hurricane lorenzo, way out in the atlantic, had winds gusting up to 190 mph. it is no longer a hurricane, and it weakens quite quickly as it moves from ireland across the united kingdom during friday. that said, it is still quite windy, though nothing too unusual for the time of year. as we start friday, winds easing in northern ireland, but they are going to be picking up towards south wales and south—west england. and it'll be fairly blustery wherever you are, with cloud and outbreaks of rain. a much milder start compared with thursday morning. and the winds pick up a bit further, south wales, south—west england, during friday morning, maybe gusting along some coasts up to around 60, maybe 65 mph, before easing later. a lot of cloud, outbreaks of rain to start the day,

but edging southwards across south wales and southern england on through the afternoon, replacing any early brightness, whereas elsewhere it turns a bit drier and a little brighter. the best of the sunshine in northern scotland and throughout the day in the northern isles, and temperatures a little bit higher compared with thursday. so the winds ease further as we go on through friday night. still some cloud and patchy rain for parts of southern england, south wales, into northern ireland. the clearest skies to the north and east of that. there'll be a few mist and fog patches developing, and where you are clear, temperatures are dipping down into single figures as we start the weekend. so on saturday morning, then, some mist and fog patches around. some sunny spells the further east you are, but there's another weather system coming in from the atlantic, and that's going to spread cloud further east. with it, initially some light and patchy rain. that rain, though, turning heavier into northern ireland and western scotland, with a strengthening south—easterly wind during the day. and, as for those temperatures, of course it'll feel best where you get to see some sunshine.

but then again, as the breeze picks up, well, we'rejust talking about the mid to low teens. now, let's take a look at the big picture going into sunday. this frontal system is coming across us, and quite slowly, with some heavy and persistent rain. there could be some quite large rain totals in places on into sunday, so that's something worth watching. and, while there's a bit of uncertainty about how quickly this is going to clear eastwards, some of us will emerge into the sunshine on sunday. but the further east you are, some of us, as you can see, will not. we'll keep you updated on how that looks over the next few days. and again, as for temperatures, well, we're talking mainly towards the mid—teens. in any cloud and rain, though, it is going to feel colder on sunday compared with saturday. and just a look into next week, a selection of places here. it's looking very autumnal. it will be quite windy throughout the week. it will be wet at times, not all the time. there'll be some sunshine occasionally, too.

this is the business briefing. i'm samantha simmonds. a shifting world. uber launches an app to match freelance workers and jobs to cash in on the $4 gig economy —— $4 trillion " $4 trillion gig —— $4 trillion gig economy. plus: battling the slowdown. india's central bank poised to cut rates again as it faces the weakest growth in six years. but will it make any difference? and on the markets: asian stocks edging higher thanks to gains on wall street, but the mood is cautious ahead of key us jobs numbers out later this friday. they of course could help determine whether the federal reserve cuts interest rates further.