this programme contains flashing images. tonight at ten: bulgaria's football boss resigns and the country faces disciplinary action after racism blights their match against england last night. from the bulgarian fans, nazi salutes and monkey chants — england players abused from the very beginning of the match. i heard it before i even got to the other side of the pitch in the warm—up. so we spoke about it coming off the pitch after the warm—up, and then obviously, it was happening in the game. outbreak of racism — and we'll be asking young british players for their take on events. also tonight... crunch time for brexit talks — both sides say there's still work to do, but hopes rise of a deal. turkey moves more troops to the border with syria,

as the united states imposes sanctions. mps grill thomas cook's former boss over his £500,000 bonus when his company was in debt. and arriving in local style — the duke and duchess of cambridge are in pakistan for a five—day tour. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news, we find out if the republic of ireland can come back from 1—0 down against switzerland to qualify for next summer's european championships. good evening. bulgaria is now the subject of disciplinary proceedings by european football's governing body, uefa, after the racist abuse directed at the england team

in their match in sofia last night. the game was halted twice due to racist chants and gestures by a section of the home crowd against england players. the head of bulgaria's football union has resigned after being told to quit by the country's prime minister — and the behaviour has been condemned by england's coach, captain and by borisjohnson. our special correspondent ed thomas reports. in full view, unmasked. the nazi salutes, the monkey chants, unashamed hate for all to see. i mean, i heard it before i even got to the other side of the pitch in the warm—up. we spoke about it coming off the pitch. everybody wanted to carry on and do their talking on the pitch, which i'm extremely proud of. under uefa's racism protocol, the match was first paused after 28

minutes, a warning issued. then again 15 minutes later, the match was halted. step two is about to be enforced. only then did this group leave the stadium. at this point, the players could have been taken off. instead, they played on. i'm incredibly proud of all the players and all of the staff. we've made a huge statement, and frankly, we were in an impossible situation to get it right to the satisfaction of everybody. and this reaction from england's raheem sterling: england fans chanted their defiance. today, many called for action. they should be kicked out of the next qualifying phases. it's going to happen. if we were pre—warned

about it and it's happened, it's going to happen again, isn't it? i've been living in bulgaria for five years as a brit, and i have to go through what you guys have just seen yesterday. so it's not fair or right, but i'm glad it's out there now. in a statement, uefa said: former bolton midfielder fabrice muamba. there hasn't been much progress, looking at it. 12 years ago, he played in the same stadium, facing the same abuse. does nothing change, seriously? you heard the monkey chants? yeah. what should happen to those racists in the stadium? they're not welcome to any football stadium. a lifetime ban? it has to be. we've linked some of those in the ground to a group called lauta army. on facebook, hours earlier, they openly talked of trying to arrange a fight with england fans. in the crowd, the same flag.

what should happen to bulgaria? i think being thrown off can only send a strong message. a ban from the competition? that's the only way i view it. today, borisjohnson described the abuse as vile, with further condemnation inside parliament. i'm writing today to the uefa president that again, the consequences of failing to tackle this issue will be severe. the rise of racism in football is being felt across europe. before the game, england players warned that this could happen. but maybe this generation, refusing to be victims, will be the ones to finally force authorities to end this shame. ed thomas, bbc news. 0ur correspondent daniel sandford is in bulgaria this evening. how much are the authorities there at fault?

well, i think the bulgarian football authority tonight are in a state of shock. clearly, the head of the bulgarian association, the famous ex goalkeeper borislav mihaylov, if he had known what the consequences were of what happened last night, that he would effectively lose his job, of what happened last night, that he would effectively lose hisjob, they would effectively lose hisjob, they would have done more about it. this was clearly a major miscalculation. they either thought that these fans wouldn't turn up, the fans that were pulling these nazi salutes were effectively a small neo—nazi group from a couple of clubs, or that they thought they wouldn't do what they did, or perhaps they thought that u efa did, or perhaps they thought that uefa wouldn't react in the way that they did. but either way, the head of the bulgarian football has now lost hisjob of the bulgarian football has now lost his job and it has sent a strong signal to other football associations across eastern europe and it may mean something gets done about this issue. daniel sandford, many thanks. the way england players and their manager handled themselves on and off the pitch has won praise,

and will have been watched keenly by younger players devoted to the game. our community affairs correspondent adina campbell has been speaking to young people at a secondary school in west london, where star player raheem sterling was once a pupil. he's the poster boy of his former school in north—west london, and just a few weeks ago, raheem sterling was back again at ark elvin academy to inspire those hoping to follow in his footsteps. mamadou, right wing. knowing that he came to this very school, went through the struggles of being a black boy in brent and turned out to be one of the best players in the world, it's inspiring. how raheem conducted himself and the way he never gave up, he persevered his way through, that only motivates us as students. and for these boys who play the game they love in the shadows of wembley stadium, what they saw last night was hard to watch. right wing. i was utterly disgusted. things like that shouldn't take

place in a football game. as a black boy, you don't expect it, but you realise that it does really happen. and when it did, its not like, it's not like you were shocked, but... it's like you were kind of prepared for it. so how do they feel about the way racism is currently being dealt with? centre back. it's not enough, because as well as affecting their performance, it also affects the players mentally. i think a zero—tolerance policy should really be taken into consideration and be put into place, because we cannot be having any type of racism in football. racism isn't just happening at the highest level of the game. they've been on the receiving end too. right back. back in primary school, people used to be quite aggressive towards me.

personally, i've experienced a couple of racist moments in my career, but i kept my head cool. what did they say to you? they were just being racist and calling me an immigrant. but it hasn't stopped them playing the beautiful game that one day, they hope, will see racism rooted out once and for all. adina campbell, bbc news. brexit talks with the eu are reaching a crucial stage — and while downing street remains cautious, there has been increasing speculation that a deal between the two sides may be imminent. the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier said details must be agreed by the end of today — with the deadline looming of the eu summit in brussels in two days' time. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. a tired rub of the eyes. how much longer? while the politicians are still turning up, there is a chance of a deal. the talks are ongoing. we need to give them space to proceed, but detailed conversations are under way and a deal is still possible.

the dup were in downing street last night — are they on board? impossible to know now, though, who will be on board, because a possible agreement, with compromises and concessions, has not been done. so if the eu's negotiator looks exhausted by the process, he's probably not the only one. even if an agreement will be difficult — more and more difficult, to be frank — it's still possible this week. how many ways can you say, "it's hard — we'll have to wait and see"? reaching an agreement is still possible. obviously, any agreement must work for everyone. the eu—uk standoff is over. the conversations are real about finding a solution, to solve the conundrum that centres on managing the irish border, when after brexit, one side will be

in the eu and one side will be out. initial indications are that we're making progress, that the negotiations are moving in the right direction, but whether we'll be able to conclude a revised withdrawal agreement, which after all is an international treaty, in time for the summit on thursday, that's, as of now, unclear. are you optimistic about the deal, prime minister? can you get an agreement by tonight, prime minister? will there be a deal tonight? the prime minister might be good at the meet and greet. today the chief of nato was the recipient of thejohnson grip and grin. the diplomacy is about the black and white detail, notjust the big, colourful brushstrokes. and borisjohnson is up against not just the contradictions of brexit, but two deadlines — one, the vital meeting of eu leaders this week, and his own self—imposed promise of getting us out of the eu, whatever happens, at the end of this month.

and all that with allies on all sides to keep sweet. brexiteers visiting number ten this afternoon aren't the only ones who might have the numbers to crash any agreement that emerges. a deal they're waiting for could just about be concluded in the next few days. it was a very constructive conversation, and i am optimistic that it is possible to reach a tolerable deal which i'll be able to vote for. tolerable to the dup too? with talk of concessions over the irish border, can the prime minister really keep his northern irish allies on board tonight? hope for the deal? are you going to back the pm? what's important is that we stick with our principles, that we want to get a deal, but it has to be a deal that respects the economic and constitutional integrity of the united kingdom, and that means all of the united kingdom, northern ireland included. negotiators are likely to work long into the evening. whether a deal can be reached by tomorrow is just not known. it's not yes or no yet, but definitely a maybe tonight. laura kuenssberg, bbc

news, westminster. 0ur europe editor, katya adler, joins us from paris now. katya, what are you hearing? well, waiter, this is quite a moment after three years of brexit process. a new brexit deal is being hammered out as we speak behind closed doors. what we don't know, though, is whether we are close to a deal or just closer to a deal. the advice in the eu is for cautious optimism. just before speaking to you, i received a call from a contact close to negotiations who said, do not expect a big announcement tonight. of course, with so much tension, journalists like myself and laura, anyone who has been following the brexit process hopelessly, has been in and out of background briefings and glued to our phone for any whiff of news. i can tell you who else has been glued to their phones, especially tonight, and that the eu leaders, whether it is angela merkel

oi’ leaders, whether it is angela merkel or emmanuel macron, boris johnson leaders, whether it is angela merkel or emmanuel macron, borisjohnson as well. they are not in these negotiations at the moment. they are being carried out at technical level, trying to turn political ideas into legal text. if those negotiators are able to do that, we will see that text tomorrow. it will be passed on to all eu leaders, which for the moment still includes borisjohnson, for consideration ahead of what promises to be quite a summit, when all the leaders come to brussels on thursday. but the eu says it will not be time pressured into boris johnson's says it will not be time pressured into borisjohnson‘s timetable. if the text isn't ready, so be it, they say. they are open for talks after the summit if the prime minister wa nts. the summit if the prime minister wants. katya, many thanks. turkey is continuing its military offensive in northern syria — aiming to defeat kurdish forces, whom they regard as terrorists, and to create a buffer zone to resettle millions of syrian refugees presently in turkey. the conflict erupted after donald trump withdrew us forces, creating a vacuum in kurdish—controlled areas —

into which turkey stepped. today, syrian government forces — supported by russia — continued to move to areas once occupied by the kurds, whom they've now agreed to support. president trump's action has been widely condemned for altering the balance of power in the region. tomorrow, vice—president mike pence will travel to turkey for talks. 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, reports from washington. the extraordinary american retreat, in one selfie video. a russian wearing a new york yankees cap playfully shows us around a newly abandoned us military base in northern syria. the russians are gratefully filling a vacuum. and as if to underline this major power shift in the middle east, just look at the welcome the united arab emirates were laying on this morning for the russian leader, vladimir putin, as they gave him the red — well, blue — carpet treatment. but it's a very different picture on the ground in northern syria, where the turks

continue their bombardment. and don't think it's just kurdish fighters that are the target. if you strike residential areas, then children who know nothing of this conflict will be its victims too. the fighting has prompted the uk to join some other european nations in suspending arms sales to turkey. in washington, the president has faced a barrage of criticism, and there are signs the pressure is beginning to tell, with tougher sanctions being imposed against turkey. we want to bring our soldiers back home. and we're being very tough on turkey and a lot of others. we're asking for a ceasefire. we've put the strongest sanctions that you can imagine, but we have a lot in store if they don't have an impact. and the result of the pressure can be seen by comparing the difference in town between donald trump last week and the vice—president, mike pence, last night. syrian defence forces have been a strong ally of the united states.

—— in tone between donald trump last week and the vice—president, mike pence, last night. syrian defence forces have been a strong ally of the united states. they didn't help us in the second world war, they didn't help us with normandy, as an example... well, the united states of america did not give a green light to turkey to invade syria. but he said, "i want to go in, i want to go in," but he's been telling me that for two and a half years. the president is very concerned about instability in the region. they're there, and we're here — we're many miles away. the ledger on donald trump for these past ten days is pretty harsh. he stands accused of betraying america's kurdish allies, of allowing islamic state to regroup, of creating a humanitarian disaster, of giving russia syria and iran a major strategic victory. 0n the upside, he is bringing 1,000 us troops out of syria. but they're not coming home. they're being redeployed to iraq. a week of artillery fire, bombing and fighting has claimed the lives of many civilians, and prompted at least 160,000 to flee their homes. all a result of one phone call between president erdogan and donald trump. jon sopel, bbc news, washington.

the former chief executive of the collapsed holiday firm thomas cook has faced tough questioning from mps. peter fankhauser said he was "deeply sorry" for the compa ny‘s demise, but was strongly criticised for his multi—million pound pay packet and bonus. 9,000 uk workers lost theirjobs in the collapse, and the crisis saw 140 , 000 stranded holiday—makers flown back to britain. simon gompertz reports. watching theirformer bosses getting a grilling. mike, betty, and chris on the right, aircrew, gathered in manchester to see whether their questions about the failure are answered. we would like to know why the airline wasn't separated from the tour operator, as we were a profitable part of the company.

would we be sitting pretty now as an independent airline? how can you take a bonus when you didn't achieve anything? and in the committee, it's pay the mps home in on. i can just talk about my pay... peter fankhauser, former chief executive, had nearly £9 million, including bonuses, overfour years. do you think that that bonus should be paid back? all i can say to that is that i worked tirelessly for the success of this company, and i'm deeply sorry that i was not able to secure the deal. we had so much debt... next up, frank meysman, the former chairman, who took home £1.3 million in four years. he blames the failure on big debts, then the hot summer in 2018 which put people off overseas holidays. and then came the heatwave, came the anxiety of brexit, and the business could no longer survive... they asked the government for financial help, but it was denied.

in the last six days they couldn't even get a minister on the phone, only officials. me personally, at no point in this process from tuesday to sunday, did we have a government minister on the phone. some of the shops are reopening, bought by a rival from the wreckage of thomas cook. but why couldn't they, and the airline, have been sold as going concerns before the collapse? we were focusing on saving the whole business. so some answers, and support for the inquiry. this could be a turning point in the way that big business is done. this whole fat cat culture, and just the way that when things fail, they can go scot free with millions of pounds behind them. these planes in cornwall are being mothballed today. mps are looking for lessons, to stop a holiday nightmare like this happening again. simon gompertz, bbc news. the parents of harry dunn have just arrived in washington dc

after being invited to meet us officials at the white house later. 19—year—old harry died when his motorbike crashed with a car outside an raf base in northamptonshire in august. anne sacoolas, the woman who is alleged to have collided with him after driving on the wrong side of the road, returned to america after being granted diplomatic immunity. there've been violent clashes in barcelona this evening between riot police and catalan pro—independence demonstrators. yesterday, nine separatist leaders were jailed for their role in a failed bid for independence in 2017. police charged protesters who tried to kick down security barriers around spanish government buildings. 0ur europe correspondent damian grammaticas is in barcelona. and, damian, what is the scene now? well, there are fires burning here in the centre of barcelona this evening. the protesters set these

all around this area, both here and all around this area, both here and all the side streets. the police moved in earlier when there were thousands of people here and they surrounded the spanish central government offices, which are just over this way. police waded in with batons, use their vehicles to try to drive people back. they've been really angered by the 13 year jail sentence given to some of those pro independent senators, and they say these men and women are political prisoners. what will worry the authorities, these scenes are not just here but in other cities around catalonia, and they are calling for a march in the city and a general strike to happen on friday —— protesters are calling for. damian, many thanks. the judge at the infected blood inquiry has praised a witness for showing no trace of bitterness as she set out her "remarkable account" of how she lost two husbands, who died after being treated with contaminated blood.

they were two among 3,000 people who lost their lives after being given infected blood in the 1970s and 1980s. hugh pym heard liz hooper‘s evidence. heroes they are both. never got the chance to tell their stories under oath. two good men in every sense of the word. taking away so cruelly before they could be heard. today liz was heard, as she read out a poem at the inquiry about her late husbands, one of them the father of her son lewis. jeremy was liz's first love. they were married for two decades, but his treatment for haemophilia had left him with hepatitis c, and he died a catastrophic death in intensive care. paul got me out of an extremely dark place. we saved one another. by chance, she met paul — her soulmate, she said. he'd contracted hiv after his treatment. he lost his sight, and then didn't recover after a stroke.

i don't regret one minute of meeting and marrying jeremy or paul. i don't regret being their wife, i don't regret that i've had to go through this in order to be their wife. no regrets, but she does want the inquiry to get to the truth. it's murder, it's tantamount to murder, as far as i'm concerned. why were my husbands both taken away from me? it's as simple as that. i just want to know why. i would like to thank you for your love, and for making me your wife, and to tell you both, my beautiful men, you really were my life. liz hooper there, ending that report by our health editor, hugh pym. scotland's first minister has told her party that a referendum on scottish independence must happen in 2020. nicola sturgeon confirmed that she'll ask the uk government to give

formal consent for a referendum by the end of this year. 0ur scotland editor sarah smith reports. it's easy to rouse the snp with calls for independence, harder to explain how to get there. this year, nicola sturgeon says she has a plan. my call is that the referendum must happen next year. and we are getting ready. with support for independence growing, the party are impatient for another vote. and i can confirm today that before the end of this year, i will demand the transfer of power that puts the legality of that referendum beyond any doubt. some are moved to tears. it's not every conference speech that inspires this kind of emotion. the question should not be to the snp, what will we do if westminster refuses? the question should be demanded of the westminster parties, what gives you any right to deny

people in scotland the ability to choose our own future? nicola sturgeon has delighted her party with a demand for an independence referendum next year. but outside this hall, it's not that simple. westminster will almost certainly say no. so where does that leave the snp? westminster cannae say no to another referendum. well, they can. maybe technically, but they won't. what do you will happen if westminster say, "no, you can't have another referendum next year"? i think there'd be absolute outrage. even if people in scotland don't want independence, i think that we all agree that it should be up to us to decide. they've got no right to say no. but they legally could. they've no right, no right at all. so the battle lines are set. will westminster refuse another vote, and how will the snp respond? sarah smith, bbc news, aberdeen. the duke and duchess of cambridge have met pakistan's prime minister,

imran khan, on the first full day of their visit to the country. mr khan was a friend of princess diana and knew prince william as a child. secunder kermani's report contains flashing images from the start. arriving by rickshaw, the royal couple pulled up at their last engagement of the day. a reception designed to celebrate the uk's links with pakistan. there was no mention by prince william of britain's colonial history. but he spoke of the contemporary ties between the countries. the uk and pakistan share unique bonds, so it will always be in our best interest for you to succeed. earlier in the day, the trip kicked off with a visit to a school in islamabad. education, along with climate change, are amongst the issues the couple want to focus on in particular. they also met pakistan's prime minister — cricketer turned politician imran khan. british officials say this trip will focus on showing pakistan as a forward—looking country.

and that is something many people here welcome. i mean, it's a great message to the world outside, to tell us how pakistan is a new country, we are up and booming, and we are not what they portray us to be. the timing is really good. pakistan needs to improve its soft image. princess diana's visit has attracted media attention... the tour has an added emotional significance for prince william, as he traces some of his late mother's footsteps. princess diana made three visits to the country in the 1990s. here in pakistan, the hope is that this royal visit will encourage people to see the country in a more positive light — and to be more willing to come here themselves. secunder kermani, bbc news, islamabad. time now for the news where you are. good night.

hello, and welcome to sportsday. i'm gavin ramjaun. ridding racism from football — can events in bulgaria prove a watershed moment? it is unacceptable to do that. yeah, i feel the need to it is unacceptable to do that. yeah, ifeel the need to be it is unacceptable to do that. yeah, i feel the need to be stronger management, stronger protocols. uefa open disciplinary proceedings and call on the football family to wage war on the racists. also coming up on the programme: 0ne month on from europe's solheim cup success, we discuss the future of the ladies european tour. european football's governing body has opened disciplinary proceedings against bulgaria, after their fans racially abused

england players, in their european qualifier last night. england won the match 6—0 in sofia, but proceedings were overshadowed by behaviour including monkey chants and nazi salutes by groups of the home support. the game had to be halted twice. the disruption of both teams' national anthems by opposing fans will also be investigated. but players and politcians have condemned the scenes, which the fa's chairman greg clarke called appalling. england's tyrone mings, making his debut, heard some of the abuse early on. i heard it before it even got to the of the pitched in the warm up. and we spoke about a coming off of the pitch after the warm up and obviously, it was happening in the game.