you're watching beyond 100 days. a brexit deal hangs in the balance, with talks intensifying and deadlines slipping by. some major issues remain unresolved as boris johnson prepares to go to brussels for a key eu summit starting tomorrow. it is a fine balancing act for boris johnson. a deal would solve all his problems. but can he find something that would suit 27 eu leaders in brussels, and at the same time satisfy the dup of northern ireland? president trump says turkey's offensive into syria is not the united states‘ problem. with his vice president headed to ankara, he's standing by his decision to withdraw us troops.

if syria wants to fight for their land, that is up to turkey and syria, as it has been for hundreds of years, they've been fighting. that will be welcome news to the turkish ambassador to the uk, who has told this programme sanctions will not work and their operation in syria will be seen out to its conclusion. sometimes the law does not mean that we are not right. also on the programme — to the frontrunner go the attacks. elizabeth warren is the target at last night's democratic debate, but will it shake up the field? harry dunn's parents speak to the bbc about their visit to the white house and the shocking invitation to meet the woman involved in the fatal crash. hello, and welcome. i'm michelle fleury in washington, and christian fraser is in london. there is a lot happening on brexit this evening,

a lot of it unfolding while we are on air. deadlines have come and gone as borisjohnson continues to push for a brexit deal ahead of tomorrow's eu summit in brussels. but as we speak, despite positive noises on all sides, there are still issues to be resolved. the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier is presenting proposals to the eu ambassadors tonight. we should get something from donald tusk the eu council president in the next hour. that may cast some light on where things stand and what the agenda will look like at tomorrow's summit. in his efforts to keep everyone on—side, boris johnson has been keeping various groups updated through the day. key among them the democratic unionist party of northern ireland, as well as members of the erg, that influential group of brexit supporting mps. contrary to news earlier this afternoon that the dup were on side and a deal was practically

in the bag, arlene foster tweeted this afternoon that such reports were nonsense. in toulouse, the german chancellor angela merkel has been meeting with president macron, who according to several accounts this week is keen to get a deal across the line. translation: we also worked on preparations for the european council summit tomorrow and friday. we talked about the budget, european enlargement, and of course brexit, for which i believe an agreement is about to be finalised which we can sign off on tomorrow. so emmanuel macron. a few gremlins happening, just bear with us. no details from the negotiation are known yet, but we believe they are settling on a deal customs arrangement. so post—brexit, northern ireland will be part of the new uk's customs territory, but de facto part

of the eu customs area as well. the uk has already signed up to all an all—island regulatory zone for agriculture, food and manufactured goods — but there are reports the eu is also demanding customs checks alongside regulatory checks in the irish sea. through the day, mrjohnson has been weighing up how many concessions he can make to the irish side, without putting off the dup. it is a bit like a see saw — the more the uk moves towards the irish side, the more the dup wants in terms of consent for northern ireland. we are going to come back to some of those key matters. but first, let me introduce you to mujtabah rahman from the eurasia group. you should follow him on twitter, he is very in tune with what is going on. where do you think we are tonight? we hear that michel barnier has gone into ceu ambassadors, but does he have anything to tell them? i think there is likely to be a positive conclusion to discussions

in brussels. the question is timing. draft legal text may be in the small hours this morning, but i think there will be a broader agreement which will be put to the european council on thursday and friday. number of hurdles have appeared through the day. looking at them one by one, the most important, consent for northern ireland. obviously northern ireland does not have a seat at the table, and the good friday agreement dictates that all parties should have a say, so what do you think is going on with that? borisjohnson's do you think is going on with that? boris johnson's original proposal gave de facto at the dup an upfront veto as to whether northern ireland would align to the single market, and then over the medium term, every four years, there would be a rolling vote.

and i think the europeans were very sceptical about that because it is highly likely even with a theoretical agreement, the dup would say they wanted northern ireland to align to britain. so the concession on paper was worthless, sol align to britain. so the concession on paper was worthless, so i think that upfront veto has come out of any compromise that we will see. there was a discussion about a vote every four years. a rolling process, which will give all communities in northern ireland a say as to whether ultimately northern ireland aligns to the single market and chooses over time not to, and aligned with great britain as it agrees trade deals with other countries. the more you give on customs, some of the customs checks in the irish sea, the more content they are going to want. it starts to look as if you are drifting away from the rest of the united kingdom. the language and customs will be really interesting.

the compromise that leo varadkar and borisjohnson worked the compromise that leo varadkar and boris johnson worked up last week we re boris johnson worked up last week were legally speaking northern ireland as part of uk customs, but pa rt of ireland as part of uk customs, but part of eu customs and practice, how do you write that? in the legal text, it has to be in one customs area or the other, so it'll be interesting to see how elegant the fudge is on that question. but of course the implication of the deal borisjohnson wants course the implication of the deal boris johnson wants is that there will be a customs border in the igc, alongside a regulatory body, and they were two lines the dup was not willing to cross, and went theresa may was thinking about doing this deal in february 2018. ok, so with a customs border, you also have a vat border. that seemed to appear through the course of the day, that they were struggling to find a solution to what would happen if the uk had a different vat rates from the rest of europe. the fiscal issues around the border have been quite completed. i got wind on

saturday that the vat had reared its head in the discussions between negotiators on both sides. but the dup seems to think a deal can be done if there is a deal on customs and in consent, think they will find and in consent, think they will find a landing zone on vat as well. mujtabah, one of the other issues we have talked about a lot on this programme is what kind of free trade agreement borisjohnson what's going down the line. this brings us to the issue of a level playing field, something the european union seems very concerned about. how much of a sticking point has not been? very concerned about. how much of a sticking point has not beamm very concerned about. how much of a sticking point has not been? it is an issue at, i think they are quite concerned over the medium term of borisjohnson are not concerned over the medium term of boris johnson are not applying the eu's boris johnson are not applying the eu's horizontal standards, whether it comes to things like state aid, competition policy, environmental standards, consumer protection, and ultimately giving uk firms a competitive advantage when they are trading on the single market. sol think there is a fairly acute

trade—off here. if the uk chooses not to align to eu standards, then that will impair the quality of the uk's that will impair the quality of the uk's access to the single market. there will be more friction, more cost, more bureaucracy, that is the cost, more bureaucracy, that is the cost uk firms will now face when they are pleasant products and the single market. a final question from me. if it is so complex, you wonder what sort of legal draft is going to come out of the agreement if indeed there is one tomorrow. we could be any come saturday where mps do not really have much to build on. any come saturday where mps do not really have much to build onlj think it will be broad parameters. the european council will endorse an in principle text on the basis that borisjohnson can in principle text on the basis that boris johnson can demonstrate a majority for it in london. there is a big question as to whether a draft legal text or political text would then comply with the act. but if boris can demonstrate a majority, i think the question of whether he is forced to request a three month

extension or not becomes somewhat academic. if he has a majority for an invincible deal, then over the next few weeks they will wrap things up next few weeks they will wrap things up in next few weeks they will wrap things upina next few weeks they will wrap things up in a second council at the end of the month. are you going to brussels? no, i will be the month. are you going to brussels? no, iwill be here. you live for this! fascinating to see what happens tomorrow, and really good to have you with us in the studio, mujtabah. michel barnier has been working flat out today to try and get something across the line. he has been putting off the deadline to meet the eu ambassadors who have to meet the eu ambassadors who have to report to their leaders ahead of the summit tomorrow. he has just gone into that meeting of ambassadors, this is what he had to say. what are you waiting for? he did not have much to say at all! playing his cards close. everyone on stage at last night's democratic presidential

debate had something to prove, with the fourth debate highlighting the shifting dynamics in the democratic primary. for the former vice presidentjoe biden, it was another unsteady performance as he fielded questions about his son hunter biden's ukrainian lobbying work. bernie sanders needed to make a show of strength after his recent heart attack, and the senator from vermont succeeded. but the real spotlight was on massachusetts senator elizabeth warren who arrived in ohio leading in some of the polls for the 2020 democratic nomination. but the senator is learning that life as a frontrunner comes with a price. last night, there was incoming from all sides. at least bernie is being honest in saying how he will pay for it, and taxes are going to go up. but i'm sorry, elizabeth, you have not said that, and! sorry, elizabeth, you have not said that, and i think we ought to the american people to tell them where we will send the invoice. your signature, senator commits to have a plan for everything. except this.

sometimes i think senator warren is more focused on being punitive or putting some part of the country against the other. you are making republican talking points right now in this room. joining us now from boston is the democratic strategist mary anne marsh. thank you forjoining us. given all the incoming fire that elizabeth warren was receiving, how do you think she did? i think she handled it pretty well. at points, you could see she wasn't surprised that she was getting all of this attention, because for the most part of this race, she has been able to fly under the radar, including in these debates command centre stage without any attacks. so she got more accustomed to it as it went on, she made a point, and i think she did it well. but it is clear that when vote rs have well. but it is clear that when voters have said for several weeks now, almost a month, that she is their first choice, and her opponents made that clear last night. 16 out of 26 attacks were

directed at elizabeth warren. she was charged on her health care plan and who might have to pay for it in terms of taxes. yeah, several of them knew they had to make a mark in them knew they had to make a mark in the debate, stuck in the second or third tier. they had to hit her. the problem is, because of their lower poll ratings, the attacks do not stick with walters because he does not yet have the standing with them. but it will be a weakness for her. here is the smart part about her doing the medicare for all peace, it will allow you to get even more bernie sanders supporters when he is not a nominee. that is a signature piece, that is what they care about. so it allows you to consolidate support on the left, smart politics.

toughin support on the left, smart politics. tough ina support on the left, smart politics. tough in a debate last slack, but smart politics. we have of course only been talking aboutjoe biden in as the nominee, but again last night, he looked quite lacklustre. yeah, joe biden has had a very tough couple of months. it did not get any better for him last night. he was handed an opportunity of a lifetime, given the fact he has premised his entire campaign as the guy who can beat donald trump. donald trump went after him on ukraine three weeks ago, and yet in three weeks, joe biden has not been able to answer that charge. he finally gave a speech in the new hampshire last week, and his answer last night was very surgical and sparse. he has not answered that question, today we find out he raised less money than everybody else, and is spending more. it is only 110 days to the iowa caucus, and he is still higher in people are now. he is in a lot of trouble, he looks good in the

national polls but not in individual states, iowa, new hampshire, which is publicly saying he may not win. and if he does not one of them and elizabeth warren does, he will not make it to nevada or south carolina. -- if make it to nevada or south carolina. —— if he does not win them. make it to nevada or south carolina. -- if he does not win them. bernie sanders has picked up the support from the squad, how significant is that? of the four squad members, three are endorsing bernie sanders, including the most important, alexandra kazuo cortez. she is expected to speak at at a rally in new york this week. —— alexandria ocasio—cortez. he has been in the slow slump before his health problems a couple of weeks ago, and much of that support has gone to elizabeth warren. so it is hard to see where bernie sanders comes back. he is in third place in the new hampshire, in iowa, so if he is not winning in one of those two states

either, bernie sanders will not make it to the nomination either. really interesting to hear your thoughts, thank you for being with us this evening, mary anne marsh. we have said on this programme before, it is one thing picking up the nomination but quite another winning the white house. it is, what you have started to see in the case of elizabeth warren, she been climbing up the pole will stop at the same time, there has been a growing backlash from certain quarters, particularly looking at corporate america in the shape of wall street and silicon valley starting to speak out. a couple of tweets, i want to show you one of them. could business be more vilified than it is being tonight? they blame capitalism, for pretty everything. we also saw another interview with an investor talking about the dire impact this might

have, have a listen. if elizabeth warren is elected president, in my opinion, the market drops 25%, bernie sanders, same thing. and what is behind this chorus of growing opposition, christian, is that people are essentially worried about what it will do to their bottom line in the way they do their business. if you look at the mark zuckerberg of facebook, there was weeks until recently in which he basically said elizabeth warren's threatened to break up facebook was an existential threat. bernie sanders getting the support of alexandra casey was cortez, it is significant, and it shows you that those in the progressive left cm is the real deal as opposed to elizabeth warren. it will see in the next few weeks whether he starts to pick up in the polls, because he has been lagging behind the front two. —— alexandria ocasio—cortez.

tonight, the us vice president and secretary of state are headed to ankara for meetings with turkey's president. but while their aim is to try and negotiate a ceasefire between turkey and kurdish forces who are fighting in northern syria, president erdogan has vowed to press on with the offensive. the spark for this was lit when president trump decided to withdraw us forces from the region. today, he stood by his decision, and made it clear how he felt about the kurds who for several years have stood alongside america in the fight against islamic state. the kurds know how to fight, but they are not angels. if syria wants to fight for their land, that is up to fight for their land, that is up to turkey and syria, as it has been for hundreds of years, they've been fighting. we are not a policing agent, and this time for us to come home. joining us now is our north america editorjon sopel. he hasjust he has just rushed he hasjust rushed back he has just rushed back from the white house where he was listening to those remarks from donald trump. one that stood out to me was his comparison of the kurds who he said

we re comparison of the kurds who he said were worse than isis. yeah, i thought donald trump seemed very low energy, very irritable, fed up with the questions, giving hugely long answers about it. but a central point came out of it. one is that he will not condemn the actions of president erdogan. he was repeatedly given an opportunity to do so, and didn't. he is also talking about the kurds as being as bad as or worse than isis. these are people who were fighting alongside the americans to some extent in the battle against islamic state. and he just does not recognise the description. that this was any kind of betrayal. and i guess the central question is, what are mike pompeo, the secretary of state, the vice president mike pence, doing when they go to turkey? because the president hasjust said,

it has nothing to do with us. so if it has nothing to do with us. so if it does nothing to do with you, why have you come all this way to talk to us? sol have you come all this way to talk to us? so i think the diplomatic mission that those two men are about to embark upon as a sort of been undermined somewhat by what the president has said today. it speaks toa president has said today. it speaks to a tweet that you retweeted today, secretary of state mike pompeo tweet saying, max begins with the president as he makes decisions then evaluate situations. that is the wrong way round, isn't it? that is like saying that as a policeman, you should first and then ask questions later. you make yourjudgment, and then try to assemble the evidence to back it up. anyone who has had their essays come back from university knows that that is not the way you do things. you build your argument, then you reach a conclusion. and mike pompeo saying, donald trump does the other way around, and i

think that is kind of... what lies bind a lot of the criticism of these extraordinary ten days that we have witnessed, where the president made a decision pretty much without the consultation of anybody, or without the agreement or thinking through of what the consequences of this would be. and now retrofitting an argument to the situation on the ground. so in the case of turkey and syria, he says that is nothing to do with us, we are not in the middle of a fight between turkey and syria. yes, but your troops were in a position where it was holding a line, and after a phone call with president again, you agreed to pull them out of the way. that had consequences. —— president erdogan. donald trump is not acknowledging that, and he is still saying he has been strategically brilliant over this. yeah, fascinating. good to see you, thank you for that, jon sopel. the word from ankara hasn't changed much. mr erdogan maintains that the offensive will only end when his so called "safe zone" is cleared of kurdish fighters.

i've been speaking to turkey's amabassador to the uk, umit yalcun. let's go back to how all this started. does president erdogan believe that donald trump give him a green light to invade northern syria? we are a big country, we do not consider these traffic lights, red or green or yellow. during the la st red or green or yellow. during the last meeting is in talks, at the highest level, we were taught the same thing, and for more than a year, we were in talks with americans to create a safe zone in our border area. but it did not work, and all these talks remain inconclusive. but something changed last sunday, in that conversation, the american troops were withdrawn. did that make it easier? of course, the talks came to that level, and during the last talks, they explained that they will not be

standing against turkey, and we had prepared this operation for a long time. some would see that as a green light, they are not standing against turkey, that was the order to go. we did not prepare this operation in two days. we have been preparing all these operations and strategies for a long time. they know this very well. i also asked about the future of turkey's relationship with nato given the sections recently announced by the us and the uk and its move to suspend to suspend arms sales to ankara. these sanctions have been used before, and every time we come out of it as a stronger country. it will not work in the future either. these limitations, they do not deter our determination or our efforts against terrorists. do they make you rethink

your position within nato? we are a strong member of nato, the second biggest army of nato, and i think we are numbertwo or biggest army of nato, and i think we are number two or three in our financial contributions to nato, and nato is important alliance and we are... as far as you're aware, that position within nato is not in question? of course not, this is not nato issue. this is a counterterrorism issue, and when we are defending our borders, we are aware that we are also defending nato borders. but you are being sanctioned by nato countries. these countries, when they take these decisions, of course they are disappointing us as allies, but they should understand our legitimate concerns, and they should give support to us. sometimes being alone does not mean that we are not right. we will be determined in our efforts

against terrorists. if our nato allies are trying to sanction us, then how come they expect us to sit and wait for our defence industry needs? we can change and replace our sources, but we cannot replace our borders. the turkish ambassador to the uk saying sections will not work. and a line of breaking news on events surrounding brexit, the uk government telling the bbc tonight that a deal has not been agreed tonight. technical talks will continue, there might be nothing to present to the 27 leaders in brussels tomorrow, although we understand that michel barnier will meet the other ambassadors at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, some of the work continues. we will see. this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — the parents of harry dunn say they felt ambushed by president trump after they were invited to the white house to meet the woman involved in the car crash

in which their son died. that's still to come. good evening. even though many of us were allowed a little sunshine and dry weather today, there are still a few flood warnings on the rivers in england in particular. there is more rain to come, the ground is still saturated, so those river levels remain high. now, today's rain is slowly clearing from the northeast of scotland and where we saw it return in the afternoon across the south and the east. but even as that clears away, we have got low—pressure working its way north of the atlantic and taking charge of our weather for the next 3—4 days, and that means lots more unsettled weather, lots more rain, showers, indeed, or longer spells of rain. it's going to be very difficult to put the detail on those showers, but most places will see more rain, quite torrential rains at times, but it could be, that for the beginning of next week,

we are afforded a window of dry weather for a day or two. but back to the here and now, as one band of rain clears out the way, and we see quieter weather for a time overnight, and a starry sky, some mist and fog. already, the showers are gathering further west. so here, temperatures should hold up. but, actually, for most of us, it will be a chilly night, and temperatures will fall low enough for frost, i think, in the glens of scotland. so a chilly start for many of us on thursday morning, and as i say, that fog could be a hazard through the rush hour, but already, our low—pressure is moving in. the tightly packed isobars indicative of the winds starting to strengthen. so, as the fog clears, after the rush hour, we will see the wind strengthening, pushing those showers further eastwards after a relatively dry and sunny start here. but nowhere really is exempt from these showers, and when they come along, they will be potentially torrential downpours. moving through on that brisk wind, but followed by plenty more to come as well with hail, thunder, and lightning. therefore, it will feel quite cool, particularly with those winds and those heavy showers, which willjust continue

as we go through thursday evening and into friday. no respite overnight, and certainly no respite on friday. the low—pressure closes in on the uk, so actually, it means the winds will start to lighten further north, which means the showers will get lengthier. they won't to move through so quickly. still a fairly brisk wind in the south, but you can see the they tend to gangtogether at times to give lengthier spells of rain. bear in mind, because they are so intense, these showers, we could get significant amounts of rainfall from just 1—2 showers. and that picture, that showry picture continues into the weekend. there's more on the website.

this is beyond 100 days with me michelle fleury in washington, christian fraser is in london. our top stories. british and eu negotiators are trying to secure a brexit deal ahead of an eu summit which begins tomorrow. it's understood they'll be no—deal tonight. the french president emmanuel macron says he's hopeful the deal can be finalised soon. the parents of harry dunn say president trump attempted to persuade them three times to meet the american woman anne secoolas, who was involved in the car crash that killed their son. coming up in the next half hour... president trump says turkey's offensive against kurdish forces in northern syria is not america's problem. speaking at the white house, mr trump added that the kurds,

who were us allies in the fight against the islamic state grou tensions over tariffs — what the row between america and the eu over aircraft subsidies has to do with the price of scottish whisky. hello and welcome. i'm michelle fleury in washington and christian fraser is in london. it looks as though super saturday is on. the first time the house of commons has sat on a saturday since the invasion of the falkland islands. but what are the mp's going to be debating. we are told there has been no breakthrough tonight, it could come tomorrow at the summit, but if it does what sort of legal draft might go with it. the suggestion from brussels is that more work will be needed these coming weeks, if they can find that agreement. so, we could be in a situation come saturday, in which mp's are given the framework of a deal

and are asked to give an indicative vote on it. but that, of course would throw up all sorts of questions. can you vote on a deal when you can't see the legal nitty gritty. lets go to our colleague and friend of the programme, clive myrie, who is in a place i know well, college green in westminster. is at as foggy there as it appears to be in brussels? actually, christian, iwould pause at the suggestion that it isn't foggy in brussels at all, and hasn't been foggy for the european 27 for the last three and a bit years since the last three and a bit years since the referendum. they have been lockstep, shoulder to shoulder to shoulder in their attitude towards brexit, and they came up with the deal, which theresa may agreed to, but could not get through the little building behind me. now, they believe that they could be on the threshold of another deal, which perhaps, could appear that you summit tomorrow. frankly, the fog is here, it's on this side of the channel, it's in the uk. and that fog, perhaps, has been added to by the liberal democrats. —— who are

making it clear that they would like to see a vote in the commons on whether or not there should be a public vote on any deal that boris johnson comes back from brussels with. let's talk now to the lib dem brexit spokesman. thank you for joining us. first of all, we heard michelle they're talking about the possibility of indicative votes. if a deal comes back from boris johnson, which would appear before the house on saturday, do you expect in indicative votes? and if so, what would you like to see? welcome i think the first thing we need to know is whether in fact there will bea know is whether in fact there will be a deal at all, and that is not clear. the other thing that they made clear from the outset is if borisjohnson does come back made clear from the outset is if boris johnson does come back with a deal, it's going to be a very bad deal, it's going to be a very bad deal for the united kingdom. deal, it's going to be a very bad dealforthe united kingdom. in terms of what might happen on saturday, i suppose it depends on the deal and also whether it's a deal, or simply a the deal and also whether it's a deal, or simplya press the deal and also whether it's a deal, or simply a press release, and my real worry is that what morris johnson will come to the house with on saturday is an effect a press release that says i've been to the

european union, they have agreed this rough outline, and i'm now asking parliament to vote for that. that i think would be completely unacceptable. and certainly, there will be opportunities to table amendments to that, and i hope that one of those will be a people's vote amendments, because i think that is the way out of this almighty mess that we've got ourselves into in the la st that we've got ourselves into in the last three years. and that people's vote amendment, that would be in line with the amendment you've already put forward , amendment you've already put forward, attached to the queen's speech. yes come as a party, we have consistently come at every opportunity, created that people's vote moment which we can use should the opportunity or the need arise, and that is what we are doing for the queen's speech, but also we have the queen's speech, but also we have the potential to do that for boris johnson's saturday debate, if indeed, that happens. if you put forward that amendment, what has changed since april? because it was in indicative votes on whether or not there should be approached from a public vote on the deal, and he failed then, so what's changed?

well, that was in fact the indicative votes process. it was the people's vote that came to winning, so people's vote that came to winning, sol people's vote that came to winning, so i think that's a good indication of what... well, what has happened since, of course, is that we now have 21 conservative members of parliament to have been turfed out of the conservative party who are perhaps for your to do what they like, and at least 4—5 of those are now in the camp of a people's vote. so the numbers game has changed, and also, i think people are probably even more aware of also, i think people are probably even more aware of the difficulties associated with trying to secure a brexit deal than they were in april. so you are counting on those labour mps, as well as those rebels from the conservative party, but also labour mps that you are going to need who represent leave, strong leave constituencies, you are going to need them. absolutely, and there isa to need them. absolutely, and there is a real risk that it is a labour to deliver brexit for the government with those labour mps supporting borisjohnson, but i think what borisjohnson, but i think what borisjohnson, but i think what borisjohnson has done by saying that the level playing field,

perhaps, has now just that the level playing field, perhaps, has nowjust been demolished, which guarantees certain rights, workers' rights, for instance, that that makes that deal much less attractive to that very small number of labour mps who might be inclined to support his deal. all right, will leave it there, lib dem spokesperson on brexit, thanks very much indeed for that. is the fog clearing here, christian, michelle? not yet, back to you. no clarity, clive, thank you very much indeed. interesting actually, just listening to him and they're talking about a second vote, we had alastair on the programme last night, didn't become a michelle, one of those 21 rebels who said he was deeply opposed to a second referendum, and would vote against it. the guardian correspondent in brussels that says it michelle barney eight is still updating the eu 27 ambassadors, and he has told them that everything is agreed, except to be which we were talking about at the top of the programme. so let's get to brussels

then and speak to gavin lee, who is also watching outside the room. i'm told that there might be another meeting with the ambassadors tomorrow morning, which suggests these technical discussions are still ongoing, gavin. yes, we are hearing the same thing. so inside the european council building right now, we are waiting for michelle barney a to come out, he came out a while ago, the chief negotiator for the brexit eu did not say i think i'm about he has gone past me if you say it see him say something because i'm trying to get a word as well. it would be that the verbalized moment of clarity that moment of white smoke, we are also talking about if they are, as the leak suggests three individuals we have heard from eu officials are suggesting that they are almost wrapping this up now, and at the lights are still on, 55 hours of talks since saturday between those 24 negotiators, those technical teams from the you don't back eu, lights are still on the fifth floor, so

lights are still on the fifth floor, so they are still going through what we think is this issue of vat, a big issue, but not as contentious as the northern ireland issue with customs. who gets to see whether or not the northern ireland remain in a customs union. we shall see donald tusk also worth mentioning as well, the president of the european council saying a short while ago on polish television that the foundations of the deal are there. we should know in the next few hours, two or three hours of clarity that you say things are slipping, there will be another briefing tomorrow morning with the eu ambassadors on the same day that it's do to start. what i would look out for a christian if i were is for donald tusk, he is to invite the other leaders officially, publicly to set up the tone, it may be done, or maybe boris comes out. we are all waiting and wondering. the last time i was at the summit, angela merkel was very displeased with the fact that she did not get any of the texts a nd that she did not get any of the texts and work that she needed to look at until late in the hour. and so she's not going to be very pleased that she's not getting anything until tomorrow, is she?

yes, well french diplomats were saying two days ago, it was impossible that you are going to get anything today if you haven't got the negotiators, they simply haven't got the time, the negotiators cannot talking come up anything seems to be possible. there may be a caveat tomorrow. if the leaders agree to something, we will hear from a numberof something, we will hear from a number of you officials that they may say we agree in principle, but borisjohnson has to may say we agree in principle, but boris johnson has to get this through parliament on saturday first. then we conceal it, and both parliaments can rubber—stamp it, if we get that. went a few days we are in for, we get that. went a few days we are infor, a we get that. went a few days we are in for, a summit and indicative votes, gavin lee, thank you very much. we're joined in the studio by amanda sloat, seniorfellow in the center on the united states and europe at the brookings institution. and a good friend on the balcony in brussels. nice to see you. yes, good to watch the action in london. absolutely. doesn't look chaotic from the american side? london. absolutely. doesn't look chaotic from the american side7m does, we are certainly not in a place to throw stones coming up up in the amount of gas we have in washington at the moment. what i wa nted washington at the moment. what i wanted to talk about was the great

surprise that we see at the other side of this brexit process we are told is the us uk trade dealfor him deal for him and dealfor him and of course, the president is deeply enthused about it. but he, you don't get a trade dealjust it. but he, you don't get a trade deal just with the it. but he, you don't get a trade dealjust with the sign off of the white house, it has to go through congress commander has been congressman talking in the last few days about their concerns about what is being negotiated. days about their concerns about what is being negotiatedlj days about their concerns about what is being negotiated. i absolutely, i know nancy pelosi has been particularly vocal about not wanting to see any us uk trade deal done on the back of northern ireland. she made that very clear when she was here, and in belfast and dublin earlier this summer, and here, and in belfast and dublin earlierthis summer, and has continued to repeat that, as have other members of congress to stop so i think there is a lot of concern by friends of ireland and the american congress about not wanting to see damage to the peace process that the us has been so involved in for decades. imean, i decades. i mean, i think whenever i talk to people in the us, they also give the same question, will adil done, will adil get done is make you are in the uk this evening i mean, how it down to the wire are things going to go,

or do we sort of go back to the starting block was blue it certainly looks from here that things are going down to the wire. we have european leaders that are supposed to be meeting tomorrow, and as all the reports have been suggesting, we don't even have a text of a deal, let alone final agreement on a deal, so you know, i deal, so you know, lam deal, so you know, i am certainly here along with everybody in london, and i think interesting in washington to see whether or not we are in the end game, or whether or not this is potentially going to go for another three months, or even longer. you were just talking there with christian about a trade deal, and obviously the role congress would play come here come as we look at this deal, evenif here come as we look at this deal, even if something can be achieved between britain and the eu, parliament will still have to have their say. absolutely. i have been talking with officials here in london today trying to catch up on things, and some people are much more concerned about the possibility of agreement in london then they are in brussels, i mean, it certainly

sounds from your recent reports like we are very close to seeing a deal in brussels, but there are continued questions about whether or not boris johnson has the parliamentary math here in london to get approval on that. and if he doesn't, then we are looking at an extension request on saturday, and potentially another couple of months of churn.|j saturday, and potentially another couple of months of churn. i mean, of course, we are were talking earlier in the programme that he wa nts a earlier in the programme that he wants a very different model free—trade agreements, which is very different, looks very different to what theresa may was negotiating with brussels. the reason he sees thatis with brussels. the reason he sees that is so important is because he wa nts that is so important is because he wants that freedom to be able to negotiate with the united states. i remember sitting down recently with woodyjohnson, the us ambassador, who told me that the theresa may dealjust who told me that the theresa may deal just wouldn't work for the united states. so he is trying to keep as much freedom as he can, without giving too much away. i think that's right, and i think the important thing to remember is evenif the important thing to remember is even if we have a deal, it is only the end of the beginning that there are still going to be all of these negotiations that the uk is going to have to do with the eu on what its future relationship looks like. and

i think at her to come of the uk needs to make a strategic decision about whether or not it wants to stay closely aligned with the eu, or whether or not it wants to deviate to be able to make free—trade agreements with countries like the united states, and you see that across a whole raft of sectors, things like trade, like agriculture, like data, like digital, and so it's going to be very difficult for the uk to have large elements of both, the uk is going to have to decide who it is. does it want to be an atlantic power? or doesn't want to stay much more closely in mind to the continent was right the brexiters say that you trade is not grown very much in the last ten years, and there is all this treasure out there that they go hunting for her and the re st of that they go hunting for her and the rest of the world. whether or not that's true, i don't know, amanda, thank you very much for your company this evening. here's a question that regular viewers of the programme might know the answer to. what does a row between america and the eu over aircraft subsidies have to do with the price of scotch whisky exports? well, this friday the us will impose more than seven billion dollars worth of extra import taxes

on all kinds of goods from europe. that's in retaliation as we told you last week, for the illegal subsidies that some eu countries — including the uk — gave to plane maker airbus, a great rival of the us manufacturer boeing. today president trump said the us was "getting even" for unfair treatment. and single malt scotch whisky is caught right in the middle — as our business editor simonjack explains. a bolt from the blue. a 15—yearfeud between eu giant airbus and arch us rival boeing over government subsidies has seen the us allow to impose £7.5 billion worth of tariffs on eu products, and the impact has landed right here, in speyside in scotland. from friday, single malt exports from scotland to the us, worth £1 billion, will be hit with a 25% tariff. single malt from the republic of ireland will not.

so this has been matured in sherry casks for... this distillery sends 60,000 bottles of spey single malt to the us every single year. patricia dylan has been talking to us importers to grow that number. those plans are now under review. we feel as though we're being dragged into a trade war, which is nothing to do with us whatsoever, and because of the 25% tariffs that have been implemented in the us, this is something we can't possibly absorb into our business, so what we have to do is reconsider the market in the us that we are currently in. it's notjust whiskey makers under pressure. cashmere made in scotland will also get hit. cashmere makers in italy will not, and that putsjohnstons of elgin at a big disadvantage. in the very short—term, we are going to have to absorb these costs, because we can't expect people to pay more for products they've already ordered. in the longer term, this is going to hit consumers in the us, and that is going to mean that their cashmere is going to become more expensive.

that in turn means we will be able to export less, grow less, and we'll have to downscale our plans. here atjohnstons of elgin, and many other scottish businesses, there's a sense of confusion, even dismay, that they're being dragged into a damaging trade war that they didn't start, and many are asking, if this is the way the us treats us now, what makes us think there will be any special treatment over trade when we are outside the eu? it seems that old friendships don't beat national self—interest. the uk isn't being targeted unfairly. there will be tariffs put on french products and german products and other products as well, butjust because we have a special relationship doesn't mean that we are willing to sacrifice our economic interest, in the context of a trade dispute or a trade negotiation, and that, by the way, applies to whatever future trade agreement might be negotiated between the us and the uk, as well. whiskey tariffs were raised on a call with donald trump last week, with the prime minister urging him to rethink. meanwhile, the uk government told

the bbc that securing a trade deal with the us is one of its highest priorities. what this shows is that in the ebb and flow of trade, nothing is simple. simonjack, bbc news, speyside. in north korea, you are expected to revere kimjung un, sing hymns about him and take the provenance of the kim dynasty very seriously and every now and again kim will appear in a photograph to remind everyone that he is the great warrior leader. and that he can also ride a horse. this is mount paektu on north korea's border with china, which holds great spiritual importance to the people of north korea. and while we might poke fun at this — perish the thought — there are some who say the setting, and the fact he is on a white horse, is some sort of signal. that's what they say, isn't a? state media report that kim jong—un

is planning "a great operation to strike the world with wonder". and we are certainly left wondering about that. maybe it reminds you of this. mercifully, kim jung un was dressed in his big coat, whereasjudo black belt, vladimir putin, prefers to ride barechested. but given the respective longevity of these two leaders maybe there is something in it. maybe other leaders should try it. although some leaders will need to work on it. can you imagine? i think! prefer the horse, not the ball. laughing i'm speechless, christian, loss of words at those photos there. this is beyond 100 days. still to come — harry dunn's parents rejected a "bombshell" offer from president trump to meet the woman accused of involvement in their son's fatal crash. we'll talk to the lawyer for the dunns. doctors in italy caring

for a seriously brain damaged british girl say they hope that she will eventually be able to return home and be cared for at home by herfamily. tafida raqeeb was flown to genoa yesterday after her parents won a high court battle to take her abroad for treatment. fergus walsh reports. on italian soil at last, tafida was taken from a private plane at genoa airport to a waiting ambulance. this is what her family had fought for after doctors in the uk said she should be allowed to die peacefully and with dignity. tafida's parents were welcomed today by staff at the gaslini children's hospital and by pro—life campaigners. her mother is convinced she is slowly improving. we are hoping that, with time, she'll be able to come to some sort of recovery, and that's the day we'll be waiting for patiently. tafida suffered a catastrophic brain bleed in february and is kept alive on a ventilator.

the italian medical team agree with british doctors that tafida can never be cured. the brain injury has been devastating but we cannot exclude that there might be maybe a slight improvement in the future, and we are just buying time to assess if this would be possible. the medical team here will perform a tracheostomy, inserting a tube into tafida's windpipe, which will be connected to the ventilator which keeps her alive. the eventual aim is that she can be transferred back to england and be cared for at home. tafida's parents have applied for italian citizenship for her, in a bid to reduce the cost of medical treatment here, which is all being privately funded. no—one is sure how long her stay in italy will last. fergus walsh, bbc news, genoa.

the parents of a british teenager who was killed in a collision involving the wife of an american diplomat have spoken to the bbc about their meeting with president trump. charlotte charles and tim dunn said that while they were pleased to get a meeting with the president, they were disappointed with how it went. our correspondent duncan kennedy has travelled with the family to america, and send this report. harry dunn's family have been on many kinds ofjourneys in the wake of his death. but this one to washington, dc was the strangest of all. they'd been called to the white house but had no idea they would be meeting the president, or that he would then suggest they meet the woman who drove the car involved in their son's death. it didn't seem right... they told me president trump should not have tried to engineer a meeting of such vulnerable people. he clearly wanted us

to have that meeting to try and bring some healing, i think, was how he put it. but, you know, we haven't begun to grieve yet. some have described the whole idea of bringing her into the oval office as a bit of a stunt by the president. all of a sudden you're sat in front of the president of the united states and you've got your own things where we wanted to do things our way, and to try and steady yourself and think about what you are going to answer, so it's quite difficult. but lawyers for anne sacoolas said tonight she was disappointed the meeting in the white house did not go ahead. it was her car that hit harry dunn in august after she drove on the wrong side of the road in northamptonshire. on american television today, harry's parents again refused to demonise mrs sacoolas. they say they want

justice, not revenge. tonight, donald trump said he was asked by borisjohnson to arrange the meeting of the two families. charlotte and tim say it wasn't easy resisting the presidential offer in the setting of the oval office. but say they have to put the interests of harry's memory first. duncan kennedy, bbc news, new york. earlier i spoke to mark stephens, a lawyer who is advising harry dunn's family. i asked him how he thought harry's parents were feeling after their meeting with the president. i think the family are feeling pretty down. i think they feel that they have had insults heaped on injury asa they have had insults heaped on injury as a result of this situation, which was curated by robert o'brien from the national security council, america's top spy, if you will. they felt that they

we re if you will. they felt that they were ambushed, they didn't know that she would be there, they didn't know that though press call would be in a third roommate, and it was a sub optimal meeting. they need to have a meeting with her, but it needs to be, as we have always said, curated not by politicians, or spies, or spin doctors, or lawyers, it needs to have professionals. it needs to have a mediator. it needs to have counsellors for both sides. her ten—year—old son was in the front seats, and witnessed first—hand the appalling, gory death of harry dunn, and so both families are in trauma. yes can i do think charlotte charles has done an amazing job. she is so strong in spite of everything that has been going on. and she speaks very well when she does interviews as well, doesn't she? she's doing

incredibly well. right. so, did you spot it? in the titles? no? do you want me to play it for you again? yes, the more attentive will have noticed that we are well beyond 100 days. we are at 1000 days of the trump presidency today. and tomorrow , we will be beyond 1000 days. but we are going to stay with the current title we have for now. because strictly speaking michelle it is still accurate? i don't think beyond 1000 days has the same ring to it — and besides the budget doesn't stretch to new graphics. so we will mark the moment 1000 days of donald trump. if you were wondering there are 384 days left until election day 2020. is that it, 384 days? my word,

hasn't it flown by? buckle up. still lots to come on the programme. i will see you tomorrow come i will be in brussels, looking forward to that. good evening. even though many of us we re good evening. even though many of us were allowed some china dry weather today, there are still a feud flood warnings in england in particular. —— and dry weather today, there are still a few flood warnings on the rivers in england in particular. there is more rain to come, the ground is still saturated, so those river levels remain high. now, today's rain is slowly clearing from the northeast of scotland and where we saw it return in the afternoon across the south and the east. but even as that clears away, we have got low—pressure working its way north of the atlantic and taking charge of our weather for the next 3—4 days, and that means lots more unsettled weather, lots more rain, showers, indeed, or longer spells of rain. it's going to be very difficult

to put the detail on those showers, but most places will see more rain, quite torrential rains at times, but it could be, that for the beginning of next week, we are afforded a window of dry weather for a day or two. but back to the here and now, as one band of rain clears out the way, and we see quieter weather for a time overnight, and a starry sky, some mist and fog. already, the showers are gathering further west. so here, temperatures should hold up. but, actually, for most of us, it will be a chilly night, and temperatures will fall low enough for frost, i think, in the glens of scotland. so a chilly start for many of us on thursday morning, and as i say, that fog could be a hazard through the rush hour, but already, our low—pressure is moving in. the tightly packed isobars indicative of the winds starting to strengthen. so, as the fog clears, after the rush hour, we will see the wind strengthening, pushing those showers further eastwards after a relatively dry and sunny start here. but nowhere really is exempt from these showers, and when they come along, they will be potentially torrential downpours. moving through on that brisk wind, but followed by plenty more to come as well with hail, thunder, and lightning. therefore, it will feel quite cool, particularly with those winds and those heavy showers,

which willjust continue as we go through thursday evening and into friday. no respite overnight, and certainly no respite on friday. the low—pressure closes in on the uk, so actually, it means the winds will start to lighten further north, which means the showers will get lengthier. they won't to move through so quickly. still a fairly brisk wind in the south, but you can see the they tend to gangtogether at times to give lengthier spells of rain. bear in mind, because they are so intense, these showers, we could get significant amounts of rainfall from just 1—2 showers. and that picture, that showry picture continues into the weekend. there's more on the website.

this is bbc news. i'm clive myrie live at westminster. the headlines at 8pm: a british government source tells the bbc there will not be a brexit deal tonight. talks a brexit deal tonight. continue into the evening. not much to say. a brexit deal tonight. the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier remains tight—lipped as he goes to speak this evening to the 27 eu ambassadors. we'll have the latest on what he might have told them as we get it. following meetings with angela merkel in toulouse, france's president macron says he wants to believe a deal is being finalised so it can be approved at tomorrow's eu summit. translation: we also worked on preparations for the eu council summit

tomorrow and friday.