this is bbc news. the headlines: a race against time as the prime minister tries to rally enough support ahead of tomorrow's crucial vote on his brexit deal. what matters is mps coming together gci’oss what matters is mps coming together across the house tomorrow to get this thing done. the vote — tomorrow afternoon — is looking extremely close. the government hopes to persuade backbench conservatives — and some labour mps too. what i hear on the ground and what i see on the telly, people getting interviewed, it is time they get on with it. it is a very difficult decision, it is one each one of us will make, thinking very carefully.

demonstrators clash with police in barcelona following protests over the jailing of separatist leaders. more than 700 people arrested in a week as police crack down on drug gangs operating across the uk. and to nasa astronauts make history with the first ever all—female space work. we'll talk to libbyjackson from the uk space agency about the significance of the news. and a week of excitement but has bbc news done enough to explain what exactly the new deal is?

good evening and welcome to bbc news. the prime minister has been meeting his cabinet and mps as he tries to secure enough support for his brexit deal ahead of tomorrow's crucial vote in the house of commons. borisjohnson says there's "no better outcome" than the deal he has negotiated — but he needs 320 votes to get it passed, with only 287 voting conservative mps. that means he must persuade members from across the house including labour rebels, ex—tories as well as brexiteers in his own party to support him. the deal would see the uk pay around £33 billion pounds in a so—called divorce bill when leaving. eu and uk citizens will retain their residency and social security rights, and a transition period during which time the uk would abide by the eu's laws would last at least until the end of 2020.

the agreement would see the whole of the uk leaving the eu customs union but there would be customs checks on some goods entering into northern ireland from great britain. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg reports. that is not the real borisjohnson. it's a fancy dress version, a climate protester who had scaled the scaffolding around big ben. the actual prime minister is teetering on an even narrower edge, he has to ta ke on an even narrower edge, he has to take a leap not knowing whether he will meet victory or defeat. we've got the deal that allows us to get out of the backstop, that is abolished, and we can do free trade agreements as one whole united kingdom around the world. clearly, what matters is mps coming together across the house tomorrow to get this thing done. and ijust kind of invite everybody to imagine what it could be like tomorrow evening if we

had settled there. but in order to get this deal, though, you have given some concessions, you have accepted quite a significant customs border between northern ireland and the rest of the united kingdom. that is something you said you would never do, you said no british prime minister could do that. no, on the contrary, nobody wants to have checked that the northern irish border. so, what we've agreed with the eu is that temporarily, temporarily and by consent with the people of northern ireland, if there is stuff that is coming from gb into ireland orfrom is stuff that is coming from gb into ireland or from anywhere else in the world via northern ireland into ireland, then, yes, there can be checks. but that, of course, and those checks can be levied by uk authorities. but that is very far from having a tariff board. in your admission, it is there in black and white, in the deal, there will be

extra customs checks and for some people, including your allies, that is just not acceptable, it puts the union at risk. no, there are no ta riffs union at risk. no, there are no tariffs going from gb to ni. but there are extra checks. they already are. but of course it is also going to be superseded, as we come out, as i hope we do at the end of this month, as we get on to negotiate the uk eu free trade agreement. so, all these arrangements are in fact going to be obsolete once we do that big eu uk free trade deal. you have made a compromise to get a bigger prize of the deal but do you accept that is what has happened here? that you have broken a promise he made to the dup for the bigger prize of the deal? no, i think dup for the bigger prize of the deal? no, ithink what dup for the bigger prize of the deal? no, i think what we have is a fantastic deal for deal? no, i think what we have is a fantastic dealfor all of deal? no, i think what we have is a fantastic deal for all of the uk. the deal brokered by brains in whitehall and brussels contains a concessions from the eu and from the

uk. it leaves the future more open between the two sides, compared to the previous agreement, and in theory gives the uk more ability to trade around the rest of the world. but it does contain what could be significant changes to how northern ireland fits into the jigsaw of the rest of the uk, and that is not the only reason why the prime minister faces an uphill struggle to get this through mps. hello, can i give you a leaflet? in wakefield, 70% of people voted to leave the eu butjust like the vast majority of labour mps, mary craig here has no intention at all is backing mrjohnson‘s brexit. 0bviously off to london tomorrow. what do you think we should be doing? about the baxter deal? renegotiate. she is one of many who would rather have another referendum instead. i'll be voting against the deal tomorrow. this is not what people voted for. people have told me they want their vote back, they wa nt to me they want their vote back, they

want to vote on this deal, it is too important to be left to the politicians. even the party bosses are trying to talk them out of it... there is a clutch of labour mps whose votes might help the deal sneak through. i've been loving this morning byjohn mcdonnell sneak through. i've been loving this morning by john mcdonnell and jeremy corbyn this morning to abstain. i am a 100% lever. and they expect me with a fleet of a fling that a turnaround. no, not to do it. even if there is a sprinkling of labour help, number ten type still needs to work to make sure all of their own side are lined up. some of the most resolute brexiteers may yet hold out. i am very glad that we have had such constructive discussions, nothing is concluded yet. there is a good chance this will not pass. if it does not pass, do you still say we will leave the european union at the end of this month?” we will leave the european union at

the end of this month? i think... i do. i think we should leave the european union... saying i think we should is very different to saying we will. let me say it, we will leave the european union up on 0ctober leave the european union up on october the 21st —— 0ctober leave the european union up on october the 21st —— october the sist. october the 21st —— october the 31st. leaving in two weeks might seem very 31st. leaving in two weeks might seem very plausible this time tomorrow. but for now, every single minister has onejob tomorrow. but for now, every single minister has one job and tomorrow. but for now, every single minister has onejob and onejob only, to get this deal over the line. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. so tomorrow will be all about the numbers. can the prime minister get enough support from across the house of commons to see a deal finally approved. 0ur deputy political editorjohn pienaar has been doing the maths. this deal still lives the future relationship at the negotiating. brexiteers want to dry new trade deals and break clear of new eu

rules and regulations. critics fear will be worse off. first, boris johnson had to get mps behind is deal that allows the uk to leave. the numbers look painfully tight and he either has to winds round the dup, which looks close to impossible, while elsewhere for votes. why? well, in the commons, the pme three had on 20 votes to guarantee when. the dup‘s ten mps don't want to be blamed for a ideal brexit but they fear customs and regulatory checks on goods arriving from the british mainland will wea ken from the british mainland will weaken the union. they won back the tories will back it and some relu cta ntly. tories will back it and some reluctantly. a number of rebels have been won over, some keen to a may stick with the dup. labour will vote strongly against the brexit plan, the government denies it butjeremy corbyn fears a tory brexit means wea ker corbyn fears a tory brexit means weaker workers' rights. poorer environmental safeguards. services say up for sale in a future trade deal. but some fear losing support

u nless deal. but some fear losing support unless brexit is delivered in a number will split or abstain and every cope —— vote could come. what about the independence? they will split too. some are back the pm, including a few who want back into the tory fold, they want to keep their seats. 0thers the tory fold, they want to keep their seats. others want to stay close to the eu but they might swallow this deal in the meantime. a few who are worried about britain's future after brexit may refuse. mr johnson can forget the snp and some others, they are against brexit. there are no struggles in the pipeline, and push for another referendum, for example. and some mps will vote to guarantee a brexit extension. they will try to make sure the deal comes before they approve it and that there is no last—minute attempt to back out. let's speak to our political correspondent nick eardley at westminster. this is a fast evolving story, nick. have another change at all through this evening? not in any meaningful

way. everyone isp can do in westminster tonight is saying the same thing, it is too close to call. there are number of people around here who will predictions based on how different people might end up voting but the truth is i don't think we'll know for sure until at least tomorrow morning when the brexiteers and boris johnson least tomorrow morning when the brexiteers and borisjohnson party have been holding out theirjudgment come forward and say what they are going to do. they are meeting first thing in the morning to decide a position, and it's possible we won't know completely, definitively, 100% sure, until those results are actually read out in the commons tomorrow afternoon. before we go on tomorrow afternoon. before we go on to what is likely to take place after those meetings you hinted at, 0liver letwin is tabling a motion. what exactly is he hoping to achieve? this is complicated but bear with me. basically, achieve? this is complicated but bearwith me. basically, it achieve? this is complicated but bear with me. basically, it changes what happens tomorrow. 0liver letwin‘s amendment to the main

motion, which is on borisjohnson‘s deal, would say, yes, we approve the prime minister's deal, but, and it isa prime minister's deal, but, and it is a huge butt, red flashing lights, not until all the legislation that accompanies it passes. that sounds simple but it means two things. it would firstly mean they would have to be an extension to the brexit process under the ban act which was passed earlier this month. it would mean that brexit doesn't happen untiljanuary, perhaps, at the latest. but it would also mean that opposition mps, when that legislation does come back to parliament, would have a chance to amend it. and there are some in the snp, and the labour party, and the liberal democrats, who think of that amendment went through, then they would have a chance further down the line to perhaps attach something like a general election or a confirmatory referendum to the

process. so, the headline would still be the deal has passed but are subject to huge conditions which would be completely uncertain and mean that we don't know exactly what brexit looks like for a while longer. very quickly, nick, meetings tomorrow morning, and then what happens? 9:30am, the pm will make -- make a statement on what has happened in the european council, busily trying to sell his deal, will heal from busily trying to sell his deal, will healfrom opposition busily trying to sell his deal, will heal from opposition mps as well, and in the afternoon there will be the big votes on the motion that basically approves boris johnson the big votes on the motion that basically approves borisjohnson but that plan. we'll find out tomorrow what the amendments will be, they could change everything, it will be 2:30pm at the earliest, possibly later, before we get the results of that vote, and then we'll maybe have a good idea of where things are going. thank you very much. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 and 11:30 this

evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are the broadcaster john stapleton and associate director of the institute of economic affairs, kate andrews. police have arrested more than 700 people across the uk, during a week—long operation to tackle so—called county lines drugs crime — where gangs from cities expand their operations to smaller towns. in total, drugs with a street value of about £a00,000 were seized, as well as guns and other weapons. here's our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds. aston, birmingham, police have flooded the area looking for the signs of county lines dealing. drugs, money, looking for cars previously identified as involved.

there is intelligence on the vehicle is linking to drug dealing in the local area. suddenly, at the head, pursuit begins. when they find the suspect‘s car, it has crashed into a gas main. we can hear it. the gases escaping. they have to clear the straight but what about the suspect? he has run out of the vehicle into that premise and slammed the door. cue a helpful firefighter. that premise and slammed the door. cue a helpfulfirefighter. but that premise and slammed the door. cue a helpful firefighter. but the suspect has disappeared. by his actions, we have had to evacuate the entire street, in the rain, small mothers, —— small children, mothers, the elderly. the dealers have created supply networks on rail and road and i have recruited vulnerable young people to carry the drugs. they use vulnerable adults and children, that is where they exploit them, the people at the top of the

chain makea them, the people at the top of the chain make a lot of money and the people at the bottom of the chain are likely to get caught and exposed to criminality. it is called a cou nty to criminality. it is called a county line not because of trains but because urban dealers set up mobile phone line to sell drugs in rural areas like worcestershire. it is the county bit of county lines, it is whether drugs are being taken in the police have told us that one drug dealer is making £4000 a day selling cocaine down there. west mercia police make a move against suspected dealers being tracked by neighbouring west midlands police. from birmingham. ruraland urban forces to —— working together. but the drugs gangs, county lines gives them a bigger market across the country. for the police, them a bigger market across the country. forthe police, it them a bigger market across the country. for the police, it means i have to coordinate their efforts, forces talking to forces, different types of units, uniformed and plainclothes, using technology, all has to work together. it means a big operation like this. we know more

than we have ever known about the gangs and most people that get exploited, because we have real close coordination now between different forces up and down the country. but there will be more of these coordinated operations. because they get results. 169 weapons were found in this one week, including these. the county lines gangs deal in drugs and violence. and they seem to be here to stay. the headlines on bbc news: the premise tries to rally support for his brexit deal. it is looking extremely close. the government hopes to persuade backbench conservatives and some labour mps too. demonstrators clashed with police in barcelona flowing protests over the jailing of separatist leaders.

two astronauts have made history — with the first ever all—woman spacewalk. christina koch and jessica meir have left the international space station in an operation to replace defective equipment. the walk is due to last five and a half hours. more than 200 people have carried out spacewalks since the first one in 1965 — but only 14 were women and until today they've been accompanied by men. well, christina koch and jessica meir received a rather special call. station. this is president donald trump. do you hear me? we can hear you. that's great. i was starting to get worried about you! i was

starting to get worried about you. we are going to speak to libby jackson, the human exploration programme manager at the uk space agency. she has worked in mission control and also trains the astronaut tim peake, and she has just got off a flight in the states, and joins us live from washington. thank you for speaking to us at such short notice here on bbc news. first off, your reaction to the fantastic news today? 0h, off, your reaction to the fantastic news today? oh, it's delightful to see, and it is an inspirational milestone. it is going to be great, particularly for young people all around the world, in the uk for us vertically. to see that spaces somewhere that everyone can work in. i know that a lot of little girls around the world are going to see that it around the world are going to see thatitis around the world are going to see that it is not a male dominated place as much as it used to be, and it is changing. diversity is a great thing for it. it certainly puts

women at the table. it's only taken 221 spacewalks. why do you women at the table. it's only taken 221spacewalks. why do you think there was that long delay? well, pa rt there was that long delay? well, part of it is just when you look at the number of female astronauts, they are growing. we are seeing astronaut selection is being gender balanced and it is the way should be and that is great. but has taken time for us to grow the grassroots people to come through to have the people to come through to have the people applying to be astronauts. and spacewalks don't happen that often. when they do, we very often only had one female astronaut on the space station, so it is unusual enough for us to have two female astronauts on a space station. it is just a question of numbers and time and we are getting there. and it won't be the last, and we will see many more in the future, i'm sure. was this all women space will actually planned by nasa? when spa cewalks actually planned by nasa? when spacewalks happen, the tree selection, just like for any mission, is done on who is there and who has the right skills. there was going to be an all—female spacewalk

earlier this year in march and u nfortu nately earlier this year in march and unfortunately that got changed, the crew got changed at the last minute because anne herself said, look, the spacesuit i was going to go out and, i thought i could go out in a large space suit, it doesn't fit me. astronauts, they tried these spacesuits on when they are on earth, things change when you get into space and these spacesuits, there is a medium, there is a large. they take weeks of careful preparation to make sure that everything is working. it is the only thing that is keeping the astronauts alive when they go out and doa astronauts alive when they go out and do a spacewalk so it is vital thatis and do a spacewalk so it is vital that is working well. so when anna made the decision, look, a large is not going to be safe and me, it was better to swap out the creaming butter and it hey went out instead. —— swap out the crewmember. jessica and christina whether people in the space station, they were the right people to do the job, there is a

whole string of space also in on at the minute. they are replacing lots of batteries. luke palmer tanna and andrew morgan, also on the space station today, they are heading out ina station today, they are heading out in a while to go in a few weeks to fix an experiment. so, all of these things play in, and wejust ended up with the stars aligning and this all—female spacewalk today. with the stars aligning and this all-female spacewalk today. libby, this may be a simplistic question. you trained tim peake, for example. 0ther pressures on men and women different when you are out in space? from an astronaut perspective, absolutely not. they are all trained to do theirjobs correctly, properly, and are all very, very capable of doing that. there is no difference in their abilities. i think what you see, sadly for me, is still this difference in the media interest in it. you go back to the early days of when sally ride flew into space along with svetlana, the first woman to do it spacewalk, all of the s was back then, the questions they got asked at the

female astronauts, were nothing to do with, can you do yourjob? what is it going to be like! it was, how is it going to be like! it was, how is your hairgoing is it going to be like! it was, how is your hair going to be? make up on all sorts of strange questions. and it is an indication, not of the jobs they are doing, they are doing the same ones, but at the media. it is great there is this interest today and it is certainly a milestone and one i am really happy to see reached but i look forward to when this isn't something that we comment on and men and women are able to go about their business without comment on their gender. here, here! libby jackson, thank you very much indeed. it's 24 minutes past seven. there have been clashes between police and protesters in barcelona, where a general strike has brought the city to a standstill. these are live pictures in barcelona now. you can see police cars along the

road, callao —— crowds along the road, callao —— crowds along the road, barricades have been set up. they have also been set on fire. this is now the fifth day of protest. hundreds of thousands of people have been demonstrating after separate leaders calling for catalonia's independence were jailed. that happened earlier this week. you can really see, they are trying to move the crowds on there. just a complete bank of security vehicles with their lights flashing, the crowds do seem to be moving down, though. trains have been cancelled, roads have been blocked, and barcelona and real madrid have postponed a match they were set to play. and the famous sagrada family church has been shut down after protesters blocked its entrance. real madrid have had to postpone a match. they we re have had to postpone a match. they were due to play on the 26th of 0ctober. look at those lights, sea of blue in barcelona. 0ur europe

correspondent has this report. this was an outpouring of outrage. catalan independence supporters filling barcelona. capping a week of protests following the jailing of the leaders of their movement to split from spain. columns of tens of thousands marching for the past three days converged on barcelona today. earlier this week, they block the airport and set fires in the streets. the focus of their anger? spain's national government and police. hurled at them today, eggs, bottles and cans. police patience snapped. every day this week they have reacted like this. police violence fuelling tempers on the streets.

there have been counter protests. tiny by comparison but a sign that not all catalonian is one to split away. they don't speak for the majority because the support for independence is not the majority. this weeks events have stirred passions in catalonia. independent supporters want a new vote but spain's government is not going to compromise. damian grammaticas, bbc news, barcelona. at least 62 people have been killed in a bombing at a mosque in eastern afghanistan during friday prayers. more than 100 others were injured in the attack which caused the roof of the mosque in nangahar province to collapse. no group has claimed responsibility. the un says the number of civilian deaths in afghanistan has reached unprecedented levels over the summer. there's been a major escalation of violence between police and drug gangs in mexico.

it started after authorities in the city of culia—can attempted to capture the son of the jailed drug—lord joaquin "el chapo" guzman. members of the sinaloa cartel then fought running gun battles with police, who ultimately released el chapo's son. the country's defence minister admitted the entire operation had been "badly planned". women's fashion chain bonmarche has appointed administrators, putting the future of the business in doubt. the chain's 318 shops will remain open while a buyer is sought. the yorkshire—based chain, which specialises in clothing for the over—50s, employs nearly 3,000 people. let's get more on the brexit deal mps are due to vote on tomorrow. the deal covers the terms of the uk's exit from the european union, but the final shape of the trading relationship is still to be negotiated.

to get more on this we're joined via webcam from geneva by dmitry grozoubinski. a former trade negotiator and the tounder of founder explaintrade.com, an orfganisation designed to explain the issues surrounding global trade. really interested to get your point if view on how a steely looking so far. i can't really speak to the politics. it seems to be a solution to the iron question in one way and that it avoids that hardboard on the island itself but in a sense it moves a hard border within the territory of the united kingdom. it is that something that parliament finds palatable in order to get brexit done, as it were, and moved

to the next phase of these negotiations, then that is a question for parliament. there has been a lot of concern and we have heard this throughout the day here in the uk, about the removal of a level playing field, this is how it has been referred to, for things such as workers' rights, environmental standards. however, when you look at a future trade deal, it must depend on this, don't you think? absolutely. so it is important to understand why those living playing field provisions where there in the first place. the backstop could have meant that the uk remains in the eu customs union so uk remains in the eu customs union so there is no border between great britain and the eu which means that the eu they need is something in writing to say the uk can't then radically lower its standards on things like labour or the environment, to give its firms and

edge against eu competitors when the eu has no border, no tariff protections to keep them out of its market or to rebalance those things. with the backstop removed through this double customs, then that is no longer needed and the withdrawal agreement itself. however, once the negotiations start in the uk starts negotiating with the eu for what the leaders have agreed will be aiming to have no tariffs of any card —— any kind, i would expect the eu is going to demand that once again because they don't want to have no tariff protections between them and someone tariff protections between them and someone who is going to radically potentially slash their regulations. in terms of making those trade deals, how long can they take? how long can a process take? i mean, there is no average time for this. i would say about two years is realistic for a comparatively simple deal where nothing truly fundamental emerges to split the two parties.

but for example australia's trade deals with its asian counterparts, with korea, japan, china, took seven, ten and 15 years respectively. the biggest issue is are the political sticking points emerge and where neither side can agree whether sayers —— the two sides can't agree on big fundamental questions. and for a relationship is complex as this, i think it is a rocky and potentially road ahead. complex as this, i think it is a rocky and potentially road aheadm terms of whether uk should be looking to make future trade deals, which would be worth the most to britain? are we looking at the eu, the us, commonwealth countries?m goes eu, eu, eu 20 times and then everybody else. it is... your

current relationship is based on a great deal of integration. your priority has to be a deal that repair some of the damage brexit does to that close relationship to the trade as it currently works now, depending on that integration. 0ther free—trade agreements, like the us might like getting a japanese deal over the line, australia and new zealand, that will be good for some sectors. they are certainly not a bad idea. certain sectors in the uk could benefit from them. but by far, the greatest priority has to be that eu relationship. 0k, dmitry grozoubinski, thank you for your insight. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. there are some heavy showers out there this evening, perhaps a rumble of thunder. low pressure moves rumble of thunder. low pressure m oves a cross rumble of thunder. low pressure moves across the uk. clear spells and some showers around overnight. more clout in scotland, rather than

showers, just an area of rain heading further south towards temperatures dipping into single figures. winds have been light overnight. 0nto the start the weekend, the cloud and rain in scotla nd weekend, the cloud and rain in scotland pushing into parts of northern england. south of that, sunny spells, fewer showers then we have that in the past few days, and a contract and how things feel across the uk during saturday. south of this area, south—westerly winds. north of it is a northerly, feeling colder. where you have the south—westerly and sunny spells, mid teens. fewer showers on sunday. hello, this is bbc news with me, lukwesa burak. the headlines: a race against time as the prime minister tries to rally

enough support ahead of tomorrow's crucial vote on his brexit deal. what matters is mps coming together across the house tomorrow to get this thing done. the vote — tomorrow afternoon — is looking extremely close. the government hopes to persuade backbench conservatives — and some labour mps too. more than 700 people arrested in a week — as police crack down on drug gangs operating across the uk. violent clashes with police on the streets of barcelona, as hundreds of thousands of people bring the city to a standstill — in protest at jail sentences for catalan separatist leaders. kurdish forces have today accused turkey of violating the ceasefire that was agreed yesterday. fighting appeared to continue today despite a denial by turkey's president erdogan.

the kurds say air and artillery attacks are still being carried out against the border town of ras al—ayn, as barbara plett usher reports from the turkey—syria border. there is a cease—fire in place, but not all was quiet. in the syrian border town of ras al—ayn, the sound of artillery shattered the morning, sporadic gunfire was heard throughout friday. kurdish forces accused turkey of shelling the area. the turkish president denied it. translation: i don't know where you've got this information from, but according to my own defence minister, there are no ongoing clashes. all of this is speculation and misinformation. the kurdish militia deeply entrenched in the city can adjust a day earlier, still fighting hard to keep it. turkey says they are a terrorist thought and is determined to expel them away from the borderfor so and is determined to expel them away from the border for so what happens here will likely be an early test of

the accord. what the americans brokered was a positive violence and it was enough or president trump to declare victory he needed one. his decision to withdraw us troops has been strongly criticised as abandoning america's kurdish allies and paving the way for turkey's incursion. we've all agreed on a pause, or a cease—fire, incursion. we've all agreed on a pause, ora cease—fire, in incursion. we've all agreed on a pause, or a cease—fire, in the border regions of syria. and it was unconventional what i did, i said, they're going to have to fight otherwise. sometimes you have to let them fight a little while! you got to let them fight and then you pulled them apart. this was definitely not a victory for the kurds. and kara has agreed to suspend military operation for five days and to eventually make that permanent. it only if the kurdish fighters pull out and give up their heavy weapons. you cannot solve your refugee problem by making new refugees, by displacing people from their homes. so it's really, really serious military problem which

requires more, because the people have nowhere to go because the people are the local puget to —— local people of the region. -- local people of the region. in fa ct, -- local people of the region. in fact, the americans have accepted what the turks were traded to any region. already, the human cost has been great on the some 300,000 people displaced. kurdish civilians are wondering what will happen to them even if the fighting stops. president erdogan is insisting... syrian government soldiers have moved into some of the other areas but mr erdogan says he would rather have them there then kurdish militias. you'll probably about when he meets syria's ally, president putin of russia, next week. barbara plett usher, bbc news, at the syrian

border. the duchess of sussex has revealed she has struggled to cope with adjusting to her new life as a wife and mother, living in a new country. speaking during her recent tour of africa with the duke of sussex, she said juggling the challenges of being a new parent while under the spotlight had been particularly hard for her. look, any woman, especially when they are pregnant, you are really vulnerable. and so that was made really challenging, and then we have a newborn. you know. it's a long time ago, but every member. and especially as a woman, it's a lot. and you add this on top ofjust trying to be a new mum are trying to bea trying to be a new mum are trying to be a newlywed. it's... also, thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if i am 0k, you for asking, because not many people have asked if i am ok, but it's... people have asked if i am ok, but it's. .. it's a people have asked if i am ok, but it's... it's a very real thing to be going through behind—the—scenes. it's... it's a very real thing to be going through behind-the-scenes. and the answer is? would it be fair to say not really 0k?

the answer is? would it be fair to say not really ok? yes. the duke and duchess of cambridge are on their way home tonight after a five day tour of pakistan. they'll be hoping theirjourney back is smoother than their flight yesterday that was supposed to be a 25 minute trip from lahore to islamabad but turned into a 2—hour flight through a thunderstorm. after trying to land twice, the crew decided to head back to lahore. the duchess of cambridge described it as rather bumpy up there — as our royal correspondent jonny dymond reports. at the end of a long week, what looks like playtime. this is part of a joint uk—pakistan venture training dogs to sniff out explosives. it's part of a close cooperation between uk and pakistan that, says william, keeps us all safe. what happens here in pakistan directly correlates to what happens

on the streets of the uk. i think it's really important that everyone back home realises that we have a far—ranging, far—reaching projection of what we are doing and we're involved with the pakistanis for a very good reason, that will actually keep people safe back in the uk. the couple looked relaxed but it's been a challenging 24 hours. last night, bad weather disrupted the royal flight back to the capital. twice, as the plane shook and fell, the landings were abandoned. william joked about it. catherine was maybe a little more shaken up. i think it was quite an adventure, really. it was pretty bumpy up there. but we were looked after so wonderfully by the raf. they do a greatjob liaising with everyone and got us home safely. so we're hugely grateful to everyone. the couple have travelled far and wide in this varied country, taking in themes of education, health care and the huge threat of climate change. they've been greeted with real affection as they have offered

the message that pakistan is open to visitors. jonny dymond, bbc news, islamabad. scientists say they've developed an effective technique to spot the mass stranding of whales from space. high resolution satellites orbiting the earth can now be used to scan coastlines, zooming in on the animals' positions. being able to detect strandings more quickly will help the conservation of whales, as well as other animals — and could become a powerful tool to assess the state of the marine environment. rebecca morelle reports. they are the giants of the deep roaming the world's oceans, but when things go wrong, it can happen on a huge scale. last year in australia, 150 whales washed up. by the time rescuers got there, most were dead.

with events like these, time is vital, but scientists have found a new way to track strandings, from space. using powerful satellites, they can scan thousands of kilometres of coast, zooming in on the animals until the body of a beached whale is revealed. satellites can enable us to take pictures and see whale strandings much more rapidly than people have capacity to do on the ground in remote areas, and they will give us that extra opportunity to react quickly and learn from stranding events and hopefully do better with how we manage them in our oceans. this whale skeleton fills the hall at the natural history museum and it is the sheer size of these animals that makes them easier to spot from space. but there is still so much we don't know about whales, how they live and how they die. if we can spot how many are stranding and where, it could help us to better understand why it is happening. strandings are complex events.

the animals might be ill or lacking food, but issues like pollution, boat strikes and climate change are causing problems as well. they are amazing animals, they are top predators and they are involved in the marine ecosystem and if they are suffering because of any actions of humans, then we need to monitor that and mitigate that if possible. satellites are helping conservationists more and more. they are now tracking albatrosses from space. the wildebeest migration has been monitored as well and the technology is helping to establish the size of penguin colonies. the satellites are really powerful, the resolution. we are automating the process, and it means machine learning and intelligence to pull out the information we require. whales were once hunted

to the brink of extinction, now their numbers are growing again, but it is a fragile recovery and using technology to monitor this will be key. it is just approaching a quarter to 8pm. the headlines on bbc news: the prime minister tries to rally enough support ahead of tomorrow's crucial vote on his brexit deal. the vote — tomorrow afternoon — is looking extremely close. the government hopes to persuade backbench conservatives — and some labour mps too. masked demonstrators clash with police in barcelona, following protests over the jailing of separatist leaders. now, it's time for newswatch. here's samira ahmed. hello and welcome to newswatch with me, samira ahmed. a week of excitement for correspondents in westminster and brussels, but has bbc news done enough to explain what exactly the new deal is?

and has coverage of a royal trip to pakistan focused too much on what the duchess of cambridge was wearing and harked back too much to the duke's mother, princess diana? the frenzy of speculation and anticipation over borisjohnson's deal with the european union finally came to an end this week, only to be replaced by the new uncertainty of whether that deal will get through parliament. here's assistant political editor norman smith talking to victoria derbyshire just after the breakthrough had been announced on thursday morning. we are heading for one humongous showdown on saturday. 0k, stay with us, because i'mjust getting this from the dup. they say, our earlier statement still stands in response to news that a deal has been reached. oh! ok. so, we're in the strong—arm territory, then. but, amid all the excitement among political journalists,

some viewers felt there wasn't enough basic explanation