robin brant in shanghai and anna holligan in zeebrugge.it deadline of october 3ist exactly a week away, both the conservatives and labour are facing divisions about the way forward. downing street has dismissed reports of diffirences of opinion within the cabinet. borisjohnson has said he'll seek a snap general election if the eu decides on an extension to the timetable untiljanuary. but some ministers want him to try and get his deal through parliament first. our political correspondent nick eardley reports. not for the first time, westminster waits. the uk was supposed to leave the eu a week today, but a delay now seems likely, so politicians here wait to see how long an extension brussels will offer and whether the government follows through on its threat to try and force an election. we have been calling for a general election for months. at some point, the labour party will realise that their blocking tactics, propped up by the lib dems and the snp, have got to come to an end. the british people want their government to govern. but no

robin brant in hong kong. let's cross now to nottingham where we can speak to professor steve tsang who is director of the china institute at soas, the school of oriental and african studies in london. thank you for speaking to a site bbc news. first, what worries you the most about this introduction of emergency regulations ordinance, what does it portend for kong? emergency regulations ordinance, what does it portend for kong ?m emergency regulations ordinance, what does it portend for kong? it is escalation on the part of the authorities in hong kong. the emergency regulations ordinance will enable the chief executive to exercise very wide powers, the kind of power that would be available to countries in a state of emergency. in the case of hong kong, they will not need a state of emergency to do so. not need a state of emergency to do so. it means they can arrest thousands of people and put them away for a long time. have these arrests started yet because we were expecting to start seeing widespread arrest

robin brant, bbc news, hong kong.the face mask ban was enacted when the government activated sweeping colonial—era powers known as the emergency regulations ordinance. a little earlier i spoke to professor steve tsang, director of the china institute at the school of oriental and african studies, who explained why the invoking of the emergency regulations ordinance is so signifcant. it is about the escalation on the pa rt it is about the escalation on the part of the authorities in hong kong. it will enable the chief executive in counsel to exercise a very wide range of power, the kind of power that will be available to countries in looking to a state of emergency. hong kong will not need a state of emergency to do so. it means they can arrest thousands of people and be putting them away for a long time. have these arrests started yet because we were expecting to see widespread arrests taking place? why do you think carrie lam and the security forces held back? i think they are trying to use the facemask ban partly to

our correspondent robin brant is there.ent the last couple of hours outside this police station. now, this has been a focal point for protests because about five weeks ago, police attacked passengers on the metro system here — pretty aggressive. and since then, you've seen democracy demonstrators come here laying flowers, laying posters as well. now, the police were here earlier. they created a roadblock that was barricaded in that direction over there. it basically was a good example of a cat—and—mouse that has happened in many parts of the city over the last five weeks or so. police come, they clear the road, they come here, they clear the walls, some of the protesters dispersed, some of them don't. it has been pretty quiet though to be honest. we have not seen any violent confrontations. there has been tear gas and more aggressive confrontations and other areas of the city tonight. all of this is in the context of two significant developments today. firstly, hong kong's metro system, that's the underground trains, light

here is the bbc‘s robin brant, in beijing, on what events we can expect today. the root of the parade at the moment. that avenue is where the ta nks moment. that avenue is where the tanks will roll, where the troops will march. it is going to be quite a spectacle heading down that road in an hour's time. they will be 50,000 numbers of the military. there's going to be 600 pieces of equipment on show, about 160 aircraft going over. the military leading into this have said they don't wanted to be seen by the world isa don't wanted to be seen by the world is a show of force, but this is a chance for china to show and there will be eagle eyes particularly i think looking at some of that new equipment that china's leadership has chosen to display. now, there are some challenges going forward, though, as xijinping, the president, leads these celebrations. and it is a celebration. 70 years since the communist came to power, 70 years of huge progress, as well, in this country. it is still a bit smoggy here. china is still dealing with the consequences of decades of indu

robin brant there.ould clarify its new brexit offer after the eu called for ‘fundamental changes‘. talks will resume on monday after the eu said the uk‘s proposed alternative to the irish backstop could not be the basis for a legally—binding treaty. borisjohnson has insisted the only options are a ‘new deal or no deal‘. earlier our political correspondent susana mendonca said that it is unclear how the government could get around the law and deliver brexit if a deal is not agreed with the eu by october the 19th. if the government has not agreed a deal with parliament by october 19th, then it has to ask the eu for an extension, so it has to send a letter to the european union asking for that extension. there is a court case going on at the moment in scotland, in the court of session, where those who have taken that there are basically trying to make sure that borisjohnson does obey the law. the prime minister said that he will obey the law, but at the same time he is saying he will leave on october 31st.

robin brant, bbc news, beijing.has said there will need to be customs checks on the island of ireland after the uk leaves the eu. in an interview with the bbc, the prime minister denied suggestions this would mean a series of customs posts set five or ten miles back from the border. the government has said it will publish details of a new brexit plan in the coming days, but the eu has always insisted it will not agree to new customs checks in ireland, and time is running out to find an agreement. our political correspondent, chris mason, reports from the conservative party conference in manchester. and morning with the media for the prime minister looks something like this. cameras everywhere, even stylistic help on offer. but after the comb, a quick ruffle of the hair. in straightaway to the crux of the brexit conundrum, keeping the irish border open when the uk and ireland are following different rules after brexit. the difficulty really is going to be around the customs union and to what extent northern ireland c

i've been speaking to our china correspondent robin brant, who is there. things have changed.thousands of people marching fairly peacefully with the police at the sides, the police using tear gas in the past but they are definitely using it now. there are officers on this walkover bridge here holding out a rather ominous sign saying, warning — tear gas. what they are trying to do, and they've been doing for the past ten minutes over in this area and also to the left, what you can see, is to try and dispose this crowd. we are not having violent confrontation in terms of the hand—to—hand combat we have seen in the past but they are using tear gas and it is proving pretty effective. the crowd was definitely in the tens of thousands. disrupting this big arterial road that goes through hong kong and over on the other side as well. a couple of hours of marching and now the police trying to essentially get them to break up. the protesters at times were against the police protest tactics themselves. how does this play into the hands of the protesters who are unhappy with the tactics?

robin brant reports from shanghai. this is china's most famous car.a's most famous car. it translates to red flag. filled in the decade of the first people's republic, it has carried everyone from mao zedong to its current leader xi jinping. from mao zedong to its current leader xijinping. in the decades between this and this, the latest met model, china has become the world ‘s biggest car market. but has that moment passed ? world ‘s biggest car market. but has that moment passed? it is a mid week afternoon and they are thinking about buying that they do not want something new. translation: i am still walking around. i haven't decided yet. and there is plenty to see here in one of china's guest second hand car markets. he is not your average car salesman. ten years ago, this has expanded because chinese trust cars that have been owned before and then of course there is the price. translation: make in recent years, more people buy secondhand cars, maybe because the business market is not growing or even declining. you have to pay purchased tax, too, f

but as robin brant reports from shanghai, the tide has turned.his is china's most famous car, which means read flag. built in the first decade of the people's republic, it has carried everyone from the country's founding father, mao tse tung, to its current leader, xijinping. in the decades between this and this, china has become the world's guest car market. it has that moment passed 7 world's guest car market. it has that moment passed? it is the midweek afternoon and they are thinking about buying. but they don't want something new. translation: i am still looking around, the software developer told us. i haven't decided yet. and there is plenty to see here, in one of china's biggest secondhand car markets. translation: he is not your average car salesperson. ten years ago, this business was almost niche. now it is spreading beyond the big cities, but the chinese don't trust because that have been owned before. and there is the price. translation: in recent years there are more people buying secondhand cars. maybe because the business environm

our correspondent robin brant is there. significant not only what the president was saying but where he was standing on what he was wearing. in exactly the same spot, where chairman mao, the revolutionary founding father of the people's republic stood in 1949 to declare that the communists had one a civil warand it that the communists had one a civil war and it was now the beginning of modern china, xijinping stood in the same spot and was wearing the familiar attire of chairman mao, the only man standing on that stage one oi’ only man standing on that stage one or $0 only man standing on that stage one or so hours ago. pretty obvious this country's current leader was actually making no secret of his desire to evoke the memory of chairman mao and gave a brief speech. it was brief. familiar themes appeared. a century of humiliation is the chinese talk about the 100 years that preceded the founding of the prc and since then, a story of progress in a way, inexorable rise. that is what xi jinping wanted to espouse and what he f

robin brant, bbc news, beijing.o a total of 27 years and 4 months, after breaking into around 400 homes in the west midlands, and stealing millions of pounds in jewellery. police only caught the gang, after one of them was discovered to have a very small footprint. sian lloyd has more. draped in cash, 28—year—old florina spiru was even photographed wearing some of the jewellery she helped dispose of. stolen from homes across the west midlands by a group led by her husband, catalin zaharia. this security camera footage shows him clambering up bed sheets. the group often entered and exited houses through upstairs windows to avoid ground—floor alarm systems. david and norma richardson's home was one of the last to be burgled before the gang was caught. i think ijust... ijust could not accept it, i couldn't take it in. i didn't realise that somebody had been in there and taken everything. when we started looking, everything had gone. an earring, that had been worn by the bride. just some of the items yet to be reunited

live now to beijing our correspondent robin brant is there. what you can probably see what you can policy now is a long shot. that is why the consequences of the industrial progress. over the last seven decades, since its founding in 1949. i keep picking down to the left. the only one amongst the senior leaders. the most senior leadership here in china. he is now 93. this is the beginning of the parade. taking part, about 600 pieces of military equipment on display. about 160 aircraft flying over. the military on the run up to today, have said they don't want this to be seen as a show of force, china flexing its muscles. there might be some scepticism about that. it does want the world to see this parade the military hardware, stop that increasingly made here. most of all, it wants the world to see china proudly celebrating seven decades. obviously there is concern about events in hong kong. nobody there in beijing wants that to overshadow what's going on in beijing. xi jinping and the others around him wouldn't have wanted this celebration to

our correspondent robin brant has more now on how the shutdown is affecting the territory.erground trains will not be running. the only service is to the central city and the airport. the decision by the authorities to shutdown a key part of the transport infrastructure will continue today. we heard from carrie lam, the most senior politician here. this is what she's trying to bring to an end. this is the middle of hong kong, a premium shopping district. there aren't many shoppers, there's no traffic because we had a protest half—an—hour ago, 2000 people marching here peacefully but there was disruption. this is taking place in the context of an escalation from the authorities, bringing emergency powers to stop people wearing masks over their face. powers to stop people wearing masks over theirface. despite powers to stop people wearing masks over their face. despite that, powers to stop people wearing masks overtheirface. despite that, look to your right. characteristically youthful protesters here covering theirfaces. youthful protesters here covering their faces. 0thers

our correspondent robin brant is there. explain for us the importance of this occasion in china.ion, 70 years since the founding of the people's republic of china back in 1949 on this precise day, so there is a huge national pride. it is a chance as well, certainly in terms of the military parade which we have seen at the beginning, to show the world the hardware that china now has access to and the capabilities it now has to defend itself and that is in an area that is expanding, particularly in this part of the world. it is also an opportunity for xijinping, this nation cosmic leader, to address his people and further consolidate his control and the control of the communist party on this country. —— nation cosmic leader. these events are of —— for international consumption but it is a lwa ys international consumption but it is always the domestic audience which remains most important for the communist country here. what we have seen is a speech from president xi jinping. unity, struggle, strip the word struggle remains very important for the country country's people. we had a h

here's the bbc‘s robin brant in beijing on what we can expect today. we can get to the route of the parade at the moment. chang'an avenue is where the tanks will roll, where the troops will march. it is going to be quite a spectacle heading down that road in an hour's time. they will be 50,000 members of the military, there's going to be 600 pieces of equipment on show, about 160 aircraft going over. the military, leading into this, have said they don't want it to be seen by the world as a show of force. but this is a chance for china to show, and there will be eagle eyes particularly, i think, looking at some of that new equipment that china's leadership has chosen to display. now, there are some challenges going forward, though, as xijinping, the president, leads these celebrations. and it is a celebration — 70 years since the communists came to power, 70 years of huge progress, as well, in this country. it is still a bit smoggy here. china is still dealing with the consequences of decades of industrial progress. the economy here is also slowing in t

our correspondent robin brant has more now on how the shutdown is affecting the territory.ig slice of yesterday and now all of today, hong kong ‘s metro system, the light rail underground trains will not be running. the only service you can get is from the centre of the city to the airport. the decision yesterday by the authorities to essentially shut down authorities to essentially shut down a key part, the key part of the transport infrastructure here will continue today. you just heard from carrie lam, the most senior politician, this is what she is trying to bring to an end. we are in the middle of hong kong, premium shopping district. there is no traffic here because there was a protest in the last 30 minutes or so, about 2000 people marching to this point. it was peaceful but there was disruption. and this has taken place in the context of a significant escalation by the authorities yesterday to bring in emergency powers stopping people wearing masks. and despite that, look here to my right. a youthful group of protesters here covering theirfaces. group of protesters

we're joined now by the bbc‘s robin brant from shanghai.en this news? -- state. significantly, it has been reported here on some outlets of state—run media. that is important because this is a country whether media overwhelmingly controlled by the government and the are arrays of censorship to control about what the people here see and hear. it is on a range of social media platforms. it is been discussed. there is a sense of shock but also some censorship going on and i think the words chinese nationals may be being removed from some posts from government centres. but it is been reported and there is speculation as to not just reported and there is speculation as to notjust where these people come from, and who they are, but also why did they leave china, assuming the journey began in china and made that journey began in china and made that journey so far that ended in the uk. is is about illegal trafficking? the sex trade? the restaurant business? do they have family in the uk? lots of possibilities. those same questions are happening her

latest in months of street protests, wdemanding greater democratic freedoms our china corrspondent robin brant

let's talk to our correspondent robin brant who's in hong kong. itical crisis just seems to deepen, robin. it does. this morning there has been a protest of up to 2000 people, who made their way down to the premium shopping district here in hong kong. they have blocked the roads and were there for a brief period of time, but then they dispersed. there are a few hundred here now, but what do you see? not just mostly young people, but lots of people wearing masks, and that tells you what these protesters think about that emergency measure brought in yesterday by the government, which makes wearing a mask and covering your face if you are atan mask and covering your face if you are at an illegal gathering, a criminal act. they frankly don't care. so, we have been organised to protest this morning. there was disruption on the streets, but low level and no trouble that we saw or that we have heard of, say pretty come here today. the metro network is shut and it closed yesterday, so there is a sense of paralysis. shopping centres are also closed. there w

our correspondent in hong kong robin brant has been out on the streets of the territory today. there has been a protest of up to 2,000 people, the decision yesterday by authorities to essentially shut down authorities to essentially shut down a key part, in fact the key part of the transport infrastructure here, will continue today. we havejust heard from carrie lam, hong kong's most senior politician, this is what she is trying to bring to an end. this is the premium shopping district, and there are not many shoppers, no traffic, because we have had a protest in the last half an hourorso, about have had a protest in the last half an hour or so, about 2000 people marched to this point, it was peaceful but there was disruption, and it has taken place in the context of a significant escalation by authorities, bringing emergency authorities to stop people wearing masks over theirface, authorities to stop people wearing masks over their face, and authorities to stop people wearing masks over theirface, and despite that, look to your right, characteristically youthful group of prote

robin brant reporting from shanghai. a lot because how annoying is it? my phone didn't work at a wedding recently. one of my friend's farmstead work because she was with vodafone. basically two thirds of the country do all four of the work for everybody. they got together and said, let's find a way of making thatis said, let's find a way of making that is close to 100% as we can. they need to build new masts for that to happen. they need to pool resources . that to happen. they need to pool resources. for that they needed cash. they went to the government and said, can you invest if we invest and we can make, heads of coverage for the entire country? the government has announced a £1 billion deal to make that happen. 530 million will come from the big four. 500 million from government. this is new money that has onlyjust been confirmed. they say this is world first. all four will invest in the network and by 2025, they say, more than 90% of the country will be covered. a few caveats. nicky morgan has said it is not yet a

robin brant, bbc news, beijing.. they burgled 76 properties in affluent areas in the west midlands. these pictures, this is the west midlands police website. they were caught after one of the gang members left unusually small footprints at several of the houses they burgled. the gang were sentenced, they stole designer watches, rolex and cartier watches worth up to £30,000 each and asian gold items. west midlands police believe a wider gang committed far more offences and had taken cash and valuables worth millions of pounds. but this happening at birmingham crown court, the prosecutor describing the hub of the prosecutor describing the hub of the conspiracy as an aladdin's cave of stolen jewellery. so sentencing totalling 27 years and four months handed out at birmingham crown court toa handed out at birmingham crown court to a romanian gang involved in stealing cash and jewellery worth £850,000. you are watching afternoon live on bbc news. for years, we've been told to eat less red or processed meat to reduce our

closed down following serious clashes between protestors and the police. 0ur china correspondent robin brantely today? what are we expecting? the metro system is half open, so in a sense, a bit ofa system is half open, so in a sense, a bit of a return to normality. this is because a bay area of hong kong island. many people are out shopping, but one or two protest marches are planned for today. let's talk a little bit about that emergency measure that was brought forward on midnight on friday, the government banning facemask by protesters at these events. look at what they are handing out at this table, we are in a place where a protesters plan in an hour or so's time, and you can get your own bottle of water, but also your own black protective facemask. they told us black protective facemask. they told us this is about preventing the spread of sickness, you know, the seasons are changing, there is blue around, but i think it tells us all you need to know about how the protesters view those measures brought in —— flu around, it is a sense of defiance, notjust about the police's attempts to s

our china corrspondent, robin brant reports.ing and waiting, taking cover under umbrellas from the warm rain, almost all of them wearing a face mask. this was how the hong kong protesters showed their contempt for their government and its latest attempt to quell the protests with emergency measures that outlaw facemasks. some were even handing them out, "to stop people getting sick", one man told me. this was a sizeable turnout. tens and tens of thousands marching on the streets and shutting down major roads once again. as the police watched from on high, some made roadblocks. others prepared their weapons for a fight, and then... you need a facemask because the the police are firing tear gas to try and disperse this crowd. firing fairly indiscriminately over the top, the police over there, and while there is no violent confrontation this is their first attempt to try and disperse the crowd today, it is definitely numbering in the tens of thousands. hong kong's leader carrie lam spoke of paralysis here yesterday, condemning the

robin brant, bbc news, beijing. posts could be set up just a few miles from the irish border to avoid the backstop, the mechanism to avoid a hard border in ireland. he told the bbc the reality of brexit meant the uk had to have a single customs territory. the prime minister also said he had not asked eu leaders to refuse a further brexit delay as a way of getting around the law, which requires him to ask for an extension if no deal has been agreed by october the 19th. our assistant political editor, norman smith, is at the conservative party conference in manchester. customs checks but no hard border controls away from the border, so what is the thinking? well, the thinking is to have very light touch, low— key, unobtrusive thinking is to have very light touch, low—key, unobtrusive customs checks. borisjohnson says he is not thinking about the sort of checkpoints just set back from the border, five or ten miles away. what he is talking about is doing most customs checks actually at the depots or warehouses before th

violence during protests on tuesday, when an officer shot a demonstrator. 0ur china correspondent robin brantat can you tell us, robin? give us a sense of what might happen today and how it feels on the streets where you are. well, it definitely feels, this morning. there was a small gathering outside this department store about an hour ago. around 300 people, most of them wearing face masks. some were shouting that they have the right to wear those face masks. they moved peacefully down the road. this is an area known for its shopping on the west of hong kong island. that is the beginning of a small protest here, but it does seem pretty quiet here, but it does seem pretty quiet here today. most of the people are shopping, and that is what they are doing as they come and go in this area. ithink doing as they come and go in this area. i think the reason that things area. i think the reason that things are calmer today, certainly compared to last night, is because the metro system remains closed. services of light rail, underground railand buses were suspended yesterday, the first time this has

thank you, robin brant reporting live from hong kong.at britain has enjoyed more medal success at the world athletics championships in doha, with both the men and women taking silver in the 4x100 metres relay. callum hawkins came close to adding to the haul. he missed out on a bronze in the marathon byjust six seconds. such a narrow difference over such a distance. here's our sports correspondent, natalie pirks. she's had the expectation of a nation on her shoulders, but dina asher—smith has more than delivered. two medals down, one to go. but the relay hasn't always gone britain's way. tanoy: great britain and northern ireland! and it looked like it could be tricky again. a last—minute injury saw asha philip drafted in, to kick things off. commentator: so asha philip, united states outside her. and she's lost a little bit of ground here. dina was swapped from the last leg to second, charged with chasing jamaica's 100 metre world champion, shelly—ann fraser—pryce. but she was long gone, and by the time the baton reached daryll neita, bri

violence during protests on tuesday, when an officer shot a demonstrator. 0ur china correspondent robin brantn watching with interest your coverage today, as the hours have gone by. tell us what is happening there. well, this is the centre of hong kong, it is the premium shopping district, really. we are in the middle of the state. it is not what it should be like, this is not what the politicians wa nt to this is not what the politicians want to see on a saturday in the beginning of october. that is partly why they have instituted those emergency laws yesterday, to try to prevent protesters from wearing face masks. there was a gathering of about 2000 people have half an hour about 2000 people have half an hour a day. it marched a mile or so, and we ended up here. it was peaceful, there were no police, but let's talk about the facemask band. this group of women are all wearing masks, which is illegal at the moment. there was a big number of people amongst the protesters also wearing masks, so that tells you what the protesters think about that attempt to force them to hide their identity. ——

our correspondent robin brant joins us from now from beijing. ng out of china are spectacular. tell us a little bit about what china is planning on the likely reaction in hong kong. china's ruling communist party don't do things by halves when it comes to these big significant birthday celebrations. it is 70 years to the day since mao zedong founded the people's republic in 19119, and we have had a sizeable military parade followed by a party like carnival, with up to 100,000 people involved in tiananmen square in the heart of the city. it was xi jinping, the country's president, who took centre stage, making a brief speech. he talked about unity, he talked about struggle, these are familiar themes, and he talked about the inexorable rise of china, progress that he said no force can possibly stop. it is no mistake that he looks very similar to mao zedong, wearing a very similarsuit as he to mao zedong, wearing a very similar suit as he stood in the same spot where mao zedong declared the prc founded, 70 years ago. there has been much progress sin

violence during protests on tuesday, when an officer shot a demonstrator. 0ur china correspondent robin brantgive us a sense of your location and what is going to be happening the rest of the day. this is a big shopping area called causeway bay, on the island of hong kong. it looks like business as usual but actually, this is a city which is partially in shutdown because the mtr, the metro network, was suspended yesterday, the first time that has happened since these protests began, there was no buses or light rail last night and all of the metro stations we re night and all of the metro stations were closed and it remains the case this morning which makes it of course harderfor this morning which makes it of course harder for protesters to get around and to plan what they are going to do. we have looked at social media this morning and it is supposed to be a protest massing here in 55 minutes, two o'clock local time, but these things do tend to emerge but there is a sense of some social media they will stay away and wait until the mtr system opens again so perhaps the move by the authorities

violence during protests on tuesday, when an officer shot a demonstrator. 0ur china correspondent robin brant now. good to see you. what is going to be happening today? lots of shopping, as normal, but it is much harder to get around this place with the com plete get around this place with the complete closure of hong kong's metro system, light well, buses, underground last night, and it remains in place today and this is the scene you get at this metro station in causeway baye, scarred by some of the fires earlier on this week when it was targeted by protesters. shop this morning and it is like that across every mtr station across hong kong so it is ha rd to station across hong kong so it is hard to get around in terms of protests that are planned for today. this is a big shopping area, there is supposed to be a gathering here today around about now at two o'clock of protesters and one of the largerscale demonstrators for now, two or 300, media as well, but you could also see evidence of business around here and it has taken pre—emptive action, this department store is closed it again, it ha

let's cross to shanghai and our correspondent robin brant. they are in the process of collating information. an newspaper here has been told they will release further details once they know more. the inferences are confirmation that they are chinese nationals. because they are chinese nationals. because the chinese embassy is dealing with it. at the moment, scant detail. some reports emanating from the uk that chinese embassy staff are travelling to essex to assist the police in the investigation. it will clearly be on trying to help identify these victims. we now know because of some informational race from essex police in the last 30 minutes or so at 39 victims, 31 men, eight women. it has a yearly tragic similarities to, 2000, 28 chinese people died discovered in the back ofa people died discovered in the back of a lorry coming from belgium and then in 2004 we had the cockle pickers tragedy in morecambe bay, the circumstances of their death are different, they died in the tide, 23 people will stop but they had been brought illegally to the

robin brant in hong kong.holic bishops are gathering at the vatican this morning for the start of a three—week meeting which will include discussions on whether to allow married men to be ordained as priests. these are the pictures coming live from the vatican, which you can see. this is not get under way. —— this is the synod getting under way. the move, which would break centuries of tradition, would help to alleviate a shortage of clergymen. john mcmanus reports. this is the fourth synod that pope francis will open since he was elected pontiff. unlike the others, it's set to be controversial. as well as the expected focus on the social and environmental challenges in the amazon, such as deforestation and mining, the 264 participants will also discuss whether the church should set aside its own rules on priestly celibacy and ordain older, married men. that would boost the church's presence in rural regions, where a shortage of clerics means priests often visit some communities only a few times a year. anothe

our china corrspondent robin brant reports.tanding and waiting, taking cover under umbrellas from the warm rain. almost all of them were wearing a face mask. this was how hong kong's protesters showed their contempt for their government and its latest attempt to quell the protests, with emergency measures that outlaw face masks. some were even handing them out, to stop people getting sick, one man told me. this was a sizeable turnout.

its metro system after an unprecedented shutdown during unrest on friday. 0ur china correspondent robin brant us. we canjoin him now and things have certainly ramped up since we last spoke to you. yes, things have changed. we saw tens of thousands of people marching peacefully. the police were at the side and we talked about police using tear gas in the past and they are definitely using it now. 0fficers in the past and they are definitely using it now. officers on this walkover bridge are holding up an anonymous sign saying warning tear gas. —— ominous sign. and every ten minutes in this area and also to the left of what you can see, they are trying to disperse this crowd. now having violent in terms of tear gas, not the hand to the hand—to—hand combat we have seen in the past. tear gas is pretty effective. i thought the crowd was in the tens of tens of thousands, moving through hong kong. there were two or three hours of marching and the police are essentially now trying to get them to break up. the protests were against the police tactics themselves. to what extent does this play into the

let's cross to shanghai and our correspondent robin brant.n media and has extensive censorship, especially in mainland china, so it is being reported by the big chinese language and english language newspaper, and also by the domestic state—run news agency. they are talking about shock. we've seen are talking about shock. we've seen a statement from china's ambassador to london on twitter full stop that service is technically banned here in china. he's spoken about reading the news with a heavy heart. it is being reported but beyond the very basic information that we know, there is not much else to go on. we do know that chinese embassy staff where you are in the uk are going to essex to assist in the process of trying to identify these 31 men in these eight women but they dart many questions about, firstly, who are they? where do they come from? why did they leave china if it was china that they originally left to get to the uk? what are the pull factors, so to speak? that will be an issue for the chinese government because that's not someth