31/08/2017 BBC News at Ten

A third round of Brexit talks and frustration on both sides

The EU's chief negotiator says there's been "no decisive progress"

while the Brexit Secretary says it's time for the EU to be "more

The Commission has set out its position -

and we have a duty to our taxpayers to interrogate it rigorously.

It is clear the UK does not feel legally obliged

to honour its obligations after departure.

We'll have the latest on the talks and we'll be looking

at the main obstacle the so-called Brexit Bill

The rights of disabled people are not being fully honoured

by the British government according to a United Nations Committee.

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, 100,000 homes are now affected

in Texas and Louisiana -- the White House says it will ask

A special report from West Africa where the religious cult

of voodoo is thriving with millions of followers.

And an hour before the football transfer window closes,

a Premier League record already achieved.

And we'll have the latest reports, results and interviews from the BBC

Sports Centre in Sportsday. The latest round of Brexit talks

took place in Brussels today, with frustration evident on both

sides, and they blamed each other The biggest obstacle seems to be

the financial settlement - the amount the UK will pay

to settle its liabilities Michel Barnier, the EU's chief

negotiator, said there'd been "no decisive progress"

made on key issues. His opposite number, David Davis,

urged the EU to show more Our first report is from our Europe

editor Katya Adler in Brussels. Trust building

between the two sides. That's what the EU says this

first phase of Brexit So, by today, the end of round 3

of these first talks, It is clear that the UK does not

feel legally obliged to honour these How can we build trust and start

discussing the future relationship? For his part, David Davis said

the UK couldn't blindly trust and we have a duty to our tax payers

to interrogate it rigorously. Behind the smart suits,

the stiff smiles, it was clear both sides were talking at cross purposes

today, about what Brexit subjects to tackle in which order

and whether and how much progress David Davis pictured

a picture of a rigid, It's only through flexibility

and imagination that we will achieve a deal that works truly

for both sides. Michel Barnier insisted the UK had

to be more clear and realistic The EU couldn't show

flexibility, he said, TRANSLATION: I'm not

frustrated but I am impatient. It's not that I'm

angry, I'm determined. We know that Brexit will have a big

impact on our lives but just how huge will depend on the nature

of the transition deal and a future permanent trade deal

between the EU and the UK. We're nowhere near that yet

and all this deal-making Though, there's no need

to panic, just yet. The EU refuses to talk

about the EU-UK future until there is substantive progress

on the divorce deal. So where are we on the

three core issues? Both sides agree reassuring

EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU,

is a top priority but whether the European Court

of Justice should have a role in guaranteeing the

rights of individuals. On Ireland, progress has been made,

especially around protecting the Northern Ireland-Republic

of Ireland common travel area but the so-called divorce bill

is the biggest sticking The EU wants the UK to pay up

to 100 billion euros in what it sees as financial obligations the UK

agreed to while an EU member. The UK says - no, it will pay

something, but refuses to specify. These Brexit talks have

been largely technical. Political pressure to push

the progress is unlikely to come from the UK or the EU

until after the Conservative Party Conference or the formation

of a new German government Meanwhile, as the EU likes

to repeat, the clock to the end of the UK's EU

membership is ticking. The amount of money Britain will pay

to leave the EU is likely Chris Morris from the BBC's

Reality Check team is The biggest fights

in the European Union are always about money -

so there was never any reason to suppose that the Brexit

negotiations would be different. Last year the UK paid

about ?13 billion to the EU - Some of which then

gets spent in the UK. But the Commission argues

that the UK has also made a series of big financial commitments as part

of the EU's current seven-year budget, that need

to be paid on exit. The EU also says the UK

needs to settle its share of what amounts to

the EU credit card. Here's the problem for Europe -

the less the UK agrees to pay, the more other countries will have

to fill the gap. That means either net

contributors to the EU budget, like Germany or The Netherlands

will have to pay more. Or net beneficiaries,

like Poland or Greece, So, when the UK argues that the EU

is being unreasonable in its demands, it has no

allies at all. In fact, it was the other

member states that pushed European Commission negotiators

into taking a hard line. The EU hasn't publicly put a figure

on the amount but many estimates come up with a gross figure

of about ?100 billion The UK says it won't pay anything

like that and British officials spent several hours during this

week's negotiations questioning the legal basis

of the EU's proposals. But they haven't put forward

counter-proposals of their own, which, in turn, is frustrating

European officials. "How can we negotiate", they argue,

"when we don't know what you want?" One possible route out

of the impasse is talk If the UK Government signals a

willingness to pay into the EU budget during the transitional

period, two to three years, it will resolve an immediate political

challenge the EU is facing in 2019-2020, where there will be a

hole in the budget given the UK's exit.

could reduce the UK's final exit bill considerably.

It's also worth remembering that compared to what's at stake

in renegotiating the UK's trade deals with the EU and the rest

of the world, even ?100 billion isn't a huge amount.

And three months after these negotiations finally began,

under pressure of time, it has become the

Thank you. Chris there with thoughts on the figures and the potential for

trade deals. Let's talk more about the aftermath of the talks in

Brussels, with Katya Adler, our Europe editor. Following today's

session, what is your reading then of what is likely in the weeks to

come now? Well, if you look at previous joint press conferences,

they were attempts at jovial banter. The mood today was frosty. There

were barbed comments on both sides and weary shakes of the head but

honestly at this stage of negotiations, you would expect a

certain amount of bluster with both David Davis and Michel Barnier

largely speaking to their own domestic audience. So they want to

stand tall and sound very tough, so if in the end there are compromises,

they can say they were hard-fought. We know, for example, already that

EU countries are divided amongst themselves as to how hard and how

far they should push the UK as to the size of the divorce bill, but

the big pick tu, - the two sides are very divided, and what is worrying

is the likely success of the talks is each man, Michel Barnier and

David Davis think they can simply wear the other one down and win at

the end of the day. But the EU is highly likely to indulge in the kind

of creative thinking that David Davis is demanding if it feels that

will break its own rules and regulations and diluting the

integrity of the single market. Whereas the Government will be

hard-pushed to say to the people of the UK - we didn't tell you about

this but we're going to pay up to 100 billion euros to leave the EU

even though we don't know what sort of deal we can have in the future.

It is a question of which side will blink fist. -- first.

The Prime Minister, who's on a visit to Japan,

has again asserted that she's in the post for the long term.

It follows comments from some leading Conservatives,

who say it's too early for Mrs May to be talking about leading

the Conservatives into the next election after losing her majority

Our political correspondent, Ben Wright, is travelling

His report does contain flash photography.

They're two Prime Ministers in tune, Shinzo Abe has rolled out a very

warm welcome for Theresa May on this three day trip.

Whether Mrs May's reception will be quite so generous when she gets back

to Westminster is another matter, after the surprised pledge to lead

Britain and her party into the next general election,

I said I wasn't a quitter and there's a long-term job to do.

There's an important job to be done in the United Kingdom.

We stand at a really critical time in the UK.

This fighting talk comes only three months after Mrs May

called a snap election and lost her party's majority.

But with Brexit negotiations under way and no obvious

rival in sight, most, but not all, Tories seem willing

We've made a decision, we want Theresa May to get on with the job.

It's critically important for the country that we get

I don't see any immediate change, but I think it's unrealistic to plan

on the assumption that Theresa May's going to be fighting

the next election as leader of the Conservative Party.

I don't think Theresa May will stand down of her own accord,

she would need to have a challenger to go forward to her.

She's very resilient, and she will be there for as long

as the Conservative Party want her to be.

Given North Korea's latest missile test over this island,

defence was a focus of talks here, as was Brexit, with Japan anxious to

TRANSLATION: On Brexit, we would like the impact

We want predictability and transparency ensured

Mrs May says she's listening, so that a smooth Brexit

It's the long-term issues of trade, the consequences of Brexit,

defence and security cooperation that have dominated Theresa May's

talks here, but it's her unplanned, strikingly blunt declaration

about her own political future that her trip to Japan

Britain's record on protecting the rights of disabled people

has been criticised by a committee of the United Nations.

It's raised serious concerns about the number of disabled

people living in poverty and the effects of cuts

The Government responded by saying the UK was "still a world leader"

when it came to protecting the rights of people

Our disability affairs correspondent, Nikki Fox, reports.

This day centre in Stockport is a place where people

with all kinds of disabilities can come to socialise but many

face barriers when it comes to living their life.

My biggest problem is getting to work when I want

If I want to go somewhere, I should be able to get

I need support to enable me to be independent.

These barriers, which are among the many others

have been highlighted by today's report from the United Nations.

It's the result of a widescale investigation looking at the UK's

progress in implementing the UN Convention on disabled people's

rights which the Government signed up to in 2009.

In what was the longest list of recommendations ever

given to a member state, the committee said the UK must

improve on accessibility to public buildings,

Provide free or affordable legal aid to improve access

And to better support disabled people to live independently.

Half a million people had reduced benefits,

the social protection entitlements in a way that they were

There were people who committed suicide because of that.

We had was evidence in front of us saying people were pushed

This is April, she cannot live independently in her own home.

Even if I could get in because of the foot plates,

To have to wee into a bottle in this day and age because you don't

April used to be the chair of a charity and still would be now.

Changes to her care package have made it impossible for her to do

All right, I'm not able to work but I still want to be part of that

society and do what I always used to do, and I have been

Such a critical report does not paint a good picture

of disability rights in the UK, however the Government says it

doesn't accurately reflect the evidence it gave to the UN

and says it is disappointed the committee failed to realise

But the UK Government will have to be back in Geneva in 12 months

to report on how the recommendations from the UN have been implemented.

A man has appeared in court after an incident near

Buckingham Palace where three police officers were injured.

It's alleged Mohiussunnath Chowdhury drove his car

at police officers, before reaching for a Aamurai sword.

The 26-year-old, from Luton, was remanded in custody

Surrey's County Championship cricket match against Middlesex at the Oval

had to be abandoned after someone fired a bolt from a crossbow

The match was eventually declared a draw and spectators

Police say no one was hurt and the incident

The DUP leader Arlene Foster has called for the immediate restoration

of Northern Ireland's devolved government, alongside a parallel

process to deal with outstanding areas of disagreement.

Speaking to party members tonight, she warned Northern Ireland

could face direct rule from Westminster if a new agreement

on a power-sharing administration could not be reached.

The White House says it will ask Congress for emergency funding

to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey,

The number of homes affected is now 100,000.

In the town of Crosby, Texas, a chemical plant

flooded in the wake of the storm, caught fire.

Our North America correspondent, James Cook,

We have just heard that 1.75 million people either fled or had to be

rescued from their homes as a result of this hurricane. The President is

coming here again on Saturday to show solidarity with victims. The

White House has also announced he plans to spend $1 billion of his own

money helping with charity relief efforts. But this in emergency is

far from over, least of all here in Crosby.

It is an unsettling sight - a fire smoldering in the water.

This plant makes organic peroxides which must

be kept cool but when the hurricane hit, the power failed and now they

They planned for this but not well enough.

Police have a simple message: get out, now.

Already 15 officers have been to hospital for checks amid

I know they got all kinds of chemicals,

and I just don't know which

ones are in the water and coming down into my house,

which means I got water into the house right now.

It's going to be pretty nasty.

As specialist teams roll in, the messages coming out

The reports of explosions are now being denied.

Federal officials say the smoke is incredibly dangerous, the firm

This isn't a chemical release, what we have is a fire.

And where you have a fire where hydrocarbons, these

chemicals are burning, sometimes you have

incomplete combustion and you

The company which operates this plant says there is only one thing

to do now, and that is to let this fire burn itself out.

In the meantime, people are being warned to

stay back as there may be further explosions.

In Houston, with the floods receding, Frank

Rogers is heading home to count the cost.

When he escaped, the water in here was up to his chest and this scene

is being repeated today in thousands upon thousands of homes.

All the work we got to do to get it back up.

And still this storm is not stopping.

To the east, the rain and the rescues are continuing on the

Trapped by the flooding and running out of food, dozens of

residents had to be rescued from this care home in Port Arthur.

Tensions were at a very high level when I came into this facilities

from the relatives and even from some of the volunteers who have come

The weakening storm is still capable of inflicting misery, and she wants

to know, everyone wants to know, when will this storm end?

A brief look at some of the day's other news stories.

Doctor Manish Shah has appeared in court charged with more

The 47-year-old from Romford in Essex is accused of sexually

assaulting more than 50 patients at a medical centre in east London.

The online gambling firm 888.com has been fined a record ?7.8 million,

for allowing vulnerable customers to continue betting.

The Gambling Commission found people who though they'd excluded

themselves from playing could still access their accounts,

In one case, a person ran up debts of over ?1 million.

Daniel Kaye has appeared in court, accused of launching one

of the largest ever cyber attacks against UK banks, with Lloyds

The 29-year-old, originally from Egham in Surrey,

was extradited from Germany to face 12 charges, including blackmail

In France, President Macron's government has published

its controversial plans to reform the country's labour laws.

The planned changes include limiting the power of the trade unions,

and giving companies more flexibility to employ

The President's ability to enact the reforms is likely to be seen

as a prime test of his presidency, as Lucy Williamson

There's nothing like electing a start-up politician as President

Last month Emmanuel Macron marked the transformation of an old Paris

railway station into a vast campus to support start-up entrepreneurs.

It's the kind of thing the new President wants

France to do more of, and companies here say his election

This is something that's changed in the past few years and even more

And to find that President Macron supports a lot the entrepreneurs

shows that you're not alone when you're an entrepreneur.

Today's labour reforms are meant to help French companies

With the election of resident Macron seen by his government

TRANSLATION: Nobody can seriously say that our labour laws

help people get jobs, or help companies grow sustainably.

For a boss or a foreign investor, our labour laws

Mr Macron is not the first French President to attempt

The last time it was tried, a year ago, this was the response.

Only the hard-line CGT union has so far called for a strike again,

but others say the door is still open if the

As the economy is improving, it doesn't give real

If in fact it's only a matter of asking all people

to tighten their belts, when at the same time

the economy is improving, of course people wouldn't understand

The gloss is coming off France's new pro-business President.

In the months since his election a sharp fall in approval among

voters has exposed the tensions over his reforms.

As President, Emmanuel Macron wanted to remain aloof,

But embodying the wishes of voters from both left and right is becoming

harder as his campaign vision gives way to concrete choices

between reforms that please business, or protections that

The ancient religious cult of voodoo has more than 30 million

followers around the world, and it's a thriving presence

in parts of West Africa, where it originated.

With its many deities and traditions of animal sacrifice, it is,

according to followers, one of the most misunderstood

In the last of our series on changing Africa, Pumza Fihlani

has been investigating how this form of religious belief from the small

West African country of Benin continues to thrive.

Rooted in the worship of nature and ancestors,

it's celebrated across the world and is an official

The world is changing and old traditions are often pushed

This is an annual ritual, a cleansing ceremony.

Devotees come together to communicate with their gods

by singing, dancing and making sacrifices.

It's been a long day for the voodoo devotees,

who've been performing rituals since this morning.

It's now 6pm and this part of the ceremony

This group are boiling rings of the type you wear

on your finger, in the fresh blood of goats and chickens.

They believe this process will bring protection

Voodoo is often misunderstood because of what people have

The high priest insists it's not harmful.

TRANSLATION: Voodoo is not evil, it's not the devil.

If you're a believer and someone thinks badly of you,

Even if the devil exists, he's not here.

There are no figures for the number of devotees but everyone in Benin

Even those who follow other faiths often rely on it

It is from this point that thousands of African slaves were sold off

They left with nothing except their belief in voodoo,

which they clung to as a reminder of home.

And that's why it is as popular in New Orleans as it is here in Ouidah.

For many from the diaspora of West Africa, voodoo

has become a connection to a neglected identity.

The younger generation want to loudly proclaim,

be a part of the tradition, in a way that previous

generations were more intimidated and more afraid.

And in the sacred forest on the edge of town,

an ancient place of worship, the government has made a monument

to remind the locals of their voodoo heritage.

It's seen as a sign of their commitment

The flaming pots are the climax of the ritual.

The fire is believed to give followers a surge of power

With the government supporting it at home, and the descendants

of slaves embracing it abroad, the ancient voodoo tradition has

found a place in the modern world, where old beliefs often

In football, the Premier League's wave of summer spending

is coming to an end, with the closure of the transfer

So far, clubs have spent ?1.2 billion, a new record,

with the possibility of more major deals before tonight's

His report contains flash photography.

It has been a summer spending spree like no other.

Big names, with even bigger price tags, as from Manchester to Chelsea,

from Arsenal to Everton, across the Premier League clubs have

been splashing the cash in record quantities.

And today has been their last chance.

Among the movers, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

swapping his Arsenal shirt for a Liverpool one,

It has been a window of such staggering numbers,

but fans of its biggest spenders, Manchester City, say it's worth it.

That's why we pay the money, basically.

We come here every match, we want to see success,

Don't get me wrong, some of the fees are ridiculous.

Five summers ago, Premier League clubs spent just under

Last summer, the figure had more than doubled.

But that record has already been broken.

By this morning clubs had spent more than 1.2 billion,

and by tonight's deadline, it'll be far more.

Well, a 50% increase in TV money, which brought last year's

title winners, Chelsea, some ?150 million.

And some say that buying power could rise even further.

I think we've talked for the last 20 years about the bubble

potentially bursting, and it hasn't burst yet.

What will happen to football rights if an Amazon,

a Netflix or a Google decides that they wish to acquire

the rights, we can't really predict that at the moment.

But you'd expect that the value would go up even further.

The summer's most jaw-dropping transfer was in France.

Neymar's ?200 million move to Paris St Germain.

But collectively, it's the Premier League that leads

the pricing, or as some see it, the overpricing.

It is mind-boggling, the figures that are about for players now.

If ever it was time to be a professional footballer, it's now.

And deadline day has seen yet more striking numbers.

Sanchez has scored an absolute beauty!

Manchester City offering 60 million for Arsenal's Alexi Sanchez.

Whether he goes or not, it seems the trend to spend is here to stay.

Yes, here at Manchester City they were very keen to sign Sanchez. In

fact, they have made two offers over the last few days. At the moment, it

seems as if the player is staying at Arsenal. We have not perhaps seen

the megamoney moves we expected today but there is still half an

hour until the transfer window closes, so is still time for

last-minute drama. Today was the 20th anniversary

of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the event that

prompted a remarkable display of public grief

in the late summer of 1997. People returned today

to Diana's former home, Kensington Palace, to leave flowers,

messages, and candles, and to insist that the princess and her work

will never be forgotten. In a moment, we'll have the news

where you are, but we leave you tonight with some of the day's

words and images, two decades She was prepared to get stuck

in and hold people and talk to them. And she wept with them

as well, on occasion. She had a way of connecting

with people, of all One she gave to people,

and one for herself. She made me unafraid to reach out

to people who were suffering, even though there was stigma

attached to it. Before, I mean, it was unbelievable,

the smell of the flowers.