Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20170830

Which was planted to mark two decades since Princess Diana died. Police are investigating after a box of 70 fireworks was set off in a pizza shop in liverpool. Good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. Tropical storm harvey has moved east to neighbouring louisiana, after battering the city of houston in texas for the past four days. Lets go straight to houston and join laura trevelyan. Welcome to houston, a city where so many neighbourhoods are underwater. Look at the destruction and devastation the flooding and aftermath of Hurricane Harvey has caused. In this neighbourhood were still seeing flooding even though the storm has passed, because reservoirs outside houston are so full with water they are over spilling so the authorities are over spilling so the authorities are doing controlled release of the water through the dams, which means water through the dams, which means water levels here are still rising. There are more than 10,000 people in shelters in houston, yet another shelters in houston, yet another shelter opened last night. It is a city in an emergency situation. My colleaguejohnny city in an emergency situation. My colleague johnny diamond has city in an emergency situation. My colleaguejohnny diamond has this report. Plucked from the flood water. Lifted from a rooftop, a mother and child. One of so many rescues in a city turned into an inland sea. From across the us have come volunteers with their boats, now the only way to reach many residents as the water has risen and risen and risen again. This is a bad storm. They said it was catastrophic, its catastrophic. As soon as it started to creep up to the front door we had to get out of there. Its overwhelming, ive been crying all morning. Thousands have left their homes in the city to find food and a drive floor in shelters. Even veterans of fierce weather are stunned by this storm. Catastrophic for everybody in houston, im from here and id never seen anything. I lived in South Carolina for years, went through a lot of hurricanes and ive never seen anything like this before. Empty homes have made a tempting target for criminals. The police are overstretched. The citys mayor announced a night time curfew. There are too many people from across our city, too many residents, out of their homes. And they are in shelters. I dont want them to have to worry about someone breaking into their home, looting, doing anything of that nature, while they are away. There was no forced evacuation of the city. Most stayed in their homes. Now those homes are underwater and help is desperately needed. The water, the current is very strong. And a lot of people dont want to leave their homes. Theyve got to keep coming back out here. When we come back they decide to leave. We try to get them out as quick as possible. 90 miles east, a city cut off by the water. Port arthur has gone into survival mode, says the sheriff, unable to receive help from outside. 0ne shelter had to be abandoned as 110w 0ne shelter had to be abandoned as now the citys Bowling Alley is home for some of its residents. The scale of the floods is breathtaking. Houses and roads, shops and hospitals, submerged. Reconstruction will be a huge task, but is now saving lives is the priority, with residents almost swept away by surging storm water. Johnny dymond, bbc news. And you can see the extent of flooding here in houston, and it has led to the creation of a volunteer navy. People have brought their boats from all over the United States just to be here to go out on patrol, to see if anyone behind me in these neighbourhoods still needs rescuing, if they need supplies. I talked to one of those members of this flotilla that sprang up a little earlier. Were trying to help the houston area anyway we can. So we we re the houston area anyway we can. So we were luckily spared the hurricane down the valley of texas, so we wa nted down the valley of texas, so we wanted to come to houston and be of help and help people get out of their houses and keep people safe. Whats in your boat . Supplies. Life jackets, gatorade, water, making sure people are safe. How long have you been doing this . We got in yesterday, just a day weve been here. How many people have you seen in that time . Probably around five. What circumstances where people in menu found them . Really high water in their houses, really trying to get out and keep themselves safe. 0ne get out and keep themselves safe. One of the many volunteers who has brought their boat to houston to help out in this catastrophic situation. The storm has passed but the water levels are still rising because of the controlled release of water from those reservoirs outside houston. People here still dont know if the worst is yet to come. Back to you in london. Laura trevelyan live in houston. North korea has described the firing of a Ballistic Missile overjapan as the first step in military operations in the pacific. The United Nations Security Council has unanimously condemned the test, and President Trump has responded this afternoon by tweeting the diplomatic unease coincides with theresa mays visit to japan. She told the countrys Prime Minister shinzo abe that the uk stands shoulder to shoulder with japan and urged china to put more pressure on north korea to stop its missile testing programme. 0urfirst report is from yogita limaye, in the south korean capital seoul. This is the rocket that flew over japan on tuesday morning, according to north korean state television. Its believed to be a hwasong 12 medium range missile, the kind pyongyang has threatened to fire at the us Pacific Island of guam. And north korea has said tuesdays test was the First Step Towards that plan. Its leader, kim jong un, monitored the launch and has ordered more such missile drills aimed at targets in the pacific ocean. The threat is very serious. The indication that there are going to be more launches came from kim jong un himself, so its definite, they are going to launch more missiles. We should take it seriously because north korea has already said that its going to advance toward the capability of delivering a Nuclear Warhead to an american city. The tests that have been announced will be an important step along the way. North koreas fierce response came as the United Nations Security Council was meeting in new york. All 15 members of the group condemned pyongyangs actions. The world is united against north korea. There is no doubt about that. It is time for the north korean regime to recognise the danger they are putting themselves in. But no new sanctions were announced by the council. South korea has welcomed the un statement, but is pushing for tougher measures against north korea, as are the us and japan. But even the stringent sanctions passed by the Security Council earlier this month, banning major exports from north korea and putting economic pressure on the country dont seem to have worked so far. Prime minister theresa may is visiting japan a day after a missile flew over the country. The threat from north korea, high on the agenda. Well, i want to work with Prime Minister abe, to work with other International Partners, to do what we all want to do, which is to stop north korea from conducting these illegal activities. We want to work with International Partners to see what further pressure can be brought on north korea and, of course, particularly look at what china can do to bring pressure on north korea. Beijing has hit back at the Prime Minister for her comments, saying she should first ensure the country is fully implimenting sanctions. China has also blamed the us for escalating tensions and has heavily criticised the joint military exercises being conducted by american and south korean troops. Translation china stands opposed to any chaos or war on the peninsula. Enhancing war on the peninsula will not help towards achieving the goal of demilitarisation or regional stability. On tuesday, south korea also released video of its own missiles, a response to north koreas test. Both sides are caught up in a cycle of aggression. As youve been hearing Prime Minister theresa may has met her japanese counterpart shinzo abe during a three day visit to japan. Talks were focussed primarily on security and north korea but also touched on brexit. Theresa may has described japan as a like minded nation, and a natural trading partner though the country has been forthright in expressing concerns about the impact of britains departure from the eu on its uk based firms. A warning that this report from Rupert Wingfield hayes contains some flash photography. Arriving injapans second city 0saka today, theresa may has landed in the middle of a new north Korean Missile crisis. But it is primarily trade that japan wants to talk to the british Prime Minister about this week. And in particular the deal she is negotiating for britain to leave the European Union. Im going to be talking to my japanese counterpart Prime Minister abe this week about the future relationship between the United Kingdom and japan. About how we can build on what is already a good strong relationship, but build on that in the areas of security, defence and yes, trade. And look to the arrangements that we can put in place when weve left the European Union. Mrs may was greeted by the japanese Prime Minister shinzo abe in the ancient capital of kyoto. At a buddhist temple she was treated to a cup of tea. A very japanese one. Despite mrs mays confident words, these two leaders are far apart on the issue of brexit. Japan is deeply concerned about britain leaving the European Union. It is by far the largest asian investor in the uk. Over the last 35 years over 1000 Japanese Companies have invested in britain, creating 150,000 jobs. Japanese Business Owners said their investments were made because britain is in the eu. We are probably the largest asian investor in this country and it all started when Margaret Thatcher promoted britain as the bridgehead into the european market. The Japanese Companies bought that and came in great numbers. There will be much talk here this week of the strength and depth of anglo japanese ties. But if britain is heading for a hard brexit, those ties are going to be put under severe strain. Rupert wingfield hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. Earlier i spoke to the director at the brussels think tank European Centre for International Political economy. Hes a former diplomat and trade specialist. I began by asking if there is concern amongst Japanese Companies who invested the uk. This is one of the prime comparative advantages of the uk, it is a bridgehead for the japanese banks and japanese manufacturing industry. It gives access to the supply chains in the Single Market, provides a sta ble in the Single Market, provides a stable economy and very competitive economy to invest in. As far as the Japanese Companies are concerned, i think many of them did invest in the 80s, strictly on the grounds that the uk would be a part of the eu. That is the sole reason they are there. Weve already seen some companies, banks in particular, considering moving at least part of their operation out of the uk. How great is the risk of many of these japanese firms deciding that britain is no longer the best place for them to interest, particularly if we end up to interest, particularly if we end up with what people are calling hard brexit. Talks dont seem to be going well at the moment. Here is the simple fact. 0nce well at the moment. Here is the simple fact. Once the eu and japan agreement will be signed next year, basically you will have better market integration betweenjapan and the European Union, between the uk and eu is hard brexit would happen. It allows for a number of opportunities. As well as if you look at some of the companies we are discussing here, that have invested in the uk, for example nissan, they have considerable supply chains and an existing capacity to manufacture already on the Single Market or in the customs union, with turkey. It means basically wants the next Investment Decision is going to take place for the next generation, vehicles, next generation of products, its not going to look very good for the uk. As texas continues to cope with the floods from storm harvey, the storm moves east, inundating the city of port arthur with more than 20 inches of rain, closing the countrys largest oil refinery. North korea says the firing of a missile over japan was the first step of its military operations in the pacific after the un Security Council unanimously condemned the country. President trump says talking is not the answer to defusing diplomatic tension. Prince william and harry visit a Memorial Garden for their mother on the eve of the 20th anniversary of her death. In sport, where will alex 0xlade chamberlain end up . Liverpool open talks with his club arsenal over a prospective move after the England International turned down a move to chelsea. Concern to the health and workload of male tennis players according to the president of the International Tennis federation. It comes as five top players missed the us open through injury. Ahead of the final and decisive test against the west indies, the ecb announced bowling coach 0tis gibson is to leave to become south africas head coach. Ill be back with more on those stories at just after ill be back with more on those stories atjust after half past four. The European Parliament brexit coordinator has said there is slow progress in general in the brexit negotiations. Diver hofstadter told a committee of meps he expected some progress but no breakthroughs. Michel barnier repeated his plea for more information from the uk government, saying we need to know their position, then we can be flexible. Adam fleming joins me now. Adam, i suppose we should think it might be quite positive at least fema indicates there seems to be progress at all. The words he used in front of his fellow meps here in brussels was the expected some progress but no breakthroughs. Those are the hints ive been getting from people with knowledge of the talks that have been going on for a couple of days in this third round. Its very much about clarifying positions, finding areas of agreement, identifying areas of disagreement and trying to nudge forward on the areas where there is disagreement. Guy verhofstadt went on to say it looks like if talks progressed at this pace it would be very difficult in his words, for him to say sufficient progress had been made in october, for the talks to move to the next phase, about trade and the future relationship. It is a judgment thatll have to be made by Michel Barnier, the eu chief negotiator for brexit, and the 27 leaders of the other remaining eu countries. Itll a really big deal, at what point do they say enough progress has been made in the first phase of talks to move to the next phase . Because there seems to be this problem that they cant even agree on the structure of the negotiations. With this insistence from the eu side that we solve these three priorities as far as they see it before moving onto the next stage. The uk says, we have to talk about everything altogether. You are right there is a disagreement about the timetable and structure of the talks, david davies arrived saying to Michel Barnier at the podium, could you be more flexible and imaginative, so we can talk about issues to do with the irish border, which could be considered brexit related issues for phase one, but also future trade related issues for phase two. David daviss point was that it would make more sense to talk about those things together rather than with a somewhat artificial division. Michel barnier bumping intoa artificial division. Michel barnier bumping into a journalist from the News Agency Bloomberg in the building behind me a couple of years ago said the uk still has to clarify its position is on a whole load of issues, which suggests not a lot of clarifying has been done in the last couple of days of talks and in terms of the substance of the issues, there still seems to be disagreement on the issues of citizens rights, primarily whether it is the European Court ofjustice that guarantees the rights of eu citizens living in the uk after brexit or whether the british courts would suffice, such is the british claim. Northern ireland and the irish border, there has been a big position paper published by the british government, described as magical thinking by european diplomats in private. The real Sticking Point is the so called brexit bill, the european demand that the uk has financial obligations it must stick to. What has been happening today, i understand, is british negotiators have been making a presentation about what they see as the rather shaky legal foundations that demand is based on. Its five months since the formal process began. To be clear, from what youve been saying, what we hear from everyone, clear, from what youve been saying, what we hearfrom everyone, we havent got very far yet. What are the signals you are getting out, the odds you are getting from officials about the prospect of getting an agreement in time . They are diplomats, they would never Say Something that could be seen as a commitment about what will definitely happen. The fixation at the moment apart from whats happening in the five rooms behind me where talks are happening is back to this issue of when sufficient progressjudgment will to this issue of when sufficient progress judgment will be made. To this issue of when sufficient progressjudgment will be made. The british are keen for the decision to be made in october because thats when the next summit of eu leaders is, so they can get to the meaty issues of trade and future relationships. Diplomats say the same thing behind the scenes as Guy Verhofstadt has said in public that the European Parliament, which is beans are not going as fast as theyd like so the decision might not be made until december at the earliest. Adam, thanks for the latest from brussels. Back to the main story, the devastating impact of Tropical Storm harvey. Thered been a remarkable stories of rescues in the last few days, none more so than the next guest, whos been using his kayak to get to some of those who have been trapped by the flood water. Lets have a look at some of his footage. We want to get some of his footage. We want to get some people up down here. This is a drainage wall. Its impossible by foot. Very, very deep. These people are literally trapped. Will bradley is joining are literally trapped. Will bradley isjoining us live are literally trapped. Will bradley is joining us live from are literally trapped. Will bradley isjoining us live from houston. Thanks very much indeed. It looks more like a trip up the amazon than down one of the main street of one of the biggest cities in the United States. Just explain how you got involved in trying to help people. Well, it wasnt byjoyce, itjust kind of found us, our neighbourhood backs up to where all of houston drains and floods, unfortunately. At six in the morning we started getting e mails there were neighbours trapped on the backstreet of the neighbourhood. That led to the whole neighbourhood is stepping up the whole neighbourhood is stepping up and going out and rescuing these people. It took about a day and a half for us to get everybody out. That was in the bad part. You happen to have a kayak and thought you would step in to help. To have a kayak and thought you would step in to helplj to have a kayak and thought you would step in to help. I did. My wife was the one who got the neighbourhood e mail and she said, urgent need, water coming in, trapped, stranded, desperately need out. She had the address so my wife started communicating to get her number. I had the kayak balled up. Paddled up to the front door. Thats how dangerous the situation was, the water was well above my head. You couldnt see unless you were on about how bad the situation was, the home is right on the by you. Some people in real imminent danger. On the bayou. Especially elderly people who cant get out by their own means. Those peoples lives were literally at risk and those were kind of the most important to get to safety. There was a lady yesterday stranded behind a 20 foot height of water impasse that you can get back to. There was one guy who had an idea there were people back there, turned out there were 16 people back there that we were able to get out. This one particular lady had 24 hour ca re this one particular lady had 24 hour care she needed, so there is no telling how long she would have made it back there. I think that gentleman literally saved her life yesterday. You say they would 16 people. There were 16. Were there others helping . Originally it was just us and this guy. We went back there. We were overwhelmed by what we saw, how bad it was, that was the video you said looked like the amazon. There wasntjust one woman, there were five other families huddled in one house. It was on a higher point. You couldnt even see the tops of cars. No one knew they we re the tops of cars. No one knew they were back there, no other way to get there than boat. Those lives were literally saved yesterday. It was one of the most rewarding days of my life. Immediately started putting it on social media and people started coming to help, other people brought boats, the dps brought a huge truck to get people out, help shuttle them to get people out, help shuttle them to safety. And it was an amazing thing to see the people that came in to help. The Emergency Services in the city were simply too overstretched to get to everybody. They came. The problem is there is so much devastation and so widespread, the only way to help people is to go into each neighbourhood and start asking who needs help, its the people on the ground making the difference, every neighbourhood is looking out for themselves, keeping track of who got out, who hasnt, they are calling fema and the other agencies that are coming in to help that are doing an amazing job, theyve been working 2a hours a day nonstop. Its such widespread devastation, everyone has to get involved to help. On the backside of is going to take eve ryo ne backside of is going to take everyone to rebuild and clean out the devastation that is taking place here. Will bradley, thanks for joining us from houston and telling us joining us from houston and telling us about the extraordinary efforts to help some of those caught by the floodwater. Prince william and prince harry have visited a Memorial Garden in honour of their mother, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of her death. The white garden in the grounds of Kensington Palace is dedicated to the life and work of diana, princess of wales. The princes, accompanied by the duchess of cambridge, also meet representatives of charities their late mother supported. 0ur correspondent Richard Lister is at Kensington Palace. Tell us a bit more about this visit. Yes, this was really a chance for the princess to pay tribute to the life of their mother and also to recognise the charitable work she was involved with all of her royal life. Were at the southgate of Kensington Palace and you can probably see behind me some tributes that have been left over recent days by people to mark the 20th anniversary of the princesss death, which of course falls tomorrow. Nothing like the sea of flowers that we re nothing like the sea of flowers that were here at these gates after her death 20 years ago, but still there are people who have come by today in small groups to remember that moment. A little earlier, about an hour or so ago, Princes William and harry came out when there were more people, briefly had a look at those pictures themselves. Those flowers, too, and met one or two of the people in the crowd. It was unexpected, certainly not something that had been advertised by Kensington Palace, but after their meeting with representatives of some of the key charities their mother supported, certainly in the final year of her life, they clearly felt it was important they should also go and see some of the people outside the palace who gathered here, as they did 20 years ago. Talking about they did 20 years ago. Talking about the flowers, weve heard quite a lot in this 20th anniversary year, in the weeks surrounding it, the palace to seem to want to try to keep this occasion low key. To seem to want to try to keep this occasion lowkey. Yes, they do. If you recall ten years ago, there was a service of remembrance. Of course the queen attended that. It was quite a high profile event. This time it seems the princes have directed the way the palace will remember this occasion, remember their mothers death. Theyve clearly chosen to make it a much more low key event, the meeting with the representatives of their mothers Favourite Charities was a private meeting, and they chose to come out here to see some of the people whod gathered outside the southgate of the palace. It was unannounced, a southgate of the palace. It was unannounced , a spontaneous southgate of the palace. It was unannounced, a spontaneous thing, it didnt last very long. They are not expected to be making any kind of public appearances tomorrow on the anniversary of their mothers death. Theyve spoken very movingly about their mothers death and the impact it had on them now and the impact it continues to have on them. But they made very clear when they did those interviews they werent going to talk about it again. They decided after 20 yea rs talk about it again. They decided after 20 years it was right for them to put into perspective their feelings about what happened to their mother and her legacy. They said it was really a once only opportunity for people to hear those views expressed by the princes, and after that they are not going to talk in such depth about the loss of their mother. I think they are regarding this 20th anniversary as much more of a private event. In fa ct, much more of a private event. In fact, their main commemoration was in private, where their mother is buried, the grounds of the althorp house, the spencers ancestral home. They chose to do that commemoration on the anniversary of dianas birth, on the anniversary of dianas birth, on the anniversary of dianas birth, on the 1st ofjuly this year. Richard list at Kensington Palace, many thanks for joining richard list at Kensington Palace, many thanks forjoining us. A computer hard drive containing unfinished works by Terry Pratchett has been crushed by a steamroller, as per instructions left by the fantasy novelist. It is thought up to 10 incomplete novels were flattened at the Great Dorset Steam Fair by the 6. 5 tonne steamroller. Terry pratchett died aged 66 in march 2015 after battling alzheimers disease. Police are investigating after fireworks were set off in a pizza shop in liverpool. The box of 70 fireworks exploded in hello pizza in kirkdale, with part of the ceiling coming down as staff ran for cover. The motive for the attack is as yet unknown, but police are investigating possible links to a shooting on the same road two days previously. Members of staff had spoken to police after finding a shotgun pellet in the shop after the shooting. Pretty dramatic footage. Now lets catch up with the weather prospects and nick miller has all the details. Is it clearing up . The rain across east anglia and south east england still has a few more hours left before it clears eastwards and the dry weather takes over. It is already established across a large part of england and wales. Heavy downpours in Northern Ireland and parts of northern scotland. They will eventually fade. Showers coming into western coastal areas. Elsewhere clear skies with some mist and fog patches. A lot of us are dry and sunny in the morning but there could be some really heavy showers in north wales and north west england. That could cause if you travel problems. Elsewhere, a dry start but clouds build and showers break out. An afternoon of sunshine and showers with slow moving, heavy, thundery downpours with warm sunny spells in between. It will be much warmer in east anglia and south east england compared to today. A risk of showers on friday. Most of us dry on saturday but we are expecting some rain on sunday. More on that in half an hour. Hello. This is bbc news. The headlines at az30pm. As texas continues to cope with the floods from storm harvey the storm moves east, indundating the city of port arthur and closing the countrys largest oil refinery. A Bowling Alley in the city of port arthur became a refuge for dozens of people, after more than 20 inches of rain fell overnight. North korea says the firing of a missile overjapan is the first step of its military operations in the pacific. President trump has responded, tweeting that talking was not the answer to diffusing diplomatic tensions. Theresa may welcomes a multi Million Pound trade deal for the luxury car maker aston martin on her first visit to japan as Prime Minister. Prince william and prince harry visit a Memorial Garden for their mother on the eve of the 20th anniversary of her death. Now, time for the sport. Liverpool are in talks this afternoon to bring alex 0xlade chamberlain to anfield, just a day after arsenal agreed a fee with chelsea for the england winger. 0ur Sports Reporter david 0rnstein explains more. Alex 0xlade chamberlain had been the subject of an agreed deal between arsenal and chelsea. £40 million was the fee settled on. But he rejected it. He was of the understanding that he was going to leave arsenal where hes playing at right wingback, to join chelsea. He said i dont want to do that, i actually want to join liverpool, his boyhood club. At the time they hadnt put in an offer. They have now, thats been rejected. Hell either go to liverpool and play centrally or stay at arsenal and see out his contract. Chelsea have had a bit rejected by everton for ross barkley. Chelseas offer clearly way below evertons original £50 million valuation. Barkley will be available on a free transfer at the end of the season. Leicesters Danny Drinkwater has asked to leave the club following interest from chelsea. The premier League Champions have already had two bids turned down for the england midfielder. Leicester dont want to lose drinkwater who is under contract forfour more years. And in the last half hour, totenham have signed argentinian defender juan foyth from estudiantes. The 19 year old has signed a five Year Contract with spurs. The most powerful man in tennis, president of the itf David Haggarty has said there are concerns over players health, and that their needs to be robust conversations about their calendar. This comes as five top players, including three former champions, are out of this years us open with injuries. I think that the leaders that we have today in the sport are very open to this conversation. They are concerned about the health of the players but also the success of tennis. I think that next week when we have the stakeholder meetings, i know that this is on the docket to be discussed, and im sure we will have some robust conversations. Again, i think the itf will play a role, as will all seven governing bodies stakeholders. Englands professional Rugby Union Players are to take part in a major study of concussion and brain injuries this season. Its thought its the biggest of its kind to take place in the history of uk sport. It involves a pitchside saliva swab to diagnose brain injuries. The english rugby unions medical officer though also advocates changes in the way players tackle. The game it, informed by this evidence, i think needs to think more about concussion prevention. Really welcome sanctions being stressed by world rugby that came in injanuary stressed by world rugby that came in in january of this year. Stressed by world rugby that came in injanuary of this year. But only a third of concussions happened to the ball carrier. Two thirds happened to the tackle. I think theres more work we need to do around developing and reinforcing in play as a performance optimised tackle technique, but also introduces kick reduces the risk of inadvertent head contact. Ahead of englands deciding test with west indies the ecb has announced that bowling coach 0ttis gibson is to quit his position tojoin Cricket South Africa as head coach. Gibson will leave at the end of this test current series. England, meanwhile, have named the same 13 players for next weeks final decisive test at lords. Britain has won their first world judo championship medal for seven years as Nekoda Smythe Davis took bronze in the 57 kilogram category in budapest this afternoon. Smythe davis was leading the reperchage final against panamas miriam roper but won when her opponent fell awkwardly and damaged her knee. Euan burton won britains last world medal in tokyo in 2010. Thats all the sport for now. Ill have more in the next hour. Tropical storm harvey has made la ndfall Tropical Storm harvey has made landfall again in louisiana after hovering in the gulf of mexico. The storm, which previously reached hurricane status, has dumped record rainfall in the region. Its broken in new record for the us continent with 51. 88 inches of rain. With me is ilan kelman, researcher on risk and disaster reduction at University College london. Thank you forjoining us. Weve seen one of the biggest cities in the United States completely paralysed by this, should they have been better prepared . The situation is horrific. No one wants to see this, no one should deserve to experience this. The worst part is in fact that we knew it was coming. Could better preparation had been done . Absolutely. But not when harvey formed. Not when it was apparent harvey was going to make landfall, but years and decades before. Houston is a huge city on a flood plain ina houston is a huge city on a flood plain in a hurricane zone. A harry kane is going to come through, rain and floods it. Weve known this the decades. What more could have been done to try to make the city more resilient to a disaster that a p pa re ntly resilient to a disaster that apparently was predicted . Resilient to a disaster that apparently was predicted . Houston doesnt have it extensive zoning regulations or planning. What does that mean . In terms of recognising some areas might flood or have other hazards, therefore recognising how to build buildings in that area. For example it is possible to build in a flood plain but you might not want to put living quarters on the ground floor. Conversely, you could say maybe we dont want uncontrolled development. Maybe we should try to have a more balanced city, where we dont have the systemic inequalities and discrimination that we see, which means people have more choice of where they live and can perhaps stay out of the most floor double areas. Even the most wealthy and prosperous neighbourhoods have been inundated and people have had to flee from those. This is a wider story of what we mean by vulnerability and why we say there is no such thing as a natural disaster. If you are rich you can afford insurance or alternative accommodation. You have the time and resources to deal with builders. That doesnt mean they deserved it, no one should go through what people are experiencing. But if you have money in the banking on much better able to do deal with it and if you are poor and marginalised. There is much discussion as to whether man made Climate Change was in part responsible for this. Human caused Climate Change is a bit concerned. It absolutely is affecting the characteristics of hurricanes. But Climate Change did not build houston ina Climate Change did not build houston in a flood plain. Climate change didnt avoid decades of preparation. Climate change did not cause the inequities that we see and be discrimination and marginalised people. Even though Climate Change affects a hurricane, the hurricane disaster comes from the vulnerability, these wider issues, which we can and should deal with over the longer term. Weve had serious flooding here in the uk, not quite on the scale of that which we are seeing in houston this week. Are there lessons which the uk and other places could learn from the scale of the disaster that weve seen there this week . Absolutely. The lesson we need to learn is that flood disasters are not natural disasters. Yes it rains, thats natural. Yes rivers flood and post flood. But the disaster is where we build, where we live, how we treat people affected, and how we create a society in which people have options and choices, are aware of the troubles which may result and can deal with those troubles before they manifest. Thank you. Monsoon rains have killed at least 1a people, including two toddlers, in mumbai as indias Financial Capital ground to a halt under flooding. Roads were hit by waist deep flooding, flights cancelled and Train Services suspended, stranding tens of thousands. More than 1200 people have died across india, bangladesh and nepal in the worst flooding to strike south asia in years. If youre struggling with debt, youre more likely to have your credit card limit raised without asking. Thats according to research from citizens advice, which found that nearly one in five of its customers are being given access to more credit, without requesting it. The Charity Wants a ban on credit extensions without the cardholders explicit consent. Heres our economics correspondent andy verity. Borrowing on credit cards has been growing by 9 . Farfaster than wages. And citizens advice says irresponsible practices are keeping people in debt they cant get out of. Tracy banham ran into trouble when her Small Business hit difficulty. She and her partner used credit cards to plug the financial holes. Then sickness struck, then separation, and it was all too easy to find a temporary solution by borrowing more. She racked up debts of £37,000. It got to the point where i was just paying off interest, basically. At one point on one credit card, i was paying £700 a month and probably £60 of that was just coming off the debt. That was just one of the credit cards. The latest figures from the bank of england confirmed consumers have borrowed just over £200 billion on unsecured loans. With about a third of that on credit cards. Yet one in five borrowers have been given higher credit limits without asking for them. 0n 2. 2 million credit card accounts borrowers spend more on charges and fees than on repayments. Pushing them further into debt. Citizens advice says if that goes on for two years, lenders should have to contact borrowers and offer help such as suspending interest payments. Credit card holders can still be left more money to borrow and spend on what they like without lenders ever carrying out checks to make sure they can afford to repay it. Ten years after a crash that was caused by reckless lending. Citizens advice said that is wrong and affordability checks should be required whenever credit limits on credit cards are extended. We also think that the regulator can play a bit more of a role so that when credit limits are extended, and this is done in agreement with the customer and the company, that there should be more of an affordability checkjust to make sure that people can afford to pay back the money they are borrowing. The body that represents most credit card lenders, uk finance, says it is taking steps to prevent struggling borrowers being offered more credit, and that it is working with regulators to help people manage their debts. Andy verity, bbc news. The Scottish Labour Party is looking for its fourth leader in less than three years, after Kezia Dugdale announced her resignation. The lothians msp says the party is in a much better state than when she came to office and insists she wasnt pushed out of the job because of past comments aboutJeremy Corbyns leadership. I refused that completely. What im trying to do something politicians rarely do, which is to leave with my head held high, without any sort of crisis. Ive made it clear ive been in this leadership role at a difficult time in my partys history and a challenging time in scottish politics. A lot has happened in two and a half years. I want to give the next person in the space and time to do the right thing by the party. That was Kezia Dugdale speaking to our Political Editor in scotland. David clegg, Political Editor of the daily record, interviewed her about her resignation. He joins us from dundee. Were you surprised with her announcement . Yes. When i spoke to Kezia Dugdale yesterday and she told me she was planning to quit it was a surprise. I think its been a surprise. I think its been a surprise across the political spectrum in scotland and has even surprised some of her closest colleagues. She gathered a few of them in her Office Yesterday morning and told them. Many of her msps didnt find out until 10pm and a lot of them are still processing what happened and the consequences. She hasnt been in the job very long, she at least improved the partys standing at the last election. Why do you think that she has gone now . I think do you think that she has gone now . Ithinki do you think that she has gone now . I think i believe that shes genuine when she says that its largely for personal reasons. I think reasons are personal rather than political. She has only been in thejob are personal rather than political. She has only been in the job a couple of years but shes been involved as deputy leader before that and heavily involved in the no side of the referendum campaign. I think its taken a toll on her. Leading the Scottish Labour Party during the last couple of years hasnt been easy. The difficulties have been well rehearsed. In her interview with me for the daily record she speaks about a close friend of hers who died earlier this year from friend of hers who died earlier this yearfrom motor friend of hers who died earlier this year from motor neurone disease. I think that had quite an effect on her, she realised she wasnt enjoying the role and she shouldnt just put up with that, she should do Something Different if she wasnt enjoying it. Ithink Something Different if she wasnt enjoying it. I think its those reasons. She had made a point of trying to distinguish scottish labour from the party nationally. The party had a different approach, for example, on nuclear weapons. We know there were tensions withjeremy corbyn. How big is the challenge going to be for whoever replaces her, and who is strongly tipped to ta ke her, and who is strongly tipped to take the job . I think it would be wrong to suggest Kezia Dugdales departure is because of splits in the labour party. Its quite easy to suggest a moderate and was forced out by corbyn supporters. I dont think that is the case. What is going to be a consequence her departure that the position becomes the site of a turf war between moderate forces and supporters in scotla nd moderate forces and supporters in scotland of jeremy corbyn. Jeremy corbyn supporters in scotland went a particularfan of corbyn supporters in scotland went a particular fan of Kezia Dugdale, they wanted a more radical politician who would be more loyal and they will be pushing to get that. The problem they have visitors and obviously backhanded it is. Theres only 2a msp is in the Scottish Parliament for the labour party. Who the obvious candidate on the left is isnt clear. We thought it could be neil findlay a lothian msp who led Jeremy Corbyns Leadership Campaign in scotland. He has ruled himself out. As has alex rowley who is closely connected to the corbyn team in london. We think possibly the most likely corbyn friendly candidate will be a not particularly well known labour msp called richard leonard. He is still to confirm explicitly that he will stand although i understand he is considering it. Its likely he will face a challenge from anas sarwar a former labour mp. He lost his westminster seat in the 2015 rout when labour was reduced to one mp in scotland. But he came into the Scottish Parliament in the holyrood election last year. Hes done quite well in the health brief over the last few months and he is quite well thought of amongst different sections of the party. I expect he will try and present himself as someone who can try and unify the moderate wing of the party while also being close tojeremy corbyn and the uk labour leadership team. Its obviously quite a prize, not only because it will be the scottish labour leader but that role now comes with a position on the National Executive committee, the governing body of the uk labour party. Thats quite finely balanced at the minute. It will have an impact across the uk. Thank you. In a moment a look at how the Financial Markets in europe closed the day, but first the headlines on bbc news. As texas continues to cope with the floods from storm harvey the storm moves east, inundating the city of port arthur the more than 20 inches of rain and closing the countrys largest oil refinery. North korea says the firing of a missile overjapan was the first step of its military operations in the pacific, after the un sceurity Council Unanimously condemned the country. President trump says talking is not the answer to diffusing diplomatic tensions. Prince william and prince harry visit a Memorial Garden for their mother on the eve of the 20th anniversary of her death. Hello. Now a look at how the markets in europe have ended the trading session. Tuesday saw heavy losses on Global Markets but today they were back on the up why . Well, investors were concerned about north koreas missile launch, but a measured response from donald trump and the japanese pm, sticking to a diplomatic line, along with a meeting of the un Security Council, went some way to calming them. Today we are going to focus on currencies, because the markets have been watching the relationship between the pound and the dollar, and the pound and the euro very closely ever since the uk voted to leave the European Union over a year ago. Since then the pound has fallen significantly against both the dollar and the euro, and that has had an impact on the value of the ftse, and the day to day business of the companies within it. Five years ago a pound could have bought you around 1. 60, today its closer to 1. 29,theres a lot of factors at play including political elections, the election of donald trump gave the dollar a boost, geo political tensions such as the ongoing situation on north korea which saw the dollar weaken, and the ifs and whens over another us Interest Rate rise. And what about the euro, just two years ago a pound could have bought you up to 1. 42 euros, today its just 1. 07, and many think that by the end of the year the pound and euro will reach parity, one for one, but is that because of a strong euro or a weak pound . Lets askjeremy cook. Thank you forjoining us this afternoon. Lets start with the pound euro, lots of talk about the possibility of parity. Is it due to a strong euro or weak pound . personally dont think well get there. We may get very close. 0ur end of year prediction is down to 1. 0 five. It is mainly due to a strong euro at the moment. We seen the pound fall off since the eu referendum. In the recent past couple of weeks, the european economy has been outperforming q2 gdp. People are looking at europe as a more attractive bet than the uk and marking sterling appropriately. The dollar has been on a steady climb for the dollar has been on a steady climbfora number of the dollar has been on a steady climb for a number of years against sterling. Its not just climb for a number of years against sterling. Its notjust since brexit. What factors are at play . Brexit. What factors are at play . Brexit has obviously helped every devaluation of the pound. The fact Donald Trumps election was dollar positive was a bit of a surprise but as soon as he started to come out with his rhetoric of campaign, tax cuts and light regulation and bringing more money back into the us economy, trade is thought that is going to boost us gdp and make the us economy richer. Will stop buying the dollar. We may have to seize an Interest Rate rises from the Federal Reserve. Since he hasnt been able to get any of his legislation over the line the dollar has since weakened. The us economy has progressed itself the start of the globalfinancial progressed itself the start of the Global Financial crisis. The bank progressed itself the start of the globalfinancial crisis. The bank of england hasnt yet raised Interest Rates, the ecb hasnt, the bank of japan hasnt but the Federal Reserve has done three times. These currency movements, especially between the euro and the pound have been very significant in quite a short space of time. Two years ago you could get 1. 4 euros foryour of time. Two years ago you could get 1. 4 euros for your pound, today its 1. 07. What is the effect on business . It has a huge effect on business . It has a huge effect on business in the uk. The majority of businesses are importers. Basing their costs increase over the course of the past 16 months. If they were able to protect themselves and hedge themselves against this fall, then thered be able to buy above where their competitors were. But now youre seeing it in prices, at the supermarket or department store. Stuff thats coming in from abroad thatis stuff thats coming in from abroad that is not made in the uk is more expensive. Exporters on the conversed side has a bit of an easier run. The blue cross sale is that we used to have as kids, everything in the uk is a blue cross sale. Everything is 20 off for a foreign buyer. For businesses now moving forward, the key has to be control of the costs and not being able to pass onto your cake consumers able to pass onto your cake consumers onto uk consumers. Anything businesses can do to control their costs if they are dealing internationally, be it opening a bank account locally or not paying money to send money to suppliers, will allow them to live in this atmosphere of a weak pound a bit more comfortably. Thank you. Its been a strong day on wall street. You can see their markets. Some gdp growth figures in the us revised up to 3 . Investors saying that down to Consumer Spending and business investing. Tomorrow we have indias gdp figures. In the meantime check our top business stories on the website. A National Trust property has come under fire for selling hats some social media users deemed sexist. The hats, featuring the words futu re footballers wife, have since been removed from sale at tatton park estate in cheshire, with Cheshire East council calling them a genuine mistake. There will be more on storm harvey coming up at the top of the hour. First the weather closer to home. There are a few showers around. A fine end the day for many of us. In the wales in wales the odd shower to be found. Rain continuing in east anglia and south east england for a bit longer yet. Its considerably cooler compared with yesterday. Eventually later this evening it will move away. We will keep a feed of showers coming into western coastal areas. You can see the extent of the dry weather as the night goes on. Clear skies, the odd mist and fog patch. Quite a chilly night. Lower than this in rural spots. Some heavy downpours in the western side of england and wales, particularly to north wales and North Western england. For the rest of the uk it will be a dry, chilly but sunny start to the day. However if youre underneath some of these downpours he will really know about it. Theres a risk of some travel disruption as well. A dry start for most of in Northern Ireland and for parts of scotland. Through the day, well see the cloud building and then the showers fading for a time. By then the showers fading for a time. By the afternoon a mixture of sunshine and showers. Light winds, slow moving. There will be some warm sunny spells in between the showers. The sun does make a difference, certainly warmer in east anglia and the south east. Three thursday evening, the showers are still with us. Gradually they will fade and it will turn out to be mainly dry but a chilly night again on thursday night. A few showers popping up on friday, mainly through central and eastern parts of england. The rest of us will have variable cloud and sunny spells. Saturday we are looking at dry weather as well. The question is, is it going to last . There are weather fronts queueing up in the atlantic. Saturday night and into sunday going downhill. Saturday looking fine but sunday, there will be some rain coming in from the west. It should spread further east as the day goes on. Still a bit of uncertainty about timing. Well keep you updated. Today at five. Tropical storm hardly makes landfall in louisiana. Thousands more people have been rescued from their homes in texas. Residents of port arthur teck refuge in a Bowling Alley after more than 20 inches of rain fell overnight. All the latest from texas ina overnight. All the latest from texas in a moment and an update on the relief organisations from the state governor. North korea says its firing of a missile overjapan is the first step of military operations in the pacific. Theresa may says britain stands shoulder to shoulder with japan in the face of north korean aggression shes in the country drumming up trade post brexit