Of the future. The two men vying to be britains next Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and jeremy hunt, have taken part in a live televised debate. They clashed over brexit, economic policies and the qualities needed to lead the country. Mrjohnson said it was crucial that britain leaves the eu on the 31st october with or without a deal, butjeremy hunt accused him of peddling optimism. Our Political EditorLaura Kuenssberg watched the debate. Jeering out in front in the race, and first in the door tonight. Then next, the man in second vying to take charge. All we demand a peoples vote. At a time when conflict and controversy follows politicians everywhere. First, with the familiar introductions, the brexiteer in chief. We can either continue with the same old failed can kicking approach, destroying trust in politics, sapping business confidence, or else we can change, get back on our mojo. Mr hunt suggested a wider appeal. In poll after poll, im the publics preferred choice for Prime Minister, because i appeal not just of those who already vote conservative but those who we need to win. And to those watching at home, ill be your Prime Minister whoever you vote for. No surprise, the hardest question first. I voted conservative much of my life, but now i support the brexit party and id like to see nigel farage in number10. Can you promise me that we will definitely leave the eu on october the sist . I think its absolutely vital that we come out on october the 31st, tony, otherwise we will continue to haemorrhage trust, not just in the conservative party, or indeed the labour party, but politics generally. If you dont get us out of the eu by the 315t of october, will you resign . We are going to come out on october the 31st, and i think anybody who goes into the negotiations proposing yet again to kick the can down the road will i think run the risk of forfeiting trust with the electorate. I think its a no, and what weve got is someone who says it is do or die for the country. Im sorry, i think what we have with my opponent is somebody. Iasked if youd resign, boris, and you didnt answer the question. Will you resign if you dont deliver it, yes or no . My opponent is clearly not committed to coming out of the eu on october the 31st. No, i asked if youd resign if you dont do it. They faced questions on the risk they say they would take leaving without a deal, butjoined battle over whos in the real world. Being Prime Minister is about telling people what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear. And the difference between you and me is you are peddling optimism, and im saying we can make a tremendous. I think the country needs a bit of optimism frankly applause i think only a defeatist, someone who was on the other side of the argument for so long and didnt wish to come out, would take that line. Raise your hand if you feel confident telling the british people we will have left the eu by the 315t of october. Thats the spirit, jeremy there we are applause im the one to do it ill make it happen you couldve fooled me. Yet two weeks today, one of them will be our next Prime Minister. The shouting tonight is over, the decision not yet done. The two leadership contenters also clashed over Donald Trumps response to a series of confidential emails written by the uk ambassador to the us, describing the white house as inept and dysfunctional. Mr hunt said that if elected, he would keep kim darroch as ambassador until his scheduled retirement in a few months time. But mrjohnson declined to make the same commitment. It comes after President Trump doubled down on the debacle on tuesday calling the ambassador a stupid man and a pompous fool. Heres our north america correspondent, nick bryant. A lavish banquet in washington last night, where the president glad handed diplomats from qatar, but cold shouldered the uk ambassador. Sir kim darroch, disinvited from the dinner, after mr trump announced the white house would no longer deal with him. This morning, another twitter tirade that was notjust incendiary but borderline thermonuclear. And on brexit sir kim darroch, the man entrusted to preserve the special relationship, is now in the midst of a diplomatic whirlwind. And while the uk embassy this morning was said to be in keep calm and carry on mode, his elegant residence feels besieged. Sir kim was supposed to be at a meeting today between ivanka trump and the International Trade secretary, liam fox. But we understand that he decided not to attend, partly because he didnt want to put the president s daughter in an embarrassing situation. Liam fox and if uncle trump were renewing an acquaintance made in happier times, during the recent state visit to london. And during their 45 minute meeting im told, the diplomatic row didnt come up in conversation, nor did doctor fox offer an apology for what the ambassador said about the president. Tonight a meeting in the Commerce Department was cancelled, a clash of diaries it is claimed rather than a further clash of friends. There will be a new Prime Minister in a couple of weeks and that is an opportunity to maybe hit the reset button. I imagine the new Prime Minister will travel to washington fairly soon in his new tenure and try to forge a new bond with the president. Donald trump started his relationship with theresa may with a gentle tap on the hand, he is ending it with what feels like a kick in the teeth. Nick bryant, bbc news, washington. Brucejentleson was a Senior Advisor at the state department during president Obamas Administration and hes the author of the peacemakers leadership from 20th century statemanship. Hejoins us now from virginia. Picking up on the words of the title of the book, anything statesmanlike about what we have seen over the last two days . It is surely not high quality leadership, we look to leaders to vote i could guide the ships, and make Big Decisions and help us work through difficult situations. The president s response is taking the controversy to another level. When you put it in the context of the special relationship, churchill and Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher and tony blair, it is more consequential that if it was to other dealers or to other countries going at it stop you mentioned the special relationship, those are two words that are used so often hear but im often doubtful whether they really felt, on your side of the athletic, is it really a thing . And where does it leave this . Historically there have been situations where the United States felt ever closer to bridge and to many other continents. Whats going on here is notjust this row over the league tables, it is two things, one for britain, President Trump has been interfering in politics time and again, he boosted nigel virage, his dog charlie about Boris Johnson. Boosted nigel virage, his dog charlie about borisjohnson. He has offended theresa may, told how to do brexit, the same time, holiday dig alliance, there is not a leader in the western alliance now that is confident that President Trump generally leaves in the alliance. The context of this makes it more than just an isolated the context of this makes it more thanjust an isolated incident. As you heard, we are in the context of a leadership for premise in the uk, jeremy hunt was clear that the ambassador would stay on, was Boris Johnson seem to be rather equivocal. Would you make of the differing responses . I think the responses are really geared to the conservative party right now, which seems to work for them as a leader. We know that farage, resident trump has been asking for him. Right now they are their main goal is not as early what they going to do if elected but you get that office and anything they say now is really a vehicle for that. My guess is a borisjohnson would definitely remove the ambassador because it is his style. You know better than i do but i think what is going on now is manoeuvring more about the politics than about foreign boris foreign policy. In yemen, a child under the age of 5 is dying from preventable causes every ten minutes thats according to the united nations. With the civil war there now in its 5th year, the un says the situation is desperate. But some children have been saved like six year old yusra who desperately needed life saving treatment abroad. Thanks to donations after her story was told on the bbc, she got it. Our International Correspondent orla guerin reports. Look, its good . Again. Hand painting a new future. For six year old yusra, not just childs play, her careful brush strokes are colouring an artificial eye. Oh, excellent. Just like the one shes about to receive. Its the last stage of months of life saving treatment at the King Hussein Cancer Center in jordan, all funded through donations. Yusra has come smiling through, surviving an aggressive tumour which claimed her left eye. Her specialist now hoping to hide her scars and heal her trauma. Her reaction says it all. And doctors say she has been a tonic for them. When i see her i try to give her love, but she give me first, with smile, with hug etc. She likes life. Shes a wonderful girl, a beautiful girl. If you look to her smile, only her smile, you will be happy. If you are tired, you will be relaxed. Shes a lovely girl. I love her. It was a very different picture last october when we met yusra and her family in war torn yemen. They were sheltering in a disused shop in the capital sanaa. Yusra desperately needed treatment abroad but was trapped by a saudi ban on civilian flights. After we highlighted her case, several organisations came together and managed to get her tojordan. Yusra has been in the best of hands there and her surgeon says she is now cancer free. But she has a genetic condition, so follow up checks are being arranged in yemen. He worries about her future in a war zone. This is what breaks my heart. We are not politicians, we cannot solve the issues. We do what we can do as medical doctors. We can make the connections with others and we hope and wish for her the best health. For this one at yemeni child, there was a way out, an escape from war, but not forever. This was yusras last visit to the park before swapping the playgrounds of oman for the Battle Ground that is yemen. Her devoted mother hayat all too aware of the risks. Translation when a missile lands nearby, our tents are torn to pieces and we lie on the ground to avoid the debris. There was an air strike on the farm next to us. Im frightened to go back. But with yusras treatment completed, it was time to pack up suitcases almost as big as she is. Yusra is now back in her homeland, surrounded by her extended family. She is a pint sized study in courage, but in yemen every day is a fight for survival. Orla guerin, bbc news. Stay with us on bbc news, still to come italys struggling economy how will the countrys woes affect the rest of europe . Darrach Central London has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. Police say there have been many casualties, and there is growing speculation that alqaeda was responsible. Germany will be the hosts of the 2006 football world cup, and they pipped the favourites, south africa, by a single vote. In south africa, the possibility of losing hadnt even been contemplated, and celebration parties were cancelled. The man entered the palace through a downstairs window and made his way to the queens private bedroom. Then he asked her for a cigarette, and on the pretext of arranging for some to be brought, she summoned a footman on duty, who took the man away. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution. Applause this is bbc news. The latest headlines the two contenders to be the uks next Prime Minister clashed in a face to face televisied leadership debate. The focus was on brexit, the economy, and the qualities needed to be the countrys leader. The diplomatic row between the us and the uk intensifies, as donald trump calls the British Ambassador to washington a very stupid guy. Italys economy is the Third Largest in the eurozone, and its struggling. The governor of the bank of italy warns that growth is dismal and says it will be tough for the government to tighten its grip on public finances, despite promises made to brussels. But economists warn unless it does, there is a risk of a serious financial crisis across europe. From rome, Dharshini David reports. Italians are having to tighten their belts, and their lack of cash could affect us all. Translation many people havejust a 700 800 euros a month to live on. People are losing their jobs all the time. However tempting their products, it is no easier for businesses. Translation we get nothing back. We pay taxes but then we expect the service is to be good. Instead they are cutting them all. Here at the bank of italy they are concerned about how tough life is for italians. As in the uk, wages have failed to keep pace with the cost of living over the past decade. So, a government which is promising to slash taxes and raise public spending has an obvious appeal. But that has pushed up the level of public debt to a point that is concerning them notjust in brussels but also here in the central bank. It is high. It has been increasing because of low growth. But at the same time there is no uncertainty on how to deal with it. And the markets are making us pay for that. The problem is that over 2 euros trillion of italian public debt is held by banks, notjust here but across europe. If there is a crisis of confidence among investors about the governments ability to manage its money, they could all suffer, and so, too, could their ability to lend, just as many parts of the european economy are struggling. Its not just italy. Germany is at risk of recession, while the uk is struggling with uncertainty. So, any financial shock here could be more damaging than the greek crisis of 2010. Italy is a major economy in the eurozone. Greece is relatively tiny, compared to italy. To italys economy, italys debt market. The destruction that it might cause is much bigger. After decades of lax financial management, the government has promised brussels it will tighten up its finances. These italians hopes for greater prosperity risk being sacrificed for the fortunes of europe as a whole. President trump will look at how the case of Geoffrey Epstein was handled by mr acosta. Mr epstein pleaded not guilty to sexual charges. Rapper nicki minaj has cancelled a scheduled performance in saudi arabia next week. Her decision comes after she decided to show her support for the rights of women and the lgbt community. Her headline at the jeddah festival sparked an outcry from critics of the countrys human rights record. We can now speak to entertainmentjournalist, kj matthews, whos been following the story. She joins me live from los angeles. She had to make this decision because of the pressure . It started last week with the Human Rights Foundation taking to social media and reaching out to her people basically saying, please, do not play in saudi arabia because they have a horrible human rights record and they do not stand for the same things you stand for. I think she heard them loud and clear and decided to cancel a concert that is still scheduled forjuly 18th in the saudi arabia basically stating that she wants everyone to know that her support for women and for lesbians and gays and transgender people comes before her making millions of dollars and she wants to let all of herfans dollars and she wants to let all of her fans know what she stands for and she does not believe that saudi arabias government stands for the same thing and decided to pull out. It was also bad press. You have to remember, back in october last year, the journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally killed and many blamed saudi operatives to that killing. It is not a good time for any artist or business to publicly align themselves with the government of saudi arabia. Of course what is happening in saudi arabia is much more high profile but of course we do here occasionally about big performance taking very well paid private gigs in countries that some people would think were less than desirable. Do they have to be more aware of this now . Absolutely. Back injanuary, aware of this now . Absolutely. Back in january, mariah carey aware of this now . Absolutely. Back injanuary, mariah carey performed in saudi arabia and other people performed if not a big public concert but certainly private parties held by a brutal dictator of small countries and they have been paid millions of dollars. Now, with the advent of social media and so many people putting pressure on people aligning themselves with these types of countries, with brutal dictators as leaders, i think it is much more difficult for celebrities to take millions and hide without the public knowing who they are being paid by. It isjust not worth it anymore. So what about those artist still on the billing for that festival in saudi arabia . So far one of the highest profile celebrities still scheduled to perform that has not released any statement. Good to talk to you. Thank you very much. Could robots solve Staff Shortages . Well injapan, where the population is declining sharply, the government is hoping they may provide the answer. But some developers believe that instead of replacing us, robots could even get more people into work. The bbcs Stephanie Hegarty explains. Welcome to the bbc. Im erica. I feel like were in a chat show here. Im not sure who the presenter is. Meet erica, the first robot news reader in the world. Hi, im erica. Nice to meet you. You too. Where are you from . I am from ireland. I love you very much. Kohei kawakami is ericas engineer. Todays news Buckingham Palace is expected to announce. She has three modes she can be operated remotely, preprogrammed with a script, or she can work in al mode, where, in theory, she can carry out a spontaneous conversation. Tofu. Tofu i like you. I like tofu. I can eat it. Im not sure you can. I can eat it. Ok, if you insist. Ai mode still needs some work. Are you confident that shell be able to have a normal conversation one day . Several performance from the blast and festival have donated items of clothing to oxfam as part of a campaign against cheap throwaway fashion. Everyone is doing a brand new dance now, come on now. Johnny marr, the smiths guitarist, Kylie Minogue and others are donating items to fight throwaway fashion. The top story, brexit has dominated a fiery Television Debate when the two contenders to become britains next Prime Minister. You are watching bbc news. We are back very soon. Hello. The forecast brings us pretty mixed fare across the uk in the next few days. Sunny spells for almost all areas and, i think, if anything, some increasing warmth. But look out for hefty old showers as well, especially across the northern half of the uk. Low pressure is driving the weather here. Well swing in some fronts as well, which means more organised bands of rain. For wimbledon, though, with High Pressure sitting to the south of the uk, we are clinging on to a fine picture for wednesday, perhapsjust a raised risk of a shower later on in the afternoon. You can see some of those showers so start to tuck a little bit further south at times through the day, but southern england and south wales very likely, i think, to escape with a largely dry picture, although some heavier showers across Eastern England cannot be ruled out through the afternoon. Scotland gets the wettest of the weather first thing, brighter through the afternoon. Thunderstorms likely in the north east later, and then Northern Ireland seeing some more persistent rain arriving as we move into the latter part of the day. Just light winds and thats a complication where you get some heavy showers developing. Nothing to drive them on so the rainfall can really mount up. A pretty clear evening to the south and east, but the showers pile into wales and eventually roll through Northern Ireland and head into scotland. Overnight lows to take us into thursday, i2 ilijust about covers it. For thursday daytime, we are still under the influence of High Pressure, and some of those more organised bands of showers are perhaps a greater risk of seeing some heavy showers across the eastern side of the uk on thursday, and particularly for eastern scotland signs are there could be some quite intense thunderstorms. Again to the far south, things looking drier and clearer with some pleasant spells of sunshine. And then for the end of the week, things starting to calm down somewhat. A few showers possible for Northern Ireland. Again the chance of heavy ones though across Eastern England, perhaps easter scotland, with the odd rumble of thunder. In the sunshine, though, our temperatures starting to lift perhaps 23, 24. Certainly through the weekend that looks to be the case because the reason things are starting to calm down on friday is High Pressure is beginning to build from the west, and it will spread out across the uk to take us through the weekend. I cant promise you faultless blue skies but i can promise you a much quieter couple of days with very, very few showers, perhaps just the odd one or two in the east on saturday, in the west on sunday. Sunshine and temperatures into the mid 20s. This is bbc news. The headlines the two contenders to be the next british Prime Minister have clashed in a head to head debate. Boris johnson and jeremy hunt argued about brexit, the economy, the qualities needed to be the countrys leader and whether britain should adhere to the leaving date of the 31st of october. The diplomatic row between the us and the uk intensifies as donald trump calls the British Ambassador to washington a very stupid guy. The British Foreign secretary has accused President Trump of being disrespectful and wrong about the ambassador. Yusra, is a little girl from yemen whose life was saved following donations for her care. Surgeons created an artificial eye following her treatment for cancer. She is now back in yemen and living like a normal child in the middle of the war