ireland's prime minister, leo varadkar, says britain must soon because "the clock is ticking." speaking during his first official visit to belfast, he said he doesn't want economic barriers, between britain and ireland, and called for ‘unique solutions' to preserve links between the two countries. 0ur ireland correspondent chris buckler reports. leo varadkar crossed the irish borderfor the first time as ireland's prime minister to set out his concerns about what could happen to it after brexit. he arrived in belfast having upset unionists with recent comments about brexiteers. but, inside queen's university today, the new taoiseach was keen to talk about solutions, not divisions. at a time when brexit threatens to drive a wedge between north and south, between britain and ireland, we need to build more bridges and fewer borders. he is a taoiseach of a new generation. the referendum over the good friday peace agreement marked the first time he was eligible to vote. he said the challenge of this generation is brexit, and again he challenged those he called the brexiteers to com

ireland's prime minister, leo varadkar, says britain must soon address the key issue of the status of the irish border after brexit because "the clock is ticking". speaking during his first official visit to belfast, he said he doesn't want economic barriers between britain and ireland, and called for "unique solutions" to preserve links between the two countries. he also attacked those he called "hard brexiteers" in the north. but arlene foster of the democratic unionist party said such language wasn't helpful. our ireland correspondent chris buckler reports. leo varadkar crossed the irish borderfor the first time as ireland's prime minister to set out his concerns about what could happen to it after brexit. he arrived in belfast having upset unionists with recent comments about brexiteers. but, inside queen's university today, the new taoiseach was keen to talk about solutions, not divisions. at a time when brexit threatens to drive a wedge between north and south, between britain and ireland, we need to build more bridges and fewer borders. he is a taoiseach of a new generation. th

the irish prime minister leo varadkar is continuing his first official visit to northern ireland. the taoiseach, who is gay, is attending belfast pride today. yesterday he focused on brexit, with a strongly worded speech suggesting that a bilateral customs union could be the best way for the uk to deal with the issue of northern ireland's border with the republic. 0ur ireland correspondent chris buckler explains. the irish border has become a divisive issue in the debate about brexit. the scores of completely open roads that connect northern ireland and the republic carry huge amounts of traffic and trade, and on his first official visit north of the border as ireland's prime minister, leo varadkar insisted that the free movement of people, goods and services should continue here after the uk leaves the eu. perhaps the biggest challenge for our generation is brexit. every single aspect of life in northern ireland could be affected by the outcome. we will do all that we can in brussels, london and dublin to achieve the best outcome for everybody on this island, to protect our peace

leo varadkar is openly 93v has blocked. leo varadkar is openly gay and has campaigned during the republic's marriage equality referendum two years ago. but the democratic unionists have suggested he should not interfere with social issues within northern ireland. brexit is, however, expected to have an impact on both sides of the border, and as a result the irish government are likely to remain very vocal as the uk continues to negotiate its departure from the eu. after eight o'clock we will hear from the former northern ireland secretary, who says the irish prime minister's intervention is very welcome. scientists are warning the number of people killed by extreme weather conditions in europe could increase 50 fold by the end of the century. a study in the lancet in a tree health journal century. a study in the lancet in a tree healthjournal suggests that heatwaves of an good account for 100,000 deaths per year. researchers in italy say urgent action is needed to curb the effects of climate change. a man has died after bei

the taoiseach, leo varadkar, who is gay, made the comments at belfast pride earlier. the dup, which opposes same—sex marriage, effectively vetoed a move to allow gay marriage during the last assembly. i think it's only a matter of time. it is of course a decision for the northern ireland assembly, but i'm confident that, like other western european countries, they will make that decision in due course. my reason for being here is to express solidarity and express my support and that of my government for individual freedom and equality of law for all citizens. we would do this in any part of the world. but i think a lot of people in northern ireland wouldn't realise this, it is the largest single march happening northern ireland this year, and it is a celebration of diversity and difference. doesn't that say something great about northern ireland ? greater manchester police are investigating reports of an acid attack in salford. it's thought the victim was attacked in woodland in pendlebury yesterday afternoon. the man — who is in his 20s — has eye and face injur

hopefully leo varadkar will feeling? it was up until today. hopefully leo va radkar will ta ke feeling? it was up until today. hopefully leo varadkar will take the opportunity perhaps to calm things a bit and to ensure that we get into intensive discussions, which both of oui’ intensive discussions, which both of our countries have at their core. we wa nt to our countries have at their core. we want to see a good deal, we want to see trade continue and tourism continue, and we want to see a deal that benefits both the uk and republic of ireland. because it is in no body's interests that cradle tourism should be harmed as a result of people making a ham—fisted approach to the brexit discussions —— trade or. approach to the brexit discussions -- trade or. the point was made earlier that rather than the border between the north and the south of ireland, a bigger issue may be the cross—channel border if you like between mainland uk and southern ireland. yes, well, that was hinted at last week by some of the people in the irish public, an

the taoiseach, leo varadkar — who is gay — made the comments at belfast pride earlier. the dup, which opposes same—sex marriage, effectively vetoed a move to allow gay marriage during the last assembly. i think it's only a matter of time. it's the decision for the northern ireland assembly but i'm confident that like other western european countries they will make that decision in due course. my reason for being here really to express solidarity, to express my support and that of my government's, for individual freedom and that of my government's, for individualfreedom and and that of my government's, for individual freedom and equality before the law for all citizens. we would do this in any part of the world but also its striking and a lot of people outside northern ireland wouldn't realise this, this is the largest single march happening in northern ireland this year bar none and the largest march in northern ireland this year is a sober celebration of diversity and difference and doesn't that say something great about northern ireland? greater manchester police ar

leo varadkar will go on and meet some political parties here. stormont itself has collapsed, the power—sharing agreement has fallen apart. there are still attempts to get stormont itself up and running. that'll be one of the things he is talking to them about. he made the point there is a question about who is speaking for northern ireland while all of that take place. there could also be an interesting conversation about leo varadkar and the democratic unionist party, not just about his recent comments about brexit but also the issue of same—sex marriage. leo varadkar is of course gay and has made it clear he will attempt a pride brexit ahead of the pride parade tomorrow. the dup has blocked the introduction of same—sex marriage in northern ireland. there is quite a divide and there might be interesting conversations around that. oxford university has urged one of its employees — who's suspected of murdering a man in chicago — to hand himself into the us authorities. andrew warren, who's 56, is wanted alongside an american professor,

leo varadkar, i think it is fairto breakfast. leo varadkar, i think it is fair to say he has split opinion, but he has put his neck out in a way to say what is happening so far with brexit negotiations isn't good enough, so here is my idea, what to make of that? yes, he has done exactly that, and it is very welcome, because there has been a combination of confusion and silence about how we deal with this very important consequence of brexit, the irish border, which will be between the republic of ireland and northern ireland, it will be a european union customs frontier. and the rules of the european union, and indeed britain, in order to control migration and so on, much of the impetus behind brexit, will have to come up with a solution that resolves this conundrum. if you just apply the rules and northern ireland, along with the rest of the united kingdom, leaves the european union, then that border, and eu rules, will have to be a hard border. it will have to have security posts, it will have to have checks on goods transiting

basically, the message from leo varadkar is what on earth is going on? how are the brexit negotiations progressing? do you have an answer? well, good afternoon. i can't here, i'm afraid. can you hear me now? yes, there we are. i was saying the irish taoiseach was saying there is frustration, we don't know what's going on, the clock is ticking. do you have an answer to those who are asking what is the government doing when it comes to negotiating over particular you this issue, the border? no, you'd have to ask the minister is directly involved in the negotiations but i personally believe these discussions about the border and worries are grit surgery to. this agreement right across the british isles that first of all the common travel area has been of enormous benefit and everybody wants to see that carry on. on the border itself, there is already a tax border, there is a different vap regime, a different corporation tax regime. and that carries on, and i don't know a single company that says it is a problem, working with a different tax regime on differ

leo varadkar shows the change which has happened in the republic of ireland. he is the country's first openly gay prime minister. the state he leads voted to allow same—sex marriage two years ago, but in northern ireland, it is still outlawed. he said he had come to this event as a gesture of solidarity and expected the law will change here. i think it's only a matter of time. it's a decision for the northern ireland assembly, but i'm confident that, like other western european countries, they will make that decision in due course. those comments were welcomed by pride organisers. northern ireland is still lagging behind the rest of the uk in terms of laws enacted there but not here. it's time we as a community demand change, we demand the same rights as the rest of the united kingdom. the devolved administration, which will have to make a decision on marriage laws here, is currently suspended, because of a dispute between the dup and sinn fein. but during the last period of government, the dup were able to veto the measure which would have led to same—sex

on this shared island, leo varadkar knows there are many interests. a brexit deal that's good for the uk is likely to be important on both sides of this border. chris buckler, bbc news, northern ireland. let's speak to our political correspondent alex forsyth who's at westminster for us. alex, what have the british government been saying? is there any response from them? there is recognition that brexit could have a significant impact on ireland because of the unique circumstances. it will have the own the land border between the uk and the land border between the uk and the eu and there was a sense of frustration from the irish prime minister at what he sees as a lack of progress on this issue, but the british government says they have been working on this poor year and i have had discussions with the european union —— working on this for a year european union —— working on this fora yearand european union —— working on this for a year and they have had discussions. they say they want frictionless trade and no hard border but what is not

leo varadkar made the comments at a gay pride event in belfast. the dup, which opposes same—sex marriage, effectively vetoed a move to allow gay marriage during the last assembly. i think it's only a matter of time. it is of course the decision for the northern ireland assembly, but i'm confident that, like other western european countries, people make that decision in due course. my reasoning for being here is to express solidarity and express my support out of my government for individual freedom and parity of law for all citizens. we would do this in any pa rt citizens. we would do this in any part of the world. but i think a lot of people in northern ireland wouldn't realise this, it is the largest single march happening in northern ireland this year, and it is you celebrate each of diversity and difference. doesn't that say something great about northern ireland? the united nations will vote later today on a proposal to toughen economic sanctions against north korea. a resolution drafted by the us, in response to recent missile tests, aims

the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, says it's "only a matter of time" before same—sex marriage is introduced in northern ireland. on day two of the world athletics championships, britain's katarina johnson thompson sees her hopes of heptathlon gold fade as she flops in the high jump. now on bbc news, click. this week: the sun's the star, as it defeats ice cream. powers roads. and dazzles geeks. take them off, guys, you're indoors. they're ugly. huge. and they ruin the landscape. but we do kind of need them to get from a to b. but sometimes a road can be more than just a road. and that's the idea behind a french government backed initiative using the massive space given over to the transport network to also capture the sun. through solar roads. i mean, look at this road, what's it doing right now? it's looking straight up the sky. and it's estimated that even busy roads can see the sky for 70—90% of the time. but it's not all plain... sunning. the problem with putting photovoltaic cells into roads is the slightest bit of pressure, the slightest bend, and... so the cells are stuck

on this shared island, leo varadkar knows there are many interests. a brexit deal that‘s good for the uk is likely to be important on both sides of this border. chris buckler, bbc news, northern ireland. oui’ our political correspondent ben wright enjoys the westminster. all sites keep saying this issue of the border is a priority for them. has anyone come up with a solution? rhetoric from the eu and the uk has been at the same since the referendum, that this is an issue of paramount importance, there can be no return to a hard border. that was the position restated by the westminster government today who said they wanted to see as frictionless trade as possible after britain has left the eu and that the common travel area should be kept. what you heard today was real frustration from one member of the eu, ireland, traditionally a very close ally of the uk but clearly, now, frustrated about the lack of detailfrom now, frustrated about the lack of detail from westminster about how they envisage that border working after britain has left the eu, so

on this shared island, leo varadkar knows that it are many shared interests. and the final details of the deal that sees the uk leave the eu will be important on both sides of this border. chris buckler, bbc news, belfast. residents who survived the grenfell tower disaster have had theirfinal chance to submit ideas for the scope and remit of the public inquiry into the tragedy. 330 submissions are thought to have been made, but some campaigners still fear the inquiry won't be wide—ranging enough. our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds, reports. day after day, the names of the grenfell victims are confirmed. today, fatima choukair, just 11, hashim kedir, a favourite uncle, firdaws hashim, his daughter. how, why did they die? this man, the chairman of the grenfell tower inquiry, sir martin moore—bick, has to answer those questions but, when he asked the community what other topics he should consider, he got a rough ride. this is why it's so important to get the terms of reference right and for you to tell me what you think it should cover. we did, and t

the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, says it's "only a matter of time" before same—sex marriage is introduced in northern ireland. on day two of the world athletics championships, britain's katarina johnson thompson sees her hopes of heptathlon gold fade as she flops in the high jump. now on bbc news. what's it like when one of your parents comes out to you as gay? it happened tojillian stewart — her mum ended a relationship with her father before going on to become the first lesbian to marry a same sex partner in scotland. butjillian has never really explored how her experience contrasted with that of her brothers and sisters until now. all: five, four, three, two, one! cheering this is the moment my mums made history, becoming the first lesbians to marry in scotland. but it wasn't plain sailing for them to get down the aisle. hi, my name'sjillian, and 20 years ago my mum came out as a lesbian. i was only four at the time, so it really wasn't such a great dealfor me, but i have learned from my parents that it might have been a bit more difficult for some of my siblings, so i'm g

on this shared island, leo varadkar knows there are many interests. a brexit deal that's good for the uk is likely to be important on both sides of this border. chris buckler, bbc news, northern ireland. let's speak now to the former northern ireland secretary, peter hain, who joins us live via webcam from neath. lord hain, thank you forjoining us this evening. every site says that this evening. every site says that this is a priority but what are the practical measures that can be taken to make sure free—trade continues with northern ireland and ireland? the only practical measure has come from the taoiseach today and is very welcome from my point of view because people especially those who gave us the hard right brexit and others have been living in a different planet. the reality is if northern ireland is in a different customs union from the irish republic, they will have to have checks on the border, there will have to be some kind of control because otherwise how do you know what is crossing the border? in the point of view of migration how do

mark: irish prime minister leo varadkar speaking with bloomberg television in toronto. the "european close" is next. stocks are rising. the first day of gains in four. stoxx 600 up by 9/10 of 1%. this is bloomberg. ♪ . so we need tablets installed... with the menu app ready to roll. in 12 weeks. yeah. ♪ ♪ the world of fast food is being changed by faster networks. ♪ ♪ data, applications, customer experience. ♪ ♪ which is why comcast business delivers consistent network performance and speed across all your locations. fast connections everywhere. that's how you outmaneuver. ♪ mark: hello 12:00 a.m. in new york and 4 p.m. in london. 30 minutes left in the trading day in europe. from london, i am mark barton. vonnie: i am a vonnie quinn. this is the european close on bloomberg markets. ♪ mark: a massing -- massive plunge and providential. underway.gation is are things really as bad as they seem? , phillips ands responding to activist pressure, now in talks to sell it u.s. shale assets, why are they reversing calls. we will hear from their chief executive.

the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, has called for unique solutions to preserve relations between britain and the european union after brexit. speaking during his first official visit to northern ireland, he raised the possibility of a bilateral customs union between the uk and the eu and an alternative to the european court ofjustice to oversee any deal. our ireland correspondent, chris buckler, reports. leo varadker crossed the irish borderfor the first time as ireland's prime minister to set out his concerns about what could happen to it after brexit. he arrived after upsetting unionists about brexiteers. but in queens university, the new taoiseach was quick to point out how much relationships have changed in a few decades. the border itself was a very different place. a place of bloodshed, of violence, of checkpoints. he is of a new generation. the first time leo varadker voted was in the referendum for the good friday agreement. but there is a new challenge, and the potential of a new border. there are people who do want a border, a trade border, between the united kingdom an

the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, has called for "unique solutions" to preserve relations between britain and the european union after brexit. speaking during his first official visit to northern ireland, he raised the possibility of a bilateral customs union between the uk and the eu, and an alternative to the european court ofjustice to oversee any deal. our ireland correspondent chris buckler reports. leo varadker crossed the irish borderfor the first time as ireland's prime minister to set out his concerns about what could happen to it after brexit. he arrived in belfast having upset unionists with recent comments about brexiteers. applause but inside queens university, this new taoiseach was quick to point out how much relationships have changed in just a few decades. the border itself was a very different place. a place of bloodshed, of violence, of checkpoints. he is of a new generation. the first time leo varadker voted was in the referendum for the good friday agreement. but there is a new challenge, and the potential of a new border. there are people who do want a border

at 30 years old, leo varadkar is island's youngest ever prime minister. that's not the only thing about him. he is half indian and openly gay, the embodiment of the liberalisation of a country that was once regarded the most socially conservative in europe. he came to power in june with conservative in europe. he came to power injune with the biggest party in the country's ruling coalition. just ten years after he was first elected to the irish parliament. before that he trained as a doctor, at his medical career gave way to his political one. he has previously mean “— his political one. he has previously mean —— been a ministerfor transport, tourism and sport and then health minister and more recently in the welfare system —— ran the welfare system. now he faces what many have described as the biggest challenge the irish state has had, the departure of the united kingdom from the eu. we're joined now by dr kathryn simpson, a politics lecturer at manchester metropolitan university. she is in the studio. good morning. thank you very much for co

the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, says it's "only a matter of time" before same—sex marriage is introduced in northern ireland. it is of course a decision for the northern ireland assembly, but i'm

ireland's new prime minister was in northern ireland this friday leo varadkar says his government wants to build bridges not borders with ireland's neighbor to the north and dispose brags tha. the prime minister said he wanted britain to remain part of the eu single market but if not he's calling for the establishment of a free trade agreement. challenge for our generation is priceless. the bride's negotiations are now well underway in brussels. and to quote michel barnier. the clock is now taking with united kingdom doesn't want to stay in the customs unio. perhaps there can be any new uk cussons instead. after all the european union has a customs union with turkey. shorty therefore it's possible to have one with the united kingdom. and if the united kingdom does not want to stay in the single market. perhaps i can enter into a deep free trade agreement with the european union. now finally remember one i cried the global cyber attack earlier this year well the through any twenty three year old who stop the virus was spreading has been arrested in the united states. markets hutchins a p

the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, has called for "unique solutions" to preserve relations between britain and the european union after brexit. speaking during his first official visit to northern ireland, he raised the possibility of a bilateral customs union between the uk and the eu and an alternative to the european court ofjustice to oversee any deal. our ireland correspondent, chris buckler, reports. leo varadker crossed the irish borderfor the first time leo varadker crossed the irish border for the first time as ireland's pm —— prime minister to set out his concerns about what could happen to it after brexit. he arrived after upsetting unionist about brexiteers. but in queens university the new taoiseach was quick to point out how much relationships have changed in a few decades. the border itself was a very different place. a place of bloodshed, of violence, of checkpoints. he is of a new generation. the first time leo varadker voted was generation. the first time leo va radker voted was in generation. the first time leo varadker voted was in the referendum for the goo

the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, says it's "only a matter of time" before same—sex marriage is introduced in northern ireland. now on bbc news, it's time for dateline london. hello and welcome to dateline london. i'm jane hail. hello and welcome to dateline london. i'mjane hail. this week, we're discussing ireland's growing fears about the brexit‘s negotiations. what should the world do about them as well and north korea? and is the duke of edinburgh setting the pawn for us all, not retiring until the age of 96. my guests, not quite 96, any of us. brian o'connell, the irish writer and broadcaster. the algerian journalist, and michael goldfarb. a very warm welcome to all of you. so the brexit negotiations are on hold for the summer holidays. no more talks for the next few weeks. that hasn't stopped the new irish prime minister from hasn't stopped the new irish prime ministerfrom making hasn't stopped the new irish prime minister from making his hasn't stopped the new irish prime ministerfrom making his opinions known. he made a speech this week, calling for unique solutions to

the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, will address the issue of brexit and the border with northern ireland this morning, when he makes his first official visit to the province. in the past he's said the roads should remain open, but has cast doubt on the british government's suggestion that technology could be used to monitor trade. unionists have described some of his comments as "unhelpful". hmrc has pledged to make ‘significant improvements‘ to it's new child benefit website after complaints from thousands of parents. the treasury select committee has demanded the change. the site is meant to help parents access the tax—free childcare scheme and free childcare for all three and four—year—olds. parts of europe are experiencing their warmest sustained heatwave in more a decade. temperatures peaked at more than a0 degrees in parts of italy, spain and the balkans. several countries have issued health warnings as temperatures continue to soar, while some regions are also contending with drought and forest fires. that's a summary of the latest bbc news — more at 9.30am. le

leo varadkar, the irish prime minister has made it clear that he wanted suggestions, putting forward potential solutions to the problem of the irish border, and one of thoseis of the irish border, and one of those is what could happen to trade and customs. they have been quite cynical in the past about the idea that smart borders technology could solve all of those problems with customs, and i think there is lingering concerns. there is a statement from the irish government that other issues need to be addressed before you get into the issue of customs, the eu position, so issue of customs, the eu position, so citizens rights, the financial settlement, and the issue of what happens to the irish border. but these two things are linked, that is what the uk will say on this — you cannot talk about customs and trade and then work out about what is good to happen to the irish border. they are very closely linked, and therefore, you have to address them in some ways together. in the next 24 in some ways together. in the next 2a hours, we will get a much clearer idea of what the uk is thi