this is the briefing. i'm ben bland. our top stories: he had a bounty of $1 million on his head, now reports suggest osama bin laden‘s son, hamza, is dead. the britsih government announces more than £2 billion of extra funding for a no—deal brexit. one year on from the start of the ebola outbreak in the democratic republic of the congo, we have a special report from the epicenter. —— epicentre. in business, underfed. the us central bank cuts rates for the first time in a decade, heralding lower borrowing costs around the world but markets and president

donald trump wanted more. a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation tell us and you can be part of the conversation. a of the conversation. first edition harry potter book bought a first edition harry potter book bought for £1 has sold for 28th pounds at auction. there it is. we wa nt to pounds at auction. there it is. we want to know the best bargain you've ever found. let us want to know the best bargain you've everfound. let us know. use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. hello. reports in the us media say hamza bin laden, the son of the former al-qaeda leader osama bin laden, has been killed. the pentagon has still to confirm any details of his death. in recent months the us had offered

$1 million reward for information that led them to hamza bin laden. live now to washington and our correspondent, chris buckler. chris, what more details do we know surrounding his apparent death? well, when us officials made that announcement, they were prepared to give a bounty of $1 million for information that led to the of hamza bin laden. at that stage they believed he was an emerging figure in al-qaeda. however, we understand they now believe he's dead as a result of what's been described as a military operation. from what we know, ben, it was a strike not intended to attack hamza bin laden. he was not the target. there are suggestions the us didn't know he had been killed after that operation. it wasn't until they intercepted communications between members of al-qaeda that they discovered that they believed that

hamza bin laden had been killed in the operation. however, so far the pentagon has not released an official statement on this and indeed when president donald trump was asked about it earlier on, a matter of hours ago, he batted away the question and said he wasn't prepared to talk about it. however, from what we understand from military sources, they believe he is dead. and chris, what is the significance, if that turns out to be the case, of that? what do they think he was doing and how much of a threat he posed? clearly first of all there's the symbolic nature of hamza bin laden, who was the son of osama bin laden, the founder of al-qaeda and the man who plotted the 9/11 attacks, the attacks on september the 11th that caused an unparalleled level of death and destruction in the united states, killing almost 3000 people. he was someone who, according to 0sama he was someone who, according to osama bin laden, he was grooming to be his successor. so there's that

symbolic nature but beyond that as well there are suggestions he was emerging as a key figure within the al-qaeda leadership. now, at the same time, it should be stated that the group is not the threat it once was. the united states has made it very clear that as far as it is concerned it doesn't have the organisational capacity it once had, certainly 20 years ago when they planned and organised the attacks on september the 11th. at the same time, though, they are still something of a thread and while it's 110w something of a thread and while it's now believed ben is dead, there are other members of its leadership that have not been captured and there are still concerns about it. chris, many thanks indeed. chris buckler in washington. the british government says it's intensifying planning for the possibility of a no—deal brexit by doubling the funds available. a further £2.1 billion has been earmarked. it will help to fund 500 additional border officers and extra cross channel freight capacity for vital medicines.

—— cross—channel. critics says it's an appalling waste of taxpayers' money. here's our political correspondent, jessica parker. brexit preparations cost money and today the man now in charge of the public‘s finances signalled that he's to turn on the taps. the chancellor, sajid javid, is announcing £2.1 billion to go specifically on no deal planning on top of £4.2 billion of exit reparation money already allocated when theresa may was in charge. not all of the new cash is to be made available right away, but funds are set to go on measures including extra border force officials, a public information campaign and, once again, buying up a freight capacity in case the country needs to ship in vital medical supplies. this extra cash is also designed to reinforce borisjohnson‘s claim that the government is gearing up to ensure that brexit happens by

0ctober ensure that brexit happens by october the 31st deal or no deal. we're going to fulfil the repeated promises of parliament to the people. but the labour party, which is adamantly against leaving the eu without an agreement, says that the day's announcement amounts to an appalling waste of taxpayer money that could be better spent on schools and hospitals. jessica parker, bbc news. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. polling stations in the brecon and radnorshire by—election in mid—wales will be opening in a few hours time. the poll was triggered after a recall petition. six candidates are standing. the polls will remain open until 10pm tonight and the result is expected in the early hours of friday morning. the united states has imposed sanctions on iran's foreign minister, javad zarif. the sanctions freeze any assets of mr zarif in the united states. in response, mr zarif tweeted that the us consider him as a threat to its agenda. the israeli government has given

rare approval for the building of 700 palestinian homes in the occupied west bank, along with permission for another 6,000 homes forjewish settlers. president putin has ordered the russian army to help fight wildfires raging across siberia, after 800,000 people petitioned the authorities to step up their response. the blaze has been spreading for at least a month and now covers nearly three million hectares. north korea claims to have tested a new type of guided rocket system which could expand its ability to strike south korea. state media said the north korean leader kim jong—un watched the test of the new weapon on wednesday. joining me now is bbc‘s laura bicker in seoul. laura, what do we know about the possible impact of these tests on

the ongoing or the rather stalled talks between the us and north korea on denuclearisation? well, first of all, we know about this weapon from north korean state media. they released information earlier this morning ‘s old—time saying that this was a fire of a newly developed large calibre multi— guided rocket system. now, south korea's military are still assessing what north korea managed to test fire yesterday. they still say they believe it was two short—range ballistic missiles fired from the east coast into the sea of japan. however, in this north korean state media release, kim jong—un however, in this north korean state media release, kimjong—un is quoted as saying the new rocket launcher would be an inescapable distress to the forces that became a fat target of the weapon. now, that's a clear aim at both south korean forces here and also the us forces that are based here. this weapon, if indeed

it isa based here. this weapon, if indeed it is a new type of weapon, would be the third new weaponry that pyongyang has displayed since donald trump and kimjong—un met at pyongyang has displayed since donald trump and kim jong—un met at that failed summit in hanoi in february. so what effect does all of this have? it's difficult to know. certainly washington is still brushing it off. yesterday we heard from officials in the white house saying that this was only short—term missiles and kim jong—un had promised not to fire intercontinental ballistic missiles, long—range missiles, and also test nuclear weapons. so far, long—range missiles, and also test nuclearweapons. so far, kimjong—un seems to be keeping his word. however, after the impromptu summit at the demilitarised zone when donald trump met kimjong—un, we we re donald trump met kimjong—un, we were told talks between the us and north korea would take lace within a few days, but that's become a few weeks and could it indeed go to a few months? —— take place. weeks and could it indeed go to a few months? -- take place. because talks are still not scheduled. laura bicker in seoul, thanks very much.

to business now, and the falling cost of borrowing. the world's most powerful central bank, the us federal reserve, has cut interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis more than a decade ago. the move disappointed financial markets, not to mention president trump. they wanted a bigger cut, or at least a clear signal that more are to come. but the move is part of a global trend of falling borrowing costs from europe to asia to south america, as the economic outlook grows more uncertain. with me is lawrence gosling, editor—in—chief of what investment. lawrence, it's interesting, because we're starting to see central banks cut interest rates, but they never really got to the point they were at pre— financial crisis? really got to the point they were at pre- financial crisis? absolutely. as you quite rightly said, thirst cut in us rates for over ten years 110w. cut in us rates for over ten years now. we're talking about coming down 0.25% from 2.5%, so these are still very small numbers if you look at

the long—term cost of borrowing over 20 or 25 years. the federal reserve talked about adjusting things because we are midcycle and there's this feeling there's a cycle across the world starting in the us is beginning to slow down and what can central bank do? they can try to kickstart economies a bit with an interest rate cut, we saw one in brazil as well. a big economy there. we're seeing people beginning to get witchy that things are slowing down enough that they don't want to precipitate a recession, so what can they do? interest rates is the first thing they can do to stop that. we've got the bank of england, the uk central bank, giving its decision on interest rates later. there in a bit of a bind, because if they're worried about economic growth, the natural thing to do would be to cut rates but cutting rates tends to cause the currency to weaken and at the moment the pound can't really ta ke the moment the pound can't really take any more of a hit? the bank of england is probably in the most

invidious position of all major central banks because the pound is weak, we're still going through the whole brexit process and our economy is probably looking weaker than the us but not as weak as continental europe. so what do they do? and we have a change of government in the early pa rt have a change of government in the early part of next year. the rank of england will probably stay steady to give a slightly cautious outlook —— bank of england. i wouldn't expect them to cut rates today. lawrence, we'll go through the papers ina lawrence, we'll go through the papers in a while but thanks for the moment. lawrence gosling. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a full round—up of the day's sport, including the start of the ashes cricket series between england and australia. cheering the us space agency, nasa,

has ordered an investigation after confirmation today that astronauts were cleared to fly while drunk. the last foot patrol in south armagh. once an everyday part of the soldiers' lot, drudgery and danger, now no more after almost four decades. if one is on one's own, in a private house, not doing any harm to anyone, i don't really see why people should wander in and say, "you're doing something wrong." six rare white lion cubs are on the prowl at worcestershire park and, already, they have been met with a roar of approval from visitors. they're lovely, yeah. really sweet. yeah, they were cute. you're watching the briefing. 0ur headlines:

he had a bounty of $1 million on his head, now reports suggest osama bin laden‘s son, hamza is dead. the britsih government announces more than £2 billion of extra funding for a no—deal brexit. the former us vice president joe biden has come under attack from other democratic party hopefuls in a televised debate ahead of the 2020 elections. the party's frontrunner shared a stage with nine other presidential aspirants, with whom there were several sharp exchanges on healthcare, border control and race. 0ur correspondent, barbara plett usher, was at the debate in detroit. joe biden came into this debate knowing he would be a target. he had clashed with senator carr miller harris in the previous debate, which boosted her momentum and shook is, so boosted her momentum and shook is, so he knew other candidates wanted to try to land similar blows. he did clashed with miss harris over

healthcare and with senator cory booker over his record on criminal justice. harris took heat from other corners, criticism about her actions when she was attorney general in california. mr biden did stumble from time to time, but by and large he ca pably defended from time to time, but by and large he capably defended his record. it wasn't a standout performance, but probably enough to reassure his supporters. barbara plett—usher there. we'll bring you any developments and significant updates on that in the coming hours here on bbc world news. thursday marks a year since the beginning of the ebola outbreak in the democratic republic of the congo. at least 18—hundred people have died so far. earlier this week a second person died of ebola in goma — a city of two million people on the border with rwanda. that's raised fears the outbreak could spread quickly in the city and across the border. 0ur senior africa correspondent, anne soy has returned to the epicenter of the outbreak in beni city and sent us this report.

it takes a lot to beat it bowler. those who seek treatment have a better chance of survival. —— better. at the heart of the art rake, violence a —— is driving in —— infection. this was lost —— this was much smaller six months ago, it speaks to how much the outbreak has grown. a lot of the services were moved to the new hotspots. it came back it down more cases are being reported here daily than any other place. there are lessons to be learned that until there is no more ebola in the region, the health workers cannot afford to relax. as people travel, the epicentre of the outbreak has kept shifting. some suspected cases have fled their

homes and spread the disease. the world health organization says they are now adapting the strategies. we have been asking the community to elect a person who will identify the contacts, follow them up and who alerted us that there is a sick person in the household. but a short distance from town, evidence that change is slow to come. a role is taking place, and the community has barricaded the road. within minutes, they are asked to leave or risk being attacked. tension is high, even the staff and patients of this clinic have fled. this in infection control team are at risk of being contaminated after a patient tested positive. many still deny the

existence of the disease and resist care. there have been attacks against health workers. we know a fellow dock is who were killed. that has a negative impact on the fight against this epidemic. dozens of armed group operate in this region, making fighting ebola more difficult. there is some hope. these people never thought they'd recover from the disease. now as there are turn to their villages, that extra message back that ebola can be stopped. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. a ban on wearing face—covering garments such as a burqa or niqab in government buildings and on public transport will come into force today in the netherlands. then a one minute silence will be

held this afternoon to mark the 75th anniversary of the warsaw uprising during world war ii. and finally later in the evening, president trump will address a rally of supporters in the key swing state of cincinnati. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello there i'm tulsen tollett and this is your thursday sport briefing where we start with the news that liverpool's mo salah, virgil van dijk and sadio mane are all on the shortlist for the best fifa men's player award. the champions league winning trio join the likes of cristiano ronaldo and lionel messi on the list. tottenham's harry kane and read madrid new recruit, eden hazard are also named. a day after announcing she was stepping down from her role of usa soccer coach, jill ellis has been nominated for women's world coach of the year. four of her squad have made the shortlst for the female player award including co—captains megan rapinoe and alex morgan. england's women's cricketers won the final match of their ashes series against australia claiming

a 17 run win in the last of their t20 contests in bristol. the visitors won the toss and elected to field first while england racked up 139 for 5 and despite an unbeaten 60 from elysse perry the aussies came up short although they claim the multi format series by 12 points to 4. the men's ashes series gets underway in the next few hours and edgbaston will play host for the first test between england and australia. jofra archer — one of the stars of england's successful world cup campaign — has been left out. but their all—time leading wicket—takerjames anderson is back from injury for a series that captainjoe root says means everything to win. i think you speak to anyone that is captaining and is on the verge of an ashes series to say that doesn't mean as much as any other event, i do think any of them would agree, i

think it's do think any of them would agree, i think its huge. it's a great opportunity, i think cricket in this country is at an all—time high, it's what interest that has not had for a long time and we got an opportunity asa long time and we got an opportunity as a team to make this a very memorable one. meanwhile australia's david warner is fit for the first test after an injury scare. if warner, former captain steve smith and cameron bancroft all start it'll be the first test match that they've been involved in since last year's ball—tampering scanda in south africa. australia hold the ashes after their 4—0 victory in 2017—18, but england haven't lost a home ashes series since 2001 and have not lost at edgbaston to any side in 11 years. 144 players will battle it out to win the women's british open later which is the 5th and final major of the year. defending champion georgia hall managed to get some practice in at woburn but some weren't as fortunate. the tournament comes just days after the evian championship — also a major — and the tight turnaround means some players haven't had enough time to practice.

i'm actually very excited, i don't feel any pressure, it's nice for me to be home because i've been in the us for the whole year, for me i had done the hard travelling a i can enjoy being at home with a home crowd to be able to say i have won a major is very special. i think going to get a lot of support. i look forward to people out there watching and cheering me on. when new yorkjets‘ rookie calvin anderson isn't shielding his quarterback‘s blind side he has an unusual hobby. the 23 year old likes to spend his spare time solving a rubik's cube puzzle. he says he does it as a pre—game routine to focus his mind but he still has a way to go before breaking the world record, which stands at a mere 4.9 seconds. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me tulsen tollett and the rest of the team that is your thursday sport briefing.

the harry potter books are loved by children and adults alike around the world. it sold for more than $30,000. a world record for a jk rowling first edition. this is it. it's wonderful to handle something so rare, that in time will be an investment beyond any investment, i'm sure. from humble beginnings to a global phenomenon, it wasjk rowling's original novel, harry potter and the philosopher's stone, which captured the imagination of audiences all around the world, through literature, and later on a blockbuster film. i can start this book at £12,000. and so bidders from every continent competed this morning at hansons auctions in staffordshire, all hoping to snap up a rare copy. this first edition is more than 20

years old, and was stocked by one of the staffordshire libraries. it was then purchased in a tabletop sale forjust £1. this is the genesis of the entire harry potter phenomenon. long before harry potter world and all the movies, jk rowling famously couldn't get a publishing deal. when she finally did, only 500 were produced. and it's actually on the back of the title page, that magic number -10987654321-blast-off. that is the number that seals the deal. are you bidding for that today? afraid not. it is a children's classic, isn't it? it's the next big landmark after tolkien, i guess. £28,500. fair warning, it really is yours.

congratulations. knowing the interest this book would create, it was a real find. it was like a willy wonka's chocolate bar with that golden ticket, and it's a world record price for a harry potter first edition. possibly made even more spellbinding for the uk buyer on the day ofjk rowling's birthday. i was asking you about that, any unexpected bargains that you might have on earth, like that harry potter book, do get in touch, on social media. let us know your thoughts — use #bbcthebriefing. teresa was commenting on there, and was trying to work out whether the one she has is a first edition or not, i would suggest based on that last report, its worth getting it checked out. still plenty more to come, do stay with us on bbc news.

hello. in the last couple of days, some of the showers that we've seen breaking out across the uk have been nothing short of vicious, leading to disruption to transport and localised flooding. for and localised flooding. the next few days, fewer st and for the next few days, fewer showers and they shouldn't be as aggressive. because this area of low pressure which has been the major driving force is pulling off into the north sea, still because enough by on thursday to exert some influence, brazier along north sea coast, a lot of crowd around and some showers developing for the course of the day. probably a bad from the north—west of scotland into east anglia. the sun could cook up a few

homegrown showers, towards the west, the greatest risk of seeing the odd heavy downpour across parts of northern england, the north midlands into east anglia, a few showers sparked up by the warmth of the sun and the likes of dorset, devon and cornwall for the second part of the davis 0pera 25 and and and we should see some sunshine, a few showers possible across the midlands, that may be the case of bc for a time to the afternoon. hopefully we will get away with a lot of dry and sunny weather here. through the evening, mosher was rattling away, overnight is the low continues to pull away eastwards, many areas becoming dry, misty and making actually in some spots. with light winds and quite a lot of moisture left behind after showers. those in the mid— teens. for friday, quite murky to start but

the sun should bow back much of the cloud and the should be some good spots of sunshine to the cause of the day and again that sunshine could itself trigger some showers with northern england into the midlands. friday overall, light winds and sunny spells for the majority. this little bridge of high—pressure to thank for that, spell, still with us in such day, by sunday it looks like weather fronts. to put in from the west and push rate eastward. 0nce to put in from the west and push rate eastward. once this fronts to move in, unfortunately, we are back to square one for the beginning of next week, under the influence of low pressure, i think still plenty of showers to come in a longer term focus.

this is the business briefing. i'm ben bland. ‘under—fed'. the us central bank cuts rates for the first time in a decade — heralding lower borrowing costs around the world. but markets and president trump wanted more. plus, spheres of influence. china and the us face off at the asean meeting of south—east asian nations. and on the markets, asian shares hit six—week lows, led lower by a steep fall on wall street after the fed plays down prospects for further rate cuts.