we have been, actually, offering some quite creative compromises. we haven't always got that back. criticism from ireland, which demands a written guarantee there won't be a physical border with northern ireland. it's 18 months since the referendum, it's ten years since people who wanted a referendum started agitating for one. sometimes it doesn't seem like they thought all this through. what chance now that the northern ireland border plus the other key issues will be resolved in time for trade talks to start next month? also tonight: a number of people are feared dead after a light aircraft and a helicopter collide in midair. in zimbabwe, president mugabe is seen in public for the first time since the military takeover. 19—year—old gaia pope — police release the man they were questioning about her disappearance ten days ago. and a dog so brave, he's been given a medal. the story of mali, who fought through bullets, explosives and injuries to save british troops. coming up on sportsday on bbc news:

australia retain the women's ashes, as england slip to a six—wicket defeat in the first twenty20 match of the series in sydney. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the brexit secretary, david davis, says the uk has made compromises in the brexit negotiations and hasn't seen the same level of compromise back. he's urged the other eu countries to be more flexible. but at a summit of eu leaders in sweden, the president of the eu council, donald tusk, has insisted the uk has much more work to do if talks on trade are to start next month. and the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, says without a guarantee of no physical border with northern ireland, discussions on trade cannot begin. our political editor laura

kuenssberg reports from berlin. here in berlin, where the decisions matter so much, there are in dublin, this morning, and almost everywhere, the government mission to persuade the government mission to persuade the rest of the eu to please move on. the prime minister in sweden had met there is more to do. we are agreed that progress has been made but there is more to be done. we should move forward together towards the point where sufficient progress can be declared. but someone has to barge to get there. in the european capital that speaks with the loudest void, the view is that britain must shift. the brexit secretary does not think it is down to him. we have made quite a lot of compromises. one

citizens‘ rights, we have made all the running. we have not always got that back. you have come to the powerhouse of the european union without an offer on what pretty much everybody on the other side agrees is the biggest problem. eu politician after eu politician has been crystal clear that they are not going to move on in the way that you wa nt to going to move on in the way that you want to until the uk is willing to make a promise, not to give a fig but to give a promise that you are prepared to write a big cheque. —— not to give a figure. what is also clear is that many of them do want to move on. they see it is very important to them. countries like denmark, holland, italy and spain, countries like poland can see the benefits in the future deal that we are talking about, the deep and

special relationship prime minister refers to, a strong trading and security relationship. they all have things to benefit from that. this is not a one—way street, not something for nothing. this benefits everybody. so who is holding out? germany and france holding things 7 germany and france holding things 0 germany and france holding things up? to be clear, germany and france, the open secret of europe, are the most powerful players on the european continent, of course. and so european continent, of course. and so what they believe is very influential, sometimes decisively so. influential, sometimes decisively so. but it‘s the whole of europe decision, 27 countries. why not add me that at some point in the next ten days, two weeks, you are going to have to say that the uk will put a more generous financial offer on the table? nothing comes for nothing in this world. with david davis playing bad cop in germany, he left theresa may looking like an awkward

chief constable in sweden. ireland, clearly not satisfied over the issue of the cash or the border after brexit. 18 months since the referendum, ten years since people started agitating for a referendum. sometimes it does not seem they thought all of this through. welcome to this press conference. for now, the eu is publicly and resolutely sticking together, demanding more progress, with just a sticking together, demanding more progress, withjust a couple sticking together, demanding more progress, with just a couple of weeks to make it, and suggesting that mr davies‘ idea that they should come eyes was a joke. that mr davies‘ idea that they should come eyes was a jokelj that mr davies‘ idea that they should come eyes was a joke. i made it very clear to the prime minister, theresa may, that this progress needs to happen at the beginning of december at the latest. i appreciate david davis‘ english sense of humour. he probably does not like his ideas being called a joke but he has to compete with tory demands at home, too. ministers might have to

back down over their hope of putting the date of brexit into law. it is a good idea, because it is stating something which is clear government policy, that we will leave on the 29th of march, 2019. how it is done and what form it is will be debated in the house. so you might have to budge? no. it sounds rather like it. no. the whole bill will be debated through the house, the whole of it, and parts of it will change as we go through. we will see where we go. which is harder, dealing with the tory party or 27 other countries? you only described about two thirds of myjob. look, this is the most important negotiation and transition in our modern history, in peace time, anyway. of course it is difficult. people have passionate views. and which is harder? i don't

know the answer to that, it varies day by day. at home and away, this is no longer about pressing the flesh, as the deadline looms. the talks are getting tougher. the journey to the next phase of brexit, a charm offensive haps a little short on charm. —— perhaps short on charm. our europe correspondent adam fleming is in brussels. this is first and foremost a negotiation, but behind the tough talk and taking of positions, what‘s your assessment of whether meaningful progress is being made towards those potential trade talks next month? well, you listen to donald tusk, president of the european council, who will chair the summit of eu leaders in brussels in december, and his answer is a little bit yes but quite a lot know. he says on the one hand that the eu is prepared to move to trade talks before christmas. behind—the—scenes, they have started to prepare and brainstorm for those trade talks, the second phase, about

the future and a transition deal, the future and a transition deal, the stuff the uk government really wa nts. the stuff the uk government really wants. but on the other hand he says he wants a lot more detail from the uk on the issues they are discussing in this first phase, calculating a way of working out the uk‘s financial obligations to the eu, which they want detail of in writing from written. how does britain hoped to avoid that physical border on the island of ireland. they want those details in writing by the first week of december. it sounds like a deadline, doesn‘t it? of december. it sounds like a deadline, doesn't it? thank you. a number of people are feared dead following a midair collision between a light aircraft and a helicopter. emergency services are attending the scene near the village of waddesdon in buckinghamshire. ben ando reports. just visible through the trees, the unmistakable outline of a light aircraft‘s tail — it‘s completely detached from the plane. nearby, a wing. from their position, investigators should be able to tell whether they came off in the midair collision or in the impact

with the ground. scattered around, smaller items of wreckage, and elsewhere, in the small clearing, the blackened marks of what appeared to be the burned—out remains of the helicopter. the crash happened just after midday. the aircraft involved in the crash had both taken off from wycombe air park, about 20 miles away. they appear to have collided in the skies above waddesdon manor in buckinghamshire, which is owned by the national trust. as darkness fell, the job of identifying the pilots and any passengers is continuing, while air accident investigators are preparing to begin their work to establish what caused this tragic accident. the bbc thinks it knows the registrations of the aircraft involved but we are not broadcasting them until next of kin have been informed. in terms of exactly how

this happened, air accident investigators will be looking at possible mechanicalfailure, investigators will be looking at possible mechanical failure, or pilot error. we know that the skies we re pilot error. we know that the skies were bright and clear at around midday. waddesdon manor is said to be spectacular from the air, but pilots are taught almost in their first lesson that the ideas are their most important instrument and they should use them for keeping an eye on out to check they are not close to any other aircraft. the zimbabwean leader robert mugabe has been seen in public for the first time since the military takeover on wednesday. he‘s reportedly been under house arrest but today he attended a university graduation ceremony in the capital, harare. earlier, the military said talks with mr mugabe were continuing and there had been significant progress in the operation targeting what it called the criminals surrounding him. shingai nyoka reports from zimbabwe. the report contains flash photography. president mugabe shuffled down the red carpet towards his first public engagement in over a week.

the 93—year—old leader remains defiant, despite facing the biggest challenge to his decades—long rule. many hadn‘t expected him to show up to a relatively insignificant engagement. by virtue of the authority vested in me, i declare this congregation of the university duly constituted as a graduation ceremony. nothing on the surface suggests that this is a crisis, and there is no heightened military presence here. and president mugabe, in his first public appearance, is looking relaxed. but then again, this is no ordinary takeover. following guns and explosions on tuesday night, many thought it was the end for the long—time leader, but the violence has been replaced by an almost surreal normal. zimbabweans are new to this and don‘t know how to react. there are negotiations over whether he should step down, but president mugabe doesn‘t seem to be losing any sleep.

there is no deal yet, no exit package that president mugabe and the military could agree on. sources suggest that he wants to continue as a figurehead until the party‘s congress in december. the catalyst of this crisis, grace mugabe, has not been seen for days. many suggest that she‘s confined to their private residence in the capital. it‘s her ambitions to take over as vice president that set off these events and led to the sacking of the vice president emmerson mnangagwa. the army is there to protect the constitution and the republic and everything. we, the war veterans, are there to change things. veterans of zimbabwe‘s liberation war say a mass rally will be held on saturday to pressure the leader to go. the tables that mugabe turned on so many of his wartime comrades are now being turned against him. the party have already put in motion a series of meetings to consider his expulsion.

it‘s been suggested that the military offered to sweeten the deal — "leave now and face no retribution". it‘s not clear how long he will hold out before the curtain closes on his career. shingai nyoka, bbc news, harare. police in dorset are questioning a man about the disappearance of 19—year—old gaia pope, who was last seen in swanage ten days ago. the 49—year—old was arrested yesterday on suspicion of murder. the man has now been released. jon donnison reports. the beautiful dorset coast — now the focus of an ugly search. more than 50 officers from the police, fire service and coastguard combing the area above and below the cliffs, just outside swanage. but it‘s ten days since gaia pope was last seen. the search moved to this clifftop area after police found women‘s clothes — similar, they say, to what gaia

was wearing when she was last seen. it was shortly after that discovery that officers arrested 49—year—old paul elsey. this evening, he‘s been released under investigation. paul elsey lives in one of these flats in this complex of morrison road in swanage. his 71—year—old mother and 19—year—old nephew were arrested earlier this week but have also been released while the investigation continues. this cctv footage shows gaia running up morrison road just before she disappeared. earlier, she‘d bought an ice cream at a petrol station outside swanage. and her family want the search to intensify. whatever you‘re doing, if you‘re planning on being in this area over the weekend, please do get in touch via the find gaia facebook group, come and pick up some flyers, and get out there looking for her. a week and a half on, police now at least have a focus for that search. but after a day scouring these hills, no further breakthrough.

jon donnison, bbc news, swanage. bbc news has learned that thousands of people who claim the main sickness benefit, employment and support allowance, have had their benefits wrongly calculated and have not been paid the full amount they are entitled to. it‘s understood the department for work and pensions owes up to £500 million in back payments. ministers say they are aware of the problem and have already started making the repayments. our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has the story. in many of britain‘s former mining communities, welfare has replaced work. horden in county durham has high levels of benefit dependency, much of it triggered by ill health. old manufacturing jobs maim the body — lack of opportunities maim the mind. peter cartwright has any number of health problems, from osteoarthritis to depression. he used to get incapacity benefit but is now on employment

and support allowance. he‘s astonished the government have been underpaying the benefit. it‘s not as if you can go and get loads of luxuries when you‘re on this benefit. you have enough to get through, and if people are getting underpaid for it, i mean, that means they‘re not getting through, they‘re having to make the choice of either food or heating. a disproportionately high number of people here get esa, and some are now in for a windfall after an extraordinary error. between 2012 and 2015, the government miscalculated. they underpaid the benefits due to people moving off incapacity benefit and onto esa. we‘ve been told officials estimate that claimants are owed £500 million. the error could affect around 75,000 people. based on those figures, the average repayment will be close to £7,000 per person. there will be people who will be angry about it,

but i think a lot of people willjust see it as a bit of a windfall and be grateful that they‘re getting that. i think they would just see it as a welcome break from the austerity that we go through on a daily basis. the benefits system is absolutely crucial in communities like this. it is, in many ways, a backbone of the local economy. and in recent years it has become harder to get a benefit and harder to live on benefits. and so the least that people expect is that when they do qualify, the government pays them everything they‘re actually due. backwards and forwards... employment support allowance, which tests fitness for work, is paid to about 2.5 million people. brought into cut the benefits bill, it hasn‘t — but has created stress for many claimants. the labour mp frank field has charted the benefit‘s many problems. this latest failure, he says, is of historic proportions. i am gobsmacked at the size and the nature and the extent of people that are being wrongly impoverished.

horden‘s welfare park affectionately commemorates the village‘s old mining heritage. but the present matters more than the past, and for many that means adequate benefit payments. ministerial promises to correct this error, to repay everyone in full, must be kept. michael buchanan, bbc news, county durham. the time is nearly 20 past six. our top story this evening. as theresa may meets the other eu leaders, the brexit secretary insists the uk is making compromises. and still to come... # who will buy this wonderful morning? # the cast of eastenders break into song for children in need. coming up on sportsday on bbc news, england head coach eddiejones turns up the heat on his australian

counterpart, michael cheika, as the two sides meet in tomorrow‘s autumn international at twickenham. a military dog who helped save the lives of british and afghan troops in afghanistan is to receive the animal equivalent of the victoria cross — the dickin medal. mali was seriously wounded in 2012 when he entered a building in kabul under fire to sniff out explosives and insurgents. despite his injuries, he carried on, helping to secure the enemy stronghold. his new handler, corporal daniel hatley, says his dog is exceptionally brave. chi chi izundu reports. it‘s the animal equivalent of the victoria cross, and this year‘s dickin medal is being awarded to mali, the eight—year—old belgian malinois. in 2012, he was helping british troops in afghanistan when they came under attack. in searching for insurgents, mali came under direct fire. his job was to sniff out explosives,

and he was even hoisted up outside the building several times to help find a safe exit. his handler during the operation is anonymous for security reasons. from operations that we‘d been on previously, he had shown his... he‘d really sort of shown his mettle and built a reputation amongst all the guys. by the time we‘d launched onto this operation, we really felt that we had a guardian angel amongst us. the mission lasted seven and a half hours, and mali‘s contribution to its success is undeniable. the amount of noise, the dust, the smoke, you know, it must have overloaded his senses. he received blast injuries from two grenades that were thrown down the stairs at him, but again, he still carried on after that. the military uses around 500 dogs in a variety of roles from sniffing out explosives to hunting down insurgents. as for that medal, his current handler says mali thought it was an edible treat at first.

but having made a full recovery, mali is now passing on his skills at the canine training squadron, which teaches dogs and their handlers about their roles in the military. now, mali has had quite the day today, with lots of press, showing off his medal, which will be presented to him later in the ceremony, which is due to start at seven. it will not be this specific one, and it will go to is home in leicester, where it will sit on display. it is quite special, it comes on the 100th birthday of the pdsa pet charity, which presents the medal to dogs like mali. he will get a miniature replica to sit on his collar, which he will get to proudly display when he goes back to training, which is training other animals to be as brave as him. more than a million credit—card

users who are struggling to repay their debts have had their credit limit increased in the last year without being asked, according to the charity citizens advice. it‘s calling on the chancellor to ban unsolicited increases in the budget next week. simon gompertz has more. we‘re paying by credit card more, which means borrowing more. and it‘s partly because of credit limits going up without us asking. plenty of these manchester shoppers say it‘s happened to them. by at least another couple of thousand. and it‘s quite dangerous, ijust had the limit raised without any reference to me whatsoever. it's too tempting to spend the money, and then you pay back stupid money each month. so i've lowered the limit now. i think we did spend the money, though, didn't we? yeah, well, we did, that's the problem. citizens advice estimate of 6 million people who have had credit limits put up in the last without their consent includes 1.4 million who are struggling financially. on average, the limit‘s

gone up by nearly £1500. but for one in ten, it is by £3000 or more. there is change on the way. under a new voluntary code, you will be able to opt out of the increases. and if interest or charges swallow up most of your repayments for more than a year, you won‘t get them anyway. the worry is that that won‘t be enough to stop some people racking up too much debt, too quickly. any voluntary agreement is a step in the right direction. but we see such damage caused by credit card debt, particularly to those who can least afford to pay, that we‘d like to see the chancellor bring in an outright ban on unsolicited credit card limit increases. banks say they are committed to responsible lending — to live up to that they will need to make sure higher credit limits don‘t lead people into more expensive debt. simon gompertz, bbc news. cricket, and australia have retained the women‘s ashes. they beat england by six wickets in the first twenty20 match in sydney. even if england win the final two matches, they can only draw the series, meaning the hosts retain the trophy.

and finally, pudsey‘s back — in case you hadn‘t noticed. he‘ll be joined tonight by stars from across the bbc for tonight‘s children in need appeal. celebrities will be joining members of the public to raise money for the 2,400 projects the charity supports across the uk. they‘ll be hoping to beat last year‘s record of £60 million. our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba is outside the bbc‘s elstree studios. iam i am actually inside the studio, this is where it is all going to be happening injust this is where it is all going to be happening in just over an this is where it is all going to be happening injust over an hour‘s time, tonight‘s fundraising spectacular. all week, people across the uk have been raising money, tonight it will be the turn of some of the nation‘s favourite celebrities to show how they are supporting children in need. # who will buy... # the west end comes to the east end. # who will buy this wonderful morning? # walford‘s finest will be performing songs from oliver and other classic musicals.

# and put it in a box for me? # who is the celebrity weakest link? anne robinson will help viewers find out as she hosts a special edition of the famous quiz show. i thought you‘d advertised yourself as a genius millionaire playboy. yeah, in the past, yes. a group of charity workers get a once—in—a—lifetime offer — to work with poldark star aidan turner. while there‘ll be a live performance of the official children in need single from katie melua — fields of gold, chosen because it was one of sir terry wogan‘s favourite songs. # among the fields of barley... # it‘s notjust celebrities — people across the country have also been doing their bit to help raise cash. in colchester, cheered on by pudsey, this team was trying to set a pump—trolley world record.

it was a step challenge for this group from the midlands. and in wakefield, schoolteachers volunteered to be doused with ice—cold water. as always, the millions raised tonight will go to helping children and young people across the country. lizo mzimba, bbc news. good for them, why can‘t i made poldark, that is what i want to know! i will know! i will fight know! i will fight you for it! i would not like to have been and collecting for charity this morning, it was cold, minus four degrees, but lifting the frost to some sunshine, a beautiful afternoon across england and wales, but some sharp showers, some heavy, with thunder across much of scotland. a beautiful picture, but a miserable affair, widespread

showers accompanied by 50 mph winds. those showers will continue through the evening, in actual fact, those showers will continue through the evening, in actualfact, and then further south some clearer skies to the south—east, temperatures falling away, but then more cloud nudges into the south—west, not as cold tomorrow as of this morning, and that is because we will see some nuisance cloud and the light patchy rain moving through wales, the south—west, masking the sunshine into the afternoon across southern england. it could be a pretty d ra b southern england. it could be a pretty drab day, and that could make it feel much colder, nine or 10 degrees, but with a spot of rain not very pleasant, really. northern england, butjock northern ireland and scotland, a better day, more in the way of sunshine. a blustery wind, excuse me, into the northern isles and the far north of scotland. that is where we are going to save those to bridge is falling away as well through the night time period, so clear skies in scotland and much of the eastern half of the country

generally, quite a chilly nights to come. at the same time, we keep the cloud to the south—west, so it looks like a slightly milder start to sunday, but a cold start on sunday morning, frost is likely, that is where the best of the sunshine will be on monday, central and eastern areas will be cold and sunny, in the far south—west we keep the cloud, spots of rain. that‘s all from the bbc news at six, so it‘s goodbye from me, and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. hello. this is bbc news. the eu tells theresa may she has two weeks to put more money on the table if the eu is to agree to begin brexit trade talks before the end of the year. a number of people are feared dead after a light aircraft and a helicopter collide in mid air in buckinghamshire. president mugabe makes his first public appearance since the military the military seized control of the zimbabwean government. in a moment it will be time

for sportsday but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news... we‘ll be speaking to the human rights activist peter tatchell about his confrontation with robert mugabe, following the military coup in zimbabwe. also joining us will be the labour peer lord adonis, talking to us