this is bbc news, i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 8pm: us cable giant comcast outbids rupert murdoch's 21st century fox for control of the broadcaster sky after a dramatic blind auction. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, criticises the way eu leaders treated the prime minister and has urged them to step back from the abyss of a no—deal brexit. brexit is set to be a key issue at the labour party conference but today the focus was on equality. our party and our movement will a lwa ys our party and our movement will always have the very highest standards so that everyone is safe and secure in our movement and sexual harassment has no place whatsoever in our movement. iranian leaders accuse us—backed gulf states of being behind an attack on a military parade. 29 people are killed and dozens more injured. tributes have been paid to chas hodges,

one half of the musical duo, chas and dave who has died. rabbit... the singer passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of this morning. he was 7a. and coming up at 8.30pm, the man booker prize—winning author dame hilary mantel is in conversation with rebecca jones, for talking books. comcast has outbid 21st century fox for control of sky in a dramatic bidding battle after months of boardroom rangling. the auction, ran by the uk's takeover regulator, took place this evening and went to the maximum three rounds.

comcast‘s bids of £17.28 a share beat the smaller bid of £15.67 a share from 21st century fox. the deal values sky atjust over £30 billion. sky shareholders will still have to approve the deal. our business reporter simonjack has been following the story. well it's probably the most epic, protracted old womb at all i've ever witnessed. it has been going on for months. —— most protracted boardroom battle i've ever witnessed. sources tell me this, com past —— comcast are offering 10% more than fox disney. this is a knockout blow

which will see comcast win this very big battle. comcast are the biggest paid tv provider in the us, the market has been dwindling, they want to expand into other markets, they are up against netflix and except rap, this gets them 23 million subscribers in a stroke. they have ended up paying up a lot for it. they were at £14 75, they had closed bidding, they had to put their authors in an envelope and go through three different rounds of bidding —— bidding. this will be a disappointment to fox disney who remember rupert murdoch, owner of zist remember rupert murdoch, owner of 21st century, sorry, it is quite complicated, he wanted to sell it to disney, he would have liked to have done that, including 30 and percent of sky and indeed all of sky will

view this is not a lot of difference but we don't know what comcast‘s la nza for but we don't know what comcast‘s lanza for charging, what fees they will charge, they also are keen to get hold of premiership football which sky has the rights to. that may be interesting in terms of rolling out to other markets. was it one of the most epic and drawn out boardroom battles in history? absolutely. i think comcast have landed this knockout blow and it is the end of it. how could fox get it so the end of it. how could fox get it so wrong? the market price on friday closed at around £15 the only put in £15 and six to 7p n. when they basically bought fox, they ended up paying a lot more from that alike. they had wasted some of their financial ammunition or used it up in buying fox. that left them less

able to be able to offer more money for sky. so, ithink able to be able to offer more money for sky. so, i think that they had constraints on what they were able to offer. comcast knew that if they did not bid much more than disney and fox, then basically, because easily fox already owns 39%, the shareholders of sky could still recommend it. so they could have to come out with a knockout blow. comcast knew they had to come in big if they were going to knock out fox disney. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are martin bentham, the home affairs editor for the london evening standard and martin lipton, who's deputy head of sport at the sun. the foreign secretary has urged eu leaders to step back

from the abyss of a no—deal brexit and engage with the british government's proposals. jeremy hunt said they had not given a detailed response to theresa may's plans. the so—called chequers plan was largely dismissed by eu leaders at the salzburg summit on thursday. last night, the european council president, donald tusk, said the british had already known about the eu's objections but he insisted a deal was still possible. 0ur political correspondent, matt cole, reports. international law, international commerce, and the media, what have we got to fear? at a rally today, the former brexit secretary david davis telling theresa may she's got it wrong and should seek a new way of leaving the eu. that we should only accept a clean and clear brexit. not some fudge, not some weak compromise. i have to tell you, i'm afraid that a weak compromise is exactly

what i think chequers is. so, if leaders in europe have rejected her plans and she's being buffeted by backbenchers, who can theresa may rely on for support? step forward the foreign secretary, insisting she's right to demand concessions from brussels. if the eu's view is that just byjust saying no to every proposal made by the united kingdom we will eventually capitulate and end up either with the norway option or, indeed, staying in the eu, if that is their view, then they've profoundly misjudged the british people. this social media post from donald tusk, the eu council president, has helped stir the bad blood, mocking mrs may for what he says is trying to cherry—pick the best bits out of the single market. mr tusk played host at the salzburg summit, where the so—called chequers plan was dismissed. but he's rejecting suggestions that the ideas were knocked back without explanation. in a statement, he said: "the results of our analysis have

been known to the british side in every detail for many weeks." trying to get beyond the growing acrimony, he continued, "while understanding the logic of the negotiations, i remain convinced that a compromise, good for all, is still possible." so, what next for eu negotiations? who's going to blink first? theresa may says eu leaders have to come up with new counter proposals for future trading relations. but there's little sign of that. however, the prime minister says her officials are working on new proposals for northern ireland's border with the republic. if those plans can find a way to keep goods flowing freely after brexit, then perhaps they might be able to give some momentum back to the wider talks, too. in dublin today, ireland's foreign minister suggested a solution was doable. everybody has accepted, including the british prime minister, that unique solutions are required in order to put a backstop in place to ensure the border infrastructure between northern ireland and ireland cannot re—emerge.

so, we need to get on now and negotiate that in a way that's acceptable to both sides. i believe it is possible to do that with an intensification of negotiations. but getting brussels to agree on britain's divorce is only half the battle. theresa may needs the support of her own mps to get the deal through parliament, and a tricky conservative conference in just over a week might reveal just how hard it will be to unite the party behind her. matt cole, bbc news, westminster. brexit will be one of the key issues on the agenda at the labour party conference which begins in liverpool this weekend, with the shadow chancellorjohn mcdonnell, accusing the government of being out of its depth, in its handling of the uk's withdrawal from the eu. well, in the last hour labour party leaderjeremy corbyn, has been speaking at a rally ahead of the party conference tomorrow. we will challenge this government on

whatever do feel it brings back on oui’ whatever do feel it brings back on our six tests, onjobs, whatever do feel it brings back on oursix tests, onjobs, on whatever do feel it brings back on our six tests, onjobs, on living standards, on environmental protection and protection of those jobs and the ability of an incoming labour government to invest and intervene in an economy to bring about decent wages, jobs, and full employment. and if this government can't deliver, then i simply say to jury can't deliver, then i simply say to jury they meet, the best way to settle this is to have a general election. reports in the us say the woman who has accused the us supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh of sexual assault will testify against him at a confirmation hearing next week. allegations from a university professor, christine blasey ford, emerged in the media last week. she gave details of an incident which she says happened at a party in 1982. we can go live now to our correspondent chris buckler in washington.

just how significant is it that we will have testimony now? it is extremely significant, it sets up a very high—profile hearing next week. christine blasey ford's's lawyer has described first—hand knowledge. he has denied allegations that he sexually assaulted her when they we re sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers but she continues to say it did happen and she is prepared to say that in front of the committee. for the prepared to say that in front of the committee. forthejudge, prepared to say that in front of the committee. for the judge, he prepared to say that in front of the committee. forthejudge, he also wa nts to committee. forthejudge, he also wants to give evidence and he says in order to clear his name. the real question has been about dr two, whether she was prepared to go ahead and speak, and there have been long

negotiations behind the scenes. she has a number of terms and conditions she wants accent. she does not want mr kavanaugh in the room, she wants him to give evidence at first, and she also wants only senators to question her, because republicans are very sensible about this whole issues. on the judiciary committee, there are only male republican senators and as a result, some of them have been suggesting they could bring in lawyers or they could bring in female staffers to question her instead. nonetheless, christine blasey ford says herself that is an acceptable. in this letter to the committee from her lawyer, she says that she is very radical of the committee in what she calls its process which has led to leaks and bullying. —— very critical of the committee. she says the proposals do not set out and —— a fair and

impartial investigation, and as a result, they say they want to continue negotiating on the terms of her giving evidence. nonetheless, this is a clear indication that she is prepared to speak at senate at some stage next week. as you can imagine, all eyes will be on those hearings. all eyes have also been following donald trump's reaction to this. his frustrations grew through friday and he did lash out. yes, and some have been very critical of one week he made in which he suggested that if this had happened, why hadn't she her parents gone to the authorities some 36 years ago, which did lead to a number of people to raise their eyebrows and to think it was accent will from the president. 0ther was accent will from the president. other times, he has been more careful in his language. there are reports here in the us that officials have been suggesting that this doesn't say very clearly that

she is prepared to give evidence, only that they are prepared to negotiate about her giving evidence and that she wants to provide the terms and they say that could be seen terms and they say that could be seen as a terms and they say that could be seen as a delaying tactic. republicans are frustrated about this. that is also true from the dr ponds are —— the dr‘s point of view as well. thank you. iran's supreme leader has ordered security forces to find the criminals responsible for an attack on a military parade which killed at least 29 people. the incident took place in the south—west of the country near the iraqi border. gunmen opened fire near a stage set up for the parade. crawling on the ground and other people carrying the injured. alanjohnston has the story — a warning though, you might find some of the images in his report distressing. fear and chaos amid the gunfire.

moments ago, these soldiers would have been in the parade, marching proudly. now, suddenly, they are under attack. they are desperate for cover, scrambling to survive. bullets whistle overhead, and there are dead and injured all around. then, in the thick of the danger, terrified civilians run for their lives. the gunmen had attacked as officials would have been watching the parade. anyone in this place filled with troops and spectators was at risk. inevitably, there were women and children among the dead and wounded. but the security forces fought back, and four militants were killed. local ethnic arab separatists say

they carried out the attack but the islamic state group has also claimed responsibility. 0n the streets, there was anger. translation: in the middle of the parade, we realised there was a group wearing fake military clothing. they attacked our children from behind us and then fired on women and children. they fired completely blindly, meaning they weren't taking targets, just firing. meanwhile, iran's foreign minister said the gunmen had been armed by a foreign regime and its us backers, an apparent reference to either israel or saudi arabia, but he produced no evidence of this. another parade, in the capital tehran, passed off peacefully, watched by president hassan rouhani. he has promised what he called a "crushing response" to the attack in hawaz. the headlines on bbc news:

media giant comcast has outbid 21st century fox for control of sky after a dramatic behind—closed—doors auction. step back from the abyss — the foreign secretary jeremy hunt's warning to european leaders following the eu leaders' meeting in salzburg. jeremy corbyn tells delegates at labour's women's conference that his is a party of equality. sport and for a full roundup, from the bbc sport centre, here's holly. good evening. liverpool are top of the premier league after making it wins out of six, this time a 3—0 win at home to southampton. all the goals came in the first half, mo salah scoring their third. that makes it seven wins in a row in all competitions, following the midweek win

against psg in the champions league, and that's a club record. to be honest, i was not interested in the history before the game. a few tried to do it already, the seventh time. now, unlike hit. to be honest, i like it. so that is cool. but we will try to carry on on that path, the challenges get tougher and tougher. there was also a big win for manchester city. 5—0 at cardiff, aguero, bernardo silva, ilkay gundowan all scored in the first half and riyad mahrez got two after the break, his first goals for the club. city are up to second. sir alex ferguson was at old trafford today, the first match he's attended this season, following emergency brain surgery back in may. his side couldn't give him a win, though — they drew 1—1 with wolves. burnley have their first

win of the season. a really impressive 4—0 win at home to bournemouth. ashley barnes scored twice late on. they're now out of the relegation zone. in the late kick—off, tottenham's losing streak ended with a win over brighton, at a very wet and windy amex stadium. joe lynskey was watching. spurs are hoping for the storm to pass. this september has seen their form and their title hopes deteriorate. three straight defeats have left the manager agitated. already this is mauricio pochettino's worst run in charge. for the south goes, no easy place to turn the tide. brighton's goalkeeper matt ryan showed what they're up against. but one emphatic block, one more subtle change the skin. huddled was the arm of glenn murray. enough contact for a penalty. when harry kane stepped up, summer seems less distance. dispatched just like in russia. at the amex, brighton have learned

how to take on this top side, but this was a date when their finishing escaped them. anthony knockaert would forget that miss injust nine minutes. spurs made more comfortable with erik lamela scoring. brighton and knockaert did respond with a goal back late on but spurs did enough. this side are still adrift of the top and with problems still too soft. at least tonight they put an end to the downpour. joe lynskey, bbc news. in the day's other games, it finished 1—1 between fulham and watford, crystal palace v newcastle finished goalless and leicester came from a goal down to beat huddersfield 3—1 — jamie vardy with their third. we're moving ever closer to the big fight at wembley, where anthonyjoshua is defending his world heavyweight titles against russia's alexander povetkin. when you look at stats, everything seems to be in the champion's favour. povetkin is 11 years older and considerably smaller than joshua but he's only lost once in 35 fights.

everything aboutjoshua is bigger and everything about povetkin is smaller and it's been that way for 15 years, which makes him an expert at fighting big guys. because every time little alexander povetkin gets in the ring, takes off his robe, he is a bit chubby, and he turns round and in the opposite corner is some man mountain. he is used to fighting big guys. he has a fantastic formula for beating big guys. joshua and his trainer rob mccracken, i can tell you they are very nervous and are wary of tonight's fight. super league leaders st helens have beaten warrington for the third time this season. this one in the rugby league's super 8s. saints ran in six tries to win by 34 points to 14. the sides will meet again in the semi—finals a week on thursday. that's all the sport for now. i'll have the latest throughout the evening. let's get more now on our main

story, the american cable giant comcast has beaten its rival 21st century fox in the auction for the broadcaster, sky. joining me now isjoe mayes, a reporter at bloomberg. how excited is the world of media about this breaking news? the sky shareholders are definitely very excited. £17.28 is a huge increment on what they started trading on. the media industry is pretty stunned by these numbers. it is a massive win for all the staff and shareholders and it is quite a moment. what on earth was going on with 21st—century fox ? earth was going on with 21st—century fox? did they really want this 61% share? a difficult one to call. fox

have forced comcast to pay perhaps more than they wanted to. in the final round of bidding in this auction, fox were behind at the start, they increased their bid, comp are “— start, they increased their bid, comp are —— comcast increased their weird and had to increase again. maybe their appetite wasn't as strong as comcast. let's talk about comcast. how badly do they need sky? we have heard from the ceo talking about international expansion. sky is clearly a very important asset for comcast. this will help them diversify outside of the us where they have seen reduction in spending on cable channels because of the threat of netflix, consumers are increasingly going for those kinds of options. it allows comcast to get out of the struggling us market. they also get sky's technology. all

the content it has like premier league soccer, great dramas, it is a pretty big win for comcast. comcast wins, what do current sky customers win? what are they gain by this deal? i think we can expect pretty big cash injection. the big media player spending a lot of money on the platform and the is this. you heard the quality of the sky offering might increase. that will bea offering might increase. that will be a concern for sky employees as well. the bidder has to find cost savings to justify the big rise they have just paid so they might be some uncertainty there but overall it is a good night for sky. a lot of people will be asking who comcast r. take us through their media assets. comcast are the biggest cable company in the us. they sell

packages of tv, internet, that you can buy together in bundles. they own nbc universal, those that made jurassic world and downton abbey. comcast has its own portfolio of media. sky atlantic, exeter. —— exeter. brian would assist saying he was this deal completed at the end of october, how realistic is that?|j think of october, how realistic is that?” think that is witty realistic. you see the difference in price between what comcast offered and what fox offered. it makes sense to sell it to comcast because of the very significant differential between the two offers. comcast looked to buy out shares in sky and try to get the threshold of 50% of the shares which

is what they needed to get 50% of the shares. thank you. a man has been rescued from a ferry, two days after it capsized on lake victoria in tanzania. he's thought to have survived in an air pocket under the upturned vessel. more than 200 people are now known to have died in the accident. jessica parker has more. an anxious wait from the shore, relatives unable to hold back their tears. divers and rescue teams braving the waters of lake victoria to attempt to bring more bodies to shore. the ferry capsized two days ago. officials say it was filled to four times its maximum capacity and tipped when passengers moved from one side to the other. divers resumed their search for survivors today after hearing knocking from inside the vessel, rescuing an engineer. he's said to have survived in an air pocket inside the mv nyerere ferry and is a serious condition. while some families continue to wait for news, others have now begun

the difficult process of collecting their relatives and preparing them for burial. translation: most of the bodies have been identified by theirfamilies, so all the necessary arrangements have been made. the next step is to allow family members to start collecting their beloved ones ready for the burial ceremony. the government is already making plans for the bodies that have not yet been claimed or identified, digging graves just metres from the site of the accident, ahead of a burial tomorrow. an official investigation into what happened will take place once the rescue efforts to find any survivors has ended. jessica parker, bbc news. chas hodges, one half of the musical duo chas and dave, has died. he was 74. known for their rock and cockney style, chas and dave enjoyed the height of their fame in the 1970s and ‘80s, with hits such as rabbit. david sillito looks back at his life and music. # with your incessant talking

# you're becoming a pest # rabbit, rabbit, rabbit #. when they emerged in the late ‘70s, the age of punk and disco, chas and dave rather stood out. # you're a wonderful girl...# chas hodges' music was a unique mix of rock and roll with old—school cockney singalongs. # no, you won't stop talking # why don't you give it a rest?# he'd grown up in north london. his mum made ends meet playing the piano in local pubs. and in the ‘60s and ‘70s, he played in bands such as mike berry and the outlaws, and head, hands and feet. what troubled him was the way he sang. i remember ringing up dave, i said, let's go out for a pint. i said, i've got an idea of writing songs about things that i know about and singing them in my own accent. # when the kids are swinging on the gate...# what followed was a series of hit singles and dozens of tv appearances — and then a fall from fashion.

# everything i ever done...# 20 years on, their career picked up again. this was no novelty act. chas hodges was a talented musician and songwriter. i'll be around! chas hodges, who's died, at the age of 74. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. good evening. it is something of a north—south split over the weekend. plenty of rain in the south during saturday and more of the same for sunday. there will be sunshine further north with showers but southern england could see some heavy rain. the first batch of rain

works its way through the south—east and the next area heads for the south—west during the early hours of sunday. further north, some clearer skies with temperatures falling pretty low, down to around three degrees in glasgow and edinburgh. a touch of frost in parts of scotland. a scattering of showers but further south, more cloud. pretty windy conditions across the south—east with the rain pushing that way and then the rain slowly eases and sunshine works its way from the west in the afternoon. a fairly cool day with temperatures at 14 or 15 at best. it becomes less windy in the south through next week. goodbye.