welcome to newsday. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore, the headlines: president trump denies he's covering up for saudi arabia and says he wants answers over the disappearance of jamal khashoggi. i want to find out what happened, where is the fault, and we will probably know that by the end of the week. crimea declares three days of mourning after a gun and bomb attack at a college left at least 19 dead. i'm babita sharma in london. also in the programme: no breakthrough for britain, brexit and the irish border. theresa may meets eu leaders but they say she's offering nothing new. running battles with police in the indian state of kerala as hindu protesters try to stop women entering a temple for the first time. good morning.

it's 7am in singapore, midnight in london and seven in the evening in washington where president trump has denied covering up for saudi arabia over the suspected murder of the saudi journalist jamal khashoggi. but he said the us would not walk away from its ally. a team of turkish investigators has been examining the residence of the saudi arabian consul in istanbul for evidence. our correspondent, mark lowen reports from istanbul. at the home where diplomats entertain, police hunting the darkest of crimes. the saudi consul general‘s residence in istanbul, scoured today by turkish and saudi teams, searching forjust what happened to jamal khashoggi. it's over two weeks since the journalist disappeared after entering the consulate. turkey alleges murder by the saudi government. the american secretary of state shuttled from riyadh

to ankara today, promising turkey's president saudi arabia would investigate. but donald trump has taken a softer line, fuelling suspicions he's helping the saudis shift the blame. if you look at saudi arabia, they're an ally and they are a tremendous purchaser of not only military equipment, but other things. when i went there, they committed to purchase $450 billion worth of things and $110 billion worth of military. those are the biggest orders in the history of this country. probably in the history of the world. but i want to find out what happened, where is the fault? and we will probably know that by the end of the week. allowing the saudis to shield the leadership won't wash with mr khashoggi's friends and colleagues, who know the arab world well. translation: nobody could have committed this slaughter without the permission of the crown prince. those involved were part of the government and they followed an order. america's attempt to let the saudis off the hook is disgusting!

trump is rubbing salt in the wound. last week, the bbc identified this man, maher mutreb, as one of the 15 saudis accused of being part of the hit squad. photographs of him working as a bodyguard and travelling frequently with the crown prince have now emerged. well, after police took away dna and soil samples from the saudi consulate, the search goes on inside the residence. media reports of what happened in these buildings, the dismembering of the body, sounds of screaming, are so gruesome that even if the us manages to engineer a way out for the saudi leadership, turkey would find it much harder to accept and let this pass. evidence could unearth the grim truth of what happened here, but politics mightjust bury it again in a cover—up. mark lowen, bbc news, istanbul. let's take a look at some

of the day's other news. european union leaders say that, despite intensive negotiations, there has not been enough progress in the brexit talks to warrant having a special summit in november. the british prime minister theresa may has been trying to persuade eu leaders to give her more leeway to get a brexit deal. but several leaders said they'd heard nothing new in her briefing. translation: both sides mentioned extending the transition period is a possibility on the table, that would need to be looked into. there is nothing substantially new in contact via i assume there will be political will to make headway. the bbc‘s europe editor, katya adler has been following the developments in brussels. it's been polite, it's been courteous but there has been far from gushing optimism that this elusive brexit dealers around the corner, quite the opposite. the eu asked theresa may to come to the summit with new ideas on how to get around the impasse currently in brexit negotiations. eu leaders told

us “— brexit negotiations. eu leaders told us —— eu leaders told us she came up with nothing new and not long ago, people were talking about this summit is the brexit deal summit. clearly that timeline is moving along. the eu chief negotiator michelle barnier, he said on his way here this evening, we need time, and stopped to think and said, a lot more time. in this corridor, word is we are looking to drag on into december or beyond. eu leaders have been clear that they think a deal still can be done, they think a solution to the irish border issue still can be found. also making news today, a prominent candidate in afg hanistan‘s parliamentary elections has been killed in an explosion in helmand province. jabar qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office when the bomb went off. it is the latest attack in an electoral campaign marred by attempts by the taliban to dissuade people from voting. the australian state of queensland has legalised abortion after lawmakers were allowed a free vote on the issue. it's the fifth australian

state to do so. under the new law, women can terminate pregnancies at up to 22 weeks. interpol says that coordinated police raids in 93 countries have seized more than 55 tonnes of drugs including cocaine and heroin. 1,300 people were arrested in the operations which took place in september and october. over 90 companies have been showing off their technologies at the world robot summit injapan. the exhibition is aimed at addressing the labour shortage issue in japan. the government is looking for solutions to a declining number of employees amid a rapidly ageing population. in crimea, investigators are looking at possible motvies —— motives in a gun and bomb attack on a college, which killed at least 19 people. up to 50 more were injured after the attacker detonated a bomb in the canteen then opened fire on students. in russia, which annexed crimea

from ukraine in 2014, there have been commemorations, as part of three days of mourning. people in moscow have been bringing flowers and candles to kerch memorial near the kremlin wall. vigils have also been held in other russian cities along with crimea's sevastopol and donetsk, in eastern ukraine. 0ur correspondent richard lister has more. outside the college, the sound of an explosion. witnesses said they heard gunfire, too. as the emergency services arrived, they were soon overwhelmed by the number of casualties. some were suffering from blast injuries, others from gunshot wounds. ambulances took as many people as they could, but at times, the paramedics ran out of stretchers. some injured had been able to run

away from the campus others sat unhurt, but deeply shocked at the carnage which had overtaken them. many of the injured were taken by public transport, he said, and every ambulance carried two or three people. this woman is one of the college staff, there are many bodies, childrens‘ bodies, it was an act of terrorism. initially, it was said to be a terrorist act. attention is still here on the peninsula, after the russian takeover several years ago. the authorities are now describing this as mass murder carried out by the student. translation: judging by the footage, he was the one holding the gun. an 18—year—old college student. his body was found with a gunshot wound. we are assuming he committed suicide. many of the victims were teenagers. what prompted the attack is not yet clear.

president putin said the motives would be carefully investigated and he called for a moment of silence for those who died. officials have now confirmed that a bomb detonated in the college canteen. they said they also found and diffused a second device. as bad as this was, it seems it could have been even worse. richard lister, bbc news. returning to one of our top stories — theresa may's appeal to eu leaders to give her more flexibility over a brexit deal. 0ur correspondentjonathan blake is in westminsterfor us. a short time ago he told me that despite the lack of progress, the british pm might actually be happy with how things unfolded. we are well we were in a few days leading up to it. expectations were so leading up to it. expectations were so low, as eu leaders met in brussels this evening, but i think downing street, theresa may will

probably be pleased with the outcome, such as it was. there was no repeat of the salzburg summit a few weeks ago in which it was hoped both sides could demonstrate that progress of good will attended really in acrimony and a very badtempered way. tonight, eu leaders sat and listened to theresa may as she gave them her assessment of where things stand and they agreed to keep talking. so i think that was really the minimum and that theresa may could hope for and it was what they got. they didn't decide that not enough progress had been made in the plug should be pulled on negotiations and everyone should switch to preparing for no deal outcome. at the end of this process, they left open the possibility that progress, further progress could be made on the key sticking points of the negotiations so far but as things stand, there is no summit scheduled for november. the eu

leaders have left open the possibility that if they decide top of progress is made in the next few weeks, they will gather again then to update each other on the progress of negotiations and perhaps move towards some kind of a deal. so no summit in november, then comes christmas, nothing will happen then, into the new year and we are counting down the days to when we are supposed to be leaving. 0f course, and i don't expect you to have a crystal ball, but everyone is saying, can she do it in time? and the pressure is mounting daily on her. yes, it is. and i wouldn't rule out a her. yes, it is. and i wouldn't rule outa summit her. yes, it is. and i wouldn't rule out a summit in december because if we are looking at the 29th of march, 2019 as the date marked in the calendar that the uk will leave the eu, and that is what everyone is preparing for, and that day to really can't be moved at this stage, then there will have to be progress made at some point between now and the end of the year. that some sort

of broad agreement will have to be made and perhaps there is enough time between january and the made and perhaps there is enough time betweenjanuary and the end of march that deal to be agreed by parliament, not only here in westminster at therein brussels, by the eu parliament and all the individual member states of the eu as well. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still on the programme: less than three weeks until the us mid—term elections. we're in north dakota — a key battleground state. parts of san francisco least affected by the earthquake are returning to life. but in the marina area, where most of the damage was done, they're more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed. in the 19 years since he was last here, he's gone from being a little—known revolutionary to an experienced and successful diplomatic operator. it was a 20lb bomb which exploded on the fifth floor of the grand hotel, ripping a hole in the front of the building. this government will not weaken.

democracy will prevail. it fills me with humility and gratitude to know that i have been chosen as the recipient of this foremost of earthly honours. this catholic nation held its breath for the men they call the 33. and then... bells toll ..bells tolled nationwide to announce the first rescue, and chile let out an almighty roar. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. i'm babita sharma in london. our top stories: president trump denies he's covering up for saudi arabia and says he wants answers over the disappearance of saudi journalist jamal khashoggi. three days of mourning are declared in crimea after a student killed 19 people in a gun attack on a college.

among the most read on our website: a plane carrying the us first lady melania trump was forced to turn back after smoke appeared in the cabin. the plane returned to base without any further problems and no—one was hurt. more on that story at bbc.com. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the south china morning post leads on what's being called a mega bridge, which will link hong kong, zhuhai and macau. president xi jinping is expected to attend the bridge's opening ceremony, but will not be crossing over to the hong kong side. the japan times looks at the unfolding scandal involving earthquake equipment manufacturer kyb corp, which has admitted to falsifying data for more than a decade. the paper reveals that 1,000 buildings, including tokyo's skytree tower, use earthquake shock absorbers produced by the company.

and the new york times leads on the so—called brexit preppers, also known as the britons who are stockpiling food and medical supplies, fearing chaos when britain leaves the eu in march. those are the papers. now, babita, what stories are sparking discussions online? sharanjit, you've heard of curious cats, we have seen that for ourselves, but what about curious bears? here's one that was spotted opening the doors of a van in west boulder, colorado, it all happened during a snowstorm and having a look inside. eventually, gets a bit disinterested, the bear walked away,

but left all the doors open, much to the annoyance of the van‘s owners. well, let's return now to our top story. president trump has denied covering up for saudi arabia. 0ne spokesperson for america's mission to saudi arabia has been speaking about ways in which they could respond to these alleged actions. when the white house is approaching the security responses to the saudi government action they have to weigh up government action they have to weigh up the costs and the options. they have to decide if they want to cut out saudi arabia from diplomacy and their approach to the peace process and for example to containing iran in the region. they have to decide whether or not to cut the arms sales because at the end of the day it won't have an effect on the saudi government ability to get arms, they

will buy it from someone else. so they have to weigh up the priorities. the difference is at the end of the day there are moments in time when the united states needs to stand up and say these are our principles. you don't go into other countries and commit acts of human rights violations, repression, certainly not murder, against anybody. so far the saudis have been anybody. so far the saudis have been a bit unrefined and unsophisticated in their response to say the least. we know that there are leaks obviously saying that they are preparing a report noting that his killing was not their intention. i know that that's not confirmed at that point. that's just what we have heard this far, right? after that, though, it is hard to walk, hard to get up from that, because when you say something like that you are taking everybody as a fool, it is not possible that no one new in the higher echelons of the saudi government that if this operation was ordered that they were not aware. that is not how the saudi government operates. and to say that it was an accident that happened and

really what they meant to do was abduct him, well, first of all, accident or not that's unacceptable and second of all abducting him is not acceptable either. so walking back from this and trying to clean up back from this and trying to clean up their act is difficult unless they actually change their human rights programmes, policies, violations on the ground in saudi arabia and in the region. former us spokesperson to the united nations speaking with us a short time ago. violent protests are taking place in the indian state of kerala, as one of the most sacred sites for hindus opens its doors to all women after a centuries—old ban. protestors and police fought running battles after the supreme court overturned a ban on women of menstruating age entering the shrine. james clayton has this report from kerala. they are shouting the name of the god that sabarimala is devoted to. a crowd here to honour ayyappa as women enter the shrine. it had been

banned for ten to 50—year—old females to make the trek but the supreme court lifted it. and they are angry. the atmosphere here really is quite febrile. you only have to look at some of these guys and theirfaces have to look at some of these guys and their faces to know how serious they are. they don't want women to attend this temple. no, no, no. the media and the politicians are making this... they want to change our police, destroy our culture, destroy the our religion, that is the only thing this is. the crowd spots a woman getting out of the bus. she needs a police escort to escape the mob. 0ther needs a police escort to escape the mob. other cars containing women are also attacked. the police are trying to stop the protest is from actually boarding the bus. they are saying that there is a woman inside. we have been told to move away because it is just not say. have been told to move away because it isjust not say. it is not safe, it isjust not say. it is not safe, it isjust not say. it is not safe, it is very dangerous. ok, we will

move. we are told to leave. as we do, a femalejournalist move. we are told to leave. as we do, a female journalist is attacked. 0urcar is do, a female journalist is attacked. 0ur car is pelted with bottles and stones. 0ur colleague's car came off much worse. not everyone protesting here is violent. there are a surprising number of women who have been angered by the decision too. this woman is a teacher here at an kerala. more than 9996 this woman is a teacher here at an kerala. more than 99% of women in kerala. more than 99% of women in kerala support this. only a microscopic minority, they are ready to destroy our customs. kerala is usually a peaceful state, but certainly these protesters feel that one form of discrimination has been replaced with another, their right to religious freedom. the temple is open for another five days and more protests are expected. it's just under three weeks until the mid—term elections in the us. if the democrats do well they could limit president trump's actions in the second

half of his term. polls suggest that they have a good chance of taking control of the house of representatives, but the fight for the senate is more difficult to predict. they will need to win in key battlegrounds including north dakota, from where our north america editorjon sopel reports. # well, people, get ready # heidi's coming... heidi heitkamp is down to earth, easy—going, and not in the least grand. and she's popular. even her opponents say nice things. but her already difficult task became herculean when she voted against brett kavanaugh getting on the supreme court. that decision has fired up her republican opponents. but she told me she has no regrets. people want somebody who votes with their conscience. somebody who actually sits down, listens to the story and does what they think is right. but her campaign in the last 2a hours has gone into meltdown. heidi heitkamp's campaign is apologising today. misidentified victim...

heidi heitkamp is apologising... an open letter to her opponent accusing him of not taking sexual abuse seriously enough contained the names of 130 women, all victims. but astonishingly, without getting consent for the publication of their names beforehand. cue full—scale contrition. the only thing i can do is say, i am so sorry. you need a senator who doesn'tjust talk like they're from north dakota... the republican candidate is kevin cramer. his campaign is accusing heidi heitkamp of re—victimising the victims. it's just terrible for the individuals who have been identified by the campaign without their approval. does it affect the campaign, does it affect the race? absolutely. it's just shy of 1500 miles from washington, dc to here in fargo, but the race here is being watched incredibly closely in the nation's capital. if the democrats have any chance of retaking the senate, they need to hold onto this state. but their chances of doing so have taken a massive blow with this colossal act of

political ineptitude. we can't harvest soybeans with snow on the ground... what happened, honestly, it sucks. et legitimises the me too movement, and it is just et legitimises the me too movement, and it isjust devastating for everyone involved. her only hope might be donald trump's trade war with china. farming is a critical part of the north dakota economy, mainly soya bean and maize. but farmers like monte peterson have seen sales collapse as a result of chinese retaliation. but, mr trump, i don't believe that tariffs are the means by which to negotiate that trade. so, you voted for donald trump in 2016? yes, idid. would you vote for him again? well, i'm glad there's a couple of years yet to decide that. drive across north dakota

and you can't help but be struck by its vastness and emptiness. just 11 people per square mile. but it still sends two senators to washington, just like the biggest states in the country. and democrat hopes today seem almost as bleak as the landscape. jon sopel, bbc news, fargo, north dakota. you have been watching newsday. i'm babita sharma in london. and i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. stay with us. the us is going after china again, this time by withdrawing from a deal that gave chinese companies cheap postal rates. that's on asia business report. and before we go, let's head to canada and the first legal sale of cannabis. there were long queues outside stores which opened their doors at midnight, to sell marijuana for recreational purposes. canada has become only the second country in the world — after uruguay — to allow cannabis

to be legally sold in shops across the country. and a reminder of our top story — donald trump has said he would not stand in the way of investigations into the disappearance of the saudi arabianjournalist into the disappearance of the saudi arabian journalist who went missing in istanbul, jamal khashoggi, as turkish investigators are continuing to gain access to the building where he disappeared, that's a story that we are following very closely and of course we will bring you any further developments here on bbc world news newsday. stay with us, we will be back with headlines:. hello there. the last couple of days

we've had quite a lot of cloud across england and wales with some clearer skies further north. the cloud has been down to this weather front at increasingly been trying to move away, replaced by this build of pressure coming in from the atlantic and that's what's been clearing the skies. and yesterday we had a fine and clear end to the day across the northern half of the uk. and that's led to temperatures dropping like a stone. it certainly going to be a cold start to the morning, particularly in the northern half of the uk in the countryside. temperatures down below freezing in cates bridge in northern ireland first thing and also a few spots in scotla nd first thing and also a few spots in scotland seeing patchy frost. but for most a chilly start. the far south of the word, though, still has cloud first thing in the morning, maybe a few mist patches for the thames estuary and the tops of the downs. and as we go through the rest of the day you will notice the cloud thickening across western scotland where there will also be a few light showers coming and going across the western isles and the northern isles, it should be mostly dry for the mainland, though. temperatures

between 12 and 16 degrees. as i say a lot of dry and bright weather. now as we go through into thursday night time, thickening cloud will work into the north—west of the country, and that will help lift temperatures towards the end of the night. but it will be a cold night for the rest of england and wales particularly in the countryside, temperatures getting into low single figures, a few patches of mist and fog around as well. for friday, well, we still have our area of high pressure with us have our area of high pressure with us but this weather front will bring thickening cloud to the north—west of the country and outbreaks of rain ultimately to scotland. further southin ultimately to scotland. further south in northern ireland, we are closer to the influence of a high pressure, so the front does come through but the rain is going to be quite light and patchy, just earning quite light and patchy, just earning quite cloudy really through the afternoon. we will probably see things turning down for a time across north—west england and the north of wales too, while skies brightening scotland for the north of friday afternoon, sunshine in southern england wales with highs of 17 degrees. heading into the weekend, well, this war warm front will bring some warm across —— rate

across, and even into eastern areas as we go through the morning. the afternoon, well, it should be quite warm for this time of the across eastern areas of scotland in north—east england thanks to this furnace that we can see temperatures pushing up to 18 degrees —— burnt fracture. and for england and wales it is quite quiet, variable cloud, but we could see mist and fog patches to start the day —— burn effect. that theme will continue to saturday as well. mist and fog patches around this weekend but the weather mainly dry for most of us. with i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story. president trump denies covering up for saudi arabia over the suspected murder of the saudi journalist jamal khashoggi. as a team of turkish investigators searched the residence of the saudi arabian consul in istanbul for evidence, mr trump said the us would not walk away from its ally three days of mourning have been declared in crimea after a gun and bomb attack on a college left at least 19 people dead.

russian investigators say the assault was carried out by an 18—year—old student at the school and this story is trending on bbc.com. a plane carrying the us first lady melania trump was forced to turn back after smoke appeared in the cabin. the plane returned to base without any further problems and no one was hurt. now on bbc news, hardtalk.