i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore, welcome to newsday. 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. live from our studios in singapore in london.

this is bbc world news. it's newsday. good morning. it's 8am in singapore, 1 in the morning in london and 8 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 reports from istanbul. the home where diplomats entertain, at the home where diplomats entertain, police hunting the darkest of crimes. the saudi consul‘s general residence in istanbul scoured by turkish and saudi teams searching forjust what happened to jamal khashoggi. it is 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, promising turkey's president that saudi arabia would investigate but donald trump has taken a softer line, fuelling suspicions he is helping the saudis shift the blame. if you look at saudi arabia, they are an ally and arab tremendous purchaser of military equipment and other things. when i went there, they committed to purchase $450 billion worth of things and $110 billion worth of military and those are the biggest orders in the history of this country, probably 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 their leadership won't wash with jamal khashoggi's friends and collea g u es with jamal 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 involved an order, and america's attempt to let the saudis off the book is disgusting. trump is rubbing salt into the wounds. last week, the bbc identified this man is one of the 15 saudis accused of being part of the hit squad. photographs of him working and travelling with the crown prince have now emerged. evidence could uncover the grim truth of what happened here but politics might just bury truth of what happened here but politics mightjust bury it again in a cover—up. 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 but 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 —— 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, michel barnier, he said on his way here this evening, we need time,

and stopped to think and said, a lot more time. the word in this corridor, word is we are looking to drag on into december or possibly beyond. that said, eu leaders have been clear this evening 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 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," she said. "it was a real act of terrorism."

initially, it was said to be a terrorist act. tension still simmers on the peninsula, after the russian takeover several years ago. but the authorities are now describing this as mass murder carried out by one of the students. translation: judging from the footage, he was the one holding the gun. a fourth—year college student, 18—year—old vladislav roslya kov. 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. he told me that despite the lack of progress — the british pm might actually be happy with how things unfolded. we are where we were in a few days 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. of 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 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 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. violence at one of india's holiest temples — hindu tradition clashes with sexual equality. still to come 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. as you can see in the photo there, it looks enormous. 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. that brings you up to date with some of the papers. now, babita, what stories are sparking discussions online? that's quite scary, the shot of people stockpiling goods, like what we do on the nightshift here with all our goodies, brexit or no brexit! you've heard of curious cats, but what about curious bears? can use ev bear there on the right—hand corner of your screen? ——

can use either bear there on the right—hand corner of your screen? —— use either bear there on the right... was the 14 point. here's one that was spotted opening the doors of a van in west boulder, colorado during a snowstorm and having a look inside. eventually, the bear walked away, but left all the doors open, much to the annoyance of the van‘s owners. let's return now to our top story. us president donald trump has denied covering up for saudi arabia over the suspected murder of the saudi journalist jamal khashoggi. hagar chemali used to be a spokesperson for america's mission to the united nations. she's been talking about ways in which the us could respond to saudi arabia's alleged actions. when the white house is approaching the security responses to the saudi government action, they have to weigh 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's ability to get arms — they will buy it from someone else. so they have to weigh 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 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's hard to walk...hard to get up from that, because, when you say something like that, you are taking everybody as a fool. it's not possible that no one knew in the higher echelons of the saudi government that, if this operation was ordered, that they were not aware. that's 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 not acceptable. and, second of all, abducting him is not acceptable either. so, walking 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. hegar chemali, speaking to the bbc a short while ago, former us spokesperson to the united nations. 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. all chant: ayyappa!

they're 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 10— to 50—year—old females to make the trek, but the supreme court lifted it. and they're angry. the atmosphere here really is quite febrile. you only 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 beliefs, destroy our culture, destroy our religion, that's the only thing this is. the crowd spot a woman getting out of the bus. she needs a police escort to escape the mob. other cars containing women are also attacked. the police are trying to stop the protesters from actually boarding the bus. they're saying that there's a woman inside. we've been told to move away because it's just not safe. it's not safe, it's very dangerous. 0k, we'll move.

will move, sir. —— we all move, sir. —— wheel move, sir. we're told to leave. as we 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 in kerala. more than 99% of women in kerala don't support this. 0nly only 99%? —— more than 99%? 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. james clason, bbc news.

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 editor, jon 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 24 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't just 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'sjust shy of 1,500

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. atan at an event last night for female voters, i spoke to some of her supporters. their display was palpable. what happened... honestly, it sucks. it just sucks. palpable. what happened... honestly, it sucks. itjust sucks. it delegitimise is the #metoo movement and for heidi heitkamp and the women involved. we can't harvest soybeans with snow on the ground... 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've been watching newsday. we wa nt we want to show you melbourne, australia, where it's approaching 11:30am and large crowds have gathered, waiting to catch a glimpse

of who else, but the duke and duchess of sussex. day three of the 16—day tour where it takes in australia, where they are at the moment, and they might be coming around the corner. there in melbourne, about to visit the botanical gardens before spending the day doing a number of events and appearances —— they are in melbourne —— botanical gardens. they will then have lunch with the governor. there they are, making their way through they are, making their way through the huge crowds that have gathered to see them. so far, their trip going incredibly well with the crowds in their throngs catching a glimpse of them with their phones. the news still dominating the tour, the couple are expecting a baby in spring next year. you're watching bbc news. our coverage of their tour continues. stay with us. 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 that's 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's certainly going to be a cold start to the morning, particularly in the countryside, across the northern half of the uk. temperatures down to just below freezing in katesbridge in northern ireland first thing, and also a few spots in scotland seeing a patchy frost. but, for most, a chilly start. the far south of england, though, still having quite a bit of cloud first thing in the morning, maybe a few mist patches for the thames estuary and up over the tops of the downs. and as we go through the rest of the day, you'll notice the cloud thickening across western scotland, where there'll also be a few light showers coming

and going across the western isles and the northern isles. it should stay 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 the temperatures towards the end of the night. but it's going to be a colder night across parts of england and wales, particularly in the countryside, again, temperatures getting into low single figures, there could be a few patches of mist and fog around as well. for friday, well, we've still got our area of high pressure with us but this weather front will be bringing thickening cloud to the north—west of the country and outbreaks of rain 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's going to be quite light and patchy, just turning quite cloudy, really, through the afternoon. we'll probably see things turning damp for a time across north—west england and the north of wales too. whilst the skies brighten scotland for the north of friday afternoon, there should be some sunshine in southern england and wales. highs of up to 17 degrees. heading on into the weekend, well, we've got this warm front moving in off the atlantic, and again, that's going to be bringing some more rain

across scotland, even pushing into eastern areas as we go through the morning. the afternoon, well, it should become really quite warm for the time of year across eastern areas of scotland and north—east england. and thanks to the foehn effect, and we can see temperatures pushing up to around 18 degrees or so. and for england and wales, the weather stays quite quiet, variable cloud, some bright or sunny spells, but we could see mist and fog patches to start the day. and that theme will continue probably into saturday as well. mist and fog patches around this weekend but the weather mostly dry for most of us. that's your weather. you're watching bbc world news. i am babita sharma. 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: the duke and duchess of sussex have arrived in melbourne for the third day of the trip to australia, fiji, tonga and new zealand. large crowds greeted the couple as they held a public walk—about in the city's royal botantic gardens. stay with us. more on that to come. and the top story in the uk: theresa may has asked eu leaders in brussels for more flexibility