criticised for suggesting we could remain tied to the eu for longer than planned. at the summit in brussels, theresa may indictates theresa may indicates she would consider an extension to the transition period, in order to reach a deal. we are not promoting an extension to the fermentation period, we are working to ensure we have a solution to the backstop problem in northern ireland which is currently a blockage to completing the deal. the eu says it's open to the idea, but mps at westminister say it will cost britain billions. also tonight: the number of murders in england and wales has risen to its highest level for ten years. pressure intensifies on saudi arabia over the suspected killing of a journalist, as america, britain, france and the netherlands pull out of a major investment conference in saudi. and bringing bands closer to the people — how the likes of u2 are using technology to take their music to the people. and coming up in sportsday later in the hour on bbc news:

we'll take a close look at eddiejones‘s latest england squad to face the springboks, all blacks, japan and the wallabies. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the prime minister says she is convinced that the uk can achieve a good deal with the european union on brexit, despite the eu summit in brussels ending with no sign of a breakthrough. the major sticking point remains the issue of the irish border. but theresa may has drawn sharp criticism from all sides of her party for suggesting that she would consider extending the amount of time that the uk remained tied to the eu and its rules and regulations — in order to help secure a deal. and that could cost the uk billions more. our political editor,

laura kuenssberg, is in brussels. laura. sophie, this was not going to be the moment that all the problems of brexit were magically solved. but theresa may did come here with a whisper of a new proposal. but as she discovered yet again when there isa hint she discovered yet again when there is a hint of compromise in brussels, there is big conflict at home. blogger this rolls on, the more things stay the same. brush the longer. europe's leaders frustrated in brussels. when theresa may arrives with not much to say. but listen carefully, very carefully. there comes a hint of compromise. further idea that has emerged and it is an idea at this stage, is to create an option to extend the implementation period for a matter of months, and it would only be for a matter of months. but the point is

that this is not expected to be used. a tiny clue, but a big change. what she means is we might stick longer with the status quo after brexit. theresa may has reason to look a bit nervous about that. longer in the departure lounge, in transition, would mean longer following eu rules without a say. and maybe these leaders would charge a bill of billions for the privilege, too. they don't look worried. instead of late—night brinkmanship, there was a beer drinking for angela merkel, emmanuel macron and a select band of other eu leaders last night. but will be idea ofa leaders last night. but will be idea of a lovely transition make it easier to say goodbye to the uk? maybe. if the uk decided that an extension of the transition period would be helpful to reach a deal, i am sure that the leaders would be ready to consider its —— it positively. maybe not. the key

element for a final deer is on the british side. number10 believes, as angela merkel says... weather is a will, there should also bea weather is a will, there should also be a way. evenif be a way. even if the idea quickens the pace in brussels, it might get stuck at home. we are negotiating in good faith and we will keep our nerve. the cabinet is nervous. very nice to see you. and whether former leavers oi’ see you. and whether former leavers orformer remainers, it has riled tory mps. the most common phrases, just get on with it. if this means more prevarication and not bringing pressure to make decisions, it opens up pressure to make decisions, it opens up the horror of very large sums of money possibly being handed over until we get into the next european spending round, so it is pretty unattractive. she knows her party may well try to kill her plans. but right now, she has not many ways out. there is a lot of hard work ahead. there will be more difficult

moments as we enter the final stage of the talks. but i am convinced that we will secure a good deal that is in the interests of the uk, and the european union. you have been straining in the last couple of yea rs straining in the last couple of years to keep all the promises that you have made whether to brexiteers, former remainers, northern ireland oi’ former remainers, northern ireland or to business. ultimately, you are going to have to disappoint someone. he was going to be? what we have done as a government is put forward a set of proposals that deliver on the vote of the british people, ensure that we would end free movement, and the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice and then sending vast amounts of money to the european union every year and come out of the common agricultural policy, and protect jobs come out of the common agricultural policy, and protectjobs and livelihoods and protect the integrity of the union of the united kingdom. theresa may has survived so far by making different vows to different sides both here and at home. promising to keep the uk

together, saying that trade will not be damaged even though we are leaving our biggest trading partner, saying she wants to take the best bits from brussels without hurting the eu. but with time really running out, perhaps reality is emerging it is just about impossible to keep all of those pledges. and if she breaks those promises, ministers are all too aware that might break her. it might be another two months before theresa may is back here. if her compromises and her leadership gets that far. let's have a closer look at this issue. the uk is due to leave the european union on march 29th next year. that's when the so—called transition period would begin. during this time, the uk's relationship with the eu will stay largely the same. it's currently scheduled to end on december 31st 2020. the government hopes by that point, the new trade arrangements with the eu would be in place. the suggestion of lengthening that

transition period, however, would have implications. it could include britain having to contribute to the next eu budget, and that could run to several billions of pounds. that's made a lot of mps angry — as our political correspondent, ben wright, reports. when she gets back home, theresa may will find no refuge from the criticism flying at her from all quarters of the tory party. the brexiteers are furious at the idea ofa brexiteers are furious at the idea of a longer transition. well, i think it is a mistake and potentially a very costly one because we would be into a new multi annualfinancial because we would be into a new multi annual financial framework, a budget set without the uk having a vote or a veto and very unlikely to maintain oui’ a veto and very unlikely to maintain our rebate and money is scarce. trying to buy time with an extension of the transition or implementation period would not resolve the question around the irish border. and that is the issue at the heart of this. both sides have agreed in principle there

must be legal guarantee there can be no new customs or police checks installed on the irish border after brexit. more time to sort a trade deal might ensure that guarantee is never needed. but tory mps who are not brexiteers said eli —— the idea ofa not brexiteers said eli —— the idea of a longer transition period is concerning the whole party. that ranges of emotion but what underlines them all is dismayed. dismay at where we seem alike will ending up. a large number of conservative mps of all persuasions, leavers and migratory and tried and tested rentals, all of them want her to change track. the monk among -- the mood among tory mps is getting difficult. for some, another referendum is needed. but even if you believe in leaving the eu, what we are heading for cannot be what people expected. and the only way we

can resolve this is by giving the public an opportunity to have their own say. around 80 tories share the view of this mp, although lukewarm about a longer transition, he does not want the party's divisions boiling over. we have to be sensible here,, not boiling over. we have to be sensible here, , not panic, boiling over. we have to be sensible here,, not panic, not blink, we have to continue to aim for a negotiated settlement which honours the outcome of the referendum. even if theresa may gets a deal with the eu, she then faces the daunting task of getting it through the house of commons with no majority. and labour's opposition to the emerging deal seems to be hardening. the conservative party cannot agree amongst themselves about what it is they want to negotiate and given they want to negotiate and given they cannot agree amongst themselves, they cannot negotiate with the rest of europe. number 10 is appealing for cool heads, but there are many here in parliament to fear britain is lurching out of the eu without a proper plan and that is causing alarm. let's join our europe editor, katya adler, in brussels. complicated as ever, that was the

summit that had been billed as the moment of truth, what is the mood then now particularly among eu leaders? well, we are sticking together and we are sticking to our script. that has been the main message from eu leaders to theresa may today. they are saying, we really want a brexit deal with the uk, but you are going to have to make more political concessions, especially over the irish border. another message from this summit loud and clear to the uk, especially from influential germany and france was that the uk should forget trying to soften up or to woo eu leaders individually. we heard from emmanuel macron and angela merkel that all 27 eu leaders said they are united behind their main brexit negotiator michel barnier. his red lines, they said, they are red lines. eu leaders did not want to be off—putting, they wa nted not want to be off—putting, they wanted to be encouraging because they want a deal. one diplomat said to me that leaders and their staff

felt they were walking on eggshells at the summit, trying not to say things that will go down badly in the uk. there has been talk of a deal not been possible, but probable. but clearly, we are not there yet. thank you. the number of people murdered in england and wales has risen to its highest level for a decade, according to the latest figures. in the space of a year, 719 people were killed — either by murder or manslaughter. that's a rise of 14%. and there's been a sharp increase in violent crimes. they're up by almost 20%. in total, police recorded 5.6 million offences betweenjune 2017 and 18. that's a rise of almost 10% on the year before. our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds, reports. a 25—year—old man targeted and shot dead in liverpooljust last night. the number of killings, falling for decades, is now increasing steadily. but these figures show that's what's happening in a range

of crimes which are rare, but cause the most harm, particularly in london. when we first came to brent, it was within 20 minutes, half an hour, from leaving the police station, throughout the shift, you would end up with prisoners with knives, we've had a gun, we've had weapons. these officers are part of a £15 million violent crime task force — big teams, targeting the most serious criminals, often involved in drugs. here we go! gentlemen, are you getting grumpy because of the drugs hidden in the car? these men have been stopped in north west london, and it's not the first time. we've got two very well known gang members. they're linked to violence, linked to extreme violence — by that, i mean firearms and other weapons. we agreed to hide some of the officers' identities because they work in plain clothes. after police find this in the boot of the car, the suspects are arrested. it's a potential offensive weapon, but it could be

used for self—defence. both sorts of violence are fuelling the statistics. could he notjust be a cricketer? potentially. however, i think we've got to safeguard the public. we look at the history in these circumstances and treat each individual stop on its own merit. there were no charges this time, but the task force has made more than 1,400 arrests. these teams say that since they started targeting violent crime in this part of london, things have got a lot quieter. now, crime is hard to measure. the overall trend is still down, but the statisticians now agree violence is up and it's notjust the police noticing. we're probably taking 40% more contacts from the public. 40%?! 40% over the last couple of years, and we're sending 150,000—plus reports to the police every year, whereas it used to be only about100,000, 110,000. the causes... austerity is blamed, cuts to youth work, social media may play a role and there are fewer police in england and wales. but police pressure

can achieve results. a metropolitan police team tackling robberies by scooter gangs has cut the number of offences by more than half. tom symonds, bbc news. the scottish government has confirmed a case of bse — or so—called mad cow disease — at a farm in aberdeenshire. movement restrictions have been put in place at the farm while further investigations take place. there've been 16 cases of the disease in the uk since 2011, but this is the first in scotland for ten years. officials say there is no risk to human health. ajury has been retracing the last—known movements of two schoolgirls who were found dead on the south downs 32 years ago. russell bishop is on trial — for the second time — accused of murdering nine—year—old karen hadaway and nicola fellows. he denies the charges. sarah campbell reports. court number 16 of the old bailey relocated 50 miles south, to brighton. this is the first of the locations we're going to be at.

this is the entrance to wild park. brian altman qc, the lead prosecutor. and in the green coat, thejudge, mrjustice sweeney. he told the seven men and five women of the jury — who can't be filmed — to wear sensible shoes and bring something to write with. their first walk took them within view of the wooded area in which the girls‘ bodies were found on october 10th, 1986. karen hadaway and nicola fellows lived less than half a mile away from the park. they were both nine years old and had been strangled and sexually assaulted. the jury members were taken on a route which passed this permanent memorial to the two girls. the judge had warned them yesterday that they wouldn't stop here — not out of disrespect to the victims, but because it isn't relevant to the trial. here's the area of land just beyond the fence... the site visit was a chance for the jurors to get to know the geography of this area, seeing for themselves the location

they will hear about throughout the course of this trial. the defendant, russell bishop, who's being tried for the second time for the girls‘ killings, chose not to attend the site visit. we'll go ahead. tomorrow, the judge and jury will be back in the more familiar surrounds of the central criminal court, as the case continues. sarah campbell, bbc news, brighton. our top story this evening. the prime minister is heavily criticised for suggesting we could remain tied to the eu for longer than planned. the eu summit ends with no sign of a breakthrough. and how bands like u2 are using technology to bring them closer to their fans. coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news... the reggae girls make history. they will be the first team from the caribbean to play at the women's world cup. if you're a man or a woman — how difficult should it be

to change your gender legally in the united kingdom? at the moment, there are a number of steps you have to take — including getting a medical diagnosis, living in your preferred gender for at least two years and also paying a fee. but campaigners say the process is too complicated, intrusive and expensive. it's proving a highly controversial issue of course. the government's been looking at the current rules and will decide soon whether they should be changed in england and wales. our special correspondent, lucy manning, reports. trans people know who we are. we know our gender. we don't need other people to sit there and tell us that. charlie martin is a racing driver. she's also trans woman, transitioning six years ago. she is happy to face the twists and turns on the track but has been reluctant to deal with the bureaucracy, medical checks and cost that legally

changing gender requires. it seems like a very strange process to me, having lived my life over the last six years as female and never having had that called into question. we know our own mind. we don't need to prove that over a matter of years to then have ourselvesjudged by some kind of panel, who hold court over our destiny. the government has been consulting on making it easierfor transgender people to change their birth certificates, considering allowing them to legally declare what gender they are themselves. you would not ask this of other minority groups, so why does the trans community have to prove themselves to people in this situation? but the trans debate has become a bitter and divided one between those who want to self identify as a man or a woman without the involvement of a doctor and without the two—year delay,

and those who believe this is a threat to groups and spaces that have women only. —— have been women only. at parliament, nicola williams has been lobbying mps, worried about the impact the changes could have on other women. the consultation has been quite an affair, i think. women have been basically smeared and shamed and silenced. if any man can simply declare that he is female and given access to women's rights and women's spaces, then that takes away the ability for women to say, "no, i have a boundary there." those with opposing views have clashed. hyde park last year, bristol this year. the government insists there are no plans to change women—only spaces but even an mp who backs reform thinks questions about the impact on women's refuges and prisons must be discussed. i have spoken to lots

of women mps who feel that if they say anything they're going to be called names or said they were transphobe. but that has not been helpful at all because they are perfectly reasonable questions. the prime minister in a video for an award ceremony for the lgbt community last night indicated change is likely. and that thousands of responses we have received so far show there is a real desire for reform. charlie martin said she just wants the same rights as everyone else. lucy manning, bbc news. international pressure is growing on saudi arabia following the suspected killing of the us—based saudi journalist — jamal khashoggi — in turkey two weeks ago. today america, britain, france and the netherlands became the latest countries to pull out of attending an investment conference in saudi next week. a number of organisations have also said they won't go. the saudis have denied

having anything to do with the disappearance of mr khashoggi. james landale has this report. it is called davos in the desert. a big international conference in saudi arabia next week to encourage investment. already dozens of companies have pulled out amid accusations the country was behind the alleged murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi. now allies are withdrawing. britons said international development secretary liam fox would not attend. the us treasury secretary, steve mnuchin, also pulled out, as did the french and dutch finance ministers. the us said it had the case very seriously but was willing to give saudi arabia time to investigate and explain. i told president trump this morning that we ought to give them a few more days to complete that can so that we, too, have a complete understanding of the facts surrounding that, at which point we can make decisions about how or if the united states should respond. it is now more than two weeks since jamal khashoggi entered his country's consulate in istanbul

and was never seen again. turkish police are investigating claims he was tortured and dismembered by saudi agents. mr khashoggi's friends said he had been warned not to go to the saudi consulate and they believed his death was state—sanctioned. this is the consulate. doing this in such an organisation is a very, very anonymous organisation, which cannot be carried out without the permission of any higher authority. such an operation needs higher authorities. britain has a significant trade and security relationship with saudi arabia and it would be reluctant to offend a country that is an important ally in the middle east. pulling out of this conference would not have been an easy decision for britain's diplomats but, having led an international coalition against an alleged state—sponsored assassination

in salisbury earlier this year, they had little choice. the allegations against saudi arabia were just too serious. today the washington post published the last column mr khashoggi wrote before he went missing. he spoke of how some arab governments were trying to silence the free press. james landale, bbc news. the duke and duchess of sussex are continuing their tour of australia. returning from melbourne, where meghan tried her hand at aussie rules football, the couple have made their way back to sydney for the opening of the invictus games. technology is being used to help bring bands closer to the people. more and more artists are turning to innovative ways to bring their shows to life and make sure nobody has a bad view in a big stadium. one of the bands pioneering this approach is the rock group u2. mark savage has more. # in the name of love.# four musicians, 17,000 fans. so, how do you make sure everyone gets a good view? u2‘s answer is to build

a one—of—a—kind, double—sided video screen, that's almost 30 metres long. and they don'tjust project theirfaces on it, they climb inside. it's a very expensive way of getting from that big stage down to this little one down here. the band's bassist, adam clayton, showed me how it all works. so, everybody has the best seat in the house. is that the idea? the idea is that if we divide it down the centre then all these people are close to you when you're in the middle and then, when you get onto this stage, you're actually performing to the people down this end. this end is much like a club gig, it's much more like down and dirty and the other end is a bit more formal. and which do you prefer? i like down and dirty. when u2 first started playing the clubs in dublin the 1970s, a show of this scale and complexity would have been unimaginable. but what does all this technology and choreography mean for the relationship between the band and their audience? coldplay‘s fans become part

of the show with wristbands that light up in time to the music while madonna and beyonce play with iconography and messages of empowerment. but it all starts from the same premise. the magic act is just to shrink the venue — make it disappear. what's the fastest route to proximity with our audience? now we have to use a lot of technology to serve that end but it's the same thought, which is, is there a place in this show where people have a bad seat? that's what we're going to camp right there. do you think though that stops you from being a spontaneous live band ? yes. i mean, maybe not for you but, for me, i do have to hit some marks and i did find that constraining at some point. but then, like a theatre production, i think every night is different anyway, even

with the same script. technology like this comes at a cost. across the industry, ticket prices are at an all—time high. but for u2‘s fans, even the cheap seats now come with a view. mark savage, bbc news, amsterdam. time for a look at the weather. here's louise lear. the autumn sunshine just continues. i think the autumn sunshine just continues. ithinki the autumn sunshine just continues. i think i started last night with the word glorious and i think i will use it again today. this was north yorkshire that there have been numerous pictures from today. just across the west coast as well in wales another stunning day. temperatures on the south coast have beenin temperatures on the south coast have been in the high teens, just above average for this time of year. this has been the satellite picture today was that you can see whether blue sky and sunshine has been across

england and wales. scotland is more cloudy and into northern ireland as well. the rain is arriving overnight but that will not be much rain. windy weather in the western isles. temperatures will hold up into double figures. temperatures could be into low single figures in the north—east of england. a bit of patchy frost and missed first thing but generally a quiet start and a quiet day to come. the front will push its way east and we can offer all the time. a band of cloud and a few showers as it moves south and east into the north of england by the end of the afternoon and northern ireland. in the north—west behind the weather front you might see condition is improving, brightening a little into the afternoon. there is a potential on saturday morning for some fog. this might be slow to lift away.

hopefully it will lift and we will see more sunshine in england and wales. it could be grave for much of the day in yorkshire. —— grey. another weather front will bring outbreaks of showery rain. in the east we could see warmth, 17 degrees in eastern scotland and 17 and 18 in the far south east. that will push its way south and east over the weekend but we're not looking too much in the way of significant rain. the second half of the weekend, many of us will see more clout. the driest of the weather in the south and east. behind it drier and breezy with a hello, this is bbc news with lu kwesa burak. the headlines... the prime minister says an extention to the transition period after the uk leaves the eu could be one option to help solve the issue

of the northern ireland border. eu leaders say they are open to the idea. the uk and the us pull out of a trade summit with saudi arabia following allegations surrounding the disappearance of journalist jamal khashoggi. a number of major companies are still planning to go, despite calls for a boycott. the murder rate in england and wales reaches a ten—year high. crime figures also show increases in robberies and theft.